Having created this, my first blog, I had nothing in mind to write. Therefore, I am pasting in a modified version of a response I submitted to another blogger just to kick things off…
We are coming off eight years of having hard-right fundamentalist Christianity as the touchstone of the last would-be theocratic administration. So what is the first thing we will hear at the inauguration of our new president? A hard-right fundamentalist preacher. A preacher who just happened to be at the spear point of the successful campaign to strip California gays and lesbians of their constitutional rights. I am from California. Some non-Californians may not understand that the wounds from the Proposition 8 battle are still fresh and open, and this was like rubbing salt into them. And it is not just a small minority of Obama’s gay and lesbian base here in California that feels this way. If sticks in the craw of every free thinking individual that believed in and fought for those constitutional rights—regardless of sexual orientation. This issue goes to the very core of what our constitution stands for. My wife and I are heterosexuals and I believe there are thousands of other families in this state, and elsewhere, that feel as we do. We are still glad that Obama will be our next president. We don’t plan to take our Obama/Biden yard sign down until after the inauguration ceremony. But I think Obama wants to hear how Americans feel about his decisions, and I’m here to tell him how I feel about this one. He can add this to the aggregate of opinions expressed and do with it as he pleases. Some tell those of us who do not support Obama’s selection of Pastor Warren that we should “take a chill pill”. But tell me this. If he had scheduled a white supremacist preacher, who nevertheless supports the fight against global warming and helping to alleviate the suffering of the people of Darfur, would y’all still be telling us to “take a chill pill”?
We are coming off eight years of having hard-right fundamentalist Christianity as the touchstone of the last would-be theocratic administration. So what is the first thing we will hear at the inauguration of our new president? A hard-right fundamentalist preacher. A preacher who just happened to be at the spear point of the successful campaign to strip California gays and lesbians of their constitutional rights.
I am from California. Some non-Californians may not understand that the wounds from the Proposition 8 battle are still fresh and open, and this was like rubbing salt into them. And it is not just a small minority of Obama’s gay and lesbian base here in California that feels this way. If sticks in the craw of every free thinking individual that believed in and fought for those constitutional rights—regardless of sexual orientation. This issue goes to the very core of what our constitution stands for. My wife and I are heterosexuals and I believe there are thousands of other families in this state, and elsewhere, that feel as we do. We are still glad that Obama will be our next president. We don’t plan to take our Obama/Biden yard sign down until after the inauguration ceremony. But I think Obama wants to hear how Americans feel about his decisions, and I’m here to tell him how I feel about this one. He can add this to the aggregate of opinions expressed and do with it as he pleases.
Some tell those of us who do not support Obama’s selection of Pastor Warren that we should “take a chill pill”. But tell me this. If he had scheduled a white supremacist preacher, who nevertheless supports the fight against global warming and helping to alleviate the suffering of the people of Darfur, would y’all still be telling us to “take a chill pill”?
McCain Rallies have been trending towards low numbers as America has rejected the policies and politics of the Republican party, George Bush, and John McCain. McCain has run on a platform not of issues that help the working and middle class, but on a platform of lies, in an attempt to get the American electorate to vote against their own self - interest. He has shown himself not as a man of honor and principle, but as a personal ambition driven slash and burn candidate, who has fallen far from his roots, and the man he once was. McCain and Palin are a dangerous reminder of where we once were in this country, not the vision or hope we need to engage the future.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/11/03/mccains-crowd-disturbingl_n_140412.html
Brian 1:2 So spake the Fool in prayer before the angry masses on that 11th Day of October 2008, the year of our Lord: "there are millions of people around this world praying to their god—whether it's Hindu, Buddha, Allah—that [Barack Obama] wins, for a variety of reasons. And Lord, I pray that you will guard your own reputation, because they're going to think that their God is bigger than you if that happens."
Brian 1:3 And lo, the huddled mob—rabid with loathing and stricken, like others before them, with a fear of change and leaders of color—praised the Fool with applause. And both were pleased in their ignorance. The fool in question of course is Arnold Conrad, former pastor of Grace Evangelical Free Church, pleading with God at a John McCain rally in Iowa. However, unlike the shrewd fools in literature from Socrates to Shakespeare, this one is anything but wise. For the sake of argument, let's ignore the fact he's a pastor and alleged scholar of religion and give the Fool the benefit of the doubt. After all, an imbecile can't reasonably be expected to know that Hindu is not a god (or even a proper noun for that matter), Buddha isn't a deity either, and neither are prayed to by anyone. Anywhere.
And of course, while any average idiot—except this one apparently—knows Allah is the same God prayed to and worshiped by Christians and Jews, we needn't require Pastor Arnie to understand these or other religions and cultures. Why? Because, despite his Doctor of Ministry degree, that brand of cultural sensitivity and theological understanding is anathema to a myopic and intellectually incurious fundamentalist. The pomposity of this self-righteous dolt notwithstanding, I'm always amazed by proselytizers who pray, prattle and pontificate with the arrogant assumption they know who God is rooting for—as if God has a stake or interest in a particular candidate.
