Showing posts with label Gay Marriage. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Gay Marriage. Show all posts

Tuesday, November 05, 2013

A Response to "Jackleg Preachers" From Rev. V. R. Williams

Beneath the Spin * Eric L. Wattree

A Response to "Jackleg Preachers" From Rev. V. R. Williams

Rev. V. R. Williams says:
November 4, 2013 at 7:32 pm
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Dear, dear Mr. Wattree,
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Please do Christianity a favor and just stop. You are so wrong on sooo many levels. If you have a complaint don’t hijack the Word of God to try to validate your emotion based arguement. You’re endangering yourself and causing harm to the spiritually immature. Express your opinions without perverting the Text. Really, you’re not doing God any favors.
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While there are ‘jack-legs’; there are also men and women of God who have committed their life to ‘going into all the world’ for no other reason but for the cause of Christ.
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With the love of God,
Rev. V. R. Williams
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Rev. Williams,
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Where are they?
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As much money as churches are taking in, and out, of the Black community, there shouldn’t be a such thing as “the hood.” What I see is a lot of big, magnificent churches in the middle of poverty, squalor, and suffering. I see a lot of talking about what God’s gonna do for you, and very little discussion about what YOU’RE going to do for the community. I see preachers riding around in big cars, and living in luxurious homes while taking 10% off the top of people’s income who can’t even afford to feed their families. I see preachers strutting around trying to be big shots, and putting very little effort into helping the people. I see preachers telling their “flock” to PRAY for God to help them feed their families, while the preacher is passing the basket to feed his.
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Reverend, you’re a man of God, why don’t you give you’re money to the poor (like Jesus) and PRAY for God to pay your house note instead of passing the basket? Where’s your faith? And why don’t you keep your churches open during the week and use some that tithe money you pull in to hire unemployed mothers to provide affordable childcare for working mothers? You could turn your church into a full service daycare center and pre-school during the week – and in the process, you could be teaching job and parenting skills to the unemployed mothers. That would save the employed mothers in the community up to $400 a month, and more, in childcare costs. Four hundred dollars a month would go a long way toward helping working mothers to live a better life:
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Matthew 6:1-34
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“Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. “Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. “And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. …”
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So, Reverend, where are all these good “men and women of God who have committed their life to ‘going into all the world’ for no other reason but for the cause of Christ?” I hear a lot of preaching, testifying and advice on how the people can get into Heaven when they die, but very little public service to the people while they’re alive.
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All I see are hypocrites praying out loud in the churches, “synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others.” And as Matthew says above, getting their reward right here on Earth.
******
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Rev. V. R. Williams says:
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I can’t speak for any other ministers, child of God. But as for what you asked of me … my church just conducted a coat drive, actually purchasing new coats for children. We’re only a small church, but we donated 4 times the number of our membership to a local shelter for families.
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We save no money from what we collect. We pay our bills and conduct outreach ministries. I have a personal phone that I pay for (I take no salary) but my ministry phone is a pre-paid plan that is dependent on our finances as our outreach efforts take priority.
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I preach and teach your very sentiments. But what I’m suggesting is you’re doing what you accuse the ungodly ‘preachers’ of doing. You’re incorrectly using the Word of God to make a point.
You sound like so many I am trying to reach; like you have been hurt by the church. Sweetie, know all churches aren’t like the jacked-up churches. All reverends, I am a female by-the-by, are not like the ones who have hurt so many that are in need of help.
