Al Mohler Attacks The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) [PCUSA]

Al Mohler notes:

"Liberal Protestantism, in its determined policy of accommodation with the secular world, has succeeded in making itself dispensable." That was the judgment of Thomas C. Reeves in The Empty Church: The Suicide of Liberal Protestantism, published in 1996. Fast-forward another fourteen years and it becomes increasingly clear that liberal Protestantism continues its suicide -- with even greater theological accommodations to the secular worldview.

The latest evidence for this pattern is found in a report just released by The Presbyterian Panel, a research group that serves the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) [PCUSA]. The panel's report is presented as a "Religious and Demographic Profile of Presbyterians, 2008." The report contains relatively few surprises, but it is filled with data about the beliefs of Presbyterian laypersons and clergy.
............
Back in 1994, a team of sociologists considered this phenomenon, looking particularly at the Baby Boomers in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). Dean R. Hoge, Benton Johnson, and Donald A. Luidens published their findings in Vanishing Boundaries: The Religion of Protestant Baby Boomers. They identified the phenomenon of "lay liberalism" in the PCUSA and throughout liberal Protestantism.

As they explained, "This perspective is 'liberal' because its defining feature is a rejection of the orthodox teaching that Christianity is the only true religion. Lay liberals have a high regard for Jesus, but they do not affirm that He is God's only son and that salvation is available only through Him."

The title of their report points to the quandary of liberal Protestantism. As the boundaries between liberal Protestantism and the secular culture vanish, there is little reason for anyone to join one of these churches.

That report explained that "lay liberals who are active Presbyterians do not differ sharply in their religious views from the people who are not involved in a church but describe themselves as religious. There is, in short, no clear-cut 'faith boundary' separating active Presbyterians from those who no longer go to church." The researchers also repeated their point that the defining mark of "lay liberalism" is "the rejection of the claim that Christianity, or any other faith, is the only true religion."

This abandonment of biblical Christianity is a tragedy of the first order. Churches and denominations birthed in biblical orthodoxy have been ransacked and secularized. The crisis has migrated from the pulpits to the pews, and recovery is only a dim and distant hope.

Evangelicals should consider this tragedy with humility and theological perception. If similar trends are allowed to gain traction among evangelical churches and denominations, the same fate awaits. The larger issue here is not the continued vitality of any denomination as an end in itself, but the integrity of our witness to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Make no mistake -- in the end, vanishing theological boundaries will amount to vanishing Christianity. This report makes that point with devastating clarity.

Do you agree or disagree? What is this "Biblical" Christianity and what does it look like? Do men from the 1500's and 1600's get to decide what this so called "Biblical" Christianity looks like or how about the late 19th century to the early 20th century because they had an agenda---despite the fact that Christianity is much older than either of these centuries and the Christian tradition is much larger than either of these movements as well? Is Christianity a living tradition or not?

All questions aside---yes there are problems with the Moderate, Liberal and Progressive strains of Christianity as sometimes we allow too much of an equally devastating extreme. Sometimes we become just as fundamentalist as our Fundamentalist counterparts about our opposing ends. Sometimes we become so much about what we are against that we forget what we are for.

And what of the worldliness of Conservative and Fundamentalist Christianity? What about the secular ties of the Religious Right---how they are so closely aligned with the worldly and secular policies of the Republican Party? Aren't these paradigms just as equally concerning to Christians as the Moderate, Liberal and Progressive extremes? Oh how a large majority Conservative and Fundamentalist Christians love the worldly patterns of war and injustice; authority and power; greed and arrogance; theocracy and caesaropapism; slander and libel; idolatry and materialism; hate and division, etc.

What also of the worldly way in which the Fundamentalists hijacked and Talibanized the Southern Baptist Convention?

North Carolina's Constitution Anti-Separation Of Church And State

Weird stuff all around:

No faith, no service?

I was surprised to learn that the North Carolina Constitution has a provision that disallows persons who don't believe in God from public service. The issue came to light after Cecil Bothwell, who describes himself as a "post-theist," was elected to the Asheville City Council, creating a stir among some conservatives and making national headlines.

Bothwell is a long-time environmentalist, resident, and author. He has been a syndicated coumnist, wrote a best-selling guidebook to Asheville, and in 2007 published a biography of evangelist Billy Graham, who lives in nearby Black Mountain. Bothwell belongs to the Unitarian Universalist Church, which is home to many folks who are skeptical about God's existence but still value spirituality, fellowship, and social justice. That's not enough to satisfy critics, including Mark Creech, who leads the North Carolina-based Christian Action League. I appreciate Mark, especially with regard to his opposition to alcohol and the lottery, but I have to disagree with him on this one.

It's true -- and a bit mind-boggling -- that the N.C. Constitution seems to think belief in God is an essential characteristic for all office holders. You can look it up:

Article Six, Section 8 says
The following persons shall be disqualified for office:
First, any person who shall deny the being of Almighty God.
Second, with respect to any office that is filled by election by the people, any person who is not qualified to vote in an election for that office.
Third, any person who has been adjudged guilty of treason or any other felony against this State or the United States, or any person who has been adjudged guilty of a felony in another state that also would be a felony if it had been committed in this State, or any person who has been adjudged guilty of corruption or malpractice in any office, or any person who has been removed by impeachment from any office, and who has not been restored to the rights of citizenship in the manner prescribed by law.

