It's time to to deal with the 'christian' Right

Let's face it America, our Democratic Republic is done for.

The problem, identified by many people after 2004 Election, is the 'christian' Right.

They have control over many thousands of people. Some of these Churches have 10's of 1000's of people in them.

James Dobson, Jerry Falwell, D. James Kennedy, Pat Robertson, Ralph Reed, Tony Perkins, and more are quite literally STRANGLING America.

They don't want Compromise, which is a cornerstone of Democracy. They have disguised Authoritarianism, Totalitarianism, and even Fascism as a little thing called 'moral values'.

Nobody refutes the 'christian' Right. D. James Kennedy has been known to spin lies that are incredibly ridiculous. Yet, his Church swallows it up as truth. Try going into one of these Mega-Churches and try to refute some of the ridiculous things that these Preachers say.

They are hateful. They whip up support for Far Right causes that is comparable to a Hitler Rally. One 'christian' Right Preacher said he would kill a Gay man to applause and laughter! No wonder the Southern Poverty Law Center has said that the 'christian' Right is one big HATE GROUP!

They have created a far reaching network that can influence elections everywhere in America. This network is contained within Council for National Policy.

Please, this is a PLEA for help! The thing that is most dangerous to our Democracy (Or what's left of it anyway) is not Diebold, but the 'christian' Right.

All Americans, the rest of the Free World, the UN, and other various groups of people all around the world must realize that the 'christian' Right in America is not about Christian values and they don't support Religious Freedom, but they support Religious Authoritarianism.

We need to do something, as long as the 'christian' Right is around, our Democracy will get weaker and weaker until it dies. We're seeing it already. People AREN'T voting for the better candidate, but rather they ask themselves "How would my Preacher tell me to vote?".

So America, something needs to go the way of the Dinosaurs and the USSR, and it can either be the 'christian' Right OR our Democracy.

The decision is up to YOU.

I'm open for suggestions.

Sometimes I think the only option is something I can not say.

But, I will wait for them to make the first move, which I think could actually happen.

Try to find out where the candidates stand. It can be hard, especially in smaller municipalities to find anything about candidates. You are lucky if the local paper prints anything but a short bio about them.

Luckily, a RW zelot who ran here had a long history of writing crazy LTTES. He was glad K-mart went into bankruptcy because they angered God by being open on Thanksgiving, that sort of thing.

I researched his old LTTEs and put together my own LTTE showing what a crazy zelot he was - using his own words.

He didn't get elected. He was one of 4 people running for 3 city council at large seats.

It's gonna be a hard fight.

that works to counteract everything the religious right does.

Example: we need to show up at every school board meeting where they promote intelligent design or the banning of a book.

Right now, this is all but a small idea. Perhaps it can be built up from there.

And encourage other people do it elsewhere and then unite to form a coalition.

the same page as these groups, I'm not sure they would welcome my assistance.

I was thinking more of a "secular hit group" (composed of anyone outside the religious right, religious or not) that opposes any action by the religious right.

Considering that you may have similar values, would you be comfortable getting involved with any of them? Please don't assume your assistance won't be welcome.

You could also look into The American Friends Service Committee: http://www.afsc.org/

And in regard to civil liberties & rights, of course, there's the ACLU: http://www.aclu.org/

I try to live my life according to the way og the teachings of the masters,saints, and prophets of all faiths. I support liberal churches and present the Dances of Universal Peace several times a month. When asked, I perform Universal Worship. But my Order is not one to prosyletize. We have a saying, "Do not awaken the sleeping man." It is a wise saying, which becomes clear if you have ever had the misfortune of tangling with a brainwashed fundy.

I do think that one thing to be done is to take away IRS exempt status from churches involved in politics, but apparently the megachurches have lawyers who can tell them how to skirt the law and get away with it. We can try, however.

What else would you suggest?

This is a problem though, and it is getting out of hand.

"We have the ability to take him out,
and I think the time has come to exercise that ability."
- Pat Robertson

Insert your favorite in place of "him."

It's just a theory.

Otherwise, I totally agree with you.

I don't need the reminder that "our Democratic Republic is done for."

Let them kill. They are devolved and they will ultimately kill themselves in the end. Nature is about the predator and the prey. And in the end, the predator has to eat itself because it lacks the skills and thought processes the prey naturally have.

internally.

Here's the deal: once a group of people are brainwashed to the point where they think Bush is a great christian, even though he tortures people, lies, plays guitar while they drown, etc.
then you cannot reach them through normal means. You cannot persuade them through argument, you cannot lead them by example.
I liken them to that scene in Pulp fiction in the gun shop where Bruce Willis frees the guy locked in a box, but instead of thanking him, he attacks him and tries to be put back into the box.

