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| The Religion Show | |
| Issue: 61 Page No: 31 Updated: 12/27/2010 10:00 AM | |
| Author: | Al Staggs |
| Topics: | |
| Type: | Poetry |
| Poetry The Religion Show By Al Staggs, Chaplain and Performing Artist Sante Fe, NM We can keep "In God We Trust" on our coins, Retain "One nation under God" in our pledge, Place the commandments on every courthouse lawn, Pray at every class in our schools And go to church every Sunday To pray for our troops and pledge allegiance to our nation's flag Which stands prominently and proudly in the center Of our halls of worship, But it doesn't change the fact That we, as a nation, are waging monstrous terror. It wasn't God that the 50,000 Iraqi victims Saw in our impressive campaign of 'shock and awe.' It isn't God that the world sees in our readiness To spread 'freedom' and 'democracy' at the end of a gun barrel. It isn't God that the poor of the world sees As we wage war solely for corporate interests And to prop up our lavish lifestyles. We can profess Jesus as our Savior All we want. Yet profession without practice is empty, Piosity without peacemaking is meaningless. Promoting family values without pursuing justice Is hypocrisy. It's all just words, hollow words. For the greatest evils are those which are committed in the name of God And for that reason, those who advocate war, those who find security In their 'profession' of faith in God, Suffer from the most acute delusions. We go to war and victimize thousands And say 'Lord, Lord.' We send our poorest children to combat And we say 'Lord, Lord.' We demonize Muslims And say 'Lord, Lord.' We build our massive temples of worship And say 'Lord, Lord.' Yet our faith is as empty as those temples are On Monday morning. We may have to wait till the judgment To hear the Lord answer, "Get away from me, I never knew you." |
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Cite This Page: Staggs, Al. "The Religion Show" ChristianEthicsToday. The Christian Ethics Today Foundation. Fall 2006 (Issue 61 Page 31) <http://christianethicstoday.com/cetart/index.cfm?fuseaction=Articles.main&ArtID=862> |
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