For Evangelicals, Supporting Israel Is ‘God’s Foreign Policy’

For Evangelicals, Supporting Israel Is ‘God’s Foreign Policy’ | By DAVID D. KIRKPATRICK | Published: November 14, 2006

WASHINGTON, Nov. 13 — As Israeli bombs fell on Lebanon for a second week last July, the Rev. John Hagee of San Antonio arrived in Washington with 3,500 evangelicals for the first annual conference of his newly founded organization, Christians United For Israel.

At a dinner addressed by the Israeli ambassador, a handful of Republican senators and the chairman of the Republican Party, Mr. Hagee read greetings from President Bush and Prime Minister Ehud Olmert of Israel and dispatched the crowd with a message for their representatives in Congress. Tell them “to let Israel do their job” of destroying the Lebanese militia, Hezbollah, Mr. Hagee said.

He called the conflict “a battle between good and evil” and said support for Israel was “God’s foreign policy.”

The next day he took the same message to the White House.

Many conservative Christians say they believe that the president’s support for Israel fulfills a biblical injunction to protect the Jewish state, which some of them think will play a pivotal role in the second coming. Many on the left, in turn, fear that such theology may influence decisions the administration makes toward Israel and the Middle East. ...

Baptist Convention told: Muslims 'are here to take over our country'

Baptist Convention told: Muslims 'are here to take over our country' | By Tim Townsend | ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH | 11/01/2006

CAPE GIRARDEAU — The prophets of the Hebrew scriptures are known for their warnings of doom and gloom, but even Jeremiah — arguably the gloomiest Old Testament sage — would have tipped his hat to the Rev. David Clippard at the Missouri Baptist Convention's annual meeting here this week.

In his opening address Monday night at Southeast Missouri State's Show Me Center, Clippard sounded off about a number of issues facing the state's 600,000 members, from a dwindling number of young churchgoers to the evils of embryonic stem cell research to falling contributions for international mission trips.

Clippard is the executive director of the state Convention, a fellowship of 2,000 congregations who cooperate with the 16-million member Southern Baptist Convention, the largest Protestant denomination in the United States. Baptist churches that are members of the Southern Baptist Convention operate autonomously, but cooperate on many issues. Sen. Jim Talent, R.-Mo., and Richard Land, president of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, are scheduled to address the meeting today.

Clippard reserved his strongest words for what he said he considered paramount for all Americans: the threat of Islam. "Today, Islam has a strategic plan to defeat and occupy America," he told the 1,200-strong crowd of delegates (called "messengers"), pastors and lay people, many of whom cheered his words. ...
...
Ibrahim Hooper, a national spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said he was not surprised about the content of Clippard's message, but he said he was worried about its effects.


"This kind of hate-filled, ignorant rhetoric shouldn't be coming from religious leaders in our country who should instead be repudiating this kind of bigotry," he said. "He may be comfortable saying these things behind closed doors, but the real impact is on everyday Muslims who have to live with the consequences of this kind of talk."

Gov Perry believes non-Christians doomed: "He doesn't think very differently from the Taliban, does he?"

Perry believes non-Christians doomed | Governor shares views following sermon; rivals pounce | 08:45 AM CST on Monday, November 6, 2006 | By CHRISTY HOPPE / The Dallas Morning News

SAN ANTONIO – Gov. Rick Perry, after a God and country sermon attended by dozens of political candidates Sunday, said that he agreed with the minister that non-Christians will be condemned to hell.

"In my faith, that's what it says, and I'm a believer of that," the governor said.

Throughout much of the 90-minute service at Cornerstone Church, Mr. Perry sat on the red-carpeted stage next to the Rev. John Hagee. Mr. Perry was among about 60 mostly Republican candidates who accepted the invitation to be introduced to the megachurch's congregation of about 1,500, plus a radio and TV audience.

"If you live your life and don't confess your sins to God almighty through the authority of Christ and his blood, I'm going to say this very plainly, you're going straight to hell with a nonstop ticket," Mr. Hagee said during a service interspersed with religious and patriotic videos.

Asked afterward at a political rally whether he agreed with Mr. Hagee, the governor said he didn't hear anything that he would take exception to.

He said that he believes in the inerrancy of the Bible and that those who don't accept Jesus as their savior will go to hell.

A little later at another stop, the Republican incumbent clarified his beliefs.

"I don't know that there's any human being that has the ability to interpret what God and his final decision-making is going to be," Mr. Perry said. "That's what the faith says. I understand, and my caveat there is that an all-knowing God certainly transcends my personal ability to make that judgment black and white."

He added: "Before we get into Buddha and all the others, I get a little confused there. But the fact is that we live in a pluralistic world but our faith is real personal. And my Christian faith teaches that the way is through Jesus Christ."

His opponents in the race, campaigning across the state with just two days to go until Election Day, criticized the governor, saying his comments were unnecessarily divisive.

"He doesn't think very differently from the Taliban, does he?" independent Kinky Friedman said. ...

