See other Religion Articles
Title: The Crusaders(Christian evangelicals are plotting to remake America in their own image)(Badeye Snaps)
Source:
rollingstone
URL Source: http://www.libertypost.org/cgi-bin/ ... t.cgi?ArtNum=91789&Disp=11#C11
Published: Apr 11, 2005
Author: Bob Moser
Post Date: 2005-04-11 14:33:30 by hfrancis
Keywords: Crusaders(Christian, image)(Badeye, evangelicals
Views: 572
Comments: 70
World News See other World News Articles Title: The Crusaders(Christian evangelicals are plotting to remake America in their own image) Source: rollingstone URL Source: http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/_/id/7235393 Published: Apr 11, 2005 Author: Bob Moser Post Date: 2005-04-11 13:58:56 by hfrancis 12 Comments It's February, and 900 of America's staunchest Christian fundamentalists have gathered in Fort Lauderdale to look back on what they accomplished in last year's election -- and to plan what's next. As they assemble in the vast sanctuary of Coral Ridge Presbyterian, with all fifty state flags dangling from the rafters, three stadium-size video screens flash the name of the conference: reclaiming america for christ. These are the evangelical activists behind the nation's most effective political machine -- one that brought more than 4 million new Christian voters to the polls last November, sending George W. Bush back to the White House and thirty-two new pro-lifers to Congress. But despite their unprecedented power, fundamentalists still see themselves as a persecuted minority, waging a holy war against the godless forces of secularism. To rouse themselves, they kick off the festivities with "Soldiers of the Cross, Arise," the bloodthirstiest tune in all of Christendom: "Seize your armor, gird it on/Now the battle will be won/Soon, your enemies all slain/Crowns of glory you shall gain." Meet the Dominionists -- biblical literalists who believe God has called them to take over the U.S. government. As the far-right wing of the evangelical movement, Dominionists are pressing an agenda that makes Newt Gingrich's Contract With America look like the Communist Manifesto. They want to rewrite schoolbooks to reflect a Christian version of American history, pack the nation's courts with judges who follow Old Testament law, post the Ten Commandments in every courthouse and make it a felony for gay men to have sex and women to have abortions. In Florida, when the courts ordered Terri Schiavo's feeding tube removed, it was the Dominionists who organized round-the-clock protests and issued a fiery call for Gov. Jeb Bush to defy the law and take Schiavo into state custody. Their ultimate goal is to plant the seeds of a "faith-based" government that will endure far longer than Bush's presidency -- all the way until Jesus comes back. "Most people hear them talk about a 'Christian nation' and think, 'Well, that sounds like a good, moral thing,' says the Rev. Mel White, who ghostwrote Jerry Falwell's autobiography before breaking with the evangelical movement. "What they don't know -- what even most conservative Christians who voted for Bush don't know -- is that 'Christian nation' means something else entirely to these Dominionist leaders. This movement is no more about following the example of Christ than Bush's Clean Water Act is about clean water." The godfather of the Dominionists is D. James Kennedy, the most influential evangelical you've never heard of. A former Arthur Murray dance instructor, he launched his Florida ministry in 1959, when most evangelicals still followed Billy Graham's gospel of nonpartisan soul-saving. Kennedy built Coral Ridge Ministries into a $37-million-a-year empire, with a TV-and-radio audience of 3 million, by preaching that it was time to save America -- not soul by soul but election by election. After helping found the Moral Majority in 1979, Kennedy became a five-star general in the Christian army. Bush sought his blessing before running for president -- and continues to consult top Dominionists on matters of federal policy. "Our job is to reclaim America for Christ, whatever the cost," Kennedy says. "As the vice regents of God, we are to exercise godly dominion and influence over our neighborhoods, our schools, our government, our literature and arts, our sports arenas, our entertainment media, our news media, our scientific endeavors -- in short, over every aspect and institution of human society." At Reclaiming America, most of the conference is taken up by grassroots training sessions that supply ministers, retirees and devout churchgoers with "The Facts of Stem-Cell Research" or "Practical Steps to Impact Your Community with America's Historical Judeo-Christian Heritage." "We're going to turn you into an army of one," Gary Cass, executive director of Reclaiming America, promises activists at one workshop held in Evangalism Explosion Hall. The Dominionists also attend speeches by supporters like Rep. Katherine Harris of Florida, who urges them to "win back America for God." In their spare time, conference-goers buy books about a God-devised health program called the Maker's Diet or meet with a financial