God's Ambulance Chasers Didn't Budge This Time: Irene Wasn't Profitable Enough!

Compassion, but NO Evangelizing? What is this world coming to?

No solar-powered audio Bibles blaring the New Testament like in Haiti. No Scriptural tracts pouring forth from cargo planes like in the Asian Tsunami. No Bibles being proffered ubiquitously to hurricane victims like in Hurricane Katrina's Houston Astro Dome village. God's Ambulance Chasers were strangely absent.


The only things church groups were proffering were what regular relief groups were providing: food, shelter and clothing to Irene's victims.


Irene, it seems, just wasn't worth the effort for GACs: not in souls and certainly not in money. It may be that, in their way of thinking, arch-enemy and secular behemoth FEMA was doing too much. True, The Salvation Army and Pat Robertson's Operation Blessing leaped into Irene's aftermath,* but true bible throwers were very, very scarce: Irene just wasn't DISASTROUS ENOUGH! 


Of course, their evangelical absence allowed Obama-haters and Tea Partiers to take center stage during the evacuations and relief efforts. The leading man in the FEMA-Is-A-Drag-On-The-Economy drama is, of course, Ron Paul.


Last May: 

Paul said FEMA is bad economics and bad morality. He said the federal government shouldn’t be helping people when they do “dumb things”. He also claims the agency is unconstitutional and that collecting taxes to fund the agency amounts to coercion.

So being in the path of a hurricane is a "dumb thing"? I guess Mr. Paul might suggest that cities and towns should not be built in the paths of natural disasters: like San Francisco (earthquakes), Galveston (hurricanes), Joplin, MO (tornadoes), Honolulu (tropical storms), Chicago (seiches), Watertown, NY (huge snowfalls) Guerneville, CA (flooding). In effect, Paul's comment is: "Tough, suckers!"   


Of course, pusillanimous pundit Glenn Beck takes an even more disturbingly negative view of FEMA:

We’ve done that to this. We now have this woman saying oh, when there’s a disaster you’ve gotta to help. No, we help each other. We are good neighbors to each other. We will provide better help for each other than the government could ever.

Unfortunately, it was Beck villain Franklin D. Roosevelt who proved that the government could indeed mandate compassion - because it had to: too many "Hoovervilles" were dotting the American cities due to a distinct lack of compassion from the rich. 


Then, of course, there were the Irene-Is-A-Sign-From-God people at Apocalypse 2011. They are the people who followed Harold Camping into epic humiliation with the Great Rapture Failure of May 21st. And they are supported by the eminent(ly looney-tuned) Cindy Jacobs who says that the earth is so frustrated with sin that it "groans" with natural disasters. To be honest, Jacobs has been hypocritical enough to ask for disaster relief funds and her hands have never touched a shovel for mucking out the homes of hurricane victims. 


COMPASSION VS CONVERSION


Perhaps the foremost reason GACs stayed away from relief efforts is that they no longer consider American disasters to be a fertile field for conversions. A "Christian Nation" doesn't really need solar-powered Bible blasters any more, does it? Katrina was the last real chance to prominently preach because, of course, it had been caused by the gays in New Orleans and their orgy/party "Southern Decadence." Their target for righteous indignation was tailor-made. Irene's path, however, made it difficult to pinpoint a particular group or religion or mythical beast** so the general "America's sin is just asking for it" meme falls behind in impact. Way behind.


So what Irene hat wrought may not be the end of God's Ambulance Chasers as much as a realization that they know when they're outnumbered by people of compassion. 


Poor Irene. It just wasn't worth it.




*Operation Blessing concentrated on Pat Robertson's own area, Virginia Beach, which was hard hit to be sure, but little has been discussed about going out of the area.
**Like Cindy Jacobs' "Japan is shaped like a dragon" remark. 

The "Compassion" of Paul Ryan and The Right: "The Poor You Will Always Have With You - We'll See To It"

NOTE: Although I've posted this article under stressful circumstances  (see postscript below) the perspective presented is definitely appropriate and shared by many people in this country. I may not be writing for a week or two, so I hope that this article is passionate enough to suffice for a while. 

