Joan Bokaer of Cornell University's Theocracy Watch gives a rundown on the growing danger of Dominionism, also known as Christian Reconstructionism, the ideology behind the movements of Christian extremism in the United States and abroad.
Beginning with a discussion about Rushdoony and his writings which served as the foundation of the Christian political activism to how his work and the philosphy of others in the movement led to the "Faith Based Initiative" in the United States, Bokaer reveals why Christian Dominionists need to be taken seriously.
This is an important video for anyone who wants to understand the motives of the American Taliban and what's happening to New World politics and why seemingly harmless displays of the Ten Commandments in courthouses are not benign.
***A Free America? You Decide***Corporations are attempting to take over America. With the help of our corrupt Supreme Court's Citizen's United Ruling, Corporate Owned Politicians, Corporate owned Media and the apathy of The American People they just might succeed.
Showing posts with label religion. Show all posts
Showing posts with label religion. Show all posts
Monday, November 1, 2010
Religion: Christian Reconstructionism
Christian Reconstructionism is a religious and theological movement within Protestant Christianity that calls for Christians to put their faith into action in all areas of life, on public sphere as well. The beliefs characteristic of Christian Reconstructionism include:
http://www.goddiscussion.com/21579/christian-dominionism-101/
The Constitutional Party
- Calvinism, for its description of individual spiritual regeneration by the Holy Spirit that is required to change people on a personal level before any positive cultural changes can occur,
- Theonomy: applying the general principles of Old Testament and New Testament Law to the corresponding family, church and civil governments (compare with theocracy); opposed to church-state separation of any kind, believing the state is under God and is therefore commanded to enforce God's Law.
- Postmillennialism, the Christian eschatological belief that God's kingdom began at the first coming of Jesus Christ, and will advance progressively throughout history until it fills the whole earth through conversion to the Christian faith and worldview,
- The presuppositional apologetics of Cornelius Van Til which holds there is no neutrality between believers and nonbelievers, that the Bible reveals a self-authenticating worldview and system of truth, and that non-Christian, non-Reformed belief systems self-destruct when they become more consistent with their presuppositions, (Bahnsen, Van Til's Apologetic, pp. 145–6, 97, 315–6) or even the presuppositionalist approach of Gordon Clark, and
- Decentralized political order resulting in minimal state power and laissez-faire economics.
Origins
Christian Reconstructionism arose as an ideology among conservative Calvinists. The movement in its modern form was founded in the United States of America, popularized by Rousas John (R. J.) Rushdoony, in his work The Institutes of Biblical Law (published in 1973), though to an extent it had its beginnings in the colonial governments of early New England (especially that of the Massachusetts Bay colony). Other past and present Reconstructionist leaders include Gary North (Rushdoony's son-in-law), Howard Ahmanson, Jr., Greg Bahnsen, David Chilton, Gary DeMar, Kenneth Gentry, and Andrew Sandlin.Reconstructionist perspective
The social structure advocated by Christian Reconstructionism would have the clergy, laity and government, individually and corporately, to be in ultimate submission to the moral principles of the Bible, including the Old Testament, while retaining their separate jurisdictional spheres of authority and roles in society as inferred from principles of biblical law, both Old and New Testaments. It is the claim of Christian Reconstructionism that even as under the Davidic administration of the Israelites, the Priests (Levitical line) and Kings (Davidic line) were distinguished by their scopes of authority (e.g., the King could not offer sacrifices for others and the Priests could not pass or enforce legislation) and their roles in society (e.g., the King maintained the social welfare and the Priests maintained personal welfare), so it should be in a modern Christian Reconstructionist society.http://www.goddiscussion.com/21579/christian-dominionism-101/
The Constitutional Party
Religion: Dominionism AKA Christian Reconstructionism
Steven Hotze's Christian Reconstructionism from Bruce Prescott on Vimeo.
Below: Scarborough's altar call
Rick Scarborough's Dominionist Altar Call from Bruce Prescott on Vimeo.
