Thanks so much for the expanse of accurate and honest reporting and commentary this site provides. This is my first comment. As a walkaway from the Southern Baptists after an attempted Calvinist steeplejacking of my church, I have studied and read all I can to try to understand this movement. The fundamentalist takeover of the SBC 30+ years ago was huge. The ease with which it was accomplished made it the carrot on the stick that drives the zeal of the theocratic dominionist / christian nationalist movement. Now it is vitally important to note the fact that most of the SBC seminaries are cranking out young calvinist pastors to literally school unsuspecting rural congregations into alliance with this NAR goal.

by burlofski on Tue May 15, 2012 at 11:34:14 AM EST

I'm not aware that burning at the stake is mandated anywhere in the Bible. The usual method of execution called for in scripture is stoning. God is depicted as raining down fire on various miscreants, but that seems to be the privilege of deity, not humanity.

At some point the Roman Catholic church became quite fond of burning heretics at the stake. Jan Hus and Jeanne d'Arc were two notable victims. The Protestant Council in Geneva (with Calvin's approval and probably at his instigation) burned the brilliant physician, cartographer, and reformer Michael Servetus because he dared to advance a non-trinitarian theology of deity. So Rushdoony had plenty of historical inspiration for execution for burning, but not much from scripture.

by MLouise on Tue May 15, 2012 at 09:49:51 PM EST

In her social fiction book "The Handmaid's Tale" by Canadian Margaret Atwood we were shown mostly hangings with many bodies hood covered as grisly displays for the rest to learn from. Nice and easy and not too costly. But I could see in some future time the leadership of Gilead using burnings for certain types of "criminals" on flat screen tv where people make a holiday of it. Like in earlier times of our country and in Europe. A surreal tableaux I would not like to see happen for real. But I see many in that movement of many heads that have that old world zeal and gusto for torture and murder. If they do get the chance and get their way this country in whatever permutation and transmutation will be far more dangerous than a few angry Muslims. The USA has a huge arsenal and is spreading globally. They finally have penetrated the African continent. Very dangerous.

by Nightgaunt on Thu Jun 21, 2012 at 03:17:51 PM EST