adviser who offers a "biblically sound investment plan." To implement their sweeping agenda, the Dominionists are working to remake the federal courts in God's image. In their view, the Founding Fathers never intended to erect a barrier between politics and religion. "The First Amendment does not say there should be a separation of church and state," declares Alan Sears, president and CEO of the Alliance Defense Fund, a team of 750 attorneys trained by the Dominionists to fight abortion and gay marriage. Sears argues that the constitutional guarantee against state-sponsored religion is actually designed to "shield" the church from federal interference -- allowing Christians to take their rightful place at the head of the government. "We have a right, indeed an obligation, to govern," says David Limbaugh, brother of Rush and author of Persecution: How Liberals Are Waging War Against Christianity. Nothing gets the Dominionists to their feet faster than ringing condemnations of judicial tyranny. "Activist judges have systematically deconstructed the Constitution," roars Rick Scarborough, author of Mixing Church and State. "A God-free society is their goal!" Activist judges, of course, are precisely what the Dominionists want. Their model is Roy Moore, the former Alabama chief justice who installed a 5,300-pound granite memorial to the Ten Commandments, complete with an open Bible carved in its top, in the state judicial building. At Reclaiming America, Roy's Rock sits out front, fresh off a tour of twenty-one states, perched on the flag-festooned flatbed of a diesel truck, a potent symbol of the "faith-based" justice the Dominionists are bent on imposing. Activists at the conference pose for photographs beside the rock and have circulated a petition urging President Bush to appoint Moore -- who once penned an opinion calling for the state to execute "practicing homosexuals" -- to the U.S. Supreme Court. "The other side knows we've got strongholds in the executive and legislative branches," Cass tells the troops. "If we start winning the judiciary, their power base is going to be eroded." To pack the courts with fundamentalists like Moore, Dominionist leaders are planning a massive media blitz. They're also pressuring Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist -- an ally who's courting support for his presidential bid -- to halt the long-standing use of filibusters to hold up judicial nominations. An anti-filibuster petition circulating at the conference blasts Democrats for their "outrageous stonewalling of appointments" -- even though Congress has approved more nominees of Bush than of any president since Jimmy Carter. It helps that Dominionists have a direct line to the White House: The Rev. Richard Land, top lobbyist for the 16-million-member Southern Baptist Convention, enjoys a weekly conference call with top Bush advisers including Karl Rove. "We've got the Holy Spirit's wind at our backs!" Land declares in an arm-waving, red-faced speech. He takes particular aim at the threat posed by John Lennon, denouncing "Imagine" as a "secular anthem" that envisions a future of "clone plantations, child sacrifice, legalized polygamy and hard-core porn." The Dominionists are also stepping up efforts to turn public schools into forums for evangelism. In a landmark case, the Alliance Defense Fund is suing a California school district that threatened to dismiss a born-again teacher who was evangelizing fifth-graders. In the conference's opening ceremony, the Dominionists recite an oath they dream of hearing in every classroom: "I pledge allegiance to the Christian flag, and to the Savior for whose kingdom it stands. One Savior, crucified, risen and coming again, with life and liberty for all who believe." Cass urges conference-goers to stack school boards with Dominionists. "The most humble Christian is more qualified for office than the best-educated pagan," says Cass, an anti-abortion activist who led a takeover of his school district's board in San Diego. "We built quite a little grass-roots machine out there. Now it's my burden to multiply that success all across America." Cass points to the Rev. Gary Beeler, a Baptist minister from Tennessee who got permission for thousands of students to skip class and attend weeklong events that he calls "old-time revivals, with preaching and singing and soul-saving and the whole nine yards." Now, with support from Kennedy, Beeler is selling his house and buying a mobile home to spread his crusade nationwide. "It's not exactly what I planned to do with my retirement," he says. "But it's what God told me to do." Cass also presents another small-town activist, Kevin McCoy, with a Salt and Light Award for leading a successful campaign to shut down an anti-bullying program in West Virginia schools. McCoy, a soft-spoken, prematurely gray postal worker, fought to end the program because it taught tolerance for gay people -- and thus, in his view, constituted a "thinly disguised effort to promote the homosexual agenda." "What America needs," Cass tells the faithful, "is more Kevin McCoys." While the dominionists rely on