Prayers like Pastor Arnie's are futile of course and as patently absurd as asking the almighty to intervene in the Superbowl. But the obvious silliness doesn't stop so many evangelicals from so frequently contending Republicans are the party of God and John McCain (R-Nazareth) is Christ's personally vetted nominee for President. Their presumption is as comical as their worldview is provincial. My personal hunch is that God doesn't much care about American electoral politics but, if s/he does, I doubt s/he'd be categorically opposed to a Democrat. Barack Obama is a Christian. He was "saved," he was baptized, and he was a regular congregant in a Church of Christ for over 20 years. Besides—from the right to universal health care, nondiscrimination, and racial/gender equality to the eradication of poverty, earning of a living wage, dealing with AIDS and tax relief for those who actually need it—Democrats and their standard-bearers have traditionally favored policies uniquely more suited for and geared towards the middle and working classes and the poor/disenfranchised. In other words, Obama's policies tend to support the very people that the foolish pastor's God named "the Salt of the Earth" in the best-selling book s/he "authored" thousands of years ago. Christ didn't say much in favor of the free market, unprovoked war, assault weapons for "hunting," or tax-cuts for the rich and he was completely silent on those "cardinal sins" of abortion and gay marriage. But he did have an abundance of opinions about equality, justice, compassion, tolerance, forgiveness and love, as well as leaving judgment of others to God and taking care of our neediest brothers and sisters. So frankly, Pastor Arnie, I still don't think God is rooting for either candidate, but if s/he is, given their agreement on the issues, my money's on Obama. I'll give you 5:1 odds on your money for McCain, but I'd call that a Fool's Bet. Matthew 25:40 "And the King answering shall say to them, 'Verily, I say to you, Inasmuch as ye have done it to one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it to me.'"
Oil and End Times FundamentalismEnemies to Life on Earth
Check out Bill Moyer’s thoughtful consideration of Bush’s (and foretelling Palins!) fundamentalist motivation in his Welcome to Doomsday, published by the New York Review of Books.
Doomsday refers to 'a time of catastrophic destruction and death,' and clearly, ours qualifies. War rages, terrorists kill, natural disasters escalate, and people suffer on all fronts. Overarching these horrors are the dire threats of global warming, a slow-motion catastrophe our leaders refuse to acknowledge or attempt to combat. This brings us to the second definition of doomsday, as a day of final reckoning, for Christians the End Times leading up to the Second Coming. This is where journalist Moyers enters the picture. Himself a graduate of a Texas Baptist seminary, Moyers succinctly and decisively links the Bush administration's obdurate disregard for science and environmental realities to the corrosive influence of the Christian Right. Since Christian Fundamentalists see the Iraq War and attacks on Israel as necessary precursors to the Rapture, why should true believers worry about the biosphere? God will take care of his own until Christ returns and the saved are lifted up from this polluted, extinction-plagued, and warming world. Moyers' concise yet meticulous critique of this dangerous viewpoint is clear and necessary.— Booklist
Henry M
I'm getting awfully tired of everyone saying how "gutsy" or "accomplished" or whatever about Sarah Palin just to be either politically correct or to take a left-handed swipe at Barack Obama. Okay she got elected governor of the State of Alaska, but that isn't even as big an accomplishment as being elected MAYOR of San Jose!! There are some high schools in this country nearly as big as Wasilla. Should their student body presidents or principals be considered qualified to be President of the United States?
She is a religious fanatic who uses "God's will" and "His forgiveness" both as a motivator and an excuse. Neither of these have a place in American government - remember the Constitution!? Her city's policy to make rape victims pay for their rape kits is nigh on to the complete total lack of rights rape victims have in many Islamic fundamentalist countries.
She is a woman who would deny the rights of all other women. Yes, everyone, we can criticize her even though she is a woman. Please say so and say so loudly!!!
I've no idea if this is just a repeat of what's been said elsewhere, but this morning I read the following quotation on the Get Religion website http://www.getreligion.org/?p=3931:
“What is the difference between Palin and a Muslim fundamentalist? Lipstick.”
Apparently, the thought is that while her religion may be Christian (or a sort), her views on how to enforce it on everyone else are pretty much in line with the Muslim hard-liners.
From David Talbot's article on Salon.com, "The Pastor Who Clashed With Palin."
