Martin Luther King Jr. On "The Good Samaritan
http://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/2012/08/martin-luther-king-jr-on-good-samaritan.html
The Cal Berkeley research cited below squares neatly with the parable of The Good Samaritan, a Jew of dubious qualification who, in Jesus’ parable, is contrasted with a punctilious priest so attentive to his sacerdotal tasks that he ignores the battered human lying in the road before him and hurries on to his next formal obligation. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Good_samaritan
It is eye-opening to probe ancient Israelites perception of first century Jewish tax collectors, held in contempt as turncoat traitors motivated by self-aggrandizement and employed by the Roman Army of Occupation to extort money from fellow Jews.
This money was then used to sustain and prolong Rome's occupation of Israel.
Eventually this money financed the destruction of The Temple, a more devastating shock to the ancient Jewish psyche than the impact of The Twin Towers on modern Americans. (A Notre Dame theologian-priest gave me this assessment.)
http://www.allaboutjesuschrist.org/tax-collector-faq.htm
For me, it is self-evidently true that “Pharisees” are a standing metaphor for punctilious churchgoers in every generation – compliant devotees more interested in the punishments of Law than the liberation of Spirit.
For me, it is self-evidently true that “Pharisees” are a standing metaphor for punctilious churchgoers in every generation – compliant devotees more interested in the punishments of Law than the liberation of Spirit.
Consider this.
Recently, I sent a fundamentalist friend a New York Times article describing a new, effective and fast treatment for childhood
sexual trauma.
To my astonishment, my friend (who had been raped as a girl) wrote back with no reference to the treatment itself but emphasizing her passionate desire that perpetrators not escape punishment.
To my astonishment, my friend (who had been raped as a girl) wrote back with no reference to the treatment itself but emphasizing her passionate desire that perpetrators not escape punishment.
Wow.
"Protestants and
Frequent Churchgoers Most Supportive of Iraq War"
"The general picture that emerges... is that those who place a high value on salvation are conservative, anxious to maintain the status quo and unsympathetic to the black and the poor. They had reacted fearfully or even gleefully to the news of Martin Luther King’s assassination, they are unsympathetic with student protests, and they do not want the church to become involved with the social or political issues of our society. Considered all together the data suggest a portrait of the religious-minded as a churchgoer who has a self-centered preoccupation with saving his own soul, and an alienated, other-worldly orientation coupled with indifference toward -- a tacit endorsement of -- a social system that would perpetuate social inequality and injustice." http://www.religion-online.org/showarticle.asp?title=2526
"Americans, Especially Catholics, Approve Of Torture"
Simultaneously, they are content (and often delighted) to let "n'er-do-wells" be damned.
The Thinking Housewife: "We Can Be Pretty Sure That Many Good People Are Roasting In Hell"
Notably, a disproportionate number of "self-saving" Christians aspire for "salvation" through a disproportionately "personal relationship" with God.
In turn, this dazzlingly bright personal relationship makes it unusually easy to jettison anyone outside the family and church with whom one has personal ties.
This intensely personal (and clannish) relationship with God results in a radically individualist frame-of-mind that does little to foster The Common Good.
Judging from contemporary fundamentalism obsessively personal religion actively opposes The Common Good.
The implicit motto of radically-individualist Christians is: "We are all in this... alone. Be afraid of anything that is not confined to the shrunken orbit of family and church."
Gone is the Bethlehem angel's original proclamation of The Good News: ""Fear not!"
And immediately after being informed that fear is futile, those who had heard the angel gathered at the stable, shepherded by the scum of the earth. http://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/2013/12/shepherds-from-bruce-cockburns.html
BURNING QUESTION
Are highly religious people less compassionate?
A new study suggests non-believers are more likely than the faithful to be generous when they see a stranger in need
POSTED ON MAY 2, 2012
Religious people may be more apt to follow doctrinal beliefs than to be driven by compassion to help others in need.
Here's a new study that might not go over well in church: Researchers from the University of California, Berkeley, say atheists and agnostics are more likely than highly religious people to show compassion for strangers. Are the faithful really less generous than non-churchgoers? Here, a brief guide:
Why do researchers think non-believers are more generous?
They looked at the results of three studies: In one, people's attitudes about compassion were measured against the frequency of their own acts of generosity; in another, participants were shown one neutral video and one showing children in poverty, then given the option of giving money to strangers; in the third, 200 college students were given money to keep or share. In all three experiments, the less religious participants were more inclined to show generosity to strangers.
What explains this phenomenon?
Less religious people tend to be driven by their feelings of compassion, says Berkeley social psychologist Robb Willer, a co-author of the study, which is to be published in the July issue of the journal Social Psychological and Personality Science. "The more religious, on the other hand, may ground their generosity less in emotion," and instead make their decisions on whether to help others based on other factors, such as the desire to fulfill a moral duty described in religious doctrine.
Isn't that debatable?
Absolutely. In fact, a 2008 University of British Columbia study came to the opposite conclusion, finding the faithful to be "more helpful, honest, and generous." In that study, researchers looked at decades of data, and found that people who pray frequently and attend religious services were more likely to donate to charity and do volunteer work, and less likely to cheat in games.
Why do researchers think non-believers are more generous?
They looked at the results of three studies: In one, people's attitudes about compassion were measured against the frequency of their own acts of generosity; in another, participants were shown one neutral video and one showing children in poverty, then given the option of giving money to strangers; in the third, 200 college students were given money to keep or share. In all three experiments, the less religious participants were more inclined to show generosity to strangers.
What explains this phenomenon?
Less religious people tend to be driven by their feelings of compassion, says Berkeley social psychologist Robb Willer, a co-author of the study, which is to be published in the July issue of the journal Social Psychological and Personality Science. "The more religious, on the other hand, may ground their generosity less in emotion," and instead make their decisions on whether to help others based on other factors, such as the desire to fulfill a moral duty described in religious doctrine.
Isn't that debatable?
Absolutely. In fact, a 2008 University of British Columbia study came to the opposite conclusion, finding the faithful to be "more helpful, honest, and generous." In that study, researchers looked at decades of data, and found that people who pray frequently and attend religious services were more likely to donate to charity and do volunteer work, and less likely to cheat in games.
Alan: My years at the University of Toronto make me wonder if the different findings of the studies above reflect a difference between the Canadian psyche and the American psyche.
Recently, Canadians chose Baptist minister, Tommy Douglas -- the individual most responsible for "Single Payer Healthcare" -- as The Greatest Canadian - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tommy_Douglas
Here in America, the "Christian" conservatives cheer early death for the uninsured. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2OLqy__eAH4
America's Celebration of Hatred has become so festive that many citizens now believe -- as did Romans in the heyday of Coliseum bloodsport -- that the contemplation of orchestrated suffering is an amusing pastime.
A final note... In the United States, weekly churchgoers have rarely seen a war they didn't like.
Recently, Canadians chose Baptist minister, Tommy Douglas -- the individual most responsible for "Single Payer Healthcare" -- as The Greatest Canadian - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tommy_Douglas
Here in America, the "Christian" conservatives cheer early death for the uninsured. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2OLqy__eAH4
America's Celebration of Hatred has become so festive that many citizens now believe -- as did Romans in the heyday of Coliseum bloodsport -- that the contemplation of orchestrated suffering is an amusing pastime.
Donald Trump: The Paranoid Style In American Politics And The Ongoing Festival Of Hatred
Donald Trump: The Paranoid Style In American Politics And The Ongoing Festival Of Hatred
A final note... In the United States, weekly churchgoers have rarely seen a war they didn't like.
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