In 1990 Randall Balmer, author of the new book "Thy Kingdom Come: An Evangelical's Lament", was invited (inexplicably, he says) to a meeting of key religious right leaders and was surprised to hear key architect of the religious right during the 1970's Paul Weyrich emphatically state that what really started the movement going on the 1970's was not outrage against Roe v. Wade but, rather, outrage over a move by the Carter Administration's justice dept. to enforce the Civil Rights Act by rescinding the tax exempt status of Bob Jones University for its rules against interracial dating.

Writes Balmer:

Weyrich, whose conservative activism dates at least as far back as the Barry Goldwater campaign in 1964, had been trying for years to energize evangelical voters over school prayer, abortion, or the proposed equal rights amendment to the Constitution.

"I was trying to get those people interested in those issues and I utterly failed," he recalled in an interview in the early 1990s. "What changed their mind was Jimmy Carter's intervention against the Christian schools, trying to deny them tax-exempt status on the basis of so-called de facto segregation."

During the meeting in Washington, D.C., Weyrich went on to characterize the leaders of the Religious Right as reluctant to take up the abortion cause even close to a decade after the Roe ruling. "I had discussions with all the leading lights of the movement in the late 1970s and early 1980s, post-Roe v. Wade," he said, "and they were all arguing that that decision was one more reason why Christians had to isolate themselves from the rest of the world."

"What caused the movement to surface," Weyrich reiterated,"was the federal government's moves against Christian schools." The IRS threat against segregated schools, he said, "enraged the Christian community." That, not abortion, according to Weyrich, was what galvanized politically conservative evangelicals into the Religious Right and goaded them into action. "It was not the other things," he said.

USA Today reports this morning that the Right has gone beyond blaming the Foley scandal on the former Congressman's homosexuality.  It now suggests, in the words of Tony Perkins, that "the social agenda of the GOP been stalled by homosexual members or staffers" working on Capitol Hill.  Read about it:  http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2006-10-11-gop-gay-identi ty-crisis_x.htm

Tucker Carlson, on the Chris Matthews Show, says some startling things.

quicktime:

http://movies.crooksandliars.com/...

windows:

http://movies.crooksandliars.com/...

Matthews: "Everybody agrees that this story, emblematic of whatever, emblematic of..."

Carlson: "It's deeper than that... The deep truth is that the elites in the Republican Party have pure contempt for the Evangelicals who put their party in power.

somebody: "How Do you know that ?"

Carlson: "Because I know them, because I grew up with them, because I live with them,  because they live on my street, because I live in Washington and I know that everybody in our world has contempt for the evangelicals. Even locals know that. And they're beginning to know that even their own leaders sort of look asconse at them and don't share their values.

Matthews: "So this gay marriage issue and other issue related to the gay lifestyles are simnply tools...."

Carlson: "That's exactly right, it's pandering to the base in the most cynical way and the base it beginning to figure it out."

Bald Guy With Beard whose name I don't know: "....They have been duped by these people."

John Green of the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life served as moderator of Sunday's forum on Church and State in Ohio's Electoral Politics. I really didn't give much thought to the fact there was a moderator, but boy, did I appreciate there being a moderator to step in and move things along. Because as the program moved forward, things started to get, as Jon Stewart would say, "Awwwwwkward!"

Russell Johnson was talking about the "war against people of faith" when he switched gears and started addressing Eric Williams directly...

I went to see "Jesus Camp" on Sunday night.  Believe it or not, only one theater in the entire Charlotte area went near this picture--the Ballantyne Village Theater off I-485.

Bear in mind--I am a charismatic Christian.  I believe much like the charismatics portrayed in this production.  Also, I was almost suckered into joining a group in college that is very similar.  And it's because I believe like they do and know what makes them tick that I came away from this film rolling my eyes.  This film is a must-see for anyone wants to know why we go batshit whenever the likes of Pat Robertson, Jerry Falwell and Co. get even a little bit of influence.

Perhaps what the congregations to whom our Christian Right literalists preach and propagandize need is another visual in the tradition of Gibson's Passion of the Christ.

... A Hollywood movie spectacle of those other Christian martyrs murdered by a victorious Christian sub-group that received authorization by the 4th Century might of the Roman Empire. This extremely lucky group of believers chosen by Constantine to become a state religion backed by military might found itself the Roman-approved and designated true church; subject of course to periodic eligibility reviews by the emperor himself.

