Down is Up & Wrong is Right
Jesus is a master of double talk of the most harmful kind. He discounts people’s real emotions and replaces them with fantasy. The hungry and the weeping are not miserable he says, but “happy!” The rejected, demonized, insulted and hated are not distraught but “happy!” Such ill treatment is not cause for tears but “joy!”
And those who have enjoyed their life are to be pitied—how “terrible” for them! How “terrible” for those with food in their bellies says Jesus, for they will go hungry! And how “terrible” for those full of life and laughter, for Jesus promises their dancing will be replaced with mourning! Praise God!
These words were put in the mouth of the Jesus character for one purpose—to keep the downtrodden down. To keep the poor and oppressed from rising up and changing their circumstances. As Napoleon Bonaparte said, “Religion is excellent stuff for keeping common people quiet."
Luke 6:20-26
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3 comments:
This is a wonderful observation. Part of the devastating after-effects of being raised christian is not understanding emotions at all. I was taught that emotions are not to be trusted. Common sense is not to be trusted. Joy is fear. Humility is power. Poverty is wealth. Suffering is good. Meekness is a character strength. It is a perfect recipe for keeping people silent about their oppression and create a population with mental health problems. The legacy of this upbringing was a lifetime of fear and being a victim over and over. Now I am learning to change that. But it's not easy to change the brainwashing of a lifetime. I'm so thankful for my curiosity and education, which showed me a better way.
Another thought. I was taught that love is not an emotion, it is a decision. The feeling of love was totally divorced from duty. Now I know that love IS an emotion. The decision to commit to someone is a separate concept. Once you separate ourselves from emotions, we become robots. I was a numb robot for many years but thanks to atheism I now have access to my emotions.
Exactly! Jesus must have been inspiration for Orwell’s book, 1984 and the doublespeak that "War is Peace; Freedom is Slavery; Ignorance is Strength."
And yes, changing thinking is so difficult. It requires the physical rewiring of brain connections which can take a long time and can obviously be a very painful experience. So glad you found your way through the crazy-making of Christianity!
And like your comments about emotions and love. Love is complicated and there are many flavors. But I agree that love understood as only a choice is less than fully human, and could border on robotic. It seems true love engages both emotion and reason (choice).
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