Judging...

In the Comments Section of yesterday's post Sue said:

Seriously, if those people could see what a bad name they have given God throughout the WHOLE GODDAMN WORLD they would maybe reexamine some of their stuff.
Sorry, that's very critical and judgmntal of me. I'm doing what Dobson is doing with gays, with evangelicals, aren't I?
*Sigh*

Sue's comments were sort of a springboard to post about some things I have pondered lately...collected snippets from here and there ...too long for a mere comment. 

In his book the Irresistible Revolution, Shane Claiborne talks about terrorism — the terrorism within each of us.  Yea...if I'm honest I must admit that it is there.  There are people I would like to hurt. 

In another writing of his called The Yeast of the Pharisees he says:

The righteous "yeast of the Pharisees" is still infectious today, it attacks "liberal" and "conservative" Christians alike. Conservatives stand up and thank God they are not like the homosexuals, the Muslims, the liberals. Liberals stand up and thank God they are not like the war-makers, the yuppies, the conservatives. The causes are different, but the self-righteousness is the same.

In an interview for the Wuttenburg Door he says the same thing in a slightly different way

What I've seen is a self-righteousness that we've got it all together on both sides. It's, "Thank you that we're not like people that listen to secular music or are homosexuals" or, on the other side it's, "Thank you that we're not like those people that don't eat organic or are Bush lovers."

But see...to me...it seems like the outspoken, politically, religiously active evangelicals...the ones who, overtly or covertly, want to turn this country into a theocracy...some even eventually wanting to get back to OT law and punishments like stoning...well..they are the ones who seem to be throwing the first stone and it is really, really hard not to want to wing the biggest rock I can find back at them. 

Let's use Ann Coulter's "fag" comment as an example...a comment made in front of a group of Christians, no less, who snickered and applauded.  I mean there is no excuse, explanation or reason why someone who calls themselves a Christian should use the word "fag".  EVER.  I followed the link to the video and she is so smug and self righteous, so freaking full of herself...it is REALLY hard for me not to judge her.  Hell, it is really hard for me not to HATE her.  And I'm working on that....

  As far as the far, far right...the ones who seem to me to tote around the biggest bag of rocks,  they are the ones who want to change the rest of the nation to fit their beliefs (never mind that many of them do not agree and that there are  many varying beliefs among them) 

Dobson said the following about Obama:

“What terrifies me is the thought that he might be our president . . . might be in the Oval Office . . . might be the leader of the free world . . . might be the commander in chief — because as I said a minute ago, the man is dangerous, especially in regard to this issue of morality. I can’t tell you how strongly I feel about this.

“He’s saying that my morality has to conform to his because we all have to agree or else it’s not democratic.

Is he really saying that??

Obama said in his Call to Renewal Keynote Address | June 28, 2006

discussing charges by the Christian Right, that he, Obama, is not a Christian

....... I answered with what has come to be the typically liberal response in such debates - namely, I said that we live in a pluralistic society, that I can't impose my own religious views on another, that I was running to be the U.S. Senator of Illinois and not the Minister of Illinois.

...which I think is a pretty good answer...but then he goes on to personalize what being a Christian means to him...and he relates his actual experience of kneeling at the cross...of "becoming" a Christian.  Another quote of his that seems to say he is not trying to cram his view of religion down the throats of others...

"When we ignore the debate about what it means to be a good Christian or Muslim or Jew; when we discuss religion only in the negative sense of where or how it should not be practiced, rather than in the positive sense of what it tells us about our obligations towards one another…others will fill the vacuum, those with the most insular views of faith, or those who cynically use religion to justify partisan ends."

I have meandered from the original intent of this post.  Judging..who does it, who should do it (no one according scripture..at least not until we take care of the beam in our own eys) and how can we stop it.  Good questions.  The answer seems to be that someone has to be the first to stop throwing the rocks.