We’re all reaching the early stages of fatigue over The Mess. We have politicians running about like roosters on meth and, like most poultry on meth, what the roosters really want is our money.
Lost in this, for just a moment, is the Christian Right’s continued attempt to instill as much fear, to elicit as must prejudice and outright racism as is possible to sway the election.
Beyond the immediate bigotry involved there is a deeper purpose. No matter who wins the election this ultimate goal will continue to drive these fanatics.
For decades now, those leading the Dominionist Movement of the “Christian” Right (among others) have been doing their best to rewrite reality. I’m not speaking of their bizarre attempt to hijack science to “explain” Intelligent Design. Rather, I am speaking of their attempt to rewrite American history — specifically the founding of the United States and the “real” intent of the Founding Fathers.
According to many “Christian” Right leaders, such as the recently deceased D.J. Kennedy (Coral Ridge Ministries), David Barton of Wallbuilders, and the now disgraced Rev. Ted Haggard, former head of the National Association of Evangelicals, our Founding Fathers actually intended America to be a Christian theocracy. They often use the term “nation” but when one examines what their concepts of Christian nation entail it smacks of theocracy.
In their attempt to restructure factual history they stretch their “facts” to the breaking point. Rather than bog the reader down by having to slog through the mire of these “facts” I will, as I briefly did with the issue of Obama being the Antichrist, lay out here what isn’t “there” — this time in our Constitution and in the factual history of the Founding Fathers.
- “God” appears nowhere in the U.S. Constitution.
- “Creator” does appear once in the (non-legal document) Declaration of Independence.
- The Preamble of the Constitution invokes the people of the United States. It does not mention God.
- Most importantly, the U.S. Constitution forbids any religious test to hold office. Anyone is eligible to hold office. Indeed, the office holder does not even have to be sworn in; they can simply “affirm” their allegiance to uphold the our Constitution.
Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - whodunnit
What does the so-called “Christian” Right” believe?
The “Christian” Right” correctly states that most Americans held common moral values between 1776 and the 1960’s. While the war of independence was being fought and the country was bleeding, and for the entire eleven years between 1776 and 1787, prior to ratification of the US Constitution, the Declaration of Independence stood alone in defining what the country stood for. Without the Declaration of Independence, there would have been no Constitution.
Until recently, the Bible was universally used to attest to oral testimony in a court of law and a Christian prayer was said each morning in public schools. The U.S. Supreme Court building has a 10 Commandments Display over the front entrance, and the Ten Commandments are engraved on the doors. In the Court there is a display of The 10 Commandments on the wall behind the Supreme Court Justices.
Until recently, the country believed abortion was illegal and homosexual acts were unnatural. Homosexual marriage was not on the radar screen until very recently. It is an unreasonable stretch to believe that the Founders of the country expected the moral code to be altered as it has been in recent years. It is easier to believe that if the Founders had any idea that the moral code of the country would disintegrate under the control of activist judges, the Constitution would have had safeguards built in.
The problem with the “Christian” Right” is that it has joined the “Jewish Right” and lost its moral compass when it comes to foreign policy and war.
As far as who is the anti-Christ, we should await more information before coming to any conclusions. Throughout history there have been a large number of individuals who have been identified as potential Antichrists, and such they may have been, though none has been the final persecutor of the Church. The record of inaccurate attempts to identify the Antichrist reveal the extreme caution that needs to be exercised in making such a claim.
“Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son.”
--1 John 2:22
2 - Doug Hunter
If you're truly interested in a look at those that attempt to install fear, hatred, and mistrust in politics all you need is a mirror. You are just as bad as those you claim to hate.
3 - Pablo
Doug,
Care to elucidate on the above statement? I am a bit slow and do not understand.
4 - Marlowe
Doug, I never claimed, nor do I "hate" anyone. Not sure exactly what you're referring to...
Marlowe
5 - wduff
We all live busy lives. We're all surrounded by cares and worries. We hear what certain "groups" are saying and we calm ourselves with the thought that no one takes them seriously or we have the Constitution to protect us. Weeks, months, even years go by then we're startled again by hearing of some crazy law this same group actually had before congress. And look at that! They had seventy congressman sign on to it! What's the world coming to? Then we're home. Turn off the radio. Haul the groceries into the house and forget all about it. Weeks go by... months slip past...
Yes, that's exactly how we ended up where we are today. And yes, you do sound hateful, and I and my muslim counterparts resent it!
6 - Dave Nalle
Whodunit. People in this nation have believed all sorts of reprehensible things over the years. That doesn't mean we have to enshrine them in law forever. By your argument we should keep slavery and not give women the vote and ban drinking on Sundays. But the truth is that our standards of liberty are a bit higher than that, and we do from time to time make progress.