"But a certain Samaritan, as he traveled, came where he was. When he saw him, he was moved with compassion, came to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. He set him on his own animal, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, and gave them to the host, and said to him, 'Take care of him. Whatever you spend beyond that, I will repay you when I return.'"
— Luke 10:30–36, World English Bible


On Tax Day, April 15th, Rep. Paul Ryan had this to say about "his" budget:

Our budget offers a compassionate and optimistic contrast to a future of health-care rationing and unbearably high taxes. We lift the crushing burden of debt, repair the safety net, make America’s tax system fair and competitive, and ensure that our health and retirement programs have a strong and lasting future.[1]

There are people who would beg to differ with Ryan's statement, notably the people fighting his expansive social welfare cuts on Capitol Hill and in the White House. The fight has extended to the matter of the national debt and the next several weeks will be grueling ... and revealing. If you look at the fight in a simplified perspective, it becomes a battle for the existence of compassion: should it be sustained now (in a diminished form), or in the future? Republicans are already naming their form of "compassion" by calling it INTERGENERATIONAL JUSTICE. 


But whatever the outcome of the fight, we must not lose sight of the fact that the economic and financial  crises we now face are about people: some people will benefit, while others will not. Cost cuts to social welfare agencies are already showing results: the poor are not only getting catastrophically poorer because they have less money, but also because they have less access to housing and necessary subsidies. It is the same with healthcare reform: while decrying imagined atrocities of "Obamacare", not one conservative member of Congress has put forth any real solution for the uninsured. Republican actions in the House have, in fact, ensured us that none will ever be forthcoming. 


The conservative image has never taken such a beating as in this Congress. 


In the past, the conservative rich have always trotted out the defensive statistic that conservatives actually give more/do more for the disenfranchised than liberals because the liberals want the government to do their giving for them. They chafed when George Bush's "compassionate conservatism" was met with the label of "oxymoron." What liberals have always realized, however, is that most conservatives tend to give only to their own causes and many times those causes not only leave out whole groups of Americans, but actually sustain the gap between the haves and the have-nots. Conservatives must control where their money goes. Liberals do it too, but conservatives do it more often and on a larger scale.


TRUE COMPASSION


Giving to those in need comes down to true compassion. But what is "true compassion"? Who is more compassionate - a church elder making a cake for a church bazaar held for the homeless or the man who off-handedly gives a man on the street a dollar because he asked for it? Both are compassionate, but the church elder KNOWS to whom she is giving her time, money and effort to, while the anonymous man cares not who the needy person is (or even if the person is, indeed, needy at all). Conservatives would not call the latter's gesture compassion, but the mere foolhardiness of a "bleeding heart liberal."


In biblical terms, one could associate the Good Samaritan with true compassion: when the priest and the Levite saw the man they both passed by. Why? Perhaps because when they saw them they judged him immediately as not worth their efforts. Now, notice that Christ's story did not say that the Samaritan knew he was helping a Jew.[2] In other words, the Samaritan did not judge, nor did he know who he was helping. The Samaritan just did what he felt was the right thing- the human thing -to do.

In another belief system (not really a religion), there's the story of  bodhisattva  Quan Yin (correction: stories - hundreds of legends, but all of their central themes involve her compassion). The most popular is the one that after she was made an Immortal, Quan Yin started her ascent to Enlightenment (heaven), but heard the cries of people still in need, forsook heaven and descended to help them. There are many parallels given to Quan Yin's Christian counterpart, Mary, the mother of Jesus. (Aside: it is interesting to note that much of the non-denominational and Protestant denominational Christian Right consider prayers to St. Mary to constitute "Mariolatry" or idolization of the Virgin Mary. They are loathe to think of any intercessor to Christ for mercy.)


COMPASSIONATE CAPITALISM -
 ACCORDING TO RYAN & CO.


Just as true compassion does not need judgment, it does not need a reason except for helping someone to survive in the best way possible. Compassion need not come in the form of the Christian thing to do, nor even the right thing to do, but simply as the human thing to do. People in need do not have the luxury of determining from whence compassion comes.


The above statement of Paul Ryan is, to say the least, dripping with the disingenuous patronizing to the poor that many conservatives today deal out: the belief that capitalism in all its glory will ultimately benefit everyone.  The conservative mindset also believes that individual investment, individual charity, individual compassion will also prove supreme. 