In 1996, evangelical churches mounted a vigorous campaign to take over the local hospital's community board and ban abortion from the valley. When they succeeded, [Howard] Bess and Dr. Susan Lemagie, a Palmer OB-GYN, fought back, filing suit on behalf of a local woman who had been forced to travel to Seattle for an abortion. The case was finally decided by the Alaska Supreme Court, which ruled that the hospital must provide valley women with the abortion option. At one point during the hospital battle, passions ran so hot that
In 1996, evangelical churches mounted a vigorous campaign to take over the local hospital's community board and ban abortion from the valley. When they succeeded, [Howard] Bess and Dr. Susan Lemagie, a Palmer OB-GYN, fought back, filing suit on behalf of a local woman who had been forced to travel to Seattle for an abortion. The case was finally decided by the Alaska Supreme Court, which ruled that the hospital must provide valley women with the abortion option.
At one point during the hospital battle, passions ran so hot that
[More after the flip...]
LIPSTICK!
This article by Juan Cole of Salon.com should be required reading for all Dems - especially Dems of faith. Please read and forward....
What's the Difference Between Palin and Muslim Fundamentalists? Lipstick
A theocrat is a theocrat, whether Muslim or Christian
Juan Coles' piece on Salon.com drives home the point that a "theocrat is a theocrat, whether Muslim or Christian." He notes that Sarah Palin, the "GOP vice-presidential pick holds that abortion should be illegal," which is a view "stricter than that of the Parliament of the Islamic Republic of Iran." Palin's view represents "a literalist religious impulse that resists any compromise with the realities of biology and of women's lives."
More after the flip . . .
We ALL know what that means in the South. How insulting, how provincial, how wrong. Are we going to, as a Region, allow the Republicans to get away with this? This should be part of the Obama fundraising letter to moderate groups across the South.
http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/westmoreland-calls-obama-uppity-2008-09-04.html
I am not naive, and know there are some people who are so backward that they will never vote for the issues or the man, but the color. But I also believe there are MANY Christians in conservative and moderate churches who take umbrage and are deeply embarrassed and offended by this statement.
THIS IS SHAMEFUL IN 2008. THIS IS WRONG. PATENTLY, HORRIBLY WRONG. HOW CAN WE BECOME A GLOBALIZED ECONOMY WITH THIS HATE-SPEWED DIATRIBE? PEOPLE SHOULD BE UP IN ARMS.
Is Obama less patriotic than you and John McCain? Does he keep country behind his party and his family? Are his decisions, views and values based on sexism? Is he a liberal and leftist who, should not be allowed to be the president of the United States of America?
The religious, or nationalist, or right or left fundamentalists accuse those people as liberals, who accept the diversity of beliefs and thoughts. Don't you think that George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and other founding fathers of America were liberals of their times? Abraham Lincoln was a liberal of his time. Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was a liberal for his times. Do you think they were conservatives? The conservatives swear by the constitution created by the liberals and they accuse that the liberals do not believe, or follow the constitution by the letter. Most of the liberals follow and believe the constitution and the holy books by its spirit rather than by its letters. I think the fundamentalists don’t understand the spirit of the constitution or the holy books. So they try to go by the letters and they want others to be like them.
I was saddened to hear about the most recent religious kerfluffle at Trinity. I imagined that Barack put his head in his hands and asked, Will this ever end? I was not surprised when he resigned as a member of the church, but that made me sad too.
This country, it's political process, and Christianity itself, have all been hijacked by crackpot fundamentalism. For once, I would like a political candidate to say:
MY RELIGION IS NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS. Now, let's get back to the issues at hand...how about gas at $4 a gallon...
After all, British settlers came to America to escape religious persecution. This is the country that supposedly accepts, with open arms, all faiths.
Please Barack, don't join a new church. Don't put yourself through it, your family through it, nor the church's parishoners through it. Just practice your faith in the privacy of your own home, and after you're elected, you can go to any freakin' church you want.
Amen, says this non-Christian sometime Buddhist when she stops obsessing about herself long enough to remember the oneness of us all.
There's a reason why Hillary Clinton has remained relatively silent during the flap over intemperate remarks by Barack Obama's former pastor, Jeremiah Wright. When it comes to unsavory religious affiliations, she's a lot more vulnerable than Obama.
You can find all about it in a widely under-read article in the September 2007 issue of Mother Jones, in which Kathryn Joyce and Jeff Sharlet reported that "through all of her years in Washington, Clinton has been an active participant in conservative Bible study and prayer circles that are part of a secretive Capitol Hill group known as the "Fellowship," aka the Family. But it won't be a secret much longer. Jeff Sharlet's shocking exposé, The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power will be published in May.
Sean Hannity has called Obama's church a "cult," but that term applies far more aptly to Clinton's "Family," which is organized into "cells" -- their term -- and operates sex-segregated group homes for young people in northern Virginia. In 2002, writer Jeff Sharlet joined the Family's home for young men, foreswearing sex, drugs and alcohol, and participating in endless discussions of Jesus and power. He wasn't undercover; he used his own name and admitted to being a writer. But he wasn't completely out of danger either. When he went outdoors one night to make a cell phone call, he was followed. He still gets calls from Family associates asking him to meet them in diners -- alone.
