Amazing how many folks find Jesus when faced with mortality…
Here, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez discovers God is not just for the uneducated peasants. Many of Chavez’s avowed heroes like Che Guevera were dedicated Marxists. Folks who believed “Religion is the Opiate of the masses.”
Very little is known about the 57-year-old socialist leader’s condition, including even what type of cancer he has. Chavez has undergone three operations in less than a year, and received two sessions of radiation treatment.
He says the latest surgery was successful, that he is recovering well and will be fit to win a new six-year term at an election in October. Yet big questions remain about his future, and on Thursday the strain appeared to show.
In a televised speech to the Catholic service in his home state of Barinas, Chavez cried and his voice broke as he eulogised Jesus, revolutionary fighter Ernesto “Che” Guevara and South American independence hero Simon Bolivar.
“Never forget that we are the children of giants … I could not avoid some tears,” the former soldier said, his parents and other relatives looking on from the church rows.
“Give me your crown, Jesus. Give me your cross, your thorns so that I may bleed. But give me life, because I have more to do for this country and these people. Do not take me yet,” Chavez added, standing below an image of Jesus with the Crucifix.
There have been a number of instances in the past few years where one group or another has rented billboards to push their message out to the public. Alveda King, MLK’s daughter, who is the spokesperson for an anti-abortion group has leased billboards in a number of cities to advance her group’s pro-life message. Even black conservative political groups have used the medium to advance their controversial message – such as Raging Elephants, and the National Black Republican Association‘s “MLK Was a Republican” Boards which appear now each election cycle…
The message was scheduled to be posted Monday, but the billboard remains blank as community members continue to voice strong opinions on the plans, some of whom have even sent hate mail to African Americans for Humanism members.
David Lane, the pastor of a church about a mile down the road from the billboard site, told reporters he believes the plans will lead to important discussion in the African American community, where faith has long held a strong place.
“Traditionally African Americans come out of a tradition that is led and motivated by faith. We are where we are and we are who we are primarily because we’ve chosen to believe in a power that’s bigger than ourselves,” Lane told Fox 4 News. “It will create a lot of dialogue. There will be congregations of all kinds in this area who will be challenged by the fact that such a movement is at our door.”
.WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU.I have looked at your web cite [sic] and your billboards in Dallas. Your black Athiest Organizations make me sick. There is nothing worse than a bunch of blacks supporting Gays and Lesbians.. You are infesting are [sic] cities with your foolish beliefs! What is your reasoning behind your Athiest [sic] beliefs? It is groups like yours that are screwing up lives.
But supporters of the billboard argue that it’s not meant to threaten religious beliefs, but rather provide a space for thought with people who may be in doubt.
Alix Jules, a member of the Dallas-Forth Worth Coalition of Reason, whose face will appear on the billboard, spoke to the Dallas Observer about the challenges many African Americans face when doubting their faith.
“When you wind up saying you don’t believe, then you’re walking away from a mating pool,” Jules told the paper. “You’re not going to be able to do that because now you’re deemed unfit. And you wind up throwing back into your parent’s face the belief they gave you isn’t good enough for you.”
