We must confront new religious tyranny

[alfredo]

http://www.kentucky.com/mld/kentucky/news/editorial/11869967.htm


Make no mistake: The rhetoric of the religious right, as articulated by demagogues such as James Dobson and Ralph Reed, is clear: Liberal elites control the media, the judiciary and the country and are the enemies of "people of faith." Democrats or others who disagree with this theological worldview are deemed hedonistic dervishes torching the right's Father Knows Best vision of America.

It is easy to dismiss the Dobsons of the world as beyond the pale. In doing so, we give President Bush, Sen. Bill Frist and U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay a pass. Sadly, with the filibuster uproar and the Terri Schaivo tragedy, these leaders are taking political, secular debate and supercharging it into a theological death match in which fear, bigotry and intolerance are weapons.

And, perversely, they do so in the name of God.

[mpyle27]

1. Nice post friend.

I think more people are recognizing the dire situation our country is in right now. However, we are in FACT dealing with a cabal of people who insist on their complete RIGHTNESS on every single issue. Debate has only become a spectacle of repeatedly running into a brick wall. May I ask, how familiar are you of fundamentalist thinking? Peace to my neighbors directly south.

[Raster]

2. Wonderful editorial

Last 4 paras:

<snip>

The gospel of Jesus as proclaimed in the Sermon on the Mount is a radical call to a way of life on the edges, in company with the losers of the world, concerned with justice and compassion, not power and intolerance.

So, when Dobson and company shriek that Democrats are the enemy of people of faith, it is right to ask in whom or what is the shriekers' faith placed. As these men anoint themselves the voice of God, we need to ask, "Who is your God?"

Though sometimes I am discouraged, I know there is a balm in Gilead to revive my sin-sick soul. The balm flows from the grace of a loving God calling us to pray for peace, fight for justice, work for healing and show compassion to the poor. The balm cannot be found in the meanness spewed by the Family Research Council.

And, like John Proctor, as a Christian and a liberal, don't I, too, need to stand up and ask, "What would Jesus do?"
____________

Now is the time for good Christian men and women to stand up and right the incredible, obscene wrongs promulgated in their name. bush*, reed, robertson, et.al, don't speak in Christ's name, they speak in theirs and their banker's name. For good men and women to stand by and allow evil to run rampant is to acquiesce to that evil, to become part of that evil.

[Ian David]

3. James Dobson isn't ALL bad. After all, he endorses masturbation...

This information seems to come from some kind of nasty hate site that has an axe to grind against Catholics, Jews, self-improvement and self-pleasuring.

But it contains an interesting angle on Dr. James "The Masturbator" Dobson that I thought was worth sharing:

The Promise Keepers: Satan's Latest Tool in Deception



This is article three in a series of articles on the Promise Keepers by Elder Wayne Camp. This article was first printed in The Grace Proclamator and Promulgator in February 1997. The Baptist Trumpeter believes that this series of articles will expose the Promise Keepers for what they truly are; an ungodly, unnecessary, unscriptural, para-church organization. The following article brings to light the alliances of the Promise Keepers along with their ungodly associations and affiliations. Warning should be taken by those pastors and churches that are at the present time using material from men herein mentioned. Once again, the Trumpeter makes no apology for the reprint of this valuable information. For those that are offended, my God open their eyes of understanding, and may they examine the Promise Keepers and their alliances by way of the truth contained in the Word of God (ed).


The Alliances of Promise Keepers
Part 1
By
Wayne Camp

<snip>

Dobson, like Robert Hicks, is not above vulgarity. In his 1978 book, Preparing for Adolescence, which was apparently targeted at 10-13 year-olds, he graphically describes the acts and feelings of a man and woman engaged in sexual intercourse (p. 82). In this same book, (Pp. 86-87) Dobson condones masturbation and describes the "tingly feeling" one gets from it. Since masturbation does not cause disease and cannot produce babies, Dobson suggests that it "is not much of an issue with God."

Dobson also follows the trend of some psychologists who believe that everything centers around sex, the idea that is advanced throughout TMJ. In 1988 Dobson wrote an article for Decision magazine which is published by Billy Graham. In that article he stated, "We are sexual creatures, and the physical attraction between males and females provides the basis for every dimension of marriage and parenthood"{Emp. Mine, RWC}. I know that sex has an important place in marriage. But, the suggestion that it provides the basis for every dimension of marriage is extremely broad. Moreover, it is absurd.

