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Post by lakhota on Jun 29, 2011 0:53:16 GMT -5
Fighting the Culture Wars With Hate, Violence and Even Bullets: Meet the Most Extreme of the Radical ChristiansFrom the Army of God to the Hutaree Militia to Gary North and his Christian reconstructionists, radical Christianity is alive and well in the United States. If there is one name some residents of Amarillo, Texas wish they could forget, it’s Repent Amarillo. Based in that North Texas city, Repent Amarillo is a militant Christian fundamentalist group whose antics have ranged from staging a mock execution of Santa Claus by firing squad to posting a “spiritual warfare” map on its Web site that cited a Buddhist temple, an Islamic center, gay bars, strip clubs and sex shops as places of demonic activity. Repent Amarillo is also infamous for mercilessly harassing a local swingers club called Route 66. Throughout 2009, members of Repent Amarillo made a point of showing up at Route 66’s events, where they would typically wear military fatigues, shout at Route 66 members through bullhorns and write down the license plate numbers of people attending the events. After finding out who the swingers were, Repent Amarillo’s members would find out where they worked and try to get them fired from their jobs (according to Route 66 coordinator Mac Mead, at least two members of the club lost their jobs because of Repent Amarillo). None of that has kept Repent Amarillo founder David H. Grisham from dabbling in local politics; earlier this year, he ran for mayor of Amarillo and lost to former city commissioner Paul Harpole. But Repent Amarillo is hardly alone when it comes to promoting a decidedly radical and militant brand of Christianity. From the Army of God to the Hutaree Militia to Gary North and his Christian reconstructionists, radical Christianity is alive and well in the United States—and Christianists aren’t shy about turning up the heat when it comes to fighting the "culture war." Some radical Christianists have employed bully tactics and hate-mongering rhetoric without resorting to actual violence (Repent Amarillo, the Rev. Fred Phelps’ Westboro Baptist Church), while others have committed acts of terrorism and said the culture war will have to be won with bombs and bullets. When religion is discussed, it is important to make a distinction between radical and non-radical practitioners. Radical Christianity is not representative of Christianity any more than al-Qaeda is representative of Islam. The average Lutheran or Episcopalian minister is no more a threat to public safety than the average member of Islam’s Sufi sect, who are arguably the Hare Krishnas of Islam. Not all Christians are Christianists; not all Muslims are Islamists. But an abundance of disturbing events bear out the fact that radical Christianity, like radical Islam, is quite capable of violence—and contrary to what Rush Limbaugh and Ann Coulter would have us believe, the examples are numerous. Much More: www.alternet.org/teaparty/151436/fighting_the_culture_wars_with_hate%2C_violence_and_even_bullets%3A_meet_the_most_extreme_of_the_radical_christians/?page=entire
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Post by lakhota on Jun 29, 2011 0:55:43 GMT -5
Damn, Snerdley, you're a fast reader.
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Post by lakhota on Jun 29, 2011 1:02:51 GMT -5
Lakhota, i see you are an incurable insomniac as well! I'm a night person by choice...
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cereb
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Post by cereb on Jun 29, 2011 1:10:41 GMT -5
I think it's important to understand that groups of this nature produce whack jobs like David koresh and Jim Jones.
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cereb
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Post by cereb on Jun 29, 2011 1:13:10 GMT -5
So, let's start more "God" threads? These people are further from God than any atheist could ever be.
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AGB
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Post by AGB on Jun 29, 2011 1:13:58 GMT -5
Until you read the Quran.
Jihad for May, 2011 Jihad attacks: 165 Countries: 18 Dead bodies: 793 Critically injured: 1606
Doesn't quite compare to harassing a swingers club, even if those radical Christians did use bullhorns.
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❤ mollymouser ❤
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Post by ❤ mollymouser ❤ on Jun 29, 2011 1:41:25 GMT -5
It's a good thing I'm also a night owl (and a West Coaster) to keep an eye on things, huh? Interesting story. Clearly, nutcases are found in all sorts of religions (as well as with people with no religious beliefs.)
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Post by BeenThere...DoneThat... on Jun 29, 2011 1:44:51 GMT -5
It's a good thing I'm also a night owl (and a West Coaster) to keep an eye on things, huh? Interesting story. Clearly, nutcases are found in all sorts of religions (as well as with people with no religious beliefs.) ...maybe we should post some stories about radical Native American groups? or Buddhists? etc....? and what constitutes a culture war, anyway?
