A front page Daily Kos post yesterday concerned the now infamous "Chisum memo" ( pictures of the memo, below at the botton of this post ) that was recently distributed at the Texas State legislature and several other state legislatures around the United States and referenced a website which claims that 1) evolution is a hoax, 2) the Earth does not rotate and it at the center of the universe. Where do such beliefs come from ? For context on "Geocentrism", please see: Copernicus Was Wrong : Reconstructionism & "The Flat Earth Temptation" for an in depth treatment of beliefs, held by influential leaders on the Christian right, that reject the Copernican model of the solar system and hold that the Earth does not rotate and is at the center of the Universe.

THE BELOW IS A DISCUSSION GOING ON AT WWW.BARACKOBAMA.COM ABOUT ABORTION!

The latest Christian-right tactic to prevent evolution from being taught in schools is a beaut: they're claiming it isn't science at all but a myth Darwin supposedly lifted whole from the Kabbala.

Historian David T. Morgan, author of "Southern Baptist Sisters: In Search of Status 1845 2000" and "The New Crusades, The New Holy Land: Conflict in the Southern Baptist Convention, 1969-1991" has recently published a new book criticizing the Jenkins-LaHaye Left Behind series. I bought the book several weeks ago and spent several weekends reading it. This is my review.

bumped over from the diaries -- ed

DONOHUE MAY HAVE BROKEN LAW PROHIBITING INTERVENTION IN POLITICAL CAMPAIGNS

According to United States law governing the behavior of 501(c)(3) organizations, it seems highly likely that William Donohue--President of the Catholic League, a 501(c)(3) tax exempt organization--may have broken the law by attempting to intervene in a political campaign.

The IRS document Organizational Test - IRC 501(c)(3) (link opens PDF file) states explicitly that an organization with this tax exempt status cannot intervene in a political campaign.

Despite the legal restrictions on his organization, Donohue appears to be using the Catholic League to campaign against John Edwards bid for the 2008 Democratic nomination for President, in particular the IRS strict prohibition for 501(c)(3)'s on "issue advocacy" as a form of political  intervention.

Bumped from the diaries - ed

Next weekend there will be a conference that is a clarion call to people of faith to renew our strength, commitment, and unity on behalf of religious diversity, social and ecnomic justice -- and the excitement is building in Troy and Albany, New York.  

John Dorhauer, Andrew Weaver, Frederick Clarkson, Harriet Warnock-Graham, Becky Warnock, Steve Clunn, Bill Peltz, Shirley Dyer Byers, Matt Cherry... just a few of the serious  activists who will decend on Carmen's Cuban Cafe Saturday night, February 10th at 7:00 P.M. for a Salon to discuss future strategies and a face to face gathering that is the preliminary event to the public conference on February 11th.  While both go together, the Salon is designed for veteran writers, activists and researchers.  Cost for the conference and salon are $35.00.  Cost for the Conference alone is $10.00.  The $15.00 for the Salon pays for a terrific cuban buffet. Anyone who would like to register for the conference and would like an invitation to the salon can contact me at http://interfaith.swapspace.com  If you list your organization as talk2action and select Andrew's workshop, I'll know that you're referrring to this diary.

Lately I’ve been reading about a still darker side to the Reconstructionist/Patriarchy movement.

Quite simply, it is this:

There are those among the movement who claim that since SLAVERY is not condemned in the Bible, it is a perfectly legitimate thing, and advocate a return to the same.

The SPLC has an informative report out on traditionalist Catholicism, with descriptions of conferences where the Protocols of the Elders of Zion are sold by priests and monks, and speakers rail againt "Judeo-Masonic" conspiracies.

Since Sam Brownback is running for president in 2008, you'd expect him to pay a few visits to churches.  No problem with that.  But if he'd troubled himself to do some due dilligence, he might have reconsidered one visit he made--because it turns out that it was to a church which is part of a Christian cult.

Last January, Brownback spoke at Morning Star New York, a nondenominational charismatic church in Manhattan, about leadership principles.  There's just one problem.  MSNY is part of Every Nation, a network of charismatic churches.  There is overwhelming corporate and historical evidence that Every Nation is a repackaged version of Maranatha Campus Ministries, one of the more notorious "campus cults" of the 1980s.  I know from experience that Every Nation is just Maranatha with blush and makeup--I was suckered into joining this group in college (more about that here).

Susan Jacoby writes for Newsweek:

Since the beginning of the Bush administration, we have witnessed--and are still witnessing--the reprehensible results, affecting a wide variety of what are literally life-and-death issues, of a governing philosophy that exudes absolute contempt for the separation of church and state.

While this is not so surprising, the following comments are

Hello,

I'll try to stay more on topic this time. Sorry about that. I guess I saw the 'diary'part and took some liberty.
Anyway, as I meant to say in my previous post before I went off on a tangent; I've gone as far away from orthodox christianity as is possible. I love the God of the Bible but not of the churches.

Therefore, I despise what the christian church, historically, as a whole, has done in history and recently. ( I leave out the relatively small number of sincere, pacifist christians). So here's something to bring up to evangelicals when they start on the rapture/7 year tribulation.

Say something like this: "I've been reflecting on this whole 7 year tribulation/secret rapture/antichrist superman Armeggedon end - times scenario that has so enamored the american evangelical church. The whole premise rests on tearing out the 70th week of Daniel 9:27 and putting it somewhere at the end of time. You know, justification for doing this is totally lacking. The attempts to do so are very weak. It destroys other time prophecies to rip this last week out. The whole 70 weeks was fulfilled in the past; therefore there is no rapture, and no 7 year tribulation, and Kirk Cameron owes a lot of people a refund."

I guarantee if you say this, the average christian won't know how to answer this very easy scriptural observation. I know that if anyone does read this, they may not want to use scripture; but with these christians, that's all they listen to.

Again, I apoligize for my other post -- maybe for this one too!

Sincerely,
Mark T.

The misguided folks over at Left Behind Games, who are committed to giving Christian young people what they call the "positive message" that God wants them to convert or kill non-Christians, seem to be having some serious problems.