Imagine for a moment how sick it would seem if
African-Americans and others still striving for equal rights in the USA wore nooses
fashioned in precious metal on fine chains around their necks and decorated
their meeting places with gruesome sculptures of the lynchings of their
forebears.
It is no less sick that as "Christians" so many desperate and oppressed people still badge themselves with and kneel before crosses representing those upon which
thousands of rebels were killed and left on public display to dissuade others from contemplating revolt
against Roman authority and against the enslavement of native populations
across their ancient Empire.
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The Romans proudly documented that their
wealth was the spoils of war, that their home economy was reliant on slavery, and that the physical magnificence of their cities was hewn from rock by people who had
no choice. Even today, for twelve euros a tourist head, you can still visit the Colosseum built by tens of thousands of Jewish prisoners of war after the failed tax revolt that saw them driven out of Jerusalem.
It is no surprise to the educated outside
observer that in the USA, where the 21st century population is still encouraged
to look to the rulebook of the Romans' church for guidance, the average
employee is struggling to get by while their employers live in relative luxury,
a citizen's health is directly related to their wealth, and the highest office
in the land was bought by a man with no relevant experience and no respect for
humanity, truth or the law.
Neither is it a surprise to find in a Europe that has properly
embraced secular democracy and where, outside of Rome and the Vatican, churches no longer hold sway over public
opinion, that universal healthcare is the norm, that employees have protected rights, and that populations protest and readily hold their elected leaders to account when
their actions do not serve the majority.
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If you believe the self-appointed apostle Paul's letters
of instruction echo even remotely the words of the man who so famously died for
telling people to trust the god in their conscience to guide them you are a
fool.
Quite simply, no 1st century Jew expecting a messiah to
lead them to freedom at any moment would ever have been tempted away from their
temple by someone preaching that their god intended them to be contented to
live and to die as slaves to Rome.
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Had slaves kidnapped from Africa been brought to any land
where Jesus was in charge they would have been released immediately, fed
properly, had any ailments or injuries sorted out straight away and been free
to live as equals in that land if they chose to, or they would have been helped
to return home as comfortably as Jesus himself would have been carried on the
same journey.
Sadly the lands to which they were taken were those where
Paul’s instruction held sway and they were fucked.
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In today's America you have the choice, according to your Constitution, to either
a) Follow the human Jesus' example and let your conscience guide you to stand up, speak out and to vote to improve the lives of all your fellow citizens, regardless of race, gender or consensual sexual preference, because all are equal before god or
b) Follow Paul's instructions, many of which were written as part of his deal with the Romans to save his own life when he was arrested for promoting equality, to do exactly the opposite and to suffer gratefully as if a perfect Roman slave, accepting abuse of yourself and of your peers as if your god intended you to be an underclass.
Team Jesus has no need of clubhouses, no need of books of instruction, there's nothing to worship, no hierarchy of officers, no fees to pay and no badges to wear. Every member is equal to every other and trusts their own conscience to guide them.
Team Paul is the multiplicity of rival Christian worship-clubs whose officers make a good living from teaching anyone daft enough to believe Jesus was magic that they, as mere mortals, are powerless to improve their lot in this life and will burn in hell for eternity if they so much as try. These are the worship-clubs whose members have prayed uselessly before Roman crosses for 1700 years and who adorn their clubhouses with often graphic representations of Jesus' execution to dissuade their members from following his example.
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I can think of no groups other than Team Paul Christians whose members are twisted enough to celebrate a man's birth in buildings so clearly dedicated to the celebration of his death.
Come to think of it, I can think of no one but Team Paul Christians who endure a life of poverty because hypocrites who live in palaces tell them to.
It is to these Team Paul Christians I would like to point out that their god existed long before their Roman church and long before the Jewish temple that preceded it, and it will exist long after, too. The god in their bible has always been the conscience inside each of us and the organisers of religion have always dedicated themselves to distracting people from it.
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Happiness is for life, not just for Christmas.
