LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY kalibex)

"Aiona: God's love can transform Hawai'i"

LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY thedemonprist)

Apologies in advance if this has nothing to do with anything...but I found this article from the BBC website tonight, and it triggered something in me. ( Text of article inside... )We know that the dominionists purposely spread fear and misinformation in their efforts. I wonder if this is potentially an example, seeing as how they want to incite bloodshed so that they can justify their taking over/destroying the world. I mean, this is more than a spelling error or a faulty headline in a popular magazine - serious harm was done.

Maybe I'm just being paranoid, but it really makes me wonder.

LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY sunfell)

This Daily Kos diary by Fredrick Clarkson talks about the growing attention to the convergence of Church and State:

What happens when church merges with state? What happens when government agencies promote one religious view over another? What happens when one version of Christianity is promoted over another by government agents?

Look no further than the United States Air Force Academy at Colorado Springs, Colorado where conservative evangelical Christianity is aggressively promoted, conflated with the mission of the Air Force, cadets of other faiths are frequently insulted and forced to choose between mandatory academy functions and their religious holidays, and now a Lutheran chaplain has been fired for daring to criticize the culture of religious bigotry, and religious supremacism protected and enforced on campus.

Americans United for Separation of Church and State has been on the case for months, and so now are major newspapers in the nation. ( Read more... )

LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY sunfell)

I want to know how many of you have encountered overt Christian evangelicism in your branch of the military. By 'overt', I mean stuff that goes above and beyond your standard chaplain's visit and general prayers, like gatherings that are sponsored by churches that are 'mandantory', any kind of problems if you do not attend services, prosetylization and/or pressure to convert or conform to a particular faith group, prayer and Bible Studies during duty hours, disrespect for your own faith if it is not mainstream (I know that I'll hear from my Pagan friends)...You get the picture.

I am developing an idea for an article/essay/ whatever the heck you want to call it- that brings attention to this problem beyond what has been reported about the USAF Academy and "Force Ministries" in the Army. First person stories would fit this very well. It does not matter if you are active duty or a veteran- I want to hear your story. You can email me at philosopher-geek at comcast dot net or through my Livejournal email if you don't want to share it here. Mark it 'military evangelicism' for my filters.

LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY sunfell)

This NYT story confirms the prosetylization in the USAF Academy. The last sentence is telling:

Captain Morton said she had decided to step forward without authorization from the public affairs office because: "It's the Constitution, not just a nice rule we can follow or not follow. We all raised our hands and said we'd follow it, and that includes the First Amendment, that includes not using your power to advance your religious agenda."

She added, "I realize this is the end of my Air Force career."

She might, because it is forbidden to voluntarily talk to the media without a PA person hovering around saying "You can't say that", but in this case, my heart goes out to this chaplain. She took the fall.

LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY sunfell)

From Fredrick Clarkson: Religious Equality in America. Clarkson delves into the history of the second amendment.

Washington Post talks about smearing Christian Judges:

What these self-avowed Christians do not acknowledge -- and what the American public seems little aware of -- is that the war they are waging is actually against other people calling themselves Christians. To simplify: Right-wing and fundamentalist Christians are really at war with left-wing and mainstream Christians. It is a battle over both the meaning and practice of Christianity as well as over the definition and destiny of the republic. Secular humanism is a bogeyman, a smoke screen obscuring the right-wing Christians' struggle for supremacy.

Is this blasphemy or just very poor taste? Decide for yourself.

Chip Berlet talks about the use of the word 'extremism'.

Beliefnet examines "Intelligent Design". And Slate wonders about what matters in Kansas, where a debate about ID is going on.

LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY sunfell)

CNN reports that the pastor who threw out the Democratic members of his congregation has resigned:

WAYNESVILLE, North Carolina (AP) -- A Baptist preacher accused of running out nine congregants who disagreed with his Republican politics resigned Tuesday, two days after calling the issue "a great misunderstanding."

Speaking from the pulpit during a meeting at East Waynesville Baptist Church, the Rev. Chan Chandler told church members that it would "cause more hurt for me and my family" if he stayed.( Read more... )

LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY sunfell)

This sounds like some sort of hoax, but it's for real.

Yesterday, on the National Day of Prayer, we learned that the East Waynesville Baptist Church in North Carolina essentially kicked out its Democratic members. Nine members were "excommunicated" and 40 other members of the 405 member church resigned in protest.

Lots of interesting action items, dialogue, and the original post with lots(!) of interesting comments, too.

LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY thedemonprist)

sunfell may find the first one of particular interest. ( Read more... )

LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY kalibex)

" A group of ministers representing about 17 Baptist churches in the Louisville area and a national Baptist committee that supports separation of church and state yesterday called on a Louisville church to cancel its planned "Justice Sunday" tomorrow.

