The Nkhoma Synod in Malawi has recently sent out a letter telling all their church-goers who to vote for. It’s an interesting document with some revealing wording.
The Church continues to note with great concern the levels at which moral values are being eroded in the name of civilization, human and minority rights.
Cases of lack of respect for the elders, lack of decency in the dressing, promotion of secular humanism, homosexuality, abortion, prostitution and pornography are all acts that our Lord does not condone.
According to the Pastoral Letter, any nation that promotes these ‘immoral’ values faces judgment from God.
Notice what stands in opposition to their “moral values”: Civilization. Human rights. Minority rights. When you have to acknowledge that civilization and basic humanity are against you, shouldn’t that be a warning sign that maybe you ought to rethink your values?
I like the fact that secular humanism is noted as one of their enemies (and, presumably, one of those forces aided and abetted by civilization and human rights), and that they include a laundry list of other social concerns, like abortion and homosexuality that are all rightfully tangled together with our godlessness.
And, oh yeah, Jesus and the prostitutes. Luke 7.
44 And he turned to the woman, and said unto Simon, Seest thou this woman? I entered into thine house, thou gavest me no water for my feet: but she hath washed my feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head.
45 Thou gavest me no kiss: but this woman since the time I came in hath not ceased to kiss my feet.
46 My head with oil thou didst not anoint: but this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment.
47 Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little.
48 And he said unto her, Thy sins are forgiven.
49 And they that sat at meat with him began to say within themselves, Who is this that forgiveth sins also?
50 And he said to the woman, Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace.
So this Jesus legend blesses the prostitutes, and says nothing about homosexuals, but does rage at the moneylenders in the temple…what was it that he doesn’t condone, again, and what are the immoral values that face a rude smackdown from a god?
I’m so sorry, Malawi, I see you’re also regurgitating the poison spread by the likes of Scott Lively.
Because I know someone else is going to post this.
Quote Investigator
You mean like putting oysters in it? Yeah, that’s terrible.
I don’t know PZ, I think it’s deeply wrong to go along with the moderate Christian view that Jesus was a fundamentally decent cove whose doctrines have been thwarted and polluted by those who proclaim him Lord. I grant you, it’s not that his doctrines have not been so thwarted, ( for example, in Matthew 23:9 he remarks “And do not call anyone on earth ‘father’, for you have one Father, and he is in heaven.”)
Whoops, I suppose the Pope must have missed that bit. But most certainly Jesus condemns homosexuality. For it is written:…… “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them, but to fulfil them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.” Matthew 5:17.
You can hardly say it straighter than that. I rather fear that when people say that Jesus doesn’t even mention gays and lesbians, they’re perpetrating and recycling ( doubtless frequently unintentionally ), a bit of weasel-wording — a rhetorical meme, if you will — that was originally intended to distract attention from the fact that Jesus, or at any rate this gospel explicitly intended to reiterate the appalling moral philosophy of the Torah, contrary to the propaganda of moderate Christians for the last two hundred years. It is these people, in fact, who are misrepresenting scripture.
Not only does gay sex merit the death penalty according to the Law, so does prostitution, depending on who the girl in question is: “If a priest’s daughter defiles herself by becoming a prostitute, she disgraces her father; she must be burned in the fire.” Leviticus 21:9
Just because the Holy Father doesn’t read the Bible properly doesn’t mean you have any excuse…. :)
Why did they leave out rape, I wonder.
So she washed his feet in tears, wiped them with her hair, anointed them with oil and ceaselessly kissed them.
C’mon Jesus! Get to the good stuff. What happened after that!?
I seem to recall that the bible uses the word “feet” as a euphemism for some other bit of the human anatomy. The prostitute washed his “feet”, kissed his “feet” ceaselessly, and even anointed his “feet” with ointment. If I didn’t know better, I would think that she has had a lot of practice taking care of men’s “feet”.
What’s really disturbing to me is when nations like, say, Uganda argue for their “independence from Western secular influences” when establishing hateful authoritarian and theocratic laws, EVEN THOUGH the Christian-based hatred also stems from the West. And not just from the past when it was brought over initially, but from recent Evangelical interventions and mission trips that propose, push and fund efforts to get to such anti-human laws. True, that isn’t necessarily applicable HERE, but it reminded me of it, still, because of their view of civilization as an enemy. They may protest their independence of Western ills, but in reality they are at least partially driven to these behaviours and views by theocratic Westerners invading their society.