Now We're Getting Somewhere
John Dorhauer printable version print page     Bookmark and Share
Tue Dec 05, 2006 at 09:40:31 AM EST
If the first task of this site is to inform readers about the ongoing machinations of the religious right designed to foment dissent in the congregations of the progressive Christian church, then a close second to that responsibility is the task of defusing the power of those arming themselves for battle against progressive faith communities.

I think its working

For too long, the progressive churches were unaware of the deliberations, orchestrations, manipulations, and machinations that were being organized against them by attack agents affiliated with each other through the oversight of the IRD (Institute on Religion and Democracy). Which meant that for too long we were reacting to situations, circumstances, and causes and effects about which we were largely ignorant.

This meant that the perpetrators of these attacks went unchallenged while attention was focused largely on the inner dynamics of churches embroiled in controversy.

That is no longer the case. Fred Clarkson, an investigative journalist who organizes this website, and Andrew Weaver, a Clinical Psychologist who has written about this extensively, have been on a long campaign to shed light into the darker corners of this ugly mess. A result of that is an emerging cadre of folk like me whose love for their church, their history, and their covenantal obligations both to ecumenism and to scripture empower them to uncover unpleasant truths about a church under attack, and embolden them to speak this ugly truth to an ever-widening audience.

The tides are turning.

People are listening.

And as they do, we are discovering better strategies both to fend off attackers and to deepen devotion to their beloved church - a devotion that ends up being the single greatest antidote to the venom spewing forth from the attack agents.

But something else is also happening. Those behind the systemic and systematic dismantling of the progressive church are, for the first time, being antagonized out of the shadows in which they have been laying hidden for decades now. And for the first time, they find themselves on the defensive, reacting to those who speak publicly what they would just as soon remain private.

An example is an article appearing on the IRD website by Jim Berkely, responding to what I had written a few weeks ago on this page. You can find that article at http://jimberkley.blogspot.com/2006/11/more-dor.html.

His response is filled with innuendo, hyperbole, sarcasm, and ad hominem attacks - all hallmarks of one intending to discredit the author without really dealing with the accusations leveled against the IRD by that author. It is a low form of dialogue and debate intended to direct attention away from the question at hand - namely how the IRD, funded by neo-conservative politicos, operates through their Association of Church Renewal and its 30+ renewal members to foment dissent and disruption in otherwise healthy and vital congregations affiliated with moderate and progressive denominations who stand ready (if not otherwise occupied by or intimidated into silence by agitators) to speak out against the excesses of a political pantheon whose thirst for power and domination simply cannot go unchallenged.

Berkley's attempt to discredit misses his point, but makes mine: our work here is paying off. We have those who are at the heart of this attack against the progressive church finally reacting to what we are doing  - somewhat on the run with little else to hang on to but feeble attempts to deflect attention away from the subject matter and onto the whistle blower.

A second example, and this one even less noble than the first, can be found at ucctruths.com. At the top of their page is a "John Dorhauer Conspiracy Challenge Clock."

No, really, I'm not making this up. It even has my photo next to it. I didn't know about this until I flew to Orlando last week for a biennial gathering of Conference Staff leaders from across the denomination. I have become some sort of cult hero because of this - and took no small amount of teasing from colleagues because of it who wondered why I was deserving of such attention and they were not.

Anyway, there is a ticking clock next to my face. They are waiting for me to respond to their challenge and prove my point, and until I do the clock with my face next to it will continue to run. Here is my response: the clock proves my point. It is silliness and not substance. It is deflection and not debate. It is entertaining, to be sure, but not enlightening.

As long as there are no substantive responses; no meaningful dialogue; no visible signs of stopping the attacks on denominations and churches that are doing their best to fulfill the mandates of scripture as they interpret them; no apologies for past atrocities that cannot, I am afraid, be defended by the argument that the way you interpret scripture justifies these behaviors: then we will continue to write about what we discover hidden in the shadows of these recessed corners into which you have withdrawn.




Display:
Every once in awhile, someone joins this site under false pretenses in order to respond to a post or a comment.  

In order to join and participate in this site, you have to check off a box indicating that you agree with the purposes of the site. If you do not share our purposes and join the site anyway, you are a liar and a fraud. Here in the blogosphere, we call such people trolls.  Most trolls are cowards who hide behind pseudonyms to get away with saying what they would not otherwise dare to say to someone to thier face.  Other trolls use their own names, but somehow think that the rules apply to everyone but them.

