I think that Minister Joe Wright's heart was in the right place but his priorities are a little misdirected and his choice of language was watered down to avoid offending the right wing members of his flock.

An endorsement from Paul Harvey is like an endorsement from a member of the Bush administration. Only last month Paul Harvey voiced his approval for slavery, genocide and nuclear and biological warfare.

Here is my version of the sermon revised to reflect the concerns and injustices faced by the majority of people.

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Heavenly Father, we come before you today to ask your forgiveness and to seek your direction and guidance. We know your word says, 'Woe to those who call evil good,' but that is exactly what we are doing. We are destroying the eco system, which sustains life on our planet and we are mass murdering thousands of women and children in wars based on lies, waged only for power and profit. We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and reversed our values.

We have increased corporate welfare by 1000% while reducing welfare to families and mothers with children, who we now label as, ‘lazy’.

We have allowed corporations like ENRON and World Com to loot the American people, destroy our economy, and in general enslave the American people, and we call this, ‘the free market’.

We want to protect the unborn from abortion, but our right wing government shows little concern for children after they are born, and has slashed virtually every social service and program that was provided for families, redirecting the money into the military industrial complex and a, “never ending war”.

We have seen acts of Christian terrorism in the U.S. such as the bombing of abortion clinics and the murders of doctors, but we don’t call the Christian extremists who commit these acts “terrorists”, we use other words like, "anti-abortion activists," and "fundamental Christian activists". Christians are activists and Muslims are terrorists.

We have a saying, “spare the rod and spoil the child”, and we exorcise this tradition with such brutally that 90% of all murderers and violent offenders in the American prison system have a history of being beaten and abused as children.

We have a president who was placed in power by less than 50% of the American people, using a sealed paperless republican owned software program, and they call this, “a mandate”.

We have killed over 100,000 Iraqi men women and children and wounded over 500,000. We have eradiated their country with 200 tons of deadly uranium 238 dust, and we are steeling their oil, and we call this, “freedom and democracy”.

We have polluted the air with mercury and lead and removed every environmental protection established over the past thirty years. It is no longer safe to eat fish caught in any American lake and our president calls this his, “Clear skies plan”

We have ridiculed the time-honored values of caring about the poor and the middle class while glorifying wealth and power. Over 12 million Americans have lost their jobs due to greed driven corporate down sizing and outsourcing to other countries. While America is awash in broken familys and broken American dreams the republicans in the White House call this, “creating their own reality”.

I'm against abortion
But We have invited unwed mothers to live with us
and we cared for them & paid their living expenses.
Some have adopted their children out, while others
have chosen to keep their babies.

I'm not a tree-hugger
But we recycle everything from cans, papers,
magazines, glass, metal,plastic, etc. I even dig
through dumpsters and trash cans at the post office
too, just to keep things out of the landfill.

I'm not anti-BIG business
But I try to "employ" some on occassion with jobs
I have found for myself (mowing, cleaning, etc) to
help them (eventhough I needed the money). I pay the
taxes on the money that they get paid "tax free"
I do this because, sometimes, I feel they need it
more than me.

I'm not against Wealth
BUT I have discovered that GREED is not based on one's income but based on one keeping ALL or MOST for themselves or DESIRING MORE or DESIRING MOST or despising others that have or don't have what you have. Therefore a poor person or middle class person can be JUST AS GREEDY as the rich man HE despises. I cannot despise even my enemy - but do good unto him.

I do not nor will not tell others how to spend their money
But we, nevertheless, try to give away 25 - 50 % of our income each year even though we have 4 children and the most I've ever made in a given year is $ 32,000.

I am not anti-government
But I have never applied for food stamps or government programs even though with 4 children I would qualify for some of them. I have children in college but have not applied for a government loan or any grants even though we could get them. The government OWES ME NOTHING but safety but NEVER provision. I must "provide for my own family or I am worse than an infidel !" and must help those who are less fortunate than me, for selfishness is just another form of greed and idolatry (thinking I'm more important than someone else)

The only money the government has is the money they have TAKEN from others. Robin Hood was a thief ! He ROBBED (stole) from the Rich to give to the poor. Weather you take from the rich or poor you are still a thief. I would rather die in honesty than live on stolen bread. God IS my provider NOT the government.
Depending on the government can become a LACK OF TRUST on God. God CANNOT bless nor provide for me when I look to another for blessing or provision. I choose to allow God to bless and provide for ME.

I'm for Free Speech,
But I never try to complain about what others have and I lack. My responsibility is ME more than anyone else. Most spend their time criticizing others, yet fail to see the log in their own eye, this includes me.

I must NEVER think that I am above anyone else or I risk the chance of being just like those I criticize either


I ALWAYS vote,
But I never depend on those who I vote for to be the savior of my many needs or problems of the society in which I live. I know that they too are sinners in need of a savior just like me. We are men and women with many weaknesses and blind to what is really important.
It is only God who can open the eyes of the blind. We will continue to be insensitive to each other until we allow God to totally control us. My faith is not in politicians that get elected but in those who live like Christ, whoever they may be. My neighbor will be more likely to help me when I have a need - never my government.

I don't believe in "Beating children" or "Abusing" them
But I did 'slap their little hands when they tried to put them in the light socket or electrical outlets'

I, also, slapped their little behinds when they began to rebell against what would protect them and keep them safe and explained to them what would protect their safety their entire life.

In return our children have a close relationship with us. My oldest son, 20 years old chooses to continue to live with us for one more year while he finishes college while working two jobs in order to have money for school and expenses. When he goes off to graduate school next year I know I will cry because I will miss him so much even though I know he is prepared well to go out on his own. He will be the first to leave home.
He has chosen a field of work in the helping profession to work with young people. My oldest daughter has chosen to work with children with disabilities. Even my youngest too children volunteer at an area nursing home and have gone to work in inner city projects along side us.

True Christianity can be summed up in two laws of GOD.

The Great Commandment of LOVE(Love God & Love Others)
The Great Commission of the GOSPEL (Good News of Christ)

My responsibility is to Love others and Share Christ.
I must Judge myself not others. It is not others as much as myself that I must prepare to meet God and desire Him to say "well done thou good and faithful servant"

God will not ask me what I got my government to do but He WILL ask me what I myself did for my family and others !

JAS

JAS-"AMEN!" You said it so well, that there is nothing more to add, but a mighty, "AMEN!"

There are people who abuse Welfare.... but there are many who feel nothing but shame every time they've had to use food stamps. I was one of those. And yes, I've had to take out college loans and use financial aid to get through college. But this has only made me more determined to make my education worth the money, so that in the future, I can repay society for the help I needed to get through college. I am not too proud to know when I need help from my family or my society, though it takes me a long time to admit that I need help.

I know that though individuals use a lot of the money put into Welfare programs, Corporations use more. They take tax breaks and subsidies at every opportunity, pulling money away from programs that should be used to better society and use them to line their pockets. The good pastor should take a closer look at just who gets government moneys before he starts making accusations about the people who do get that money.

He should also try being one of the people who have no other choice than Welfare. This country doesn't exactly offer the best job opportunities for people who cannot go to college, for whatever reason. All those jobs have moved over seas due to treaties loosening the constraints on the "Free Market".

I would say to Minister Wright, "Walk a few miles in the shoes of those you presume to judge, before you judge them." My own understanding of God and Humans is that we have not the wisdom, understanding, or compassion to judge our fellow beings.

I hope Mr.Wright gets this message
I pray for that your words get the the people but I think things have gotten to messed up to change.
My prars are with you you are a true man of Christ

"Stones" A video in honor of Minister Joe Wrights Sermon


Stones

Stones