Contemporary Conservatism -- Sacred And Secular -- Defines Itself By Negativity And Exclusion

If you think your glass is half empty, you are not wrong.

You are, however, unhappier and more fearful than you would be if you considered it half full.

"There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. 

The one who fears is not made perfect in love." 

1 John 4:18

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+John+4%3A18&version=MSG

In his September 24th address to the joint houses of Congress, Pope Francis noted that, even in times of mortal conflict, "opportunity is always present." 

“There are two ways of thinking and of having faith: we can fear to lose the saved and we can want to save the lost,” Pope Francis said in front of hundreds of cardinals and bishops on Sunday, the Religion News Service reported. 
“Even today it can happen that we stand at the crossroads of these two ways of thinking.” He also reportedly criticized the “narrow and prejudiced” mentality of Catholics who cling to religious law out of fear. Often, he said, they ultimately reject the individuals they should be helping.

http://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/2015/02/pope-francis-there-are-two-ways-of.html

"Pope Francis Links"

http://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/2013/11/pope-francis-links.html

Pope Francis: Quotations On Finance, Economics, Capitalism And Inequality

http://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/2014/04/pope-francis-on-finance-economics.html

Catholic Social Teaching

http://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/2015/01/catholic-social-teaching.html

Compendium Of Best Pax Posts About Religion (Updated)

http://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/2015/08/compendium-of-best-pax-posts-about.html

Alan: Finger-wagging does not change others.

Typically, "finger-wagging" causes "the wagged at" to double down on their perceived perversity.

The core purpose of finger-wagging is to confirm one's conviction of self-righteousness.

"Christian Conservatism: "The Saved," "The Damned," "The Rich," "The Poor"

http://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/2014/01/christian-reactionaries-saved-and.html

Biblical Literalism And The Cultivation Of Hatred

http://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/2012/02/biblical-literalism-and-cultivation-of.html

Religion and Perfectionism

http://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/2013/11/religion-and-perfectionism.html

Yeshua Excoriates Fellow Pharisees: "The Woe Passages"

http://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/2013/08/yeshua-excoriates-fellow-pharisees-woe.html

"Love Your Enemies. Do Good To Those Who Hate You," Luke 6: 27-42

http://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/2013/02/love-your-enemies-do-good-to-those-who.html

"Do You Know What You're Doing To Me?" Jesus Of Nazareth

http://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/2013/12/do-you-know-what-youre-doing-to-me.html

Mercy Is Not Fair

http://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/2015/04/mercy-is-not-fair.html

Biblical Literalists: Please Weigh In These Passages From Deuteronomy And Acts

http://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/2015/01/biblical-literalists-please-weigh-in-on.html

Compendium Of Best Pax Posts About Religion (Updated)

http://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/2015/08/compendium-of-best-pax-posts-about.html

The Eyes Have It

http://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/2014/07/the-eyes-have-it-iris-seen-in-startling.html

"Charity is the power of defending that which we know to be indefensible. Hope is the power of being cheerful in circumstances which we know to be desperate. It is true that there is a state of hope which belongs to bright prospects and the morning; but that is not the virtue of hope. The virtue of hope exists only in earthquake and eclipse. It is true that there is a thing crudely called charity, which means charity to the deserving poor; but charity to the deserving is not charity at all, but justice. It is the undeserving who require it, and the ideal either does not exist at all, or exists wholly for them."
Heretics, ch. 12 (1905)
Gilbert Keith Chesterton (1874-1936) English journalist and writer

G.K. Chesterton: On Charity, Hope And Universal Salvation

http://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/2013/10/chesterton-on-charity-and-universal.html

Chesterton: The Meaning Of Love

http://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/2015/02/chesterton-meaning-of-love.html