On October 28, 2005, NBC aired "In God they trust -- NBC's Tom Brokaw goes inside the world of Christian Evangelicals." Brokaw interviews Ted Haggard, President of the National Association of Evangelicals representing some 45,000 churches. Haggard makes a claim I've heard often: "We're not talking about theocracy." Here's the interview with Brokaw's very subtle, ironic response. Ted Haggard: Well, I think all of us have a responsibility to advance God's will through government. But we are in a pluralistic society. We're not talking about theocracy. We're not talking about some group of religious leaders dictating to the government how to write law. I'm not a power broker. I don't call presidents. I don't harangue the White House. At the end of the program, Haggard repeats his claim that he does not want a theocracy. Haggard: There's no one that's leading the mega-church movement or involved in the mega-church movement that is in favor of a theocracy. None of us are for that. We're all defenders of freedom and liberty for all. Brokaw reveals his grasp of the situation in his concluding remarks - maybe too subtle for some people to appreciate:
Brokaw: In fact the Evangelicals don't have some kind of secret formula. They play by the old rules, they organize around their common beliefs, and they're highly motivated to advance those beliefs in their communities and at the ballot box. If they're successful, and they gain control of the presidency and the Congress, they won't need a theocracy. To read the full transcript, click here. When Ted Haggard said, "There's no one that's leading the mega-church movement or involved in the mega-church movement that is in favor of a theocracy" - he maybe hadn't heard the Reverend Rod Parsley tell his congregation at the World Harvest Church, located just outside Columbus, Ohio: Americans must be "Christocrats" -- citizens of both their country and the Kingdom of God -- And that is not a democracy; that is a theocracy. That means God is in control, and you are not. more. In fact Rod Parsley, who has preached at Ted Haggard's New Life Church in Colorado Springs, is unusually candid. Leaders of the Christian Right shy away from the word "theocracy" for good reason. It's a loaded term associated with repressive political regimes such as the Taliban or the Islamic Republic of Iran. It's hard to imagine that well-meaning leaders of the Christian Right could be leading the United States down a path to a Christian fundamentalist theocracy. Below are quotes from other influential leaders who don't want a theocracy. "We don't want a theocracy" D. James Kennedy, Pastor of the Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church, told Terri Gross on NPR's Fresh Air. Kennedy is founder of the "Reclaiming America for Christ Campaign." Kennedy said at a Reclaiming America for Christ conference : Our job is to reclaim America for Christ, whatever the cost. As the vice regents of God, we are to exercise godly dominion and influence over our neighborhoods, our schools, our government, our literature and arts, our sports arenas, our entertainment media, our news media, our scientific endeavors -- in short, over every aspect and institution of human society. Francis Schaeffer, one of the most influential Christian thinkers of our time, wrote in A Christian Manifesto: We must make definite that we are in no way talking about any kind of a theocracy. Let me say that with great emphasis. Earlier in his Manifesto, Schaefer discusses the relationship between government and religion. The civil government, as all of life, stands under the law of God. If civil government "stands under the law of God," then God is the supreme authority. But whose God? Is it a Protestant or Catholic God? Where do Buddhists and Hindus fit into this government since some on the Christian Right believe that non-monotheistic religions are Satanic? What about people who don't believe in God? Do they have a place in this government? Ralph Reed is a highly influential political operative. On the subject of Democracy Reed wrote in Active Faith: How Christians Are Changing the Soul of American Politics: The surest antidote to tyranny is a free people who believe it owes its allegiance to a Higher Power, not the government. The consent of the governed rests upon faith in a sovereign God. Faith as a political force is the very essence of Democracy. As with D. James Kennedy and Francis Schaeffer, Reed does not believe in theocracy. He just calls for a Democracy where everyone believes in "a sovereign God." But again, we must wonder whose God? Religious wars decimated Europe for two thousand years over that very question. And again, what about people who don't believe they owe their allegiance to "a Higher Power." Can they be a part of Reed's Democracy?
Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia wrote in First Things, a journal of religion and public life, that "government is the minister of God": ...Government...derives its moral authority from God. It is the minister of God with powers to "avenge" to "execute wrath" including even wrath by the sword. more The ministers Ted Haggard and D. James Kennedy, philosopher Francis Schaeffer, political operative Ralph Reed, and Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia may say that they do not advocate a theocracy, but, in legal parlance, they are making a distinction without a difference. Once laws are passed affirming that their God rules supreme, as Tom Brokaw says, "they won't need a theocracy."
