More lies to delude stupid people.

[rug]

This was read in thousands of churches to millions of people throughout the world today.

Gospel

Matthew 5:1-12a

When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain,
and after he had sat down, his disciples came to him.
He began to teach them, saying:

“Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are they who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the land.
Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be satisfied.
Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the clean of heart,
for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called children of God.
Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness,
for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you
and utter every kind of evil against you falsely because of me.
Rejoice and be glad,
for your reward will be great in heaven.”

Why do people continue to believe this crap?

[NRaleighLiberal]

1. My major question is why those who listen to it each Sunday don't live it.

For the most part, Raleigh's megachurches coddle the wealthy and greedy and read the bible as if it doesn't apply to them...as if they are already chosen, so they can grovel in the Repub party's aim to crush everyone who doesn't agree with them (or have as much money as them)

[Chulanowa]

2. Because that's just how most protestant sects work

You don't have to do anything jesus ever said or did, you have no code of behavior or morality. all you have to do is be reasonably certain that jesus is the son of god and died on the cross, and you get a free ticket to eternal paradise.

[ZombieHorde]

3. I think some people needto feel the Universe contains justice.

Some people hate GWB enjoying massive wealth after all of the people he has killed, as opposed to so many children dying of starvation, disease, and brutality around the world. If Heaven and Hell exist, then justice will prevail.

or

Some people need to have a sense purpose to their lives. They don't want to be an arbitrary and life form trying to live on an arbitrary planet.

or

Some people never question the religion they were raised with. Everyone around believes in God, so why question it?

or

Some people have hurt themselves with alcohol or unwise sex choices and they need something to forgive them and redirect their lives.

or

Some people are scared of not existing anymore, Christianity offers them a solution, Heaven.

[trotsky]

4. A passage that has been used to keep the poor and downtrodden in their place for centuries.

So no, even your choice for the best, noblest passage in the bible fails.

(BTW, George W. Bush no doubt thought HE was blessed as a "peacemaker" for removing Saddam Hussein. Prove him wrong, and get back to me.)

[darkstar3]

7. +1

ETA: This section of the Bible is also the chief source of the Christian persecution complex.

Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness,
for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you
and utter every kind of evil against you falsely because of me.
Rejoice and be glad,
for your reward will be great in heaven.”

[Warpy]

5. My mother always said they needed to be expanded

One of her examples, "Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth--great clods of it, right in their faces."

[raccoon]

15. "It's not the earth the meek inherit, it's the dirt," sang Mordred in CAMELOT. nt

[OffWithTheirHeads]

6. In the supply side Jesus Bible, Matthew does not exist.

[The Magistrate]

8. Noble Sentiments, Sir, But Poor As Description Or Prediction

Those who mourn are often not comforted, but made to suffer more.

The meek do not, repeat not, inherit a damned thing but further exploitation.

Those who hunger and thirst for righteous can expect the bitterest of disappointments in this vale of tears.

The merciful cannot rely on mercy from others, and often receive nothing resembling mercy.

The rest is pure speculation, as it requires the actual existence and coming to pass of such things as Heaven and a Kingdom of God to have any meaning, and there is only bare assertion on which to rest the possibility or actuality of either item.

[Nihil]

19. Kind of sad, especially coming from a "Magistrate" ...

> The meek do not, repeat not, inherit a damned thing but further exploitation.
>
> Those who hunger and thirst for righteous can expect the bitterest of
> disappointments in this vale of tears.
>
> The merciful cannot rely on mercy from others, and often receive nothing
> resembling mercy.

:shrug:

[darkstar3]

20. Hence some of life's more unpleasant truisms.

"Life's a bitch, then you die."
"The truth hurts."
"The only things you can count on in life are death and taxes."
There are more.

I would think that someone whose name so closely resembles the word "nihilism" would not only understand this, but expect it. :shrug:

[Nihil]

22. That side of it I grok ...

... it was just (to me) the juxtaposition of a "Magistrate" apparently
supporting the exploitation of the meek, the disappointment of those
who hunger for righteousness and the lack of mercy shown to the merciful.

Gave me a sudden reminder of the 16th century (for example) when "justice"
was merely a word used to disguise such behaviour in favour of the rich.

[charlie]

23. "Supporting" is a gross mischaracterization

Observing that the homilies have not been borne out in 2000 years is just that, an observation.

[darkstar3]

24. Thank you, that was exactly the point needed.

[BurtWorm]

9. Now that you mention it, there is no good reason to believe any of it.

Basically it's a promise that your good behavior will be rewarded. Sure it will... ;-)

[stray cat]

10. Blessed be the suicide bombers, the self-righteous, the arrogant, the bullies

there - feel better. Clearly the GOP should be the better party because its nice and true to the baser instincts of humans.

