Everybody must have read Michelle Goldberg’s “Kingdom Coming: the Rise of Christian Nationalism” by now, right? This quote from George Grant, one of the big guys with televangelist D. James Kennedy, is simply chilling:
Christians have an obligation, a mandate, a commission, a holy responsibility to reclaim the land for Jesus Christ — to have dominion in civil structures, just as in every other aspect of life and godliness.
But it is dominion we are after. Not just a voice.
It is dominion we are after. Not just influence.
It is dominion we are after. Not just equal time.
It is dominion we are after.
World conquest. That’s what Christ has commissioned us to accomplish. We must win the world with the power of the Gospel. And we must never settle for anything less…
Thus, Christian politics has as its primary intent the conquest of the land — of men, families, institutions, bureaucracies, courts, and governments for the Kingdom of Christ.
George Grant is a Christian Reconstructionist, one of those nice theocrats who admire the tactics, if not the superstitions, of Islamic extremists: he wrote a book called The Family Under Siege, for instance, that admires the idea of returning to the death penalty for homosexuality. For a glimpse of the kind of sewer rat that finds Grant to be a paragon, you can take a look at this review (warning: National Vanguard site. Don’t click if you are at all squeamish about explicit hatred and repugnant stupidity).
A lot of the article is getting into David Neiwert’s territory, the rise of a potential American fascism.
A few days before Bush’s second inauguration, The New York Times carried a story headlined “Warning from a Student of Democracy’s Collapse” about Fritz Stern, a refugee from Nazi Germany, professor emeritus of history at Columbia, and scholar of fascism. It quoted a speech he had given in Germany that drew parallels between Nazism and the American religious right. “Some people recognized the moral perils of mixing religion and politics,” he was quoted saying of prewar Germany, “but many more were seduced by it. It was the pseudo-religious transfiguration of politics that largely ensured [Hitler’s] success, notably in Protestant areas.”
It’s not surprising that Stern is alarmed. Reading his forty-five-year-old book “The Politics of Cultural Despair: A Study in the Rise of the Germanic Ideology,” I shivered at its contemporary resonance. “The ideologists of the conservative revolution superimposed a vision of national redemption upon their dissatisfaction with liberal culture and with the loss of authoritative faith,” he wrote in the introduction. “They posed as the true champions of nationalism, and berated the socialists for their internationalism, and the liberals for their pacifism and their indifference to national greatness.”
These goose-stepping bible-thumpers have an enemy, too. Jews are a prominent part of that foe, but guess where the real problem lies? Godless humanists.
Tim LaHaye, who is most famous for putting a Tom Clancy gloss on premillennialist theology in the Left Behind thrillers that he co-writes with Jerry Jenkins, was heavily influenced by Schaeffer, to whom he dedicated his book “The Battle for the Mind.” That book married Schaeffer’s theories to a conspiratorial view of history and politics, arguing, “Most people today do not realize what humanism really is and how it is destroying our culture, families, country — and, one day, the entire world. Most of the evils in the world today can be traced to humanism, which has taken over our government, the UN, education, TV, and most of the other influential things of life.
“We must remove all humanists from public office and replace them with pro-moral political leaders,” LaHaye wrote.
There’s a long list of names in the article—in addition to D. James Kennedy and LaHaye, there’s the laughable Kirk Cameron, David Limbaugh, Charles Colson, Tom DeLay, Duane Gish, Donald Wildmon, etc.—a whole kook’s parade of characters. It’s easy to dismiss them as jokes, but then you realize that these people are all regularly in the news, and not at all unfavorably; their ideas are ridiculous, but when was the last time you saw the mainstream media point out that these people are deranged and dangerously influential? They just keep plugging along, taking advantage of their religious façade to deflect criticism, spreading their rot throughout the country.
By the way, quite a few of the names mentioned are in that “America, Return to God!” glossy that I mentioned before. These people have money and access to power, and they are working hard to gain more. Know of any secular institutions that are working to oppose them?
“Know of any secular institutions that are working to oppose them?”
All of ’em, thank God.
