The Religious Right: a Family of Evil

[Meldread]

This is a partial repost of a post I made in another forum because it's filling up with "April Fools!" jokes and cracks about the Pope's health. (And I really feel this deserves some serious attention.)

In the wake of current events, and the dramatic plays the Republicans have been making for the Fundamentalists of their party, I think we should take serious note of the following group of people:
http://www.harpers.org/JesusPlusNothing.html

Here are some quotes from the article:

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The Family is, in its own words, an “invisible” association, though its membership has always consisted mostly of public men. Senators Don Nickles (R., Okla.), Charles Grassley (R., Iowa), Pete Domenici (R., N.Mex.), John Ensign (R., Nev.), James Inhofe (R., Okla.), Bill Nelson (D., Fla.), and Conrad Burns (R., Mont.) are referred to as “members,” as are Representatives Jim DeMint (R., S.C.), Frank Wolf (R., Va.), Joseph Pitts (R., Pa.), Zach Wamp (R., Tenn.), and Bart Stupak (D., Mich.). Regular prayer groups have met in the Pentagon and at the Department of Defense, and the Family has traditionally fostered strong ties with businessmen in the oil and aerospace industries.

...

He walked to the National Geographic map of the world mounted on the wall. “You guys know about Genghis Khan?” he asked. “Genghis was a man with a vision. He conquered”—David stood on the couch under the map, tracing, with his hand, half the northern hemisphere—“nearly everything. He devastated nearly everything. His enemies? He beheaded them.” David swiped a finger across his throat. “Dop, dop, dop, dop.”

David explained that when Genghis entered a defeated city he would call in the local headman and have him stuffed into a crate. Over the crate would be spread a tablecloth, and on the tablecloth would be spread a wonderful meal. “And then, while the man suffocated, Genghis ate, and he didn't even hear the man's screams.” David still stood on the couch, a finger in the air. “Do you know what that means?” He was thinking of Christ's parable of the wineskins. “You can't pour new into old,” David said, returning to his chair. “We elect our leaders. Jesus elects his.”

He reached over and squeezed the arm of a brother. “Isn't that great?” David said. “That's the way everything in life happens. If you're a person known to be around Jesus, you can go and do anything. And that's who you guys are. When you leave here, you're not only going to know the value of Jesus, you're going to know the people who rule the world. It's about vision. 'Get your vision straight, then relate.' Talk to the people who rule the world, and help them obey. Obey Him. If I obey Him myself, I help others do the same. You know why? Because I become a warning. We become a warning. We warn everybody that the future king is coming. Not just of this country or that, but of the world.” Then he pointed at the map, toward the Khan's vast, reclaimable empire.
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In the other forum others said they've seen this and it is serious. Now with the post here I would like to pose this question: What should we do about it? I think the worst possible thing for these people is to shine a light on them and their wacko fundi dreams of world domination. Showing some Republicans what type of folks these are and using their words and beliefs against them. Seriously, these people are admiring people like Hitler. That in and of itself, and the fact that they so obviously have friends in high places should cause pause for more than enough people.

It begs another question to be asked: Just how far will the Right go? From the looks of it, all the way. All the way to Armageddon.

[opihimoimoi]

1. A very Bad Idea Gone Wild ...... Others have had this idea go wild too.

The Idea of extreme Arrogance that their twisted rationalized view, vision, is the ONLY one to consider/implement is their downfall in the end. Count the dead wounded from WW1 and WW2 and we begin to see the folly of bad ideas.

This fundamentalist movement is a cancer, a deadly one, on the World. These are the guys who reject science and embrace what cannot be proved. That should say it all, but it doesn't.....indicating a delusional state of mind but posing as normal....

This is what happens when Delusion gains power....

Scarey and should be addressed asap lest it grow to the point of extreme .....which is close at hand.

[biscotti]

2. I reread the Harpers article

from time to time. Jesus Plus Nothing article is profoundly scary. The pages of my magazine are worn. To think that "our leaders" senators and representatives are associated and some live with this international group of wacko's. Their concept is to help people sometimes they have to hurt them. "The Family" is truly a twisted delusional cult. Just reading about the twisted basketball game they play, Sick! And, there is a whole colony of young children they are raising in the neighborhood in demented families surrounding the conclave.

[blueheeler]

3. Thanks.....

I am reading the story and it is eerie!!! It reminds me of the Bohemian Grove stories.

[Amy6627]

4. I think this is a very serious problem. Liberals and true Christians

(not these wackos) need to unite and attack these groups and show the world they are not ANYWAY following the teachings of Christ. The United Church of Christ is starting to do more things publicly, but we need more religious leaders to stand up against these fundies. They are a far worse threat to the American way of life than the Muslim fundies, and just as crazy. I am a Christian, and I am appalled at the things these so called Christians say and do. I think they are driving more people to being atheist faster than anything. Christians are supposed to be setting examples of how great Christ and his teachings is, so that people see you being loving, caring, tolerant, compassionate, and they say what is your secret I want to be like you. No one in their right mind can see what these fundies are doing and want to be like them. I think the liberals and Christian DUers need to really unite and speak out against these right wing nut jobs. I posted a thread here earlier in the week asking all Christian DUers send letters to the editor denouncing these people whenever we can. We all need to be much more vocal. We need to contact religious leaders like the United Church of Christ to go on Air America and any forum and that will let them denounce the religious right in the country before all of OUR civil rights have been stripped away. I have been posting this website all over this forum in hopes that people would wake up to the serious threat these insane fake Christians are.

http://liberalslikechrist.org/churchstate/index.htm

Here is a snippet from this website entitled Why SMART Liberals
and TRUE Christians should be ALLIES:

And so, our liberal friends, don't assume that all Christians are the enemy! Many of us detest the "Religious Right" even more than you do, because these fanatics are not only threatening our country, but our religion as well. Liberals need to recognize that there are Progressive Christians, and that such Christians can and should be among your most effective allies!

[Helga Scow Stern]

5. "the Family's leaders consider democracy a manifestation of ungodly pride"

That says it all.

[Tux]

6. How to fix Christianity

The religion of of those that believe in Jesus as a "savior" can have their religion fixed. Catholics have a harder time doing this since they have to worship the Pope but other Christians can do this for them.

Email or snail mail Bible publishers, best with Christian groups, to request that Revelations be removed from the Bible in all of their translations. Contact each one and demand that it is removed since it is heresy. Why is it heresy?

Jesus taught people to take care of each other. Makes sense and it's in all religions, nothing new. Once you get done with the Gospels, you get Revelations (reason I will never read Bible again). Here, Jesus will return to Earth, kill non-believers (he said to treat all well), send his favorites to Heaven, and allow anti-Christ to rule the Earth. Then Jesus will return, kill him, and rule for a 1,000 years till all life is dead.

The 4 Horsemen is the main problem. That will make fundies think that those events must occur for Jesus to return. Compare it to the Gospels, Jesus said he'd return to his followers in their lifetimes. If believed that he appeared to each of them, he fulfilled that idea. The problem with fundies is in Revelations. It's after 2000 and no Jesus. They're scared. Get that part of the Bible removed, things should change over the years. If not, we can thank Christians for the fall of America, torture and death of non-Christians, and destruction of life on this planet.

[Meldread]

8. I don't think....

I don't think that would make much difference. Another group would just begin printing Revelations again. Besides, this group in particular is a different sect of the Religious Right. The fundis we see every day appear to be callous in their dealings in comparison. These guys, they are... cold and calculated... they know what they want and they have a lot of patients. These guys bring the whole fundamentalism thing to a whole new level.

[Larkspur]

7. New Reframe point: Religious Right worships Genghis not Jesus