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Radical Religiou$
Right Watch
News to help you
fill in the missing
pieces
The
Radical Religious Right
is a coalition of religious and political groups
seeking by various means to weaken or remove the separation of church
and state
and establish their version of Christianity as the national religion.
“First
they ignore you, then they ridicule you,
then they fight you, then you win.”
— Mahatma Gandhi
Press releases have white
backgrounds. No
Frames
Only the
writers are responsible for the content; ideas presented are not
necessarily those of the Pagan Institute, CUUPS-TwinCities, the UUA, or the Goddess.
Click for:
Supremes to rule on Establishment Clause
in Hein v Freedom from Religion Foundation
Just How Many Secret Clubs does the Radical
Right Have?
Religious-Right G.O.P. Activists
Try to Marginalize National Association of Evangelicals (NAE)
Religious Right News Briefs
Fundamentalism as an Addiction; 12 Steps
for Recovery from Fundamentalism
Pharisee Watch: How
Reverends Enable Church Bombers
Evangelicals Offer Course for
Media Professionals/Green View
Commentary by Lowell McFarland
Christian Reconstructionists Explained
Poll:
Evangelicals See Themselves as Part of Mainstream, Still Beleaguered
Bush: "Send Us Your Church Directories"
Are YOU seeing a pattern here?
Americans United's Case against the
Radical Religious Right
More
News on Religion and Public Life from PEW Institute
TheocracyWatch.org
Do something about
it!
1 short
letter = 10 long ones = 50 phone calls = 1000 emails. |
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Supremes to rule on Establishment Clause
in Hein v Freedom from Religion Foundation
If the federal government gives
money directly to a religious school or organization in a manner
that clearly violates the Establishment Clause of the First
Amendment, can anyone sue to stop it? The answer should be
obvious: any taxpayer should be able to sue to prevent his or her
tax dollars from being used in a manner that is an
unconstitutional establishment of religion.
Unfortunately, President Bush and the religious right disagree.
On Wednesday, February 28, the Supreme Court heard arguments in
Hein v Freedom from Religion Foundation, a case that threatens to
make the federal government completely immune from challenges when
it spends money to support religion.
In a 1968 court case, Flast v Cohen, the Supreme Court recognized
an exception to the usual rule that a person cannot sue as a
taxpayer to stop the spending of money that violates the
Constitution. In that case, the Court said that the Establishment
Clause of the First Amendment was meant to be a limit on
Congress's taxing and spending power and that therefore taxpayers
do have standing to enforce its commands.
Hein v Freedom from Religion Foundation is a challenge to the Bush
administration's unprecedented attempt to funnel money to
religious entities providing social services. In his first days as
President, George W. Bush created an Office of Faith Based and
Community Initiatives for the purpose of giving money to religious
institutions. The question is whether a taxpayer can bring a
challenge to this as violating the Establishment Clause.
It is to be hoped that the Supreme Court will reaffirm Flast v
Cohen and allow taxpayers to challenge this effort to support
religion with federal tax dollars. But there is a real possibility
that the Court could narrow or even overrule Flast.
If that happens, then there would be no way to sue to stop the
federal government from giving any form of assistance to churches,
synagogues, mosques, or other religious entities. The
Establishment Clause could be ignored by the federal government
and no one could stop it.
This possibility reaffirms the importance of our nation's
commitment to the separation of church and state and our fight
against the religious right's war on this American principle.
Sincerely,
Erwin Chemerinsky
DefCon advisory board member
Alston & Bird Professor of Law and Political Science, Duke
University.
P.S. Stay tuned to the DefCon Blog for updates on this case and
the Court's final decision.
© 2007 DefCon: Campaign to Defend the Constitution
[Thanks to http://www.defconamerica.org for use of this item. cl]
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Bishop
Harry Jackson claims that in the past, Evangelicals “voted their values” based on
“gay marriage and pro-life concerns” (They
haven't according to a Center for American Values
poll.) Now climate change and torture have begun a “political makeover” in some Evangelical circles,
much to the dismay of Neo-cons and Republican party faithful.
James Dobson (Focu$ on the Family) argues that reconsidering the
Christian content of the Neo-con party line is the result of a
liberal conspiracy to distract from "the core mission of
Christians," by which Bishop Jackson means "protection of
(unborn) life and guarding the traditional family.”
During this transformation from
caterpillar to butterfly, a host of enemies are attempting to
prevent an evangelical resurrection. A sophisticated, pincer
strategy is being waged against them by two groups--–liberal
Christians and the liberal press. Both groups fear that the
sleeping giant will awaken with an attitude.
Neo-cons fear
that “values voters”
might question the inerrancy of the Republican Party platform,
from the War on Terror to tax cuts and Social Security to a fear of “socialized
medicine.” In the '80s
the Institute on Religion and Democracy,
squelched criticism Reagan's Central America by the National
Council of Churches; now -- in the name of “renewal” of mainline
protestant churches -- they are attacking not only the National
Council of Churches (NCC) but ALSO the National Association of
Evangelicals (NAE) as Communist sympathizers.
Read "GOP-Aligned Religious-Right
Activists Seek to Marginalize NAE"
Source: People for the American
Way. Used with permission.
http://www.rightwingwatch.org
Neo-cons and RRRs in the GOP’s right-wing base
are unsatisfied with any GOP presidential
frontrunners. As the New York Times reported in February 2007:
A group of influential Christian conservatives and their
allies emerged from a private meeting at a Florida resort this
month dissatisfied with the Republican presidential field and
uncertain where to turn.
The event was a meeting of the Council for National Policy, a
secretive club whose few hundred members include Dr. James C.
Dobson of Focus on the Family, the Rev. Jerry Falwell of Liberty
University and Grover Norquist of Americans for Tax Reform.
Although little known outside the conservative movement, the
council has become a pivotal stop for Republican presidential
primary hopefuls, including George W. Bush on the eve of his
1999 primary campaign.