Hey, y’all
Can anyone help us poor Alabama citizens from crazy fundamentalists? This link will show you the character that is running for Governor as you are reading this…and has a good chance of winning. I think you all know him; the “Ten Commandments Judge”. Please don’t forget that some intellectuals are geographically challenged. Leaving us to majority rules is like saying people who live in New Orleans should just move away from hurricanes. Check out the idiocy on this link. Shudder with me….
http://mediamatters.org/items/200503230002
Well, if you really belived in a sky god and further more believed you actually knew what this sky god wanted, wouldn’t you want to shape society accordingly? It’s just those who either doubt that this sky god exists or doubt that we can actually know what it would want if it existed, who see a problem with theocracy.
Self-righteousness is the mother of all bloodbaths…….
Interesting interview with the author of Kingdom Coming: The Rise of Christian Nationalism today on Terri Gross
here
Scary, scary stuff.
I also read Stern’s book. There are more scary parallels. Hitler concocted a phoney event to invade Poland (Iraq). Gebels’, Hitlers pr “press secretary”, stratey is page one of this administrations press kit. nearly a quote don’t sue me if i missed a word or two, but he said “If you tell a lie loud enough and long enough, people will begin to believe it”.(Pretty much anything said by this president)
Michelle Goldberg was just interviewed for 1/2hr on NPR on xian nationalism.
Hey Alabama, stand in line for help. Ohio has quasi-theocrat Ken Blackwell running for governor. And how can an thread like this full of wacko’s go by without mention of Rick Scarborough.
LaHaye: “We must remove all humanists from public office and replace them with pro-moral political leaders.”
There are humanists who hold public office? When did this take place? ;)
There are two obvious problems with theocratic rule.
The first is what to do with people who worship a different god, or none at all.
The second is that no god writes in convincing mile-high letters of fire the answers to such practical questions as:
What should the interest rate be?
What should the tax rates be?
Are we doing more good than harm in Iraq?
How can we safely get energy with least damage to the environment?
Should we vote for Tweedledum or Tweedledee at the next election?
There are many pressing practical questions like these, with no obvious answers from god. If I am wrong, please direct me and the world’s TV cameras to the place where god’s obvious, convincing and up-to-date answers can be seen.
Lacking supernatural answers, theocracy turns out to mean rule by experts in the art of interpreting ancient texts. These experts naturally conclude that they are the only ones expert enough to choose their successors. Theocracy becomes a kind of oligarchy tending to gerontocracy, with opaque battles for authority. Iran is an example.
How shall we oppose theocracy while offering a constructive alternative vision? It takes careful, patient work to explain that there is no eternal life and no revenge after death, and that the best we can hope for is present amelioration rather than eternal triumph. The public mood wants instant results, not a careful explanation of the benefits of clear thinking and scepticism.
Apologies for my pessimism.
John Green
PZ–
One thing to keep in mind is two one of the conditions Paxton identifies in _Anatomy of Fascism_, which is what Neiwert relied on to write “The Rise of Pseudo-Fascism”, are “the need for authority by natural leaders, always male, culminating in a national chief who alone is capable of incarnating the group’s destiny” and “the superiority of the leader’s instincts over abstract and universal reason”. When Neiwert wrote this in early 2004 or so, George Bush still had that cachet. But he definitely doesn’t any longer. Even his supporters recognize that he’s fumbling for his survival. Now, it’s possible that another such will rise soon. But who? It won’t be Jeb Bush, not sharing that name. The only conservative with enough general popularity that I can think of is John McCain. Personally, my view of McCain has always been defined by the S&L scandal and I wouldn’t put anything past him, but there’s no way that far-right Christians are going to accept him.
So, it’ll probably be a junta. The evangelicals can join together and drag us down in self-righteous idiocy, a little more directly than they did in Holland and Britain, as Kevin Phillips was so kind as to point out in his recent book.
Yeah, these nutters have been around a while. I’ve even made them the villain of the sci-fi story I’m writing. Nothing like seeing Dominionist nutjobs getting attacked by werewolves….
It really is chilling. I don’t want to deal with their “Christian” values. I don’t want to live in their idea of a “Christian” nation. I want to live in a secular nation.
Christian Reconstructionism is a terrifying aspect of a sick belief system.
The thing about Christian Dominionism is that God is always on the side with the most artillery. Our task is to make sure that side is ours.