Obviously over the years we've drifted away from some of the basic beliefs of religious liberty which Marlowe points out were valued by our founders. That we have since tried to move back towards those values is a good thing, not a bad thing.
Dave
7 - Silas Kain
Well, I'm with Sarah! I want Creationism taught in our public schools to show how far humans will go to mystify science and logic. Evolution, of course, will get top billing. Science will disprove the Creationistas every time so we shan't worry about our children being filled with these silly, mystical legends and lore.
This Friday Religulous comes out in theaters. While I have lost all respect for Bill Maher since became an Obama girl (come on now, where Barack's concerned, Bill Maher's giddier than like a Catholic priest at altar boy school). I completely support a massive nationwide purchase of the film to become mandatory viewing for every high school freshman in every public school throughout the land.
8 - Ruvy
Marlowe,
Point: Taking off work for Jewish holidays can be problematic. One of my nephews got fired from a job for that.
For all of your declamations to the contrary, you kinda let the cat out of the bag when you used the terms "church & state" repeatedly in your article. Jews like me generally do not go to church, unless wse are herded in by some rifle-toting asshole with a "convert or die" attitude. A neutral term for a nation that was not a Christian nation would be "religion and state".
Having lived for 50 years in a basically Christian country, and now having moved to what is basically a Jewish one, no matter how you cut the shwarma, and no matter how many documents you cite, America is still a Christian country.
Point: The United States Constitution, in tolling the number of days an unsigned bill needs to become law, excepts Sundayss from its count. Whose "day of rest" is Sunday?
Point: If you really want to understand what it is like not living in a Christian country, come visit here around 20 December or so and see if you can hear Christmas carols in department stores. Their absence here is an absolute pleasure!
By the way: May you have a healthy and sweet 5769 - shaná tová u'm'tuká.
9 - Les Slater
Ruvy,
Why are there seven days in a week anyway?
Les
10 - Ruvy
Come come, Les. I need to explain that to you? I would say that the Christians stole our religious concepts, twisted them around, and then hustled them like they were blue light specials at K-Mart. They changed the day of rest to Sunday so they could worship the sun, and so they could be different from the jews they hated, but they kept the number seven.
There is only one problem to that though. The Romans, who had no day of rest, also had a seven day week.
So, why is there a seven day week, anyway, Les? You explain it to me.....
11 - Les Slater
Ruvy,
“So, why is there a seven day week, anyway, Les? You explain it to me.....”
It appears to be fundamentally biological, not necessarily precisely seven days, but some similar number.
I think it is accepted that humans, and most other fairly high level creatures, evolved to function on a daily basis. As far as humans are concerned there is a time limit which the organism can survive without rest. Waste products and other limits accumulate at a faster rate than can be eliminated during waking activity. At least a partial, but significant, shutdown must occur to recuperate for the next active part of a repetitive cycle, in this case daily.
I postulate there is a similar biological limit to the number of days that a human being can work without taking a rest to recuperate.
Anthropological studies have shown that there were, and still are, peoples that had other than seven day weeks. A friend of mine that was visiting remote areas of the Himalayas came across a people observing a five day week. These people were very isolated.
To the extent that people traded with other people a tendency developed to synchronize their periods of rest.
As far as Christians stealing the week from the Jews, I would have to add that the Jews found the ‘week’ in nature and ascribed it to the Will of God. In other words, God stole it from nature with the Jews as accomplices.
Les
12 - Christopher Rose
"I would say that the Christians stole our religious concepts, twisted them around, and then hustled them" Ruvy.
And I would say some slightly less ignorant people modernised some seriously outdated ideas and came up with a new, if equally misguided, set of concepts that still failed to explain the world in a meaningful or even honest way.
Of course, Judaism was itself drawing upon even earlier spiritual ideas, but rather than getting along with these traditions it came up with the then novel concept that it alone had a handle on truth and that its adherents were "special". Unfortunately for all of us, the consequences of this egocentricity are still being felt today...
13 - Lisa Solod Warren
Christophr, Ruvy aside, The U.S. operates very much like a Christian country. Please don't be deceived. As a minority faith here, it is clear that this country is quite quite Christian, and also God-fearing (for those who do not believe).... even though there is "supposed" to be separation of church and state. That line gets crossed all the time. The seven day week is not important, but lots of other stuff is.
14 - Christopher Rose
It's too Christian for me, Lisa.
15 - Ruvy
In other words, God stole it from nature with the Jews as accomplices.
That's rich, Les. G-d needed Jews to teach Him how to steal sheep?
Ya sure. Tell me another one. If G-d created nature, He didn't need to steal anything, did He?
16 - Christopher Rose
But this god of yours didn't create nature, so your point, not for the first time, is just more self-serving irrelevancy...