But in a stark shift from the group’s influence under
President Bush, the group risks relegation to the margins. Many
of the conservatives who attended the event, held at the
beginning of the month at the Ritz-Carlton on Amelia Island,
Fla., said they were dismayed at the absence of a champion to
carry their banner in the next election.
Now, the Boston
Globe reports that the secretive far right-wing
"Arlington Group," is interviewing potential GOD presidential candidates:
Leaders of a secretive coalition that includes some of the
most influential social conservatives in the nation are
interviewing presidential candidates in hopes of flexing
political muscle and reframing the Republican primaries in 2008.
Over the past few months, members of the executive committee
of the so-called Arlington Group have questioned several
declared and potential White House hopefuls with the intention
of settling on a single candidate, according to Arlington Group
members and Republican operatives familiar with the discussions.
…
Leaders of the group have interviewed Huckabee, Senator Sam Brownback of Kansas, US Representative Duncan Hunter of
California, and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who hasn't
entered the race but may later this year. It's not clear which
other candidates have been or will be interviewed. The group has
not yet questioned Romney, Senator John McCain of Arizona, or
former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani, according to those
campaigns.
While the Arlington Group cannot endorse candidates itself, its
high-profile and influential members certainly can:
Continue reading "Just How Many “Secretive Clubs” Does The Right
Have?" Permalink
Subjects: Politics, Religious Right, Right Wing,
Groups: Arlington Group, Focus on the Family, Family Research Council,
People: James Dobson, Tony Perkins
Religious
Right News Briefs from www.rightwingwatch.org
March 26, 2006 - Plain Dealer
Bush's Comments Further Focus Religious Debate
A question posed to President Bush about whether apocalyptic
religious beliefs color his decision-making on Iraq has reignited
debate over the religious right's role in his administration.
March 25, 2006 - Associated Press
Governor Candidates Reach Out Via Religion
Particularly in the South and swing states, candidates are trying
to attract voters by visiting churches, quoting from the Bible and
talking about their faith.
March 25, 2006 - Los Angeles Times
Right Is Might for GOP's Aspirants
The GOP's Christian conservative wing, crucial to President Bush's
reelection in 2004, is maneuvering to have a big say in who wins
the party's nomination in 2008.
March 22, 2006 - The Washington Post
Grants Flow to Bush Allies on Social Issues
Through its religion-based initiatives and other federal programs,
the administration has funneled at least $157 million in grants to
organizations run by political and ideological allies.
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"Even a fundamental reading of text is STILL a personal
interpretation."
----- K.C. McGuire
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by
Carolyn Baker
05/16/05
"ICH"
- - In recent article, I promised readers that
I would address the mindset of the religious right as an addiction. In order
to do so with accuracy and clarity, it is first necessary to define addiction and clarify the terms, Christian fundamentalism and Dominionism.
According
to www.dictionary.com, an addiction is “being
abnormally tolerant to and dependent on something that is psychologically or
physically habit-forming (especially alcohol or narcotic drugs) [syn: dependence, dependency, habituation] 2: an abnormally strong craving 3: (Roman law) under Roman law addiction was the
justification for slavery"
For over
seventy years, Twelve-Step programs have addressed issues of addiction not
only to substances such as alcohol, drugs, and food, but to behaviors such
as compulsive gambling, shopping, and even working. After a number of
responses to my last article from former fundamentalist Christians, I began
investigating Twelve-Step groups which address issues of religious
compulsion and spiritual abuse. One group I discovered was Fundamentalists
Anonymous (F.A.) and its Twelve Steps. (http://www.geocities.com/church_of_hank/fundamentalists_anonymous.html)
However,
before I examine those steps, I would like to further define the terrorist
and tyrannical aspects of Christian fundamentalism.
As many
readers drew to my attention in response to my last article, Christian
fundamentalism and Dominionism are not necessarily synonymous. According to
Merriam-Webster, Christian fundamentalism is: “a movement in 20th century
Protestantism emphasizing the literally interpreted Bible as fundamental to
Christian life and teaching b : the beliefs of this movement c : adherence
to such beliefs. 2 : a movement or attitude stressing strict and literal
adherence to a set of basic principles.”
Katherine
Yurica (www.yuricareport.com)
defines Dominionism as “the conversion of America to a theocracy by taking
over the American Judiciary.” I would add that the conquest might begin with
the judiciary, but the Dominionist agenda has targeted all aspects of
government and society for the establishment of a theocracy.
For my
purposes, the distinction between fundamentalist Christianity and
Dominionism is incidental because what is most important to understand is
that any religion, philosophy, or belief system can be addictive,
fear-based, and terrorizing, and if it is used to justify changing the
Constitution of the United States and creating a society in which the laws
of that system are also fear-based and terrorizing, then regardless of the
label, fundamentalist or Dominionist, that system is both terrorist and
tyrannical. Whether one wishes to debate the differences between
fundamentalist Christianity and Dominionism or not, both systems are
about domination, power, control, right/wrong; win/lose. Moreover, as in my
last article, I am reiterating that terrorism and tyranny,
like the word addiction, have much broader definitions than crashing
planes into buildings, establishing a superior race, or forcing women to
cover their faces.
My focus
here is on fundamentalist Christianity and Dominionism as religious systems
which complement and support tyrannical political systems, specifically,
fascism. I am well aware that not all fundamentalist Christians, and
certainly not all folks who call themselves evangelicals, are of the
Dominionist variety. Many are hard-working individuals who pay their bills
and follow the rules and attempt to live the teachings of Jesus. I respect
those individuals and consider them a mitigating force amid the onslaughts
of the religious right.
For an
in-depth analysis of religious right corruption and tyranny, I highly
recommend the recent article “The Christian Mafia” (http://www.insider-magazine.com/ChristianMafia.htm)
by investigative journalist, Wayne Madsen.
Additionally, my intention in this article is to explore the addictive
features of these systems which ultimately result not in spiritual well
being but spiritual abuse.