But a Wiccan symbol representing earth, air, fire, water and spirit isn't recognized by the federal government for veterans' grave markers

Soldiers' widows sue for pagan symbols on headstones | POSTED: 10:29 a.m. EST, November 14, 2006

MADISON, Wisconsin (AP) -- The Star of David is OK, as are more than a dozen variations of the Christian cross. Even the atomic whirl used by atheists gets the thumbs-up from the federal government.

But a Wiccan symbol representing earth, air, fire, water and spirit isn't recognized by the federal government for veterans' grave markers.

A federal lawsuit filed Monday accuses the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs of violating the constitutional rights of Wiccans because the government does not allow its symbol on headstones in national cemeteries.

"I honestly think there must be some people who don't want to acknowledge that the Wiccan religion should be entitled to the same rights as other religions," said Selena Fox, who is senior minister of the Wiccan Circle Sanctuary in Barneveld, Wisconsin.

Roberta Stewart, a widow of a soldier killed in Afghanistan last year, has waged her own personal war to see the Wiccan pentacle placed on the tombstone of her husband, Nevada National Guard Sgt. Patrick Stewart.

Stewart, whose husband was awarded the Bronze Star and Purple Heart, was rebuffed by federal veterans' officials when she sought approval to affix the pentacle to the Veterans' Memorial Wall in Nevada, but state officials said they would erect a plaque with the symbol. ...

Megachurch_leader_with_White_House_ties_1103.html">'Megachurch' leader with White House ties quits, ... amid allegations drugs and homosexual affair

'Megachurch' leader with White House ties quits, admits indiscretions
Mike Sheehan | Published: Friday November 3, 2006

The leader of an influential Christian 'megachurch' who has ties to the White House has resigned his authority amid allegations that he had used drugs and had a homosexual affair with a male prostitute.

The Rev. Ted Haggard, who until Thursday was President of the National Association of Evangelicals, has apparently admitted to some of the claims made by Mike Jones, a bodybuilder and personal trainer based in Denver, Colorado.

Jones claimed Wednesday on a Colorado radio talk show that he'd had a sexual affair with a prominent pastor, but did not give names at the time. Jones and Haggard were later identified by a Denver TV news station. ...

Creationist Dr. Dino goes to jail

Creationist Dr. Dino goes to jail
Kent "Dr. Dino" Hovind, founder of Creation Science Evangelism and the Dinosaur Adventure Land creationist theme park in Florida ("where Dinosaurs and the Bible meet!"), and his wife face more than 200 years in jail for tax fraud. (Previous post with background here.) Yesterday, Dr. Dino was found guilty on 58 counts, including not paying an $845,000 employee-related tax bill. From the Pensacola News Journal ...

this principle amounts to an enormous subsidy for religion, in some cases violating the establishment clause of the First Amendment.

Faith-Based ProfitsPublished: October 16, 2006

Mary Rosati, a novice training to be a nun in Toledo, Ohio, says that after she received a diagnosis of breast cancer, her mother superior dismissed her. If Ms. Rosati had had a nonreligious job, she might have won a lawsuit against her diocese (which denies the charge). But a federal judge dismissed her suit under the Americans With Disabilities Act, declining to second-guess the church’s “ecclesiastical decision.”

Ms. Rosati’s story is one of many that Diana Henriques told in a recent Times series examining the fast-changing legal status of churches and religious-affiliated institutions. The series showed that the wall between church and state is being replaced by a platform that raises religious organizations to a higher legal plane than their secular counterparts.

Day care centers with religious affiliations are exempted in some states from licensing requirements. Churches can expand in ways that would violate zoning ordinances if a nonreligious builder did the same thing, and they are permitted, in some localities, to operate lavish facilities, like state-of-the-art gyms, without paying property taxes.

Some of the most disturbing stories, like Ms. Rosati’s, involve employment discrimination. Ms. Henriques told of a New Mexico rabbi who was dismissed after developing Parkinson’s disease and found himself blocked from suing, and of nurses in a 44,000-employee health care system operated by the Seventh Day Adventists barred from joining unions.

Religious institutions should be protected from excessive intrusion by government. Judges should not tell churches who they have to hire as ministers, or meddle in doctrinal disputes. But under pressure from politically influential religious groups, Congress, the White House, and federal and state courts have expanded this principle beyond all reason. It is increasingly being applied to people, buildings and programs only tangentially related to religion.

In its expanded form, this principle amounts to an enormous subsidy for religion, in some cases violating the establishment clause of the First Amendment. It also undermines core American values, like the right to be free from job discrimination. It puts secular entrepreneurs at an unfair competitive disadvantage. And it deprives states and localities of much-needed tax revenues, putting a heavier burden on ordinary taxpayers. ...

As an employer, Ms. White must comply with the civil rights laws; ... Religious organizations ... are protected by the courts from almost all lawsuits

As Exemptions Grow, Religion Outweighs Regulation | By DIANA B. HENRIQUES | Published: October 8, 2006

EXEMPTIONS AVAILABLE Federal law gives religious organizations unique ways to challenge government restrictions on how they use their land or buildings. In Boulder County, Colo., the Rocky Mountain Christian Church is using a new federal law to fight a county decision preventing it from expanding on land designated for open space.

