At the museum, they have the names of the women of Zagreb that were punished as witches (burned at the stake) in that period. The list contains SEVERAL HUNDRED names (I think about 500 or more). Just in this one relatively small city. Imagine all those women! Just because somebody thought they acted strangely at some point? Disposed of in a most horrible and horrifying way. What were they thinking, how were they feeling as the flames were lapping at their feet and then wrapped around their bodies? All alone. They were somebody’s daughter, sister, mother, wife. And imagine this happening all over Europe, not just in this one small city. Do the multiplication and see what the religion did. And that’s just one aspect of it.

And don’t think this doesn’t happen any more. Do you think that shock and awe could have happened against a Christian country (that didn’t start something horrible first like Germany did in WW2)? And Americans will be pliable, if the churches tell them that something is necessary in God’s name.

They claim to be moral leaders (though, I really don’t know why they should have a lock on morality). But let’s see what happens when their services are really needed. Shock and awe was mentioned above. But that’s just one instance, there are many more. For example, Balkans are now in the news, again. I am from that area. During WW2, when the Croats were commiting unspeakable atrocities against the Serbs, the catholic church in Croatia said nothing, not a peep; actually, they may have blessed the bloody deeds. In the 90s, when the Serbs were committing unspeakable atrocities against the Croats and the Muslims, the Serbian orthodox church said nothing, not a peep; actually, some of them may have blessed the bloody deeds. What happened in WW2 in Germany, did any of their priests raise a voice in defense of decency? What about the pope, did he say anything? So, they flee under a rock when it really counts. Does anyone here preach about the plight of the Palestinians? I know, there are some who help the poor, and some who even put their own lives/livelihoods on the line, etc., and that’s admirable, but by and large they don’t bother when it doesn’t suit them.

Look at the pope telling the poor people in Latin America not to use contraception. Well, that has real world devastating consequences, aggravating the already appalling poverty (and increasing the dependence on church, which is what they wanted).

The Europeans don’t bother with these clowns. Why? Could it be they got smart after centuries of abuses (to put it mildly)? After the crusades, the witch hunts, the inquisition, Giordano Bruno being burnt at the stake in 1600, Galileo forced to renounce his discoveries to avoid the same fate, students being dropped in boiling oil for possession of forbidden books, whole cities being burned, and on and on and on. I think they FINALLY had enough. Good for them.

But in America, adding insult to injury, not only do they willfully submit their minds to brainwashing, they are scammed doing it, easy millions made off of them. What is the role of churches here? To tell you not to rock the boat. Be satisfied with your miserable station in life, don’t seek change. Everything is cool, God loves you. And you’ll be rewarded for your patience and for not rocking the boat; you’ll be rewarded later, much, much later. Just — to ensure that reward, do drop your contribution in the plate/mail. In other words, the religion serves to enable the ripping off of the masses by the elites and the continuance of the status quo. It works in tandem with the lack of proper education. Who’s gonna complain about their situation, if it means getting on the bad side of God?

A great article and a fantastic discussion. Glad I stumbled my way here in the first place! DV – you’ve got a new fan…

Eric
http://www.changeany1thing.com

Somehow the rich convinced the religious that anything less than free wheeling capitalism is a step toward communism and that communism by definition will persecute the religious.

One symbol of this is “in God We Trust”, which was placed on our units of capital in the 1950 as an explicit swipe at godless communism.

And thank you, Jeremy. The lead piece by Patrick Martin is the best, most thoughtful, and analytical dissection of The Buckley I’ve read to date. Of course, the wsws has had the luxury of polishing its gemlike obit for forty years. :-)

William F. Buckley, longtime propagandist for US ultra-right, dies at 82
By Patrick Martin
5 March 2008

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2008/mar2008/buck-m05.shtml

For some 30 years, from the founding of National Review in 1955 to the rise of right-wing talk radio in the 1980s, Buckley was the most prominent advocate for what would become the dominant position within the American ruling class: opposition to any government effort to alleviate social distress; hostility to popular movements of the oppressed, whether in the United States or internationally; and a repudiation of the compromises made on both these fronts by the New Deal of the 1930s.

“Buckley was put in a position to play this role because of his family’s wealth and connections. His father, William F. Buckley, Sr., was a wealthy oilman with holdings in Mexico and Venezuela, who reportedly played a role in financing the Cristero rebellion in Mexico—a right-wing, Catholic Church-inspired revolt in reaction to the Mexican Revolution of 1911-1919.”

