Shhh … Silent Sunday. 12/21/25
Author: Neal Saye
Countdown to Christmas 2025: “Thou Shalt LOVE, Not Hate” — Day Twenty-One 12/21/25
From December 1-25, I’m sharing a quote and its truth from John Fugelsang’s Separation of Church and Hate: A Sane Person’s Guide to Taking Back the Bible from Fundamentalists, Fascists and Flock-Fleecing Frauds, the book Robert and I are currently and fascinatingly reading.
An odd Advent Calendar, of sorts.
Today Fugelsang looks at what many consider the purpose of the church.
“For many Christians, the real problem is not a compassion problem but a proximity problem. We have moved away from the places Jesus moved into. We’ve moved away from the pain and the suffering of the world.” p. 199
“Liberation theology argues that the church should actively work to alleviate poverty and oppression, and calls for structural changes to address systemic injustices and inequalities. It sees faith as a thing you do.” p. 199
“Many Christians consider liberation theology to be truest to the teachings of Jesus, because it uncomfortably places the needs and rights of the poor and oppressed at the center of its theology, much like, I don’t know, the whole Bible. It advocates for a faith that’s active and engaged in the world. It encourages Christians to get their hands dirty, take tangible steps to fight injustice, and directly aid those in need.” p. 200
Countdown to Christmas 2025: “Thou Shalt LOVE, Not Hate” — Day Twenty 12/20/25
From December 1-25, I’m sharing a quote and its truth from John Fugelsang’s Separation of Church and Hate: A Sane Person’s Guide to Taking Back the Bible from Fundamentalists, Fascists and Flock-Fleecing Frauds, the book Robert and I are currently and fascinatingly reading.
An odd Advent Calendar, of sorts.
Today Fugelsang explains that “Belief in Jesus doesn’t mandate discrimination or hatred against different faiths; the teachings of Jesus forbid it.” p. 261
“’Love your neighbor as yourself’ (Matthew 22:39). Note the lack of an asterisk on this commandment, which means it applies to all humanity, without regard to said neighbor’s religion, race, or background.” p. 261
Five Friday Happy Bringers 12/19/25
My weekly gratitude journal, of sorts.
1. Very neat seasonal looks everywhere you turn.
2. Holidays and Seasonal Changes.
3. Robert’s Recent Rescue.
So the other afternoon HR and I drove over to Jesup GA to one of our very favorite Christmas Tree farms, Days of Creation.
We bought a pretty fresh wreath.
When we got home, Robert put the wreath, along with some branches of spruce, in our shower (!) to freshen them up with some cold water. (Some things in a marriage you simply put up with.)
In another room, I heard him yell/squeal, “Neal, look!”
It took me a minute to see the little fellow.
“What are you doing?!” I asked.
“I’m rescuing him, of course.”
His new home outside our door.
4. These amazing little slider hotdogs we had yesterday for lunch at local Sly’s Sliders and Fries.
5. Nearby church spires at dusk here in Savannah.
May you look around and see some Peaceful Beauty this last weekend before Christmas.
Countdown to Christmas 2025: “Thou Shalt LOVE, Not Hate” — Day Nineteen 12/19/25
From December 1-25, I’m sharing a quote and its truth from John Fugelsang’s Separation of Church and Hate: A Sane Person’s Guide to Taking Back the Bible from Fundamentalists, Fascists and Flock-Fleecing Frauds, the book Robert and I are currently and fascinatingly reading.
An odd Advent Calendar, of sorts.
Today,Fugelsang looks at healthcare from a Biblical perspective.
“In Proverbs 31:8-9 the Bible calls on believers to ‘speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute.’ Ensuring access to healthcare for all, regardless of financial status, is the Biblical point of view.”
“Matthew 9:35: ‘Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness.’”
“Access to healthcare for all is consistent with Jesus’s entire operation, and Medicaid is exactly the kind of community social action that he’d be proud of. Fans of Jesus should applaud the fact that our country has such a system, that covers over ninety million of us.”
