Fundamental Church Failures

Every great human movement toward freedom, whether commercial, political or religious or a combination thereof, begins with the determination of concerned men and women to make life better by resolving recurring human problems. The Renaissance and the Age of Reason occurred through the efforts of talented people to end the brutal political, financial and religious abuses common within Medieval Europe. The Protestant Reformation and the revival of a personal redemptive relationship with God occurred because people rebelled against a corrupt Catholic hierarchy that was using the Spanish Inquisition to maintain their dominance over society and burning thousands of reformers alive in the name of God. Even the American Revolution of 1776 and the Mexican Revolution of 1917, erupted along fault lines between thoughtful people and a ruthless aristocracy that controlled virtually all the wealth. And while the new nation wasn't perfect, we spent the next two centuries getting more and more things right in the service of a more equitable society. That desire to serve people is collapsing now for one major reason.

A wicked triad of narcissistic robber barons, fundamental preachers and reactionary politicians has seized power enough to cripple our beloved Republic and turn it into an anti-human killing machine. Their new American Empire has devoured many of our young men and women in a dozen preemptive wars against poor, dark skinned nations since World War Two and slain literally millions of peasants from Korea and Vietnam to Iraq twice now. Our wars profit a financial elite who support both fundamental religious and reactionary political abusers for their own benefit. They do this through a powerful propaganda system that confuses and seduces naďve men and women into believing many wicked deceptions from the halls of government, the commercial media and from the pulpits of the fundamental church.

Reactionary politicians have always been suspect -- the Bible itself admonishes us not to place our trust in princes, for they always have narcissistic agendas that supercede our own. Naive persons who believe narcissistic abusers show as much judgment as chickens who elect foxes to manage the hen house. The aristocrats who control almost ninety percent of American wealth paid the campaign bills for the first oil baron president, George H. W. Bush -- with Dubya now firmly in the saddle and Jeb waiting in the wings for his turn at the trough. Tom Delay and his scowling ventriloquist dummy Dennis Hestert, are considered honest politicians -- now that they sold out the American Republic, they remain bought and paid for by their financial masters. We all know this but some Americans support the manipulators for the crumbs that fall from their table. The dishonesty of fundamental clergymen is a more recent phenomenon. The church that began with Jesus' timeless spiritual revelation of faith, hope and love was once central to the American democratic experience. Unfortunately, the church is now being corrupted beyond all recognition by the wicked consortium of no more global financiers than could be carried in a single Boeing 747 and their eager henchmen.

The wicked triad of aristocrats, politicians and preachers, understands that with enough campaign money and their great media propaganda machine, the betrayal of both thoughtless voters and fundamental true believers is a slam dunk. Men like Franklin Graham, James Dobson, Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell, the leadership and most pastors of the Southern Baptist Convention, the Nazarene, Missouri Synod Lutheran and Assemblies of God denominations, yearn to be gathered into another Oliver Cromwell type theocratic state that uses police power and the courts to call their very own ideological tune for America to dance to. They are off to a good start and if history has taught us anything, we can already see that the compassion of power players within finance, governance or religion is a weak reed on which to rely for support. Every organization that seizes complete power over others quickly turns evil. Or how do you get from Jesus' Sermon on the Mount to the burning of theological challengers at the stake in Christianity? Or explain the many Southern Baptist preachers who cast out from their churches the heretics that voted for John Kerry?

Neo-conservative financiers, politicians and preachers have come together to create a perfect storm in the collapse of democracy occurring in America today. The abusers don't need to cancel elections and appoint a dictator when they control the vast media machine that persuades millions of naďve men and women to commit financial, political and religious suicide at their bidding. But while the aristocracy and their politician abusers are motivated by pure greed and a lust for power over people, the fundamental politico/preachers pretend to themselves and others that obeying the wishes of the powerful abusers of society is an extension of biblical Truth and thus reflects the wisdom of Jesus. They are engaging in the oldest form of psychological self-deception, of course. "What's best for me is great for America and the Church."

So, here are a few concepts to discuss with a fundamental preacher, an orthodox priest, a too religious born again politician or more likely -- one of their naďve knee jerk true believers who can only regurgitate predigested ideologies.

SHOW US IN YOUR OFT QUOTED BIBLE --

Where Jesus stopped identifying with ordinary people, with widows, orphans and working families and dedicated himself to pandering to the obscenely wealthy abusers and the political and religious leaders who committed great enough crimes against humanity to amass vast fortunes or maintain ruthless power over the people.

Where Jesus counseled us to militarize our society to fight a dozen preemptive wars against poor, dark skinned nations since World War Two, wasting our young men and women to slay foreign youngsters, in bloody, soul-searing combat that supports the fascistic financiers, reactionary politicians and fundamental preachers who pretend to be true patriots.

Where Jesus insisted that modern disciples must vote for and support only those politicians who pass a radical litmus test that includes the creation of a ruthless American Empire, the starvation of public education, the collapse of Social Security and Medicare while people are propagandized to commit spiritual, political and financial suicide in his name.

Where Jesus handed the spiritual leadership of America to the vocal group of immaculately coifed and heavily bejeweled women at a recent Texas Republic National Convention who stood and chanted for fifteen minutes: We are the real Americans -- we are the only true Christians, to the cheers of their clapping fascist oil barons, reactionary politicians and fundamental preachers.

Where Jesus changed his message that we must pay for the benefits of civilization by giving to Caesar that which belongs to Caesar and by giving to God, that which belongs to God -- to one of increasing the wealth of a greedy elite that benefit from living virtually tax free in a stable civilization paid for by working people the politicians tax inequitably.

Where Jesus revised his teachings that the only way to please God is by serving humanity and protecting our world -- accepting the pretense that when people compete ruthlessly, ripping everything possible from weaker persons and ravaging the earth, seizing obscene amounts of wealth, a secular miracle occurs in which all people live better than by cooperating.

Where Jesus decided that global capitalism with a few rich families getting richer through a ruthless lifestyle, is blessed by a God who perceives the American aristocracy as much more deserving than all those increasingly hard pressed people of a looming American collapse who are being outsourced, computerized, and battered into bankruptcy.

Where Jesus stopped being a flaming revolutionary who put such pressure on the wicked political and religious leaders of his day that they murdered him and became a shill of the ruthless aristocracy for whom personal power, prestige, pleasure and possessions are more important than patriotism, spiritual development and the support of persons who are not driven so compulsively by bleeding neurotic wounds in their souls.

Until the fundamental preachers answer these questions and show us in the Bible where Jesus made these changes in his message of faith, hope and love, the aristocracy and their ruthless political and religious hirelings have lost all legitimacy to speak for God and for the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ and should be treated as narcissistic frauds. When Jesus' entire message is ruthlessly altered and compromised, the fundamental clergy have no right to teach anyone anything of importance.

Jard DeVille spent twenty years preparing for, pasturing churches and teaching college psychology in a fundamental Christian denomination. More recently, he researched and wrote the core evangelism program in use by the Seventh-day Adventist Church that is growing by some million new members annually.

Author* Jard DeVille has published more than a score of psychology books, seminars and psychological assessment instruments. His book NICE GUYS FINISH FIRST was a powerful best seller in English, Japanese and Spanish editions. THE PSYCHOLOGY OF LEADERSHIP was New American Library's offering in their Executive Development Series. For twenty years he was considered by many to be America's foremost leadership scholar.

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