PhaWRONGula writes:
(Phunicular gives up on trying to get trackback pings through to scienceblogs, guessing that ‘You are pinging trackbacks too quickly. Please try again later.’ means that all scienceblogs.com blogs are treated as one blog for trackback timing constraints.)
These lunatics have been emboldened by Bush and the Republicans. The blame lies squarely on their shoulders.
Ah, America.
You’re all nuts. Please fix it soon, the rest of the world is getting (more) nervous. Also, could ju think about getting some left-wing politicians somewhere – the choice between right-wing and insane crazy entreme right-wing doesn’t seem to be doing much for you.
Thanks.
These lunatics have been emboldened by the sad state of education and publically inculcated attitudes towards nonsense that have been worsening for decades.
Tell me: does any blame ever fall on the shoulders of those who aren’t the mortal enemies of the Democrats?
I have to say that I fear organized religion, since in so many cases it is used to justify atrocities. Yes, the crusades are long over, but these reconstructionists appear to be foaming at the mouth for them to begin again, to bring about a world under god. To close to sounding like the Taliban for my comfort. Gee, weren’t they supposed to be the bad guys?
I would honestly prefer to live under an atheist dictator than live under a theocracy. At least the atheist dictator could be honest about his motives. But, generally speaking, it seems that dictators need to appeal to some sort of crutch for their population. In the US case, it is religion, in 1930’s Germany, it was Nationilism.
Creepy is all I can say in summation.
All you can do is what some of the people I used to work with some years ago did.
Get ready to run.
I used to know someone who was lucky(?) enough to have been locked up by both the Nazis AND the Soviets.
He was lucky because he was still alive.
When Gilead come, leave – Canada (breifly) then Australia or Europe(Britain preferred)
If you try to fight it in what was the USA, you’ll be killed.
The first is what to do with people who worship a different god, or none at all.
In the event that the word of God can’t convince everybody, we will arrange for internment areas – in the mid-west, probably – where these poor delusional people can live out their lives in peace, without polluting our great nation any firther.
The second is that no god writes in convincing mile-high letters of fire the answers to such practical questions as:
Why do you doubt the very word of God? Why do you doubt that we are faithfully repeating what God has whispered to us in the silence of our hearts? Perhaps this is a good time to introduce you to our innovative internment program?
What should the interest rate be?
What should the tax rates be?
Are we doing more good than harm in Iraq?
How can we safely get energy with least damage to the environment?
When we have created the Kingdom of God here on Earth, these superficial issues will of courswe resolve themselves. In fact, this is a good test of our direction; if we still have pesky issues like these, it’s a sure sign that we have not yet realized the true Vision of God and that He is Displeased. We will need to redouble our efforts to flush out the nonbelievers, doubters and fifth-columnists within our rmidst and send them for reeducation at our hugely successful internment areas. Only then will we truly have succeeded.
Should we vote for Tweedledum or Tweedledee at the next election?
How can you presume to vote about the word of God? No eaders are necessary anymore, just a humble sheperd such as me, to relay the True Word of God.
When Gilead come, leave – Canada (breifly) then Australia or Europe(Britain preferred)
Not Australia. We’re not accepting refugees here. Though they might make an exception, depending on the colour of your skin. Try New Zealand first, they have sheep and hobbits and stuff there.
I thought it was Indonesia that had the Hobbits.
As others have pointed out, the kind of people who pray to God for guidance usually find that God agrees with them about everything they’re inclined to believe, tells them whatever they’d hope to hear and advises them to do whatever they want to do.
Of course, from their end, it’s the merest coincidence that the Almighty wants the world to look like an extremely rich, extremely white, narrowly-defined-Christian guys’ fantasy life.
The first is what to do with people who worship a different god, or none at all.
That’s not a problem for them.
Their answer is execution. Or, if they’re feeling generous, banishment. But probably execution.