Spiritual
abuse is the manipulation, exploitation, and mistreatment-- mentally,
emotionally, or physically of another individual or masses of individuals,
in the name of promoting spiritual principles or values. As we have seen
from the rampant sexual abuse of children in the Roman Catholic Church,
spiritual abuse can open the door to every other kind of abuse. And just as
a plethora of Catholic priests for two thousand years have used their
position of authority and piety to abuse children, countless children in
fundamentalist Christian homes have been beaten, raped, molested, shamed,
and emotionally devastated in the name of “children obey your parents in the
Lord for this is right.” I suspect that in the not-too-distant future, we
may see revelations of child abuse in fundamentalist Christian homes and
churches break into the light of day that could pale by comparison the abuse
scandal of the Roman Catholic Church. For the fundamentalist Christian,
children too, born into “original sin”, are to be dominated and made into
subservient born-again believers as soon as possible.
Also,
before turning to the Twelve Steps of Fundamentalists Anonymous., I want to
emphasize that religious intoxication is an ancient theme in human history.
In fact, Carl Jung would have called it an archetype—a universal theme
imbedded in the human psyche that is found in all eras and cultures.
According to Jung, such an archetype is not necessarily toxic or
pathological but points to an inherent human craving for meaningful
spiritual experiences. Whether found in the spell for the revival of Osiris,
the orgiastic rites of the cult of Dionysius in Ancient Greece, or the
Native American sun dance, the need for sacred ritual and celebration of the
divine is as old as human history. However, need and desire are not the same
as physical, emotional, or mental dependence.
What
makes a belief system, a ritual, or one’s relationship with other adherents
addictive is the dependence one has on them. Is one able to think for
oneself? Is one able to function without incessant participation in the
rituals, and without obsessive contact with and validation from fellow
devotees? Is one able to trust one’s intellect and emotions and not
subordinate them to those who claim to have more spiritual authority, deeper
spiritual understanding, or more extensive training in interpreting the
Bible or other sacred writings?
In
exploring this topic, a caveat is in order for all who are atheist,
agnostic, or offended by the mention of “God” in the Twelve Steps. After
many years of working with the Steps and atheists and agnostics who utilize
them, I have discovered that there are many ways to interpret and apply the
concept of a Higher Power, so I would ask the atheist or agnostic reader to
consider this and continue reading.
Why do I
think that Christian fundamentalism and/or Domininonism is an addiction? My
answer to that question comes first of all from my own experience, as well
as my observation of these individuals over the years. I recall my own
dependency on what “the Bible says”—my own inability to trust my thoughts
and feelings. I remember the need for the “fix” of the church service, the
revival meeting, the prayer meeting, the Bible study, or listening to a
fiery sermon on tape. I knew how to think on my own, but I was afraid to do
so. Who knew what I might discover? But no “fix” was more deliciously
validating than “winning souls for Christ”—that dramatic moment when I had
manipulated someone else into a born-again experience. For this, the
fundamentalist Christian addict lives and breathes. And this is precisely
why the religious right is intractably hell-bent on converting the entire
society and system of government in America to its fundamentalist theocracy.
What could produce a greater “high”? And if this project should get
interrupted by the Rapture, the resulting euphoria would be so
well-earned—doing God’s work and getting the planet ready for Jesus’ return.
The adrenaline-drenched grandiosity in such a scenario is palpably
tantalizing. More addictive than heroin perhaps?
It is
axiomatic in Christian fundamentalism that without the born-again
experience, one cannot think clearly. Being born into the human condition,
and therefore, being inherently sinful, one’s mind is deluded, clouded, and
always potential putty in the hands of Satan. Once one has been born again,
the mind is magically transformed, and one is now guided by the Holy Spirit
who Jesus said would lead his followers into all truth. The more the
born-again believer reads and studies the Bible, the more clearly and
correctly he/she thinks. Therefore, the new convert to fundamentalist
Christianity must depend on his/her minister, Bible teacher,
evangelist, or other spiritual leader to interpret the Bible and guide
him/her in living the Christian life. Eventually, with years of seasoning in
the faith, one needs less guidance, but one always requires regular contact
with the church, prayer group, or Bible study circle because even after
decades of devotion, there is always the possibility that one could be
deceived by the devil. Therefore, thinking for oneself is out of the
question, and as a result, profound dependence on others is created for
producing the “answers” one cannot discern by thinking for oneself.
In one of
the responses to my last article, one actively fundamentalist reader, whom I
am paraphrasing, stated that he does look to the Bible for answers and asked
to whom or what else he should look—Darwin, Camus, or other great minds? I
found the question itself very telling because inherent in it is the
assumption that one cannot or should not trust oneself. This assumption
constitutes the major underpinning of the addiction to Christian
fundamentalism, hence Step One of Fundamentalists Anonymous:
1.
I realize that I had turned control of my mind over to another person or
group, who had assumed power over my thinking.
The convert to
fundamentalist Christianity must be convinced that his/her thinking is
irreparably in error. The underlying message is: “You don’t believe the
Bible is the inerrant Word of God because your mind has been occupied by
Satan. This has happened principally because you are a human being, but also
because you have made the enormous mistake of trying to think for yourself.
Of course you think there are contradictions in the Bible because Satan
controls your mind. If you surrender your mind to Jesus (actually to
me/us/the enlightened flock of believers), you will understand that there
are no contradictions in the Bible and that your life should be guided only
by the Bible and nothing else. What you cannot now understand, you must take
on faith, and more will be revealed to you later. It may not be revealed on
this earth, but by accepting Christ as your personal savior and having
faith, you will be guaranteed eternity in heaven where everything you never
understood will be completely revealed to you.”
