JESUS LOVE THE BRAVES AND HATES THE YANKEES

Anyone who has read this blog for awhile knows that I keep tabs on how the lines between religion (by that I mean Conservative evangelical Christian), state, public life and social institutions is becoming ever more blurred.

I have two new stories to appraise you of. I will tell the first story today and the second one tomorrow.

You have read the words describing my repulsion at the ever increasing influence of Conservative Christian dogma in our domestic and foreign policies and the absolute intolerance these people show for others(ironic since the Word of Christ was to practice absolute tolerance "Go and eat with the poor, the sick, the outcast, the different) and the irony of the hate and divison "Christians" are bestowing on us all.

You have read about my horror at the rise of "Christian Lending Institutions" "Christian Mortgage Companies" and "Christian Auto Insurance Companies"(didn't Christ remove the money lenders from the temple and declare that one should "Give Caesar what is due to Caesar and give to God what is due God?).

You have read my polemic on how all great Empires showed the 4 same signs of decay before collapse:

-Religious dogmatism and its concurrent blending into government

-Reliance on legacy energy systems

-Becoming a debt driven rather than product driven economy

-Military overreach

and now...

Item One

The Atlanta Braves will be holding "Faith Days" after two home games this month. There will be Christian Music, "Sermons on the Mound" and testimonials from "Christian" players.

"FAITH DAYS WITH THE ATLANTA BRAVES
An all-star lineup of Gospel Music Association (GMA) Award winners including Jeremy Camp and BarlowGirl, Braves players, and Bob and Larry from VeggieTales, headline the “Faith Days with the Braves” post-game concert series at Turner Field. “Faith Days with the Atlanta Braves” will take place after the Braves day games on August 13 and August 26."

Of course there is only one kind of Faith in America right? There are no Catholics, Buddhists, Jews, Moslems, Hindus, Presbyterians or Episcopalians.

This is a disgrace, it is an affront to the ideals of America and frankly it is an insult to the real meaning of Christianity.

I have a spirtual life and I beleive in a higher power. Yes progressive thinkers are believers as wellbut I also believe in Science and Evolution and the Rational world of the Enlightenment and of the need for a healthy society to keep religion and politics seperate.

When they are mixed, both are corrupted.

We just don't see the need for our private faith to become a part of EVERY facet of society. Faith has no place in domestic policies, foreign policies or BASEBALL GAMES.

And perhaps most evil of all? This is not an isolated case. There are actually companies out there who put together "Faith Night" packages for sports teams all over the country.

They market their service to teams as a way to increase attendance and revenues.

They are cynically drawing on people's faith and fears to increase the bottom line.

What is different is that this is the first Major League team to do this.

JESUS SPOKE SO THAT THE BRAVES COULD DRAW AN EXTRA 10,000 FANS FOR DAY GAMES???

"In addition to the Braves, the Arizona Diamondbacks have tentatively scheduled a Faith Night for later this season, and over 70 Faith Nights have been scheduled throughout the year for minor league teams across the nation."

That from the perpatrator's "Third Coast Sports" web site.

Notice the "Faith Financial Services" firm advertisement on the right.

Market economy at work? Or cynical manipulation of minds with small worldviews and even smaller beliefs in science, self reliance and tolerance?

And yet more evidence of our slip into a theocratic society and State?