They will not. Individual charity is subjective and can be manipulated. It can be focused on a number too few to benefit as many as possible. Philanthropy and charity have given the public many blessings, to be sure, but no matter how generous, they have always benefited only a portion of the truly needy. In most cases, the giving has been focused. In addition, many faith-based organizations are unfortunately too focused and their charitable agendas can be skewed: catastrophes, for example, have been used by what might be called "God's Ambulance Chasers" more intent on conversion to religious beliefs than relief.[3]


Of course, individual charity can be the most valuable adjunct to a society's governmental social services: it lets us know that - coupled with government - our society is doing everything it can to aid in our people's survival. Budget-slashing by the likes of Rep. Paul Ryan, however, puts a burden on individual charity that it cannot possibly sustain ... without neglecting hordes of our country's citizenry. Perhaps the truly sad part about the likes of  Mr. Ryan is that he knows it, and doesn't seem to care - hence the disingenuous statement above. Of course, he may not be entirely to blame, since his party is, after all, controlled by a very powerful group: the coalition of religious entities known as the Christian Right. 


AT A CROSSROADS


From what we've seen these last twenty years, can anyone truly say without a doubt that social conservatives (the Christian Right)possess true compassion? Their own "agenda" of condemnation exposes how they pre-judge people and groups, vehemently prejudicing against segments of society: for example, we have seen the great Southern Baptist Convention try to harm businesses that have supported the LGBT community and treated it with respect. And while some within the Christian Right community describe their compassion as "tough love" (Bryan Fischer of the American Family Association comes to mind) others beg to differ on that point: can "love" of any kind be borne of bigotry? [4]


So now our country's compassion is at a crossroads because of a budget crisis: should it be government (liberal) or individual (conservative) compassion? According to people like Ryan, America cannot have both. We could, but that might mean raising taxes while giving more to charity. A blogger at Hubpages.com put it well::

There are two kinds of compassion in this country. The compassion of the left and the compassion of the right. The compassion of the Democrat and the compassion of the Republican. The compassion of the government and the compassion of the individual.

Whichever one you choose, put your money where your mouth is.

With "slash and burn" Republicans goaded by Dominionists and corporations, the compassion of the Democrat may be gone entirely. And the other kind of compassion will be meted out to a select few. 


God help us.




1.The new terminology for Ryan's futuristic "compassion" is INTERGENERATIONAL JUSTICE. (!?)


2. Remember, the Jew was stripped and therefore not recognizable by any particular clothing. Also, Samaritanism and Judaism were very similar Abrahamic religions and shared the tenet of circumcision. 


 - The story of the Good Samaritan poses a conundrum for many in the Christian Right because it is sited as the epitome of compassion by many evangelicals and therefore is something they strive for; however, the Samaritan does not evangelize or proselytize in any way, leaving the audience of the story to wonder why evangelizing is necessary in order to do good.
  
3. In the aftermath of the earthquake in Haiti, a faith-based organization spent $100,000 erecting electronic Bibles (60 loudspeaker systems from which Biblical verses were broadcast) among people who were still not receiving adequate medical treatment. Another example: after the horrendous Asian Tsunami, Jerry Falwell's Thomas Road Baptist Church sent food and clothing, along with 600,000 Christian scripture tracts (the cost of which totaled more than the emergency goods sent). Since the victims were mostly Buddhist and Hindu, the tracts were considered insultingly superfluous and respectfully sent back.


4. The concept of "love the sinner, hate the sin" is especially egregious: no other moral precept has ever been so misused as some ridiculous band aid for guilt. The phrase is always used while knowing that it goes against human nature: just as Jesus Christ new that the concept of "love thine enemy" was a hard sell, so to does the Christian Right know that LSHS falls on deaf ears, but it needs the phrase to sound more benign.


POSTSCRIPT





Parts of this article have been written while my former partner and best friend of fourteen years lies dying of liver cancer.  I have been his caregiver for six of those years, aided by his current partner and soul mate.  We live in San Francisco, (that bastion of liberalism and perversion!) certainly the most compassionate city in America. It was here that he was nurtured as an artist (award-winning theater director) and came to nurture other artists as well. It is in San Francisco that he is now comforted and cared for by an incredible extended family of friends, hospice workers, physicians, and therapists - many made possible by San Francisco and the caring state of California. I firmly believe that he could not have gotten greater "comfort care" anywhere else. He is passing in dignity as well. 