At any moment, state inspectors can step uninvited into one of the three child care centers that Ethel White runs in Auburn, Ala., to make sure they meet state requirements intended to ensure that the children are safe. There must be continuing training for the staff. Her nurseries must have two sinks, one exclusively for food preparation. All cabinets must have safety locks. Medications for the children must be kept under lock and key, and refrigerated.

The Rev. Ray Fuson of the Harvest Temple Church of God in Montgomery, Ala., does not have to worry about unannounced state inspections at the day care center his church runs. Alabama exempts church day care programs from state licensing requirements, which were tightened after almost a dozen children died in licensed and unlicensed day care centers in the state in two years.

The differences do not end there. As an employer, Ms. White must comply with the civil rights laws; if employees feel mistreated, they can take the center to court. Religious organizations, including Pastor Fuson’s, are protected by the courts from almost all lawsuits filed by their ministers or other religious staff members, no matter how unfairly those employees think they have been treated.

And if you are curious about how Ms. White’s nonprofit center uses its public grants and donations, read the financial statements she is required to file each year with the Internal Revenue Service. There are no I.R.S. reports from Harvest Temple. Federal law does not require churches to file them.

Far more than an hourlong stretch of highway separates these two busy, cheerful day care centers. Ms. White’s center operates in the world occupied by most American organizations. As a religious ministry, Pastor Fuson’s center does not. ...

tax break is not available to the staff at secular nonprofit organizations whose scale and charitable aims compare to those of religious ministries

Religion-Based Tax Breaks: Housing to Paychecks to Books | By DIANA B. HENRIQUES | Published: October 11, 2006

For tens of millions of Americans, the Rev. Rick Warren is best known for his blockbuster spiritual guide, “The Purpose Driven Life,” which has sold more than 25 million copies; his success as the founder of the 22,000-member Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, Calif.; and his efforts on behalf of some of the world’s neediest people.

But for tens of thousands of ministers — and their financial advisers — Pastor Warren will also be remembered as their champion in a fight over the most valuable tax break available to ordained clergy members of all faiths: an exemption from federal taxes for most of the money they spend on housing, which typically represents roughly a third of their compensation. Pastor Warren argued that the tax break is essential to poorly paid clergy members who serve society.

The tax break is not available to the staff at secular nonprofit organizations whose scale and charitable aims compare to those of religious ministries like Pastor Warren’s church, or to poorly paid inner-city teachers and day care workers who also serve their communities.

The housing deduction is one of several tax breaks that leave extra money in the pockets of clergy members and their religious employers. Ministers of every faith are also exempt from income tax withholding and can opt out of Social Security. And every state but one exempts religious employers from paying state unemployment taxes — reducing the employers’ payroll expenses but also leaving their workers without unemployment benefits if they are laid off.

Another religion-based tax break — the only one consistently defeated in the courts in recent years — is an exemption from state sales taxes for religious publications but not for secular ones.

This sales tax break has been struck down as unconstitutional in at least five states, most recently in Georgia in February, when a United States District Court judge, Richard W. Story, ruled that “the unique and preferential treatment the state provides to ‘religious’ literature raises serious constitutional concerns” under the First Amendment clause prohibiting an “establishment” of religion.

Yet a few states still have a sales tax exemption for religious publications. ..

Their efforts at times push legal limits on church involvement in partisan campaigns. That is by design.

Pastors Guiding Voters to GOP | The Christian right seeks out members who might not go to the polls. The focus is issues, but some leaders don't oppose endorsement. | By Stephanie Simon, Times Staff Writer | October 1, 2006

With a pivotal election five weeks away, leaders on the religious right have launched an all-out drive to get Christians from pew to voting booth. Their target: the nearly 30 million Americans who attend church at least once a week but did not vote in 2004.

Their efforts at times push legal limits on church involvement in partisan campaigns. That is by design. With control of Congress at stake Nov. 7, those guiding the movement say they owe it to God and to their own moral principles to do everything they can to keep social conservatives in power.

Preachers "ought to put their toe right on the line," said Mathew D. Staver, founder of Liberty Counsel, a nonprofit law firm that supports conservative Christian causes.

The Rev. Rick Scarborough, a leading evangelical in Texas, has recruited 5,000 "patriot pastors" nationwide to promote an agenda that aligns neatly with Republican platforms. "We urge them to avoid legal entanglement, but there are times in a pastor's life when he needs to take a biblical stand," Scarborough said. "Our higher calling is to Christ." ...

The bill has only one purpose: to prevent suits challenging unconstitutional government actions advancing religion.