Curiously, as
stated in the definition of addiction above, under ancient Roman law,
addiction was grounds for slavery. I found this detail particularly
significant because obviously, addicted people are “enslaved” people
Any thinking
person reading the Bible will discover dozens, if not hundreds, of
contradictions. Moreover, any Bible student who also studies history will
discover massive discrepancies regarding which books were chosen to be in
the Bible and why. Studying that history reveals that the decision to
incorporate certain books and exclude others was primarily a fourth-century
political decision intended to strengthen the appeal of Christianity and
prevent its demise in the face of Rome’s attempts to extinguish the
religion.
An excellent
analysis of this controversy has been done by religious historian, Elaine
Pagels in her book Beyond Belief. She explores the discoveries of the
Nag Hammadi Library in Upper Egypt in 1945, which unearthed the existence of
numerous gospels eliminated from the final canon of the New Testament. Both
Pagels and another Biblical scholar, Marvin Meyer, have analyzed the Nag
Hammadi writings and hypothesized the reasons for their exclusion. I
particularly enjoyed reading Pagels’ Beyond Belief, because not only
does she analyze the controversy surrounding the exclusion of these Gnostic
Gospels, but she openly shares her own intellectual process of discovering
the significance of their exclusion and its impact on her own spirituality.
Very UN-fundamentalist indeed.
Reading the
research of Pagels and others makes clear the reality that the Bible is not
and cannot be the inerrant, impeccably-written, divinely dictated Word of
God that fundamentalist Christians claim it to be. Thus Step Two of
Fundamentalists Anonymous states:
2. That person or group persuaded me of
the inerrancy of the Bible, in spite of its many internal contradictions.
One of the most
significant aspects of my abandonment of Christian fundamentalism was the
awareness that born-again Christians worship the Bible and not God. They
argue that the only way to know God is through the Bible. They are forced to
believe this because if they concede that God might speak through an inner
voice, through a tree, or through a particular life experience, their entire
belief system is toast. When I realized that contrary to their much-touted
Ten Commandments, Bible worship is nothing less than “having other gods
before me”, I finally realized the depth of the hypocrisy of their system.
Part of my, and anyone’s recovery from fundamentalism is a commitment to
develop a relationship with a Higher Power—whatever that may be—and not with
a book. Step Three therefore states:
3. I became addicted to the Bible as the
supreme focus of my faith, in spite of the commandment that God should come
first.
Like the
spiritual inventory of Alcoholics Anonymous and other Twelve-Step programs,
Step Four asks the recovering fundamentalist to look at the damage one has
done to oneself as a result of turning control of one’s mind over to another
person or group. Not a pretty picture in most cases, but certainly a huge
relief when the whole truth is finally faced and spoken.
4. I admit to God, to myself and to
another person the shortcomings of my belief in the unbelievable.
Fundamentalist
Christianity is filled with false claims about the Bible. It has to be in
order to keep its system intact and use the Bible to manipulate, control,
and above all, gain converts. So as part of recovering from addiction to
fundamentalism, one must examine the various false claims one has made about
the Bible. Step Five states:
5. I have made an inventory of my false
claims about the Bible.
Ouch! This could
be very painful—and it could go on for years as one recalls all the times
one may have used “the Bible says” to beat up oneself or someone else. But
again, there can be profound liberation with truth-telling.
Could it get
more painful than Steps Four and Five? Yes. How many minds have I whacked
beside my own? Who have I manipulated, controlled, cajoled, or conned by
using false claims—things I could never absolutely know or prove about the
Bible?
6. I have made a list of those whom I led
into confusion about the Bible.
All Twelve Step
programs require “searching and fearless” inventories of oneself and one’s
actions while practicing one’s addiction. Moreover, they demand
accountability to one’s Higher Power, oneself, and the persons harmed.
This could be
excruciating! Admitting to someone that I may have led them astray with the
Bible? As experienced Twelve-Steppers know, it may not be possible to make
the amends in person or even by letter. Someone may be so hurt, so angry, so
alienated that making contact with him/her is not feasible. Most important,
however, is the admission to oneself. Hence Step Seven:
7. I am willing to make amends to all those
whom I may have led astray.
And now comes
the payoff: sanity. Sanity is not a mental health term but rather a state of
acceptance and release often attended by a sense of relief. After one has
admitted turning one’s mind over to another person or group and has faced
the devastation the addiction has caused, and if possible, made amends to
those harmed, it becomes possible to experience sanity.
Step Eight, in
offering the hope of sanity refers to searching Scripture for the truth.
Notice the Step says “search Scripture.” It doesn’t say, “search the Scripture.” One now has the freedom to search for one’s own truth—wherever,
whenever, however. Step Eight:
8. I realize that I have the inner power to restore
sanity to my life and to search Scripture for the truth.
Having completed
the first eight Steps, the recovering fundamentalist can begin authentic
relationships with others regarding spirituality. No longer does one need to
“be right”, convert, admonish, exhort, or teach. The first eight Steps make
it possible to share on a truly level playing field without right/wrong,
either/or dichotomies. Step Nine:
9. I will reach out to friends who can
help me clarify my thinking about the Bible, God and Jesus.
Reaching out to
friends is not the same as dependence. It means information-gathering,
exploring, dialoging, but most importantly, thinking for oneself.
Then
brilliantly, Step Ten hastens to add that I do not need to figure it out all
on my own; I can ask for help from a Higher Power. It humbly implies that I
don’t have all the answers. I have help, but it is with my own mind that I
grasp the truth, not with someone else’s.
10. I confess that only with God's help
can my mind grasp
the truth.
How do I get
help from a Higher Power? I practice Step Eleven which deals with conscious
contact with that power. This may have nothing to do with reading the Bible
or going to church. It may have nothing to do with meditating in a lotus
posture or praying in the traditional sense. It may mean journaling,
spending time in nature, painting, composing music or poetry.
11. I will seek through prayer and
meditation to improve my conscious contact with God, praying for knowledge
of God's will for me and the power to carry that out.
One of the most
profound aspects of recovering from any addiction is the compassion one
experiences for others who are still ensnared in the addiction. One
naturally wants to share the liberation, peace, and sense of well being that
one has found with others who are suffering. What might be particularly
challenging for the recovering fundamentalist, however, is to share the
Twelve Steps of Fundamentalists Anonymous without falling back into one’s
addiction to proselytize and “being right.” So Step Twelve must be practiced
sensitively and compassionately.