Scarborough's altar call is for Christians to repent of their apathy toward politics and then to walk the aisle to make a public commitment to register to vote, get involved in politics to "take back" America for Christ, and support efforts to takeover school boards, city councils, and state houses.
The video is from a service at First Baptist Church of Moore, Oklahoma on Sunday, January 27, 2008.
Friday, September 3, 2010
Focus on the Family Goes to Bat for Bullies
Here we go again; more HATE injected into society under the guise of Religion. These Christians and their organizations seem to believe it's not just their duty but their right to push their poisin down everyone's throats.
Treaty of Tripoli
Article 11: As the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion; as it has in itself no character of enmity against the laws, religion, or tranquillity, of Mussulmen; and, as the said States never entered into any war, or act of hostility against any Mahometan nation, it is declared by the parties, that no pretext arising from religious opinions, shall ever produce an interruption of the harmony existing between the two countries.
Patty
Original Article HERE
by Candace Chellew-Hodge
In the world of lawmaking, some proposed laws are right to invite debate and controversy. But then there are, on rare occasions, proposed laws that seem like no-brainers. Take, for example, the Safe Schools Improvement Act now pending in Congress that would prevent bullying in schools. The bill defines bullying as “conduct placing students in reasonable fear of physical harm.” The law covers harassment based on race, color, national origin, disability, religion, sex, or sexual orientation.
Who would be against a law that seeks to end bullying in school? Enter Focus on the Family.
It is, of course, that last classification that has caught the attention of FotF. They claim that the inclusion of sexual orientation in the bill is a ploy by gay rights activists to push acceptance of homosexuality in schools, according to a report on ABC News.
“What parents need to be aware of is there are activist groups who want to promote homosexuality to kids because they realize if they can capture hearts and minds of our children at the earliest ages they will have for all practical purposes won the clash of values that we are currently experiencing,” Candi Cushman, education analyst for Focus on the Family, said on the recently launched Web site TrueTolerance.org.
Cushman appeared on Anderson Cooper 360 Wednesday night on CNN, and tried to put a pretty face on their efforts, saying: “We absolutely think every child should be protected from bullying.”
She went on to try to explain, and this is where I began to wonder if conservative Christians ever really listen to themselves when they speak—because she hit the nail on the head, but, unfortunately, it was her own head.
“The correct focus would be on preventing the wrong actions of the bully, not focusing on the characteristics of the victims because it doesn’t matter why the victim was targeted. What matters is that harming them is wrong for any reason,” she said.
Okay, let’s focus on how to prevent “the wrong actions of the bully” for just one moment. I can find no evidence that there is any manner of widespread bullying of Christian kids by gay or lesbian kids. There are no stories of Christian kids killing themselves after being hounded by gay kids about their religion. There are no stories of Christian kids being pushed down on the playground and called “dirty Christ lover.”
No, all the stories of bullying seem to involve kids, some probably from good Christian homes, calling other kids “faggot,” or “queer,” or “fairy,” or “dyke.” One must wonder where they learn these words, and where they learn that being any of these things is shameful, sinful, or wrong. Most likely they hear it from their parents, or from their churches.
So if we are going to focus on “the wrong actions of the bully,” let’s start by focusing on where bullies learn that being gay is wrong. They learn it in their good Christian homes from their good Christian parents or from their good Christian pastors. I will believe that FotF is really, truly, interested in addressing “the wrong actions of the bully” when they launch an effort within their own ranks to encourage parents not to teach their potential little bullies that it’s wrong or disgusting or shameful to be gay. The only way to correct “the wrong actions of the bully” is to educate them on the reality of gay and lesbian children—that they exist and that God still loves them and that beating them up or calling them names is wrong, and God would not approve.