It's interesting to note that atheists are disqualified even before would-be candidates who aren't qualified to vote or who have committed treason or other felonies.

Dr. Cartledge goes on to state:

Relying heavily on David Barton's The Myth of Separation, which argues against church-state separation, Creech holds that "the founders" intended only that there should be no denominational test (Anglican, Presbyterian, etc.), assuming that all potential office holders would be Christian. In addition, he suggests (with the late D. James Kennedy) that those who don't believe in God have no external basis for life-affirming values and thus have no business serving the public.

Read the full article here: Baptists Today Blogs: No faith, no service? Mark Creech's arguments are typical theocratic nonsense.

Gott Mit Uns/God With Us: Hitler And Fundamentalists

The church and state unseparated:

Church & State

Hitler in front of "Church of our Lady" in Nuremberg, Sept. 1934. Photographer, Heinrich Hoffmann.

Christian Cross with Nazi Flag

From a Heinrich Hoffmann photo book titled: HITLER BAUT GROßDEUTSCHLAND (Hitler Constructs Greater Germany) which follows Hitler in Austria in the spring of 1938.




One of the reasons that I use the Nazis frequently in my parodies of the Fundamentalists of the Religious Right variety is because the Nazis serve as a warning from our recent past about mixing church and state together in a blended marriage. However, this is not to say Fundamentalists are evil people though Fundamentalism is a social evil---there are good Fundamentalists who stand for church and state separation and all. Besides as Romans says:

Romans 3:22-26 RSV: [22] the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction;
[23] since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
[24] they are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus,
[25] whom God put forward as an expiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins;
[26] it was to prove at the present time that he himself is righteous and that he justifies him who has faith in Jesus.

This is just a warning against the Christian Right's idea of mixing their view of the church with the American government. Anyways, here are some comparisons of Nazi and Fundamentalist ideas:

Protestant fundamentalists of Nazi Germany backed Hitler's laws which included such things as:

The first law, The Law for the Protection of German Blood and German Honour, prohibited marriages and extramarital intercourse between "Jews" (the name was now officially used in place of "non-Aryans") and "Germans" and also the employment of "German" females under forty-five in Jewish household

Household-

The household is "the basic residential unit in which production , consumption , inheritance, child rearing, and shelter are organized and carried out"; [the household] "may or may not be synonomous with family"....
s. The second law, The Reich Citizenship Law , stripped persons not considered of German blood of their German citizenship

Citizenship-

Citizenship refers to a person's membership in a political community such as a country or city. It has different legal definitions in different countries....
and introduced a new distinction between "Reich citizens" and "nationals".

Theological liberals like Dietrich Bonhoeffer completely opposed this. The Religious Right support Proposition 8 which denies the rights of non-heterosexual citizens. Theological liberals completely oppose Proposition 8. Also Pat Robertson has said:

US Constitution: For Christians Only

The Constitution of the United States, for instance, is a marvelous document for self-government by the Christian people. But the minute you turn the document into the hands of non-Christian people and atheistic people they can use it to destroy the very foundation of our society. And that's what's been happening.
-- Pat Robertson, The 700 Club television program, December 30, 1981

Only Christians and Jews in Government

Individual Christians are the only ones really -- and Jewish people, those who trust God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob -- are the only ones that are qualified to have the reign, because hopefully, they will be governed by God and submit to Him.
-- Pat Robertson, The 700 Club television program, January 11, 1985, defending his stance that only Christians and Jews are fit to hold public office

Hitler wrote:

"I believe that I am acting in accordance with the will of the Almighty Creator: by defending myself against the Jew, I am fighting for the work of the Lord.."

Fundamentalists frequently state that they have God on their side and that they are doing the will of the Lord by supporting militarism and violence and defending their ideas by such means. Even more so by Extremist Fundamentalists who actually do commit violent acts in the name of God like bombing abortion clinics. Here's a quote from a Fundamentalist:

"I want you to just let a wave of intolerance wash over you. I want you to let a wave of hatred wash over you. Yes, hate is good...Our goal is a Christian nation. We have a Biblical duty, we are called by God, to conquer this country. We don't want equal time. We don't want pluralism."--Randall Terry, Founder of Operation Rescue, The News-Sentinel, Fort Wayne, Indiana, 8-16-93

Hitler believed that Jesus wasn't a God of Love but a 'Divine Warrior.' He said:

"My feelings as a Christian points me to my Lord and Savior as a fighter. It points me to the man who once in loneliness, surrounded by a few followers, recognized these Jews for what they were and summoned men to fight against them and who, God's truth! was greatest not as a sufferer but as a fighter. In boundless love as a Christian and as a man I read through the passage which tells us how the Lord at last rose in His might and seized the scourge to drive out of the Temple the brood of vipers and adders. How terrific was His fight for the world against the Jewish poison. To-day, after two thousand years, with deepest emotion I recognize more profoundly than ever before the fact that it was for this that He had to shed His blood upon the Cross. As a Christian I have no duty to allow myself to be cheated, but I have the duty to be a fighter for truth and justice... And if there is anything which could demonstrate that we are acting rightly it is the distress that daily grows. For as a Christian I have also a duty to my own people.