grass-roots activists to fight their battles, they are backed by some of America's richest entrepreneurs. Amway founder Rich DeVos, a Kennedy ally who's the leading Republican contender for governor of Michigan, has tossed more than $5 million into the collection plate. Jean Case, wife of former AOL chief Steve Case -- whose fortune was made largely on sex-chat rooms -- has donated $8 million. And Tom Monaghan, founder of Domino's Pizza, is a major source of cash for Focus on the Family, a megaministry working with Kennedy to eliminate all public schools. The one-two punch of militant activists and big money has helped make the Dominionists a force in Washington, where a growing number of congressmen owe their elections to the machine. Kennedy has also created the Center for Christian Statesmanship, which trains elected officials to "more effectively share their faith in the public arena." Speaking to the group, House Majority Whip Tom DeLay -- a winner of Kennedy's Distinguished Christian Statesman Award -- called Bush's faith-based initiatives "a great opportunity to bring God back into the public institutions of our country." The most vivid proof of the Christianizing of Capitol Hill comes at the final session of Reclaiming America. Rep. Walter Jones, a lanky congressman from North Carolina, gives a fire-and-brimstone speech that would have gotten him laughed out of Washington thirty years ago. In today's climate, however, he's got a chance of passing his pet project, the Houses of Worship Free Speech Restoration Act, which would permit ministers to endorse political candidates from their pulpits, effectively converting their tax-exempt churches into Republican campaign headquarters. "America is under assault!" Jones thunders as his aides dash around the sanctuary snapping PR photos. "Everyone in America has the right to speak freely, except for those standing in the pulpits of our churches!" The amen chorus reaches a fever pitch. Hands fly heavenward. It's one thing to hear such words from Dominionist leaders -- but to this crowd, there's nothing more thrilling than getting the gospel from a U.S. congressman. "You cannot have a strong nation that does not follow God," Jones preaches, working up to a climactic, passionate plea for a biblical republic. "God, please -- God, please -- God, please -- save America!" FAIR USE NOTICE: The above may be copyrighted material, and the use of it on LibertyPost.org may not have been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. Such material is made available on a non-profit basis for educational and discussion purposes only. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in 17 USC § 107. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. Post Comment Rolling Stone? He he he...yer killing me today with your choices, hfrancis.....(grin) Badeye posted on 2005-04-11 14:03:56 ET Reply Trace rileybrook posted on 2005-04-11 14:04:24 ET Reply Trace hfrancis posted on 2005-04-11 14:06:21 ET Reply Trace attacking the messenger typical. Hey, you be attackin Baby Jeeeeesus! Isn't he a "messenger"? ROTFL! Too easy, hfrancis, way to easy....(grin) Badeye posted on 2005-04-11 14:14:52 ET Reply Trace Atheist are jealous of their own power You mean we believe in a separation of Church and State. TheTruth2004 posted on 2005-04-11 14:16:30 ET Reply Trace Too easy thats what the guy selling you your"AWARDS" thinks, man what a tool. hfrancis posted on 2005-04-11 14:22:37 ET Reply Trace You mean we believe in a separation of Church and State. No, meaning you believe in freedom FROM religion. IMstillRight posted on 2005-04-11 14:25:06 ET Reply Trace Too easy thats what the guy selling you your"AWARDS" thinks, man what a tool. You and your pussy friends a freedom4um oughta get some new material, hfrancis....ROTFL! Cowards, every last one of you..and yes, as noted earlier, I know it irritates you I put my money where my mouth is...unlike you or your little pussy friends....(grin) Now, go get a thread of over 870 posts about other posters at other websites...seems thats all you pussies are good for these days. Badeye posted on 2005-04-11 14:25:27 ET Reply Trace temper temper. would you like to Buy another "AWARD" to calm you down. hfrancis posted on 2005-04-11 14:27:30 ET Reply Trace TheTruth2004 posted on 2005-04-11 14:28:01 ET Reply Trace where my mouth is seems to never leave the GOP's behind. please continue. hfrancis posted on 2005-04-11 14:29:35 ET Reply Trace From religion in the government or being sponsored by the government.... or existing anywhere in public where someone else might see them. Putting things back the way the Founders left them is NOT "remaking" America, it's "restoring" it. IMstillRight posted on 2005-04-11 14:30:25 ET Reply Trace [Home] [Headlines] [Latest Articles] [Latest Comments] [Post] [Sign-in] [Setup] [Donate] [Help] [FAQ] [Register]
Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/Latest 1. To: hfrancis (#0)
2. To: hfrancis (#0) Atheists have already employed the courts to make America in the atheists' image. Atheist are jealous of their own power and want to keep it at any and all costs.