But wait... that might play into the gay agenda of promoting tolerance and acceptance of gay and lesbian people... and that’s exactly what FotF is trying to prevent. So, please, tell me, how would they ever correct “the wrong actions of the bully” if they're not willing to prevent him from becoming a bully in the first place? It reminds me of a bumper sticker I saw years ago that read: “Focus on your own damn family.” If you don’t want homophobic bullies running around, then for heaven’s sake, stop raising them!
Reality, however, is never the strong suit for FotF and its cohorts. Remember, these are the people who feel okay sending their children into the sexually charged atmosphere of high school armed with nothing more than a simple purity pledge, even though studies have shown them to ineffective.
So, it was no shock to see Cushman continuing to use broad platitudes to deny reality during the interview.
Eliza Byard, executive director of the Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network, made it clear that “when school level policies actually mention sexual orientation and gender identity, rates of bullying and harassment go down, and this is for all students.” There’s no agenda here, only policies based on data that shows what works.
FotF’s approach may sound nice, said Rosalind Wiseman, author of the book Queen Bees and Wannabees, but generic bullying policies simply don’t work.
“We can have policies about ideal reality or we can have policies that are about concrete reality and reflect what children are experiencing, and that’s when we become relevant to young people. If we don’t then it doesn’t work,” she said.
By focusing on the bully, Wiseman said, it becomes a matter of the victim’s word against the word of the bully, and if FotF gets its way and strips specific categories from anti-bullying laws, the victim won’t even be able to use the words necessary to describe what they were being bullied about.
“If you take out the language of naming the behavior, then it becomes so amorphous that there’s no place for that kid to define what is happening to them. These words are not allowed to be talked about and they become silenced,” Wiseman said.
Which really is the whole point of FotF’s campaign—driving gay and lesbian people so far back into the closet that they are completely silenced. If kids are forbidden by law to say the words that the bullies are allowed to say to harass them, then they will simply shut up and take the abuse, and the whole issue of having to deal with gays and lesbians as human beings goes away. Problem solved!
Cushman, however, kept relentlessly missing the point and denying simple reality. As proof she actually had the nerve to say: “All human beings are created in God’s image and they deserve to be protected because they are a human being uniquely created by God with innate dignity and worth, and not because of how they identify sexually.”
Honestly, could she even hear herself? If she and FotF truly believed that, and encouraged conservative Christian parents to actually teach that to their potential bullies in training, then there would be no need for anti-bullying legislation. But, that would require a reality check, and we know, in the world of the religious right, those always bounce.
http://www.religiondispatches.org/dispatches/candacechellew-hodge/3261/focus_on_the_family_goes_to_bat_for_bullies/
Treaty of Tripoli
Article 11: As the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion; as it has in itself no character of enmity against the laws, religion, or tranquillity, of Mussulmen; and, as the said States never entered into any war, or act of hostility against any Mahometan nation, it is declared by the parties, that no pretext arising from religious opinions, shall ever produce an interruption of the harmony existing between the two countries.
Patty
Original Article HERE
by Candace Chellew-Hodge
In the world of lawmaking, some proposed laws are right to invite debate and controversy. But then there are, on rare occasions, proposed laws that seem like no-brainers. Take, for example, the Safe Schools Improvement Act now pending in Congress that would prevent bullying in schools. The bill defines bullying as “conduct placing students in reasonable fear of physical harm.” The law covers harassment based on race, color, national origin, disability, religion, sex, or sexual orientation.
Who would be against a law that seeks to end bullying in school? Enter Focus on the Family.
It is, of course, that last classification that has caught the attention of FotF. They claim that the inclusion of sexual orientation in the bill is a ploy by gay rights activists to push acceptance of homosexuality in schools, according to a report on ABC News.
“What parents need to be aware of is there are activist groups who want to promote homosexuality to kids because they realize if they can capture hearts and minds of our children at the earliest ages they will have for all practical purposes won the clash of values that we are currently experiencing,” Candi Cushman, education analyst for Focus on the Family, said on the recently launched Web site TrueTolerance.org.