"evangelical" leaders like Robertson, etc. Have these people in thrall, in the worst definition of the word...they will believe black is white, they will even turn against the teaching of christ but be convinced the opposite is true.The problem is you have to break that connection of master to spiritual slave.

I'm at a loss how to do that, honestly. Anything you try will be rebuffed as an outside threat and ignored. This is where I really get annoyed at atheists here at DU, they keep demanding liberal christians like myself "fix" the wingnut christians, but they refuse to understand that they are not OUR problem (meaning christians)...wingnut christians are not attending our services, we do not overlap with them on a religous plane. The problem with them is in the public policy area, where they do not belong. That is the plane where they must be fought. On a religious plane, you would get more traction talking to a brick.
However, they SHOULD be barred on a legal plane and immediately. They have no right to highjack the govt., and that is their danger to society.
Fight them where they have overstepped their bounds. Do it in the legal system, before its too late. Because I guarantee you that you can stop them legally, but you cannot reach them spiritually, unless they become disillusioned from within.

Remember Deprogrammers? Those were people who literally kidnapped cult members and through very harsh treatment over a very long time had limited success in deprogramming them. That is when you have literal and complete control over them...and even then it doesn't always work.
How much less effective would a liberal christian, having a conversation with a wingnut christian fare? They are conditioned to reject out of hand any religion thought contrary to their own as demonic.

So, like I say, they cannot be CHANGED, but they can be PROHIBITED legally from highjacking govt. and that is the ONLY method that will work to protect us.
Remember, as long as they weren't trying to control govt., they were no threat to anyone else. They were just in their little enclaves, victimizing their flock but not others.

I've explained this over and over here, but no one seems to grok what my point is:

put another way:

You cannot change a lion into a lamb. Ain't gonna happen. But you CAN put the lion in a cage so it stops eating people.

Several of my former friends have been seduced into this religious cult and it's impossible to reach them. They have been conditioned to respond to every argument regardless of facts presented.

These people truly believe the boyking was sent by God to save the world. It's been tragic to watch people turn from decent, caring, open-minded folks to mean spirited, nasty, hateful believers. I've never witnessed such a drastic change in people in my 50 years - it's impossible to reach them.

our democracy and rights! They have to be stopped!

If we focus entirely on the "christians" only, they come back with the tired old canard that "Christianity is under attack".

The separation of church and state itself - taking all religion out of the political process, as a general principle, should be our primary frame or we are setting ourselves up for failure I believe.

No on-line access. But article is eye opening to the agenda, depth of influence and objectives of the religious right. If you can, get a copy.

AMERICAN RAPTURE by Craig Unger

"Best selling author and evangelical leader Tim LaHaye has contacts that extend to the White House. That could spell trouble, Craig Unger discovers since his theology espouses apocalypse in Israel.


"There are as many as 70 million evangelicals in the U.S. - about 25% of the population - attending more than 200,000 churches."

"No one in our family read newspapers", says a former evangelical. "Growing up, our only source of information in my life was the pastor."

"With right-wing groups expanding at such a dizzying pace, LaHaye helped to found the Council for National Policy(C.N.P.) as a low profile coalition of billionaire industrialists, fundamental preachers, and right wing tacticians. Funded by Hunt and Davis, among others, the organization set out to create a coherent and disciplined strategy for the New Right."

"The C.N.P." has access to the highest powers in the land."

"Though its membership is secret, the rolls have reportedly included Falwell and Pat Robertson; top right wing political strategists Richard Viguerie, Ralph Reed, and Paul Weyrich; Republican senators Jesse Helms and Laura Faircloth (both of North Carolina), Don Nickles (Oklahoma) and Trent Lott (Mississippi); and Republican representatives Dick Armey and Tom DeLay (both from Texas)."

"Since the start of his presidency, Falwell says the C.N.P. has enjoyed regular access to the Oval Office.........Everyone takes our calls."

plenty of content on my site and she has the know-how to set it up more efficiently and make it easier to use.

The site will be operational by the end of next week, though a lot more changes will come after that.

http://liberalchristians.hostdiva.com/

It must be fire with fire! Strongly back a couple of the larger OPEN, diversified churches, such as Unitarian, and Metropolitan or others, and give them what they need to have the power and strength to counter all the bigotry and hate. If there are bigoted persons in your church, be they minister, teacher, priest, or lay person, make them known and unwelcome. When one wishes to CLEAN HOUSE (and senate) the job starts at your own doorstep.