12. Having had a spiritual awakening as
the result of these twelve steps, I will offer these steps to other former
biblical fundamentalists.
Some may argue
that I am being judgmental and lacking compassion in this article and my
former article on Christian fundamentalism. However, I do not apologize for
being uncompromising in my analysis. As with all addictions, compassion for
the addict does not mean condoning addictive behavior. It means speaking the
truth about the addiction to the addict him/herself, to the family and loved
ones involved with the addict, or anyone else affected by his/her behavior.
This is referred to in recovery circles as an intervention. Is it not
appropriate for critically thinking individuals who desire to live in a
diverse and open society to conduct “interventions” when those drunk on
Dominionism and fundamentalist Christianity flagrantly attempt to construct
a theocracy which requires everyone to be a born-again Christian in order to
thrive in that society? Do we not have a moral obligation to confront
destructive religious intoxication that tears apart families, communities,
and nations? Hopefully, this article is an example of such an intervention.
The mainstream
media does not seem to comprehend the inherent danger of the religious right
let alone report it accurately. All of us need to challenge the addictive
tyranny of Christian fundamentalism at every turn—for the sake of our sanity
and for the sake of our civil liberties. We don’t allow street junkies into
the halls of Congress, the Supreme Court, or the pulpits of America to
admonish us how we should live and why we should demolish our Constitution.
In fact, we confront the insanity and criminality of such individuals.
Similarly, it’s time to confront the domination drug for what it is—a grave
and perverse spiritual and moral illness.
Carolyn Baker
is recovering fundamentalist Christian and an adjunct professor of history
and lives in Southern New Mexico. She can be contacted at: cbaker@nmsu.edu
Copyright © Carolyn Baker. All rights reserved. You may republish under the following conditions: An
active link to the original publication must be provided. http://liberty.hypermart.net/voices/2005/print/The_Religious_Right_Pushing_A_Deadly_Addiction.htm You must not alter, edit or remove any text within the article,
including this copyright notice.
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Press Release from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary
EVANGELICALS OFFER COURSE
FOR MEDIA PROFESSIONALS
CONTACT: ANNE DOLL, DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS
AT 978.646.4141 (adoll@gcts.edu) or
MICHAEL COLANERI, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR
OF COMMUNICATIONS AT 978.646.4064
(mcolaneri@gcts.edu)
GORDON-CONWELL THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY
Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and the National Association
of
Evangelicals in cooperation with Christianity Today are offering
two
seminars in February and March 2005 on evangelicalism.
The Gordon-Conwell event, "What Is an Evangelical? A Short
Course for Media Professionals," will identify the evangelical
subculture in the U.S., provide a concise overview of the
theological and biblical foundations that evangelicals have in
common, and show how these beliefs shape the worldviews
and actions of evangelicals.
The conference will also feature a special video presentation by
John Stott, D.D., Rector Emeritus of All Souls Church, Langham
Place, London, England.
This seminar, designed for editors, producers, political and
religion
reporters, and editorial writers and commentators, will take place
Friday,February 4, 2005, on the seminary's South Hamilton,
Massachusetts, campus.
Conference presenters include:
Cynthia Fantasia, Doctoral Candidate, Gordon-Conwell, and Pastor
of Women, Grace Chapel, Lexington, Massachusetts
Robert Wenz, D.Min., Vice President of National Ministries,
National
Association of Evangelicals, Washington, D.C.
Gordon-Conwell faculty who will serve as presenters include:
Rodney L. Cooper, Ph.D., Kenneth and Jean Hansen Professor of
Discipleship and Leadership Development,
John Jefferson Davis, Ph.D., Professor of Systematic Theology and
Christian Ethics,
Todd M. Johnson, Ph.D., Research Fellow in Global Christianity and
Director of the Center for the Study of Global Christianity at
Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary,
Walter C. Kaiser, Jr., Ph.D., President and Colman M. Mockler
Distinguished Professor of Old Testament,
Timothy C. Tennent, Ph.D., Associate Professor of World Missions,
Director of Missions Programs and Chair of the J. Christy Wilson,
Jr. Center for World Missions at Gordon-Conwell,
Eldin Villafa, Ph.D., Professor of Social Ethics and Founder of
Gordon-Conwell's Boston Urban Ministry Campus, the Center for
Urban Ministerial Education,
David F. Wells, Ph.D., Andrew Mutch Distinguished Professor of
Historical and Systematic Theology,
Registration and additional conference information can be obtained
from Gordon-Conwell's website at http://www.gordonconwell.edu/pr/mediaseminar.php or by calling Anne Doll, Director of Communications, at
978-646-4141, or Michael Colaneri, Assistant Director of
Communications, at 978-646-4064.
The second seminar will be offered March 9, 2005, at the
Washington Press Club in Washington, DC. This course will be an
abbreviated version of the Boston course designed to fit into an
afternoon. Registration and additional information can be
obtained from the National Association of Evangelicals'
website at http://www.nae.net or by calling Dr. Bob Wenz, Vice
President of National Ministries for the NAE, at 202-789-1011 or
301-938-9220.
Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary is a multi-denominational
evangelical Protestant graduate school serving more than 2,000
students on campuses in South Hamilton and Boston, Massachusetts,
and Charlotte, North Carolina.
Students on the three campuses represent 107 denominations and 38
foreign countries. The seminary ranks 5th largest in size among
all seminaries accredited by the Association of Theological
Schools of the United States and Canada. Gordon-Conwell offers 19
degrees at the master's and doctoral levels and has gained an
international reputation for leading faculty in the areas of
Biblical Studies, Ministry and Theology.
The National Association of Evangelicals is the largest network of
evangelical churches and ministries in the United States,
representing 51 denominations and networks of churches, along with
hundreds of independent churches and para-church ministries. The
NAE has a constituency of between 24 and 30 million evangelicals.