-Adolf Hitler, in a speech on 12 April 1922 (Norman H. Baynes, ed. The Speeches of Adolf Hitler, April 1922-August 1939, Vol. 1 of 2, pp. 19-20, Oxford University Press, 1942)

Certain Fundamentalists also believe that Jesus is a 'Divine Warrior.' Here's a quote from a Fundamentalist---John Eldredge:

Churches too often expect men to "check their manhood at the door." They picture Jesus as effeminate, as "Mister Rogers with a beard," according to John Eldredge.

There are two problems with this view of Jesus: (1) it's not accurate, and (2) no man wants to follow a feminized man. Men are looking for a real man to follow: dynamic, outspoken, bold, sharp-edged. They want a leader who is decisive, tough, and fair. They respect a man who tells it like it is and doesn't mince words, even when it makes them mad. Men most respect a leader who doesn't care what others think of him.

Ironic, isn't it? The Jesus of Scripture was exactly this kind of man.... Truth is, the Jesus of Scripture is more General Patton than Mister Rogers.

Jesus Christ is the most courageous, masculine man ever to walk the earth. But we've turned Him into a wimp. His manliness and toughness are seldom spoken of, and men fall away because of it. Present the Christ of Scripture, and men will be irresistibly drawn to Him.

Other Hitler quotes of note:

It matters not whether these weapons of ours are humane: if they gain us our freedom, they are justified before our conscience and before our God.

-Adolf Hitler, in Munich, 01 Aug. 1923

The Government, being resolved to undertake the political and moral purification of our public life, are creating and securing the conditions necessary for a really profound revival of religious life.... The National Government regard the two Christian Confessions as the weightiest factors for the maintenance of our nationality. They will respect the agreements concluded between them and the federal States. Their rights are not to be infringed.... It will be the Government's care to maintain honest co-operation between Church and State; the struggle against materialistic views and for a real national community is just as much in the interest of the German nation as in that of the welfare of our Christian faith. The Government of the Reich, who regard Christianity as the unshakable foundation of the morals and moral code of the nation, attach the greatest value to friendly relations with the Holy See and are endeavouring to develop them.

-Adolf Hitler, in his speech to the Reichstag on 23 March 1933

God the Almighty has made our nation. By defending its existence we are defending His work....

Only He can relieve me of this duty Who called me to it. It was in the hand of Providence to snuff me out by the bomb that exploded only one and a half meters from me on July 20, and thus to terminate my life's work. That the Almighty protected me on that day I consider a renewed affirmation of the task entrusted to me....

Therefore, it is all the more necessary on this twelfth anniversary of the rise to power to strengthen the heart more than ever before and to steel ourselves in the holy determination to wield the sword, no-matter where and under what circumstances, until final victory crowns our efforts....

In the years to come I shall continue on this road, uncompromisingly safeguarding my people's interests, oblivious to all misery and danger, and filled with the holy conviction that God the Almighty will not abandon him who, during all his life, had no desire but to save his people from a fate it had never deserved, neither by virtue of its number nor by way of its importance....

In vowing ourselves to one another, we are entitled to stand before the Almighty and ask Him for His grace and His blessing. No people can do more than that everybody who can fight, fights, and that everybody who can work, works, and that they all sacrifice in common, filled with but one thought: to safeguard freedom and national honor and thus the future of life.

-Adolf Hitler, in a radio address, 30 Jan. 1945

Other Fundamentalist quotes of note:

"Don't you feel it rather interesting that every time you have a story about terrorism, it is linked to Muslim extremists? You don't hear somebody, 'Christian extremist killing film producers, Christian extremists blowing up trains.' It just doesn't happen. But it's Muslim extremists and, ladies and gentlemen, Islam, at least at its core, teaches violence. It's there in the Quran in clear, bold statements. Well over 100 verses dealing with violence against infidels, and that is what they're taught. They're also taught to sacrifice themselves in jihad against infidels to gain paradise. It is part of the teaching of that faith. And I know people so reluctant to say, 'Lets not identify those terrorists with these wonderful people.' Well, yes, they may be wonderful people, but this is what that faith teaches, and those who believe it sincerely in their hearts are those that think Osama bin Laden is their great hero. And I think we need to recognize that. Political correctness says that you're not supposed to recognize this, but it just happens to be the truth. Every story, you see it over and over again, Muslim extremists blew up trains, Muslim extremists assassinated film producers. Muslim extremists blew up a crowded shopping center in Netanya [Israel]. Muslim extremists, it's always Muslims, and that's where it comes from, it's the breeding ground. And then it's radical clerics who incite this kind of violence, and it's time we recognize it and begin to deal with it."
--The 700 Club, July 14, 2005 [Looks like Pat forgot about Timothy McVeigh, most of the Old Testament (chock full of violence) and those Christian extremists who protest military funerals]

"You know it's an amazing thing -- this is a Christian country, it's founded by Christians, Christmas is one of our great celebrations. It's been a time of joy for our people for many years, and not only us, but now they're picking up Christmas in Japan, picking it up in China. It's something that has blessed the world. And if people don't like America and the traditions that made America great, let them go to Saudi Arabia, let them go to Pakistan. Yeah, they can go to the Sudan and find a wonderful Muslim holiday."
--The 700 Club, December 23, 2004