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❤ mollymouser ❤
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Post by ❤ mollymouser ❤ on Jun 29, 2011 1:45:49 GMT -5
It's a good thing I'm also a night owl (and a West Coaster) to keep an eye on things, huh? Interesting story. Clearly, nutcases are found in all sorts of religions (as well as with people with no religious beliefs.) ...maybe we should post some stories about radical Native American groups? or Buddhists? etc....? and what constitutes a culture war, anyway? Or Kittens. (grin)
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Post by BeenThere...DoneThat... on Jun 29, 2011 1:46:59 GMT -5
...radical Kitten groups that attract the attention of the FBI? oh, do tell...
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❤ mollymouser ❤
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Post by ❤ mollymouser ❤ on Jun 29, 2011 1:49:56 GMT -5
Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water .... (SEAL TEAM 6 KITTENS!) ;D
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Post by privateinvestor on Jun 29, 2011 1:57:51 GMT -5
...maybe we should post some stories about radical Native American groups? or Buddhists? etc....? and what constitutes a culture war, anyway? [/quote][/color] How about intelligent, white, anglo saxon, conservative male...??
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Post by BeenThere...DoneThat... on Jun 29, 2011 1:59:47 GMT -5
...maybe we should post some stories about radical Native American groups? or Buddhists? etc....? and what constitutes a culture war, anyway? [/color] How about intelligent, white, anglo saxon, conservative male...??[/quote] <<<<< ...not radical enough...
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Post by privateinvestor on Jun 29, 2011 2:02:09 GMT -5
] ... not radical enough... [/quote][/color] OK how about white, Anglo Saxon conservative christian women??
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Post by BeenThere...DoneThat... on Jun 29, 2011 2:04:16 GMT -5
...they stay in the kitchen, right?
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Post by privateinvestor on Jun 29, 2011 2:07:44 GMT -5
...they stay in the kitchen, right? Not always ..
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Post by BeenThere...DoneThat... on Jun 29, 2011 2:10:27 GMT -5
...they stay in the kitchen, right? Not always .. ...well, we might be approaching "radical" then... and would that constitute a culture war?
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handyman2
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Post by handyman2 on Jun 29, 2011 8:32:10 GMT -5
To many hide behind religion to give themselves legitimacy so they think. Biblical religion is actually a movement of peace and understanding it says love the neighbor not kill or destroy them. I agree they do more damage to the cause of peaceful coexistence then atheism ever could.
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Post by privateinvestor on Jun 29, 2011 8:36:41 GMT -5
Not always .. ...well, we might be approaching "radical" then... and would that constitute a culture war? You must be a big fan of Billy O' Reilly who has written a few books about our so called "Culture Wars"...and how we lost some of the battles and not the war yet..
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Virgil Showlion
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Post by Virgil Showlion on Jun 29, 2011 9:55:52 GMT -5
Who in their right mind would play devil's advocate on this one? Anybody? OK. Because poor Lak is desperately scraping the bottom of the barrel, here goes... staging a mock execution of Santa Claus by firing squad Stop the presses, it's every fifth YouTube video ever made. Do they use paintballs or a potato cannon? posting a “spiritual warfare” map on its Web site that cited a Buddhist temple, an Islamic center, gay bars, strip clubs and sex shops as places of demonic activity There first two are competing religions. The latter three cater to immoral activities. "Demonic activity" is a stretch and a half, but interpret it as "bad influence" and you're left with a reasonable, mainstream view shared by both religious and non-religious types. Repent Amarillo is also infamous for mercilessly harassing a local swingers club called Route 66. Throughout 2009, members of Repent Amarillo made a point of showing up at Route 66’s events, where they would typically wear military fatigues, shout at Route 66 members through bullhorns and write down the license plate numbers of people attending the events. (According to Route 66 coordinator Mac Mead, at least two members of the club lost their jobs because of Repent Amarillo.) Perhaps the firings had something to do with the nature of the "events" these "swingers" were attending, Mr. Henderson. Plus the campaign ended more than a year ago. None of that has kept Repent Amarillo founder David H. Grisham from dabbling in local politics; earlier this year, he ran for mayor of Amarillo and lost to former city commissioner Paul Harpole. He ran in an election. The cad! Stop your dabbling at once! But an abundance of disturbing events bear out the fact that radical Christianity, like radical Islam, is quite capable of violence So are radical environmentalists. Or radical anti-corporatists. Again, stop the presses. Hey, here's a story about some lady who everyone agrees doesn't represent the views of native Americans. Let's put it up anyway, Lakhota style! FBI asks about Dakota activist’s controversial speech by Laura Yuen
St. Paul, Minn. — A Minnesota American Indian scholar’s remarks that the Dakota people might have to reclaim lost tribal lands “by any means necessary” has drawn the scrutiny of federal authorities.
