Well…it IS Sunday…and a perfect time to post GenieO’s bible verse lesson for Sarah Palin and the rest of her National Prayer Rebiblicans.
Sarah’s Favorite Bible Verses
by GenieO
Psalms 25:19 Consider mine enemies; for they are many; and they hate me with cruel hatred.
Psalms 41:5 Mine enemies speak evil of me, When shall he die, and his name perish?
Psalms 41:11 By this I know that thou favourest me, because mine enemy doth not triumph over me.
Psalms 44:5 Through thee will we push down our enemies: through thy name will we tread them under that rise up against us.
Psalms 59:1 Deliver me from mine enemies, O my God: defend me from them that rise up against me.
Psalms 92:11 Mine eye also shall see my desire on mine enemies, and mine ears shall hear my desire of the wicked that rise up against me.
Psalms 102:8 Mine enemies reproach me all the day; and they that are mad against me are sworn against me.
Psalms 139:22 I hate them with perfect hatred: I count them mine enemies.
I don’t really have any inside knowledge of what Sarah reads, if and when she opens her Bible, but I do have a little insight based on her public appearances and book. She has been in the national spotlight for over a year, and we have seen her in quite a few venues. During the presidential campaign, she confidently played her role of attack dog with a little too much ease, yet national media interviews showed her to be ignorant of virtually everything we would expect a qualified candidate to know.
She switched gears for her resignation speech. She was nervous, high strung, and very edgy, with a sharp tongue for all those who made it impossible for her to do her job. Investigative journalists and bloggers began to discover information that indicated she may not have been forthright and honest in all her public statements.
And then we were blessed with the book, Going Rogue, which continued in the same spirit of paranoia, attacks, lies, and victimhood. It was basically one long diatribe from beginning to end. I am left with a view of Sarah that I’m afraid is not very complimentary. Add to this mix her belief that she has been ‘chosen’ by God, and we have one majorly delusional gal, with honesty issues, and some kind of personality disorder. So I see Sarah wading through the Psalms, looking for verses that address her persecution complex.
In the spirit of generosity, I’d like to offer her some alternatives. The Book of Proverbs might be more helpful, so I’ve taken the liberty of copying some verses that I think would be most beneficial for her introspective and devotional moments.
Proverbs 12:19 Truthful lips endure forever, but a lying tongue lasts only a moment.
Proverbs 13:11 Wealth gotten by vanity shall be diminished: but he that gathereth by labour shall increase.
Proverbs 16:8 Better is a little with righteousness than great revenues without right.
Proverbs 16:18 Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.
Proverbs 16:24 Pleasant words are as an honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones.
Proverbs 19:5 A false witness shall not be unpunished, and he that speaketh lies shall not escape.
Proverbs 21:6 The getting of treasures by a lying tongue is a vanity tossed to and for of them that seek death.
Proverbs 30:8 Remove far from me vanity and lies: give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me
Sarah – if you need any assistance with these, call me. I’m in the book. ~ GenieO
Scridb filter
Well done GenieO!
Excellent GenieO! I know you're not holding your breath for that phone call.
The Proverb's verses remind me of what I've always believed and still do. When I was a child and forced to go to church and Sunday School every week (not evangelical), I started questioning the hypocritical behavior of our church leaders. They'd leave an uplifting service & gather together outside to gossip & bash people they thought weren't as holy as they were. It made me sick but I had to keep going. Then when I was married – at a very young age and moved away, I kept trying different churches, still questioning – not my beliefs, but the behaviors. Now I knewknow that not everyone is the same, but it became more and more clear to me that the commonality was that the more the person was a fervent church goer, the more hateful and condemning their behavior was. So I quit going to church to be able to protect my belief in the golden rule and a loving God.
This was a source of conflict between my Mother & I until the day she died. She believed that I was going to hell because I refused to enter the hallowed halls of a church. During my life I've researched other religions including Christianity – still questioning, and have gotten to the point where I no longer know how to classify myself. My beliefs have stayed the same – the golden rule, The Hippocratic oath – do no harm. I do judge. I am rabidly judgmental of X'hristians and judgmental fanatics of any kind. At some level, I feel guilty for not being able or willing to overcome that. But I'm overcoming that too.
Thank you so very much Leah (and GenieO) for putting voice to everything I feel. I can't supply a lot of monetary support, will do what I can, but you have my full and undivided support for anything else I can do. Have a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
Thank you for your kindness…we are all in this together and we can all help in our own ways. Spreading this information is one of the most important contributions you can make!