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Some of us ministers hurt with you and take responsibility for those whose use the title of God to work for Satan. But if one has eye’s to see they are responsible for what they see. God wouldn’t leave His children with out true deliverers of His Word. Pray for guidance to a true ministry and when you find it scream as loud as you can to drawn attention and the lost to it.
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Would love to talk with you more. I pray to God you have accepted Christ as your Savior. And, please, don’t let Satan, no matter what his title or how he’s dressed, keep you from the glories that God has for you.
******
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Wattree says:
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Rev. Williams,
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My apologies. If you’re doing the things that you’ve indicated, I’d like to thank you for your service and apologize for my less than respectful tone – even though I generally allow the person that I’m talking with to set the tone of the discussion, and you did kinda come at me.
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That said, it’s very easy for me to take a disdainful tone with most preachers due to their delusional arrogance of thinking that they can speak for God, and also, their condescending presumption that anyone who doesn’t agree with their religious beliefs is some sort of heretic. After all, what we happen to believe is nothing more than an accident birth – if you’d been in Israel you’d probably be a Jew, in China or Tibet, a Buddhist, or in Iran, a Muslim. So our religion is nothing more than a reflection of what we’ve been TAUGHT to believe, it’s not the word of God, and anyone who doesn’t at least consider that fact is naive. Thus, the only way that we can know God’s will is by observing what he has done, and he made birds to fly, fish to swim, and man to think. So based on that fact, I’m certain that it wasn’t his intent for us to believe in talkin’ snakes.
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But as a result of my attitude, many people think I’m hostile towards religion, but I’m not. I’m hostile toward ignorance. I was raised to be a Christian by loving Christians just like yourself and the ones that you referenced above. But I feel that it’s essential that we be perfectly candid regarding this issue, and many people are simply not used to that. Generally, the only people who feel free to discuss this issue with the kind of candor that I try to bring to the subject are atheists who are hostile toward all or most religion, but I’m just as adamant against atheism as I am organized religion. I believe in individual spirituality, because I have a problem with any manner of group-think. One’s spirituality should be between that person and God – period.
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When God created man, he did his job with precision, so we don’t require a User’s Guide, or a Bible, to know right from wrong any more than birds need a map, a compass, and a calendar to know when and what direction to fly South during the winter. When me and my neighbor’s wife start making goo-goo eyes at each other, I don’t need a Bible to tell me I’m wrong. I can hear God in my head saying, “Eric, now you know what you’re thinking ain’t cool.” So I put my prurient thoughts out of my mind. And when I was a kid in church, God used to stay on my case, because I used to like to watch the women sitting in the pews in their miniskirts.
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So the fact is, the Bible is nothing more than a book (much like Reader's Digest) that was compiled nearly 400 years after the death of Christ by the Catholic Church. It was based on books that THEY selected, and there was a huge argument – just like what goes on in our congress today – over what books to include, and what books would be banned. So the bottom line is, the Holy Bible is the word of the Catholic Church, not the word of God, and one would think that more preachers would know that, and I think they do – at least, the one’s who are educated. Man simply uses the Bible, and similar books, as a way to make ignorant people believe that he speaks for God, and as we all know, that’s a highly lucrative gig.
******
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Rev. V. R. Williams says:
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Let me just say this … Never underestimate the power of the Holy Spirit and what God has predestined to be. Yes, I understand societal influence and the canonization of The Holy Writ. But what I believe goes beyond what I understand. And I love, believe, and need the Bible.
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Luv and God bless!
******
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Wattree says:   
November 5, 2013 at 3:07 pm
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My pleasure, Reverend.
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And again, thank you for your service, and keep up the good work.
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Eric L. Wattree
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Eric L. Wattree