The Dakota historian who goes by the name Waziyatawin said she received a call this week from the FBI to discuss remarks she made in November at Winona State University.
Waziyatawin, a professor of indigenous history at the University of Victoria in British Columbia who used to go by the name Angela Cavender Wilson, told students that it’s time for American Indians to abandon symbolic demonstrations. Truth-telling efforts haven’t achieved anything, she said, according to a recording of the speech obtained by the Winona Post.
“We’re going to need to take a different kind of action,” said Waziyatawin, who grew up on the Upper Sioux Reservation in southwestern Minnesota. “All of you are going to have to figure out your role. For Dakota people, I know we’re going to need to recover our land base, by any means necessary.”
Oh so much more: kasamaproject.org/2011/01/08/fbi-vs-native-american-making-radical-speech-into-a-crime/Do I have any comment to add? Any point? Of course not! We Lakhotans have no need for your fancy "points". Wheeee! —and contrary to what Rush Limbaugh and Ann Coulter would have us believe, the examples are numerous. ...and Mr. Henderson proceeds to give us examples that comprise maybe 6,000 individuals (many of whom are nutcases in jail) in a nation of 200 million Christians.
Sorry, Lak. Somebody had to do it.
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Post by privateinvestor on Jun 29, 2011 10:00:16 GMT -5
Sorry, Lak. Somebody had to do it.
Thanx for restoring some semblance of sanity and reality here Virgil..
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Virgil Showlion
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Post by Virgil Showlion on Jun 29, 2011 10:01:42 GMT -5
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Post by ed1066 on Jun 29, 2011 11:13:08 GMT -5
It takes an intense and severely unbalanced moral relativism to compare these types of protests with the acts of terror committed in the name of Islam by radical jihadists. Unfortunately, that is just the type of dangerous thinking some liberals are very drawn to...
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Shirina
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Post by Shirina on Jun 30, 2011 0:25:35 GMT -5
This goes way beyond Santa Clause executions or harassing swingers' clubs. This is relatively small potatoes compared to what is happening over the gay marriage issue.
Churches are funneling millions of dollars to push through unconstitutional marriage amendments and are rallying people to boycott any company that engages in support of gays - not just gay marriage, but even support of equal opportunity policies that include gays.
In North Carolina, a bill is being proposed that would prohibit private companies from extending medical benefits to the "spouses" of same sex partners. Now ... since when do conservatives support laws that tell private businesses what they can do? Seems to be, Big Government is peachy keen as long as that Government is supporting their religious bigotry.
In Tennessee or Kentucky (one of the two), an amendment to an anti-bullying bill states that bullying is allowed as long as said bullying is done to defend religious beliefs. What kind of nonsense is that? Of course this amendment exists expressly so gays can be bullied, but I can find a religious reason to bully just about anyone, not just gays, so this amendment pretty much cripples the intent of the overall bill - which is to stop bullying.
And all of these laws are wholly and utterly unconstitutional, as they violate the Establishment Clause of the 1st Amendment of the United States Constitution. These are RELIGIOUS laws and have no place in a free country.
The executive vice-president of the American Family Association, Buddy Smith, has implicitly called this a "culture war" when he demanded that Home Depot cease promoting diversity or face a boycott. Home Depot was told by Smith to "remain neutral in the culture war."
Remain neutral? Why should they? The churches aren't remaining neutral. Fortunately, the chairman of Home Depot, Frank Blake, pretty much told Smith and the AFA to shove it up their backsides. I applaud Blake and Home Depot.
