By Mark Esposito, Guest Blogger
Fresh off an attack on the legitimacy of public education and now surging in the polls, Republican primary candidate Rick Santorum couldn’t hold back the religious zeal. President Obama’s agenda is motivated by things not quite Christian the former senator from Pennsylvania charged in a recent campaign stop in Ohio.“It’s about some phony ideal, some phony theology. Oh, not a theology based on the Bible, a different theology,” he said. “But no less a theology.” My, my, what could the homeschooling Roman Catholic mean? Surely not the Big Lie that the President is a Muslim, an idea that served as the red meat of Tea Party attack dogs since Obama won the White House. No, perish the thought. The darling of the far right simply meant that the President was “imposing his values on the church, and I think that’s wrong.” Sure, just a philosophical and scholarly difference of opinion on health care policy and the First Amendment, coincidentally stuck smack down in the middle of a presidential campaign. Santorum even generously conceded that –wink, wink,– “if the president says he’s a Christian, he’s a Christian.”
Like a good limbo dance, one wonders how low Santorum can go in bending over backwards to appease the unappeasable right-wing fundamentalist base, and, in this year’s Republican race to the bottom campaign, that’s saying something. We thought “Idea Man” Newt Gingrich was the show stopper with his kids janitorial corps, but we then looked on wide-eyed as Constitutional scholar, Rick Perry, revealed to us that everything from public schools to Medicare is unconstitutional in his book. Couple that with his call for Texas Secession and we thought we’d seen everything. Not hardly, we now have Rick Santorum, whose presidential campaign is beginning to look like a papal conclave. All that’s missing is some shiny red satin beanies and the “smoke watch” parties around the Sistine Chapel’s chimney.
You would think that a guy with both an undergrad and law degree from Penn State could find a copy of the Constitution or maybe just a book on Thomas Jefferson. Apparently, they are as scarce around Happy Valley as babysitting jobs for former Penn State coach and accused child molester, Jerry Sandusky. Let me help out. Article IV, Paragraph three of the U.S. Constitution provides that:
The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the Members of the several State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial Officers, both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States.
This is a new movement, as embodied by people like James Dobson or Pat Robertson or Jerry Falwell, who call for the creation of a Christian state, who talk about attaining secular power. And they are more properly called dominionists or Christian reconstructionists, although it’s not a widespread term, but they’re certainly not traditional fundamentalists and not traditional evangelicals. They fused the language and iconography of the Christian religion with the worst forms of American nationalism and then created this sort of radical mutation, which has built alliances with powerful right-wing interests, including corporate interests, and made tremendous inroads over the last two decades into the corridors of power.
Hedges sees the effort as a Mass Movement and one he deems “the most
dangerous in American History.” The former New York Times war correspondent also sees an ominous endgame:
I mean, essentially, when you follow the logical conclusion of the ideology they preach, there really are only two options for people who do not submit to their authority. And it’s about submission, because these people claim to speak for God and not only understand the will of God, but be able to carry it out. Either you convert, or you’re exterminated. That’s what the obsession with the End Times with the Rapture, which, by the way, is not in the Bible, is about. It is about instilling — it’s, of course, a fear-based movement, and it’s about saying, ultimately, if you do not give up control to us, you will be physically eradicated by a vengeful God.
