George W. Bush
Allow me to introduce Pastor Tom Haggard. He is a 48 year old Indianian, equally as powerful as Dr. James Dobson. His flock at New Life Church in Colorado Springs numbers 11,000 and he is also in charge of National Assembly of Evangelicals whose 30 million members make up the nation’s most powerful religious lobbying group.
Below the fold, his personal manifesto:
‘Worthwhile’ projects are building funds and soup kitchens. “He knows that for Christianity to propsper in the free market, it needs more than ‘moral values’ – it needs customer value.”
And where did Pastor Ted learn his spiritual economics or economic spirituality? from one of his favourite authors:
Tom Friedman.
In fact, Pastor Ted “learned that everything, including spirituality, can be understood as a commodity” and “unregulated trade was the key to achieving worldly freedom” from Friedman. Friedman’s book The Lexus and the Olive Tree is required reading for hundreds of Ted’s pastors.
Pastor Ted is militant like Tom Friedman. He believes “spiritual war requires a virile, worldly counterpart” and that the Bible justifies pre-emptive war.
From SOLDIERS OF CHRIST by Jeff Sharlet, Harpers Magazine, May 2005
_______________________
Chris Hedges’ article Feeling the hate with the National Religious Broadcasters in the same Report recalls the words of his ethics prof at Harvard Divinity School.
He gave that warning twenty-five years ago, when Pat Robertson and other prominent evangelists began speaking of a new political religion that would direct its efforts at taking control of all major American institutions, including mainstream denominations and the government, so as to transform the United States into a global Christian empire. […]
Adams said, too many liberals failed to understand the allure of evil, and when the radical Christians came, these people would undoubtedly play by the old rules of democracy long after those in power had begun to dismantle the democratic state. […]
Homosexuals and lesbians, Adams said, would be the first “deviants” singled out by the Christian right. We would be the next.
“We” that’s us, the writers, intellectuals, artists, poets, bloggers. Are you scared yet?
This report gave me the shivers, especially after learning that the president of the USA is being fed Friedman’s ideas by an evangelist pastor
EVERY WEEK.
Read more in this month’s Harper’s Magazine.
to go vomit now. Be right back.
I actually have a burning pain in my stomach from writing the diary.
Putting the kettle on now…
…brushing teeth…
At this point I wouldn’t be surprised to find out the Rev. Moonietunes is permanently sleeping in Lincoln’s bedroom.
I also got this month’s Harper’s and eagerly read the excellent articles on the superchurch movement. Pastor Ted is a scary guy indeed, and the Harper’s author (Jeff Sharlet) argues persuasively that this guy is more powerful in the ScaryRightWingEvangelical world than others who are better known, like Dobson.
So why am I excited? Because I am going to soon take a first hand look at Pastor Ted and his church! In a couple of weeks I am going to be at a family reunion in Colorado Springs. After I read the article, I talked to my dad on the phone, and I think I have persuaded him to go with me to attend Pastor Ted’s sunday service. I hope to take some pictures… I will report back to all of you.
make sure to swipe some barf bags off the airplane.
And we’d love a picture diary on Pastor Ted.
Or a death cage match between Pastor Ted and Pastor Dan.
We’ll put horseshoes in Dan’s gloves to make sure he wins.
In the lobby of his new church, there is a gigantic golden statue of a heavily muscled angel swinging a wicked looking sword above his head. It is called “The Avenger.” So, we’d better be careful… if Pastor Ted has scary violent angels on his side, even intrepid Pastor Dan might have trouble. I mean sure, horseshoes would take care of Pastor Ted… but he might be avenged.
If anybody fucks with PastorDan, we will lay the Buddhist Palm smackdown on his sorry ass.
After all, my new fighting technique is unstoppable, and I will dispel Pastor Ted’s so-called angel with my power of non-belief.
What’s that, dear? It’s time for my medication? Awww…
Gotta go. Talk to you guys later.
-AG
of course PD has nothing to fear!
there is no way PastonDan can’t open a giant can of godfearin’ whupass on any pastor that goes around wearing a denim shirt and bleached teeth… not that he would of course, cuz Pastor Dan has cookies, and a much cooler church, and therefore, has nothing to be gained from squabbling with such a goofy lookin’, Bush lovin’ yahoo pastor like Ted.
Christians certainly do like their violent images(christ on the cross avenging angels with huge swords or any messages with lots of rather violent words in them. A bit like saying Jesus is Peace and Love, man, and if you don’t believe that why I’ll beat the everloving shit out of you.
PD’s angels would take Ted’s any day. I’ll put my life savings on it. Oops! I don’t have any. Pastor Ted’s would be, how do I say it? Bad angels? There were lot’s of them in “Constantine”.
These two Harpers’ writers went there among the crowd. I think there will be some prayer meetings after the Living Church people read the articles they wrote.
