Google WWW Talk To Action


The Indian River Incident : What You Can Do

link > The "Stop the ACLU Coalition" Shaming Project
How you can help stop "Stop The ACLU" just by sending a few emails



 'Left Behind' video game imageThe Shaming Project

does the violence of "Left Behind: Eternal Forces" bother you ? If so, what can you do ? Well, to begin with you can email Jonathan Hutson's stories to people you know. That will help to bring more public scrutiny of the game. Public shaming really works ! Just click on the "email" icon and link at the top or bottom of the story and you'll be taken to a form that will allow you email the first story, The Purpose Driven Life Takers or the latest installment without leaving this site. Thanks. 'Left Behind' video game image




Schismatic VA Episcopalians OK With Anti-Gay Laws Worse Than Pre-WW2 Nazi's ?
By Bruce WilsonMon Dec 18, 2006 at 11:29:01 AM EST
topic: Gay Rights section:Shadow War On Mainline Churches printable version print this story
Yesterday, seven Virginia Episcopal churches including two of the largest and wealthiest in the American Episcopal Communion voted to break away and, as a New York Times story written prior to the vote put it, "report to the powerful archbishop of Nigeria, Peter Akinola, an outspoken opponent of homosexuality who supports legislation in his country that would make it illegal for gay men and lesbians to form organizations, read gay literature or eat together in a restaurant." Jim Naughton, former Washington Post and NYT reporter and author of a study on how covert right wing agencies are undermining the Episcopal Church, noted "this no longer seems to be a debate about the proper role of gay and lesbians Christians in the Church, but about the moral legitimacy of rolling back human rights for minorities" ; in fact, the Virginia Episcopal Churches had voted to put themselves under an Archbishop, Peter Akinola, who supports Nigerian anti-gay legislation even more extreme than the pre-WW2 anti-gay laws of Hitler's Nazi Party, including the notorious 1935 revisions to Paragraph 175, that preceded the Gay Holocaust ( see Nazi Persecution Of Homosexuals 1933 To 1945 from the US Holocaust Museum, and the extensive Wikipedia entry on the subject. )
The Nazis took power in January 1933 on a platform of law and order, "traditional values," and an ideology of racial purity that included virulent antisemitism and the persecution of unwanted social groups. Among its first steps to create the "New Order," the regime shut down homosexual gathering places, organizations, and publications in a broad attack on "public indecency." The Nazi assault on homosexuality had begun. - From "The Nazi Persecution Of Homosexuals 1933-1945"

Recently, a Mid-Atlantic US AM talk radio host Jerry Klein provoked a minor scandal with a hoax show in which Klein suggested American Muslim citizens should be forced to wear "identifying markers" such as armbands with crescent moon shapes or even branded with crescent moon tattoos on their hands or foreheads [ mp3 recording of the show ] ; Klein's show was flooded with calls from listeners, many of whom agreed with his proposals or suggested Klein's suggestions did not go nearly far enough. But the tacit endorsement, by the renegade Virginia Episcopal churches, of draconian anti-gay legislation worse than that of  pre-WW2 Nazi laws, goes farther than individual expressions of bigotry ;  it gives hateful anti-minority views institutional and religious sanction and lends support to Archbishop Akinola's claims that homosexuality represents a "satanic attack on the church of God".

A Comparison Of Nazi-Era Anti-Gay Legislation, Paragraph 175, vs. The "Same Sex Marriage (Prohibition)" bill Supported by Nigerian Archbishop Peter Akinola

Matthew Thompson has perhaps given the most extensive coverage to be found concerning the proposed bill, at his blog Political Spaghetti and writes:

"Sections 1-5 of the Nigerian bill would formalize restrictions on gay marriage that are similar to what are found in many states in the US. Twenty-one states still have sodomy laws on their books, and most ban gay marriage or civil unions either constitutionally or by statute. If the Nigerian bill had stopped here, it would have imposed a situation no different than that found throughout the US.