ROBERTSON: They gamed it, these guys are out and out communists, they are radicals, you know some of them killers, and they are propagandists of the first order and they don't want anybody else except them. That's why Regent University for example is so terrifically important and why we're setting up an undergraduate program that hopefully will see shortly 10,000 students, and then from there 250,000 because you don't want your child to be brainwashed by these radicals, you just don't want it to happen. Not only brainwashed but beat up, they beat these people up, cower them into submission. Ahhh! "The Professors", read it.
--Transcript of Pat Robertson and Terri Meeuwsen conversation on the March 21, 2006 edition of The 700 Club

"This country does not belong to the ACLU, the radical left or the communists. It belongs to God and his people. I frankly am tired of us being second-class citizens in a land our forefathers founded and claimed for the Lord."
"We have had a distortion imposed on us over the past few years by left-wingers who have fastened themselves into the court system and we have had a lie foisted on us that there is something embedded in the Constitution called separation of church and state."
"When I suggested that God had lifted his protection from this land that we had enjoyed for many years, the people were incensed."
"We cannot stand before God and say we're righteous when we have the blood of 40 million unborn babies on our hands."
--Pat Robertson, speaking at the 2002 "Road To Victory" convention

"The strategy against the American radical left should be the same as General Douglas MacArthur employed against the Japanese in the Pacific... bypass their strongholds, then surround them, isolate them bombard them, then blast the individuals out of their power bunkers with hand-to-hand combat. The battle for Iwo Jima was not pleasant, but our troops won it. The battle to regain the soul of America won't be pleasant either, but we will win it."
--"Pat Robertson's Perspective," April-May 1992

"We should invade their countries, kill their leaders and convert them to Christianity. We weren't punctilious about locating and punishing only Hitler and his top officers. We carpet-bombed German cities; we killed civilians. That's war. And this is war."

"Not all Muslims may be terrorists, but all terrorists are Muslims."---Ann Coulter.

"Yes, religion and politics do mix. America is a nation based on biblical principles. Christian values dominate our government. The test of those values is the Bible. Politicians who do not use the bible to guide their public and private lives do not belong in office."---Beverly LaHaye.

"There should be absolutely no 'Separation of Church and State' in America."---David Barton

"The long-term goal of Christians in politics should be to gain exclusive control over the franchise. Those who refuse to submit publicly to the eternal sanctions of God by submitting to His Church's public marks of the covenant–baptism and holy communion–must be denied citizenship."

"This is God's world, not Satan's. Christians are the lawful heirs, not non-Christians."---Gary North.

"We're fighting against humanism, we're fighting against liberalism...we are fighting against all the systems of Satan that are destroying our nation today...our battle is with Satan himself."

"AIDS is the wrath of a just God against homosexuals. To oppose it would be like an Israelite jumping in the Red Sea to save one of Pharoah's chariotters."---Jerry Falwell.

Nazis And Far Right Christian Fundamentalist Extremism

Christianity is not based on the teachings of Jesus.---D. James Kennedy.

So you think Fundamentalists and Nazis can't be compared? Well think again. While it's true not all aspects of fundamentalism are comparable to Nazism---the scarier aspects are. Excerpts from The Royal Race of the Redeemed? Christian Nazism Exposed by Lewis Loflin:

To be a Nazi is an attitude that doesn't always involve revering Hitler. Anyone who promotes, genocide, slavery, anti-Semitism, racism, and just out-right terror to obtain a political goal is a Nazi in my book. Christian Reconstructionism is Nazism in every important way. Reconstructionism is only two things, power and hate. It is evil cloaked in religion.

..................

Christian Reconstructionism considers democracy/freedom a heresy. Its distortion/reconstruction of American Christian traditions is used to justify its evil. Its social and religious dogma promotes genocide, enslavement, and terror to promote the delusions of a self-chosen royal race to dominion over the earth. They see themselves in religious terms as a new "master religion" whose destiny is to crush all others in the name of God.

Except for perhaps Christian Identity, Christian Reconstructionism has to be one of the worse perversions of Christianity ever devised. It is the personal political opinions of its founders wrapped in a form of hyper-Calvinism totally stripped of anything Jesus ever said (they claim Jesus' moral teachings are for Jews only) while preaching a society stripped of all freedoms and personal choice. Every facet of society, government, family, schools, etc, would be "reconstructed" along Old Testament lines. This includes the death penalty for abortion, homosexuals, atheists and other non-believers, blasphemy, etc.

According Rushdoony son-in-law Gary North in a letter to Paul Hill in relation to the killing of Dr. Gunn at an abortion clinic in Florida:

"The sixth commandment reads, "Thou shalt not kill" (Ex. 20:13). The God who mandates this is also the God who ordered the total annihilation of the Canaanites (Deut. 7:16), so this verse cannot legitimately be interpreted as a defense of pacifism." "What is murder, biblically speaking? It is the slaying of a human being by someone who has not been authorized to do so as a covenantal agent ...the authorization to execute a transgressor under the Mosaic covenant was ordained by God and revealed in His law."

So it isn't murder as long as it is for religious reasons. Everyone who doesn't submit to their perverted version of God is in fact Canaanites. This group is the driving force behind Operation Rescue and Randal Terry.