I actually relate to your story with your mother…very closely…and she too held her beliefs until her last days. She never understood that because I held different views from her more extreme beliefs…that it did not make me anti-Christian.
And I have vivid memories as a young girl hearing the arguing and condescending discussions that took place after church services were out. All that taught me was that I was surrounded by hypocrisy. It taught me to think for myself and develop my own beliefs.
Happiest of Holidays to you as well…
Kat_ Thank you so much for putting to words, what I believe. I've tried to explain this to my Christian sisters. And they don't even agree on what the Bible says.The more fanatical they become, the more judgmental. How many times you been told, you won't get through the pearly gates? The preachers I grew up with (Baptist) were big hypocrites. Pregneant wives and girl friends. One woman was not allowed into the church because they didn't like the cut of her neckline.
I sorry folks but that is not my idea of Christianity. This idea you can raise hell all day, get on your knees at night and all is forgiven is hogwash. God does forgive but he also recognizes hypocracy. Maybe I won't get into the pearly gates but in my opinion I'm a better Christian than any of themm.
Thanks for letting me vent.
It usually takes me several hours to put together a post. It's comments like your's and Kat's that make it worth every minute.
Venting welcomed AND encouraged 24/7 here! It is becoming abundantly clear that many of us have experienced a very similar story. That story being raised in what we were told was a Christian environment, but then confused by the un-Christian behaviors. I know this profoundly impacted my commitment to their version of Christianity and pushed me away into a journey of discovery. I have come back to defend the essence of what I believe Christianity to be – kindness, compassion, love and tolerance. This is a perspective that is unrecognizable by most who now have joined the fundie and evangelical movements, but I hold fast in my view…it seems to me that if Jesus WERE here, we would have more in common. That's all I'm sayin'…
Maybe a bit off topic, but this is how I see American Christianity breaking down:
1.)The Big Sheep: Unfortunately the ability to be self-deluding, arrogant and callused are all excellent traits in a leader of any organization, except an assembly of faith. Unfortunately most in the Christian movement fail to recognize this and find leaders for themselves that fit this mold. They are self-confident; self-actualized, have a positive self image… and end up being selfish. Their faces end up on flyers and billboards for the church, they write books that somehow promise to make you a better person. (Uh we already HAVE that Book, thanks) and in the end their assemblies become cults of personality.
2.)The sheeples: These folks follow the Big Sheep. Problem is they do not recognize that they are following another SHEEP not the Shepherd. They tend to take on the vices and virtues of the head sheep. Maybe they do great acts of charity, but they are vain, gossips, or materialistic, just like the head sheep. They are typically good, hard working honest people. But lookout if you point out the spots on their head sheep. Then things will get baaaaaad.
3.)The goats. They have seen the Big Sheep, all the sheeples, and refuse to join the flock. Nuh uh, no way. I can be alone. I can define spirituality and truth all by myself. I don’t need them. (Unfortunately I have yet to meet a Goat that has a Doctorate in Theology, a thriving Mission or a Divine Calling that would qualify them in the slightest to have anything to add to the discussion of Spirituality as a whole) Goats love to bleat on about how dumb the sheep are and how they are so glad to not be a sheep anymore. Problem is as a goat, you can get taken out by the Lion very easily (1 Peter 5:8 ) and the sad thing is that when a goat gets attacked or goes missing… no one knows… because goats are loaners.
4.)The Ram. This person has a nice big set of spiritual horns. He might be a pastor in a church, or she might be just another butt in the pews. However, if they notice that the flock is following another sheep, or that the Lion is trying to pick off one of the members of the flock they ACT. They will butt heads with the Big Sheep. They will ram people into following the Shepherd when they get comfortable following another sheep. And just the sight of one of these bad boys in a flock will send the Lion off in search or easier prey.
So which one are you? Gandhi said “You must become the change you wish to see in the world.” So are you going to stand outside an organization and throw stones or get in and get your hands dirty, and be part of a revolution?
Believe me, it may sound harsh, but I am saying this out of Love. The Church NEEDS her free thinkers, rebels and dreamers BACK! Please rise to the challenge of our generation and take the Church back from the Big Sheep and the sheeples and present her back as a love offering to the Shepherd.