Legislating Violations of the Constitution | By Erwin Chemerinsky | Special to washingtonpost.com | Saturday, September 30, 2006; 12:00 AM

With little public attention or even notice, the House of Representatives has passed a bill that undermines enforcement of the First Amendment's separation of church and state. The Public Expression of Religion Act - H.R. 2679 - provides that attorneys who successfully challenge government actions as violating the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment shall not be entitled to recover attorneys fees. The bill has only one purpose: to prevent suits challenging unconstitutional government actions advancing religion.

A federal statute, 42 United States Code section 1988, provides that attorneys are entitled to recover compensation for their fees if they successfully represent a plaintiff asserting a violation of his or her constitutional or civil rights. For example, a lawyer who successfully sues on behalf of a victim of racial discrimination or police abuse is entitled to recover attorney's fees from the defendant who acted wrongfully. Any plaintiff who successfully sues to remedy a violation of the Constitution or a federal civil rights statute is entitled to have his or her attorney's fees paid. ...
...
Without this statute, there is no way to compensate attorneys who successfully sue for injunctions to stop unconstitutional government behavior. Congress rightly recognized that attorneys who bring such actions are serving society's interests by stopping the government from violating the Constitution. Indeed, the potential for such suits deters government wrong-doing and increases the likelihood that the Constitution will be followed.
...
Despite the effectiveness of this statute, conservatives in the House of Representatives have now passed an insidious bill to try and limit enforcement of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, by denying attorneys fees to lawyers who successfully challenge government actions as violating this key constitutional provision. For instance, a lawyer who successfully challenged unconstitutional prayers in schools or unconstitutional symbols on religious property or impermissible aid to religious groups would -- under the bill -- not be entitled to recover attorneys' fees. The bill, if enacted, would treat suits to enforce the Establishment Clause different from litigation to enforce all of the other provisions of the Constitution and federal civil rights statutes.

Such a bill could have only one motive: to protect unconstitutional government actions advancing religion. The religious right, which has been trying for years to use government to advance their religious views, wants to reduce the likelihood that their efforts will be declared unconstitutional. Since they cannot change the law of the Establishment Clause by statute, they have turned their attention to trying to prevent its enforcement by eliminating the possibility for recovery of attorneys' fees. ...

Judge received death threats after ruling on intelligent design

Posted on Wed, Sep. 27, 2006 | Judge received death threats after ruling on intelligent design | Associated Press

LAWRENCE, Kan. - A judge who struck down a Dover, Penn., school board's decision to teach intelligent design in public schools said he was stunned by the reaction, which included death threats and a week of protection from federal marshals.

Pennsylvania U.S. District Judge John E. Jones III told an audience in Lawrence Tuesday that the case illustrated why judges must issue rulings free of political whims or hopes of receiving a favor.

In a 139-page decision last year, Jones ruled that the Dover school board intended to promote religion when it instituted a policy requiring students to hear a statement about intelligent design before ninth-grade biology lessons on evolution. He ruled that it is unconstitutional to teach intelligent design as an alternative to evolution.

"And if you would have told me when I got on the bench four years ago that I would have death threats in a case like this as opposed to, for example, a crack cocaine case where I mete out a heavy sentence, I would have told you that you were crazy," he said. "But I did. And that's a sad statement."

Jones' ruling drew attention in Kansas, which was involved in a controversy over evolution last year, after the Kansas State Board of Education inserted criticisms of evolution into the state's science standards. ...

ANTI-MOSLEM PROPGANDA ON THE RISE ... Rehov is a radical Zionist Jew who has written mainly about the plight of Israel ... few inaccuracies in Rehov's

ANTI-MOSLEM PROPGANDA ON THE RISE | Malcom Lagauche | September 15, 2006

Since 9-11-2001, we have seen anti-Moslem feelings rise immensely. Today, Moslems suffer the brunt of sick jokes and racist remarks, as well as violent actions. The general public in the U.S. is becoming much better at a trait in which it leads the world: xenophobia. A day doesn’t go by that is free of anti-Moslem statements, whether in a joke or in a speech of a politician.

I am the president of the Atheist Coalition of San Diego and I am active in civil rights for atheists. By law, in the U.S., we are not equal to believers.

Atheists do not believe in God. It’s a simple philosophy that believers have a hard time understanding. For some reason, people with a religion (mostly Christians) try to preach to us and show us the errors of our ways. Maybe someday they will have real faith in their religions and realize they don’t have to mouth off every few minutes about their faith.

We have a Yahoo group in which people post relevant articles. For instance, an atheist family in Oklahoma has recently undergone a terrible ordeal. The daughter, a high school cheerleader, was cut from the squad because she refused to say a prayer before a performance. When the father protested, he was accused of assault. Then, school officials made a "deal" for them. They would drop all charges if the family left town within one week. The family did not leave town. They fought the accusations in court and won. They did not back down.

