"Grooming Politicians for Christ"

[Bluebear]

WASHINGTON - In the blue and gold elegance of the House speaker's private dining room, Jeremy Bouma bowed his head before eight young men and women who hope to one day lead the nation. He prayed that they might find wisdom in the Bible - and govern by its word.

"Holy Father, we thank you for providing us with guidance," said Bouma, who works for an influential televangelist. "Thank you, Lord, for these students. Build them up as your warriors and your ambassadors on Capitol Hill."

"Amen," the students murmured. Then they picked up their pens expectantly.

Nearly every Monday for six months, as many as a dozen congressional aides - many of them aspiring politicians - have gathered over takeout dinners to mine the Bible for ancient wisdom on modern policy debates about tax rates, foreign aid, education, cloning and the Central American Free Trade Agreement....

http://news.yahoo.com/s/latimests/20050823/ts_latimes/groomingpoliticiansforchrist&printer=1

[mcctatas]

1. What fucking bible are any of the bush policies based on???

must be some twisted NIV version featuring supply-side Jesus. :puke:

[imax2268]

2. Yikes...

n/t

[fauxpolitico]

3. Scary

Since they can't think for themselves, they have to "mine the Bible."

The sheeple of this "gutter religion" as Malloy so correctly termed Christianity are pathetic and dangerous to this country.

The last thing we need is more politicians making decisions based on their "faith." More like faith in the almighty dollar.

[newyawker99]

15. Hi fauxpolitico!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[progressivebydesign]

4. Welcome to the Theocracy...

Now WHY is it the freepers were complaining about Iraq's new theocracy?

[BrklynLiberal]

5. Religion + Politics = GET RID OF THEIR TAX EXEMPT STATUS, NOW!!!

I do not understand how there could be any question about this.
They openly admit that they are trying to influence the government, so how can they justify remaining tax-exempt!

the unabashedly political televangelist has also reached out to the Beltway elite with his Center for Christian Statesmanship in Washington.
...
Ministers such as Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson jumped headlong into politics.
...
To develop such steadfast politicians, evangelicals are building on decades of work by nonprofit groups such as the Leadership Institute and Young America's Foundation, which train conservatives in grass-roots activism, effective campaigning, even how to launch a right-wing magazine.

What is the tax status of these groups??!!

[atreides1]

6. Now There is Treason on Capitol Hill

Isn't this an interetsting turn of events, treason being taught right
there in the Halls of the U.S. Congress, they use the Bible and not the U.S. Constitution.

They wish to violate the 1st Amendment by establishing a state religion.

And they do this all in the private dining room of Dennis Hastert, well we now have confirmation that he's a traitor, along with those that took part in the crowning of Reverend Moon as the Messiah.

The list is getting longer, anyone taking down the names?

[Bluebear]

8. And he is third in the line of succession

:crazy:

[samplegirl]

7. Their whole platform for 2008

Vote Christian...and their in our faces with it until
then.

[drhilarius]

9. That actually makes a great deal of sense...

I'm sure that men who lived 5000-2000 years ago have much to say on the progressive tax system, trade and currency in an increasingly globalized economy, and tense geo-political/ inter-tribal conflicts of a, surprisingly, not flat earth.
For instance, perhaps the best way to stop global warming is to open the doors in the heavens that hold back all the water!!! That'll sure cool things down! Nanotechnology? Well, if 1 million angels could fit on the head of a pin, just think how many the clergy could squeeze into your body!! Cure for mental illness? Prayer, some pigs, and a large body of water!!

[Porcupine]

10. They HATE the first incarnation of Christ.

In the "Rapture" the New Christ will use guns and bombers, missiles and nuclear weapons. The New Christ will allow them to rape their enemies children and torture the men. The New Christ will roast those hippies at Camp Casey and feed them to the dogs. The New Christ won't turn no f*&king other cheek when the WTC gets blown up.

I think it's clear which biblical power they worship and it absolutely isnt' Jesus of Nazareth who died rather than fight or run.

[OrwellwasRight]

11. I actually went to this guy's blog and it does not sound

crazy as you might think it would.

He actually writes that:

"On April 24, 2005, the Church sunk to a new low: it posited that God was against the filibuster, a parlimentary tool used by a Senate minority to prevent questionable pieces of legislation and individuals from damaging the nation. Equally low, the Church tried to link the use of filibusters to anti-Christian and spiritually evil activities. The moniker, "Filibusters Are Against People of Faith" led me to this conclusion.
* * *

"In short: American Christians have, by in large, capitulated to the world's way of influencing by whoring themselves to a particular party, rather than loving the Hill community through the gospel and being the Body of Christ by living incarnationally."

OK, I don't speak fundamentalist, so I don't know if this is code, but it sounds fairly rational and even-handed to me.

Do they just do this to suck people in and then they turn all Pat Robertson and pro-assassination or what/

BTW, his blog is here; http://novuslumen.blogspot.com/

[noonwitch]

17. I was impressed with his website, especially the stories about the orphans

It looked to me to be critical of the confluence of religion and politics. I've been reading CS Lewis' "Mere Christianity" lately, and his remarks are pretty consistent with Lewis' statements about worrying about your own behavior and not others'.

I appreciate the fact that he went to a backwards country like Romania and visited orphanages and such. Those kids in Romania need to have visitors and guys like this help motivate good people to adopt some of them, or donate money to the organizations that are working with them.

With a name like Jeremy Bouma, however, he must have grown up in West Michigan or some other dutch reformed community. Not that it matters, but having grown up amongst the dutch reformed in Grand Rapids, I know a dutch name when I see it.

[OrwellwasRight]

19. So if he is so rational about the destructive mixing of religion &

politics, why is he leading this crazy Republican movement to put more religious people on the Hill?

It is like his blog is opposed to his day job. Weird.

[Fire Walk With Me]

12. Beat me to it- just posted this in GD:P. Thanks! Everyone should read this

Keep it bumped.

[Fire Walk With Me]

13. Three scary Christian political quotes:

“To this aggressive extension of American power in the world, pResident George W. Bush adds God -and that changes the picture dramatically.” -Jim Wallis, Sojourner Magazine

“It’s one thing for a nation to assert its raw dominance in the world; it’s quite another to suggest that his pResidency may be a divine appointment for a time such as this.” -Jim Wallis, Sojourner Magazine

“From the outside you've got attacks on America and on the rest of the Western world from radical Islamic fundamentalism. At the same time there is a struggle going on inside America, and it's a struggle between those who regard judeo-christian values as vital for our nation's survival, and those who view those values as horrible obstructions to progress.
The future of our nation depends upon the outcome of that struggle.” -Rabbi Daniel Lapin, American alliance of Jews and Christians.

From the DVD: "GWB: Faith in the White House"

[Bluebear]

16. Truly frightening

[wli]

14. fascism on the goose-step

These freaks should be prosecuted at the Hague also.

[stanwyck]

18. The Republicans are dancing with the devil

2008 will show the split in the party between the evangelical fundamentalists and the old-line true conservatives. The Pastor Project wants to have only evangelicals as Republican nominees. Their success could spell losses for the Republicans. They'll lose the middle. Will the old-line Goldwater conservatives be able to stage a comeback? Will Santorum and DeLay be able to increase their power?
The Republicans courted the evangelicals to lock the South and scrape by in the general election with a slender margin. But will this strategy ultimately split their party?
Stay tuned, liberals.
This game could be fun to watch.