Two particular churches which have been linked to the Ohio Restoration Project--World Harvest Church in Columbus and Fairfield Christian Church (also in Columbus)--may be in serious tax trouble.

An alliance of thirty moderate churches has teamed together to file formal complaint against World Harvest Church and Fairfield Christian Church for electioneering violations.

As groups such as DefCon America are gathering documentation of illegal electioneering in churches, it's very encouraging to also see mainstream churches finally standing up to dominionists attempting to hijack Christianity.

In reading and participating in this site, and with a deep interest in moral philosophy, I learned about a set of character traits being promoted by Ohio's Secretary of State.

I found that it includes a rather peculiar definition of the value of "liberty" -- one that basically translates into, "Do what your told so that we will not have to hurt you."

So, I wrote a short piece for my blog about a different view of liberty, which I would like to include here.

So far, Abramoff (the lobbyist at the center of a growing scandal that has already claimed two legislators known to be friendly to dominionist causes) has been linked to dominionists directly in the ongoing funding scandals in at least four separate posts on Talk2Action:

Abrahamoff Scandal is Albatross for Ralph Reed
More on Abramoff and the Religious Right
Abramoff and the Religious Right, Continued
Religious Right Leaders Implicated in Widening DC Corruption Probe

There are now indications the links with Abramoff and dominionist groups go even deeper--including an actual money laundering scam.

Frank Rich details the relationship between Abramoff and the Religious Right in his New York Times Op-Ed piece:

The Abramoff scandal's pious trappings are sui generis as well. They adhere to the Karl Rove playbook that wraps every hardball White House tactic in godliness and exploits "faith based" organizations as political machines to deliver the G.O.P.'s religious right base.

From the AP article: "A three-judge panel of the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday reinstated the lawsuit brought by the Freedom From Religion Foundation. The group claims Bush's program, which helps religious organizations get government funding to provide social services, violates the separation of church and state."

It's a rare event when the dominionists show their "private" face in public.  (Dominionists do have a definite "private" speech--to their fellow dominionists--and a "public" face.  The private one is usually far uglier.)

Pat Robertson is an example of one of the dominionists showing his "private" face in public a lot recently--to the point that other dominionists are now disavowing him (after his latest showing of the "private face" of dominionism may well have sunk the chances for a dominionist theme park planned in Israel in a historic district).

Another recent example I found of the "private face" of dominionism showing up in public is in regards to one of the three people who tried to literally hex the Senate in the name of Christ by "annointing" the seats with cooking oil.

The Interfaith Alliance is launching a new liberal radio show called State of Belief.  The show, hosted by Rev. Welton Gaddy, premieres on Air America Radio. The first airing is Sunday, January 15, from 5 to 6 pm (EST.)  

Ralph Reed, the founding executive director of Pat Robertson's Christian Coalition has been viewed as a wunderkind of conservative Christian politics. But his meteoric rise appears to be flaming out as the Jack Abramoff scandal consumes the man who once so epitomized the Christian Right that he was featured on the cover of Time magazine.  While it may be too early to write his political obituary, most others in the Georgia and national GOP apparently don't want to start appearing in the rough draft.

Bloomberg News is reporting that the growing Washington, DC scandal centered around GOP superlobbyist Jack Abramoff, is damaging the campaign for Lt. Governor of Georgia, of former Christian Coalition executive director Ralph Reed -- who has been caught-up in the scandal for months.

PSR , my school, is launching a new website in a couple of weeks, called Progressive Christian Witness. In their words it is

"an Internet-based initiative to strengthen progressive Christian voices in public discussion across America, especially in communities where the dominant voice is that of the religious right. Progressive voices proclaim the redemptive heritage of the Christian faith in a manner that is biblically and theologically responsible, ethically committed, and informed by current knowledge.

The Progressive Christian Witness (PCW) presents a growing collection of resources that bring a progressive Christian perspective to significant issues in American life--for example, the authority of the Bible, gender and sexuality, government and economics, environmental stewardship, beginning and end of life ethical issues, and America's role in the world. PCW's Witness pages publish brief, theologically grounded articles on these topics."

You heard it here first. Given the fact that PSR has some of the best people talking, thinking and writing about these issues, this will be a fabulous resource.

On a similar note, a group of progressive seminarians got together late last year (so long ago), and we're possibly cooking up something interesting. At least, we've got a blog roll. Look to the bar on the right of my blog for a list.

I propose a differnt way to effect progressive change through a simple expression of faith.

It was bound to happen- someone has actually taken Pat Robertson's exhortations seriously.