An Open Letter From Jesus to ‘Christian’ America
‘Please come up with a new name for whatever you are. You’ve destroyed my reputation.’…
Guest blogged by Frank Schaeffer
Woe to you American Christians! You say I’m the “son of God” and yet you bully the defenseless in my name.
Do you understand the parable of the Good Samaritan?
Let me refresh your memory…
One day an expert in religious law stood up to test Jesus by asking him this question: “Teacher, what should I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus replied, “What does the law of Moses say? How do you read it?” The man answered, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.’ And, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” “Right!” Jesus told him. “Do this and you will live!” The man wanted to justify his actions, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”Jesus then replied with a story:”A Jewish man was traveling on a trip from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he was attacked by bandits. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him up, and left him half dead beside the road. By chance a priest came along. But when he saw the man lying there, he crossed to the other side of the road and passed him by. A Temple assistant walked over and looked at him lying there, but he also passed by on the other side. Then a despised Samaritan came along, and when he saw the man, he felt compassion for him. Going over to him, the Samaritan soothed his wounds with olive oil and wine and bandaged them. Then he put the man on his own donkey and took him to an inn, where he took care of him. The next day he handed the innkeeper two silver coins, telling him, ‘Take care of this man. If his bill runs higher than this, I’ll pay you the next time I’m here.’ “Now which of these three would you say was a neighbor to the man who was attacked by bandits?” Jesus asked. The man replied, “The one who showed him mercy.” Then Jesus said, “Yes, now go and do the same.”In case you missed the point of that parable as I’m quoted as telling it in the book of Luke it was that the theologically correct evangelical born-again “saved” passed by on the other side of the road when confronted with a human being in need. It was the “unsaved” theologically incorrect foreigner, today’s equivalent of your atheists or Muslims or gay men and women, the unloved and the outcast, who stopped and did my Father’s will and took care of the injured man.





December 10th, 2009 at 7:47 pm
Amen to that!
Not as well written as some of his more recent articles. I am watching his journey. When you realize his background, this is rather astounding.
Sage Reply:
December 10th, 2009 at 11:11 pm
I agree. It’s interesting to see how he progresses.
December 10th, 2009 at 8:23 pm
This got me to thinking about the Berrigan brothers. Both were Catholic priests who protested the vietnam war. One of their first acts of civil disobedience was to go to a draft center, pull out all the 1-A files, put them in trash cans and burn them out in the parking lot with home made napalm. After that, other protesters began to burn their draft cards at other protests.
Here is part of what Father Daniel Berrigan said in his speech
Redeem the times!
The times are inexpressibly evil
Christians pay conscious indeed religious tribute
to Caesar and Mars
by the approval of overkill tactics by brinkmanship
by nuclear liturgies by racism by support of genocide
They embrace their society with all their heart
and abandon the cross
They pay lip service to Christ
and military service to the powers of death
And yet and yet the times are inexhaustibly good
solaced by the courage and hope of many
The truth rules Christ is not forsaken
In a time of death some men
the resisters those who work hardily for social change
those who preach and embrace the truth
such men overcome death
their lives are bathed in the light of the resurrection
the truth has set them free
In the jaws of death
they proclaim their love of the brethren
We think of such men
in the world in our nation in the churches
and the stone in our breast is dissolved
we take heart once more.
Sage Reply:
December 10th, 2009 at 11:16 pm
That’s wonderful. Thanks for sharing it, Wizcon.
December 11th, 2009 at 1:42 am
Thank you both.
Wizcon Reply:
December 11th, 2009 at 11:28 pm
@timesr, Your welcome. It amazes me that that speech popped back into the fore front of my brain after 40 yrs. But it was also a favorite topic berween my uncle and I. A Pastor himself and about the same age as Daniel, he marched with them and I suspect, sheltered Daniel at one point. He spoke often of the hypocrisy of Christians, He stressed that people read and understand the writings of the Bible themselves. Not rely on piecemeal and others selections and interpertations. Most of all to remeber Christ was a man.
December 11th, 2009 at 11:53 am
If there is a heaven, surely Frank Schaeffer has earned his place there. I have forgiven him for his part in the hijacking of Christianity. I don’t believe he fully understood what he was doing then as he has now. I see a man with a good heart who may be the only salvation of those who have followed the wrong shepherds.