As the site co-owner, I just deleted the comment of a cowardly troll and banned the person from posting on the site.

People who do not agree with the purposes of this site are free to post elsewhere. It's a big blogosphere.

 

by Frederick Clarkson on Tue Dec 05, 2006 at 07:13:30 PM EST


Thank you, John, for your deep commitment to the Gospel of Jesus Christ and for your service on behalf of the United Church of Christ.

Rev. Chuck Currie
  

by RevChuckCurrie on Wed Dec 06, 2006 at 12:10:53 AM EST
and likewise, my friend.
Shalom, Rev. Dr. John C. Dorhauer "Time makes ancient good uncouth; we must onward still and upward who would keep abreast of truth." from Lowell, "The Present Crisis"
by John Dorhauer on Wed Dec 06, 2006 at 08:48:06 AM EST
[ Parent ]


I hestitate to say much here because I need to preempt possible IRD interference in a conference I've been working on for my region.  Two of my main goals have already been fulfilled.  They were
  1. to educate people with little or no computer skills about the IRD
  2. to connect web based information on the IRD to people with profound organizing skills

Accomplishing the second goal has resulted in magical results.  I have connections to older union organizers who understand how to deal with trouble-makers.  I have two nationally known religious movers and shakers getting me significant results with national organizations.  One of my committee members who was in the south with MLK and who has amazing press connections, is putting together an excellent P.R. campaign  All of these people are between the ages of 75 and 86.  This is going so well, I get scared.  I'm afraid to look back for fear I'll "fall in".

by tikkun on Wed Dec 06, 2006 at 09:34:38 AM EST
Let us know if we can be of help.

by Frederick Clarkson on Wed Dec 06, 2006 at 12:32:26 PM EST
[ Parent ]

please keep us posted on any meaningful results and information you get from your research.
Shalom, Rev. Dr. John C. Dorhauer "Time makes ancient good uncouth; we must onward still and upward who would keep abreast of truth." from Lowell, "The Present Crisis"
by John Dorhauer on Wed Dec 06, 2006 at 03:05:17 PM EST
[ Parent ]


you know you're ticking off the right people! (so to speak :)

by PlantingLiberally on Tue Dec 05, 2006 at 11:01:25 AM EST
I have a very irreverent son (go figure) who used to sport a bumper sticker in the town we last lived in (26 Baptist churches in a town of 10,000 - each more fundamentalist than the next) that read "Doing my best to piss off the religious right." I guess some of that has rubbed off on the old man.
Shalom, Rev. Dr. John C. Dorhauer "Time makes ancient good uncouth; we must onward still and upward who would keep abreast of truth." from Lowell, "The Present Crisis"
by John Dorhauer on Tue Dec 05, 2006 at 01:10:59 PM EST
[ Parent ]
I've seen that bumper sticker.

Made me laugh.

Last car I saw with that sticker also had one that said (roughly) "The only thing with Baptists is they don't stay under long enough."

I agree that we're starting to get some real response and I see that as a good thing.

by nofundy on Wed Dec 06, 2006 at 08:36:20 AM EST
[ Parent ]




A little bird told me there's a new documentary on the IRD that may be released soon.  Think that will stir things up a bit for the haters?

Thanks for getting rid of the trolls Fred!

by nofundy on Wed Dec 06, 2006 at 08:40:15 AM EST

It's by Steve Martin (not the comedian), and we previewed it when flew Fred Clarkson in for a training event two weeks ago. Though it needs some editing, it is outstanding, and will surely capture the attention of those whose attention we are trying to get.
Shalom, Rev. Dr. John C. Dorhauer "Time makes ancient good uncouth; we must onward still and upward who would keep abreast of truth." from Lowell, "The Present Crisis"
by John Dorhauer on Wed Dec 06, 2006 at 08:50:22 AM EST
[ Parent ]


As a lifelong UCCer and PK, and a Loving Critic of some of the national UCC stances, I want to first state that I agree that the religious right is out of control in the United States. I think people like Pat Robertson and ... deserve much of the criticism they receive. Rush Limbaugh and Karl Rove are no less deserving of criticims for their manipulative and deceptive conflation of Christianity with political conservatism.