[MorningGlow]

11. Sounds like a bunch of commie lib pinko tree-huggin' shit to me

:P

If needed --> :sarcasm:

[cynatnite]

12. I always felt that part of it was for the weak, the poor, and the downtrodden...

this was meant for the rest of the world to lift them up. The beginning of it had a very liberal message to me. Now, the lines about being persecuted and insulted...doesn't seem to fit with the majority of the passage. Makes me wonder about the origins of the speech and if any was added to it later on. It's happened before in the bible.

[edhopper]

13. Blessed are the Cheesemakers

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XiDmMBIyfsU

[darkstar3]

16. The perfect Easter movie. :) n/t

[BurtWorm]

14. Isn't this a perfect example of religion being the opiate of the masses?

This is exactly the sort of empty promise meant to stupefy the masses that Marx was talking about. Isn't it?

[MineralMan]

17. They don't. They pretend to, but they don't.

Paul put an end to that nonsense.

[The Magistrate]

18. The Piece Above, Sir, Was Penned Long After Paul Was Dead And Gone....

"I say to you, a man shall die for his own sins, and no other."

[MineralMan]

21. True, but according to the dogma, those words were spoken by Jesus.

If that is the belief, then Paul put paid to those words. Today's Christian churches, for the most part, put their primary emphasis on Paul's epistles. Of course, we have no evidence that any of them were written by Paul, either.

In fact, there's little evidence of who wrote any of the New Testament...just guesses.

Indeed, we don't know much about any of it, except that it was assembled in the 3rd century into something resembling today's canon. And assembled by the Romans, of all people to do such a thing. There is much politics embedded in the NT.

[frogmarch]

25. It sounds like

an extreme version of the game "Let's see who can be the quietest."

[Lydia Leftcoast]

26. But wait---here's the rest of the story from the Luke version of the Beatitudes

<20> And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said, Blessed be ye poor: for yours is the kingdom of God.
<21> Blessed are ye that hunger now: for ye shall be filled. Blessed are ye that weep now: for ye shall laugh.
<22> Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man's sake.
<23> Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy: for, behold, your reward is great in heaven: for in the like manner did their fathers unto the prophets.
<24> But woe unto you that are rich! for ye have received your consolation.
<25> Woe unto you that are full! for ye shall hunger. Woe unto you that laugh now! for ye shall mourn and weep.
<26> Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you! for so did their fathers to the false prophets.

[54anickel]

27. Our Poverty, God’s Dwelling Place by Henri Nouwen

How can we embrace poverty as a way to God when everyone around us wants to become rich? Poverty has many forms. We have to ask ourselves: “What is my poverty?” Is it lack of money, lack of emotional stability, lack of a loving partner, lack of security, lack of safety, lack of self-confidence? Each human being has a place of poverty. That’s the place where God wants to dwell! “How blessed are the poor,” Jesus says (Matthew 5:3). This means that our blessing is hidden in our poverty.

We are so inclined to cover up our poverty and ignore it that we often miss the opportunity to discover God, who dwells in it. Let’s dare to see our poverty as the land where our treasure is hidden.

Just a bit of a different take on it. As one discovers his/her self… their strengths, desires, dreams… they'll inevitably run into their poverty. The places of lack, loneliness, broken promises, and lost dreams. It is so tempting in the collision to wonder what one has done (or not done) to deserve it. But could it be that God is actually in the midst of our poverty - whatever it happens to be. Perhaps it is in our poverty that one can discover their idea/notion of God, a higher power, an inner source of strength, to lean on or to become --- to bring forth into being.

Of course, a more literal interpretation would have me agree with you "crap" assessment.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

28. Wait a minute, now, are you saying that...

hungering and thirsting for righteousness, being merciful, being pure of heart, and being peacemakers are"crap"? Haven't all the great reformers of history been persecuted for righteousness sake? Haven't they all been insulted and persecuted and slandered?

By the way, "poor in spirit" doesn't mean poverty stricken in an economic sense. It means being spiritually humble.

As for the meek inheriting the earth, look at all the mighty empires that have risen and fallen as ordinary people keep on keeping on.

Thanks for deliberately misinterpreting the Beatitudes.

[charlie]

29. It's sarcasm, Lydia

Rug is staunchly in the Christian camp. If you haven't had the Rug Experience, it's easy to mistake some of his terse acerbic posts as batting for the other team.