""We see 'Justice Sunday' as part of a larger effort to link church and state in ways not seen in America since the Puritans were hanging Quakers on Boston Commons and exiling Baptists to Rhode Island," the Rev. Joe Phelps, pastor of Highland Baptist Church, said during a news conference yesterday."

LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY sunfell)

Here's the NYT's opinion piece on the upcoming Justice Sunday simulcast: (thanks to twistedchick)

The fraudulence of "Justice Sunday" begins but does not end with its sham claims to solidarity with the civil rights movement of that era. "The filibuster was once abused to protect racial bias," says the flier for tonight's show, "and now it is being used against people of faith." In truth, Bush judicial nominees have been approved in exactly the same numbers as were Clinton second-term nominees. Of the 13 federal appeals courts, 10 already have a majority of Republican appointees. So does the Supreme Court. It's a lie to argue, as Tom DeLay did last week, that such a judiciary is the "left's last legislative body," and that Justice Anthony Kennedy, a Reagan appointee, is the poster child for "outrageous" judicial overreach. Our courts are as highly populated by Republicans as the other two branches of government.( Read more... )

LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY anarchys_savior)

I wish that Fundamentalists could live a life like mine for one day. I wish that for one day, they would see what it's like to actually be a minority that's discriminated against. Maybe then things would change for the good.

Thoughts?

LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY sunfell)

A Peculiar People

This is not a healthy thing to want to believe is true. And yet, despite the fact that no actual practitioners of Satanic Ritual Abuse have ever been found, thousands of people believe in it because they somehow want it to be so. These believers fail the test that C.S. Lewis speaks of in Mere Christianity:

The real test is this. Suppose one reads a story of filthy atrocities in the paper. Then suppose that something turns up suggesting that the story might not be quite true, or not quite so bad as it was made out. Is one's first feeling, 'Thank God, even they aren't quite so bad as that,' or is it a feeling of disappointment, and even a determination to cling to the first story for the sheer pleasure of thinking your enemies are as bad as possible?

The dates and activities in our police officer's handout almost certainly came from one of the many books detailing the sex, abuse, torture and dismemberment allegedly practiced by these alleged worshippers of the Christian Satan. (See this helpful list of " Satanic holidays, as viewed by conservative Christian authors.") These books were written mainly by evangelical Christian authors writing for Christian publishing houses like Word, Zondervan and Broadman & Holman.

As with most urban legends, it's difficult to determine precise origins for many of these stories. But it certainly appears that some devout, Christian writers sat down and devised elaborate rituals involving group sex, dismemberment and the rape of infants. That these writers ran this material by the devout Christian editors at these publishing houses. And that these publishing houses packaged these claims, bound them attractively, and shipped them out to the local Mustard Seeds, Wellsprings and other devout Christian bookstores across the country.

Read the whole article- it's quite interesting.

LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY hummingwolf)

Slacktivist has a post today about the tendency of some evangelical Christians to demonize their neighbors.

Unlike so many following those topics this community discusses, Slacktivist actually knows the subculture--and is generally good at explaining the peculiarities to those less familiar with it. (If you'd like to follow the syndicated feed on LJ, you can add slacktivist to your friends list.)

LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY sunfell)

Here's what the ACLU has to say about the Workplace Religious Freedom Act which is in the US Senate:

Defend Civil Rights and Health Services


The next time you go to the hospital, you should not have to worry that a nurse might not treat you because it against his religion to provide the service you need. You also should not have to worry that police officers might not enforce certain laws designed to protect you because to do so would offend their religious beliefs.

Yet legislation soon to be introduced in the U.S. Senate would greatly increase the chances of such scenarios actually occurring. One of your Senators co-sponsored this legislation in the last session of Congress; please act now to help ensure that neither of your Senators co-sponsors the bill this year.

Many people came to America to flee religious intolerance and our religious freedom and religious plurality are one of the cornerstones of American society. Because of this freedom, each of us has the right to practice -- or not practice -- the religion of our choice. However, if you are police officer or doctor, you should not be able to refuse to fulfill your duty in a particular situation on religious grounds if it would result in harm to someone else's civil rights or healthcare. ( Read more... )

LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY sunfell)

INSTIGATION AND STEALTH

By Peter Fredson

One approach of aggressive Christians, who love to spread their beliefs, is through misdirection, deceit, instigation, stealth, and downright imposition. Whenever there is a sudden spurt of demands to install Christian artifacts, icons and symbols in public places, you can bet that instigation is at work. How does it work?

A preacher at a Sunday School gently asks his students “Wouldn’t it be nice if you could tell your public school friends about how you love Jesus?” “Isn’t it a shame that nobody has posted our lovely 10 Commandments in your school?” “I wish we could put up these posters someplace where people can see them.” “I’ll bet that if you asked if you could form a prayer club in your school that everybody could get saved quicker.” “When you graduate maybe you can pray for us.” “Just before the football game starts, you might ask God for help in winning the game.” “Be sure to wear this cross at all times.” “People should be told that Christ died for them.”