Stories like this are posted on our Yahoo group. But, a few days ago, I was shocked to read a posting of an interview with a French film-maker. It is one of the most disgusting pieces I have seen about Moslems. Here is the piece. It is fairly long, but well worth the read.
...
I was aghast that an atheist would post such an interview. I researched Rehov’s career and discovered he is a rabid anti-Arab person and a militant Zionist. In addition, those in the U.S. who admire him are of the far right wing and Christian Dominionists (those who believe that the end of the world is near). Also, Jospeh Farah, the biggest right-wing nut case alive is a supporter of Rehov. Farah makes Pat Robertson seem like a radical left-wing civil rights activist.

It may seem odd that an atheist would be so upset about denigrating Islam, but atheists, for the most part, are not bigots. And, we are religiously neutral. Here is the response I sent to the person who posted the biased interview:

I read the interview with Pierre Rehov that you published on the Atheist Coalition group page. Did you do any research into Rehov? Or into the U.S. Congressman, Eric Cantor, whom he cites? The interview is outrageous in its assumptions and supposed facts.

Rehov is a radical Zionist Jew who has written mainly about the plight of Israel. His words are about as legitimate as if Osama Bin-Laden gave an interview on Jews. Cantor is a Zionist member of Congress who is considered the most pro-Israel member of the House. But, it is his other views that are scary: he is anti-immigration and supports the Minutemen; he supports the words "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance; he opposed same-sex marriage and stem cell research; he has voted to eliminate any public funding for family planning (home and abroad); he voting record received a high 92% from the Christian Coalition. These are not the views of someone whom an atheist would cite for anything.

I will only bring out a few inaccuracies in Rehov's article. It would take me too much time to refute them all. He puts all Moslems in the same bag for everything. If you notice his words, they all adhere to the exact same philosophy.

Here is a preposterous statement:

The U.N. has condemned Israel more than any other country in the world, including the regime of Castro, Idi Amin or Kaddahfi

In reality, Israel has thumbed its nose at the U.N. Currently, there are at least 62 U.N. resolutions of which Israel is in violation. If the U.S. wants to bomb a country, it will cite one resolution of a country and use it as justification. However, it is mute on the 62 Israeli violations.

He mentions the 72 virgins that Moslems get on entering heaven. This is not true. There is nothing in the Koran or in any Islamic works that mention 72 virgins. This is just a convenient story made up to denigrate Moslems.

He says that Saddam Hussein paid suicide bombers' families $25.000. Again, this is a twisting of a fact. The Iraq government gave $25,000 to any Palestinian family who had a family member killed by Israelis. This included Christian families as well as Moslem families. From the time of 1999 to 2004, Palestinians killed 1,500 Israelis. This fact is brought up constantly by Israel. However, little mention is made of the number of Palestinians killed by Israel during this time. It exceed 10,000 deaths. That's a lot more than 1,500.

Rehov says all suicide bombings are for religion, not land. He is way off. Not one Moslem wants to convert Jews to Islam, and not one Jew wants to convert Moslems to Judaism. It is all about land and oppression, not religion. ...
...
Bigotry in the U.S. against Moslems is ascending rapidly. The stereotypes of Islam mentioned at all levels of U.S. society are ridiculous. However, the results are diabolical and will lead to many more violent incidents.

As an atheist, I do not admire certain tenets of Islam, as well as those of Christianity or Judaism. But, I would never use bogus arguments to denigrate anyone of any religion.

In my experiences with Moslems, I have had many an intelligent conversation in which the Moslem respects me and I respect him/her. Unfortunately, I have to say that I have had many negative conversations with Christians. To many of them, atheists represent all that is vile in society, yet they know nothing about atheism.

The interview I posted with Rehov has been widely circulated. Many right-wing Christian sites have run it. To them, it justifies their suspicion of Islam. To millions of people, Rehov’s views are the gospel. He said what the Christian fanatics want to hear. Unfortunately, it will take years to undo the harm done in one interview. ...

New Documentary Features Controversial Bible Camp, Evangelical Movement ... "We're kinda being trained to be warriors,

Film Shows Youths Training to Fight for Jesus | By DAN HARRIS | New Documentary Features Controversial Bible Camp, Evangelical Movement

Sept. 17, 2006 — An in-your-face documentary out this weekend is raising eyebrows, raising hackles and raising questions about evangelizing to young people.

Speaking in tongues, weeping for salvation, praying for an end to abortion and worshipping a picture of President Bush — these are some of the activities at Pastor Becky Fischer's Bible camp in North Dakota, "Kids on Fire," subject of the provocative new documentary, "Jesus Camp."

"I want to see them as radically laying down their lives for the gospel as they are in Palestine, Pakistan and all those different places," Fisher said. "Because, excuse me, we have the truth."

"A lot of people die for God," one camper said, "and they're not afraid."

"We're kinda being trained to be warriors," said another, "only in a funner way."

The film has caused a split among evangelicals. Some say it's designed to demonize. Others have embraced it, including Fischer, who's helping promote the film. ...

ush said yesterday that he senses a "Third Awakening" of religious devotion in the United States ...[coincident with "war" on terror.! ed]

Bush Tells Group He Sees a 'Third Awakening'

By Peter Baker |Washington Post Staff Writer |Wednesday, September 13, 2006; Page A05

President Bush said yesterday that he senses a "Third Awakening" of religious devotion in the United States that has coincided with the nation's struggle with international terrorists, a war that he depicted as "a confrontation between good and evil."

