Not in the Name of JESUS

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It really makes me angry to see the names of prominent "right wing" Christian leaders take the position that to disagree with them is to oppose Christ. James Dobson, a man I once admired for his work in family matters, is the worst of the lot. Then there is Richard Land! A Southern Baptist. There was a time when Southern Baptist stood for freedom of conscience and the separation of church and state. And Tony Perkins who says that the filibuster nominees

"are being blocked because they are people of faith and moral conviction.... These are people whose only offense is to say that abortion is wrong or that marriage should be between one man and one woman."

Brother Perkins is not altogether truthful. What! A lying "right winger"! Forsooth! He has reduced Democratic opposition to the Presidents appointees down to abortion and same sex marriage along with the nominees Christian faith. To get the real truth .. not Christian lies check out this LINK Way down at the bottom of the page you will see a link to Fili-BUSTED which makes a comparison to the "fibs" of the Republicans to actual reality. Check it out for yourself.

James L. Evans is pastor of Auburn First Baptist Church in Auburn, Ala. and he writes in his article for the ChristianEthic.com the following short excerpt (you can read the whole article by clicking on the link):

This is a good example of Republican strategists turning political issues into a religious crusade.

But nothing is quite as dangerous as a tightly wound religious crusade. We should not be surprised if those who ride the tiger of religious extremism, to coin a phrase, one day find themselves devoured by it.

We need look no further than to religion’s lunatic fringe—those troubled souls like Eric Robert Rudolph whose reality filter gets clogged with hate. A reckless rhetoric which demonizes the men and women of America’s judiciary essentially paints a bulls-eye on their backs.

And for this there should be accountability. If one judge is shot down as a result of this political circus, DeLay, Dobson and Frist will all have blood on their hands.

You've Gotta Love Maureen Dowd

The New York Times > Opinion > Op-Ed Columnist: Smoke Gets in Our News

It's really getting hard to what's happening to our country. A Christian person should always stand firm in their personal beliefs ... but they should never presume to impose those beliefs on every or anybody else. Now it seems that if you are not a Repuplican or a right-wing Christian you are not a Christian at all. Not a person of faith.

President Bush has also long acted as if he channeled the voice of God. And now Tom DeLay and Bill Frist are also pandering to the far-right-wing and evangelical Christians by implying that God speaks - and acts - through them, too.

Mr. Bush's more subtle obeisance to the evangelical right is no longer enough. Puffed up with its electoral clout, the Christian right now wants politicians to genuflect openly.

The doctor who would be president is down on both knees. He's happy to exploit religion by giving a video speech on a telecast next Sunday that will portray Democrats who block the president's judicial nominations as being "against people of faith."

God help us all if these folks get more fully into power. They are selling their birth right for a bowl of lentils![Genesis 25:20-34]

Karl Barth (Thielicke I BELIEVE P. 235) says,

‘The church lives from her function as herald, she is God’s company. Where the church is alive, she must face the question of whether she serves this function or whether she is an end in herself. If the latter is the case, the church usually begins to taste “sacral”, to act pious, to become priestly, and to taste sour. Anyone with a sensitive nose will smell and find it dreadful.’

Frist Embraces Radical Right's Religious McCarthyism

This is a great article that clearly calls Frist to task for his remarks about people of faith. He clearly owes his colloquies in House and Senate an apology.

“Men and women of deep faith can and do differ politically. But this event is clearly an attempt to manipulate religious faith for political purposes, and that is an outrage,” said Neas. “Americans value religious tolerance and respect, and attempts to use religion to stir up partisan, political rancor are unconscionable.”


Frist is a scheduled speaker for Justice Sunday, organized by the Family Research Council and supported by other far-right leaders like James Dobson, who are campaigning to intimidate and impeach federal judges whose rulings they disagree with, and who are demanding that Frist impose right-wing political dominance over the federal judiciary if he wants their political support for a 2008 presidential bid.


"It is sad and disheartening, as well as reprehensible, that you would lend your name and position to such ugly and divisive political tactics," says PFAW's letter to Frist.


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Who Are People of Faith

It would seem that the only "people of faith" are those who support President Bush's program and his nominees for the Supreme Court. In case you can't make it out the young man pictures is holding a Bible in his left hand and and a gavel in his right hand. This article from the New York Times clearly shows how the Republican leadership is willing to push all of the religious right wing hot buttons to get what they want. When are Americans going to wake up to the reality that the Republicans and extreme religious right wingers are leading the nation down the garden path to a Theocratic form of government that will make some Islamic theocracies look liberal!

Read this short quote from the the article

As the Senate heads toward a showdown over the rules governing judicial confirmations, Senator Bill Frist, the majority leader, has agreed to join a handful of prominent Christian conservatives in a telecast portraying Democrats as "against people of faith" for blocking President Bush's nominees.

Fliers for the telecast, organized by the Family Research Council and scheduled to originate at a Kentucky megachurch the evening of April 24, call the day "Justice Sunday" and depict a young man holding a Bible in one hand and a gavel in the other. The flier does not name participants, but under the heading "the filibuster against people of faith," it reads: "The filibuster was once abused to protect racial bias, and it is now being used against people of faith."

Organizers say they hope to reach more than a million people by distributing the telecast to churches around the country, over the Internet and over Christian television and radio networks and stations.

Dr. Frist's spokesman said the senator's speech in the telecast would reflect his previous remarks on judicial appointments. In the past he has consistently balanced a determination "not to yield" on the president's nominees with appeals to the Democrats for compromise. He has distanced himself from the statements of others like the House majority leader, Tom DeLay, who have attacked the courts, saying they are too liberal, "run amok" or are hostile to Christianity.

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The Planter of Crosses: The Life and Death of John Paul II

�The Planter of Crosses�: The Life and Death of John Paul II

My title is taken from an article written by Charles Colson. The story of the Pope's part was originally published in his book Kingdoms in Conflict. Here is an excerpt from the article linked above:

This Pope was not only the spiritual leader of one billion Roman Catholics; he was also one of the handful of world leaders most responsible for bringing down Communism.

His political journey began in the town of Nowa Huta , Poland, designed as a living monument to communist utopianism. When the people demanded a church, a Polish priest and a few workers nailed together two rugged beams as a makeshift cross, marking the site of the chapel they would build.

The communists angrily tore it down. But when the sun rose the next morning, another cross had been raised in its place.

This went on for years as the people gathered at their cross, singing and celebrating Communion. The people’s faith became strong as steel. In the end, they got their church. And the man who was planting the crosses? Karol Wojtyla, later bishop of Krakow, and still later elected the first non-Italian Pope in 450 years.

When Stalin was once told that the Pope (of his day) would defy him, the communist tyrant jeeringly asked, “And how many divisions does the Pope have?” Years later, when the Soviets threatened to send troops in to quell a Polish uprising, Pope John Paul II announced he would return home to stand with his people.

The Soviet tanks never moved. Who had the most divisions?

I also recommend this fantastic article from the current issue of the New Yorker.