Gagafesto "Gaga the Gate to Heaven" gagablog 37

Gaga is in the process of becoming a minister so she can marry people. I have been talking for a long time about how she is going to take down and reform the Church ("break em down, down"), by which I mean the religions that supposedly follow Jesus. Her message has always been powerful enough to do this and is even more direct on the Born This Way album, now that we need a reformation more than ever. Especially after it was released I anticipated a conflict and attacks from established religious leaders who felt threatened by her message. But all I noticed of this was some Catholic figurehead criticizing "Judas", the most religious Gaga scandal I saw since Katy Perry tried to diss "Alejandro". I'm sure there was more, but I think the reason it did not become a bigger story is because more powerful leaders discounted her or were afraid of expressing their opposition to her message for fear they would lose. When she becomes a minister it is not a case of "if you can't beat them, join them." She can beat them, but she is nicer than that. She has truth on her side so her message will win but by continuing the debate in christian contexts she is giving more christians who have been misled a chance to reform before it all changes. The churches and leaders who have been perverting the message of Jesus are long overdue to lose their power and all their attempts to cling to it continue to have disasterous effects. This is so clearly demonstrated in American conservative christian and political convergence and has been on display in the presidential race recently. I saw a TV evangelist who personified the evil of the political and religious right, trying to justify their policies with distortions from the Bible and always snidely dissing Obama. I was going to respond to what he said point by point, and may in the future, but it is sufficient to say it is all wrong. Gaga's message will expose this right-wing evil, challenge it and dispose of it so we can move forward.
Gaga is kind enough to do it from within "the church" and show that there is no contradiction in Jesus or Love. People who claim they are the only ones who understand Love or Jesus correctly are wrong. Two major contributors to conservative power are opposition to women's rights and gay marriage based largely on misleading teaching about Jesus. The contradiction that divine love is exclusive or conditional will be exposed and people will grow out of this. All conservative belief is resistance to change and while life is change the things that need to change the most are the injustices we are responsible for as people. These are greed, war, destruction of environment, oppression of people based on race, class, belief, gender or sexuality, and suppression of ideas and expression. It's no coincidence that the right-wing stands for all of these things. The statements they make would be laughable if they did not have power, but soon that power will be taken away. The reason the right is so viscious and contentious now, the reason for the unholy alliance of politics and religion, is they are clinging to power that has been eroding as people wake up to the errors of their policies and churches and communities outgrow homophobia and misogyny. While "everyone" has been doing our part to move society forward there has not been a powerful enough figure with enough people's attention to fully defeat the conservative mentality. President Obama has spoken out against the policies but Gaga is the one who is enlightening us culturally to get rid of bigotry.
Gaga is showing the true way. Those who oppose her will be exposed and falter in their wickedness, liberating many who were led astray by them. Others who have dismissed Jesus or Love due to false reprsentations will reconsider thanks to her improved example. When she invokes Jesus so much on Born This Way she risks upsetting people who have been turned off by right-wing representaions of judgement and exclusive, conditional love. I think it is because Jesus's message of true love for all people is important to Gaga that she insisted on getting it right and making an album of "priest-pop" for a "cultural baptism." She talks about Jesus in new ways, inviting us to reconsider and think for ourselves, which is the greatest challenge to conservative power and will defeat it. By declaring that people are born the way they are, to love who they love, she challenges conservative religious thinking far beyond christianity. Her global fame ensures that while there is a christian context to much of this album and what she is doing now, her message transcends religion and is the core teaching of all of them. Love - it sounds so simple but by insiting on the truth of Love we expose how far some power structures have grown away from it. The world is changing and establishments are being swept away so we can live in a world of love and mutual respect where all people are treated justly. Gaga's role in making the whole world more in Love is why I call her a gate to heaven. She opens Love to all people especially those who have been excluded by others. This makes people both in love in life, making heaven on earth, and makes people feel they belong in divine love giving them peace of mind about the afterlife.
I heard two news stories on NPR recently while I've been thinking about writing this that I wanted to include. The first was about a book that had topped the bestseller list in 2011 called "Love Wins" about how "heaven" is open to everyone. The story reported that the author's initial inspiration for book was an art show at his church that included a picture of Ghandi. Someone had put a post-it note next to it that said "reality check - he's in hell" and I guess the author was struck by how untrue that felt. So he wrote a book that came to that conclusion after researching, I guess, that Love and "Heaven" are for everyone, not exclusive as conservatives insist everyone must believe. And the book sold many copies, which makes me think that most people would agree with this simple truth of love. But of course the end of the story was all about how "religious" leaders attacked him and said all sorts of terrible things about him. Maybe that is part of why his book sold so well, too, but either way, he was right and the ones who oppose him are wrong. And maybe that is why there has not been much opposition, yet, to Gaga's message from conservative churches, they hope it might go away faster if they ignore it. But she is undeniable and has increasing attention world-wide and ulitmately they will either reform themselves or challenge her, but she will win because she is on the side of Love, who wins. And Love wins by any name, it does not have to be Gaga, or Jesus - that is what is so upsetting to the conservatives, the idea that love and Jesus can be anything other than what they think. They are wrong, and the ones who say love is for all are right, and this will be proven comclusively soon and we will all be better off.