Did you read where there are 130 born-again members of Congress AND there was a secret tour of the Senate and a group of fundies prayed over Senator Clinton’s desk?!!!
Dress very conservatively. If you are very young, you can wear Gap clothes and fit in. Do not take notes until later and use a very small camera because Pastor Ted is always on the look-out for spies. I look forward to your report, brother Alan.
I will be 25 (is that still very young?) then, so Gap, or rather something gap-like, will be the order of the day. I have to admit I am little scared… I am willing to lie about all kinds of things, even being “reborn in the blood of the lamb” (or whatever they ask) but I am not sure I am willing to raise my hands and cry and the whole bit if it is asked of me. I am counting on the fact that I will be able to blend in with my 11,000 closest friends… it isn’t as though what I am doing is unique… 11,000 do it every week. Of course, my intentions are a bit different.
Your support group is 30 million strong.
Blend in by being bland.
25 is very young.
By Robert Heinlein? Ol’ RAH has been dimissed as a right-wing reactionary and a the spiritual father fo Tom Clancy, but he’s a bit more complex than that. I’m struck by how much Pastor Ted and the other Mega-Church pastors seem eerily reminscent of Bishop Digby and his “fosterite Church”. Heinlien’s decsriptions of a Megaplex church with retail establishments and worship services nestled side by side was considered outrageous satire when he wrote it in the late50’s now it just seems eerily prophetic. (Let’s hope the streak ends there because some of his later stories are set in a US that’s become a theocratic dictatorship run by a backwoods evangelical preacher)
Shouldn’t that be
“Absolute power corrupts absolutely?” So ‘study hard’ is not really evil.
The Mega-Churches are no longer marginal, claiming a congregation of 30 million. Assuming that means adults, that could be 30 million Republican votes.
The goal of the Mega-Churches is “Christian” dominion over the United States. Right now, the leaders are focused on the judiciary as you may have noticed. š
I didn’t like the idea of a diary being posted here and a request for comments to be placed on a different site (yesterday) and I don’t like the idea of a link that says ‘diary’ and then takes the viewer to a different site.
Small points in the grand scheme of things I know.
I really do wish the Booman Tribune all the best (pity about the name though). but you have to let people come to you in their own time.
‘Patriotism is your conviction that this country is superior to all other countries because you were born in it’. – GBS
by stevej on Wed Apr 27th, 2005 at 06:36:47 PDT
So much for paying any attention to the content of my post or my diary.
Let me state that I was driven by what I see as the dangers of the rise of the Super Churches and not by “aggressive pimping.”
.
stevej @ dKos user id 23123 posted 4 diaries in past 12 months – is active reader and contributes great comments. Should not take it personally, apparently he spends more than average time on the open thread. Stumbles over BooMan Tribune lately, which is a good sign.
At dKos the blog police are running wild, very frustrating when visitors to your diary start by making comments about procedures, timing, too big, not big enough, hate your topic, second time on same issue. I have decided to ignore these comments and wear my armor.
Users at dKos have increased from 32,000 before Nov. 2 election to over 48,000 today – an increase of 50%. It has changed the attitude on the threads, too much fighting, vengeance and nasty remarks. In a way censoring many topics, just not able be publish a diary for a small group of readers without the blog police acting like a jerk.
Love it at BooMan. Pax.
Oui – Liberté – Egalité – Fraternité
What does “pax” mean?
Pax is Latin translation of Peace.
Used in context where perhaps some disagreement between bloggers, or misunderstanding has led to some harsh words. I extend my hand to you in a friendly manner, symbolizing peace. Or simply, I am on your side, no offence intended.
Some bloggers use it regularly, see Soj.
Oui – Liberté – Egalité – Fraternité
Thx
Silly people
Anybody check. Sybil, sorry about what happened, as others have said blog police are busy over there.
It’s still an open site, I think, so don’t worry about what some say.
Easy for me to say, I know, but DK is really getting tiresome!!!!!! I can barely stand to go there lately.
All sorts of crazies hanging out in Colorado Springs lately. They had better be careful because I am one of them. Is Colorado Springs going to be to Colorado what Austin is to Texas?
It is what Anaheim is to CA.
National Religious Broadcasters held their convention in Anaheim. Dr. James Dobson gave a speech. Now, I always thought Dobson was a doctor of divinity but no, he got a PhD in child development at USC. His book Dare to Discipline encourages parents to spank their children with “sufficient magnitude to cause the child to cry genuinely.” Sold 3.5 million. That means 3-4 times 3.5 million children of evangelicals could be getting beaten. The bastard.
Dobson is your neighbour, working out of a 81 acre campus in Colorado Springs.
and watch out for Garden Grove, CA.
I lived in Seal Beach and they had a ‘drive-in’ church, I left town when they built the Crystal Cathedral.