While there are conservatives who can be regarded as compassionate, I sincerely doubt that those in Congress (guided by today's Christian Right) would be as wonderfully human as the people I see around us. Ironic, isn't it - that such love and humanity should exist in the city they castigate most. 


We are put on earth to thrive from the knowledge that we have helped everyone else survive as best as possible. It is unfortunate that others do not see this purpose, because by being confined within boundaries of their own kind of compassion, they are depriving many people of the thing they need most: 


Humanity.  

Because Gloating For God Is Soooo Good!: Jacobs, Joyner, Pierce and TamtamPam Delight in Japan's Tragedy

Righteous Indignation Update:


 - Cindy Jacobs thinks Japan's tragedy was warranted because it's shaped like a dragon.
 - Rick Joyner thinks that demonic forces have been unleashed by Japan's downfall.
 - Chuck Pierce simply says: "I told you so!"
...And TamtamPam comes clean, possibly too late.

I can't accuse Cindy Jacobs, Rick Joyner or Chuck Pierce (all prophets) of being what I call "God's Ambulance Chasers" simply because while insulting Japan during its recent tragedies they did not ask for donations of any kind in relief for Japan. They didn't rain Bibles upon the beleaguered country either. Instead, they cut right to the core of the matter and insulted Japan directly and without mercy by ... gloating.


They gloated about Japan not heeding warnings for its evil ways, its idolatry, its demonic Hello Kitty* They said that Japan's atheism, Buddhism, Confucianism and Shintoism, brought about the events in Japan just as surely as if Japan had directly asked for them from God.


Cindy Jacobs

I have personally felt that one of the reasons Japan was such a hard group for the gospel was the fact that they have had a direct link with the Imperial family and a direct link with the sun goddess, Amaterasu... this link with Amaterasu and sun worship was reinstated in a ceremony in which the new Emperor once again participated and "spent the night with the goddess" after eating the sacred rice.

On the other hand, if you look at it another way, this island, Hokkaido, looks like the head of a dragon with the body being the rest of Japan. The people of Asia have worshipped the dragon for 5,000 years.

This from a woman who sees herself as a latter-day Oracle of Delphi, babbling in "tongues" she can't interpret (and hopes no on else can either). 

What Jacobs doesn't seem to comprehend is that the Emperor of Japan's role in government is strictly symbolic and that the dragon symbolizes many things in Asia but has seldom been actually "worshiped."

Chuck Pierce went to Japan to put the fear of God into them in 2005 and God told him that Japan would be shaken and brought to its knees because it was a "stronghold of spiritism"** Nobody told Pierce that spiritism died out in Japan about 1920 although it was more plausible than, say, Scientology. 

Rick Joyner stated that the earthquake and tsunami will eventually unleash demonic Nazism in America, because in order to shore up its collapsed economy, Japan will call in America's debt and ruin America, catapulting the country into the talons of evil.

Joyner's visions (he once met with Jesus and the saints - although he couldn't tell which ones) have entertained people for years. He has not met with approval in Japan, however. 

People like Jacobs, Pierce and Joyner are not new to the nation-insulting scene: Pat Robertson capped a terrific career as an insulter with his - now iconic - Haiti-made-a-pact-with-the-devil statement. But at least he still requested aid for Haiti! These people don't even pretend to have any semblance of compassion for Japan. After God's Ambulance Chasers do their dirty work for them, they may deign to visit the Land of the Rising Sun and haughtily declare their august presence, ready to receive adulation as "prophets." 

Yes, we should send our apologies to Japan along with disaster relief. Just don't look for them in these unholy three.

TamtamPam

The video you're about to see below is one TamtamPam (screen name) who delights in "trolling" YouTube*** This video (as intended) riled a lot of people because: a. they thought the video was for real and hated the insults heaped upon Japan and its disasters and b. they found out it was a ruse to get them to feel that way. 

