Party of Faith?

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I wrote over a year ago--maybe 2 yrs ago--that there needed to be a serious conversation among Christians about the meaning of their faith because the general public and media only hear one, loud version of it. They do not hear the broad cross-section of people who maintain a Christian faith.

And if politicians insist on wearing their religion on their sleeves, then they must be confronted as faithful by the faithful, because if they are not they simply win PR points for appearing as martyrs, or at the very least "put upon" by Godless radicals.

It would be a lie, of course, but that has never stopped them from cashing in on the perception.

So here is some interesting confirmation:

http://my.firedoglake.com/peterr/2011/09/20/on-worshiping-milton-friedman-and-calling-him-jesus/ 

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The following is not a new example.  The US Air Force Academy has challenged over a year ago for Christian proselytizing.  And yesh, they said "we won't do that anymore".  And then proceeded to do it again.

SO now we have this:
http://www.truth-out.org/aftermath-jesus-loves-nukes-scandal/1316010154

Truthout is an investigative blog that dug into this before and stays on the case.  But more importantly, this goes to what I am saying about Christians, politics and theology.

You don't fight theology with politics.  You confront it with theology.
Rigorously.  Reverend Ike was one of the promulgators of "God Will Make You Rich" (as in dollars), but honestly: where does that come from?  It comes from a highly selective reading of the Bible--as do most denominational preferences--but it deserves open challenge given the breadth of the Bible and scholarly study.

You aren't going to hear about it though. You are not going to hear disagreement and I think that is mainly because Christians haven't learned to talk about diversity of their faith.  What they seem to have learned is the same narrowness of mind as Sunni and Shia as the go about killing one another in Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan. 

For those of you who think, "That could never happen here, to a Christian nation...Christians kiiling Christians!"---well, I say you are deluded. The only thing that protects you right now is a fast eroding set of laws and principles in the SECTARIAN COnstitution of the United States.  Eroding is the operative word.

The funniest but truest signs I ever saw:  "Yeah right--like Jesus would own a gun and vote Republican".  It's on-the-mark skepticism.

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Excellent article:
http://firedoglake.com/2011/10/08/veal-pen-preachers-and-conservative-idolatry-of-teh-market-is-an-ugly-combination/

What do Christians encounter theologically?