In an e-mail to WallBuilders supporters today, David Barton calls last week’s elections a victory for “especially for God-fearing conservatives.” Apparently, everybody else is God-hating. Always remember: if you oppose them, they won’t just attack your politics. They will attack your faith.
UPDATE: And now we see a press release in which the Family Research Council says it is trying to gather 1 million Americans to pray for U.S. Senator Jim DeMint, the Republican tea party champion from South Carolina. From Tony Perkins, Family Research Council’s president:
“We want the men and women from both parties to know that an attack on Sen. DeMint is an attack on all conservatives and people of faith.”
Why? Is Sen. DeMint the Messiah? The arrogance would be astonishing if it weren’t so typical.
So what was the election two years ago?
Doesn’t Barton ever wonder why his god would give such inconsistent results in elections?
The reason God does not answer their prayers or does, depending on the particular mind expanding inhalant, is that God himself is an atheist.
An attack on any NATO ally is an attack on the United States. I guess Sen. DeMint has been elevated to NATO status.
By their hatred and constant lying and misrepresenting, I’d say these folks don’t fear God at all. They might not even believe in a God. They just believe in people who believe the same as they do.
“Always remember: if you oppose them, they won’t just attack your politics. They will attack your faith.”
— David Barton
“I never give them hell. I just tell the truth and they think it’s hell.”
— Harry Truman and Charles
I just got back from my church. We have a church-wide dinner on Wednesday nights before people break to go for choir practice and various Christian study opportunities. My wife, son, and I were sitting at our dinner table when an old lady came by dropping off little paper boxes with coin slots. The boxes were printed all over with information on the United Nations international Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF). They were trick-or-treat for UNICEF boxes . Anyone remember those from the 1960s? Let me tell you a story.
Per Wikipedia, “The United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (or UNICEF; pronounced /ˈjuːnɨsɛf/[1]) was created by the United Nations General Assembly on December 11, 1946, to provide emergency food and healthcare to children in countries that had been devastated by World War II. In 1953, UNICEF became a permanent part of the United Nations System and its name was shortened from the original United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund but it has continued to be known by the popular acronym based on this old name. Headquartered in New York City, UNICEF provides long-term humanitarian and developmental assistance to children and mothers in developing countries.”
In the middle 1960s, I quit doing trick-or-treat for candy and started doing trick-or-treat for UNICEF. To the best of my recollection, some of the city fathers in my small town sponsored Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF because they saw it as a opportunity to turn a fairly selfish “gimme candy” event into collecting money to help poor children throughout the world that Jesus defined in the Bible as “the least of these.” It was some of the best and happiest trick-or-treat I ever did, and people gave money generously at the doors. I really enjoyed it for a couple of years—until it came to a screeching halt.
The local John Birch Society got wind of it and pressured the city fathers to put a stop to sponsoring it, which they did. What was their reason? They were concerned that a portion of the money was going to help the Lord’s “least of these” children in communist countries like Hungary and Czechoslovakia. As we all saw when the Iron Curtain fell in 1989, millions of the enslaved people in these countries fell on their knees in tearful grief at the loss of their communist regimes (said tongue tightly in cheek). Clearly, these ordinary people were suffering under totalitarian regimes they did not want. Then, in about 1965, here came some small town American fruitcakes in the John Birch Society who cut off these poor children’s access to baby formula, medicine, and whatever else. Was that a Jesus-like action? I don’t think so, but consider this. The historical leadership of the Christian Reconstructionists in the United States, the biggest backers of the Christian home school movement, has consisted primarily of former members of the John Birch Society. Therefore, presented for your consideration, we had small town Christian Birchers who decided to destroy honest attempts by good-hearted people to help “the least of these” children suffering under foreign dictatorships. And they succeeded in my small town. Think about that for a minute. Let that sink in on you.
I have good news to report though. Several years later, trick-or-treat for UNICEF in my small town came back, and it was apparently sponsored by the United Methodist Church. All of us kids converged on the church to get our trick-or-treat for UNICEF supplies, collected lots of money for poor kids around the world in UN countries, and returned to the church for a party that lasted until midnight. The city fathers might have been intimidated by the John Birch Society—but not the Methodists. “Badges? We don’t need no stinkin’ badges from John Birch!!!” Amen.
I close now with a thought reiterated:
“I never give them hell. I just tell the truth and they think it’s hell.”
— Harry Truman and Charles
It seems that Conservatives have a lot to fear God about.
Being a Christian, I’ll pray that Tony Perkins and Senator Jim DeMint take the time to understand Christ’s words and actions.
As if the self labeled “God-fearing” conservative David Barton never attacks anyone else’s faith. His distortion of American history is based upon a distinguished lack of scholastic credibility. Combining those two thoughts yields the popular poetical retort: “How odd that God should choose the Jews. But, not so odd as those who choose to spurn the Jews whom God did choose.”
