My church is on the "front lines" of the battle for religious freedom and personal freedom, right here in the state of Ohio.  More details below the fold.

Although The Da Vinci Code is a work of fiction, it has touched a raw nerve: the suppression of women within institutional religion.  While my Christian faith is the soul and foundation of who I am, it is also true that the history of Christianity reveals centuries of silencing women that continues today. This incongruity magnified to a national level, I believe, is the reason for the astonishing popularity of The Da Vinci Code.

This is a continuation of a recent diary entry in which I am conducting a review and expose of an early "bait and switch evangelism" manual produced by Ron Luce--of "BattleCry" groups of recent infamy, and Teen Mania Ministries of past infamy.

In this part, we jump through the rabbit hole and see just how far it goes, with a tactic-by-tactic expose of part 3 of the "RIOT Manual"--a book published in 1995 by Ron Luce, and distributed with an album by "Christian contemporary" artist Carman (who himself is a major promoter of "spiritual warfare" theology, and is also a popular artist in "dominion theology" churches).

I will advise the reader here that not only are the tactics described here typical in churches and groups that promote "bait and switch evangelism", but it also gives a rare view into the "private face" of dominionism.  And yes, this is actively promoted as "what the cool Christian kids are doing" in dominionist churches--and much of how groups like BattleCry work.

Father Jake, author of the blog "Father Jake Stops The World", covers the ideological battles within the Epsicopalian church with an acumen perhaps unmatched on the net - or even off of it.

Jake also does not cotton to hate speech [ link to post ]:

"Just two weeks ago, the Rev. Paul Zahl, dean of the conservative Trinity Episcopal School for Ministry, compared the election of a gay bishop in California to "a terrorist bomb". One would think that the high level of negative publicity he received would have been cause for Dean Zahl to be a bit more careful in choosing his words. Apparently not. Here's an excerpt from his latest contribution to the conversation":

   ...There is a steamroller out there called the gay agenda or lobby, and it is unsparing of all dissent. It is an external force, and is absolutely focused...

    ...You have this army of Brown Shirts - the steamroller of what we now call "revisionism" - - and it is taking no prisoners...

Now there's a lovely image; a steamroller named "The Gay Agenda", with an "army of Brown Shirts" at the controls.

Jake ges on to note that Zahl drags "The Creature From The Black Lagoon" into the whole mess.

Meanwhile, last November, The Daily Show investigated the effect "The Gay Agenda" has had on Massachusetts, and you can watch the shocking conclusions courtesy of Crooks and Liars

Ah, don't you love it when an illegitimate outsider watchdog group tries to be sneaky and lie about their watched-dog group...only to be bitten on the behind by that dog?  You don't?  You should!

Earlier last month, the Institute on Religion and Democracy sent a letter to most (if not every) United Methodist conference and leader urging a petition of censure against the agency of the UMC that speaks out regularly on social justice issues and is often the counter-opinion to the IRD.  The following is the rebuttel and point-by-point response by that agency: the General Board of Church and Society of the UMC.  Here's a teaser:

We alert you to a resolution attacking the GBCS that is being circulated by the IRD.   The IRD has forwarded this draft resolution to United Methodists around the United States asking them to submit it to their annual conferences for consideration and approval. The hostile nature of this resolution and its inaccuracies concern us and demand a response...We are providing you with the text of the IRD draft resolution along with a point by point response from the GBCS.

Just FYI, the Sunday State of Belief program is now available for download here.

With the 2006 elections looming ahead, I think it is time to consider some fundamental questions about  how we translate our beliefs into actions.

I would seriously like to see somebody draw a simple cartoon that exposes what Senator Roberts (Kansas) is truly saying when he says, "[Y]ou have no civil liberties if you are dead."

Talk to Action, has not sought media attention since our initial press release last November. We have focused primarily on making the site is a must-read, and we would worry about the media later.

But this week, a project that has been in the works for some time comes to fruition -- and some other media attention serendipitiously came our way.

Regular readers know that three Talk to Action writers (John Dorhauer, Mainstream Baptist, and Andrew Weaver), will appear on State of Belief, a national radio show hosted by Welton Gaddy, president of the Interfaith Alliance, and broadcast on Air America -- this Sunday.

