I’m not ashamed to say I sit on the left of the political spectrum. I am in favour of things like a public healthcare system. I believe that there ae enough resources on this earth to bring everyone out of poverty and still allow us to live comfortable lives. I am in favour of decriminalising certain drugs (within certain guidelines). I despise the interference of conservative religious institutions in peoples’ lives – for all the talk of how the left apparently desires conformity, it’s the religious right that would have us all living the same life.
I’m all for free school meals for children, and a decent, thriving wage for nurses and others. Money earmarked for nuclear weapons and despotic foreign governments should be redirected to better causes. There are people living on the streets of the UK, a self-proclaimed first-world country, and there’s the resources to help them, but not the will.
https://uk.isidewith.com/profile/4649354222/parties
There’s plenty of room for compassion in our world, despite what the likes of Boris Johnson and Donald Trump would have us believe.
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1 “I am in favour of things like a public healthcare system”— someone has to pay for it. Where is the money going to come from? Taxes aren’t fair and too many loopholes.
2 “I believe that there ae enough resources on this earth to bring everyone out of poverty and still allow us to live comfortable lives.”—What you believe doesn’t come close to reality. When you spread the wealth equally, there are those people who know how to make money and people who can’t hang on to it. The wealth disparity will return.
3 ” I am in favour of decriminalising certain drugs…”-=– of course you are. you want everything to be legal and that is not going to create a great society. Costs of healthcare will rise due to the addictions of all the people participating in this
4 “I despise the interference of conservative religious institutions in peoples’ lives “— as if the secular way is so much better. Just look at all the crimes that are committed under democrat, liberal and leftist rule. Those groups have failed the people.
5 “I’m all for free school meals for children”— are you going to pay for it?it is easy to spend someone elses money
6 “a decent, thriving wage for nurses and others”— see above
7 “Money earmarked for nuclear weapons and despotic foreign governments should be redirected to better causes”— do you have the weapons necessary to defend your country?
8 “There are people living on the streets of the UK, a self-proclaimed first-world country, and there’s the resources to help them, but not the will. “— you do not know the reality of this situation
9 Your hatred for those two people and Christians leaves you in a very vulnerable position as a dictator who thinks his ways are better than everyone elses.
1. Someone pays regardless David. The difference is that some people pay far more. Look up how much insulin costs in the US, compared to the UK. I assume you know that insulin is crucial to living, and in the US people who need it have to choose between the drug and their homes. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-47491964 What part of that kind of rabid profiteering is in keeping with Christian ideals?
2. I’m not aware of Jesus ever practicing ideals of hoarding wealth whilst others starved David. That was the point I was making, and it’s not of any surprise to me that you missed it. People like Jeff Bezos could easily pay their workers a much more comfortable wage and still be extremely wealthy – and yes, there are enough resources to bring people out of poverty – unless you feel the better position is to maintain a status quo that leaves people unable to feed themselves, through no fault of their own?
3. I love how I can say ‘decriminalise certain drugs’, and you spin that into me meaning ‘legalise everything’. Do you even read the words I write David, or do you skim them, to make it easier to take them out of context? If drugs like cannabis were legalised tomorrow, you could prevent dodgy, fake and dangerous batches being sold. You’d take power out of the hands of dealers who use the money to front other, more dangerous activities. You’d put a dent in organised crime straight away. There’s also no reason to think that everyone would suddenly think ‘let’s smoke a joint!’.
4. Ok then David, let’s see examples of all of the crimes committed under liberal lefty rule, and compare to the crimes committed by conservative religious rule. I sure you can provide examples. I’ll wait.
5. Jesus would feed the hungry, would he not? James 2:14-18 – What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. Are those hollow words David?
