Fw: Carol's essays

----- Original Message -----
From: "Eleanor Cooney"
To: "laura holtan" ; "carol wolman"

Sent: Saturday, April 30, 2005 4:39 PM
Subject: Re: Carol's essays

> Laura, it's fine with me if people have "beliefs." They can worship the
> monkey god while singing Mary Had A Little Lamb backwards, for all I
> care. But when a certain line is transgressed, it's no longer an issue
> of live and let live.
>
> There's a political movement afoot today in this country, and its aim is
> to gradually replace "democracy" as we know it with "biblical law." It's
> called "Christian Reconstructionism." It's real, and they are deadly
> earnest. Don't just take my word for it--do a bit of research and you'll
> find out how real it is. Unfortunately, the politics of corporate greed,
> power and plunder overlap conveniently with the grim theology of the
> Reconstructionists, and an unholy alliance has been formed, each finding
> advantage in assisting the advancement of the other. In the person of
> George W. Bush, theology and corporatism have merged and are
> indistinguishable from one another, producing a truly dangerous hybrid.
> Do you want to live in a theocracy? I don't. Do you want to live in a
> theocracy where the wealthy elite rule, and people are their disposable
> slaves? I don't. Do you want to live in a world where logic, independent
> thought and education are slowly eradicated, where people accept the
> idea that the planet earth is a throwaway chunk of dirt? I don't. Wake
> up and smell the sulfur: You may find it hard to believe, but there are
> legions of people who actually hope for Armageddon, because they believe
> that they'll all be airlifted to heaven. This suits the corporate
> greedheads just fine--it gives them unbridled license to plunder. Who
> loses? You and I and every other living thing. This is why Carol's tone
> is urgent, and yes, sometimes angry. This is an emergency. We don't have
> the luxury of being nicey-nicey.
>
> E.C.
>
>
>
> laura holtan wrote:
>
> >Thank you for your reply. I think this dialouge is
> >great. I also agree that Carol is writing with
> >positive intentions, but I do feel that sometimes it
> >comes out negatively. Also, while I think it is true
> >that she mainly bashes Bush, she also bashes those who
> >are not similarly minded at times, which makes me
> >uncomfortable. I could send you cited examples if you
> >like, but I think that might perpetuate a "bashing of
> >Carol" which is not my intention at all. Again, I know
> >that Carol is ultimately writing out of love for
> >humanity, I just think that humanity includes Bush,
> >the Rapture followers, and mainstream America.
> >
> >Thank you,
> >
> >Laura
> >-- Eleanor Cooney wrote:
> >
> >
> >---------------------------------
> > Dear Laura--
> >
> >I implore you to read Carol's words more closely. She
> >never "bashes"anyone but the big bad guys (Bush & Co.)
> >who are manipulatingpeople's fear and faith for truly
> >nefarious purposes.
> >
> >Best,
> >E.C.
> >
> >
> >
> >__________________________________________________
> >Do You Yahoo!?
> >Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
> >http://mail.yahoo.com
> >
> >
> >
>
>

The Spririt of Truth by Carol Wolman

The Spririt of Truth by Carol Wolman

John 14: ¹⁷Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.

 

The truth is not honored by the Bush administration.  Its people are secretive.  Investigations into scandals such as 9-11 or the outing of Valerie Plame are stalled and limited.  The lies that led to the invasion of Iraq are dismissed as "faulty intelligence". 

 

Bush lies to Congress about the cost of programs such as the Medicare drug benefit and his privatizaion of Social Security proposal.  There is much more concern about "spin" than about accurate information.

 

Jesus called His Holy Spirit "The Spirit of Truth".  Christians have this spirit within them- it's called conscience. Truth telling is the touchstone of a true Christian. 

 

Lying is the touchstone of the devil. 

John 8:44  Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

 

The difference between truth and lies is basic.  It is the foundation of the justice system.  Without truth there is no trust.  Americans no longer trust politicians, or the media, or even the ballot box.  The very fabric of society is breaking down.  We no longer value the truth enough to insist on it.

 

Some of my readers think me harsh for castigating the Bush administration as I do.  It must be understood that the Pharisees are especially dangerous, because they pretend to be Christians, and claim moral authority and legitimacy on that basis.  In this way they mislead the people.  They are hypocrites, who lie all the time.  That's why I call them false Christians, because the spirit of truth, the Holy Spirit, is not in them. 

 

In the name of the Prince of Peace,  Carol Wolman

 

 

 

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