Hedges echoes the Founders in his concerns about the threat of take over of secular government by theocratic factions. No less an expert on religious factionalism than Thomas Jefferson warned us about elevating ecclesiastical law over democracy:
[If] the nature of … government [were] a subordination of the civil to the ecclesiastical power, I [would] consider it as desperate for long years to come. Their steady habits [will] exclude the advances of information, and they [will] seem exactly where they [have always been]. And there [the] clergy will always keep them if they can. [They] will follow the bark of liberty only by the help of a tow-rope. (Thomas Jefferson, to Pierrepont, Edwards, July 1801, quoted from Eyler Robert Coates, Sr., “Thomas Jefferson on Politics & Government: Freedom of Religion”)
In a sense, Santorum’s comments may be spot on. Obama does come from a philosophical position far different that Santorum and his ilk. While Santorum bases his politics in Biblical revelation, Obama comes from the perspective of the rule of law and reason. As most political observers over the centuries have noted, this is a collision course with religiosity. It was James Madison who deduced the antagonism in the American context:
I must admit moreover that it may not be easy, in every possible case, to trace the line of separation between the rights of religion and the civil authority with such distinctness as to avoid collisions and doubts on unessential points. The tendency to a usurpation on one side or the other or to a corrupting coalition or alliance between them will be best guarded against by entire abstinence of the government from interference in any way whatever, beyond the necessity of preserving public order and protecting each sect against trespasses on its legal rights by others. (Letter Rev. Jasper Adams, Spring 1832).
Amen, Brother Madison. Amen.
Can fundamentalist religion and secular democracy co-exist, or are they on an inevitable collision course? What do you think?
Source: New York Times
~Mark Esposito, Guest Blogger
Blouise,
The Bible is accurate in every way. Where do you think you go when you die?
p.s.
That’s what we call “full circle”.
Jim,
Of course not … what’s a few thousand years?
By the way … you keep relying on a book specifically aimed at constructing the legend and explaining away the failure on Jesus/Saul-Paul’s part to bring about the Kingdom.
How long are you going to have to wait around, either living or dead, for the Kingdom to manifest? I’m only concerned as to whether or not you are adequately supplied … maybe the Corinthians, who have been waiting for a little less than 2,000 years, will share what they have with you, the new comer … but then, they aren’t exactly “cheerful givers” are they?
Blouis
2 Peter 3:8–9
A day is as a thousand years to God— So it hasn’t been that long. Also, since the next life is eternal, 2 thousand years is nothing.
“One day you will awake and the Christians will be gone.” (Jim)
Oh, then you are an end-timer … excellent.
Keep waiting … dates come and go but faith keeps you firmly planted in your legend … it’s been approx. 2,000 years since the first date failed to produce the Kingdom but a few thousand years one way or the other should make no difference to the faithful.
And don’t forget to keep up your tithing … ministers have to eat and they are certainly entitled to vacations and … well just ask all those pissed off Corinthians … when the end-times come and you see them, of course.
Blouise
First of all this country was founded on Christian Principles. Once America stops supporting Israel (God’s chosen) then we are doomed. I will tell you the same thing I told Mespo, One day you will awake and the Christians will be gone. The world will experience so much turmoil and you will then remember what I said. Jesus never said that the end would come in the Disciple’s lifetime. He said he would come quickly (in the twinkling of an eye) and that we all need to be ready. Read matthew 24, and the parable of the 10 virgins Matthew 25.
“None of the wicked will understand, but those who are wise will understand”
(Daniel. 12:10, NIV)
Daniel 12:4 states knowledge will increase.Education and knowledge also exploded in the 20th century. From the time of Christ until 1900, it is estimated that man’s knowledge doubled. In just the next 50 years, from 1900 to 1950, it doubled again. Then it began an extremely rapid doubling; first every seven years, then every two years in the 1960’s. It appears that the 1950’s marked the time in history when knowledge and education “vastly increased” and literally began exploding. This means that according to Daniel, sometime about 1948 when Israel was reborn, God began to unseal, and is now unsealing, the vision of Daniel to give us understanding of the time of Christ’s soon return.
In 2 Timothy 3:1-5, Paul describes the increased decadence of humanity in the “last days,” something we are experiencing today. (See reference to the recent Heritage Foundation study above.) In the past four decades there has been an explosion of immorality, pregnancies out of wedlock, abortions, drug use, spouse and child abuse, and violent crime, which is up several hundred percentage points. Asked what he foresaw as the terminus of civilization, T.S. Eliot (1888-1965) envisioned people shooting each other at random, only a recent, now widespread phenomenon.