Bush told a group of conservative journalists that he notices more open expressions of faith among people he meets during his travels, and he suggested that might signal a broader revival similar to other religious movements in history. Bush noted that some of Abraham Lincoln's strongest supporters were religious people "who saw life in terms of good and evil" and who believed that slavery was evil. Many of his own supporters, he said, see the current conflict in similar terms.

"A lot of people in America see this as a confrontation between good and evil, including me," Bush said during a 1 1/2 -hour Oval Office conversation on cultural changes and a battle with terrorists that he sees lasting decades. "There was a stark change between the culture of the '50s and the '60s -- boom -- and I think there's change happening here," he added. "It seems to me that there's a Third Awakening."

The First Great Awakening refers to a wave of Christian fervor in the American colonies from about 1730 to 1760, while the Second Great Awakening is generally believed to have occurred from 1800 to 1830. ...

ame time, Gingrich was having an affair with a House staffer ...

Hypocrites and GOP values

Just when you thought Republicans couldn't say or do anything worse than in the past few months, two of them stepped over the line with gusto.

I'm talking about former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich and Kenneth Y. Tomlinson, chair of the Broadcast Board of Governors, which controls Voice of America, Radio Free Europe, and other entities.

Gingrich, a Georgian flirting with a run for president in 2008, let his mouth run--again. At a party fundraiser in South Carolina, he said Rep. Nancy Pelosi, Democrat of California and currently minority leader, would bring "San Francisco values" to the House if Democrats regain control of the chamber.

What about "Gingrich values"? Forced to leave the House under a cloud of ethics problems, he sent all the wrong signals of conduct to members of his own party.

The thrice-married Gingrich was a cheerleader for the impeachment of President Clinton since the moralistic Republicans were outraged over his dalliances with Monica Lewinsky.

At the same time, Gingrich was having an affair with a House staffer. His middle name should be hypocrite. By the way, the aforementioned Pelosi has had one husband for a long time and not been touched by scandal.
...
Tomlinson, a former editor of Reader's Digest and a pal of Karl Rove's, must think a federal post is an entitlement program.

He has been accused of misusing taxpayer money, overbilling the government, and giving improper aid to a friend. One issue is that he signed invoices of nearly $250,000 for a friendly provider without the approval of the board. ...

AlterNet: Evangelical Conversion-for-Parole Program Thwarted [... close the preferred exit for Christians]

AlterNet: Evangelical Conversion-for-Parole Program Thwarted: "By Rob Boston, Church and State. Posted August 28, 2006.

The day after a federal court struck down a taxpayer-supported evangelical Christian program in an Iowa prison, Mark Earley, president of Prison Fellowship, issued a press statement. He was not pleased.

"The courts took God out of America's schools, now they are on the path to take God out of America's prisons," Earley groused.

Earley's analysis of judicial decisions dealing with religion and public schools was widely off the mark, but he had good reason to be upset about the recent ruling on public funds for inmate indoctrination. His organization, Prison Fellowship Ministries, founded by ex-Watergate felon Charles Colson, has been sponsoring the Iowa program for three years. If the ruling stands up on appeal, not only will Earley's group have to shut down the program, it will be required to repay the state of Iowa more than $1.5 million in public support it has received during that time.

The June 2 decision in Americans United for Separation of Church and State v. Prison Fellowship Ministries was a staggering loss not just for Earley's group but perhaps for key elements of President George W. Bush's "faith-based" initiative as well.

U.S. District Judge Robert W. Pratt didn't mince words. Officials at Iowa's Newton Correctional Facility had become, he wrote, far too entangled with religion by establishing a special wing for Prison Fellowship's InnerChange program. InnerChange, Pratt declared, is suffused with religion.

"The religion classes are not objective inquiries into the religious life, comparable to an adult study or college course, offered for the sake of discussing and learning universal secular, civic values or truths," Pratt wrote. "They are, instead, overwhelmingly devotional in nature and intended to indoctrinate InnerChange inmates into the Evangelical Christian belief system." ...

A survey of 32 European countries, the US and Japan has revealed that only Turkey is less willing than the US to accept evolution as fact

Why doesn't America believe in evolution? - being-human - 19 August 2006 - New Scientist: "

Human beings, as we know them, developed from earlier species of animals: true or false? This simple question is splitting America apart, with a growing proportion thinking that we did not descend from an ancestral ape. A survey of 32 European countries, the US and Japan has revealed that only Turkey is less willing than the US to accept evolution as fact.

Religious fundamentalism, bitter partisan politics and poor science education have all contributed to this denial of evolution in the US, says Jon Miller of Michigan State University in East Lansing, who conducted the survey with his colleagues. "The US is the only country in which [the teaching of evolution] has been politicised," he says. "Republicans have clearly adopted this as one of their wedge issues. In most of the world, this is a non-issue."