They pulled the same stunt with McDonald's because it joined the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce, and the AFA has been boycotting Ford for the last two years because they advertise in gay media. Now they're boycotting Disney for its "embrace of the homosexual lifestyle."
Fortunately, none of these companies are backing down or giving in to this religious zealotry ... good for them!
Religion needs to stay out of politics and out of business. Believe what you want, but these people need to stop trying to force everyone else to believe the same things. I'm tired of them pretending this is a theocracy.
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Post by lakhota on Jun 30, 2011 0:58:48 GMT -5
Amen, Shirina! You obviously get it. I'm glad Virgil took the opportunity to get on his little soapbox again.
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Virgil Showlion
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Post by Virgil Showlion on Jun 30, 2011 1:38:24 GMT -5
Because they'll be boycotted otherwise? But just so I'm clear... In a thread about militant Christians, you explain how non-violent advocacy (legislation, boycotts, etc.) is either illegal or ineffective, and that any kind of advocacy whatsoever on moral or religious grounds is unconstitutional. I doubt anyone here could engineer a more compelling reason pro militant Christianity, madam. My hat's off to you. It's a passive boycott of companies that (putatively) promote immoral lifestyles. The fact that you're labeling immorality as "promoting diversity" and conscientious objection as "religious zealotry" doesn't mean a hill of beans to the people you're trying to convince.
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Virgil Showlion
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Post by Virgil Showlion on Jun 30, 2011 1:50:44 GMT -5
Ah, Lak. Your counterarguments are always so profound, erudite, and nonexistent.
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Shirina
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Post by Shirina on Jun 30, 2011 2:26:21 GMT -5
Uh, no, Virgil, that's not what I'm saying.
What I'm saying is that what they are non-violently advocating FOR is unconstitutional. I am sick to DEATH of religion always needing a victim, someone to persecute, someone to hate, someone to point a finger at and exclaim, "Look at their immorality!" You can see this throughout history, almost from the dawn of Christianity itself. It's disgusting.
The disgust is even more profound knowing that a goodly number of these armchair preachers will make a pretty speech about family values and the immorality of homosexuals then turn around, go home, and beat on or cheat on their spouses or even have a secret illicit affair with a same-sex partner. All of this screaming about gays smells suspiciously like a group eager to point out the flaws in someone else so as to mask their own flaws. You know what they say about slivers and planks in a person's eye.
I don't want to be forced by law to adhere to someone ELSE'S religious belief. Just how difficult is that to understand?
You can believe in all the Bronze Age superstitions you want to. That's your call. Just keep them the hell out of MY life.
What a thoroughly ridiculous thing to say, especially with it being based on an inaccurate reading of my post.
And I don't give a hill of beans about your idea of what "immorality" is, and that goes double when the definition of it comes from a bunch of dusty scrolls found in a hole by a shepherd. Perhaps you would desire for me to use watered down, bland terms like "conscientious objection," but I don't play that game. It is religious zealotry. PERIOD. And I will continue to call it what it is.
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Virgil Showlion
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Post by Virgil Showlion on Jun 30, 2011 11:53:44 GMT -5
Look at it from the perspective of the people whose minds you're trying to change. You're telling them that boycotts, demonstrations, legal maneuvering to protect First Amendment rights are ineffective and just as "disgusting" as militant Christianity as far as you're concerned.
This is the whole notion of morality, madam. You can certainly argue that many so-called "moralists" are hypocrites. I won't argue with you. But not everyone who takes a principled stand on an issue is cheating, wife-beating, closeted homosexual.
Of the cited examples: radicals executing Santa Claus and boycotting businesses; radicals lobbying the government for immunity from "bully" laws; radicals running for city council; radicals harassing sex club patrons--which exactly is you being "forced by law to adhere to someone ELSE'S religious belief"?
I could just as easily say "You can believe in all the global warming superstitions you want to. Just keep your emissions standard out of MY life."
I doubt your live and let live attitude would extend to these circumstances.
I'm saying that your views can't even discern the two. You've made it patently clear that conscientious objection "on religious grounds" doesn't exist in your mind.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 30, 2011 12:32:00 GMT -5
Are you going for one religious thread a day, Lak? You seem to be attracting Virgil, who is a worthy opponent to the most intellectual types. Good....... leaves me little to add, which extends my cyber lifespan on P&M..
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