-Submitted by David Drumm (Nal), Guest Blogger
David Barton is an evangelical minister and author who describes himself as “an expert in historical and constitutional issues.” Barton is the darling of the religious right receiving praise from Mike Huckabee, Newt Gingrich, and Michele Bachmann.
In the video, below the fold, Barton makes some remarkable claims.
As far as the Founding Fathers were concerned, they’d already had the entire debate over creation and evolution, and you get Thomas Paine, who is the least religious Founding Father, saying you’ve got to teach Creation science in the classroom. Scientific method demands that!
However, Charles Darwin published his theory of evolution in 1859, long after the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776. The prescience of our Founding Fathers is greater than anyone suspected. Interestingly, Thomas Paine died in 1809, the same year that Charles Darwin was born.
As pointed out by Stephen Jay Gould, creation science is an oxymoron:
As a tern, CREATION SCIENCE is an oxymoron – a self-contradictory and meaningless phrase – a whitewash for a specific, particular, and minority religious view in America, biblical literalism.
In the same interview, Barton claims that abolishing slavery was the main reason the colonies wanted to break away from England. Barton also said that Jesus opposed both the minimum wage and the progressive income tax.
OK, maybe the “Deer Crossing” wasn’t a joke.
H/T: Right Wing Watch, Mother Jones, Pharyngula.
“I couldn’t agree more, but are you talking about progressives or Evangelical Right Wing Christians?”
Roco,
I’m talking about Evangelicals, Objectivists, Libertarians and Conservatives, in short all those who believe in the myth known as “The Free Market.” Since Reagan we have had a plethora of tax cuts for the rich, disasterous deruglation and ridiculous trade agreements that have brought the economy of this country to its’ knees. That you and these others keep offering up a “free market” solution to our economic collapse, in the face of so much contrary evidence, is cultlike in its threat and its scope. By the way before you bring it up, neither Clinton, nor Obama are progressives in any since, so to me they are also part of the problem.
There’s a quick and just cure for people Barton, but I personally refuse to martyr myself.
David Barton Advocates Seven Mountains Dominionism
http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/david-barton-advocates-seven-mountains-dominionism
Excerpts:
As we have been noting for nearly a year now, a theology known as “Seven Mountains” has been slowly creeping its way into “mainstream” Religious Right activism.
Beginning with Janet Porter’s “May Day for America” prayer rally on the National Mall last year, this Dominionist theology has become increasingly common place in Religious Right events, ranging from the National Day of Prayer events to Jim Garlow’s “Pray and Act” 2010 election effort.
As we have explained before, Seven Mountains dominionism seeks to place Christians in control over the seven forces that shape and control our culture: (1) Business; (2) Government; (3) Media; (4) Arts and Entertainment; (5) Education; (6) Family; and (7) Religion. The reason for this, as Lance Wallnau, the leading advocate for Seven Mountains theology, explained is that Jesus “doesn’t come back until He’s accomplished the dominion of nations.” And the way “dominion of nations” is accomplished is by having Christians gain control of these “seven mountains” in order to install a “virtual theocracy” overseen by “true apostles” who will fight Satan and his Antichrist agenda.
**********
Green: So it’s the same idea, saying “look, every single area of the culture you need to be involved in.”
Barton: That’s right. Christians got to get involved. And there’s a Scripture they used that came out of Isiah 2:2 and it says “Now it shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established on the top of the mountains,” so this is now called the Seven Mountain Prophecy, there’s a book out by that name.
It says the Lord’s house is going to be established on top of the mountains and these are the seven mountains. If you’re going to establish God’s kingdom, you’ve got to have these seven mountains and again that’s family, religion, education, media, entertainment, business and government.
Now that’s what we believed all along is you got to get involved in this stuff. Jesus said “you occupy ’til I come.” We don’t care when he comes, that’s up to him. What we’re supposed to do is take the culture in the meantime and you got to get involved in these seven areas.
I’m sure they also debated the existence of the flying spaghetti monster, too.
For anyone who wants to rip to shred the incessant fake-ness that is the parade of lies of David Barton, please refer to Chris Rodda’s Liars for Jesus.
Thank you,
In the absence of proof, denying the extreme opposite view is no more elevated or correct than holding it.
Mike, I agree with you, except there is so much proof regarding evolution that I don’t see why we have to waste so much intellectual energy on attempting to make policy that plays to the least common denominator. Does anyone know the percentage of people that buy into this stuff in extreme? The argument goes to what is being taught in public schools…which are being rapidly defunded and undermined. I personally think that to NOT teach this POV, at this point, is as ridiculously extreme as teaching ONLY evolution. It has already been disproved, but it has also been an example of being a political tool to create dvision….and undermine and defund public schools…..
http://minnesotaindependent.com/73958/meet-david-barton-bachmanns-constitution-class-teacher
Buddha, You are right about the corporate greed in both parties, but the people that say there are no differences are absolutely wrong. The fundamentalist christians are the base of the republican party.
Mike Spindell:
“Though I don’t know what they might be, we the sane Americans need a change of tactics to combat this. We are faced with an enemy that is in effect a cult. They shamelessly rewrite history on things that can’t be disputed because they are hard fact, such as the timeline of Darwin’s Theory and the founding of this country. They are believed, however, by a purposely under-educated percentage of the public, whose gullibility/acceptance of these distortions shows cultic faith. Therefore we are not dealing here with a discussion of
politics/economics/societal issues. This is a battle for the soul of our country and we must find a way to de-program these mind controlled zombies.”