But this bill goes much further. Sections 6-8 above restrict the right to free speech, free press, free assembly, and the free exercise of religion, and enforces that restriction with a [ 5 year ] jail sentence." but, adds Thompson, "When reading the bill, it is important to keep in mind that sodomy is already illegal in Nigeria. Chapter 24, Section 214 of Nigeria's criminal code penalizes consensual homosexual conduct between adults with fourteen years’ imprisonment (Human Rights Watch). Sharia, as practiced in northern Nigeria since 1999, calls for death by stoning for "sodomy" violations."

By contrast, 1935 revisions to Paragraph 175 of the German penal code that applied to homosexuality established penalties for homosexual acts ranging from three months to 10 years. These could include any "lewd act" that involved no physical contact such as two men masturbating next to one another:

Article 6 Indecency between Men 1. §175 of the Penal Code contains the following wording: §175 A man who commits indecency with another man, or allows himself to be misused indecently, will be punished with prison. In especially minor cases the court can refrain from punishment of a participant, who was not yet twenty–one years old at the time of the time of the criminal act. 2. The following rule shall be added after §175 of the Penal Code as §175a: §175a [The following] will be punished with a penitentiary sentence of up to ten years, or under extenuating circumstances with a prison sentence of no less than three months: * A man who compels another man to commit indecency with him, or to let himself be misused indecently, by force or by threat of imminent danger to life and limb; * A man who induces another man to commit indecency with him, or to let himself be misused indecently, by means of the abuse of an official or professional relationship, or one of seniority; * A man over twenty–one who seduces a male person under twenty–one to commit indecency with him, or to let himself be misused indecently; * A man who on a professional basis commits indecency with men, or allows himself be misused indecently by men, or offers himself for such purposes.

As indicated in the previously cited quote above from the US Holocaust Museum, Nazi repression of ""homosexual gathering places, organizations, and publications" were quite real but sanctions against free speech, free press, and free assembly on the part of gays were unofficial and not actually written into law as the Akinola supported legislation would do .

So, together with already existing Nigerian laws against homosexual acts, the proposed Nigerian anti-gay marriage bill would add to cumulative Nigerian legal sanctions against homosexuality more severe than comparable legislation promulgated prior to World War Two by the Nazi Party.

By affiliating with Akinola, The Falls Church, in Falls Church Virginia, and Truro Church in Fairfax City, Virginia have chosen a leader who proposes the criminalization of sexual identity and so raised the profile of hate speech in contemporary America to what may be an unprecedented new level. How many members of these two churches that have aligned themselves with Akinola are aware that the archbishop Akinola supports laws more severe even than the pre-WW2 Nazi laws targetting gays or that Akinola supported Nigerian anti gay marriage legislation would establish criminal penalties for gays who simply ate meals together ?

The spectacle of these unfortunate schisms should go on for quite some time : The Falls Church and the Truro Church, reports Laurie Goodstein for the New York Times previously cited, are "large, historic congregations that minister to the Washington elite and occupy real estate worth a combined $27 million, which could result in a legal battle over who keeps the property". Stay tuned.

For extended discussion on the VA schisms see Truro and Falls Church Vote in Favor of Bigotry from Father Jake Stops The World

For extensive background coverage, see the following Talk To Action story: Orthodox Anglicans' Akinola: 'Five Years in Jail if You are Gay in Nigeria' that begins with the following paragraphs:

In late February, 2006, John Bryson Chane, the Episcopal Bishop of Washington, DC, wrote an op-ed for the Washington Post. In it, he revealed to the WaPo's readership one of the many awful consequences that decades of conflict have brought to the Anglican Communion over the issue of homosexuality. Just days before, one of Chane's fellow bishops in the Anglican Communion, the Primate of All Nigeria and leader of the Anglican Communion's largest Province, Archbishop Peter Akinola, endorsed legislation that would ban most basic civil rights for gay and lesbian Nigerians, and enforce that ban with a 5 year prison sentence.

The Anglican Communion is in crisis mode, struggling to salvage a broad though loosely affiliated organization from self-destruction under the pull of two strong forces. On the one hand, northern Anglicans in the US, Canada, and the UK are committed to a liberal stand on homosexuality, and to a Gospel of Inclusion (i.e., "The Episcopal Church Welcomes You"). On the other hand, the Provinces of the Global South, along with splinter organizations in the North (see the American Anglican  Council, or AAC, and the Anglican Communion Network, or Network) are "orthodox" on the issue of homosexuality, and consider their purpose to be far more evangelical than that of the Episcopal Church, USA (ECUSA), or of other Northern Anglicans. The Provinces of the Global South claim moral authority because of their great and increasing numbers, while parish registries in ECUSA and elsewhere are stable or in decline.

