--------------------------- [The] Bible-based fear and loathing of homosexuals. . . is being shaped in the minds of tens of millions of Americans. . . by the antihomosexual teachings of the radio and television fundavangelists, the Southern Baptists, Elders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons), fundamentalist leaders in every Protestant denomination, and priests, bishops, and cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church, especially Benedict XVI. . .
[F]undamentalist Christianity, that "perverse segment" of the Christian church, is a threat -- not just to lesbian and gay Americans but to all Americans who refuse to support their so-called absolute values or join them in making this "a Christian nation". . . [W]e must resist before the fundamentalists do what they have promised -- turn the world's oldest democracy into a theocracy ruled entirely by "righteous men". . .
[The] "culture war" is real. . . and fundamentalists will not be satisfied by denying homosexuals our rights. In fact, they are using their antihomosexual campaign to recruit volunteers, raise funds, mobilize voters, and eventually divide and conquer the nation. Their ultimate goal is to break down the wall that separates church and state, superimpose their "moral values" on the U.S. Constitution, replace democracy with theocratic rule, and create a new "Christian America" in their image. . .
My own roots are planted deep in evangelical Christianity. . . But in the early 1970s, the evangelical church as I knew it began to fall under the influence of fundamentalist Christian leaders like Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson, and James Dobson. With their powerful media voices, their call to "reclaim America for Christ" transformed the historic evangelical agenda from sharing freely the "good news". . . to superimposing their "moral values" on the nation through a dangerous combination of bad religion and dirty politics. . .
My old friends and former clients believe sincerely that gay people are a "threat to children, to marriage and the family, to the nation and to western civilization itself." They are true believers, and we doubt their sincerity at our own peril. For the past decade, I have been an eyewitness on the front lines of the war the fundamentalists are waging against lesbian and gay Americans. In the process, I've come to realize that fundamentalist Christianity is not just a threat to lesbians and gays, but to all Americans who cherish democracy and the rights and protections guaranteed us by the U.S. Constitution. ---------------------------
The Culture Wars are over, we won. Two thirds of Americans want to end DADT as does a majority of Congress -- that DADT almost certainly will not end does not attest to the prevalence of the Cultural Warriors, who are in fact a marginal superannuated white rump (forgive the visual), in my view, but to the mortal failure of our hopelessly brittle insufficiently democratic governing institutions.
---------------------------
ReplyDelete[The] Bible-based fear and loathing of homosexuals. . .
is being shaped in the minds of tens of millions of
Americans. . . by the antihomosexual teachings of the
radio and television fundavangelists, the Southern Baptists,
Elders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
(Mormons), fundamentalist leaders in every Protestant
denomination, and priests, bishops, and cardinals of
the Roman Catholic Church, especially Benedict XVI. . .
[F]undamentalist Christianity, that "perverse segment"
of the Christian church, is a threat -- not just to
lesbian and gay Americans but to all Americans who
refuse to support their so-called absolute values or join
them in making this "a Christian nation". . .
[W]e must resist before the fundamentalists do what
they have promised -- turn the world's oldest democracy
into a theocracy ruled entirely by "righteous men". . .
[The] "culture war" is real. . . and fundamentalists
will not be satisfied by denying homosexuals our rights.
In fact, they are using their antihomosexual campaign
to recruit volunteers, raise funds, mobilize voters,
and eventually divide and conquer the nation. Their
ultimate goal is to break down the wall that separates
church and state, superimpose their "moral values"
on the U.S. Constitution, replace democracy with
theocratic rule, and create a new "Christian America"
in their image. . .
My own roots are planted deep in evangelical Christianity. . .
But in the early 1970s, the evangelical church as I
knew it began to fall under the influence of fundamentalist
Christian leaders like Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson,
and James Dobson. With their powerful media voices,
their call to "reclaim America for Christ" transformed
the historic evangelical agenda from sharing freely
the "good news". . . to superimposing their "moral values"
on the nation through a dangerous combination of bad
religion and dirty politics. . .
My old friends and former clients believe sincerely that
gay people are a "threat to children, to marriage and the
family, to the nation and to western civilization itself."
They are true believers, and we doubt their sincerity at
our own peril. For the past decade, I have been an eyewitness
on the front lines of the war the fundamentalists are
waging against lesbian and gay Americans. In the process,
I've come to realize that fundamentalist Christianity is
not just a threat to lesbians and gays, but to all Americans
who cherish democracy and the rights and protections
guaranteed us by the U.S. Constitution.
---------------------------
-- Mel White, _Religion Gone Bad_ (2006)
http://www.amazon.com/Religion-Gone-Bad-Dangers-Christian/dp/B000NBKJ4S
The Culture Wars are over, we won. Two thirds of Americans want to end DADT as does a majority of Congress -- that DADT almost certainly will not end does not attest to the prevalence of the Cultural Warriors, who are in fact a marginal superannuated white rump (forgive the visual), in my view, but to the mortal failure of our hopelessly brittle insufficiently democratic governing institutions.
ReplyDelete