Http://wattree.blogspot.com
Ewattree@Gmail.com
Citizens Against Reckless Middle-Class Abuse (CARMA)

Religious bigotry: It's not that I hate everyone who doesn't look, think, and act like me - it's just that God does.

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Friday, November 01, 2013

Jackleg Preachers: Don't Let Them Take You to Hell With 'Em

Beneath the Spin * Eric L. Wattree

Jackleg Preachers: Don't Let Them Take You to Hell With 'Em
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Matthew 6:1-34
"Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. "Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. "And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. ..."
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It is said that God works in mysterious ways. Nothing illustrates the truth of that statement more thoroughly than the current controversy over Pastor Marvin Winans’ refusal to bless a woman’s child before his church because the child was born out of wedlock. God used that lady, Charity Grace, and her son, Joshua, to send us a very important message - STOP WORSHIPING THESE PREACHERS!
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God blessed man with human intelligence, and we should bless our OWN children with the knowledge and wisdom that he bestowed upon each one of us as individuals. No preacher is any closer to God than you are, yet, one of the biggest problems that we have in this country is far too many of us are running around claiming to worship God when, in fact, we're worshiping preachers, and in turn, those preachers are making us stupid, mean-spirited, and hateful.
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A perfect example of that is the preachers who are telling their congregations to rise up and fight against the right for gays to get married. We should be doing just the opposite. We should encourage marriage, not only among gays, but among ALL people who are in love, because marriage promotes stability. And with respect to the issue of gay marriage specifically, the Bible - the "word of God" that these preachers are suppose to be following - very clearly says to these preachers, and all others, to "Judge not, that ye be not judged."
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Matthew 7:1-5 of the King James version of the Holy Bible is very emphatic in saying the following:
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"(1)Judge not, that ye be not judged. (2) For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. (3) And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? (4) Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? (5) Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye."
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Thus, many preachers are not only NOT following the "word of God," but they’re rewriting the Bible to conform to their own bigoted points of view. They’re helping to perpetuate the very same kind of ignorant and bigoted stupidity that has plagued Black people for centuries. And the reason that they have that warped and un-Godly mind-set is because Black people were taught about religion by the very same people who had us tied-up next to the mules, and many preachers are too brainwashed to recognize that fact.
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As Black people we should never forget that we’re the product of the very same racist and bigoted environment as White people, so many of the more weak-minded among us are just as bigoted and racist as any sheet-wearing Hillbilly, and many (but not all) of our preachers are a prime example of that fact.
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These preachers have neither the wisdom, knowledge, intelligence, nor morality, to speak for God.
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Matthew 23:25
Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess.
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http://wattree.blogspot.com/2013/10/rev-marvin-winans-don’t-just-preach-us.html
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Eric L. Wattree
Http://wattree.blogspot.com
Ewattree@Gmail.com
Citizens Against Reckless Middle-Class Abuse (CARMA)

Religious bigotry: It's not that I hate everyone who doesn't look, think, and act like me - it's just that God does.