Founded in 1942, the NAE has entered the new millennium under the
leadership of Ted Haggard, Pastor of New Life Church in Colorado
Springs, Colorado, a congregation of 10,000 evangelical believers.
Christianity Today magazine has served as a forum for evangelical
discussion and reported religious news since 1956. Founded by
Billy Graham and first edited by Dr. Carl F. H. Henry, CT
celebrates its fiftieth anniversary next year under the leadership
of editor David Neff.
The course at both locations will feature presenters from Gordon-Conwell
and the National Association of Evangelicals. A resource kit with
helpful information about the evangelical movement, its core
beliefs and a bibliography of resources will be provided to each
person taking the course.
A list of media contacts who can serve as informed and articulate
spokespersons for evangelicals will be included.
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Green Views
Evangelical Outreach
Commentary by Lowell McFarland
"Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and the National Association
of Evangelicals in cooperation with Christianity Today are
offering two seminars in February and March 2005 on
evangelicalism.
The Gordon-Conwell event, "What Is an
Evangelical? A Short Course for Media Professionals," will
identify the evangelical subculture in the U.S., provide a concise
overview of the theological and biblical foundations that
evangelicals have in common, and show how these beliefs shape the
worldviews and actions of evangelicals."
"This seminar, designed for editors, producers, political and
religion reporters, and editorial writers and commentators, will
take place Friday, February 4, 2005, on the seminary’s South
Hamilton, Massachusetts, campus."
OPINION:
While much has been made of evangelical claims that they captured
the White House, there is an apparent grassroots efforts by
evangelicals at all levels to more influence text books,
politicians, reporters, news,
and perhaps even the viewpoints of non-Christians.
This Gordon-Conwell event seems to be part of that evangelical
outreach. Much of this appears to not only explain evangelistic
positions but to lay claim to Biblical based roots of morality,
positive culture and
our current life.
European Christians failed in their attempt to lay similar claim
to Christianity being the roots of Europe in the European Union
Constitution.
Whether evangelical captured the White House or not, this
should give evangelicals more success in their overriding quests.
Immediately after our presidential election, most all religions
conducted high level congresses and established new plans for the
coming four years - all except Pagans.
Of course, Pagans should be doing the outreach that other
religions are doing and more because we are so far back.
But, while most all religions have acted, and evangelicals are
enacting aggressive stepped up plans, Pagans
seem to be still lolling at the starting gate, debating just who
is a leader, the word Pagan itself, as well as every other minor
issue.
Loch Sloy!
Tuan Today
"Tuan MacCarrill/MacParthalon, Forever the Celtic story!"
Lowell McFarland <lowell@optonline.net>
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Republicans
Continue Culture/Religion Wars
By Lowell McFarland
Sept. 1, 2004
"The Family, Faith and Freedom Rally" was a private affair
held during the Republican convention -- invitations only and news media were BARRED. According to an invitation, it was organized by the
Bush-Cheney campaign "to celebrate America
and President
George W. Bush, a conservative leader who shares our values, who
takes a strong stand for his faith." The Bush
campaign
communications director castigated the New York Times reporter for
covering an event that "was closed to the press"
as "not
professional or appropriate." The reporter was invited to the
event by participants who accompanied him.
"Truth flies on swift wings." -- Ancient Egyptian
aphorism
At the Waldorf Astoria Hotel, a hand-picked crowd of several
hundred Christian conservative GOP delegates were advised of a broad
social conservative agenda notably different from the televised
presentations at the Republican convention. This agenda included adopting requirements that pregnant women considering
abortions be offered anesthetics for their fetuses, amending
the Constitution to forbid gay marriage and perhaps also civil
unions, and creating a new Supreme Court which would
weaken the separation of church and state.
Senator Sam Brownback of Kansas preached, "We must win this
culture war," reprising the 1992 Republican convention speech by
Patrick J. Buchanan -- a position that many political experts say
alienated moderate voters in that election. Ralph Reed, a senior
Bush campaign adviser and liaison to conservative Christians, also
addressed the crowd.
The public and televised Republican convention was a made for TV
PR piece at which no real business was done; it's function was
to project a welcoming, pluralistic face, and talk of national
unity and cultural inclusiveness, in hopes of lulling moderate or
undecided voters. Hence, Bush pointedly avoided deprecating
gay men and lesbians or engaging in talk of a "culture war."
And on
the first night of the convention, two Muslim speakers
invoked Allah on the stage and Sen. John McCain praised Islam as
an
honorable religion. In that context, the borrowings from
evangelical Sunday services that were used were more tolerable to
cultural
moderates.
The real convention business took place in private meetings for
the various special interest groups which make up the Republican
coalition.
This rally was part of the campaign to motivate the socially
conservative evangelical Christians among its base.
Brownback, loved by party conservatives, assured them of their
righteousness at the private meeting.
"We are accused of having a radical agenda for saying that
marriage is between a man and a woman and it is the best way for
children to be raised. It is not about being hateful. It is about
being truthful." He tried to reduce opposition to Bush to purely
religious reasons, perhaps in a deliberate appeal to their martyr M.que.
One speaker opined, "The notion that our leaders should have
God in their life has suddenly become threatening," a narrator
says.
Loch Sloy!
Tuan Today
"Tuan MacCarrill/MacParthalon, forever the Celtic story!"
Lowell McFarland lowell@optonline.net
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Pharisee Watch
Feature in August:
How Reverends Enable Church Bombers
By Charles E.
Carlson
Some benefit from bombing churches and they are the best
suspects. One group is positively
implicated in the acts. By its own words it convicts itself,
regardless of who set the explosives
or who made the plan. Its proponents call themselves
“Christian-Zionists” or “Judeo-Christians.”