“Author and theologian Dillon Naber Cruz, a military vet known online as the Tattooed Theologian, suggests we ‘Imagine the positive benefits of applying the Golden Rule (Matthew 7-12; Luke 6-31) to healthcare in America. No one would choose to have life altering medical situations lead to being crippled by debt. No one would willfully choose to skip treatment or to not buy medication because it is too expensive.”
“Applying the Matthean Golden Rule caveat ‘in everything you do’ to healthcare would mean that we enact a robust universal healthcare system in which no person is left to the malicious whims of healthcare profiteers whose money is made from human suffering. Jesus wanted to alleviate suffering and would definitely be against his ostensible followers profiting from it.” p. 195
Countdown to Christmas 2025: “Thou Shalt LOVE, Not Hate” — Day Eighteen 12/18/25
From December 1-25, I’m sharing a quote and its truth from John Fugelsang’s Separation of Church and Hate: A Sane Person’s Guide to Taking Back the Bible from Fundamentalists, Fascists and Flock-Fleecing Frauds, the book Robert and I are currently and fascinatingly reading.
An odd Advent Calendar, of sorts.
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I love the book’s chapter titles. Fugelsang is playing with the Bible’s Ten Commandments.
Thou Shalt Not Hate Femenists
Thou Shalt Not Hate the Gays
Thou Shalt Not Hate “Illegals”
Thou Shalt Not Hate on Poor People
Thou Shalt Not Kill People Who Kill People To Prove Killing People is Wrong
Thou Shalt Not Hate Gun Control or Worship Bro-Dude Jesus
Thou Shalt Not Hate Jews, Muslims or Even Atheists
Thou Shalt Not Be, or Defend, White Supremacists
ALL ARE COMMENDABLE COMMANDMENTS!
One-Word Wednesday 12/17/25
“YUM”
Countdown to Christmas 2025: “Thou Shalt LOVE, Not Hate” — Day Seventeen 12/17/25
From December 1-25, I’m sharing a quote and its truth from John Fugelsang’s Separation of Church and Hate: A Sane Person’s Guide to Taking Back the Bible from Fundamentalists, Fascists and Flock-Fleecing Frauds, the book Robert and I are currently and fascinatingly reading.
An odd Advent Calendar, of sorts.
Today, Fugelsang writes:
“Jesus was a nonprofit prophet, but was he really a socialist? The short answer’s no, because socialism didn’t exist yet. But let’s point out:
He never owned property.
He said, ‘It’s easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.’
He told people to pay their taxes.
He never healed the blind and then billed them.
He never gave anyone a mandatory drug test before dispensing some loaves and fishes.
I’ll never say Jesus was a socialist. But I will say if he were alive now and preaching the exact same message, right-wing Christians would call him one.” p. 190
The President Is Mentally and Morally Sick
“We don’t believe in political violence, but we do believe in CIVILITY” J.D. Vance
Really?
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“Trump defends reaction to Rob Reiner killing despite GOP criticism.”
“President Donald Trump on Monday blamed Rob Reiner’s outspoken opposition to the president for the actor-director’s killing, delivering the unsubstantiated claim in a shocking post that seemed intent on decrying his opponents even in the face of a tragedy.”
“Trump, in a post on his social media network, said Reiner and his wife were killed ‘reportedly due to the anger he caused others through his massive, unyielding, and incurable affliction with a mind crippling disease known as TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME.’”
“He said Reiner ‘was known to have driven people CRAZY by his raging obsession of President Donald J. Trump, with his obvious paranoia reaching new heights as the Trump Administration surpassed all goals and expectations of greatness.’” pbs
He’s talking about himself in the THIRD person.
“Narcissists often refer to themselves in the third person (a behavior called illeism) as a tactic to inflate their grand self-image, create distance from accountability, and present themselves as a larger-than-life figure, like a character in a story, rather than a flawed human, sometimes to self-soothe or control perception. It’s a way to build an idealized persona, separate from mistakes, and reinforce their perceived superiority or importance.” Google AI
NealEnJoy 