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Sunday, May 13, 2012

Dr. Boyce Watkins on Gay Rights

Beneath the Spin * Eric L. Wattree

Dr. Boyce Watkins on Gay Rights

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"If gay is the new black, then black must have been the old gay . . . I don't really know what that means either . . .
I support gay marriage, but it's mainly because I just don't care one way or the other."
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The author of the "enlightened" quotation above is Dr. Boyce Watkins of Syracuse University. He presents himself as a public intellectual and a dedicated civil rights advocate. He’s also the driving force behind "Your Black World," a popular website that seeks to keep Black people politically enlightened. Dr. Watkins goes on to say the following:
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"I wonder what it means to simply say that everyone deserves civil rights, and to use that as a blanket justification for gay marriage. So, if I wanted to marry my sister and someone said I couldn't, would that be a violation of my civil rights? I support gay marriage, but it's mainly because I just don't care one way or the other. But if I were deeply religious and considered marriage to be a spiritual union solely designed to be between a man and a woman, I might be offended by someone asking me to support the notion of same sex marriage. Civil rights doesn't mean that every person can do whatever they want, whenever they want with whomever they want. If that were the case, then a mother could decide to terminate her child's life after the baby was born....after all, it's her baby, right[?]"
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So-called public ‘intellectuals’ of Dr. Watkins’ ilk never cease to amaze me. I can’t help but wonder how he could possibly have obtained a PhD without ever learning to think? Shouldn’t we be able to expect a Phd, at the very least, to have the intellect to formulate an argument that’s not totally filled with irrelevant non sequiturs?
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Equal civil rights mean that gays deserve the right to marry the one that they love just like straight people. But his response implies that gays are asking for MORE rights than straight people. Watkins' comments would only be valid if gays were demanding the right to marry their sisters. No one can marry their sister, so that represents equality.
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So in response to his question, yes, it would be a violation of his civil rights if he wasn’t allowed to marry his sister, but only if others WERE allowed to marry their sisters. The fact that this guy has a PhD and can’t see that the issue of equal rights under the law, and his right to marry his sister are far from analogous is a serious indictment against our educational system - after all, he's charged with the responsibility of educating others. But much more important, it’s also clear evidence of the dire need of Americans to become independent and self-sufficient thinkers.
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Again, Dr. Watkins presents himself as a public intellectual and a fierce advocate of civil rights. Yet, when it comes to the civil rights of gays he’s using the very same kind of irrational argument that racists used to try to block Black civil rights legislation of the past. They’d say things like, "Okay, if we allow a change in the law to allow White people to marry Black people, what’s to stop us from passing laws in the future saying that people should have the right to marry their dogs?"
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Both are equally stupid analogies, and although I’ve heard Watkins say outrageous things in the past, for some reason I’m totally shocked to hear him say something as dumb as this, not only because it's a ridiculous attempt at syllogistic logic - "All dogs have fleas, and my cat has fleas, therefore, my cat is a dog"- but it is equally shocking to see that he fails to recognize the racist history of such a stupid argument.
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But what his attitude clearly illustrates more than anything else is that Black people are the product of the very same racist and socially bigoted environment as White people, and as a result, we can be just as racist and socially bigoted toward other Blacks and minority groups as any racist Hillbilly. That accounts for much of the flak that Obama is getting from some of Dr. Watkins’ Black colleagues, namely, Tavis Smiley and Cornel West.
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While many of these so-called Black "intellectuals" try to cloak their hostility toward President Obama in the language of Black activism, they’re actually upset with Obama for the very same reason that many conservative Republicans are - they consider him ‘Uppity.’ What they’re actually saying is, "Who does this spook think he is, struttin’ around like he thinks he has as much sense as White folks? He’s just another ignorant nigga, just like me." So in short, it’s self-hatred and "bligotry" (Black on Black bigotry).
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For this reason, I’ve dropped all pretense of journalistic detachment on this issue, and I’ve gone on a single-minded mission against these people, as should every journalist, but Black journalists, in particular.  We need to recognize that some things are much more important than some arbitrary rule of journalism about not getting personally involved in a story. White journalists routinely recognize that fact every time this country goes to war, and the fact is, the Black community is now literally in a state of war. It’s currently being besieged by a group of Black, self-serving demagogues that constitute a severe threat to its survival, and we shouldn’t just sit back and let it happen, any more than we would sit back and simply chronicle the events attendant to a drowning child.
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In this case, Watkins, this so-called Black "intellectual," has betrayed an attitude toward gay minorities that parallels that of a member of the Tea Party. That should be a call to arms to all Journalists in the Black community who feel a vested interested in the principle of equal rights under the law. At the very least we must start alerting the community of the importance of  Black people to start thinking for themselves, instead of relying on self-professed intellectuals to help them formulate their view of reality.
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The Black community needs to understand that they should NEVER give anyone else’s ability to think priority over our own, regardless to the hype that precedes the person, or the academic credentials that supposedly attests to the person’s ability to think. Because in many cases, as we saw in the 2000 election that brought George W. Bush into our lives, the credentials of many ‘intellectuals’ only attest to the fact that they’ve spent so much time learning to regurgitate the thoughts of dead White folks that they’ve never taken the time to learn to think for themselves.
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Thus, Black people should always seek to educate themselves, because that’s the only education that we can, unfailingly, depend upon.
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Religious bigotry: It's not that I hate everyone who doesn't look, think, and act like me - it's just that God does.

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