For yet more background, see this November 2003 Atlantic article: Defender of the Faith: Why all Anglican eyes in London are nervously fixed on a powerful African archbishop:
....An uncompromising traditionalist, Akinola presides over the most vibrant and almost certainly the largest Anglican community in the world—at a time when the Anglican world's true center of gravity has shifted to Africa. ....Commenting on the decision of the Canadian diocese of New Westminster to approve the blessing of gay unions, Akinola declared that the diocese had in practice seceded from the Anglican world. ....Akinola thundered, "This is an attack on the Church of God —a Satanic attack on God's Church." And during the buildup to the U.S. Episcopal Church's controversial ordination of Gene Robinson as the bishop of New Hampshire, he announced, "I cannot think of how a man in his senses would be having a sexual relationship with another man. Even in the world of animals, dogs, cows, lions, we don't hear of such things."



Display:
And, it can be expressed even more bluntly : "Schismatic Episcopalians Endorse One-Upping Nazi Anti-Gay Laws".

by Bruce Wilson on Mon Dec 18, 2006 at 11:53:00 AM EST

Unfortunately, he's not alone. I'd raised some concerns in an earlier post about Archbishop Emmanuel Kolini of Rawanda who was speaking at Warren's wonderful AIDS conference where Obama was also a speaker. Kolini has been seeding dissent in American, Canadian and British churches (and perhaps looking to appropriate funds from divided churches). The MO made me suspicious that he might be involved with the IRD. Further checking revealed that indeed he was.

One of the clearest pictures I've found of the history and development of the relationships is in an older paper by Daly. Thought it might be helpful to post it here for those like myself who are less familiar with the history than the front pagers. The cast of characters is rather amazing. Recommend reading the full paper but a few clips:

Wootton and Campanelli were joined as incorporators of the AAC [American Anglican Council] by Diane Knippers, president of the Institute on Religion and Democracy (IRD) [before she died], who also joined the AAC's founding board of directors as treasurer.
[   ]
Knippers is a member of Truro Episcopal Church in Fairfax, Virginia. Truro is an historically evangelical parish that grew to 3,000 members, with a strongly revivalistic emphasis, under the leadership of then rector John Howe (1976-89), formerly John Guest's assistant at St. Stephens in Sewickley and a pioneering leader of the Episcopal renewal movement.
[   ]
In the 1980s, Truro and its charismatic sister church, The Church of the Apostles, became an important religious hub for the political right wing in Washington, including Oliver North and Clarence Thomas. Howe supported Pat Robertson when he ran for president in 1988 and, more recently, he participated in a charismatic "re-ordination" service for Robertson held at Regent University.
[   ]
This strong Washington axis centered on Truro and IRD sets the AAC apart from previous renewal efforts, along with the heavy involvement of bishops.
[   ]
Ahmanson is also a major funder of Republican political campaigns and right- wing referenda movements.... He has also been an important backer of Marvin Olasky, the architect of President Bush's faith-based initiative. In a more recent development, Ahmanson's wife, Roberta Green Ahmanson, has joined the board of IRD--a strong sign of the Ahmansons' growing commitment to the religious right's assault on mainline denominations.
[   ]
Kolini and Tay are part of a growing network of evangelical primates (heads of provinces in the Anglican Communion) and bishops from the developing world (mainly Africa and Asia), as well as Australia and New Zealand, that has begun to work closely with ECUSAn conservatives. ... On June 24, 2001, four more priests were consecrated as AMiAbishops in Denver's Colorado Community Church with nearly 1,000 participants.
[   ]
This strategy has political implications that go well beyond the church, and it is important to understand how Anglican evangelical networks overlap with political and social policy objectives in Africa, Asia, and elsewhere. To cite just one notable alliance, AMiA leaders Emmanuel Kolini and John Rucyahana recently helped to form the Rwandan affiliate of Charles Colson's Prison Fellowship International....