“Perhaps the first and most famous megachurch was the Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove, California, home to the televangelism ministry of the Reverend Robert Schuller. Completed in phases, the main sanctuary was opened for services in 1980.
“Designed by Philip Johnson, this religious reinterpretation of the crystal palace is shaped like a four pointed star. The building is huge, measuring 207 by 415 feet (63 by 125 meters), and rising to a height of 128 feet (40 meters).
“Clad in mirrored glass over a uniform space frame, the design boasts passive solar heating and wind cooling obtained through operable strips of ventilating windows.
“Originally planned to be set in a park-like environment, the building now sits in a parking lot. Portions of the exterior walls open, allowing congregants to remain in their cars while viewing the worship service.”
National Association of Evangelicals, and their stated position on cooperation with the good Reverend Moon’s “American Freedom Coalition” to accomplish political objectives:
… I wonder what Pastor Ted advises our preznit on continuing influence of the Moonies over this Administration, Tim LaHaye (Author of the Left Behind series), and the Christian Right in general.
Seriously: how do today’s fundamentalists consider Jesus driving the moneychangers out of the temple, and not see themselves? They have ways of making anything they find in the Bible fit their way of seeing the world. There must be some way they can account for the moneychangers. Who the hell do they think the moneychangers are?
And, by the way, whatever happened to the love of money being the root of all evil? I know, having life and more abundantly, and the blessings of Abraham, and being conquerors and all that, it’s much bigger in the message than it used to be, but please: it’s still in the Bible, isn’t it? That part about the root of all evil? I guess they just parse out the meaning of “love,” to remind themselves that it’s not them, it’s about somebody else. (Probably those commie gay liberals.)
I know these sound like naive questions from somebody who has no clue how these people operate. Fundamentalism is the where I’m from; I get ’em. But honestly, what does it take to get them to see what this relationship to the market has done to them in the past ten years?
My only hope is that the more outrageous their rhetoric of money and blood gets, the more they will alienate moderate, human, real-world people of faith. People whose faith is sincere and whose heads are still screwed on straight –at least at times other than Sunday morning, Sunday night, Wednesday night and at home study.
Dominionists because they believe in Christian dominion of the USA.
” [MacDonald] mocks, to laughter and applause, those who want to ‘share’ and be senstive to the needs of others.”
I thought the same thing. Where does Jesus tell people that they have to get rich, drive big cars, launch preemptive wars? Dominionism is about political power, it isn’t even Christian.
Zatopa, it’s the difference b/t character and fear. Probably all of us have, at one point in time or another, been involved in something, even on our childhood playgrounds, that we regret now b/c we know it’s wrong. The point is, we grew out of it b/c our consciences developed. Pastor Ted’s congregation has an obligation to be what they say they are- followers of Jesus Christ, the one of the gospels, not a pastor who is manipulating or lying to them. However, there are ALWAYS people who will follow and dump their consciences, or, avoid developing them. I don’t necessarily blame them all that much, they’re just trusting people who don’t know better. The real problem are those who want God to put a stamp of approval on their fear, bigotry and racism, and the pastors like Ted who are tailor-made for them. It would take me about 5 minutes flat to drive Pastor Ted into a corner about his beliefs, it’s kind of my specialty. Remember that it’s very hard to change or update your core beliefs if you are involved in a community with heavy social reinforcement like Ted’s church.
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/books/1999/9906.krugman.lexus.html
I haven’t read the book yet, but have been hearing a lot about it, so I should probably pick it up before I argue anything about it.
However Krugman mentions that Friedman makes a claim that the Japanese financial collapse had to do with innefficiency, which is simply not the case. The collapse came as a result of interdependent financial arrangements with entities in other Asian developing countries.
The Offical Development Assistance program has made steps to protect financiers in development projects as a result of the collapse. (This is called risk management).
One thing that is important is that we all have our own filters. Reading this or that economist, relgious leader, or power broker, we all come away with our own take, and lose the stuff that has little meaning for us. The Christian right has a formula that works right nowk, because it feeds the need for identity.
The Republican party packages identity. This phenomenon should be no surprise to post-modern theorists who for years have been describing the struggle for identity. It’s time to get off our butts and package our own identity, provide some security, and reign in some of this untrammeled bigotry, bullying, and bullshit.
I will not read Friedman until he apologizes for his pre-invasion militancy on Iraq. Besdies that he is also known as “Tommy Waffle.”
Identity.
The Evangelicals are called Dominionists by Chris Hedges who admits some of them do not like that term. Dominionists includes Catholics, Jews For Christ, Christian Charismatics etc.
I really cannot see a left wing counterpart to this ‘vast right wing “christian” conspiracy’ or christian fascism. Belonging to Dominionism means giving up one’s independent thinking.
To me, it is a call out against bigotry, bullying and bullshit, to people who are still sane.