Reply to Theology of the Flying Spaghetti Monster

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[quote=Anonymous][quote]This isn't "my interpretation", it's in the Bible in black and white type. I actually believe that a lot of the right-wing social conservatives aren't actually following Christ's teachings, and I'm not alone in this.[/quote]

I agree with you that it's there in black and white, and I particularly agree that many who claim to be Christians - especially right-wing social conservatives but I don't think it's limited to them - aren't following Christ's teachings.

As Ghandi said, "I like your Christ. I don't like your Christians. So many of your Christians are unlike your Christ."

So you get to the question of why this system keeps getting perpetuated.

I would argue that the wealthy have an incentive to pay lip service to Christianity because the political message of Christianity advises the poor to accept their lot and suffer through this life in anticipation of their reward in Heaven.

Some promote the concept of "prosperity gospel," which is simply an extension of the divine right of kings. Under that logic, someone is rich because God has selected them to be rich and, thus, who are they (or anyone else) to say otherwise and go against the obvious workings of God? Arguing for "prosperity gospel" is precisely contrary to what you've identified as being written in black and white.

So, either the people who make that argument interpret it differently or they don't actually believe.

Outside of those who argue for the "prosperity gospel," I would argue that there are many people who do not follow the black and white teaching you've identified that have a vested interest in the continued belief by the non-wealthy in this mentality.

So the question becomes, if those people were true believers in the gospel as preached by Christ, how could they violate such a basic and clearly stated tenet? On the other hand, paying lip service to the religion and perpetuating a belief structure that makes the 99% happier with their lot has a lot of advantages for them. I'd put the question to Occam's Razor.[/quote]

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