A modern technique is to create your own lawyers who cleverly evolve strategy to make things appear different from what they are. Aggressively promote your strategy through politicians in exchange for monetary support, votes and volunteer workers. God Advertising pays big dividends for politicians. Modern church data bases, web sites, and links can muster up millions of responses overnight. Displaying one bit of a nipple produced 300,000 complaints, most worded identically, to politicians complaining of the great breakdown in morality.

At meetings of top level evangelists with their lawyers they have evolved a plan to get Christianity “acknowledged,” despite the fact that courts ruled against them. They took a semantic approach that looked or sounded different, but had precisely the same application. For instance, if mentioning God during law trials is deemed inappropriate, try The Creator, Intelligence, Tradition, Customary Usage, Spiritual. If saying Christian prayers is deemed inappropriate then try Silent Contemplation, Reflection, Meditation, Moment of Silence, or Voluntary Individual Prayer, Non-curricular Clubs, Private Student Speech, or Spiritual Development. ( Read more... )

LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY ordos45)

It seems the state of Virginia is going to the Supreme Court over establishing Religious Wings in its prisons.

http://writ.news.findlaw.com/hamilton/20050211.html All in all its a really interesting article, especially the last few paragraphs.

LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY thedemonprist)

Brief clip here

LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY kalibex)

Defensive Evangelicals

LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY sunfell)

Astronomer and well-known atheist Carl Sagan once wrote a book called The Demon-Haunted World about science being a light in the midst of darkness. In it, he challenges people to look at the pseudoscience that is part and parcel of our world, and use the ultimate weapon to conquer it: learning to think for yourself. Knowledge- real knowldege- is power, and that power can conquer all sorts of 'demons'.

In many Dominionist churches, the opposite is taught- that knowledge and common sense are actually evil, and one must entirely trust God, Scripture, and the preacher to tell you the difference between fact and fallacy. To think for oneself is considered 'demonic' in itself, because it permits 'worldly' thoughts to interfere with the crust of scriptural pseudoscience that keeps the fear and hate and spiritual helplessness constantly churning.

dogemperor wrote:

"One of the biggies with dominionists is "deliverance ministry" in which *everything not associated with the church* is literally infested with demons and even one's own mind is an enemy (because if you have doubts about the church this is a sign, in their theology, of "demonic oppression" aka a prelude to possession--and furthermore if these thoughts, or in fact *anything* outside the church, are entertained these lead to "doorways for demons to enter your life"). If you are diabetic, etc. it is literally seen *not* as an unfortunate disease but as a "demonic generational curse"; if you are poor you're letting yourself be oppressed by demons and need to give more "Faith seed offerings" and get closer to the church/further isolate yourself, etc.

Interestingly, it seems the whole "body thetan" stuff is seen as one of the single most damaging bits (psychologically) regarding Scientology--as in documented cases of people literally going insane or worse. I can't see how the dominionist version (which has been around even *longer* than the Scientologist version and is actually believed in by more people) is any less damaging. (One doesn't hear that much press about the dominionist versions, though.)

The active breeding of fear/anxiety/hate is specifically designed to keep you uncomfortable outside the church, to see the coercive group as the one *solitary* source of comfort. Again, it's not so far removed from traditional brainwashing."

That is pretty scary- the constant threat of demonic or 'thetan' possession to keep someone from straying. It keeps the individual believer in a constant state of 'fight or flight' and worry, fear, and spiritual uncertainty that often flames into panic. Dogstar continues:

"The scary thing is I also have known dominionists *specifically* to attempt to essentially hex people in the name of Christ to be miserable to the point of suicidality to "drive them to God". (Yes, this includes hauling out Wesson oil as "annointing oil", ranting in tongues, and literally *cursing* them in the name of Jesus to be miserable unless one was spending nearly all one's time in the particular dominionist group they were in. Yes, I was actually a target of this by my own mother.)"

I had that 'hexing' happen to me. It nearly worked- I was pounded with horrible panic attacks. But I survived it- with that weapon of being able to think for myself, reason it through, and find help to vanquish it. I directly faced what I feared, and did the unthinkable: walked straight into it,looked it in the eye, and used my own inner light of understanding upon it. That act destroyed it, and it can no longer harm me. Understanding the mechanics of cursing holds within it the ability to neutralize them.

The Dune "Litany Against Fear" is a great tool which uses the art of thinking for oneself as a means to conquer fear:

I must not fear.
Fear is the mind-killer.
Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration.
I will face my fear.
I will permit it to pass over me and through me.
And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path.
Where the fear has gone there will be nothing.
Only I will remain.

Could this be used to help heal 'walk-aways' from demon-ridden faiths? Possibly. It couldn't hurt to try it.