US Elections: Why conservative Christians would have hated Jesus - by Frank Schaeffer

Jesus never could have been the pastor of a contemporary evangelical church nor a conservative Roman Catholic bishop.

Evangelicals and conservative Roman Catholics thrive on drawing distinctions between their “truth” and other people’s failings. Jesus by contrast, set off an empathy time bomb that obliterates difference.

Jesus’ empathy bomb explodes every time a former evangelical puts love ahead of what the “Bible says.” It goes off every time Pope Francis puts inclusion ahead of dogma. It goes off every time a gay couple are welcomed into a church. Jesus’ time bomb explodes whenever atheists follow Jesus better than most Christians.

Put it this way: Godless non-church-going Denmark mandates four weeks of maternity leave before childbirth and fourteen weeks afterward for mothers. Parents of newborn children are assisted with well-baby nurse-practitioner visits in their homes.

In the “pro-life” and allegedly “family friendly” American Bible belt, conservative political leaders slash programs designed to help women and children while creating a justifying mythology about handouts versus empowerment.

In “God-fearing America” the poor are now the “takers,” no longer the “least of these,” and many conservative evangelicals side with today’s Pharisees, attacking the poor in the name of following the Bible
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So who is following Jesus?
  
Confronted by bishops protecting dogma and tradition against Pope Francis’ embrace of empathy for the “other” we have a choice: follow Jesus or protect the institution.

Every time Jesus mentioned the equivalent of a church tradition, the Torah, he qualified it with something like this: “The scriptures say thus and so, but I say…” Jesus undermined the scriptures and religious tradition in favor of empathy. Every time Jesus undermined the scriptures (Jewish “church tradition”) it was to err on the side of co-suffering love. Every time a former evangelical becomes an atheist in favor of empathy she draws closer to Jesus. Every time Pope Francis sides with those the Church casts out he is closer to Jesus.

Every time conservative Roman Catholics try to stop the Pope from bringing change to the Church they are on the side to those who killed Jesus.

Read more: Why conservative Christians would have hated Jesus - Salon.com

AsiaNews.it: - Multiculturalism and Islam: Muslims in Europe, no to ghettos, yes to integration - by Samir Khalil Samir sj

For the complete report in Asia News click on this link

Muslims in Europe, no to ghettos, yes to integration - by Samir Khalil Samir sj

The question of national identity is very important both for newly-arrived Muslims and for those who have lived in Europe for some time. They should be made to feel proud of being European. If they live in Italy and if they integrate in Italy, they should be able to say "I am Italian" and not just because they are able to have a passport or they are standing on Italian soil.

Let’s take for example the shocking situation that developed in Milan some time ago, when a group of Arab parents (Egyptians) pulled their children out of public school and opened an Arab school: intellectuals and Italian political figures emphasized this choice as an effort to "maintain their roots," to be educated in the Arabic language.... This, for them, is not the priority, nor is it for the state. It is rather a task for the family and perhaps some cultural groups. The task for politicians should be to help integration, help immigrants find work, guarantee dignified housing and affordable rent, and all this on the condition that immigrants are willing to adopt the European way of life.

Karen Jesperson and Ralf Pittelkow former eminent members of the Social-democratic party in Denmark wrote: "fundamentalists are gaining ground among the young Muslim people of Europe: They are seeking to interfere in the lives of people, even those who are integrated, to indicate to them various kinds of behaviour: how to dress, what to eat, how to handle certain problems, etc, so as to distinguish themselves from others. They are warning people that if they do not do this, they risk disappearing like salt in water." Karen Jesperson and Ralf Pittelkow blame this increase in radical Islam on the West for having praised the "cultural ghetto" position, with the excuse or the idea of multiculturalism."

For Europe the reasoning should be as follows: "we cannot accept people who come to Europe only because they have guarantees of making a living, unemployment insurance, health assistance, etc. Note EU-Digest: "Europe must set conditions that promote integration. If immigrants participate in the European society and the development and enrichment of its culture and economy, they must be treated as citizens with the same rights enjoyed by other Europeans. Local European governments should do everything they can to promote this. On the other hand, Europe is a democratic and secular society and it must never permit that the democratic pillars on which this society stands are being threatened by radical, fundamentalist, or ultra-conservative forces from within or outside Europe."