While it is true that most Christian fundamentalists don't agree with all of their theology, they do agree with their social agenda that all functions in life, including the Constitution, Bill of Rights, and all civil law be subordinated to the Bible. All society will be run according to their version of the New Testament (as opposed to the OT, the one point they disagree) and all of those who don't fall in line will be dealt with. Its founder R.J. Rushdoony has had his books endorsed by Jerry Falwell, has appeared on the 700 Club, and is a past associate of John Whitehead of the Virginia based Rutherford Institute. (He is claimed by many to run the organization, which is denied by Whitehead.) Their influence is wide spread yet most fundamentalists try to distance themselves publicly from this group for good reasons.

This cult is also the driving force behind home schooling, vouchers, and efforts to destroy public education. Part of their bizarre scheme is to train legions of Christian soldiers with home schooling to overthrow secular society. In their words:

So let us be blunt about it: we must use the doctrine of religious liberty to gain independence for Christian schools until we train up a generation of people who know that there is no religious neutrality, no neutral law, no neutral education, and no neutral civil government. Then they will get busy in constructing a Bible-based social, political and religious order which finally denies the religious liberty of the enemies of God.

So says his son-in-law Gary North, "The Intellectual Schizophrenia of the New Christian Right" in Christianity and Civilization: The Failure of the American Baptist Culture, No. 1 (Spring, 1982), p. 25. Gary North (I.C.E. Free Books) is also the biggest distributor of literature for home schoolers. They also call for an end to income taxes, end to most government functions, etc. The Christian Right agenda down the line. There is no conspiracy here, these folks operate in the open and they mean what they say.

Read more: Here. See also: An Introduction to the Christian Theocratic / Nationalistic Movement, Calvin and Christian Theonomy and http://www.brucegourley.com/writings/inresponseto/chuckpoolebiblical.htm.

The Bible=Too Liberal; Jesus Followers=Anti-American Neo-Marxists

No this is no joke---there are groups of theological/political fundamentalists/conservatives who actually believe this way. One such group of course is Worldview Weekend who I've blogged about several times before. Yesterday AOL news had this article about one of Worldview Weekend's members---Phyllis Schlafly and her son Andy Schlafly's latest project---The Conservative Bible Project:

Bible Too Liberal? Conservatives Say Yes

By Anne Miller, AOL News
posted: 9 HOURS 5 MINUTES AGOcomments: 3154
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(Oct. 6) -- Debates between conservatives and liberals are going biblical. A collaborative online project seeks to update the Bible with a more conservative translation -- and has drawn the ire of less right-leaning bloggers and columnists. The Conservative Bible Project is the brainchild of attorney and teacher Andy Schlafly, a son of conservative standard-bearer Phyllis Schlafly. His Bible-related Wiki, which allows contributors to post information, comment on others' and suggest tweaks or fixes, went up this summer. The project quickly drew fire. "These right-wing ideologues know better than the early church councils that canonized Scripture?" So asked Rod Dreher, a conservative blogger for Beliefnet. "They really think it's wise to force the word of God to conform to a 21st-century American idea of what constitutes conservatism?" Schlafly said he aims to counteract modern translations, not edit the Bible. "I think liberal bias was less of a problem in older translations," he said. "It's refreshing to read anything that is free of liberal bias, and the Bible is the most well-read book in the world, so that should be the first thing to clean up." As an example, he cited a recent church service he attended near his New Jersey home. "There was a reading from the gospel, and the pronoun used to refer to a child in this translation was 'it'," he said. "So this translation of the gospel referred to a child as an 'it,' a thing. And that is liberal, it's offensive and it's incorrect." The 10 commandments of the project include avoiding unisex or "gender inclusive" language, being concise (Lord, instead of Lord God) and expressing "free market parables." Meanwhile, a Time magazine writer called the project "insane." A Salon writer suggested a few sarcastic entries of his own. Schlafly counters that his critics "are liberals who are unhappy that their game is up." And a few dozen people have already logged on to help craft the new translation.
Schlafly predicts the conservative version will be completed, and available for a publisher to download and print, in about a year.

2009 AOL LLC. All Rights Reserved.
2009-10-06 14:22:51

Wow this is just over the top football bat insane! It's not surprising though as the Religious Right in the past have already condemned Jesus for being too liberal: A Baptist Perspective: JAMES DOBSON AND ANN COULTER CONFIRM THAT JESUS IS A GODLESS LIBERAL. Therefore we could conclude that it was only a matter of time before they realized that the book that they idolize doesn't support their worldview and in order to make it so, they would have to rewrite it to fit their agenda. Rewritten verses are likely to chastise the poor, be even more homophobic, castigate all liberals whether theological or political, pro-war, pro-death penalty, pro-theocratic fascist government/Calvinazism or anti-separation of church and state, pro-capitalist materialism, pro-enemy hate, pro-borders, anti-immigration and a myriad number of ways to support a myopic and isolationist worldview born out of Right-Wing philosophies.

Here are some hypothetical verses likely to be included in the conservative bible:

But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who conserves His resources and gives only to those that work hard enough to earn wisdom; God will reward them with it.---for James 1:5.

Jesus answered, "If you want to be perfect, go, invest and save all your possessions and make a net gain, and you will have treasure on earth as in heaven. Then come, follow me and Reganism."---for Matthew 19:21.