Parody is for the sake of laughter and comic release of tension. It is done with broad strokes to the character or situation. Sheer imitation, no matter how good, however, is not parody and should never think of itself as such. Pam's was a virtuoso performance in that she captured a person we knew could actually be like that: a dippy teenager so filled with righteous glee at the tragedy of others. She was like the offspring of people like Joyner, Jacobs, and Pierce. 

Had she properly labeled the video parody or done it in broader strokes (although one cannot see how much broader she could get in imitating such a dip), she might now be getting offers from Hollywood or Saturday Night Live. Her performance, however, backfired because the torrent of "flaming" she unleashed became too much. I don't know whether to applaud her or scold her for the video. I'll let you decide. A rather pertinent observation from one viewer:

If people ignored trolls, the trolls wouldn't get the attention. Without the attention there's no point in being a troll. I've riled people up for fun before and it is indeed fun. Seeing people rage over someone else's opinion, regardless of what it is, is amusing to almost no end. Rather crude to use this event to do it, but it worked; she's queen of the trolls now.

*Under the category of "I'm not making this sh*t up": Hello Kitty was believed to be created by a couple who made a contract with the Devil in order to save their daughter from cancer. 

**wikipedia: The main characteristic of Spiritism is its emphasis on the study and investigation of the Spiritist Doctrine in its triple aspects, scientific, philosophical and religious (moral).

*** wikipedia: Troll:  an internet term for a person who, through willful action, attempts to disrupt a community or garner attention and controversy through provocative messages

God's Ambulance Chasers Are Attracting Unwanted Attention

The number of hits our last article on GAC's has gotten a surprising amount of hits on OpEdNews. Again, does anyone out there know of any "faith-based" relief agency going to Japan to pummel the nation with Bibles and solar-powered Bibles?

God's Ambulance Chaser Watch

I really want to declare this the official God's Ambulance Chaser Watch site. So, if people know about the antics of the Christian Right in Japan, Please let me know.


If you need a definition, this is the best I can come up with so far:

God’s Ambulance Chasers 

Definition:

Those individuals who follow natural disasters in order to win converts to Christianity.

Those individuals who knowingly proselytize to victims of natural disasters in addition to bringing relief supplies or instead of bringing relief supplies.

This term has been used by Rev. Dan Vojir of San Francisco to describe the relief efforts of such people as televangelist Pat Robertson and the late Jerry Falwell. Rev. Dan Vojir continues to monitor the actions of such organizations as Franklin Graham’s Samaritan’s Purse.

References:

Solar-Powered Bibles: Misguided Donations To Haiti or Spiritual Shysters? 

The Last of God's Ambulance Chasers: Pat Robertson Delights in Haiti's Hell! 

God's Ambulance Chasers

God's Ambulance Chasers Rush To Japan's Aid, But Lady Gaga May Have Gotten There First

Will Japan's skies start raining Bibles?
Or Will Lady Gaga's Prayer Bracelet Obtain More Relief?

There's definitely going to be a battle between Lady Gaga and Pat Robertson. 


WTF? Yes. While the Christian Right will be scurrying to set up electronic Bible Broadcasters as they did in Haiti, Lady Gaga's "prayer bracelet" may be more effective in helping the Japanese recover from the latest disaster. You see, hers is a true prayer for Japan because it comes with cash for food, clothing, medical supplies. The poor "pagan" Japanese (Buddhist, Shinto, Confucian), alas, cannot wear, eat or apply Bibles to wounds. 


I know that sounds quite spiritually callus, especially coming from a Christian, but it's true. With the exception of Operation Blessing (which has largely divorced itself from founder Pat Robertson ever since the mining equipment scandal*), faith-based agencies will be under a very watchful eye (including mine). The Asian Tsunami attracted Jerry Falwell (who, along with supplies, sent 600,000 Christian tracts to Hindus and Muslims), Hurricane Katrina attracted Pat Robertson ( who immediately poured 40,000 Bibles onto people  - dead or alive), and Haiti brought out a Christian group that deposited electronic "solar-powered Bibles" (at $90,000) to blare out Biblical passages as people fought off disease. Years ago, I called the whole mess of missionaries "God's Ambulance Chasers." Since then, the article still comes out on top for Google searches. In fact, it may be the only phrase this poor writer will ever be known for. 