Cushman appeared on Anderson Cooper 360 Wednesday night on CNN, and tried to put a pretty face on their efforts, saying: “We absolutely think every child should be protected from bullying.”
She went on to try to explain, and this is where I began to wonder if conservative Christians ever really listen to themselves when they speak—because she hit the nail on the head, but, unfortunately, it was her own head.
“The correct focus would be on preventing the wrong actions of the bully, not focusing on the characteristics of the victims because it doesn’t matter why the victim was targeted. What matters is that harming them is wrong for any reason,” she said.
Okay, let’s focus on how to prevent “the wrong actions of the bully” for just one moment. I can find no evidence that there is any manner of widespread bullying of Christian kids by gay or lesbian kids. There are no stories of Christian kids killing themselves after being hounded by gay kids about their religion. There are no stories of Christian kids being pushed down on the playground and called “dirty Christ lover.”
No, all the stories of bullying seem to involve kids, some probably from good Christian homes, calling other kids “faggot,” or “queer,” or “fairy,” or “dyke.” One must wonder where they learn these words, and where they learn that being any of these things is shameful, sinful, or wrong. Most likely they hear it from their parents, or from their churches.
So if we are going to focus on “the wrong actions of the bully,” let’s start by focusing on where bullies learn that being gay is wrong. They learn it in their good Christian homes from their good Christian parents or from their good Christian pastors. I will believe that FotF is really, truly, interested in addressing “the wrong actions of the bully” when they launch an effort within their own ranks to encourage parents not to teach their potential little bullies that it’s wrong or disgusting or shameful to be gay. The only way to correct “the wrong actions of the bully” is to educate them on the reality of gay and lesbian children—that they exist and that God still loves them and that beating them up or calling them names is wrong, and God would not approve.
But wait... that might play into the gay agenda of promoting tolerance and acceptance of gay and lesbian people... and that’s exactly what FotF is trying to prevent. So, please, tell me, how would they ever correct “the wrong actions of the bully” if they're not willing to prevent him from becoming a bully in the first place? It reminds me of a bumper sticker I saw years ago that read: “Focus on your own damn family.” If you don’t want homophobic bullies running around, then for heaven’s sake, stop raising them!
Reality, however, is never the strong suit for FotF and its cohorts. Remember, these are the people who feel okay sending their children into the sexually charged atmosphere of high school armed with nothing more than a simple purity pledge, even though studies have shown them to ineffective.
So, it was no shock to see Cushman continuing to use broad platitudes to deny reality during the interview.
Eliza Byard, executive director of the Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network, made it clear that “when school level policies actually mention sexual orientation and gender identity, rates of bullying and harassment go down, and this is for all students.” There’s no agenda here, only policies based on data that shows what works.
FotF’s approach may sound nice, said Rosalind Wiseman, author of the book Queen Bees and Wannabees, but generic bullying policies simply don’t work.
“We can have policies about ideal reality or we can have policies that are about concrete reality and reflect what children are experiencing, and that’s when we become relevant to young people. If we don’t then it doesn’t work,” she said.
By focusing on the bully, Wiseman said, it becomes a matter of the victim’s word against the word of the bully, and if FotF gets its way and strips specific categories from anti-bullying laws, the victim won’t even be able to use the words necessary to describe what they were being bullied about.
“If you take out the language of naming the behavior, then it becomes so amorphous that there’s no place for that kid to define what is happening to them. These words are not allowed to be talked about and they become silenced,” Wiseman said.
Which really is the whole point of FotF’s campaign—driving gay and lesbian people so far back into the closet that they are completely silenced. If kids are forbidden by law to say the words that the bullies are allowed to say to harass them, then they will simply shut up and take the abuse, and the whole issue of having to deal with gays and lesbians as human beings goes away. Problem solved!