6. See above.
7. So… you would be happy for public money to be spent on terrible weapons of mass destruction, but not on a decent wage for hard-working nurses who are trying to save lives?! In one sense, that’s very Old Testament…
8. I know more about reality than you.
9. I don’t hate Christians. I have serious misgivings about Christianity, and you’re not doing much to avail me of those. After all, you have just made it clear you’d sooner invest in weapons of mass destruction than feed the hungry. Nor do I hate Johnson and Trump – I hold them in contempt, for they are contemptible, and I will never shirk from saying so.
1. My response to that is that it is always easy to spend other people’s money and have them take all the risks. My advice is for you to start your own healthcare organization and set your pay scale to where you want it and then put into action all your ‘goals’ for your nation and see if they will work or not.
When I was in Korea, we had many NETs complaining about the teaching system in that country. Not one of them would start their own school, bear the burden of operating the school to show that their ideas were worth implementing. It is always easier to criticize, point fingers, and tell others what to do. It is another thing when you are taking all the risks.
2. It is funny that you and Bruce love to tell others what to do yet refuse to be told by others what to do on your websites, etc.
3. Part of the public money is for the defense of the nation. You want the freedom to live as you please, you need to defend your country to get it. As for feeding the poor, the Bible also says ‘if a man doe snot work, neither shall he eat’ I would prefer that churches and government create paying jobs instead of giving handouts.
4. You are not reading the news if you say there are no crimes being committed under leftist rule and ignoring what is taking place in China right now and in Russia (in the past).
5. What Christians do you see participating in rabid profiteering?
1 (and linked to 3). Start up your own organisation for the defence of your country. After all, if it’s unfair to spend public money on healthcare services, it’s unfair to spend it on weapons of mass destruction. What risks do you take David? How many times have you started up educational systems? It’s not a simple matter to start up a national system for anything, so it’s easier and more effective to work to reform existing systems.
I also find your attempts to weasel away from your previous words quite interesting. Referring to the comments left on Bruce’s post…
Emphasis mine. You said your comment mentions nothing about the need for healthcare yet you mention healthcare twice, in the context of lack of access and costs! I quote again…
If the government were to try and force insurers to charge less, those companies would expect someone to foot that bill somehow, and that someone would probably be the government!
If your chief beef with public healthcare systems is that you have to pay for it, ask yourself what percentage of your taxes currently go towards healthcare where you live now. Ask yourself what would happen if you needed drugs to save your life that you couldn’t afford privately. It’s quite telling that you want the government to back out of providing services that save lives, but don’t mind funding things that take them. How very Christian of you.
2. I don’t tell others what to do David. Nor does Bruce. You on the other hand, love to demand fealty to your particular version of Christianity. You have demonstrated a willingness to lie in the past (I haven’t forgotten how, when you were proven wrong about discrimination and employment law, you decided to omit that completely, instead of address it), and my comments policy is much more relaxed than yours. It seems the only wannabe dictator around here is you.
That’s genuinely hilarious David. I permit your comments all the time, both on Meerkat Musings and the Coalition site. Here on Meerkat Musings they aren’t even subject to moderation!
3. Luke 12:33 – Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys.
Deuteronomy 15:7-11 – “If among you, one of your brothers should become poor, in any of your towns within your land that the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart or shut your hand against your poor brother, but you shall open your hand to him and lend him sufficient for his need, whatever it may be. Take care lest there be an unworthy thought in your heart and you say, ‘The seventh year, the year of release is near,’ and your eye look grudgingly on your poor brother, and you give him nothing, and he cry to the Lord against you, and you be guilty of sin. You shall give to him freely, and your heart shall not be grudging when you give to him, because for this the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in all that you undertake. For there will never cease to be poor in the land. Therefore I command you, ‘You shall open wide your hand to your brother, to the needy and to the poor, in your land.’
The Bible makes many pronouncements about charity. Which verse makes charity conditional upon working? Being kind and compassionate to others should not come with conditions.