Miller's report makes for grim reading for adherents of evolutionary theory. Even though the average American has more years of education than when Miller began his surveys 20 years ago, the percentage of people in the country who accept the idea of evolution has declined from 45 in 1985 to 40 in 2005 (Science, vol 313, p 765). That's despite a series of widely publicised advances in genetics, including genetic sequencing, which shows strong overlap of the human genome with those of chimpanzees and mice. "We don't seem to be going in the right direction," Miller says. ...

Religion-related fraud getting worse - from 1998 to 2001 — the toll had risen to $2 billion

Religion-related fraud getting worse - Yahoo! News: "By RACHEL ZOLL, AP Religion Writer Sun Aug 13, 3:53 PM ET
...
By the time Harding was unmasked as a fraud, he and his partners had stolen more than $50 million from their clients, and Crossroads became yet another cautionary tale in what investigators say is a worsening problem plaguing the nation's churches.

Billions of dollars has been stolen in religion-related fraud in recent years, according to the North American Securities Administrators Association, a group of state officials who work to protect investors.

Between 1984 and 1989, about $450 million was stolen in religion-related scams, the association says. In its latest count — from 1998 to 2001 — the toll had risen to $2 billion. Rip-offs have only become more common since.

"The size and the scope of the fraud is getting larger," said Patricia Struck, president of the securities association and administrator of the Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions, Division of Securities. "The scammers are getting smarter and the investors don't ask enough questions because of the feeling that they can be safe in church." ...

U.S. Lags World in Grasp of Genetics and Acceptance of Evolution - Yahoo! News ... politicization of science and the literal interpretation of bible

U.S. Lags World in Grasp of Genetics and Acceptance of Evolution - Yahoo! News: " Ker Than | LiveScience Staff Writer | LiveScience.com Thu Aug 10, 5:45 PM ET

A comparison of peoples' views in 34 countries finds that the United States ranks near the bottom when it comes to public acceptance of evolution. Only Turkey ranked lower.

Among the factors contributing to America's low score are poor understanding of biology, especially genetics, the politicization of science and the literal interpretation of the Bible by a small but vocal group of American Christians, the researchers say.

“American Protestantism is more fundamentalist than anybody except perhaps the Islamic fundamentalist, which is why Turkey and we are so close,” said study co-author Jon Miller of Michigan State University.

The researchers combined data from public surveys on evolution collected from 32 European countries, the United States and Japan between 1985 and 2005. Adults in each country were asked whether they thought the statement “Human beings, as we know them, developed from earlier species of animals,” was true, false, or if they were unsure. ...

Perhaps the Christian Coalition has taken those T-shirts that ask "Who would Jesus bomb?"

A bad case of testosterone poisoning: "Wednesday, July 19, 2006
..

Anyway, those are considerations for a terrible day in the future, not an absurd day in the present, which yesterday brought me a message from the Christian Coalition of America.

Surely this would be a message consistent with the Prince of Peace, He who said: "Blessed are the peacemakers" and warned that those who live by the sword shall die by the sword. Well, this message wasn't that exactly.

It read: "Christian Coalition of America commends President George W. Bush for his unfailing and courageous support for the State of Israel in its latest war against the Israel-hating terrorist movement, specifically this time against Hamas and Hezbollah terrorists. .... If American fighter power is necessary to help Israel eliminate the Hezbollah threat in southern Lebanon, so be it."

So be it? Now, I happen to be sympathetic to the state of Israel, a plucky little democracy in a sea of extremists. I have a natural sympathy for the underdog, although I realize that underdogs and overdogs both have their fleas that make life difficult and troublesome.

But none of that compels me to think that the United States should intervene in the war that Israel is fighting with its enemies in Gaza and Lebanon. Not only is such a suggestion from a self-styled "Christian Coalition" startlingly at odds with the preaching of the Christ in the name Christian -- remember Him? -- it's also nuts, mad and crazy on its own terms. But enough of the carefully calibrated diplomatic language. This suggestion is lunatic.

What? Things are going so well for us in Iraq and Afghanistan that we can afford another war (with perhaps a conflict with Iran thrown in for good measure)? What? We can be the fair and honest brokers of the road map to peace when we have bombed the hell out of the people whom we want to use that map to secure a lasting peace?

Perhaps the Christian Coalition has taken those T-shirts that ask "Who would Jesus bomb?" a tad too literally....

Massachusetts has the lowest divorce rate ... Bible Belt is the breeding ground for broken marriage

The Ostroy Report: "Tuesday, June 06, 2006 | More Repuglican Hypocrisy: Bible Belt States Have the Highest Divorce Rates. And they Worry About Gay Marriage?"

Christian conservatives are hellbent on keeping gays from marrying, saying such same-sex unions are an affront to the great institution of marriage, threatening the very social, emotional and legal fabric which binds a man and woman in holy matrimony. Ironically however, it's these very same bible-thumpers who have the highest divorce rates in the country. The Bible Belt is the breeding ground for broken marriage.

