Today’s Right-Wing “Christian” Zealots Scare Me

By: Donald V. Watkins ©Copyrighted and Published (via Facebook) on May 12, 2014; Updated and Republished on August 16, 2018

Today’s Bible-thumping, right-wing “Christian” zealots, who spew hatred for gays, people of color, immigrants, Muslims, Jews, and anyone other than their own kind, really scare me. What is the source of their intense hatred of other people? It certainly is not the Bible. How can these modern day apostles of hatred call themselves “Christians”?

Nowhere in the Bible do the scriptures say we must hate one another in order to serve God. In fact, the Bible tells us in Leviticus 19:17, “Do not hate your brother in your heart." Mankind is our "brother" within the meaning of this Biblical passage.

There is not one verse in the Bible in which Jesus berates homosexuality, women, other religions, or other ethnic groups. To the contrary, Jesus loved everybody, unconditionally. He treated men and women with equal respect. This is why Mary Magdalene was by his side at the Last Supper.

Jesus was not sexist, racist, narrow-minded, petty, arrogant, hateful, disrespectful, or greedy; nor did he abuse children.  He practiced the religious doctrine of agape love, tolerance, inclusion, and respect for the dignity of men, women, and children. Furthermore, Jesus did not force his religious beliefs on anyone. He certainly could have used his divine powers in this way, but he chose not to do so.

Jesus fed the hungry, healed the sick, and clothed the naked. He marched through cities and villages spreading the gospel to anyone who would listen. Jesus took his ministry into the gaming establishments and houses of ill repute. He welcomed all people into God's house. Jesus performed miracles in plain view of the public. He literally walked on water.

Jesus was meek and humble. He did not try to impress the curious crowds that gathered to hear him speak by discussing his material possessions. He had none. He did not fleece the crowds for money. He did not use fancy titles to describe himself or big words to convey his message. He did not dress or act like a powerful man. He did not flaunt his divine heritage.

Today’s right-wing “Christian” zealots would impose their religious views on everybody, if given a chance to do so. It is not enough for them to freely practice their religious beliefs without any interference from government or competing religions. No, their agenda is to obliterate any separation between church and state and to have only one recognized form of religion – their brand of Christianity. Many of these zealots are running around the country spewing hatred like mini-Ayatollahs. They would turn America into a western version of Iranian theocracy.

The ones that scare me the most hold state and local political offices – senator, congressman, state representative, chief justice, sheriff, judge, commissioner, mayor, councilman/councilwoman, etc. These so-called “Christian” officials would discriminate against a vast number of American citizens if our more responsible governmental officials, those who respect the U.S. Constitution’s mandated separation of church and state, did not rein them in.

These “Christian” zealots are the most vocal opponents against a pregnant woman’s right to choose an abortion. Yet, unlike Jesus, they would deny food, clothing, shelter, healthcare, and adequate educational opportunities to the infant child, as well as the child’s mother. They profess to be pro-life, but they are really not. These so-called “Christians” are merely pro-forced birth. What happens to the infant child after the forced birth occurs does not matter to them. Unlike Jesus, they do very little to provide a humane quality of life for the “least of thee”.

Paradoxically, these pro-life “Christian” zealots go out of their way to find newer and faster ways to kill death row inmates, even the innocent ones. They pretend that these executions should be “humane” (whatever that means), but they really do not care how an inmate dies.

These so-called “Christians” pushed legislation in the 2014 session of the Alabama Legislature calling for the castration of sex offenders. Thankfully, this legislation died, not because the leadership in the Republican-majority Legislature rejected this Medieval-era practice as barbaric, but because the Legislature simply ran out of time to deal with this legislation during the 2014 session.

These “Christian” zealots exhibit the same mob-like mentality the Bible describes at the crucifixion of Christ. I liken them to the blood-thirsty revelers in the crowd who called for the crucifixion of Christ to proceed. For reasons I do not understand, they love killing people in the name of God.

For the record, Jesus, who was the Son of God, never killed anyone for any reason. Instead, he chose to die for our sins.

Are these right-wing, self-serving zealots real Christians, or are they simply pretending to be Christians? Real Christians love mankind, regardless of a person’s gender, ethnicity, color, nationality, sexual orientation, socio-economic station in life, religious faith, or personal, social and political views. They also protect our children from sexual predators, no matter who they are.  Their love for mankind is genuine and deep. It is never tied to the believer’s version of political correctness.

Real Christians respect our individual freedoms, liberties, and choices as law-abiding citizens. Real Christians embrace our differences, as opposed to cursing them. Real Christians search for ways to uplift humanity, as opposed to finding benign ways to neglect it. Real Christians serve God and Jesus, rather than themselves.

Finally, Jesus did not erect a mega-church of brick and mortar as a testament to his greatness. His church was wherever people gathered in His name. His church was located within the hearts and good works of ordinary men and women, and this church has stood the test of time for thousands of years. Jesus never made any distinction between the people he served and himself.

By today’s right-wing “Christian” standards, Jesus would be an outcast – too liberal, too loving, too meek, too humble, too poor, too caring, too compassionate, too homeless, too eccentric, and too forgiving to fit in with the right-wing “Christian” zealots who despise everything he stood for.  This is why they scare me.

PHOTO: Jesus of Nazareth.