In other words: A discussion of The Bush Administration
“Christian” America?
In this post when I refer to the exclusionist homophobic war friendly Bush supporting Christians, I am referring to what one Kos poster refers to as Christianist (instead of Christian). In this excellent post: Christianism vs. Christianity the author really clearly divides the American Christian community. One following the words of Christ and the other converting his words and various selections of the old testament into the Christian version of Wahabism. We are growing our own reactionary, xenophobic, homophobic, potentially violent, and insensitive fundamentalism right here in America. People have been saying America has been standing alone in some of its more backward votes recently in the U.N. such as voting against women rights, we were not alone however, strict fundamentalist Islamic states stood right along with us. Bush has his religious state contemporaries… unfortunately many of them are or could be members of the Axis of Evil.
From the above mentioned Kos post:A Christianist America is a frightening place indeed. Already, gay individuals are having their rights revoked. But that is just the beginning. Under Christianist rule, women would lose all of their rights. Not just the right to choose, but the right to vote, or the right to own property. Under some of the more extreme Christianist thinking, women are property.That post says it better then I will and hopefully makes it plain that I am not bashing Christianity… I’m bashing extremist fundamentalism. The conservative media elite is already trying to say any discussion of this issue is “Religion Baiting.” As in an article from pandering “middle American” and “dead intern ex-congressman” Joe Scarborough (and I’m not implying that something was amiss in his intern’s death, I just want to point out that in the exact same time a “liberal” congressman was front page news for months because his intern (who it did seem he had an affair with) was missing while this “conservative” congressman had an intern die in his Florida office (and the medical examiner who said there was no foul play in the death had previously had his medical license revoked in Missouri for falsifying an autopsy report) not only doesn’t get a one write up in a major newspaper about this, but gets a job spouting insane religious rhetoric on MSNBC).
It seems to me that the Christianists are using wedge issues to promote the change needed in order to push their agenda. We saw this with the "gay marriage" ballot initiatives in this election. Of course, their hypocrisy concerning these wedge issues is clearly evident.
One wedge issue is that they want Creationism taught in our public schools. The argument being that Evolution is only a theory, therefore other "theories" should be taught, including Creationism. Of course, this means that they want Christian creationism taught, because they are using the cover of Christianity to hide their own political agenda. Any proposal to teach Hindu creationism, or Native American, would be met with howls of protest. Another wedge issue is the posting of the Ten Commandments in our public courthouses, because, as the Christianists righteously state, God is the source of our laws. However, if a law were proposed that would put the Five Pillars of Islam in our courtrooms, because the source of all law is Allah, the Christianists would be apoplectic.
9/11 is a good benchmark to show the difference between Christians and Christianists. A Christian, following the attacks of 9/11, most likely prayed to God for mercy for the victims, prayed that peace would come to the families of the victims, and prayed that God would protect the Nation. The Christianists, however, took 9/11 as an opportunity to blast their political opponents, such as Falwell blaming 9/11 on the liberals.
And this is the crux of Christianism. A political ideology masquerading as a religion. They have not only taken over the leadership of the Republican Party, but they are now beginning to take over the control of the Christian community (as was quite evident in the sermon in the church I attended on the Sunday prior to the election, where the congregation was told that voting for John Kerry was a "sin").
The bottom line is that Christianism is going to destroy the America that the Founding Fathers envisioned, and will usher in a repressive nation more along the lines of post-Shah Iran. It is incumbent upon the Christians of this nation to heed the warning, "Do not listen to what the prophets are prophesying to you; they fill you with false hopes. They speak visions from their own minds, not from the mouth of the Lord. (Jer. 23:16)"
America must be alerted to the threat of Christianism. It has to be made clear to Christians that when we attack Christianism, we are not attacking Christianity. THEY ARE NOT ONE AND THE SAME! Christianity is a beautiful religion of hope and redemption, based on the universal love of God. Christianism is an ugly political ideology, based on power, hatred and hypocrisy, whose sole goal is the destruction of the United States of America.
Here’s Scarborough on this “Religion Bating” that seems to be all the rage with the elite “educated” sushi eating blue state media:The elite media declared open season on the President and his supportersThis divide in Christian American has been opening wider for years. It should have been so obvious to us this spring. There was a very strong signal that America and Americans were different then we imagined: Mel Gibson's Passion. If you saw the movie, as I did, you too were probably stunned at the sheer brutality of it all (and I like John Woo’s Hong Kong films). How could this be the uplifting spiritual movie that was making hundreds of millions of dollars? Why didn’t we realize that the people who also saw this film and thought it was reaffirming would also vote?
A nasty streak of religious intolerance is rearing its ugly head in America. And it's coming from America's cultural elites.
The election of George W. Bush has exposed an ugly anti-Christian streak in many of those who work in America's most powerful newsrooms. A flood of vicious opinion pieces over the past few days have generalized Christians who helped elect the President as a group of knuckle dragging neandrethals whose aims are nothing less than anti-American.
Not surprisingly, some of the most offensive, bigoted rhetoric came from the opinion pages of the New York Times, a paper that at one time embraced diversity of thought and belief. But apparently those positions of convenience are closeted away when it comes time to opine on conservative Christians.
I saw it with a Christian who pulled herself through the masochism hoping for the wonderful moment at the end that washes away the blood and gore and grime and leaves one with the faith reaffirming ending.... Nope didn't happen. More gore. More blood. This isn't the Christianity that I've seen from the family and friends who share that faith. This wasn't a Christ teaching about love and forgiveness. These scenes of torture seemed only to bespeak revenge.
Remember the only time Christ got really pissed off at anyone was when people were using the temple as an excuse and location for making money. You know like most TV evangelists or those "Christian investment" spam emails I get.
A huge chunk of Christianity in America isn't about the love and the teachings of Christ. Sure they have all the bumper stickers that say Christ Loves Me (but not you... okay they don't say that), but what their religion seems to be about is persecution. They are persecuted. They live to be persecuted. It makes them "special."
Like Scarborough says above even discussing the fact that there is a vein of reactionary fundamentalist Christianity in America is yet more persecution. What is this persecution?
When I moved to California (before going back to the northeastern elite states) my friend and I were looking for a place to live. I called about a home in Mountain View. The woman was very friendly. I said my friend and I would love to see the place and that’d I’d see when “she” (my friend) could come and see it. The women almost went ballistic. “oh, I’m sorry we can’t rent to you, we don’t want our children to be exposed to that.” Catching on, I quickly noted that my friend was just that, a friend. She immediately said “look, we are Christians and though that may mean nothing to you we don’t want to demonstrate that in front of our children.” (I hope they don’t have TV). The conversation was then ended. I was stunned. They don’t want to show their children that males and females can have platonic friendships? Was it always about sex with them (well yes I guess it is)? And had I said worn one against Christianity (our was the mere fact that I had a female friend the attack? Probably).
This feeling of persecution is at the core of all fundamentalism. This reactionary version of faith on its own in unsustainable, it has rid itself of the reaffirming aspects of the religion and will fall apart… unless it has enemies. It needs to be persecuted, even if there is no real persecution. All extremist fundamentalism shares this. Bin Laden’s vision of Islam needs America… it is what binds their faith, not spirituality.
This is the 21st century’s great battle, lets hope it can stay on websites, newspapers, and ballot boxes here.
- rob 3:39 PM - [PermaLink] -
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