If my guess is correct, according to David Barton, anyone who does not accept “Jesus, the Christ” as personal savior is going to Hell and burn for eternity. Yet, it is the Jewish commandments of Moses whom David Barton wishes to establish in public schools throughout the USA. What is the drive on the part of Christian “conservatives” to post Jewish precepts rather than the commandments of Jesus, except politics? Barton’s lack of formal education has him seeing nothing but Christian “Founders” when he misguides his tours through the national capitol.
Constitutionally, Barton rapes the original intent of the “Founding Fathers,” see Webster’s, who commanded “no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States,” Art. 6., Sec. 3., as if they and the members of the First Congress, in the First Amendment, misstated its intent by using the the word “religion,” rather than “church.” Surely, the Founding Fathers and the members of the First Congress did not mean exactly what they wrote?
The far-right religious wingnuts are DeMinted.
God’s going to be pretty pissed off that Perkin’s has managed only about 20,000 people so far. And who knows if they will all pray! What if they just sign up, then go to sleep. Oh, forgot to pray, what the hell, I’ll pray in the morning. Oh, forgot to pray … and so it goes.
Thank the devout Christians, though, for praying for Jim DeMint to, what, be “strong” because people are being mean to him? Maybe some people are being mean to him? It’s unclear what the praying is for.
But, thank the devout Christians and THANK GOD they are praying for DeMint’s fortitude rather than praying for an end to the cholera epidemic in Haiti, or the end of war in the Sudan, or peace in the Mid-East, or stability in North Korea, or hunger in Africa. Ha! Imagine if Christians prayed for rain and good crops in Ethiopia! How stupid would that be when people are being mean to DeMint.
But, I guess the Family Research Council only focuses on right-wing Republican-voting, heterosexual, undivorced families with 2.5 kids, rather than starving families in Africa or dying families in Haiti.
If I ruled the Dictionary I would define the word “evil” with a picture of Tony Perkins.
@ Gene Garman: Yes, it’s strange to me too that these Christians would insist on posting the Ten Commandments. I mean, do they realize that in doing so they are promoting Judaism? After all, Jesus was supposed to have done away with all that “Old Testament” crap.
@ Doc Bill: I doubt the Family Research Council would be happy for parents to stop at 2.5 children. I think they would prefer everyone be like the Mr. & Mrs. Duggar and have 25.2 children.
Hi Cytocop.
Considering their increasingly apparent war on birth control, I will lodge the same complaint that they lodged against the Catholics in the 1960s. A Christian acquaintance of mine out in Oregon, who is a professor of history at a Christian college, has said in one of his books that the Christian fundamentalists and Christan Neo-Fundamentalists are really such ardent opponents of abortion because they feel as if their numbers and their peculiar brand of the Christian faith is in danger of being forever exterminated from American life. Put another way, they feel that they and their churches are one huge, unwanted fetus. Therefore, it makes perfect sense for them to wage a war on birth control and preach an abstinence only policy that is sure to get their unwed daughters pregnant in vast droves. They have to keep up the group’s population to avoid extinction. You see. They don’t believe in natural selection as a matter of doctrine, but in their real life actions they operate as if every word of it is true. Ever thought about that?
@ Doc Bill
“It’s unclear what the praying is for.”
Just so there’s no misunderstanding, I’m praying that they understand that Christ wouldn’t support what they are proposing and supporting. I’ve also done more than just pray for Haiti and Africa and the poor in America who are without food and shelter.
Should those without sin fear God? Or are God loving people on the wrong side of the equation?
If not, what should those who don’t care do?
Time for an update! It’s Update Time for Tony.
How are we doing today? Well, we’re up to 26,000. Great job. Only 974,000 more devotees needed. Looks like they got a bump of about 20,000 on the first day then 6,000 more over the next 3 days.
Do you think God is going to wait about FOUR YEARS for you to reach the million, Tony? Maybe God will get royally pissed off and say “screw deMint, and his little dog, Tony, too!” Could be lots of smitin’ and smotin’ going on!
Hi Charles. Yes I have thought about that, and it makes perfect sense. Christian fundies (and not just Christian fundies but ALL fundies) reject the theory of natural selection (survival of the fittest) but wholeheartedly embrace Social Darwinism (survival of the fittest). They are so dishonest and brainwashed that they can’t even see the hypocrisy of that.
Another thing they wholeheartedly embrace is the Ayn Rand-style unfettered free market. It’s interesting that they would hold Ayn Rand up as a role model when Rand was an atheist. But that detail is irrelevant to their secular conservative brethren who also worship an unfettered no-holds-barred free market.