4. I didn’t claim no crimes have been committed by what you define as leftists (though communist regimes are an extreme form no?). I however, can refer to the Holocaust and the other crimes of the Nazis as examples of far-right conservative moments that went way too far, and I can point to centuries of persecution at the hands of various religious groups (against one another, or against ordinary people) throughout history. I can even point out acts in the Bible that would horrify any reasonable person. Shall I point them out?
5. You are aware of the Roman Catholic Church and the huge sums of wealth accumulated over the centuries?
#1. is it the duty of the government to provide healthcare?
#2. I have read the comments and the posts so while you may not have noticed it, you both do
#3. yes, but the Bible also says ‘a gift destroys the heart’ so we have to be careful how to fulfill those instructions.
#4. you still do not know the difference between punishment for sins and actual crimes
#5. the RCC is not a Christian organization
Again, my comment about the comment rules went over yours and Bruce’s heads. You missed the point I was making and made the argument personal
1. If you feel it’s the duty of government to provide weapons of mass destruction for the ‘defence’ of people, then you should be prepared to ‘defend’ people’s health with a public healthcare service. Otherwise, you are happily wedding yourself to a system of exploitation. Do I need to remind you of the insane cost of insulin in the USA, compared to the UK and elsewhere? And that would service as but one example.
2. I don’t tell others what to do. On the other hand, you demand that people conform to your version of Christianity and call people who don’t selfish, for daring to want to be treated fairly.
3. The Bible has many additional verses on charity, kindness and helping the needy. You might need to brush up on those.
4. I recall an earlier conversation about God’s violence in the Old Testament that you quietly ran away from. Genesis 38:6-10. God killed someone for refusing to impregnate their dead brother’s wife. What sin was committed there David? If you favour draconian punishments that to anyone else look like temper tantrums that got out of hand, I would suggest you take a long, hard look at your sense of morality. You can start with the aforementioned Genesis 38:6-10.
5. Of course it’s a Christian organisation – unless you want to have me believe that only Evangelicals like you are Christians…
As far as comment rules go, what point were you trying to make? Because originally you were complaining about my supposedly strict comment rules. We both know my rules are much more relaxed than yours. That was the argument *you* made, so why are you now saying I missed the point? Make your point *clear*.
Went way over your head.
No David. You failed to be clear. Why not clarify now? You called me a dictator. You claim my comments rules are draconian. You repeatedly claim I try to force my views upon others, even though you don’t actually provide a shred of proof. Put up or shut up time.
#1. You did not answer my question but gave another rant
#2. Those that practice what is wrong are to be punished not rewarded. The Bible is full of examples of punishment for doing wrong
#3. The Bible is also full of God identifying what is right and what is wrong, you should brush up on those verses. Your appealing to the Bible when you do not accept it is hypocritical.
#4. How about not obeying your parents. Or disobedience to God
#5. RCC is not Christian and only Christians realize this
1. I answered your question. Shall I make my answer simpler for you? Ok then. A government is responsible for protecting its citizens. To me that includes making sure people are not left to suffer and die because of extortionate medical bills. YOU seem to feel that protecting citizens includes investing billions in nuclear weapons. Who do those weapons protect? Plus, to link this back to another point I made about feeding the hungry – did you the cost of providing school meals to disadvantaged children works out to £270 million per year? Do you know what the UK government spends on nuclear weapons per year? £6.5 billion. There’s enough money to fund school meals for 24 years, except apparently there’s no money for that, or for a pay-rise for nurses, or to invest in the NHS, because apparently we need weapons of mass destruction… and then there’s you, the good Christian, who argues that we should fund WMDs more than nurses, healthcare and food for kids… So yeah, I’ll rant, whilst answering your question, because your position is absurd.
2. You haven’t addressed the point. Anyone can see that killing someone because they don’t want to impregnate their dead brother’s wife is extremely flippant and cruel. Would you kill me for that reason if God told you to? BTW, you still haven’t pointed out how or where I tell others what to do. As mentioned, that’s your forte, not mine.