Dobson is also cozy with Catholicism. I am in possession of a sizable body of evidence that he frequently welcomes them on his radio broadcast and considers them as members of "the family of God" while Catholics definitely teach salvation by works. He holds an honorary doctorate from Franciscan University. Scott Hahn, a theology professor at that Catholic university claims that Dobson said that he "had never seen a campus where the students take the Lordship of Jesus Christ so seriously." The November, 1989, Clubhouse children’s magazine, an organ of Focus on the Family, had a smiling "Mother" Teresa on the cover. The lead article in that issue was "Teresa of Calcutta: Little Woman With a Big Heart." The article was written in a manner that readers were left with the impression that Teresa is a true New Testament Christian and that she is doing a great work for God. The truth is Teresa is pantheistic in her thinking. She considers Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, and other religions all to be acceptable ways to God. She also preaches the false sacerdotal, sacramental, gospel of Rome causing millions to have hopes of salvation through the mass and Mary.

In 1993,when a Jewish Rabbi and Catholic Bishop, Richard C. Hanifen, were outraged because Jewish and Catholic youth were being evangelized at school, they met with 72 national and international "Christian" associations headquartered in Colorado. There was an agreement that "such evangelization was improper."(The Berean Call, November, 1995). In April of 1993, a "Covenant of Mutual Respect" was drawn up in which the parties agreed to respect one another’s diverse beliefs and to avoid "polarization"! James Dobson was one of the signers of this agreement! This makes him a party to trying to muzzle students who try to evangelize Catholics and Jews.

More:
http://www.pbministries.org/Parachurch/PKs/camp3a.htm

[alfredo]

6. Dobson wants his brand of Christianity to have dominion over

The US. His endorsement of whacking off does nothing to rehabilitate him in my eyes.

[Ian David]

8. If more fundamentalists and evangelicals masturbated, the world would be..

a better place.

The only thing better, I think, would be an explosion in the popularity of churches that handle poisonous snakes.

One being a substitute for the other anyway.

[alfredo]

9. South of here is a place called High Bridge.

It is one of the highest railroad bridges in America. Back during the Jesus Freak years in the 70's, most of us were sick of their predatory tactics. Someone made up an imaginary Christian event. It was called, "Jump for Jesus." Below that was "Take a leap for the lord."

the event was to take place at High Bridge.

[megatherium]

11. A baptist church near where I live had a sign that said

"No snakes, just friendly people."

[atommom]

4. Good editorial! We need more like it to be published.

[alfredo]

5. I can't wait to see the reaction to it.

We do need more people to stand up.

[ixion]

7. GOD: the number ONE excuse for atrocity and murder

"I love God. He's so deliciously evil"
-- Stewie, from Family Guy

More people have died in the name of god through out history that for any other reason. If there is a god, wouldn't s/he be sort of embarrassed by all this slaughter?

[alfredo]

10. name one theocracy that didn't systematically abuse and kill

their own people?

[megatherium]

12. God is a popular excuse for killing.

But humans are seemingly genetically programmed to kill, a lot. Whatever excuse is handy will do. I have no doubt as the petroleum runs out and the world's population outstrips the global carrying capacity, there will be killing on a vast scale. The name of God may well be invoked by various parties to the coming world war; the coming Great Kull.

You know, the biggest mass murderers in history were: Mao, Hitler and Stalin. Two of these were avowed atheists; one of these pretended to be Catholic but killed on the basis of hideous pseudoscientific theories of racial purity.

[ixion]

13. exactly. Killing is a survival instinct

that has been with us for most or all of our collective existence. It's a genetically hardwired trait.

However, Civilization by and large, and God (Religion) in particular both claim to be the road to enlightenment. In theory, we're supposed to be growing beyond those base urges.

I am a pacifist, although if two consenting people want to fight to the death, that's their business. What really goads me is when people use Altruism or Religion (easily abstracting themselves from the act by signing "god" or "the state"'s name to the act of killing innocent people. Make no mistake, thousands of soldiers have died on battlefields throughout history, but hundreds of thousands more who were NOT soldiers, who did NOT want to die were slaughtered using the aforementioned abstraction.

That is blatant hypocrisy. And the fact that people can't see it? Well, that goes beyond description. :wow:

[ElectroPrincess]

14. First things first = Stop the illegal occupation of Iraq