The Family's most visible activity is its blandly innocuous National Prayer Breakfast, held every February in Washington. But almost all its real work goes on behind the scenes -- knitting together international networks of right-wing leaders, most of them ostensibly Christian. In the 1940s, the Family reached out to former and not-so-former Nazis, and its fascination with that exemplary leader, Adolph Hitler, has continued, along with ties to a whole bestiary of murderous thugs. As Sharlet reported in Harper's in 2003:
During the 1960s the Family forged relationships between the U.S. government and some of the most anti-Communist (and dictatorial) elements within Africa's postcolonial leadership. The Brazilian dictator General Costa e Silva, with Family support, was overseeing regular fellowship groups for Latin American leaders, while, in Indonesia, General Suharto (whose tally of several hundred thousand "Communists" killed marks him as one of the century's most murderous dictators) was presiding over a group of fifty Indonesian legislators. During the Reagan Administration, the Family helped build friendships between the U.S. government and men such as Salvadoran general Carlos Eugenios Vides Casanova, convicted by a Florida jury of the torture of thousands, and Honduran general Gustavo Alvarez Martinez, himself an evangelical minister, who was linked to both the CIA and death squads before his own demise.
At the heart of the Family's American branch is a collection of powerful right-wing politicos, who include, or have included, Sam Brownback, Ed Meese, John Ashcroft, James Inhofe, and Rick Santorum. They get to use the Family's spacious estate on the Potomac, the Cedars, which is maintained by young men in Family group homes and where meals are served by the Family's young women's group. And, at the Family's frequent prayer gatherings, they get powerful jolts of spiritual refreshment, tailored to the already-powerful.
Clinton fell in with the Family in 1993, when she joined a Bible study group composed of wives of conservative leaders like Jack Kemp and James Baker. When she ascended to the Senate, she was promoted to what Sharlet calls the Family's "most elite cell," the weekly Senate Prayer Breakfast, which included, until his downfall, Virginia's notoriously racist Sen. George Allen. This has not been a casual connection for Clinton. She has written of Doug Coe, the Family's publicity-averse leader, that he is "a unique presence in Washington: a genuinely loving spiritual mentor and guide to anyone, regardless of party or faith, who wants to deepen his or her relationship with God."
Furthermore, the Family takes credit for some of Clinton's rightward legislative tendencies, including her support for a law guaranteeing "religious freedom" in the workplace, such as for pharmacists who refuse to fill birth control prescriptions and police officers who refuse to guard abortion clinics.
What drew Clinton into the sinister heart of the international right? Maybe it was just a phase in her tormented search for identity, marked by ever-changing hairstyles and names: Hillary Rodham, Mrs. Bill Clinton, Hillary Rodham Clinton, and now Hillary Clinton. She reached out to many potential spiritual mentors during her White House days, including new age guru Marianne Williamson and the liberal Rabbi Michael Lerner. But it was the Family association that stuck.
Sharlet generously attributes Clinton's involvement to the underappreciated depth of her religiosity, but he himself struggles to define the Family's theological underpinnings. The Family avoids the word Christian but worships Jesus, though not the Jesus who promised the earth to the "meek." They believe that, in mass societies, it's only the elites who matter, the political leaders who can build God's "dominion" on earth. Insofar as the Family has a consistent philosophy, it's all about power -- cultivating it, building it and networking it together into ever-stronger units, or "cells." "We work with power where we can," Doug Coe has said, and "build new power where we can't."
Obama has given a beautiful speech on race and his affiliation with the Trinity Unity Church of Christ. Now it's up to Clinton to explain -- or, better yet, renounce -- her longstanding connection with the fascist-leaning Family.
Barbara Ehrenreich is the author of 13 books, including the New York Times bestseller Nickel and Dimed. A frequent contributor to the New York Times, Harper's, and the Progressive, she is a contributing writer to Time magazine. She lives in Florida.
The Huffington Post
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/barbara-ehrenreich/hillarys-nasty-pastorate_b_92361.html
Hillary's Nasty Pastorate
Posted March 19, 2008
By Barbara Ehrenreich
There's a reason why Hillary Clinton has remained relatively silent during the flap over intemperate remarks by Barack Obama's former pastor, Jeremiah Wright. When it comes to unsavory religious affiliations, she's a lot more vulnerable than Obama.You can find all about it in a widely under-read article in the September 2007 issue of Mother Jones, in which Kathryn Joyce and Jeff Sharlet reported that "through all of her years in Washington, Clinton has been an active participant in conservative Bible study and prayer circles that are part of a secretive Capitol Hill group known as the "Fellowship," aka The Family. But it won't be a secret much longer. Jeff Sharlet's shocking exposé, The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power will be published in May.
