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Sat Jul 16, 2011 at 03:38 PM CDT
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| If you've ever been in downtown Dallas on a Good Friday, you've probably seen people walking silently, some carrying signs bearing Bible verses, others carrying accompanying signs highlighting statistics on the plight of the poor, the sick and the hungry in Dallas and the state of Texas.
That's Dallas Area Christian Progressive Alliance, a group of theologians and laity, calling upon politicians claiming to be Christians to actually enact policies that improve the plight of "the least amongst us."
Today, DACPA has issued an open letter to Rick Perry, calling upon him to repent, a word which means "go a new way."
Below are excerpts from the statement; for the entire letter, please visit DACPA's blog at this link: Dallas Area Christian Progressive Alliance |
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Excerpts:
Dear Governor Rick Perry:
You have called for August 6 to be a day of gathering "in humility and repentance." The Dallas Area Christian Progressive Alliance joins this call for repentance, a word which means to "go a new way." We call for repentance when we consider the condition of our state, the mandate from God to love our neighbors, and the vision of the future that is the answer to our prayers. We embrace government as one way to follow God's will on earth as it is in heaven. Jesus called the NATIONS to judgment. The prophets he came to fulfill-Amos, Jeremiah, Isaiah in particular-condemned the governments of their day, the kings, for not serving the poor and the oppressed....
Jesus says that the nations who care for the sick are "blessed," while those who do not he says are "accursed" (Matthew 25:31-45) Texas is first among all states in the percentage of citizens who are uninsured, and ranks number 41 in health services. Let us go a new way toward health care and health security and turn from the road that leads to the fate of the accursed...
...Jesus also considered nations accursed when they do not welcome the stranger, alien, outsider, immigrant. (Matthew 25:31-45) Immigrant children who have only known life in the United States have been denied the opportunity to have legal status here and instead they and their families are often targeted for hatred and abuse by those who wear the name "Christian." Let us walk a new path toward a blessed country that creates just laws that represent that we truly "love our neighbor."...
...The earth and all that is in it belongs to God (Psalm 24:1). We are called to be stewards of God's creation, not its destroyer. Texas is the biggest polluter in the country, leading the nation in carbon dioxide and cancer-causing emissions. Let us go a new way by protecting the creation with which we have been entrusted... The letter is well-worth reading, and is a good material to forward to anyone you know who's been parroting right-wing religious talking points without really thinking them through.
Read more about DACPA at their website, Dallas Area Christian Progressive Alliance, and watch videos of recent projects at their YouTube channel DallasChristians. |
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