And: The Sermon on the Mount
5:1 Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him.
The Beatitudes
2 And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying:
3 “Blessed are the rich in spirit and those that work hard to get ahead, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 “Blessed not are those who mourn, for they shall not be comforted. Comfort and feeling good about ourselves is from the devil, sissies, weak pansies and liberals.
5 “Blessed are the proud and arrogant, for they shall conquer and triumph over all of the earth.
6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for legalism, for they shall satisfy God's wrath.
7 “Blessed are the judgmental, for they shall receive due reward for being right and correcting everyone else.
8 “Blessed are the proud of heart, for they shall see God in themselves.
9 “Blessed are the warmongers, for they shall be called sons [1] of God.
10 “Blessed are those who persecute non-fundamentalist Christians, pagans, queers, atheists and liberals for legalism's sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of facts against you truthfully on account of your idolatry. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the pharisees who were before you.

........

Christ Came to reinforce the Law
17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to reinforce them. 18 For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. 19 Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

.........

Retaliation
38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ 39 But I say to you, if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him and slap him back. 40 And if anyone would try to sue you and take your tunic, [7] do not let him have anything. 41 And if anyone forces you to go one mile, force him to go two miles. 42 Give nothing to the one who begs from you, and refuse the one who would borrow from you.

Hate Your Enemies
43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, Hate your neighbor as well as your enemies and pray for your enemies' death, 45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the good---the Elect, and sends rain on the unjust---the non-Elect. 46 For if you love those who are your enemies, what reward do you have? Do not even the liberals do the same? 47 And if you greet those that are not your brothers, [8] what more are you doing than others? Do not even the heretics do the same? 48 You therefore must be perfect by separating yourselves from liberals, heretics and sinners just as your heavenly Father is perfect and separated from them.

........

Judging Others
7:1 “Judge others often, so that you be judged to be truly elected by God. 2 For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged righteous, holy and pure---guardians of the Absolute Truth, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you a reward. 3 Always see the speck that is in your brother's eye, so that you do not notice the log that is in your own eye. 4 Say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ so that you can avoid the guilt of the log in your own eye.

Next---today, I got this in my email from Worldview Weekend:

RED-LETTER CHRISTIANS: NEO-MARXISM IN THE CHURCH?

By Jan Markell
www.olivetreeviews.org

October 5, 2009

In many Bibles, all the words of Jesus are in red. There is nothing wrong with that. But something is wrong when Leftist Christians or so-called Christians want to mute the words of Paul and other writers and only follow Jesus' words. They call themselves "red-letter Christians."

Jan Markell proves again how arrogant and self-conceited she is---but then that is the majority of those that belong to the Worldview Weekend crowd. First Jesus' words are more important than Paul's and other scripture writers because Jesus is God incarnate---they are not---also, Jesus is God's self-revelation to humanity. More of Jan's article:

They feel it is convenient to blot out the words of Paul on homosexuality and focus in on the good deeds Jesus talks about. Most are pacifists who reject an "eye for an eye" (Leviticus 24:19-20). They focus on Jesus' words about helping the poor, ministering to "the least of these" (Matthew 25:40), loving our enemies, etc. That justifies abandoning hundreds, even thousands of condemning verses in the Bible they choose to wish away. That makes homosexuality OK and war wrong! And remember, Paul and the others in the Bible represent Jesus' words. They were His spokesmen.

So Paul is the final word on God huh? We should read Jesus in light of Aristotle through the lens of Paul through the lens of Augustine and Calvin right? Instead of reading Paul in light of Jesus. Is Jan Markell insane? So love and peace are wrong but state supported mass murder and genocide are Godly?

Moving on with Jan's screed:

Some who believe this way practice a form of neo-Marxism and others would call it "Christian Marxism" -- an oxymoron if there ever was one. They note that the early church shared everything (socialism). A close cousin to this is "liberation theology."

Those who are high profile in this movement include Jim Wallis, Tony Campolo, Brian McLaren and his Emergent bunch, and the National Council of Churches. Jim Wallis says, "In those red letters, Jesus calls us away from the consumerist values that dominate contemporary American consciousness." Translate that to mean he loathes capitalism and opts for socialism and/or communism.

Christian capitalist materialism/consumerism= the bigger oxymoron. Yes Jan, the early church was communist and socialist but not as you think of communism and socialism. Unlike you, the early church viewed communism and socialism through the lens of God's grace and the community of believers providing for all of their needs---not the government and certainly not a corporate controlled free-market economy. Here is an example:

Acts 4:32-37---NRSV: The Believers Share Their Possessions
32 Now the whole group of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one claimed private ownership of any possessions, but everything they owned was held in common. 33With great power the apostles gave their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. 34There was not a needy person among them, for as many as owned lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold. 35They laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need. 36There was a Levite, a native of Cyprus, Joseph, to whom the apostles gave the name Barnabas (which means ‘son of encouragement’). 37He sold a field that belonged to him, then brought the money, and laid it at the apostles’ feet.

Back to Jan's article:

Wallis continues, "Jesus calls us to be merciful, which has strong implications for how we think about capital punishment. When Jesus tells us to love our enemies, He probably means we shouldn't kill them. Most important, if we take Jesus seriously, we will realize that meeting the needs of the poor is a primary responsibility for His followers. Ghandi once said that everybody in the world knows what Jesus was teaching in those verses except Christians." To your average evangelical, the words of Ghandi are meaningless.

