Has God Given Up on Us? by Carol Wolman

Has God Given Up on Us? by Carol Wolman

Psalm 100   ⁵For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.

According to the rapture cultists, humanity is hopelessly corrupt.  As He did in Noah's day, God intends to sweep away the present earth, and replace it with a new creation. 

Revelation 21:1  And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.

i believe that "first heaven" refers to our current spiritual state and "first earth" to our exploitative stewardship of our planet.  Looking at the current state of spiritual life in the US, it's easy to agree with those who anticipate total destruction.  We have allowed a bunch of thugs to take over the government of the US and seduce our young people into the armed forces, where they are taught to torture and murder.  We have allowed Congresspeople to stay in office who have consistently voted against our economic welfare and our civil rights. 

Our families are in disarray.  The evangelicals have an even higher divorce rate than the rest of us, despite Jesus's strictness on divorce (He never mentioned abortion or homosexuality). 

Matthew 19:9 And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery.

This secretive administration thrives on lies, propaganda, and "shock and awe".  These hypocrites have the rest of us bamboozled into allowing them to claim the name of Jesus, when their warmongering, if nothing else, proves that they are not followers of the Prince of Peace.  Jesus made it clear that He was nonviolent, and that His weapon is truth, not bombs. 

Our priorities are screwed up.  We uphold the American Way Of Life (AWOL) as sacred, worth defending with our blood and treasure, when actually the AWOL is materialistic to the core.  The "party of faith" as the GOP likes to present itself, is worshiping Moloch more and more, with its deconstruction of the commons in favor of private property.   The wealthy, pious rulers are like the rich young man in the Bible:

Matthew 19:21 Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.

Many of my readers deal with the conundrum of the "religious" right by denying God, Jesus, and the Bible.  They embrace nihilism, or existentialism, or compassionate Buddhism, or Hindu fatalism, or look to the Mayan calendar with its prophecies of huge changes in 2012.  Meanwhile, they go about peacemaking as best they can, feeling betrayed by the God of the writers of the Constitution.

The forces of life and hope in America are in spiritual disarray.  There is no central unifying outlook among "progressives", as with the "christian" right.  The latter derive political power from their self-righteous sense of mission, and want to make everyone in the country live according to their rules.  The former are on the defensive, trying to safeguard the Arctic refuge, the Geneva Conventions, the Constitution, but without a positive agenda.

The rulers are not implementing God's rules, whatever they may say to the contrary.  God is not for war, for further oppressing the poor, for amassing of riches by His "chosen", for lying and stealing, for torture and murder.

Psalm 100   ⁵For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.

God's instruction to choose life is just as valid now as it was in the days of Moses. 

Deuteronomy 30:19  I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live.

We need to label the Bush supporters as the "party of death", since that is where they are leading us.  We, the peacemakers, are the party of life, of sustainabililty, of generativity, of stewardship. 

God has not given up on us, but we have given up on Him.  If we who love life, and love our children, and yearn for peace and justice will embrace the Creator, the Author of life,  He will empower us to reclaim our country and our planet, and institute His kingdom on earth.  He will fill us with love, and a burning mission to insist on the truth- about 9-11, about the Kennedy assassination, about sexual blackmail of Congresspeople, and all the other dirty little secrets festering in our nation's soul. 

 He will fill us with courage to confront the Pharisees of our day, even as Jesus confronted the rulers of His time, and to risk martyrdom, even as He did.

In the name of the Prince of Peace,   Carol Wolman