3. To: Badeye (#1) attacking the messenger typical.
4. To: hfrancis (#3)
5. To: rileybrook (#2)
6. To: Badeye (#4)
7. To: TheTruth2004 (#5)
8. To: hfrancis (#6)
9. To: Badeye (#8)
10. To: IMstillRight (#7) From religion in the government or being sponsored by the government.
11. To: Badeye (#8)
12. To: TheTruth2004 (#10)
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#30. To: robin (#28)
You too can become an HONORARY CHAIRMAN of the PHYSICIAN'S ADVISORY BOARD by simply sending in your $300 (or more) donation! Thank you for your interest in becoming an honorary chairman of the Physicians Advisory Board! Physicians have a wealth of knowledge and expertise, and the Republican Congressional Leadership feels it is critical to seek their support and counsel as they begin to address the critical issues facing the health care system in this country. By enlisting Physicians from every field to serve as Honorary Chairmen, we can begin to tap into this valuable resource. Please make your most generous contribution below... Click here. You don't even have to be a damn doctor! The funny part is that there is no provision for actually participating in setting policy or sharing your experience, knowledge and leadership. It's a simple scam to raise funds.
award? what'd he get an award for? his posts make about as much sense as the minutes from the Tourette Society's monthly meeting.
You too can become a Legally Ordained Minister right from the comfort of your own computer for FREE.
It does look that way. The donors' backgrounds do not appear to be checked in any way. Enter your cat's name, the RNC could care less; so long as you send them $$.
Maybe they'll set up a "Jeff Gannon Journalist of the Year" award that donors can purchase.
GoldiLox spends so much time on her knees I'm surprised she can find the time to ban anyone! *GRIN*
I've got eyes, fingers and a mind. I don't need you, TLBSHOW or bad santa to tell me what's going on at another site.
He's such a douche bag.. Tsk, tsk..
Please excuse Continental Op. He's a rejection junkie.
Now THAT is a very astute observation! How can he keep up his high post count on LP when he's spending all his time lurking here?? (grin) Hi Butteye! Whatsamatter, don't you LIKE being a star? I'd give you the "TLBSHOW award", but you're not literate enough!
Best new name for Badeye, right here!!
WHAT??? Badeye doesn't really care about religion? Butteye, a godless heathen or... or... maybe even... an atheist?? Why, that secular anti-Christian humanist scumbag! Sitting around there talking to Jael and the other bearers of the True Cross, all the while not caring about religion! Speed on, Butteye, hell ain't half full!(grin)
I wonder how many other people are blacklisted from the site? Meanwhile, the LPers frequently go into rhapsodies over how "we have all opinions on this board, unlike Freerepublic." Well, considering they've sold out virtually every principle, just to continue their bizarre and hypnotic following of Junior, I guess hypocrisy comes naturally to them.
You'd have to knock a few teeth outa that grin to make it look like Butteye's. His grin looks like a Halloween pumpkin rotting by a curb on Nov. 1.
St. DeLay? Oh, I think I get it now. Butteye "doesn't care much for religion"... but he's not a secular humanist, he's a satan-worshipper...