The only stealing going on is from all the many victims of this spiritual Ponzi scheme you're involved in.
17 - Joanne Huspek
"Why are there seven days in a week anyway?"
It's another day to go to work. Good thing I'm an agnostic, huh?
18 - Ruvy
Christophr, Ruvy aside....
That's also rich, Lisa. I raised the point in the first place, and I won't be pushed aside so easily by a little Huffpo huffing and puffing....
You, by contrast, may understand the theory of a Sunday through Thursday week - but because you don't live here, and probably never will, you will never absorb into your kishkes the idea that Sunday is a workday, and not a day that you sit and peruse the papers....
19 - Ruvy
Chris, you belong in the League of Militant Atheists. You can't prove your claims, so stop trying to change the subject because you cannot stand G-d based religions.
20 - Matthew T. Sussman
I thought The Beatles successfully unchained us from the concept of the seven-day week years ago.
21 - Victor Plenty
Ruvy, I've rarely had time to visit this site for several years now, yet somehow I seem to recall Les is an avowed atheist. His statement makes perfect sense in his own worldview.
That is, if nature existed long before humans invented the concept of any gods, it would make sense to say one of those gods "stole" many ideas from nature.
Many monotheists consider themselves more highly developed than polytheists, because they discard belief in many false gods, and instead believe in The One True God. Many atheists follow this same logic, and consider themselves still more superior because their disbelief goes to eleven.
Yet all of these worldviews have led people to kill others for choosing the wrong form of disbelief. Personally I see that violent intolerance as the greater danger to true human civilization, when compared to the merely unpleasant experience of living in a country with different ideas about the "day of rest" than mine.
So I'm glad to see people like Marlowe here still trying to revive the original American ideal of a religious freedom that really does apply to everyone, and is not restricted to a narrow spectrum of Christian sectarian flavors.
22 - Ruvy
So, anyway, Marlowe, you still haven't answered the basic issue I raised. No matter how much you huff and puff, you still live in a Christian country. The constitution may not say so, and the Declaration of Independence may have it all wrong ("Nature and Nature's God"), but the vast majority of the people who live there walk, talk and act like Christians, and somehow let those who are not Christians know that they are the minority, welcome or not.
Hell, even the assimilated "Jews" living in America use Christian rhetoric like "Armaggedon" and "fundamentalist" to talk about believers and Torah-observant Jews like me. So do atheists like Dave Nalle.
I'm not defending your "Christian right". They are your problem. To the degree that they are supporters of my country, I'll take their support, being ever watchful of the conversion knife in their sinister (sinister originally meant "left" on Latin) hand.
And it is only natural that a conservative movement linked to Christianity arise in a basically Christian country. Other than that, if you want to go after them, have a goyisher good time....
I'll be off the computer for the next two days. So people like Lisa can try to swiftboat me all they want while I'me gone. But the basic realities still stand, whether you like them or not. America is basically a Christian country, and ANYONE who is not a Christian and who actively practices a differing faith, knows it. Whether they understand that they have their positions on the sufferance of Christians - or not understand this - is an entirely a different matter.
23 - Les Slater
Matt,
“I thought The Beatles successfully unchained us from the concept of the seven-day week years ago.”
But chained us to an eight-day week? No, not really, but the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) has just recently instituted an eight-day week for its part timers. Seven days on and one day off.
Les
24 - Ruvy
Victor,
I'm glad to see people like Marlowe here still trying to revive the original American ideal of a religious freedom that really does apply to everyone....
A swan in a land of ducks is an ugly duckling.
25 - Marlowe
Congrats people... Save for Vic Plenty there you've already begun to show why the world's in the state it is in...
I wonder if all those who so desperately wish to engage in religious war realize that it is their EGO that drives their insane blood lust. There is nothing, in the Bible or the Quran that celebrates this mental sickness.
The priests, the ministers, the mullas the "holy" men are absolutely dependent on their congregation's stunning level of ignorance concerning their own holy writings and the history of their own Faith in order to perpetuate this mental illness. They especially appeal to men and their feelings of powerlessness, real or imagined to accomplish this.
Do any one you really think Moses, Jesus or Mohammad cared one damn bit about YOUR understanding of the minutia of what is 99% of the time temporary societal law (as opposed to eternal spiritual laws, such as the Golden Rule)?
Really... This is insanity. This is EGO, desperate to prove IT has the Ear of God. Desperate to - as in ALL social arenas - DOMINATE.
The only problem is that is this one particular human market place - this particular insanity has no cure. It has no vaccine.
"Religious fanaticism and hatred are a world-devouring fire, whose violence none can quench. The Hand of Divine power can, alone, deliver mankind from this desolating affliction...."
(Baha'u'llah, Founder of the Baha'i Faith)