Yeah because we should only listen to those who believe just like us right?

Reading on:

Red-letter Christians feel evangelicals spend far too much time worrying about abortion and homosexuality. Wallis and Campolo make the college circuit and get standing ovations from young people who are seeing them as newfound gurus. Red-letter Christians champion "social justice," the cause of illegal immigrants, environmentalism, high taxes, discrimination issues, socialized medicine, and getting rid of the death penalty. They are first to stand in line to play the "blame America" game.

Red-letter Christians support unrestricted big government, sometimes equating the welfare state with the Kingdom of God.

This crowd loves to spend other people's money. They put down conservative Christianity when, in fact, it is conservative Christians who are first to step up to the plate whenever there is a disaster at home or abroad!

Yes that's because social justice is a big issue to Jesus. There are countless numbers of verses in which Jesus speaks about social justice issues---but not a single verse in which Jesus mentions homosexuality or abortion. Yes we should abolish the death penalty as well as regulate abortion to only health reasons. As to the welfare comment, yes it has been corrupted and abused. Really that's news to me---so John Piper stepped in to help the Lutheran church when he said God sent a tornado to punish the ELCA for accepting homosexuals? Or how about Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson---they really helped Katrina victims huh?

Continuing on Jan says:

As David Noebel of Summit Ministries writes about Wallis, "Wallis and his Sojourners' community believe Castro, Hugo Chavez, Daniel Ortega, and the other revolutionary forces are the Communist paradises the U.S. needs to emulate in order to establish 'social justice.' " Noebel emphasizes the startling and frightening fact that Wallis is Obama's spiritual advisor.

Ronald Nash in his book, Why the Left Is Not Right, says, "Wallis was pro-Viet Cong and gloried in America's defeat in Vietnam. Wallis said, 'I don't know how else to express the quiet emotion that rushed through me when the news reports showed that the U.S. had finally been defeated in Vietnam.'" But he said not a word about the blood baths that followed.

That may be---but support of the Vietnam War was stupid then and it is stupid now. It was a total failure and we had no business being over there. It was the beginning of all of America's problems today.

What a lie Jan:

The issues you will never hear red-letter Christians talking about include winning the lost, the lateness of the hour, or sin and repentance. Their mantra is peace, yet they do not understand that only Jesus ruling from Jerusalem will bring peace to this planet. They would scoff at that and say peace would be better accomplished if they saved the planet with their works based on the red letters of Jesus. And their understanding of the peace of God is minimal.

Tony Campolo on sin and repentance:

Christianity teaches that Jesus is truly divine and that his life and ministry - such as his sacrifice on the cross -- transcend human time. Thus, Jesus is constantly carrying the sins of the world and of individual sinners. During a visit to another campus, Campolo said he met a young man who was a perfect example of those who fail to take this doctrine seriously.

"He said, 'Yeah, I do a lot of things that are wrong, you know, a lot of stuff sexually. I'm really into it. But, you know, I believe it's all taken care of on Calvary,' " said Campolo. "I was furious. I said, 'The next time you're screwing around, I hope you can hear Jesus screaming in pain! Because at that very moment, as he hangs on Calvary, he feels your sin and is absorbing it!' "

It's normal to hear preachers use this kind of language. But during the past
year, it has become common to hear the likes of Geraldo Rivera and Larry King
leading discussions of sin and grace, repentance and forgiveness. While this has been a troubling experience for many people, Campolo believes it has been
good for the country.

For one thing, people on both sides of the political aisle are being forced to
seek common ground on moral issues.

"All of a sudden we realize that no one sins to himself," said Campolo. "When you commit a sinful act, it has a rippling effect that goes around the world and back. We recognize that there is no such thing as private sin, anymore. It's all connected. And what is more, we have this sense now that there are a set of absolutes out there. There is a right. There is a wrong."

Jan spreading more misinformation:

"As Mark Tooley of the Institute for Religion and Democracy writes, "These people only criticize the U.S. and Israel in its human rights critiques, while remaining largely silent about monstrous regimes. They focus on America's supposed mistreatment of Indians, about slavery, and the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II. But they will never talk about the Holocaust." You will also note they don't talk about the butchery of Mao, Stalin, Pol Pot, Saddam Hussein, or Kim Jong IL.

Red-letter Christians join the chorus of those who believe in a utopia with no wanting or war. Yes, that will come someday, but not the way they think. This could come as a shock to them just because they have little to no regard for other parts of the Bible. They have almost created a new meaning for the term "biblical illiteracy."

It is also tragic that these folks are frequently called "the evangelical Left." They don't have even 1% of evangelical theology in a single bone in their body. They cherry- pick the verses they like, almost exclusively the red letters of Jesus.

Yes there are injustices everywhere. You're one to talk Jan---after all, one of your heroes and fellow fundamentalist bibliolater---John MacArthur in his zeal for the Calvinazis' literal interpretation of Romans 13 said that Christians should obey Hitler, Stalin, Pol Pot, Suddam Hussein, etc. Yes, Jesus is peace and He reigns in heaven as well as on earth---but that is no excuse for not doing all that we can to promote peace and follow Jesus' example. No the only biblical illiterates are the fundamentalist bibliolaters who cherry-pick away Jesus' words and place Paul---a mere sinful human's words above Jesus'. Also, fundamentalist bibliolaters follow a new and contrary revelation to God's self-revelation in Christ by promoting dominionism or Christian Reconstructionism, the deluded babblings of a Scottish teenager and Darbyism---a scary cocktail and mish-mash of lunacy.