Naughton's point about "the moral legitimacy of rolling back human rights for minorities" is well taken. Important as they are, this is about more than the rights of gays and lesbians. Ethan Vesely-Flad addresses some of the complex racial issues involved. I'm particularly concerned at this point in time because many people seem to be giving Warren the benefit of the doubt about his strong right leanings. It doesn't bode well as he tackles AIDS in Africa if these are his cronies.

by Psyche on Tue Dec 19, 2006 at 12:02:29 AM EST

I am a Virginian and was raised Episcopal.  I am really saddened by this out of nostalgia for my old home church, and embarrassed that this could have happened.  

However, I read an LTE (IIRC) in the Washington Post about this, where the writer made two very important observations:

  • the diversity of voices in the Episcopal Church is hurt by this.

  • It is unsurprising given the recent stance of the priests involved.

I was struck by the very small size of five of the seven parishes that voted to leave.   In this sense the schism will not have a large impact.  I also expect that it will ultimately be the death of these parishes - though they may have deep enough pockets to last a while yet, even with tiny membership.  It frees the remainder of the church up to continue evolving - even more rapidly.  They may yet achieve something like John Spong's non-theistic understanding, or they may just dissappear.  

However, I think there are massive underlying cognitive inconsistencies in the various 'comprimises' worked out to keep the Episcopal coalition together for a long time now.  I don't believe that served anyone's interests.  The reactionary, 'traditionalist' approach does stand in contrast with the rationally-informed theology of the mainstream Episcopal Church.  

by montpellier on Tue Dec 19, 2006 at 05:52:01 PM EST
[ Parent ]

There are significicant fracture lines around gay marriage and abortion - but why are those seen as pivotal issues ?

Why not Global Warming, war ( in Iraq even ? ) or poverty in the US and around the world ?  

How about access of women around the globe to birth control technologies that might enable them to limit family size so they could work to lift their families out of poverty ?

This American Episcopal right push for the restriction of human rights seems to address no identifiable global crisis I'm aware of.

by Bruce Wilson on Tue Dec 19, 2006 at 10:16:49 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Seems like this crisis has been brewing for a long time. There's been a battle royal over the ordination of women - ongoing. Some countries still don't ordain women, some only as deacons and some only to the level of priests. Then there's the issue of gay priests, then gay bishops, then election of a woman as presiding bishop in the US. On the religious right, it doesn't seem to matter what the denomination is in the US. Straight white men rule and everyone else should take a back seat. One of the ironies of this whole mess is that these dissenting congregations are going under the protection of black African bishops. Want to take bets on how many African Americans there are in those congregations?

by Psyche on Wed Dec 20, 2006 at 03:43:12 AM EST
[ Parent ]


That must be painful. Do appreciate the added background.

I wonder if part of the problem in dealing with these issues in the ECUSA is the hierarchical structure. When churches are relatively independent, as they are in the UCC, a church leaving, although sad, doesn't cause an earthquake. From what I've read, the finances are a big problem since many of the ECUSA congregations are quite wealthy.

Jefferts Shorri's election as presiding bishop seemed such a hopeful sign of progress. Hope this doesn't undermine her efforts. Of course, from the perspective of the right, I'm sure she's a big part of the problem. She seems pretty tough - let's hope tough enough.

by Psyche on Wed Dec 20, 2006 at 03:16:11 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Some clarification on the personal: It's not my home parish - that is an equally old (nearly) parish near Scottsville, VA - where the discussion of such matters is in bad taste (so the elephants will remain in the room indefinitely).  I meant "home" in terms of denomination.  I was raised Episcopal (and secular humanist scientist) but married into a (very post-Vatican II) Catholic church.  Rather than convert, after much soul (and theology) searching, I 'succumbed' to creeping atheism.  

The observation that ECUSA parishes being disproportionately wealthy is spot-on.  And for that reason, I doubt much if the overall church will be harmed.  The real harm is that the mainline church has to deal with falling membership for three reasons:

  • attrition by death of parishoners
  • atheism/agnosticism (people like me)
  • social reactionaries (who become Catholic or "Anglican").