I attend a church with about 2000 weekly attendance in a city of roughly 160000. I am not an elder, not a pastor, just a volunteer. But I and a group of about 20 friends have seen 3 members of our pastoral staff to the door because they got too full of themselves and lost focus of their what their calling was about. We didn’t leave and start our own church. We didn’t stop volunteering or donating money and materials. We didn’t threaten the Elders, gossip about the Pastors themselves or anything like that. We simply brought the matter to the attention of the elders persistently, then went to the Father in prayer and let His will be done. One pastor came around, and his relationships, ministry and calling were restored. The others, well they are off to find another pasture.
I do not share any of this to make anyone feel bad, or to extol my own works, because they are nothing. I share this in hopes it will convict someone and galvanize them into action. The Church needs you. Come back and fight!
JSG, I'll agree with your assessment of the Big Sheep & The Sheeples and I'm going to assume that you see yourself as a Ram. But Goats are not worried about the Lion (Satan) picking them off or destroying them, as they have a very satisfying life sans the 3 manipulations of organized religion, ie: FEAR, GUILT, SHAME. What makes you think they are all loners (not loaners)? And Goats are not necessarily concerned with "thriving missions" or "divine callings". See http://www.exminister.org/.
I doubt very seriously that the Church needs us. Very few churches would tolerate a progressive, or a skeptic, agnostic or atheist in their midst for longer than a month or two before we too would be walked "to the door".
Goats in my analogy would be people who profess a faith based in the teachings of Christ, but resist the calling to be part of a church.
As far as the people you are identifying as goats being welcomed in a church:
Skeptics, agnostics? You bet. All 12 of the original disciples were skeptics. They were full of good one liners concerning Christ “ Nazareth? Can anything GOOD come from there?” (John 1:46)
I am not sure that an atheist would have much to contribute to a community of faith. But sure, come on down let’s have coffee and discuss the nature of this cosmic accident we call existence. Also I have meet plenty of atheists who do much to help others, and while they might not believe it is a divine calling or an thriving mission, it still is (see James 1:27) so I wouldn’t say they don’t care about such things, just that they would debate their Divine nature, because existentially they believe that man is inherently good and does not require God to do good things.
Fear, Shame and Guilt are the tools of Satan, not God or His Disciples. True, a Big Sheep might use these tools to try to scare the sheeples into submission, but that is not a call out of our team’s Playbook, but that of the opposition. Grace, Mercy and Peace are the tools of a Disciple of Christ. (Psalm 103 1 Cor 13, 1 John 4:8 2 John 1:3)
And I apologize for my grammatical errors, I know It is hard to follow an idea or take it seriously when it is not conveyed in proper English.
JSG – Your points are well taken, but I'd like to point out that the criticisms voiced here are not directed at Christianity as a whole, or any particular denomination, but rather a certain movement known as dominionism. What these people believe and practice in their own homes and churches is their business, as long as those practices are not abusive to their members. But it is their position that they have the right to force their beliefs into government, so as to shape public policy and societal behavior. I do have a problem with that! Your advice might work well for Christians, but there are non-Christian faith groups in America, as well as people of no faith. They are capable of being good, kind, and compassionate without the aid of the Christian Bible, and they are entitled to live their lives without a single religious group making decisions for them. The point of the post was to point out that the people who are in a position to shape public policy should not let their religious beliefs shape that policy – especially when it is obvious in so many cases, that they cannot or will not walk the talk. My post focused on Sarah Palin because she is up to her neck in dominionism and she has a high level of influence. But there is nothing to indicate that she is a Christian except her say so. She doesn't just 'slip' once in a while and tell a little fib. She lies – outright lies, on a regular basis. As a non-Christian, it is not my place to discipline or correct her behavior. I will leave that to the pastor and elders of her church. But as an American citizen, I do feel it is my duty to question how much influence this woman deserves to have in government or society.
Thank you GenieO! and Leah for this excellent post. I particularly think Proverbs 16:18 and 19:5 relate very well to Sarah Palin. I grew up in a fundamentalist Southern Baptist church and started at a very young age resenting the fact that I "had" to go to church on Sunday morning. My mother, who is soon to be 80 years old, for all her professed faith in her personal relationship with Jesus as savior is most of the time a bitter, unhappy woman. Years ago I started questioning the hypocrisy and in my teens refused to go along with it anymore. I consider myself a spiritual person, not a religious person. When I am standing on the top of a mountain or walking on the shore, I feel a sense of peace and tranquility that I never did sitting in church.
And JSG, I think your analogy of The Big Sheep and the Sheeples are spot on!
It takes hard work and that means Bible study. For all the hard work, there are benefits in the end that far out way the cost.