These "winners" ultimately fixated on the literalist legend propagated by Constantine and Nicene clerics terrified of big C's every violent whim, turned on their fellow Christians - all who would not buy into the literalist legend born out of political expediency of a desperate dying military hegemony.

What happened next was the murder of Good Christians by other orthodox Christians who - by their fruits - were ultimately revealed as the legitimate enemies of God and no friends of Christ.

Inquisitors were savage and ruthless verbal equivocators who worshipped earthly power and security far more than seeking treasures in heaven. These were clerical cowards had no faith in God.

For had there been faith, the Popes and Priests would never have had doubts that God could manage his kingdom and - if God were so inclined - deal with heretics without the interference of power-hungry costume-wearing holier-than-thou hypocrites who would not have recognized the Christ face- to-face under any circumstances of humility and repentance.

The most commonly or unanimously understood declaration of Christian authority is Roman Catholicism's claim to be the original and only true Christian religion on the face of the earth. This claim to exclusivity is based on the bible verse in which the Catholic ancestors declared that Jesus verbally anointed Apostle Peter as the rock upon which he - Jesus - would  found the one true church.

The original Roman Catholic position of being THE church founded by Jesus and extended through history by apostolic succession has led to an  unconscious assumption of belonging to truth on the part of Catholic families worldwide for more than 2000 years.

Protestant families, particularly evangelical Protestant families on the other hand live in a kind of respect/no-respect relationship with Catholicism which has always included the diminishment of the other side`s point of view.

When one is Christian but not Catholic it is fairly easy to reject out of hand the imperially exclusive claims of the Roman Church. The implication of the Catholic claim is that God is a god of discrimination whose governing style includes an authoritarian chain of command backed by divine decree.

Put in another way, God's kingdom is a heavenly replica of earthly tribal warfare where there are good guys, bad guys and an ultimate leader who silently endorses whatever his good-guy henchman say or do - but never endorses publicly to the mass of believers below the hierarchical level. No ... the masses have to trust the henchmen.

If you don't belong, you don't belong.

I'm working on writing up some of the forum on church and state in Ohio electoral politics, which I attended yesterday. Some of it, I'm transcribing, and other parts I'll try to sum up a bit of the back-and-forth that took place. So far, I've posted the opening remarks of Revs. Russell Johnson and Eric Williams.

There are also some articles about the forum in the Columbus Dispatch today:

Religious debate as old as the country

Faith's place in politics debated

From gahzette:

[ excerpt ] Lately, with no regard for appearances, Buschco has delegated Laura Bush out to raise funds for Moon supporters and Foley protectors. Curt Weldon (R-PA) and Tom Reynolds (R-NY) in the same day, respectively. She whored wore a green money suit at both events. Let's assume the Bush White House Machine knows all the details of the first lady's schedule, and where she's needed most, and the backgrounds of those she's pimping. Somebody is steering her to the dark side. She does what she's told presumably yet her handlers risk her reputation by linking her with criminals. She's GOT to know what's happening around the country. Or she's a zombie. Co-criminal and/or druggie, take your pick. Transcript-Weldon fundraiser. Her standard fare, fluffy bull.

James Dobson interrupted his regularly scheduled program, Focus on the Family, this morning to focus instead on the Mark Foley affair.  He wasted no time in condemning the behaviour of Congressman Foley but was otherwise completely silent on the accusations that the Republican leadership covered up the whole affair for months.

Details follow:

There's been a surprising amount of press lately about the recruitment of youth by dominionist groups--from the  "Joel's Army 101" of Left Behind: Eternal Forces to the movie Jesus Camp to--most recently--articles on web-based efforts to recruit kids into "spiritual warfare" movements.

Add James Dobson's Focus on the Family to that list of ignominy, folks.    As it turns out, he's also recruiting kids to the dominionist way--in things as insidious as Chick-Fil-A kid's meals.

David Walters [ David Walters Ministry home page, home page flash based intro ] "has led thousands of youth, adults, and children into the realm of the supernatural.

Some children as young as four years of age have experienced the presence of God.... David is leading a Generation of ANOINTED Children and Youth into Revival !!! ...David will show you how to...  raise your children in God's army and ...prepare them for the coming revival, have youngsters become powerful in evangelism and see them operating in spiritual gifts, turn church wise kids and teens into anointed, passionate warriors for the Lord.... THIS YOUNG ARMY IS CALLED TO HEAL THE SICK, RAISE THE DEAD AND CAST OUT DEMONS""