Despite this fact, the right wing evangelical fanatics like to point to states like "liberal" Massachusetts, holding it up as some sort of Sodom and Gomorrah. To the contrary, Massachusetts has the lowest divorce rate in the country at 2.4 per 1,000 population.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the states with the highest divorce rates are to be found in the Bible Belt, where they exceed by 50% the national average of 4.2 per thousand people. The 10 Southern states with some of the highest divorce rates were Georgia, Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas, Oklahoma, North and South Carolina, Florida, Arizona and Texas. By comparison nine states in the Northeast-- where allegedly amoral, faithless, Volvo-driving, Birkenstock-wearing, NY Times-reading lefties are found--were among those with the lowest divorce rates: Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Vermont and Rhode Island. ...

Ala. candidates argues that state judges should refuse to follow U.S. Supreme Court precedents

Ala. candidates revive judicial debate - Yahoo! News: "By JAY REEVES, Associated Press Writer Wed May 31, 2:00 PM ET BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -

In a debate with powerful echoes of the turbulent civil rights era, four Republicans running for Alabama's Supreme Court are making an argument legal scholars thought was settled in the 1800s: that state courts are not bound U.S. Supreme Court precedents.
...
Yet Justice Tom Parker, who is running for chief justice, argues that state judges should refuse to follow U.S. Supreme Court precedents they believe to be erroneous. Three other GOP candidates in Tuesday's primary have made nearly identical arguments.

"State supreme court judges should not follow obviously wrong decisions simply because they are `precedents,'" Parker wrote in a newspaper opinion piece in January that was prompted by a murder case that came before the Alabama high court.
...
Another candidate, Henry P. "Hank" Fowler, a member of Parker's staff, said conservative judges must stop surrendering to liberal Supreme Court opinions "without a word of protest." And lawyer Ben Hand said judges "can't just break the law and then point to the guy down the street in the black robe and say, `He told me to.'"...

Parker is a former aide to Roy Moore, who became a hero to the religious right when he was ousted as Alabama's chief justice in 2003 for refusing to obey a federal judge's order to remove a Ten Commandments monument from the rotunda of the state courthouse.

Ala. candidates argues that state judges should refuse to follow U.S. Supreme Court precedents

Ala. candidates revive judicial debate - Yahoo! News: " By JAY REEVES, Associated Press Writer Wed May 31, 2:00 PM ET BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -

In a debate with powerful echoes of the turbulent civil rights era, four Republicans running for Alabama's Supreme Court are making an argument legal scholars thought was settled in the 1800s: that state courts are not bound U.S. Supreme Court precedents.
...
Yet Justice Tom Parker, who is running for chief justice, argues that state judges should refuse to follow U.S. Supreme Court precedents they believe to be erroneous. Three other GOP candidates in Tuesday's primary have made nearly identical arguments.

"State supreme court judges should not follow obviously wrong decisions simply because they are `precedents,'" Parker wrote in a newspaper opinion piece in January that was prompted by a murder case that came before the Alabama high court.
...
Another candidate, Henry P. "Hank" Fowler, a member of Parker's staff, said conservative judges must stop surrendering to liberal Supreme Court opinions "without a word of protest." And lawyer Ben Hand said judges "can't just break the law and then point to the guy down the street in the black robe and say, `He told me to.'"...

Parker is a former aide to Roy Moore, who became a hero to the religious right when he was ousted as Alabama's chief justice in 2003 for refusing to obey a federal judge's order to remove a Ten Commandments monument from the rotunda of the state courthouse.

Ala. candidates argues that state judges should refuse to follow U.S. Supreme Court precedents

Ala. candidates revive judicial debate - Yahoo! News: " By JAY REEVES, Associated Press Writer Wed May 31, 2:00 PM ET

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - In a debate with powerful echoes of the turbulent civil rights era, four Republicans running for Alabama's Supreme Court are making an argument legal scholars thought was settled in the 1800s: that state courts are not bound U.S. Supreme Court precedents.
...
Yet Justice Tom Parker, who is running for chief justice, argues that state judges should refuse to follow U.S. Supreme Court precedents they believe to be erroneous. Three other GOP candidates in Tuesday's primary have made nearly identical arguments.

"State supreme court judges should not follow obviously wrong decisions simply because they are `precedents,'" Parker wrote in a newspaper opinion piece in January that was prompted by a murder case that came before the Alabama high court.
...
Another candidate, Henry P. "Hank" Fowler, a member of Parker's staff, said conservative judges must stop surrendering to liberal Supreme Court opinions "without a word of protest." And lawyer Ben Hand said judges "can't just break the law and then point to the guy down the street in the black robe and say, `He told me to.'"...

Parker is a former aide to Roy Moore, who became a hero to the religious right when he was ousted as Alabama's chief justice in 2003 for refusing to obey a federal judge's order to remove a Ten Commandments monument from the rotunda of the state courthouse.