Yes, whenever Butteye posts his signature (grin), I always get the impression that it's kind of a frozen, gritted-teeth thing.
Shades of Badeye's phony "businessman" award! Geez, so now the doctors are stupid. "I got a Physician of the Year award from the bug spray man!" Next thing you know, Frist will be hawking "Feline Vivisectionist of the Year" awards.
To hell with healing! Business is business! Now I know why some people used to look down on businessmen/merchants. Maybe it's time to start doing that again.
I've seen it over and over again on LP. Such an article is posted, and immediately some asshole like r-u-n-n-i-n-g-s-o-r-e or Trash21230 swoops in and cusses out the poster of the article. Then along comes medpud, with the stupid, irrelevant photos. As you say, they never read the articles. Too bad those shills were such assholes that Freerepublic banned them even in spite of their "correct" politics. They'd be a lot happier on FR, where they'd never have to even look at the titles of any articles that questioned their demented leader.
They are still slaves to him because that's the only way they can avoid that one thing, that one thing that is feared worse than death is feared, by these little two-bit nobodies in their double-wide castles. That one thing: to admit they were WRONG.
Next thing you know, the repukes will be handing out doctors of divinity. "You have been selected to become a minister of the gospel in the Church of the Hefty Profit! Please send your generous contribution to the Republican National Committee now!"
OMIGOD! Your post just opened my eyes in a big way! Byeltsin and Butteye must post from the same library!!
He's probably tired of that trinket by now. Let's give him something to live for. Let's make him a Reverend in the Church of the Marauding Profiteer.
...although Senator Frist might then summon your cat to Washington to participate in a "seminar"...
I thought you said you'd never make it that easy for me again...
when I thought of that joke, I seriously cracked myself up... he he he....can you imagine...the monthly meeting of the Tourettes Society? "uh,I'd like to read from last months...SHIT SON OFA BITCH, BASTARD, ARRRGH, SHRIEK,..."
Yes, that description seriously cracked me up, too! he he he....can you imagine...the monthly meeting of the Tourettes Society? Or, as it's more commonly called, Trace21230's and Quantrill's posts! Now, you see, if we were at FR, someone whose child had Tourette's would come on there and admonish us for being so tasteless...
body ID people take earth way too seriously. if you can't laugh at it, you're only left with a couple other choices.
get a little bored with franky, occassionally? he scores on badeye, wants to come up here and jump up and down, yelling, "look at me! look at me!" getting high-fives from the populace of this forum.
LOL! Here Kitty, Kitty! Here Kitty, Kitty! I would be afraid to participate in a seminar of Senator Frist's!
He's earned it. His posts are always readable, and sometimes downright hilarious. I find his opinions agreeable. Butteye is no match for him. C'mon, CO, lampooning of Butteye is a common sport. What's not to like? (Oh, shit, I find myself trying to reason with you again... I'll pay for that)
sure it is, I used to do it several times a day-on LP.
Thank you--just in case anyone doesn't know about Dr. Frist-Mengele's hypocrisy. Is there anything illegal about adopting an animal from a shelter, telling the well-meaning shelter people that you're taking it as a pet, then taking it home and having absolutely no pity for a fellow living being which is under your protection, but just poisoning or otherwise killing it, then cutting it open and coolly analyzing its inner organs? No, apparently there's not. But it still shows that he's a coldhearted, false-hearted bastard. (No wonder he's the poster boy for the republicans of today...)
Good. It's good exercise. Every forum should have a Badeye court.
Yikes.. rather reminds me of Jeffrey Dahmer "He scoured roadsides for freshly killed animals to take home to dissect. Throughout the years he became very good with a scalpel dissecting his roadkills with immense precision. "
But could Dahmer smile like Frist?
More to the point, could Dahmer scam millions of dollars from Medicare and Medicaid?
The AMA must have blocked his application to medical school. Otherwise, he might have.
LOL, UR welcome, but I should be thanking you for the entertainment value of causing the Butteye meltdown.
#31. To: hfrancis (#0)
award
#32. To: gengis gandhi (#31)
he bought one from the RNCC, for "business man of the year" or so he crows about since he loves talking about himself.
