LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY sunfell)



This weekend will be a busy one for me: I am going to join a 'blogswarm'. I've never done anything like this before- this will be my first. It probably won't be my last.

This particular blogswarm is dedicated to maintaining the separation between church and state- a separation that is eroding more rapidly than the ice caps in the Arctic. Theocratic elements are creeping into once-verboten territory, and little by little, law by law, executive order by recess appointment, our democracy is eroding into a theocracy. It is specifically, aggressively Christian, extremely conservative, and intolerant of any liberal or inclusive interpretation of the faith. But if you examine it closely, you'll discover that Christianity is just the veneer. What lies beneath is much worse.

Blog Against Theocracy is meant to draw attention to this issue, by getting all sorts of folks- folks like you and me and various communities- to discuss this subject in a rational and educational manner. There is plenty of material out there to consider- like the steady and deliberate erosion of womens' reproductive rights, the legislative reduction of GLBT people to second-class citizens, the battle in our classrooms against the teaching of sound science and the introduction of 'critical analysis' of evolutionary biology (another sheepskin for "intelligent design"), the ongoing attacks and takeovers of mainstream congregations by organizations who want to pillage their congregations and funds (like the Institute on Religion and Democracy is doing, one mainline church at a time), the seeding of religious vanguards in the government (Monica Goodling) and the taxpayer's funding of religious organizations (Faith-Based Initiative).

We cannot survive as a nation if we become a theocracy of any sort. Our nation was founded to escape this kind of thing. Our forefathers lived in theocracies and fought to keep that from happening here- including surrendering their theocratic colonial constitutions in order to create our Union. They saw first hand how theocracy can harm people. They would roll in their graves if they saw how far we've backslid towards that which they worked so hard to escape.

We cannot allow any sort of theocracy to take power. We must stand up and push back and stem this rising tide. We can- and must- keep that wall separating church and state high and strong. Or else, we will find ourselves on the wrong side of it.

So, this is my small contribution. So was the creation of this community. I've been watching the political wolves in sheeps clothing hijack a faith and turn it to their own ends. They have turned the word "Christian" into a perjorative in the minds of those who have felt the lash of hatred and intolerance from those who use Christianity as a ruse. I've been studying them and warning about it for over 25 years. I've been called an alarmist, intolerant, even crazy for predicting things that have come to fruition in the last seven years. No one is calling me crazy now. Now, they're saying, "Why didn't you say something? Why didn't you warn us?"

I did. No one listened. They're listening now- and acting to stem the theocratic tide. I am glad.

I want to see Christians of good will take back their faith from the political wolves. I want to see them reclaim their good name and good works. I want to see them turn the tide of theocracy and return this country to the tolerant, but secular and inclusive place it should be. There should be room for "Jesus Saves" along with "Hail Eris" and "Salaam", "Shalom", "'Sup, do0d?" and "Bah, Humbug!". A religious monoculture is rarely healthy. It festers into paranoia, hatred, exclusion, jackbooted thugs posing as religious police, prison camps, and lots of dead people in a dying country.

Let's open eyes and minds this weekend.