NationStates Jolt Archive

This morning on C-Span they televised the 109th Congressional Prayer Service from a church on Capitol Hill. There were some kind words shared about the recently-passed Bob Matsui and Shirley Chisholm and others made reference to the Asian tsunami, and there was a parade of Republicans from the south and midwest reading passages from scripture and reminding those gathered about the Christian foundation of our government.

And then Tom DeLay took to the pulpit, and gave the group Matthew 7, beginning at verse 21.


"Matthew 7:21. Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
22. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? And in thy name have cast out devils? And in thy name done many wonderful works?
23. And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
24. Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:
25. And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.
26. And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:
27. And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.
28. And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine:
29. For he taught them as [one] having authority, and not as the scribes."


(the bolded passages were emphasized by DeLay.)

And when he completed the passage, he sat down.


An interesting passage indeed to choose in light of the Tsunami....don't you think? Was he telling the group that God was punishing Indonesia for bein Muslim? I wonder, was God then also punishing Florida this year when it sent in the winds and the rain four times?

Anyway, take it as you will. I just thought it smelled a bit odd under the circumstances.

*sigh* I wish I could dismiss this as a crackpot theory at work...I can't though. Its very in-tune with what I've seen of Delay's behavior.

I'm trying not to be bitter about the cranks who think that god was smiting those in the area. Its very hard, but I'm trying. I've deleted about 4 paragraphs of my railing against those who would rather see people die than live.

Is Tom DeLay some sort of Christian fundamentalist?

Is Tom DeLay some sort of Christian fundamentalist?

Yes.

Yes.
That's strange, I read up on him and he appears to be an ardent lobbyist for the rich and corporations. Doesn't sound very Christ-like to me.

That's strange, I read up on him and he appears to be an ardent lobbyist for the rich and corporations. Doesn't sound very Christ-like to me.
Maybe he should take another look at the passage that he himself read :confused:

That's strange, I read up on him and he appears to be an ardent lobbyist for the rich and corporations. Doesn't sound very Christ-like to me.

Well, maybe things like the fact that the Center For Christian Statesmanship awarded him their Distinguished Christian Statesman Award in 2002 (http://www.statesman.org/PAGES/Awards/2002.asp) might be a clue as to his theological bent.

Majority Whip DeLay is focusing his political and personal efforts on seeing our culture transformed. On Capitol Hill, DeLay is determined to use his position as the third-ranking Republican member to restore the “Judeo-Christian ethic” that he says has been undermined in recent years. He established the Values Action Team to help strengthen the coalition of pro-faith groups. He supports faith-based initiatives and has worked to fix the child welfare system. And he openly calls for more evidence of faith in public life.

This commitment to faith-based solutions goes deeper than Washington political ideals. DeLay and his wife of 35 years, Christine, are leaders in their local church and place their faith at the center of their lives.

I think its just people using Religion to push their own agendas. Its happened before, its going to happen again, and it always will. Its happened in Ancient times, its happened in not so ancient times, and now look it happens again. Personally I can't watch the footage of the devastation, it makes me sick. All those people out there that are like, "celebrate, the heathens are struck down, G-d almighty, Christ almighty, that means they were sinners. I would like to point out that the Bible says not to celebrate over a fallen foe. "Do not cry, even though they were my enemies, they too were my children" Is what G-d has to say when the angels started to celebrate the death of the Eqyptions in Exodus.

To most christians I say, read your bibles man, then talk. Engage brain before inserting foot into it.

That's strange, I read up on him and he appears to be an ardent lobbyist for the rich and corporations. Doesn't sound very Christ-like to me.
Now adays Fundamentalist does not require you to be Christ-like

That's strange, I read up on him and he appears to be an ardent lobbyist for the rich and corporations. Doesn't sound very Christ-like to me.
thats how the fundamentalists work, duh

ps: when seeing "fix x welfare", read "make it go away"

Now adays Fundamentalist does not require you to be Christ-like

No, just mean-spirited and holier-than-thou.

its those 99% that give us 1% crazies a bad name

I can't say what was in Delay's mind when he quoted that particular scripture. If I were to relate my interpretation of it to today's events I would point to it as a promise of redemption.

I have a question, though. I read "fundamentalist Christians" do this and "fundamentalist Christians" do that. What and who are "fundamentalist Christian"? What denominations are considered "fundamentalist Christian"? What is the doctrine of the "fundamentalist Christian"? Rather than take the words of one man, interpret them, and then declare this interpretation to be the belief of all "fundamentalist Christians", would you please tell me exactly who these people are and the names of their churches.

Hello knock knock Hello!?

I asked a simple question. If you can use the term so freely and often, then you should be able to define it.

No, just mean-spirited and holier-than-thou.

Way to say something completely hypocritical and ignorant.

It's funny, in most Western countries, a remark like that would at least lead to negative press coverage, and possibly calls for resignation from political opponents. That brand of pitiless religious extremism is exactly the same sort of gloating the US criticised when it manifested itself in some parts of the Middle East after the terrorist attacks of 2001.

But there will be no such censure in the US of course, what else can be expected of a country where half the population is still sore about losing a war over slavery.

I can't say what was in Delay's mind when he quoted that particular scripture. If I were to relate my interpretation of it to today's events I would point to it as a promise of redemption.

I have a question, though. I read "fundamentalist Christians" do this and "fundamentalist Christians" do that. What and who are "fundamentalist Christian"? What denominations are considered "fundamentalist Christian"? What is the doctrine of the "fundamentalist Christian"? Rather than take the words of one man, interpret them, and then declare this interpretation to be the belief of all "fundamentalist Christians", would you please tell me exactly who these people are and the names of their churches.

Well, I'd say that it is an overused catch-all phrase (like "radical extremist" is for Muslims), generally to denote those who believe in a strict interpretation of the Bible and who work diligently to try and have official public policy reflect it as much as possible.

i.e.) those who wish to inflict their beliefs upon others.

It's funny, in most Western countries, a remark like that would at least lead to negative press coverage, and possibly calls for resignation from political opponents. That brand of pitiless religious extremism is exactly the same sort of gloating the US criticised when it manifested itself in some parts of the Middle East after the terrorist attacks of 2001.

But there will be no such censure in the US of course, what else can be expected of a country where half the population is still sore about losing a war over slavery.

As I've said, I cannot comment on Delay's intent as to the implication of that scripture at this time as it could have countless interpretations. Your observation that half of the US population are racial bigots and proponents of slavery shows that you are grossly ignorant of American values, standards, and mores. Therefore, until you take the time to study and better understand American culture, it is a waste of time trying to discuss American issues with you.

Well, I'd say that it is an overused catch-all phrase (like "radical extremist" is for Muslims), generally to denote those who believe in a strict interpretation of the Bible and who work diligently to try and have official public policy reflect it as much as possible.

i.e.) those who wish to inflict their beliefs upon others.

I have to question the way it is used. In my understanding, an example of a fundamentalist religion would be one of the full gospel churches. I'm Catholic, but my husband is Penticostal (we don't discuss church doctrine out of respect for our marriage), which I would categorize a fundamentalist church. He and the people of his church are of the mind that this is a horrible tragedy, one of many throughout history, and not a punishment. Some say it is the work of the devil and others believe that it is one of the mysteries of God's plan, but no one I know of sees it as a devine punishment.