You will find these accomplices behind the pulpits of many
American churches on Sunday.
http://www.whtt.org/whtt.shtml?articles/ChBm.htm
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Falwell
on 'Thugs' and Taxes
August 6, 2004 - The Washington Post
The Christian right leader said he is tired of being attacked by
"thugs"; That's what he calls civil
liberties groups who have accused him of abusing his ministry's
tax-exempt status. He's fighting
back with a seminar to train social conservative church leaders
just how far they can go without
quite violating the law.
Get the Post's story at http://pewforum.org/news/display.php?NewsID=3794
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Bush-Cheney Campaign Makes Wrong Move
In Recruiting Church Directories
August 9, 2004
“Little did we churchgoers know that high-powered political
operatives would one day take a keen
interest in those dog-eared church directories in our kitchen
drawers. As has been widely reported, the
campaign to re-elect President Bush and Vice President Dick
Cheney has produced materials informing
"coalition coordinators" that one of their "duties" is: "Send
your Church Directory to your State
Bush-Cheney 04 Headquarters or give to a BC04 Field Rep."…There
are some legitimate ways for
political campaigns to try to reach religious people. Soliciting
directories isn't one of them. Churches
and other organizations that are tax-exempt under Section
501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code are
prohibited from participating in any political campaign on
behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate
for elective public office…. As a purely ethical matter,
organizational members step over a line when they use group lists for purposes other than the organizational purpose
without the group's prior
approval. This notion has special resonance in the case at
hand.”
(Star-Telegram, “When Faith and Politics Meet,” 08-09-04)
READ FULL ARTICLE:
http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/news/opinion/9344439.htm?1c
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“The Big Brother Church Watch” Keeps Eye On Local Churches
“A conservative religious organization is keeping an eye on local
churches, threatening to report any
that endorse or disparage political candidates in violation of
their nonprofit status.
The Big Brother Church Watch, a group sponsored by the Religious
Freedom Action Coalition, is sending
volunteers throughout Virginia to sit in church pews and take
notes. If there is any indication of an
endorsement of, or objection to, a specific political candidate,
the group has said it will report that
church to the Internal Revenue Service, which could revoke their
tax-exempt status. The group is
targeting so-called "liberal churches" such as the Metropolitan
Community churches, Unitarian
Universalist fellowships and African Methodist Episcopal
churches.”
(The Free Lance-Star, “Group to watch liberal churches,” 08-16-04)
READ FULL ARTICLE
http://fredericksburg.com/News/FLS/2004/082004/08162004/1462370
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Falwell
opens Fundie law school to take away your rights
Aug 17, 2004
Falwell Integrates Faith
Into Law School
According to Associated Press Writer, Chris Kahn, the Rev. Jerry
Falwell just opened a law school at
Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va., to train a new generation of
attorneys for conservative causes.
"We'll be as far to the right as Harvard is to the left."
The first year class has 61 law students. Graduates of the law
school will tackle issues like abortion
rights and gay marriage, Falwell said. "I'd love to fight Roe v.
Wade," said incoming law student Heidi
Thompson, 33, a Liberty graduate who has worked as a high school
counselor in Orlando, Fla.
Full Story:
http://www.timesdaily.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20040817/APA/408171107
Have a nice
sleep.
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Press Release from American Tract Society
AMERICAN TRACT SOCIETY TAKES PREACHING AND POLITICS TO TASK
WITH VOTER PACKS PUSHING REGISTRATION AND SALVATION
Partners with Redeem the Vote - Voter Registration Campaign
Contact: MARCIA DAVIS, 972-824-8626, marciajdavis@joimail.com
MARK BROWN, 972-276-9408,
Ext. 118, mbrown@atstracts.org
GRASSROOTS, America (July 15, 2004) -- As Presidential Election,
2004, approaches -- the American Tract Society (ATS) has kicked
open the gate
between preaching and politics with a God Bless America Voters
Pack.
The voter packs mark the first time the 179-year-old gospel
publisher, based in Garland, Tex., has incorporated voter
registration with gospel tract evangelism. The tract text
states that refusing to make a choice in voting or in trusting
Christ becomes its own choice.
"It's not about partisanship, it's about the importance of
making a choice to exercise the right to vote and claim the
precious freedom for which so many have sacrificed and are
sacrificing to give us," according to ATS President Dan
Southern. "Literature in these packs also extends the
significant opportunity to make an eternal choice, that of
choosing Christ as a personal savior, and the eternal freedom
that choice brings."
"We are asking folks across the country to participate in one of
the most important activities available to them this year --
voting; and make one of the most important choices they can make
in a lifetime -- trusting Christ. I think we have created a
unique evangelism opportunity for Christians to share their
faith and serve their country," Southern said.
The tract society has partnered with another
nonprofit-nonpartisan organization, Redeem the Vote (www.redeemthevote.com),
to promote voter registration for the fall presidential
election. ATS voter tracts will be distributed by "Redeem the
Vote" in a series of festival and concert events through the
summer. Randy Brinson, the Southern Baptist founder of "Redeem
the Vote" has engaged top Christian music artists to endorse the
vote effort, including Stephen Curtis Chapman, Rebecca St.
James, Jaci Velasquez, Chris Tomlin, and Toby mac.
Brinson said his organization was targeting evangelicals with
irregular voting records, and America's young people of faith
who are missing from the voter registration dockets.
The ATS voters pack includes a small American Flag imprinted
with the words "God Bless America," a "The Choice Is Yours"
gospel tract, a "God Bless America" door hanger, a voter
registration instruction guide and a voter registration form.
Since voter registration forms differ for each state, the packs
can be ordered by state designation (www.atstracts.org).
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Your Bark is my Dinner Bell
Here's an
item which illuminates the big push for government-funded
"faith-based initiatives" and the
significance of some *VERY well organized* Evangelical Christian
groups putting together programs to
educate ministries in their circles on how to successfully apply
for this funding.
......