I think the schism of the ECUSA frees the mainline church to pursue the kind of theology advocated by John Spong or Paul Tillich.  Is that really viable?  Is religion really inherently and necessarily 'revealed truth' - there are other approaches to understanding morality.  I don't know.

I think the question of mores based on 'revealed truth" (basically the prejudices expressed by authority) is difficult - what is the source of authority - because I say so and I have power over you, or because you can independently reason out desireable attributes for certain prejudices.  Spong suggests the writing is on the wall for traditional "because an authority figure (mommy or daddy or the priest/bishop in moral loco parentis) says so"...that such systems of morality and belief will not survive the onslaught of reason.  Most of the social-reactionary right is obsessed with authority based morality.  The abortion issue is really just a subset of the morality of sexuality - and sex is the ultimate issue in terms of control and liberation (personal autonomy) - atheistic evolutionists like me would say it's no accident that the activity associated with the survival of the species would be so preoccupy us.  

by montpellier on Thu Dec 21, 2006 at 07:57:19 AM EST
[ Parent ]

perhaps in part because I'm a psychologist/bioethicist (and ex-biologist). The better polls certainly support your breakdown of the reasons behind the "dwindles" of mainline churches. What's remarkable is that we hear lots about the migration from mainline to evangelical churches (and there has been some of that) but what we don't hear about is that the fastest growing group is the seculars. Suspect we're trending like Europe - if slowly - and that, at base, is what freaks out the religious right. Authoritarians need control to feel secure.

Nonetheless, I wish the mainline churches well and think they have a lot to contribute. In addition, in spite of clergy like Spong, a lot of folks will continue to want a home in traditional religion and the mainline churches tend to be a lot more rational and reasonable than the right. Without mainline denominations, there would be no group large enough to take on the right. I just hope theyll become more active in the battle.

by Psyche on Thu Dec 21, 2006 at 06:40:11 PM EST
[ Parent ]






I have to say that I am not surprised with anything that comes out of Nigeria these days.

On one hand you hear of Islamic Sharia Courts in the north that carry out the stoning of female adulterers. On the other, In the south you hear of Anglican Bishops hell-bent on making the Christian part of Nigeria as backward and hateful as the Muslim parts.

I have done some research on Pragraphs 175 and 176. Over and above the bigotry of these paragraphs, in 1936 Nazis established the bureaucracy "THE REICH CENTRAL OFFICE FOR THE COMBATING OF HOMOSEXUALITY AND ABORTION". Scary! Sounds "fundy" of Christianity and Islam.

If you would like to see my take on fundamentalists and Nazi persecution of gays see http://community-2.webtv.net/westernmind/REICHOFFICE

(Lets not forget Stalin's mandatory 9 year prison sentence for gays)

Oh, did I forget? In Cuba, homosexuality is decriminalized but homosexuals aren't "moral enough" to join the Communist Party.

Pinochet, Franc and Mussolini were no different than the religious fanatics o the issues of sexual orientation and family planning.