"They won't need a theocracy." | 11 comments (11 topical, 0 hidden)
"They won't need a theocracy." | 11 comments (11 topical, 0 hidden)
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Left Behind: Eternal Forces: Installments of Jonathan Hutson's Talk To Action expose series
on the "Left Behind: Eternal Forces" video game have been viewed by up to 1/2 million people. See our site section featuring Over 35 original articles covering the controversial "Left Behind: Eternal Forces" video game that has provoked a boycott by a coalition of religious groups and a letter writing campaign urging Walmart to stop selling the game. Media inquiries click here(image: detail from Francoise Dubois' rendition of the Bartholomew's Day Massacre reveals the actual nature of religious warfare)
Palin: "A Natural Choice" for Catholics?
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Major Christian Organization Endorses the Military Religious Freedom Foundation
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Palin's Church Promotes Gay Conversion
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Palin's Pastor: God "Is Gonna Strike Out His Hand Against... America
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Short Takes: Sarah Palin Edition
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Palin's Churches and the Third Wave
Part One History and Theology of the Third Wave Sarah Palin has refused to acknowledge belonging to any specific denomination or any particular religious...... By Ruth (3 comments)
What is Dominionism? Palin, the Christian Right, & Theocracy
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EVENT CANCELLED Speaking in Philadelphia on September 27th
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Sarah Palin's Theocratic End Times - UPDATED
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At Palin Church, Jews For Jesus Head Says Terrorism vs Israel Is God's Punishment
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Rest Assured New Orleans, I'm Sure Lt. Gen. Van Antwerp is Praying for You
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Future links to upcoming documentaries on Palin's Churches
Will live here, at this URL address. ...... By Bruce Wilson (0 comments)
Sarah Palin used AK tax dollars to fund dominionist churches
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Palin Steals Hockey Mom Joke from John Hagee?
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The Irony of Sarah Palin's "Choice"
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New revelations re "stealth dominionist" Sarah Palin
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Sarah Palin: Dominionist Stalking Horse
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Richard Land Picks Republican Veep Candidate
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"Yes on 8" RSVP? Need your advice.
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Alabama PSC Cantidate Matt Chancey: His Views on Suffrage, Women, Marriage, etc.
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Jews and Christians Unite against the Empire of Neo-cons and 'Christian' Zionists
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Patriot Follows the Money and Exposes Foreign Agents
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The Alleged "Church of Liberalism"
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Hope Never Dies for Extremists
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Prosyletization in Iraq: A threat to national security
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Proselytization in Iraq: A minor history
The recent incident where a Marine was recently found distributing "Bible coins" promoted by a fundamentalist "Bible church" is, sad to say, far from the first incident of overt prosyletisation in Iraq. The truth...... By dogemperor (1 comment)
Source of "Bible coins" distributed by USMC in Iraq discovered
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What Does the Religious Right Fear the Most?
A poll that one of the giants on the right, Coral Ridge Ministries, sent to their members gives a revealing insight into their world view. ...... By John McKay (3 comments)
UK Abortion Limit Stays at 24 Weeks Despite Washington Think Tank's Tactics
IN GOD'S NAME is a revealing documentary about how the Alliance Defense Fund is using its tactics to try to restrict abortion in Europe as well as in America. Watch this trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TeTfW8-dCNE ...... By TMurray (3 comments)
'Christians United For Israel' Joyfully Sing of Israel's Invasion and Destruction
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The Petrification of John McCain
We are very pleased to welcome Frederick Lane as a guest front pager. He is the author of several books,most recently, The Court and the Cross: The Religious Right's Crusade to Reshape the Supreme...... By Frederick_Lane (3 comments)
More Biblical Precedent for Allowing Abortion
This is a follow up to my most recent diary entry. ...... By TMurray (3 comments)
John Hagee Says God Made AIDS and Bird Flu But Lord will Protect Him Personally
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Biblical support for abortion, who knew?
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2001 John Hagee Film Shows Gangsterish Rabbi, Foppish Catholic Priest In League With anti-Christ
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Will We Ever Learn?
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McCain-Endorser's Church Casts Out "Demon of Anal Fissures", Teaches Vomiting Evil Spirits
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Bush 41 salutes Sun Myung Moon's effort to subdue the planet.
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Advancing The Kingdom
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