3. I don’t appeal to the Bible. I point out your own rather selective usage of it. You claim the Bible is to be taken literally, but you seem content to ignore the parts that speak of charity and kindness and helping the needy.
4. Will you kill me if God commands you to, for not impregnating someone when I don’t want to?
5. So lemme guess, only Evangelicals like you are true Christians? I guess you haven’t heard of the No True Scotsman Fallacy. You are not the arbiter of what Christianity is or who is a Christian. Nor is the Roman Catholic Church the only example of rampant profiteering among Christians.
#1. Is it the duty of the government to provide and pay for health care? Yes or no. Is the goverm=nment a business or a governing body? yes or no.
#2. You live by your own rules, not God’s. I am not Muslim and God does not instruct his followers to kill. Punish but not kill as in murder. And no God would not instruct me to do that so you are safe.
#3. That is your claim and since I do not cherry pick the verses but seek to apply them in conjunction with other commands and scriptures you will never be satisfied with my actions. God doesn’t act or command his followers to please you
#4. Already answered. Since you do cherry pick scriptures and have no understanding of them it is useless to discuss them here
#5. the fallacy argument is a secular construct and does not apply to reality or Christians or the Bible.
1. Already answered. I repeat, since it appears you didn’t bother to read – A government is responsible for protecting its citizens. To me that includes making sure people are not left to suffer and die because of extortionate medical bills. . Do you think the government should spend more on weapons of mass destruction than on healthcare?
2. You didn’t answer the question. If God told you to kill me, would you?
3. You do cherry-pick the Bible. That’s why you’re casually overlooking the numerous verses about charity and kindness in favour of punishment and destruction.
4. Not answered in the slightest. Do not lie so blatantly David. Would you kill me if God commanded it, yes or no?
5. It most certainly applies to reality. You’re trying to claim Catholics aren’t Christian. They most certainly are. What next? Protestants aren’t Christian, Orthodox’ aren’t Christian? No one granted you the right to define who is or isn’t Christian. That’s incredibly arrogant.
Let’s sum up shall we? You have suggested that I try to impose my views upon others. Remind me – what organisation goes door-to-door and preaches on a routine basis? Tell me – how did Christianity spread across the world?
You’ve claimed I’m draconian in my comments policy – and yet, not one of your comments has been denied – they haven’t even slipped into a moderation queue. You then claimed I missed the point but you’ve failed to clarify what your point is (what a shock). You’ve claimed I hate Christians but you haven’t provided any proof of your claim. I wonder if you will bother to do so, or shall we add this to the ever-increasing list of things David can’t back up?
You seem to think public healthcare services are wrong. Yet you have lived in South Korea and they have a heavily subsidised healthcare service (which is one of the best in the world). You have lived in the Philippines – how would you rate their healthcare service, which is decidedly mixed between public and private services?
Moreover, why do you think spending vast sums of money on weapons of mass destruction lives up to Christian ideals? We’re not talking defensive measures (in fact, the UK armed forces are suffering whilst more money is being made available for WMDs), we’re talking weapons designed to wipe out entire cities. There’s no point in making these weapons – the world would be a lot safer without them.
I’ll leave you with some Biblical verses that seem to have slipped under your radar…
Matthew 5:40-43 ESV “And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you. You have heard that it is said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”
2 Corinthians 9:10-15 “Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God. This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of the Lord’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, others will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else. And in their prayers for you their hearts will go out to you, because of the surpassing grace God has given you. Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!”
Proverbs 11:24 “One person gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty.”
Proverbs 11:25 “A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed.”
Hebrews 13:16 “Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.”
This conversation isover. YOu do not get to call me a liar. also you are not in charge of who is Christian and who is not. If you will not listen, and learn, then there is no point in continuing.
I’ll make you a simple deal. Don’t lie and I won’t call you a liar.
You’re no more in charge of defining who is a Christian than I am, so get off your arrogant high horse with that nonsense. As for listening… yet again I wonder if you will grasp the irony of your position. Probably not.