Read the rest of Jan's article: Here. There's nothing much else to say but scary stuff.

Obama's Education Appointee Kevin Jennings: "Screw The Religious Right"

Here is part of the latest tirade that I got in my email box from the nutcases at Worldview Weekend:

President Obama has appointed Kevin Jennings, founder of GLSEN (Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network) - which sponsored the conference that produced the notorious "Fistgate" scandal (in which young teens were guided on how to perform dangerous homosexual perversions including "fisting") - to head up "Safe Schools" efforts at the Department of Education. Jennings is a vicious, anti-religious bigot who once said "[F–k] 'em" to the "Religious Right." He supports promoting homosexuality and gender confusion as normative to even young students. He made that comment in a New York City church. TAKE ACTION: Urge your U.S. Congressman and Senators to call for the withdrawal of Jennings' appointment at the Education Department. Call Congress at 202-224-3121 or 202-225-3121.

Folks, with President Obama's appointment of homosexual activist and GLSEN (Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network) founder Kevin Jennings to head the "Safe Schools" efforts at the Department of Education, we will be rolling out Jennings' long record of radical statements and writings, his personal nastiness toward religious conservatives, and his group's promotion of unsafe behaviors (GLSEN sponsored the Tufts University conference that produced the infamous "Fistgate" scandal in which young teenagers were given how-to instruction on various ).

Americans For Truth About Homosexuality calls for the withdrawal of this divisive nomination - which is an affront to Christians, parents' rights and decent, moral citizens everywhere who oppose the indoctrination of students in a pro-homosexuality, pro-gender confusion agenda. The following comments by Jennings are from a paper I wrote for Concerned Women for America (CWA), titled, "When Silence Would Have Been Golden: Acts of Homosexual Promotion to Youth that We Wish Had Never Happened."

Get ready for a political fight. Appointing Kevin Jennings, a vicious homosexual activist, to head up a "Safe Schools" project for American youth would be like appointing David Duke to head up a national panel on racial reconciliation. If we had anything even close to a fair media in this country, Jennings would have been discredited long ago for GLSEN's role in "Fistgate." Something tells me that Obama's Education Secretary, Arne Duncan, hasn't heard of Fistgate. But he will now - and so will many more people. Much more coming on this breaking story. - Peter LaBarbera, www.aftah.com

From the 2002 CWA paper:

GLSEN'S JENNINGS: !&%#! THE RELIGIOUS RIGHT!
Addressing a church audience on March 20, 2000 in New York City - just days before "Fistgate" - GLSEN Executive Director Kevin Jennings offered a stinging (and quite intolerant) assessment of how to deal with religious conservatives:

"Twenty percent of people are hard-core fair-minded [pro-homosexual] people. Twenty percent are hard-core [anti-homosexual] bigots. We need to ignore the hard-core bigots, get more of the hard-core fair-minded people to speak up, and we'll pull that 60 percent [of people in the middle] over to our side. That's really what I think our strategy has to be. We have to quit being afraid of the religious right. We also have to quit - I'm trying to find a way to say this. I'm trying not to say, '[F-] 'em!' which is what I want to say, because I don't care what they think! [audience laughter] Drop dead!" - Jennings speech to Marble Collegiate Church, March 20, 2000.

(Read the rest: Here).

My Thoughts: First of all, while Mr. Jennings' attitude isn't very nice---his sentiments on the Religious Right are correct. Secondly, Mr. Jennings can't promote homosexuality as it is not a choice to promote as a person is either born a homosexual or not. It is also imperative that the general public be educated about the subject as it is as natural as the ground and will not disappear. Thirdly, this statement: "appointing Kevin Jennings, a vicious homosexual activist, to head up a "Safe Schools" project for American youth would be like appointing David Duke" is absolutely wrong as the Religious Right are the only ones comparable to David Duke---being the true bigots. If it weren't for the Religious Right's idolatry of premillennial dispensationalism heretical views on Israel, they would promote anti-semitism as the bible says:

John 8:39-44 (English Standard Version)

You Are of Your Father the Devil
39They answered him,(A) "Abraham is our father." Jesus said to them, (B) "If you were Abraham’s children, you would be doing the works Abraham did, 40but now(C) you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth(D) that I heard from God. This is not what Abraham did. 41You are doing the works your father did." They said to him,(E) "We were not born of sexual immorality. We have(F) one Father—even God." 42Jesus said to them, (G) "If God were your Father, you would love me, for(H) I came from God and(I) I am here.(J) I came not of my own accord, but(K) he sent me. 43(L) Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot(M) bear to hear my word. 44(N) You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires.(O) He was a murderer from the beginning, and(P) has nothing to do with the truth, because there is no truth in him.(Q) When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.

Lastly, who cares what the Religious Right have to say as they have corrupted Christianity, distort the name of Christ and worship the bible, America, the Republican party as the state, power, etc. as false gods and idols. So what are your thoughts?