I couldn’t agree more, but are you talking about progressives or Evangelical Right Wing Christians? They do tend to flow together at least in the way you describe. And both are detrimental to the future of this country as a Constitutional Republic.
Nal,
According to David Barton, the Bible is against Net Neutrality!
Barton: The Bible Opposes Net Neutrality
http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/barton-bible-opposes-net-neutrality
Excerpts:
David Barton believes that everything should operate under Biblical principles, and according to Barton, the Bible even has a view on rules for Internet service providers like Net Neutrality. Here’s a hint: the Bible opposes it. As noted in People For the American Way’s new report, “Barton’s Bunk: Religious Right ‘Historian’ Hits the Big Time in Tea Party America,” Barton finds that the Bible always has a pro-corporate, pro-GOP message.
Barton and his partner Rick Green hosted Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX) [no relation], a vocal foe of Net Neutrality who has received significant contributions from Net Neutrality opponents like Comcast, Verizon and the National Cable & Telecommunications Association. Net Neutrality ensures that Internet service providers can’t charge higher rates for faster delivery of content. The New York Times explains that Net Neutrality allows “Internet users [to] get access to any Web site on an equal basis” and without the policy, service providers can “give preferential treatment to content providers who pay for faster transmission, or to their own content, in effect creating a two-tier Web.”
But David Barton says that the Bible, Ben Franklin and the Pilgrims all opposed Net Neutrality because it violates the rights of huge corporations to charge higher rates and discriminate on content, calling it a “wicked” policy and “socialism on the Internet.” Apparently, the National Religious Broadcasters and the Christian Coalition, two prominent supporters of Net Neutrality, have missed the memo. But, David Barton insists, “’fair’ is a word that no Christian should ever use in their vocabulary”…
*****
Rick Green: Today, David a topic we actually haven’t covered that much, it has to do with the Internet, and it’s called Net Neutrality, a wonderful sounding name-
David Barton: But we talk about it today because it is a principle of free market. That’s a Biblical principle, that’s a historical principle, we have all these quotes from Ben Franklin, and Jefferson and Washington and others on free market and how important that is to maintain. That is part of the reason we have prosperity. This is what the Pilgrims brought in, the Puritans brought in, this is free market mentality. Net Neutrality sounds really good, but it is socialism on the Internet.
So…Thomas Paine said that we had “to teach creation science in the public school classroom.”
Questions:
Was there a subject known as “creation science” back in those days?
Were public schools established and available to all children in all of the thirteen original colonies when the Founding Fathers had the debate over creation and evolution?
W=c,
Evolution is a process for which we have abundant proof – from the fossil record to molecular genetics.
Smom,
There isn’t much substantive difference between either party when it comes to greed and corporatism. Ignorant is another issue altogether. The GOP actively courted fundamentalist for the last 30 years. And they got what they wanted too.
Yes, well, we used to believe the world was flat too….then we learned differently and evolved in our understandings. Now we teach that we used to believe that the world was flat…until we had proof otherwise.
In the absence of proof, denying the extreme opposite view is no more elevated or correct than holding it.
What used to make America great, what used to make America something to look up to, and what is so greatly lacking in this bizarre time of extreme fundamentalism….is tolerance. Tolerance and respect for those who hold different beliefs. Laws proscribe boundaries of behavior. That is the purose of law. The rest is an unbelievable corruption of our Governing process.
Oh, deer….entitled to our own facts, are we? Won’t sell Can be debunked in less than 3 seconds from anywhere on the planet. Perhaps if were as meticulous with the truth as he is with his hair…
Though I don’t know what they might be, we the sane Americans need a change of tactics to combat this. We are faced with an enemy that is in effect a cult. They shamelessly rewrite history on things that can’t be disputed because they are hard fact, such as the timeline of Darwin’s Theory and the founding of this country. They are believed, however, by a purposely under-educated percentage of the public, whose gullibility/acceptance of these distortions shows cultic faith. Therefore we are not dealing here with a discussion of
politics/economics/societal issues. This is a battle for the soul of our country and we must find a way to de-program these mind controlled zombies.
Slavery in Great Britain was ended in 1772. Trade in slaves by British ships was ended in 1807. The British Empire banned slavery in 1833.
The US banned slavery on January 1st, 1863. Under Barton’s claim the colonists were better off staying in the Empire- slavery would have ended thirty years earlier.
Indians would have been better off too (See Proclamation of 1763).
Some here say both parties are the same. What democratic presidential candidates are followers of his?
OH LQAWD I ALMOST WEE WEEED MESELF!
Barton was re-writing history in real time, a growing phenomenon.
One thing the Father of the Constitution did discuss was war. He considered war to be a disease, but more than that, a very infectious disease. That was American ideology then.
Today Chinese ideology has supplanted that American ideology, in that, our War Colleges teach that war is an art.
http://blogdredd.blogspot.com/2011/06/is-war-art-or-is-war-disease.html
When it comes to stupid it seems there is always an American christian around someplace close.