Religious righties also need women to be constantly pregnant so that it will be more difficult for them to get an education and a profession that will pay enough for them to be independent. I’m not saying that works every time because, of course, there are exceptions. But their strategy is effective for a lot of women. A good way to ensure that will happen is to keep women and their men ignorant of contraception. Heck, I bet a lot of young people don’t even know HOW pregnancy occurs. And that’s just how the Righties want to keep it. Families need to be burdened with more children than they can afford……just because. I guess that’s the way they think God wants families to be: Biblical families had many children, and women had many pregnancies. The Righties forget that the average life span in those days was about 40 years (if that), and infant and child mortaility were very high. But, heck, that’s just an inconvenient truth.
Well, given their position on healthcare (kill all affordable healthcare and government involvement) and the success of their policies until now, the child mortality will inevitably go up again and life expectancy return to ‘biblical’ levels (and I do not mean pre-deluge with guys living for many centuries 😉 ).
I was coming here for an alternative view on the educational challenges in Texas and I received it. I’d like to thank the various posters for supporting TFN so candidly. The naked, fascistic hatred of anyone who disagrees is a telling sign that TFN will only support evil, failure, and wrong. Take for instance Cytocop CT(ASCP):
“Religious righties also need women to be constantly pregnant so that it will be more difficult for them to get an education and a profession that will pay enough for them to be independent. I’m not saying that works every time because, of course, there are exceptions. But their strategy is effective for a lot of women. A good way to ensure that will happen is to keep women and their men ignorant of contraception. Heck, I bet a lot of young people don’t even know HOW pregnancy occurs. And that’s just how the Righties want to keep it. Families need to be burdened with more children than they can afford……just because. I guess that’s the way they think God wants families to be: Biblical families had many children, and women had many pregnancies. The Righties forget that the average life span in those days was about 40 years (if that), and infant and child mortaility were very high. But, heck, that’s just an inconvenient truth.”
Cytocop CT(ASCP)’s hatred of “righties” doesn’t stop there, it cuts directly to humanity itself. It’s a hatred of children, pregnancy, and the human condition. I can hear the the echos of George Bernard Shaw as he dispenses all humans that he deems unworthy to the gas chamber.
Again, thank you for posting! If people such as Cytocop CT(ASCP) support TFN then it’s easy to see that I should oppose them at every turn.
Rememer that the Law of Inverse Attribution that use of such a term as “God Fearing” is actually Righteous Fundies spreading fear in God’s name. They do not actually fear God, the use the name of God in vain, which is classical blasphemy. Fundies of all sorts, not just religious, borrow the same gimmick.
This action is a part of Karpmann’s Drama Triangle consisting of a trilogy of victim, rescuer, and persecutor, the last of which is the position of choice. Changing positions from rescuer to victim, or rescuer to persecutor to victim delivers an emotional payoff which is called a stamp, like the old fashioned stamps one got by buying at the store.
By starting out to protect “the family”, hence a rescue and switching of persecutor by an attack on homosexuals give the switcher a white stamp for rescue and a red stamp for anger. Skin heads do the same trick by attacking “inferior” races as a part of saving the white race from pollution by inferior blood. Same gimmick. A group of members of PETA erred strategically by doing their blood throwing persecution on bikers at a bikers convention in California becasue of bikers preference for leather goods. You can imagine what happened and that some of the PETA, the ones still able to talk, will spend a long time in therapy.
The vanguard of the Proletariat operate the same trip as do the Sea Shepards on behalf of the whales.
Anger gets the adrenaline moving and provides the jusce to fight, fly, or freeze. It’s a head trip taken for the trip, and not on behalf on anyone or anything. The good news is that a constant state of anger also activates the production of cholesterol that is produced to repair damage to the body; it winds up patching damage that isn’t there, clogging up the arteries.
Look it up on your faverite Search Engine under Karpman’s Drama Triangle, or under Transactional Analysis.
In the advanced version of the triangle which requires a villain, the Two Sided Drama Triangle outlines the three contrasting roles of the villain which is necessary to provide a focus for victim, rescuer, and persecutor.
The family focus of the Righteous Fundies is also a con. The Law of Inverse Attribution establishes that whatever they are yelling for, is the least of their concerns. Saving the Children is an essential and highly charged mission for all species, for it the children don’t make it to puberty, the race dies. At present, the birth rates of the highly industrialized societies has dropped well below the 2.1 kids per couple needed to maintain the population. The US population isn’t dropping like in Japan and Europe, but that is because the immigrants both legal and not, keep the birth rate up.
The birthrate problem is what has happened as a unintended conspequence of proper diet and basic medical care plus the removial of children from the work force. In the bad old days, children were an economic asset, the more kids you had meant more hands in the fields, and a mechanism to pass on the family holdings generation after genreation. And the cohesion of the family was held together with the extended family providing child care when the parents went out working in the fields or on the hunt.
The net unintended effect of modernity has been to change children from an asset to a liability. They don’t add to the family net worth, and leave a debt when they go out into the brave new world, If Conservatives meant what they said about families, they would return the family unit to a profit making venture.