Disasters. They really do bring out the best in people, in humanity. But rushing to evangelize after a tragedy can be akin to circling vultures. It's no secret that I'm against proselytizing, but inundating people who have been devastated by a cataclysm, a people who are of a different faith, with pleas to convert is ...wrong. 


And soothing words are cheap. 


The rush to insult another religion is also wrong, but righteous arrogance is strong: Falwell couldn't understand why people were appalled that he sent so many leaflets about the "Word of God" to suffering Hindus and Muslims. The people, thankfully, summoned enough dignity to to reject the paper cargo. Falwell was not amused. Robertson was also criticized for his rush to rain Bibles onto New Orleans, then he compounded the insult by his "contract with the Devil" remarks. To be fair, while supermarket tabloids are now trumpeting Robertson's impending senility, many people have thought him senile for the last thirty years, so his actions are considered almost meaningless. As God's ambulance chaser, he's been retired. 


So with Robertson retired and Falwell long gone, who will take up the gauntlet and become the next ambulance chaser of natural disasters? Lou Engle? Sorry. Lou Engle IS a natural disaster (just ask gays in Uganda). Rick Warren? I don't think so. Warren's too busy creating "Purpose Driven" countries (again, just ask Uganda). My bet is on Franklin Graham and his group, Samaritan's Purse. He may try to weasel in a proselytizing rally or two after humbly distributing food. Did I say humbly? Hmm. Well, maybe not too humbly. 


From its website:

Staff members are on their way to the affected area. We will be working with Japanese Christians to distribute food, water, blankets, hygiene supplies, and other aid to people who have lost virtually everything.

Samaritan’s Purse President Franklin Graham has conducted evangelistic Festivals in the Japanese cities of Osaka and Okinawa, and we have hundreds of church partners in the country.

On Samaritan's Purse efforts in Sudan:

Samaritan’s Purse has trained thousands of people from local churches to lead the reading groups. People who join the groups receive free Bibles. For many, it is the first they have ever owned. 

Yes, it may seem petty and anti-Christian to monitor such a group, but my premise lies hidden in the name of Graham's charity: the Good Samaritan of Christ's New Testament did not come back with a tract on Samaritan religion. The Good Samaritan, in fact, did not proselytize: he may have simply gone on his way doing good for others. Period.


All Hail Lady Gaga


No matter what I thought of him as an actor, Sean Penn captured my adoration in his valiant efforts in Haiti. Some movie stars are like that: combining their fame with the determination to get relief under way makes them more beautiful. And when a celebrity who has been endlessly pilloried by the Christian Right as being immoral performs a creative feat of fundraising for disaster relief, she becomes more than beautiful, she becomes ... stellar. 


The speed with which Lady Gaga came out with her "prayer bracelet" was amazing. The ingeniousness of the product was incredible: proving that spirituality can come in all forms and can transcend religion itself. 


Last year, the infamous Westboro Baptist Church (Fred We-Hate-Everything Phelps) put out a campaign, "God Hates Lady Gaga." And although being besieged by the Phelps clan has now become a badge of honor, Phelps' ubiquitous hatred mirrors the opinions of the Christian Right. Lady Gaga's response: 

“Do not interact with them, or try to fight. Do not respond to any of their provocation. Don’t waste your words or feelings, no matter what you hear or see… Be inspired to ignore their ignorant message, and feel gratitude in your heart that you are not burdened or addicted to hate, as they are.” 

Sounds as if Lady Gaga's words were straight out of the New Testament. 

If a heroic aura surrounds Lady Gaga at this time, it will be because of a simple humanitarian action. Many faith-based relief programs, however, have never taken the hint that actions can speak louder than Bibles.  

Below is an amazing video of the response of Operation Blessing. It is notable because it focuses ONLY on relief. Operation Blessing has learned its lesson.

*wikipedia:


After making emotional pleas in 1994 on The 700 Club for cash donations to Operation Blessing to support airlifts of refugees from Rwanda to Zaire, it was later discovered, by a reporter from The Virginian-Pilot, that Operation Blessing's planes were transporting diamond-mining equipment for the Robertson-owned African Development Corporation, a venture Robertson had established in cooperation with Zaire's dictator, Mobutu Sese Seko, whom Robertson had befriended earlier in 1993.