Earthquakes. Also like increasing birth pangs, Jesus also said there would be earthquakes in various places. From official records, scholars have researched the frequency of earthquakes and report an astonishing increase since — yes, just the middle of the 20th century, when Israel was reborn and all the other signs began. A recent study shows that in the 1940s there were only 51 earthquakes worldwide above Richter 6.0; in the 1950s, 475; the 1980s, 1,085; and in the 1990s, 1,514 (Matthew 24:7). (Source: Prophecy in the News magazine, October 1996, and the National Earthquake Information Center.)
Globalism. The increased centralization of world financial and political power into a “New World Order” is a prelude to the soon-coming anti-Christ, who will deceive most of the world (Daniel 7-12; Matthew 24:15; Revelation 13).
Apostasy. Paul also says that in the last days there will be those with “a form of godliness, but denying its power” (2 Timothy 3:5), a condition even in many Christian churches today where the power of the Holy Spirit is not only denied, even His mention is rare and often discouraged, while anti-Christian practices are encouraged, all in the name of “religion.”
mespo,
Don’t you know there ain’t no devil, it’s just god when he’s drunk. – Tom Waits
😉
Blouise:
There is a Devil
Of that no doubt,
But is he trying to get in us
Or trying to get out?
~Spanish Proverb
A politician is the devil’s quilted anvil; He fashions all sins on him, and the blows are never heard. – John Webster
I’m happy to report that Jim has been the bellwether in the Satan debate. Now Santorum has chimed in defending his own horned man paranoia in a speech in 2008. Every on the cutting edge here on RIL:
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2012/02/21/santorum-ill-defend-everything-thing-i-say/?hpt=hp_bn3
Jim:
I’ve looked it up and you are demonstrably wrong as I’ve shown. You are correct about the 1000 years passage which makes you 1 for 12. Not exactly major league stats wouldn’t you say? You’re mad because you are not the expert you pretend to be and I’m Satan because I called you on it. I think you’re Satan because you have no idea about your magic book until I embarrassed you to go looking through it. That makes us both Satan and neither of us should quote any First Century book written about events supposedly accomplished years before they were written down. Got it there Beezelbub?
p.s.,
The only real Christians are those nut-jobs who occasionally appear throughout history. They set a date for the end-times; convince all their followers to give everything away, and then sit in a high place waiting for the date to come …. and go. That’s living Jesus’ life as he lived it and that is why it is so very difficult to make the historical Jesus relevant to modern times.
Jim,
There ya go, Jimbo (said affectionately and without malice) … you used one of the many excuses used by the early Church. Having convinced so many to give away all their possessions because the end-times promised by Jesus were near, they (especially Saul/Paul) were faced by angry members, such as those in Corinth, demanding accountability.
Why in the world do you think the “Resurrection” was concocted in the first place? Jesus was crucified, the end-times he preached did not occur … time to punt.
It’s a legend, darlin’, and you are perfectly free to live your life believing that legend to be fact but … what you are not free to do is demand that others accept your legend and live their lives as you do. Neither are you free to pass legislation giving the government the power to enforce the edicts of your legend. That is an invasion of others’ right to privacy and self-ownership besides being, in the manner of so many legend-followers, a perversion of your own legend. Now go … and sin no more.
Mespo
Also there is NO passage that says “A day to God is like a thousand years
You are WRONG!
2 Peter 3:8–9
Like I said You are a “SATAN” trying to use scripture but take it out of context. If you look at what I have said and look it up and actually study it, you will se that I am right.
5) John quotes Jesus (1900 years ago) as saying he will come “quickly.” Revelations 22:7, 12 & 20
Christ will return in a twinkling eye which is quickly.