#33. To: Mr Nuke Buzzcut (#30)
that's nothing...
#34. To: Mr Nuke Buzzcut (#30)
You don't even have to be a damn doctor!
#35. To: robin (#34)
#36. To: crack monkey (#17)
I've probably been banned six or seven times. Maybe more. Mostly for making innocuous comments.
#37. To: hfrancis (#6)
oops my bad, thought maybe you would like to know when someone is talking shit and calling you a pussy. wont do it again.
#38. To: hfrancis (#0)
#39. To: hfrancis, Continental Op (#6)
oops my bad, thought maybe you would like to know when someone is talking shit and calling you a pussy. wont do it again. who's TLBSHOW?
#40. To: Zipporah (#9)
Hmm interesting how he knows how many posts particular threads here contain isn't it??
#41. To: Dakmar (#4)
QueerEye gets stupider with each passing day.
#42. To: crack monkey (#7)
but that other people on the site did so it was important to keep up the appearance of caring. Not exactly a man of faith.
#43. To: crack monkey (#11)
instantly banned
#44. To: Zipporah (#12)
(is this where I'm supposed to post "grin" ?? )
#45. To: crack monkey (#16)
Hi badeye! Got the goobers over on LP fooled into thinking Tom Delay is a saint?
#46. To: Bayonne (#19)
It's always fun to see neobots hiding their anger in various ways when their perceived opponents post something they disagree with.
#47. To: aristeides (#23)
Speaking of awards, did you see the news about DeLay selling "Physician of the Year" awards for campaign donations?
#48. To: hfrancis (#26)
Mueller said most of the talk at the sessions was about marketing, lawyers and taxes, and that he was met with silence when trying to raise the issue of the lack of affordable health insurance
#49. To: Bayonne (#27)
It took me awhile to realize that the bots NEVER read articles with titles that the bots NEVER read articles with titles that indicate that the Bush admin, empire or Rep special interest groups will be criticized. They have been conditioned by Rep agents in the media like Lush and Hannity to hate all opposition because it is a dangerous threat. Whenever they see criticism of Reps in any area, the negative emotions overwhelm them and they cannot think rationally.
#50. To: Bayonne (#27)
The current admin is guilty of so much that they have given up trying to defend the indefensible. Remember when they used to defend by saying Bush will perform at a future date? Haven't heard that one in awhile. Although their expectations have not been met by Bush, they are still slaves to him.
#51. To: Mr Nuke Buzzcut (#30)
You don't even have to be a damn doctor!
#52. To: gengis gandhi (#31)
his posts make about as much sense as the minutes from the Tourette Society's monthly meeting.
#53. To: hfrancis (#32)
he bought one from the RNCC, for "business man of the year" or so he crows about since he loves talking about himself.
#54. To: robin (#34)
It does look that way. The donors' backgrounds do not appear to be checked in any way. Enter your cat's name, the RNC could care less; so long as you send them $$.
#55. To: Continental Op (#37)
I've got eyes, fingers and a mind.
#56. To: h-a-l-f-w-i-t-t (#52)
#57. To: gengis gandhi (#56)
his posts make about as much sense as the minutes from the Tourette Society's monthly meeting.
#58. To: h-a-l-f-w-i-t-t (#57)
#59. To: h-a-l-f-w-i-t-t, hfrancis (#39)
#60. To: h-a-l-f-w-i-t-t (#54)
#61. To: Continental Op (#59)
get a little bored with franky, occassionally? he scores on badeye, wants to come up here and jump up and down, yelling, "look at me! look at me!" getting high-fives from the populace of this forum.
#62. To: h-a-l-f-w-i-t-t (#61)
C'mon, CO, lampooning of Butteye is a common sport.
#63. To: robin (#60)
#64. To: Continental Op (#62)
sure it is, I used to do it several times a day-on LP.
#65. To: h-a-l-f-w-i-t-t (#61)
thanks h-a-l-f-w-i-t-t.
#66. To: robin (#60)
#67. To: Zipporah (#66)
#68. To: robin (#67)
#69. To: Dakmar (#68)
#70. To: hfrancis (#65)
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