Tweets - April 27th - Love your enemies

"Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you". Praying for your enemies is a subjugation tactic, and was written by a Church scribe who did not actually know Christ or God.

These things may sound nice, but they are incomplete and overall harmful, especially when justice is not sought after (making right what was made wrong).

Encouraging people to feel certain ways - about anything - good or bad - usually leads to more shame, more judgment, more violence, and certainly more religion. It's better to learn from your feelings, and not hide them, hate them, or be ashamed of them.

Love is not a light switch you flip on and off, especially for someone who has raped you, beat you, or otherwise traumatized you because they were convinced by others to feel certain ways about you. "Loving your enemies" sounds really nice, but it isn't good enough.

Christians have been "loving their enemies" for the last 2000 years, and I still can't twirl down the street without being judged and called a faggot by a lot of them - and don't let me be black at the wrong place and the wrong time.

It's like donating to the poor - it never brings about an end to poverty - it just isn't good enough, and I don't care whose god said it is (though helpful for a moment, it is an overall worthless solution).

Walking with God, I haven't sought out the well-being of those who walk with God. Why would I ask God to do what God is already doing? Walking with God, there is no point in praying for the well-being of those who don't walk with God.

I tried that a little over a decade ago - specifically with gay men in mind, and the response I received was a resounding, "NO!". Shut me up and sat me down in a corner to think about what I'd done for several years. God is equitable.

If I were giving counsel to someone who is getting to know God's kindness firsthand, I would say, "Wait for Yahweh. The Garden of God is faithfulness, human decency, and justice. Do no harm to those who seek to harm you. You will look on with your eyes and see that their portion has been cut short. Just wait. You'll look for them and you won't be able to find them."

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Yeah, I know it's "always" the wrong place and the wrong time to be black in America - but I was quickly writing and referring to reactionary in-your-face racism and oppression rather than systemic oppression.

And all the same goes for the command to "love God with all your heart". It's a harmful idea, and it causes people to lie to themselves about how they really feel about God.