JIm:
Why is it when I point out a dozen cites proving you wrong in your own interprettaion of the book, it’s out of context but when you assert something it’s always right? You’re obviously special. Just smacks of the arrogance of the self-proclaimed pious thinking they have special knowledge that no one else has access to or can understand. You ascribe quite a bit of mystical knowledge and hidden revelation to a bunch of illiterate First Century herdsmen, tax collectors, and farmers. You are certain about things you cannot be certain about and that proves conclusively you are quite deluded. That was my point all along. By the way, I’m glad I got you to crack that book since obviously it gets a lot of dust at your house.
Mespo
I f you read I John 4:3 He was talking about people who speak against Christ by not living to his teachings. You have taken every scripture above out of context. But that is to be expected by an agnostic who just like satan misquoted Psalm 91:11-12 when tempting Christ. Mark 13:30-31 was a prophetic word that when studied is referencing when Israel would become a nation (1948)that the generation that witnessed that would not pass away. That means we are very close to Christ’s return and you better be ready. If you are left behind I guarantee you will remember my words.
Mespo,
For starters
2 Peter 3:8–9
Jim:
“A day to God is like a thousand years so just because Christ said the Kingdom of God is at hand doesn’t mean it had to happen right then.”
***********************
Boy Jim, if I hadn’t read something I don’t think I’d be so quick to interpret it. The Magic Book says often that the “End Times” were to occur during the time of the First Century. Here’s just a few excepts:
1) Jesus talking directly to to Caiphas:
“But I tell you: From now on you will see ‘the Son of Man seated at the right hand of the Power’ and ‘coming on the clouds of heaven.'” (Matthew 26:64 NAB)
Then Jesus answered, “I am; and ‘you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of the Power and coming with the clouds of heaven.'” (Mark 14:62 NAB)
2) Jesus talking to his followers:
Amen, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation. (Matthew 23:36 NAB)
“Immediately after the tribulation of those days, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming upon the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he will send out his angels with a trumpet blast, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other. “Learn a lesson from the fig tree. When its branch becomes tender and sprouts leaves, you know that summer is near. In the same way, when you see all these things, know that he is near, at the gates. Amen, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. (Matthew 24:29-35 NAB)
3) Jesus commenting to his disciples about the assembled crowds:
Amen, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. (Mark 13:30-31 NAB)
He also said to them, “Amen, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see that the kingdom of God has come in power.” (Mark 9:1 NAB)
“Truly I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God.” (Luke 9:27 NAB)
4) John believes “the time is at hand,” and that the things that he writes about in Revelation will “shortly come to pass.” Revelations 1:1-3
5) John quotes Jesus (1900 years ago) as saying he will come “quickly.” Revelations 22:7, 12 & 20
6) John thinks he is living in “the last times.” He “knows” this because he sees so many antichrists around. 1 John 2:18
7) John says that the antichrist was already present at the time 1 John was written. 1 John 4:3
8) John quotes Jesus (1900 years ago) as saying he will come “quickly.” Revelations 3:11, 22:7, 12 & 20
9) Paul thought that the end was near and that Jesus would return soon after he wrote these words. Philippians 4:5
10) Paul believes he is living in the “last days.” Hebrews 1:2
11) Paul believed that Jesus would come “in a little while, and will not tarry.” Hebrews 10:37
12) In 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 Paul stated: “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: And the dead Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air: And so shall we ever be with the Lord.” Paul shared the delusion, taught by Jesus, in that he expected to be snatched up bodily into heaven with other saints then living, who would, thus, never taste death. The use of “we” clearly proves as much. It is difficult to deny that Paul was certain that the end of the world was coming in the lifetime of his contemporaries.
Also there is NO passage that says “A day to God is like a thousand years …”
You really need to get Spark Notes, see the movie, or just plain read it. You’re looking silly on a massive scale in talking about literature you know nothing about.
Blouise
A day to God is like a thousand years so just because Christ said the Kingdom of God is at hand doesn’t mean it had to happen right then. Just look around and see what is going on in the world. Compare that with scripture and you would be foolish to think that Bible is inaccurate.