LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY seshen)

This is a forum to discuss the fringe elements of Christian extremism. It is not a Bush-bashing forum, as per the community profile. Thank you.

LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY sunfell)

I suppose that I should insert a bit of clarity here for our many new readers. I think that the 'no Bush bashing' rule has become a bit of a stumbling block and perhaps the source of some misunderstandings. Let's correct our course a bit, shall we?

It is impossible to discuss Christian extremists (or what Fredrick Clarkson has called 'religious supermacists') without politics (and Bush) leaching into the discussion. In fact, if it weren't for the marriage between the Religious Right and the Republican Party, I seriously doubt that this community would have much to discuss. It is clear that the purpose of this collision between religion and politics is to chip away at the foundation of our government- like termites chewing away at a wooden house, until it collapses from being gutted from within.

Things like chipping away at the Establishment Clause (separation of church and state) by creating Faith Based initiatives, attacking 'activist judges', that do not kowtow to the desires of the Dominionists to have Biblical based laws, the slow corrosion of our educational systems with the one-two punch of No Child Left Behind and the ID versus Actual Science debate, and the attacks on our social security, environment, and even our pocketbooks with the tax cuts for the rich being shifted to a bigger burden for the vanishing middle class to pay... it all ties together. Every one of these, and many more seeming unrelated little things are termites eating away at this country and our constitution.

The destruction of our country is being guided by End-times-addled people who want to dominate, and then destroy our world to hasten Christ's return. They have said this themselves, if you follow the links to the various sites we have listed.

Where does Bush stand in all this? He is the figurehead of the religious supermacists, as well as the 'divinely ordained and guided' director of all this slow destruction. That "Bush Fish" is just a blatant example of what has been brewing for years under the surface- within the ranks of the Religious right- and out of the media mainstream: that the religious supermacists truly believe that the President is merely one step away from being a divinely ordained 'king' of some new Crusade- once they get those messy judges and the Constitution out of the way. They truly believe this. Heck, they even have "Presidential Prayer Team" that devotes itself full time to praying for the President. While this isn't necessarily a bad thing, it is the first time that such a thing has been so blatantly public or so blatantly one-sided.

Yes, I know that sometimes this sounds like foil-hattery. I wish it was. It isn't. People are blind to all the little holes being chewed in our country's carefully crafted foundation, and they poo-poo the folks like me who have been following this stuff for decades, seeing the patterns and the grass roots and the monies being built up, looking at their parallel universe which has been, until recently, well hidden from the mainstream.

It is OK to criticize this administration. It is still legal (barely) to do so. But we must also avoid stepping over the line from criticism to outright bashing. The line can sometimes be difficult to see, but like someone said about obscenity, we know it when we see it. This community has grown exponentially in the last few months, and we are fine tuning our moderation guidelines. So, please bear with us. We'll find a proper and steady course, and go from there.

LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY sunfell)

Let's talk about that Bush Fish, shall we? I see it as a surfacing of things that the Religious Supermacists have been believing in and promoting for years. Now that they finally have Their Guy in the White House- for a second term, it's time for a bit of Sore Winnership.

Personally, I think that the thing is heretical. The original purpose of the fish symbol was a code word for an acronym in Greek: Jesus Christ, Son of God, Saviour. The words in Greek spell out the word for "fish". When Christians were being persecuted, that symbol was a means for them to identify each other.

Putting the President's name in it is therefore heretical, or maybe even blasphemous, as it creates a new 'son of god' in place of the original. Religious experts, you are welcome to answer the burning question:

What would Jesus say?

Mind you, I have a 'fish' symbol that is actually a fish skeleton, and I have seen footed fishies with "Darwin", and "Sushi" (I want one of those!), and other variations on the theme, but putting the President's name into it, with all the other implications of the symbology- steps over a line that I wish wasn't there.

[Error: Invalid poll ID 493248]

And no, this post won't be deleted. I think that problem is now worked out.

LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY sunfell)

This New York Times article talks about the squeeze being put on the more moderate Republicans by the hardliners:

Republican Moderates in Senate Sense Pressures
By SHERYL GAY STOLBERG

WASHINGTON, May 12 - The unusual pact that permitted the nomination of John R. Bolton to go forward on Thursday without the support of a crucial Republican senator has exposed, in a very raw and public way, the extreme pressures facing Republican moderates in a Senate that is increasingly dominated by conservatives.

President Bush called the dissenting Republican, Senator George V. Voinovich of Ohio, on Wednesday, the day before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, on which Mr. Voinovich serves, was to take up the nomination, the White House spokesman, Scott McClellan, said.

Karl Rove, the president's powerful political adviser, and Andrew H. Card Jr., the chief of staff, also called to chat with Mr. Voinovich in recent weeks, Mr. McClellan said.

And Mr. Voinovich, who has steadfastly refused to answer questions about any discussions with the White House, is hardly the only Republican who is feeling the squeeze these days.( Read more... )

LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY gothic_oreo)

I stumbled across a disturbing thing via the Slacktivist today.

( to save bandwidth, click for the Bushfish )

LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY hummingwolf)

U.S. probe sought of memo on 'morning-after' pill

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Two U.S. Senate Democrats called for an investigation on Thursday into whether a memo from a Christian doctor influenced regulators' rejection of over-the-counter sales of a "morning-after" contraceptive.

Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York and Patty Murray of Washington said reports about the memo added to concerns that politics was trumping science in the government's review of Barr Pharmaceuticals Inc.'s Plan B contraceptive.

The memo's author, Dr. David Hager, is a Bush administration appointee to a Food and Drug Administration advisory panel that voted 23-4 in December 2003 to urge approval for Barr's bid to sell Plan B without a prescription.
...
"If substantiated, these allegations seem to leave little doubt that the process for considering Barr Laboratories' application was based not on science, but on personal beliefs,"

LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY sunfell)

Business Week Magazine has devoted its latest issue to "Evangelical America", with several articles devoted to the subject.

Earthly Empires: How Evangelical Churches are borrowing from the business playbook

Culture Wars Hit Corporate America: Increasingly, business must weigh in on hot social issues -- and suffer interest groups' slings and arrows

A One-Stop Christian Destination: Kirbyjon Caldwell, a Wharton MBA turned pastor, discusses how his vision to build a prayer center turned into something much bigger

Supersizing Salvation: No cross, no hymnals, and a strong appeal to the "unchurched" -- that approach has helped Bill Hybels build one of the country's megacongregations

Meet the Prosperity Preacher

Evangelism gone Entrepreneurial

Church of the Almighty Dollar

Getting Your Religious Terms Right

The Fashion of the Christ

Slide Show about Willow Creek

These are very interesting and engaging articles from a business point of view. It shows how the churches are growing and the money is being made. It's a peek inside, so to speak. It's always good to look at religious establishments and successes from a non-critical and non-stressful point of view. This is what these articles do, and very well.

LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY sunfell)

The article 'Getting Your Religious Terms Straight' was useful in outlining the major beliefs and lexicon of Evangelicals. I'm repeating it here for your education:

Getting Your Religious Terms Right
Can't tell the difference between the evangelicals and the seekers? Confused by the prosperity gospel? Here's a glossary to help you

Christian
Those who follow the teachings of Jesus Christ. The vast majority of Americans are Christians. The Yearbook of American and Canadian Churches reports that 163 million Americans belong to some 200 major, national Christian churches (This tally does not include those who belong to the growing numbers of independent, non-denominational churches). By far the largest is the U.S. Catholic Church, with more than 66 million members. The evangelical Southern Baptist Convention is second, with more than 16 million members.( Read more... )