Cushman, however, kept relentlessly missing the point and denying simple reality. As proof she actually had the nerve to say: “All human beings are created in God’s image and they deserve to be protected because they are a human being uniquely created by God with innate dignity and worth, and not because of how they identify sexually.”
Honestly, could she even hear herself? If she and FotF truly believed that, and encouraged conservative Christian parents to actually teach that to their potential bullies in training, then there would be no need for anti-bullying legislation. But, that would require a reality check, and we know, in the world of the religious right, those always bounce.
http://www.religiondispatches.org/dispatches/candacechellew-hodge/3261/focus_on_the_family_goes_to_bat_for_bullies/
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Muslim group warns 'South Park' creators of death (VIDEOS)
Muslim group warns 'South Park' creators of death - Yahoo! News
NEW YORK – A radical Muslim group has warned the creators of "South Park" that they could face violent retribution for depicting the prophet Muhammad in a bear suit during last week's episode. The website RevolutionMuslim.com has since been taken down, but a cached version shows the message to "South Park" creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone. The article's author, Abu Talhah Al-Amrikee of New York, said the men "outright insulted" the religious leader. The posting showed a gruesome picture of Theo Van Gogh, a Dutch filmmaker who was shot and stabbed to death in an Amsterdam street in 2004 by a fanatic angered by his film about Muslim women. The film was written by a Muslim woman who rejected the Prophet Muhammad as a guide for today's morality. "We have to warn Matt and Trey that what they are doing is stupid and they will probably wind up like Theo Van Gogh for airing this show," Al-Amrikee wrote. "This is not a threat, but a warning of the reality of what will likely happen to them." The posting listed the addresses of Comedy Central's New York office and Parker and Stone's California production office. It also linked to a Huffington Post article that described a Colorado retreat owned by the two men. CNN, which first reported the posting, said the New York-based website is known for postings in support of Osama bin Laden and jihad, or holy war, against the West. Al-Amrikee told The Associated Press in a phone call Wednesday that the posting was made to raise awareness of the issue and to see that it does not happen again. Asked if Parker and Stone should feel threatened by it, he said "they should feel threatened by what they did." He said he was disappointed that publicity about the posting focused more on the potential danger to the producers but admitted, "I could shoulder some blame" for it. He said he "can't answer that legally" when asked if his group favored jihad. But he praised bin Laden. "We look up to him and admire him for the sacrifices he has given for the religion," he said. Last week's episode, the 200th for the cheeky and often vulgar cartoon, was intended to feature many of the personalities and groups that Parker and Stone insulted during the series' run. In 2006, Comedy Central banned the men from showing an image of Muhammad on their show. They had intended to comment on the controversy created by a Danish newspaper's publishing of caricatures of the Islamic leader. Muslims consider any physical representation of their prophet to be blasphemous. Instead, "South Park" showed an image of Jesus Christ defecating on President George W. Bush and the American flag. Comedy Central and the show's producers would not comment.
Monday, April 19, 2010
The Pat Robertson of Persia blames immodest, promiscuous women for earthquakes
Honestly, I think 'Religion' need to be squeezed out of all public forums. Religions have been hijacked and exploited by people to control other people. This is just sickening. God save us from Religion!
http://www.americablog.com/2010/04/pat-robertson-of-persia-blames-immodest.html
http://www.americablog.com/2010/04/pat-robertson-of-persia-blames-immodest.html
Monday, April 19, 2010
BEIRUT – A senior Iranian cleric says women who wear immodest clothing and behave promiscuously are to blame for earthquakes.
Iran is one of the world’s most earthquake-prone countries, and the cleric’s unusual explanation for why the earth shakes follows a prediction by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad that a quake is certain to hit Tehran and that many of its 12 million inhabitants should relocate.
“Many women who do not dress modestly … lead young men astray, corrupt their chastity and spread adultery in society, which (consequently) increases earthquakes,” Hojatoleslam Kazem Sedighi was quoted as saying by Iranian media. Sedighi is Tehran’s acting Friday prayer leader.
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