First allow me to explain the purpose of this post and ones that will probably follow. This will be satire aimed at what I see as the majority of American Christians and what they believe. That being said, within American Christianity there are countless stripes and colors and to try and generalize it as a whole will be undoubtedly inadequate and not representative of the whole, that would be impossible. I must also acknowledge that the majority I see is largely what comes across my Facebook feed, listen to on podcasts espousing Christian principles and see in the general media as well as previous experiences having grown up in the church. In addition, even within what I perceive as the majority many individuals are divided on many of the things I will be discussing. The purpose of these posts will be to challenge certain beliefs inherit to the American Christian landscape and ideally even start a dialogue. I welcome all comments and am more than willing to listen. These are simply my opinions and I realize different people have different interpretations of the Bible. I have never been to seminary or even spent a semester at a Christian college so I gladly acknowledge my lack of training and education on some of these matters. This is mostly from personal experience. By the way, I am guilty of much of this thinking myself and am preaching to myself as much as anyone else. With that being said, let's get started, shall we?
Chapter 1
Above all else, defend the rights of the middle and upper classes. The rights of the majority are more important than the rights of the poor and needy and minority groups and should be defended as such. History is written by the victors, but in America's case we are unbiased and can be fully trusted.
Our nation is a Christian nation, we were founded as one and continue to be one though that is deteriorating. Our founding fathers used the Bible to defend the Judeo-Christian worldview, the only right one, and this ultimately lead to our prosperity as a nation. It was not, and I want to emphasize this, due to stealing land from natives as a result of what was called manifest destiny or free labor from enslaving Africans, both of which were defended by using the Bible.
The invisible hand as espoused by Adam Smith is in reality God's hand at work, this is plainly obvious. Capitalism is the best way forward and is clearly Christ's vision for an economy. Economic growth must be pursued at all costs. We are commanded to rule the earth, much like we rule our children. This means, in practice, that we care for the earth, just like our children, except in cases where it might diminish profits and/or growth.
We must pursue the American dream and encourage others to do so as well. After all, broke people can't help people. You must accumulate wealth in order to give to others. Love your neighbor as yourself, but keep them at a safe distance. The only neighbors you need to be concerned with are those in your physical neighborhood and in your church community. They are the ones you are to love as yourself. Quite frankly, the poor are poor for one reason, and one reason only - bad life choices. We encourage you to give them your leftover clothes and donate to the local food bank. Be sure while you are donating to the local food bank to protest against food stamps, it is the job of the church, not the government, to help people eat.
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