by James Veverka on Wed Dec 20, 2006 at 06:58:14 PM EST


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?
The Catholic Right, Part Sixty-eight Is Governor Sarah Palin really "a natural choice" for Catholics as Fidelis's Brian Burch suggests?  The answer is obviously,......
By Frank Cocozzelli (4 comments)
Major Christian Organization Endorses the Military Religious Freedom Foundation
With all the attention being given to the radical fundamentalist brand of Christianity espoused by churches like that of Sarah Palin -- a brand......
By Chris Rodda (0 comments)
Palin's Church Promotes Gay Conversion
The Associated Press reports that the Wasilla Bible Church where Sarah Palin is a member is promoting a conference on the crackpot notion of......
By Frederick Clarkson (0 comments)
Palin's Pastor: God "Is Gonna Strike Out His Hand Against... America
On July 20, 2008, the pastor of Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin's home church, Larry Kroon, delivered a sermon called "Sin Is Personal To......
By Max Blumenthal (1 comment)
Sarah Palin and the Servant Heart
<small>Senior Analyst, Political Research Associates (author info)</small>Sarah Palin's references to the Servant Heart comes from the idea that Jesus of Nazareth asked his......
By Chip Berlet (5 comments)
Short Takes: Sarah Palin Edition
Religion Dispatches: Kathryn Joyce profiles Palin -- as McCain's mad pander to the Religious Right continues to unfold. Gay City News: The accumulating evidence......
By Frederick Clarkson (2 comments)
Palin's Churches and the Third Wave
Part Two This posting documents the extensive involvement of several of Sarah Palin's churches in the Third Wave Movement, also known as the New......
By Ruth (2 comments)
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
Senior Analyst, Political Research Associates (author info)Sarah Palin is a "Dominionist" with an apocalyptic End Times theological viewpoint that sees the war in......
By Chip Berlet (3 comments)
EVENT CANCELLED Speaking in Philadelphia on September 27th
Update [2008-9-5 12:26:36 by Frederick Clarkson]: Buzzflash has announced that the event has been cancelled, but that the themes will continue to be pursued......
By Frederick Clarkson (0 comments)
Sarah Palin's Theocratic End Times - UPDATED
I have never believed that the evangelical views of George W. Bush ran deep -- at least as far as relating interpretations of the......
By Frederick Clarkson (4 comments)
Dobson and the Religious Right Rally for McCain/Palin
It was not so long ago that pundits were busy telling us that the Religious Right is dead, dying or irrelevant. The selection of......
By Frederick Clarkson (1 comment)
At Palin Church, Jews For Jesus Head Says Terrorism vs Israel Is God's Punishment
Do terrorist attacks on Israel, as recently preached in Sarah Palin's current church, amount to divine judgment on Jews for refusing to accept Jesus......
By Bruce Wilson (1 comment)
Theocrats to Pray for McCain's Death
The more theocratic elements of the Religious Right have a disturbing habit, (more like a practice) of invoking "imprecatory prayer" -- a call for......
By Frederick Clarkson (8 comments)
Rest Assured New Orleans, I'm Sure Lt. Gen. Van Antwerp is Praying for You
For those who don't know who Lt. Gen. Robert L. Van Antwerp is, he's the Commanding General of the Army Corps of Engineers --......
By Chris Rodda (2 comments)
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
Over the past few days, I've done reporting on Sarah Palin's extensive dominionist connections--including the attempt to run her as a "stealth" dominionist candidate and her connections to some scary dominionist groups including not......
By dogemperor (1 comment)
Palin Steals Hockey Mom Joke from John Hagee?
Hockey mom Sarah Palin got a great reaction during her convention speech with an unscripted joke (which she also used somewhere the day before) addressed to her fellow hockey moms. Noticing the "Hockey Mom"......
By Chris Rodda (1 comment)
The Irony of Sarah Palin's "Choice"
Republican operatives and religious conservatives are ecstatic over Sarah Palin.  Most of all, they are ecstatic that she is a "pro-life" mother who chose not to have an abortion after she found of she......
By tacitus (0 comments)
New revelations re "stealth dominionist" Sarah Palin
A few days ago, I wrote one of the first articles out there regarding Sarah Palin's VP nomination as a "stealth dominionist"--a "stealther" with extensive Assemblies connections (and to particularly scary segments of the......
By dogemperor (0 comments)
Sarah Palin: Dominionist Stalking Horse
The big news, obviously, in the blogosphere today is John McCain's surprise pick for the Republican veep nominee--a relative unknown by the name of Sarah Palin, whom--at least in the more conventional political circles--would......
By dogemperor (0 comments)
Richard Land Picks Republican Veep Candidate
Yesterday the media was all atwitter about Karl Rove's supposed Republican V.P. pick, Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty.  However, it seems that instead SBC President Richard Land, well known among readers of Talk2Action for his......