…

Yes, like any document, scripture CAN be interpreted wrongly or out of context if one has the wrong motive (eg lust for power, greed, justification for genocide or justification for the clergy preying on their young flock) . But the whole document, the Bible, has a theme which cannot be denied when read from cover to cover. That theme is the vindication of God’s Kingdom and the judgment (and eventual destruction) of greedy human rulership structures.

I think we should all stop being disappointed with Big Religion’s behaviour, as if they are the rightful guardians of religious truth. They don’t represent the Bible any more than Bush does. It would take me 10 minutes of explanation to my 3yo daughter for her to understand the hypocrisy behind their actions, compared to their speech. Even she would understand, after showing her Jesus’ words to “love your neighbour” and “do not be part of the world”, that these guys are not living by those simple principles and that they are a scam. They have a Religion Pty Ltd, but they do not have a faith. She would be old enough soon to see the difference. She would soon understand that there is no difference between Big Religion (with Santa Claus) and Big Business (with Ronald McDonald). They both have a CEO, CFO, Managing Director and shareholders…..and a horde of consumers who blindly keep putting cash onto the collection plate. In actual fact, my daughter, with a few more years of understanding, would then be able to see that Big Religion actually has an advantage over Big Business. This advantage is not insignificant. It hits us every time we collect our pay packet. It hits Big Business to such an extent that they try to dodge it any which (illegal) way they can………….it’s called TAX. Yes, this global scam is not only ripping us off and killing us, it’s doing it free of tax. For anyone who owns a small business (or is on salary like me) just think about that advantage for a second. We start working for ourselves from about some time on Tuesday afternoon or Wednesday. Big Religion starts counting their cash from about Monday morning 6am! Mmmmmm, tax free, what a business.

So I think we should stop being shocked by their actions, their political alliances, their scams, their involvement in wars, their lack of real faith. It’s time to see through their hypocrisy. The Creator has……..

The Bible forecasted Big Religion’s demise/destruction along with Big Business and Big Politics. Even though these verses quoted below are taken individually, with no room here for explanation of context, background etc, I think you’ll agree that there’s not much room for misinterpretation of them (unless you’re heavily involved in ripping off churchgoers with your “Prosperity Preaching” doctrine, or have your religious tentacles deep into the hallways of Washington/Whitehall):

“Not everyone saying to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter into the kingdom of the heavens, but the one doing the will of my Father who is in the heavens will.” – Matt 7:21

Jesus answered: “My kingdom is no part of this world.” – John 18:36

[Referring to what the Bible calls "Babylon the Great", or Big Religion] And I heard another voice out of heaven say: “Get out of her, my people, if you do not want to share with her in her sins, and if you do not want to receive part of her plagues. For her sins have massed together clear up to heaven, and God has called her acts of injustice to mind.” – Rev 18:4,5

Thanks for the article, Gregory.

AG

I mean, here’s a so-called Christian movement that stays silent for “Shock and Awe”, torture and illegal war; pursues social programs that target – rather than assist – the poor; and advocates for the most lethal military buildup in human history. It’s like they decided to cherry-pick their way through scripture, conveniently skipping the The Beatitudes, for instance. The next time anyone wonders why I will send them to this URL. And then I’ll add “just follow the money”.

Nicely done.

Eric
http://www.changeany1thing.com

And thank you for this article, GP. It summarizes and says a great deal about The 20th Century’s Greatest Tele-Evangelist.

This interpretation, “liberal” or even “conservative” as it seems to radicals or progressives, is less unpalatable to those with more radical political sympathies. But for whatever reason, T-R is well remembered for “The Last Days of Hitler” but this landmark of intellectual history is largely forgotten and, evidently, widely ignored in social science curriculums today.

It’s amazing, the way the scriptures can be interpreted, how flexible its meanings are when there’s money to be made and religious empires to be built!

Jesus, were he to return, would be disgusted at what has occurred in his name.

And for readers who think Norman was never a socialist, there’s his almost vanished second book, Barbary Shore.

Also the “Bible” was not written by Bronze and Iron Age peoples, the Old Testament (i.e. the “Jewish Bible” as we called it) was. Catholics, other than theologians, pay little enough to the Bible anyway but they pay hardly any to the Old Testamant. I learned most of what I know about Moses from watching Charlton Heston portray him!