The other radio item was an interview with Maurice Sendak the famous children's book author and illustrator. I jumped to a conclusion when he talked about recently coming out as a gay man and about being okay with the idea of death at age 83 in the context of being an athiest. My assumption might not apply to him but I'm sure there are many poeple for whom it is true. I just thought that if he was exposed to an idea of God who did not love him because he was gay and he both rejected the idea of God and heaven and felt ashamed of being gay that would be really sad. It makes me cry to type it because it is just not true but it is what so many people are taught. It makes me think how important it is for people to think of a Goddess or God who loves them, no matter what they call her. I believe in Jesus but could never call myself a christian while no one seemed to be standing up for the truth about Love enough in the face of all those people who were lying about it and in power. Gaga is doing this in a major way now and we are all part of making this change in the world to becoming more tolerant and just. The interviewer asked Mr. Sendak if times had been different and he had felt comfortable coming out at a younger age if he wanted a family and he said no but it seemed like he really did and had conflicted feelings imposed from prejudice in society. It would be ironic if part of the reason he became such an inspiration and influence on generations of kids was because he "could not have kids of his own". But it is sad that if times had been different, if justice had come sooner to the world, he would not have felt awkward at all about having a family and could enjoy that kind of heaven on earth. And it is very sad to me that in my intuition he rejected the idea God, and Heaven after life, all because people presented a false image of God. I guess on the bright side he will be pleasantly suprised. Still I wish he had that comfort in life of feeling like he really belongs and imagine that a false idea of God stood in the way of that.
It is terrible that some people, in the name of God, make other people feel bad about the way they were made in the divine image. We do have the imagination to overcome this, and hopefully find the love and support as well, but many people suffer greatly and needlessly as a result of social prejudices. The only "purpose" these prejudices serve is to give votes and power to people who want to maintain the other evils of society, war and greed, abuse of the environment and exploitation of people. And the only good thing about it is we can oppose it all at once, it's easy to figure out despite all the propoganda and lies if you follow your heart - the political and conservative right is all wrong. The principles they have that might sound good are all distorted and the extent to which they have twisted the message of Jesus is a perfect example. I've always known the truth would defeat the false forces of bigotry in religion and society and I envisioned the wrongs of economic dispartiy and injustice would be resolved at the same time. To me it seems simpler to teach people out of prejudice than to denounce greed when some people live so lavishly and so many others envy them. But in both cases it is a matter of overthrowing a tyrannical mentality that insists "there is not enough to share." When people have a false idea of love that it is only for certain people or there is not enough of it they want to cling to all they think they can get and exclude other people, "competition." For most of it's history so much of the church has been about excluding women and gays and that has been changing more lately but Gaga represents the time when the tables will really turn. And it is because so many have clung so strongly to misogyny and other bigotry that it will be a major transformation with world-changing results. When the religious base erodes from beneath the fear-mongering conservatives as people see the brighter future, not only will we be free to be more truly ourselves but we will free the world of the other evils as well. The whole tower will fall. You can see the world changing dramatically throughout last year and surely this year as well, in 2012. The old world is being swept away in favor of one without limitations that can be as good as we can imagine. The old power structures are based on disrespect of women, sexuality, nature and art and Gaga will lead the way to  disposing of them by exemplifying all of these things. The same change that we need to accept each other and treat everyone justly is the change that we need to overcome greed, war, and pollution, It's a change of heart, accepting the abundance of divine love all around us and rejecting the mentality of fear and exclusion. Gaga is opening our hearts with love for everyone and teaching us to grow in the way of heaven. It can be called other things than heaven on earth but it will be perfectly wonderful when everyone feels love and a sense of belonging and no one is left out. That is our future and Gaga is here at the beginning of it, unlocking the world for us through herself, being love to everyone, the gate to heaven. She has focused on accepting the outcasts and loving us first, her little monsters. It reminds me of the Bible, the shepherd who left the 99 sheep to find the one who was lost, the way Jesus hung out with outcasts, and the stone that the builder's rejected upon which the true church would be built. Gaga will transform christianity and America but her influence goes beyond that. The change here will be enough in itself to free the world of the imperialist crusader mentality that has persisted with centuries of devestation. As wonderful as it will be to live in a world free of conservative evils of oppression and pollution, these habitat-saving and human rights advances are parts of a greater work, opening our hearts to love and inspiring us with love that is open to everyone. Many of the churches that claim to follow Jesus have denied the Goddess and misunderstood love and they may be some of the worst off for ir but are not the only religions that suffer from and perpetuate misogyny. Restoring the Goddess will set things right. For me, Gaga represents and realizes everything that comes with the return of the Missing Goddess. The whole change of heart we need is to realize that no one has a monopoly on Love or Jesus. It does not matter what you call Love. The people who insist heaven is exclusive or love can only be their way are wrong about this and everything else. When that influence is removed from power we will be free like we were born to be. It does not matter if other people recognize Gaga the way I do but for me she is the perfect way to talk about something that we are all experiencing that will renew the world: remembering our love for the Goddess, nature, and each other.