It seems some enterprising activists- the Denver Communists- happened upon their statement and, predictably, were outraged. Their angst and furor manifested in the form of street protests, vandalism, and intimidation, i.e. the usual. The Denver Communists “organize together on the basis of mutual commitment to revolutionary socialism, internationalism, and liberation from all oppression.” Their catchy slogans include No Borders No Nations, Palestinian Liberation By Any Means Necessary, and Defund, Disarm & Defeat the Police. The few photos of their members/activists on their website, not surprisingly, reveal exclusively white people (denvercommunists.org/).

The Denver Communists claim they don’t oppose Christianity in general: "There are plenty of Christian denominations that don’t share their (Recycle God’s Love) bigoted view, such as the ELCA [Evangelical Lutheran Church in America] …” It might be noted that the ELCA and a number of other establishment denominations, the Presbyterian Church, USA, the Unitarians, and United Methodists, for example, have simply rejected the parts of Scripture they don’t like and amplified they parts that make them feel good about themselves, similar to claiming to be a vegetarian (which I am), talking about love and compassion for animals, but eating Whoppers. The Unitarians are amusing in that they actually place the word “church” in quotation marks: Every Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) congregation is a “church” under U.S. tax law, therefore tax exempt, charitable, and exempt from tax filing” (https://www.uua.org/).

Though I was raised and remain a non-believer and have never thought of things in terms of sin, I have studied theology a good deal. Both the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) and New Testament are replete with the word “sin,” the most commonly mentioned being idolatry, meaning worship of other gods or creating images of them (the first two of the 10 Commandments). Original Sin is really a Christian concept, not a Jewish one, and likewise the idea that all people are innately sinners is much more of a Christian construct.

Though there certainly are “burn in Hell for eternity” Christians, it is much more Scripturally and doctrinally sound to regard sin as something to overcome, and to always treat the sinner with compassion. Progressive leftist groups need to portray Christians as hate-filled lunatics as a means to accomplish their goals, much as Jim Crow politicians of the past century needed to blame “uppity” black people for all their woes: the reliable“Us versus Them” power strategy. For a Christian to berate or injure someone because they are a sinner- homosexual in this case- is antithetical: Jesus got into a heap of trouble with the Establishment because he willingly associated with sinners.

The idea, as expressed by the Denver Communists in regards to Recycle God’s Love, that individuals and groups must be in total compliance with a particular doctrine is as old as humanity. It’s found under many names and systems, including authoritarianism, despotism, tyranny, dictatorships, theocracies, and perhaps can be collectively called fascism. It doesn't matter whether it’s extreme left (communism) or right (Nazism) it all amounts to the same thing: a limited number of people in power trying to control the words, thoughts, and actions of the population through coercion, intimidation, and violence, but also at times bread and circuses, depending on the situation. Fascists on a global scale, and at a petty level like the Denver Communists, simply cannot abide by anyone not in total compliance with their dogma, rules, and cultural mandates.

As alluded to in the first paragraph, too many ostensibly charitable organizations use marginal good works or compassionate sounding words to channel money, prestige, and power for their own benefit. The “non-profit” world is filled with this, along with their cousins, the Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), various unions (the massive National Education Association a well-known example), and certainly government and global bureaucracies: corruption, fraud, and waste can be misdirected if camouflaged by words and phrases such as “human rights,” “helping children,” and “saving lives.” Likewise, those who question the reality of such organizations are accused of being against human rights, children, and saving lives. As someone who has spent well over 20 years at the financial low end of the charitable world, where amounts are measured in $100s, not $1,000,000,000s, I’ve learned to be both skeptical and even cynical. From my research the “Recycling God’s Love” project is everything a charity should be.

A final thought is that the Denver Communists are supposedly repulsed by the mention of homosexuality being considered a sin (by Christians) while expressing support for Palestinians. Forgetting that the Denver Communists are fully ignorant about the concept of sin in Christianity, it’s doubtful they would ever consider opposing, let alone vandalizing, anything Muslim. Islam is not “gay-friendly,” and its Scripture and doctrine allows for and/or demands punishment for the “crime” of homosexuality. The prescribed penalties vary from flogging to execution: It was narrated from Ibn`Abbas that the Messenger of Allah said: “Whoever you find doing the action of the people of Lut, (referring to Lot and Sodom in the book of Genesis) kill the one who does it, and the one to whom it is done” (Hadith 2561). This should not impugn Islam universally, however this is not some arcane historical thing going back 1,200 years, but exists in the here and now- around 12 counties include in their legal codes execution for homosexuality, and all but one are Muslim.

It’s impressive the contortions privileged white progressives, such as the Denver Communists, will go through so as to make the world and reality conform, in their minds, to their beloved narratives.

Note the impetus for this article was a Fox News story: https://www.foxnews.com/media/