The Radical Religious Right Is At It Again

I've spent many years following the news regarding the radical religious right, which I will hereafter refer to as the rrr. After the 2004 elections, I was determined to put out the information I had that showed just how influential the rrr had become in the political arena and how dangerous their policies, which were being endorsed and enacted by the Bush misadministration, were to the continued existence of the US as a constitutional republic. Those pages are no longer updated since Bush et al have been removed from office, but the information is still there for anyone who wants to read it. I've linked it below.

However, simply because Bush et al are no longer in the Oval Office doesn't mean we can let our guard down. Make no mistake about it, the rrr's intent is to turn this into a Christian nation and they will go to whatever means necessary to do that. I've written about several attempts here with respect to abortion, school prayer, marriage equality, immigration, racism, etc. But this article is an attempt to show you the broad spectrum of activities engaged in by the RRR and how prevalent their influence is.

Please keep in mind that I don't really care what you believe. I don't care how racist or prejudiced or intolerant you may be. I don't care if you think it's murder to get an abortion and I don't care if you think gays are going to hell for being gay. I don't even care if you say that out loud. Your first amendment rights are safe with me and if your rights are being violated, I will stand up beside you and say "This is wrong!" even if I completely disagree with what you believe. One of my favorite scenes from a movie is the speech given by Michael Douglas as President Shepherd in "The American President". (You can read it or listen to it here, although it's much better when seen in context with the rest of the movie.) That's how I feel about civil rights. You have the believe whatever repulsive (to my way of thinking) things you want— as long as you don't cross that line where you advocate removing from or actually infringe upon the rights of others that you demand be given to you. That said, here's just a very short glimpse at some of the areas where the rrr is sticking their foot where it doesn't belong.

A Michigan company who provides the US military with night scopes has, apparently from its founding, inscribed Biblical references into its equipment. They freely admit they're doing it. "2COR4:6" and "JN8:12" and others refer to passages in the Bible that refer to Jesus as the light of the world. The US military has very strict rules against proselytizing so that the US government is not accused of waging a new Crusade. And yet this company takes it upon itself to not only violate that policy but to endanger every US soldier who is fighting overseas by doing just that: starting their own little Crusade. This company has a $600 million dollar contract with the Pentagon and has, since day one, been in violation of that contract. And the sad thing is, they see nothing wrong with it! And, judging by the comments left by many readers of the story on ABC's website, neither do a lot of other people. The wall of separation between church and state has been so badly breached since the founding of this nation and we're only now starting to stem make some major and much needed repairs by addressing issues such as the words "under God" in the pledge and "In God We Trust" on our money.

While this next story is actually from England, the attitude is demonstrates is not uncommon here in the US. A Christian theatre company, which is putting on "The Passion of Christ" during Easter, is looking for someone to play the role of Jesus. Not just anyone though. A white male. Despite all the evidence that Jesus was of Middle Eastern dissent and would probably look more like a Palestinian than a white European, the group insists on propagating the false belief that Jesus is white. And you need only look in virtually any Christian church in America and you'll find the same thing: any rendering of Jesus, be it in print, in stained glass or hanging on the cross, depicts a white savior. This only serves to reinforce the prejudice and bigotry of white supremacist groups. It's difficult for whites to understand how marginalizing such an attitude can be to those who are of Middle Eastern ancestry.

This next story is written by a Christian preacher and warns against the dangers of celebrating Halloween because it is a holiday that, according to her beliefs, is meant for Lucifer, who, again according to her beliefs, is the biggest rival of God's. Well, that's all well and good and if that's what you want to believe, go for it. And if you want to write an article about why it's not a holiday that Christians should observe, go for it! But then when someone writes an article about not allowing nativity scenes on government property or stores put up "holiday" trees instead of Christmas trees, I'm sure you'll give them as much respect when they voice their opinions as you expect when you voice yours. Ask any Biblical scholar when the Bible says Jesus was born and you won't get the answer Dec. 25. It's been known since Christianity began that Jesus wasn't born on Dec. 25. That this was a way of Christianity taking over pagan beliefs, integrating Christianity into the pagan practices with the hope of supplanting them. So there really was never any "Christ" in Christmas to begin with. Rather than jeopardizing the jobs of countless Americans over the annual December holiday season, people like Jerry Falwell (who I realize is now deceased but he led the push to put the Christ back in Christmas) should be writing articles about how celebrating Christmas is celebrating a pagan ritual. The same would go for Easter too, which is named after the goddess Eostre, the great mother goddess of the Saxons of Northern Europe.

And finally, from the mouth of Pat Robertson, another gemstone. This from the man who said that Florida would be struck with "earthquakes, tornadoes, and possibly a meteor" because they allowed gay pride parades, that Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's heart attack in 2006 was due to the fact that Israel had "divided God's land" and who, along with Jerry Falwell, blamed 9/11 on "the pagans and the abortionists and the feminists and the gays and the lesbians". Now comes word that the people of Haiti are to blame for the earthquake that devastated their land because, according to Pat, more than 200 years ago, their ancestors made a pact with the devil to win their freedom from French colonials. Now, if you want to believe that, go right ahead. But all you're doing is reinforcing why a whole lot of people are turning away from the God you claim to follow. Who you say is a God of Love and yet purposely caused 200,000 innocent people to die because of something that might or might not have happened more than 200 years ago.

More to come, I'm sure....