Yesterday I heard a member of the Republican party say that the Bible says “The poor will always with us” and that “Those who don't work don't eat.” Sometimes I think believers in God are reluctant to raise an obvious fact: we all use the name “God”, but we do not all believe in the same God. “God” can be used as a bludgeon to keep down those who Jesus always helped—the outcast, downtrodden, and the poor. Often it is said that we all are attempting to arrive at the same high place of abundance, we just have different paths up the mountain to get there. I call this into question. This suggests the only difference between us is some rational agenda and not fundamental differences of the spirit and the heart. Unfortunately it is becoming increasingly clear that mean spiritedness has gained ascendancy in the Republican party and it is time to challenge their proclivity to cloak themselves in self-righteous God-talk when their religion has little semblance to the God of love and the spirit of Christ.