By ulyankee (1 comment)
"Yes on 8" RSVP? Need your advice.
Schubert Flint Public Affairs has been hired to run the Yes on Prop. 8 ("Protect Marriage") initiative.  If you've happened to notice the names Jennifer Kerns, Frank Schubert, or Jeff Flint in media coverage......
By Chino Blanco (2 comments)
Alabama PSC Cantidate Matt Chancey: His Views on Suffrage, Women, Marriage, etc.
Promoted from the diaries -- FC Alabama voters should be made aware that Matt Chancey opposes"one person, one vote" suffrage, apparently on religious grounds. Matt Chancey, a Republican, is running for president of the......
By CynthiaGee (2 comments)
Jews and Christians Unite against the Empire of Neo-cons and 'Christian' Zionists
Late last year, Congress agreed to a request from President Bush to fund a major escalation of covert operations against Iran, according to current and former military, intelligence, and congressional sources...Everything is justified in......
By eileen fleming (1 comment)
Patriot Follows the Money and Exposes Foreign Agents
"Patriotism means to stand by the country. It does not mean to stand by the president or any other public official."-Theodore Roosevelt ......
By eileen fleming (0 comments)
The Alleged "Church of Liberalism"
4th July, Independence Day. I was at a party in Paris. As usual, when one of the guests learned that he was speaking to an American the conversation turned to the election and Obama.......
By TMurray (0 comments)
Hope Never Dies for Extremists
The extreme political Religious Right hasn't given up hope of getting something out of this election. Their latest ploy involves petitioning the parties for a "True Christian" in the vice-presidential slot. The Christian Anti-Defamation......
By John McKay (0 comments)
Catholic religious right wing: Legion of Christ
Frank L. Cocozzelli's weekly series of posts on "The Catholic Right" (listed here) includes quite a few posts about Opus Dei. There's another, similarly ultra-orthodox Catholic religious order he might want to examine in......
By Diane Vera (3 comments)
Prosyletization in Iraq: A threat to national security
As amazing as it sounds, dominionists may in fact be fomenting terrorism--not just the domestic terrorism like bombings of women's clinics we normally associate, but the very "Islamist terror bombings" that the GOP loves......
By dogemperor (0 comments)
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
In what is--sadly--yet another case of the extent of which blatant prosyletisation is tolerated in the modern US military, a recent incident where members of the US Marine Corps were handing out coins to......
By dogemperor (0 comments)
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
An open letter, from Ray McGovern, a 27-year intelligence analyst with the CIA, to Admiral William J. Fallon, warns of an impending US attack on Iran. If such an event occurred, the resulting war......
By Bruce Wilson (3 comments)
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
John Hagee claims 1) that he knows with absolute certainty the will of God (as he told a BBC interviewer in 2003), is 2) sure that he, John Hagee, has a place in heaven......
By Bruce Wilson (0 comments)
Biblical support for abortion, who knew?
It turns out that our present legal understanding of when a life is entitled to legal protection is consistent with the Old Testament Biblical understanding of when a fetus becomes a 'life' warranting legal......
By TMurray (2 comments)
2001 John Hagee Film Shows Gangsterish Rabbi, Foppish Catholic Priest In League With anti-Christ
The following somewhat satirical video is built around a brief excerpt from Texas megachurch pastor John Hagee's 2001 55-minute film "Vanished", which followed the prophetic, premillennial plot line of Tim LaHaye's and Jerry Jenkin's......
By Bruce Wilson (0 comments)
PBS "Carrier": A Mixed Blessing
Watching the PBS miniseries "Carrier" was a revelation, but not always a pleasant one... ......
By bughouse square (0 comments)
Will We Ever Learn?
Ever looked at something or did something which at the time seemed good and beneficial only to learn that it was not what you thought?  If we could all have the opportunity to live......
By truthngrace (0 comments)
McCain-Endorser's Church Casts Out "Demon of Anal Fissures", Teaches Vomiting Evil Spirits
[NOTE: for a related story, see Mai Tai Dogs: Pics Show Bush Administration, McCain-Endorser Hagee Schmoozing at Chinese Restaurant] I have to admit, on one level it sounds more entertaining than a church full......
By Bruce Wilson (3 comments)
Bush 41 salutes Sun Myung Moon's effort to subdue the planet.
Sun Myung Moon's end time political front, the Universal Peace Federation had a summit from April 28 to May 2 in Washington DC. The participants took a tour of the Moon owned Washington Times......
By Lou (2 comments)
Advancing The Kingdom
Over the past four years, I've researched the darkest regions of the Christian right for the non-fiction film Silhouette City. The film tracks the movement of apocalyptic Christian nationalism from the margins of American......
By MichaelWWilson (2 comments)

More Diaries...