A friend of mine at work has revealed that in the early 1980’s he was a committed Dominionist, and he says that the people who would impose literal Biblical rule upon our country are relentless. He certainly renewed my paranoia when he said they would never stop, that they would always work to implement their version of a Christian theocracy, Terminators for God, that they have been working for many decades, and it’s no accident that they have now achieved a minor ascendency. They seek to place people in small local offices as well, work from the grassroots. It made me ashamed when I went to vote in our primary election the other day (new computerized voting machines, but not made by Diebold, and they obviously left a paper trail, color in the circle as in standardized school tests, the paper slid from a pizza box -like container into a ballot holder). I wasn’t sure where all the candidates stood in the county, and even the state senate or representative choices. Just voting Democrat is not enough, according to my friend. We become fixated on national level elections (thank Bobbie Byrd from WV for being the conscience of the Senate on Iraq and scoring the new radio telescope at the Green Bank Observatory, that was an easy choice to mark). Beware the insidious persistent Dominionists working from the groud up.
It’s ironic that the title “The Battle for the Mind” has been re-used by
the Christo-Fasicsts. I strongly recommend the book of the same title by
a British Psychologist William Sargent. It is an eye-opening study of
brainwashing, cults, the Stockholm Syndrome and PTSD.
It is quite enlightening to see the point-by-point congruity between the
methods applied by John Wesley’s Hellfire conversion sermons, as
described by him in his diary, in the initiatory ordeal vigil of the
Jesuits and in a field manual on brainwashing from the Chinese People’s
Army.
Full Title:
Battle for the mind,: A physiology of conversion and brain-washing
# Hardcover: 263 pages
# Publisher: Greenwood Press Reprint; Reprint edition (January 9, 1975)
# Language: English
# ISBN: 0837168996
# Paperback: 300 pages
# Publisher: Malor Books; Reprint edition (August 1997)
# Language: English
# ISBN: 1883536065
# Unknown Binding: 218 pages
# Publisher: Pan Books (January 1, 1959)
# Language: English
# ASIN: B0007JC8AY
AN AXE AT THE ROOTS
To defeat the rising ‘theocratic age’, one must strike at the root cause of the problem!
The doctrines by which fundamentalism maintains authority over the hearts and minds of the faithful ARE the root cause and must be shown to be ‘false’.
It is not enough to rant against ‘religion’ – this approach has a negative effect in that it is most likely to cause a retreat ‘behind the barricades’.
Because of this, my conviction, I created a webblog and issued the following:
A CHALLENGE TO THE CHRISTIAN CHURCHES AND ISLAM
Propositions to be addressed by the Christian Churches:
There is no biblical basis for the doctrines of ‘Virgin Birth’ (Miraculous Incarnation), ‘Trinity’, or ‘Transubstantiation’
There is no biblical basis for the various ‘divinity’ teachings about Jesus of Nazareth
There is no biblical basis for the teachings about ‘heaven’ and ‘hell’
Propositions to be addressed by Islam:
The ‘virgin’ birth of Jesus through Mary is demonstrably false
The doctrine, being false, calls into question the Koran’s supposed authorship by the God of ‘Truth’.
The above doctrines and teachings are being subjected to critical examination and systematically proven false.
Needless to say, the political and social consequences arising from the ‘challenge’ can be hardly over-estimated.
Note: For the skeptics – yes, it is possible to demonstrate that the above doctrines are NOT in the bible!
So, um, can someone explain the difference between Muslim terrorists and these whackadoos again?
Hullo PZ! Long time no chat. I looked for secular organizations specifically working against Dominionists, and you know, it’s hard to find them. Even theocracywatch.org’s action link only takes you to Americans United. The closest thing I could find was defconamerica.org.
Responding to Vynette as I have elsewhere:
If she was arguing that only “unreliable” verses or mistranslated verses are the sources of these doctrines or that they were demonstrably false, she would at least have a defensible (though wrong) argument. But to assert that these doctrines aren’t supported biblically (“There is no biblical basis”) is just nuts.
Miraculous Incarnation:
Trinity (all in one verse):
Transubstantiation I don’t buy as I always thought that Jesus was speaking metaphorically as did my church (conservative Southern Baptist). However, transubstantiation does have a biblical basis (her criteria), it just rests on a bad interpretation:
Divinity of Jesus:
There’s bunch of passages on this and typically the weaker claim is made that Jesus never claimed divinity himself in the Bible. However that too is false.
Heaven:
Not clear on which aspect of heaven she means, but ummm… Our Father who art in where now? (For eternal life aspect of heaven see the above passage and um John 3:16)
Hell: Cake knows this one (the following passage is known as the “sheeps and goats” passage).
(emphasis mine throughout)