My question is in response to your comments about "progressive faith communities" and "moderate and progressive denominations" and the sentiment that conservatives are welcome in the big tent of the UCC as long as they are not trying to disassemble it.  My question is if there are "legit" conservatives who worship in the UCC, what are some positive and constructive ways should they participate in UCC discussions as dissenters to national political positions?

Some ways I can think of are signing on to the uccunity statement and raising awareness of the  Mututal Respect within faith communities General Synod Resolution of 2001. Are there other ways you would suggest?

by Concerned UCCer on Wed Dec 06, 2006 at 01:44:36 PM EST

John can answer this if he wants, but let me caution that this site is not for the purpose of exploring all aspects of UCC polity and politics, or that of any other group, denominaiton or issue area.  Part of my role here is to keep us on topic.

Our topic is the religious right and what to do about it.

There are necessarily gray areas, but there are lines to be drawn when the topic is straying, and we have arrived.

by Frederick Clarkson on Wed Dec 06, 2006 at 02:26:18 PM EST
[ Parent ]

I would be happy to have this dialogue in another context, but this venue really can't and shouldn't be used for an internal dialogue.
Shalom, Rev. Dr. John C. Dorhauer "Time makes ancient good uncouth; we must onward still and upward who would keep abreast of truth." from Lowell, "The Present Crisis"
by John Dorhauer on Wed Dec 06, 2006 at 03:07:49 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Ok, fair enough. I guess the general (not just UCC) question is: Surely not every conservative is part of a conspiracy. How should conservatives in our progressive faith communities behave to distinguish themselves from the IRD/RR, and how should progressives behave towards possibly benign conservatives within these communities?

I can only point out examples within the UCC but I am sure there are others in other denominations:

For example:
Is UCCtruths really an organ of the IRD, or is it a conservative UCC-er's blog burned by false accusation? United Church News called them out for a leak they never made about the new denominational ad campaign, where UC News name-dropped IRD without evidence. Does disgruntled blogging constitute subversion? There's generally conflict of some sort wherever two or three are gathered, so it's hard to distinguish between run-of-the-mill conflict due to the human condition and deliberate agitation.

In the name of winning the Global War on Terror, the United States wasted precious resources on a falsely accused Iraq. In the same way, the UCC learned that if we are going to win this war against dominionist subversion, we need to focus on the real bad guys rather than just any old conservatives in our churches. Conversely, the conservatives need to lean to be vigilant in not rallying around their conservative brethren who may be IRD rather than just "loving critics".

That's the lesson... let's fight alright, but let's make sure we are fighting the right opponents.

End of soapbox; I will defer to the rules around here and not post more than twice on this particular topic.

Peace.

by Concerned UCCer on Wed Dec 06, 2006 at 09:47:01 PM EST
[ Parent ]

one of the things I have written about often on this sight is how the IRD changes everything. There have always been battles between conservatives and liberals - among about a dozen or more other natural opponents - in the life of the church. No one is saying conservatives are bad and don't belong in the church, and that the only way to preserve the church is for everyone to become liberal. And I am fully aware - as has been written many times in this column - that most conservatives (and yes, that includes most of the conservatives who are vociferous and disruptive) have no idea who the IRD is. But the clandestine work of training activists that is carried on through the IRD and their partners in the the leadership of each renewal movement changes everything. The church can tolerate, and embrace, the kind of dialogue that takes place always and forever between people who have disparate theological ideologies. But when an outside agent, intent on the demise and destruction of one of those dialogue partners, coopts the voice of the other (yes, even without their knowing it), funds a movement to foment the dissent, develops a program that makes such malfeisance not only possible but likely, and does it all from within shadows that keep them and their role in all of this hidden - we are fools to sit by and do nothing, leaving them to their sinister devices. No one has ever said that to be conservative is to be bad, or evil, or wrong, or unwelcome. The argument that what we write here suggests that is a canard and a red herring - and is in fact a named talking point of (you guessed it), the IRD. "If the trained activists against whom those liberals on talk2action write are conservative, then make the argument that they hate conservatives." Responding to this argument week after week is getting to be a waste of time.
Shalom, Rev. Dr. John C. Dorhauer "Time makes ancient good uncouth; we must onward still and upward who would keep abreast of truth." from Lowell, "The Present Crisis"
by John Dorhauer on Thu Dec 07, 2006 at 08:13:45 AM EST
[ Parent ]






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