I was interviewed for an article about the antigay, and anti-mainline Protestant politics of the rightist Institute on Religion on Democracy some time ago.  It finally appreared in, the Washington, DC weekly, The Washington Blade. A somewhat different version appeared in Southern Voice.

As notable as all this may be, it can't hold a candle to Tanya Erzen's Talk to Action piece on the Christian Right and immigration -- that was cited by the Associated Press and appeared nationwide, including (among many, many, others),in the online editions of The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, USA Today, ABC News, as well as BeliefNet.

I am sure that the story will also appear in many print editions of newspapers across the county over the next few days as well.

I must confess that I love the New York Times. My day doesn't feel complete if I haven't read it. But today's article, G.O.P. Conservatives Topple Veteran State Lawmakers in Pennsylvania reminds me of how little is understood about dominionism. The Times' article uses the word "conservative" eleven times -- I counted - yet this movement is anything but conservative.

One of the most influential "conservatives" in the movement, Paul Weyrich, founded the Free Congress Foundation in 1977, four years after he established the highly influential Heritage Foundation. To get a sense of Weyrich's influence, consider the weekly  "Weyrich Strategy Lunch" held in DC. when Congress is in session. His  strategy lunch is attended by 75 conservative leaders representing their organizations, and includes regular briefings by leading Bush administration officials and key sympathetic congressional leaders.

Writing on TPMCafe, Kevin Phillips ties an attack on his new book to a tendency towards continued rightward ooze - in terms of financial policy - on the part of what some are dubbing the "jellocratric" elements of the Democratic Party.

My interest was piqued some weeks ago by a blistering attack on me and my new book "American Theocracy: The Perils and Politics of Radical Religion, Oil and Borrowed Money" by Jacob Weisberg, the editor of Slate.

Why might Weisberg attack Phillips' book ? it turns out that Weisberg is well connected with Robert Rubin - with whom Weisberg co-authored a book, and Phillips' economic policy views differ quite a bit from Rubin's.

As Phillips paints Rubin's - and the Democrats' - slow drift towards the monied classes :

On the surface, Rubin enjoys a reputation as an unassuming man of unblemished character and deep charitable and social concern. However, he was Chairman of the Citigroup Executive Committee (since 1999) while much of this anti-social behavior was going on; he also called the U.S. Treasury to pitch for help to Enron, with which Citigroup was closely involved (a collusion for which Citi paid a huge fine of $300 million). A 2008 Democratic campaign that includes Robert Rubin will not be credible on Enron-type issues.

For now, he is not worried about that. He is trying to enlist disaffected moderate Republicans in groups like the Council on Foreign Relations and several budget organizations to back the newly centrist and pro-finance Hillary Clinton in 2008. Presumably this includes the further Hamiltonization of the party of Jefferson and Jackson.

Given that the mainstream ideology of the Christian right strongly favors the interests of wealthy elites, it would make sense that the Democrats' ideological ship - or at least the yachts of some Democratic party elites - were listing in that direction.

It also may have some bearing on a story I covered a few days ago :

Courting Intolerance: Dean and McCain Pander To Christian Right

But - lastly - should we take Phillips' positions at face value ? Phillips' couched his TPMCafe piece in the context of Robert Rubin's "Hamiltonian" inclinations and was subsequently criticized by many in the ensuing discussion for his characterization of Hamilton's economic thought.

That said, others - notably William Greider but many others as well - have noted the Democratic Party's slide towards the interests of elite classes. Now, not all of those are theocratic by a wide stretch and so one trenchant question is : can an alliance between elites who are opposed to the establishment of an American theocracy and Democrats help stem the theocratic advance ? And, at what price ?

The US the highest per capita rate of imprisonment in the world and this rate has been increasing over the decades. This is a brief essay which asks why?

To establish things here is a link to a site from the DoJ showing trends:

Bureau of Justice Statistics

I'd like to pose several questions and then at the end ask about the relationship to the Judeo-Christian traditions in the US.