The American Church Has Failed
By: Stephen Bradley
PREFACE
After rising to the rank of sergeant, Stephen came to realize he could no longer be part of the CRUEL and sometimes BRUTAL system of intimidation that the elites have erected against the poor in this country; a system of local police forces that the elites rely on to enforce their heartless edicts against the poor. He has since resigned, and moved to a location near the Georgia / Tennessee state border and opened a restaurant where he has committed himself to feeding the poor in the area and ministering to their needs. Would be that there were many others like him who would have the courage to leave a well-paying job in order to minister to the poor. That's what true Christianity is all about. -- Antipas |
Stephen Bradley is one of the most
courageous Christians I have ever been honored to know. He was for many years a
police sergeant in one of Georgia's largest police forces. _______________________________________
While perusing Facebook today I was struck by a post by one of my friends. It was a picture of a bear, and the caption took issue with the fact that the federal government today is distributing more in food stamps than ever before. In comparison, the caption pointed out the "irony" that the National Park Service urges us not to feed wild animals because the animals "may grow dependent" and become unable to take care of themselves.
What caught my eye wasn't so much the picture itself; I am accustomed to my right-wing friends (who also call themselves Christians) saying such disparaging things about the poorest among us. No, what really got my engine revving was my friend's comment about the picture he posted:
"...several years ago my family was one of those that needed [food stamps] for a few months. But without arguing it is a government program that has gotten out of hand."
I find this mentality common among Christians these days. The notion that even though they may have personally used a government program to help them through hard times at one point in their life, they are fine now so it's ok to get rid of it. At best they will maintain a neutral stance on a social program such as food stamps, a program that has kept millions of Americans from starving. They feel guilt for having used the program for its intended purpose because in their mind they believe it is wrong.
They have bought the lie that the elite have sold them, which is government is good for nothing except spending their money. They are too deft to realize this is a battle that has nothing to do with them since the taxes they pay, if any, are hardly enough to pay the water bill in the smallest government building in this country.
The elite in this country have taken over the church. They have told us that Uncle Sam wants to control every part of our life, and that social programs are little more than carrots being dangled in front of us to ensure our complete cooperation. Somehow the fact that the Koch brothers (and a few more white men like them) have bought and paid for this country by way of the American Christian Church escapes most believers in America. These billionaires, who own the "media", are able to use a silly issue like birth control to distract us from their never-ending goal of controlling 100% of the wealth in this world. They use the outlets that American Christians have been trained to listen to, such as Fox News and Rush Limbaugh, to stir a PHONY debate over a woman's right to not get pregnant, while at the same time preparing to invade yet another country to control the world's oil supply.
And the American Christian Church is WILLFULLY BLIND to all of this deceit, which is not even buried very deep in the pile of manure. How the average Christian in this country can't see what is going on right before their eyes defies explanation, which leads us to the only logical conclusion: that the American Christian knows what's going on and doesn't care. It's part of the ME effect I described at the beginning. "It doesn't really effect ME in a negative way so I don't care."
This line of thinking is COMPLETELY contrary to the words of Christ, who told us we should clothe the naked, feed the hungry and care for the widows and orphans.
A false piety
One need look no further for proof of the American Christian Church's false "morals" than the current presidential race. The elite have launched a grass-roots effort to use the Church as their vehicle to gain complete control of the world's wealth. This is evident in Christian support of men like Newt Gingrich, who is on his third wife and a sycophant to the moneyed elite. Rick Santorum, who says women shouldn't be able to use birth control because it causes them to do things in a "sexual realm" that they shouldn't do (even though it prevents abortions, which Santorum is against under any circumstances). And Mitt Romney, who is worth over $200 million and a High Priest in the Mormon Church.
It is a ridiculous notion that any of these candidates give a single crap about the Church, yet there she is, working hard to carry the party's water and spread the message. No, all these men that the elite have put forward for us to vote for care about is doing their master's [i.e., the elite's] bidding, and they will do so at any cost. They have convinced the average American Christian that God wants us to fight multiple wars continuously so we don't have to pay $5 a gallon at the gas pump. She [i.e., the church] has bought the lie that we need to hate Mexicans, even though the elite in this country are the sole reason Mexico and most other countries to the south of us are in ruins. And the American Church believes food stamps, Medicare, Medicaid and other social programs make lazy people lazier. They close their eyes to the homeless children that are going to school hungry. To the mom and dad who both work at Wal-Mart and can barely afford more than a motel room to live in. To the single mother (the modern-day widows and orphans) who has no choice but to work three jobs and take any man that comes along. By in large the modern American Church doesn't give a whit about these people. They have bought hook, line and sinker the line that the "colored guy" in the White House wants to take everything they have and give it to someone else. Never mind the fact that most Americans pay very little or no income tax.
The point of all this has nothing to do with Republicans or Democrats or the United States or politics at all. No, the point of this is to illustrate how far the Church has strayed from the simple message of Christ: to love others as Christ has loved you. That means if we want forgiveness we have to forgive. It means if we don't want to be judged for everything we have ever done then we are not to judge. How much better are we than Jesus Christ with our petty politics and stupid issues that won't mean a thing a year from now? Why is the Church so busy trying to "fix" a broken world instead of spending her time and vast resources helping the poor? The answer is because the modern American Church has now been fully integrated into this world and there is no escape for her. She is doomed and sinking fast. To paraphrase my good friend S.R. Shearer, those Christians that don't want to go down with her better stop trying to plug the leaks and jump in a life boat. When Jesus returns (and make no mistake, we have a date with Him), do you think He will be impressed that you were a good republican and spoke out about welfare and abortion and vegetarianism and other silly issues the elite has given us to keep ourselves busy? Or will He see that you visited Him while he was in prison, and clothed Him when he was naked, and fed Him when he was hungry and say "well done thou good and faithful servant".
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IN ADDITION, WE URGE YOU TO DOWNLOAD THE NEW ANTIPAS PAPERS, PRINT THEM OUT YOURSELF, AND STUDY THEM CAREFULLY; SHARE THEM WITH YOUR FRIENDS.
YOU MAY DOWNLOAD THEM FREE!
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FINALLY, WE URGE YOU TO DOWNLOAD AND PRINT OUT THE FLYER WE SENT TO YOU RECENTLY.
YOU MAY DOWNLOAD THE FLYER HERE
Then make copies and take these copies out to the campuses where you live; pass them out; OR if that seems too "daring" for you right now, post them on telephone poles, the sides of buildings, on campus bulletin boards; post them in union halls, in the neighborhoods of the poor and downtrodden, near employment offices, wherever you can.
Once again, we URGE you to read (or re-read):