Co-Managing the Earth:
The Foundational Work of the Christian Marketplace Ministry
"We are now standing at the foundation-laying stage of one of
the most significant Christian movements
of church history, the advocacy of a Christian values-based
economy. How we work with God's Spirit in
helping to lay that foundation will have potentially enormous
effects on the global future of the church
in the 21st century. It will also signal the emergence of an
alternative to the world system's left-right,
capitalism-socialism single paradigm of economic possibility
currently available to the nations of the
world. The economics of God's Kingdom is about to appear upon
the world's stage."
http://www.openheaven.com/ubb/Forum15/HTML/000078.html
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These
people are truly scarey...
Christian
reconstructionists explained:
May 25, 2004
The Covert Kingdom: Thy Will be Done, On Earth as It is in Texas
By JOE BAGEANT
Not long ago I pulled my car up alongside a tiny wooden church
in the woods, a stark white frame
box my family built in 1840.
And as always, an honest-to-god chill went through me, for the
ancestral ghosts presumably hovering over the graves there. From
the wide open front door the
Pentecostal preacher's message
echoed from within the plain wooden walls:
"Thank
you Gawd for giving us strawng leaders like President Bush during this crieeesis. Praise you Lord and guide him
in this battle with Satan's Muslim
armies."
If
I had chosen to go back down the road a mile or so to the
sprawling new Bible Baptist church ---
complete with school
facilities, professional sound system and in-house television
production---I
could have heard approximately the same
exhortation. Usually offered at the end of a prayer for
sons and
daughters of members in the congregation serving in Iraq, it can
be heard in any of the
thousands upon thousands of praise
temples across our republic.
After a lifetime of identity conflict, I have come to accept
that, blood-wise, if not politically or
spiritually, these are
my people. And as a leftist it is very clear to me these days
why urban liberals
not only fail to understand these people, but
do not even know they exist, other than as some
general lump of
ignorant, intolerant voters called "the religious
right," or the "Christian Right," or
"neocon
Christians." But
until progressives come to understand what these people read,
hear, are
told and deeply believe, we cannot understand American
politics, much less be effective.
Given
fundamentalist Christianity's inherent cultural isolation,
it is nearly impossible for most enlightened
Americans to
imagine, in honest human terms, what fundamentalist Americans
believe, let alone
understand why we should all care.
For liberals to examine the current fundamentalist phenomenon in
America is accept some hard
truths. For starters, we libs are
even more embattled than most of us choose to believe. Any
significant liberal and progressive support is limited to a few
urban pockets on each coast and
along the upper edge of the
Midwestern tier states. Most of the rest of the nation, the much
vaunted heartland, is the dominion of the conservative and
charismatic Christian.
Turf-wise, it's pretty much their country, which is to say it
presently belongs to George W. Bush for
some valid reasons.
Remember: He did not have to steal the entire election, just a
little piece of it
in Florida. Evangelical born-again Christians
of one stripe or another were then, and are now, 40%
of the
electorate, and they support Bush 3-1. And as long as their
clergy and their worst instincts
tell them to, they will keep on
voting for him, or someone like him, regardless of what we view
as
his arrogant folly and sub-intelligence.
Forget
about changing their minds. These Christians do not read the
same books we do, they do not
get their information from
anything remotely resembling reasonably balanced sources, and
in fact,
consider even CBS and NBC super-liberal networks of
porn and the Devil's lies. Given how
fundamentalists see the
modern world, they may as well be living in Iraq or Syria, with
whom they
share approximately the same Bronze Age religious
tenets. They believe in God, Rumsfeld's Holy
War and their
absolute duty as God's chosen nation to kick Muslim ass up one
side and down the
other. In other words, just because
millions of Christians appear to be dangerously nuts does not
mean they are marginal.
Having been born into a Southern Pentecostal/Baptist family of
many generations, and living in this
fundamentalist social
landscape means that I gaze into the maw of neocon Christianity
daily. Hell,
sometimes hourly. My brother is a fundamentalist
preacher, as are a couple of my nephews, as were
many of my
ancestors going back to god-knows-when. My entire family is
born-again; their lives are
completely focused inside their own
religious community, and on the time when Jesus returns to
earth---Armageddon and The Rapture.
Only another liberal born into a fundamentalist clan can
understand what a strange, sometimes
downright hellish family
circumstance it is---how such a family can love you deeply, yet
despise
everything you believe in, see you as a humanist
instrument of Satan, and still be right there for you
when your
back goes out or a divorce shatters your life. As a socialist
and a half-assed lefty
activist,
obviously I do not find much conversational fat to
chew around the Thanksgiving table. Politically
and spiritually,
we may be said to be dire enemies. Love and loathing coexist
side by side. There is
talk, but no communication. In fact,
there are times when it all has science fiction overtones, times
when it seems we are speaking to one another through an
unearthly veil, wherein each party knows
it is speaking to an
alien. There is a sort of high eerie mental whine in the air.
This is the sound of
mutually incomprehensible worlds hurtling
toward destiny, passing with great psychological friction,
obvious to all, yet acknowledged by none.
Between such times, I wait rather anxiously and strive for
change, for relief from what feels like an
increased stifling of
personal liberty, beauty, art, and self-realization in America.
They wait in spooky
calmness for Jesus. They
believe that, until Jesus does arrive, our "satanic
humanist
state and federal legal systems" should be
replaced with pure "Biblical Law." This
belief is
called Christian Reconstructionism.
Though it has always been around in some form,
it began
expanding rapidly about 1973, with the publication of R. J.
Rushdoony's, Institutes of
Biblical Law (Vallecito, CA: Ross
House Books, 1982).
Time out please.
In a nod toward fairness and tolerance---begging the question of
whether liberals are required to
tolerate the intolerant---I
will say this: Fundamentalists
are "good people." In daily life, they are
warm-hearted and generous to a fault.
They live with feet on the ground (albeit with eyes cast
heavenward) and with genuine love and concern for their
neighbors. After spending 30 years in
progressive western cities
such as Boulder, Colorado and Eugene, Oregon, I would have to
say that
conservative Christians actually do what liberals
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