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Battle Cry Christian Extremist rally at city hall on May 12 at 4pm
This is an essay which goes into detail about the Battlecry Youth gatherings. G.W. Bush is part of this maniacal cult that promotes wars against Muslim countries, with young "christian soldiers" doing the fighting, laws that take away women's rights to make decisions about their bodies, and other anti-sexual and homophobic ideas...
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(San Francisco) "I would execute gays only if we catch them indulging in sodomy,” Gary DeMar, popular Christian evangelical minister is quoted in the December, 2005 issue of Mother Jones. DeMar, who casually condemns millions, envisions sinners in line for the death penalty. [1]
Capital Punishment for Sinners
Gary DeMar stated he’d execute gays only if they were caught indulging in sodomy, but others envision sinners in line for the death penalty would include women who commit adultery or lie about their virginity, blasphemers, witches, children who strike their parents, and gay men. Thus, DeMar is considered somewhat of a liberal in this extreme authoritarian movement.
Gary DeMar is not a fringe Christian. He is in the same realm with Mainstream Extremist Christian leaders such as Televangelist Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell. DeMar is leader of the Restore America Rally, head of American Vision and one of the most prolific publishers of the movement.
Katherine Yurika writes in The YurikaReport.com "The Despoiling of America"[2] “As Antonin Scalia, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court explains, the Bible teaches and Christians believe ‘...that Government.....derives its moral authority from God. Government is the ‘minister of God’ with powers to ‘revenge,’ to ‘execute wrath,’ including even wrath by the sword...’”
Observing the NeoCon Christian Crusaders
I’ve scrutinized these NeoCon Christian crusaders very closely since 1999 when I realized for certain G.W. Bush was one of them. Horrified, I decided I would go to their inside circles and debate them on key issues, mainly about Jesus' complete prohibition of violence and how they could justify war.
I accepted an invitation to go with Dr. Charles Stanley’s In Touch Ministry on a cruise to Alaska [3] to help a friend with her five-year old daughter and so I could have a deeper look inside the mentality of these people who seemed to me to have gotten Jesus’ message all wrong, yet were claiming to be his most dedicated followers.
I discovered many of these people believe the vast majority of Americans, especially anyone disobeying God's laws, earn God’s wrath by their licentious and undisciplined lives. They believe "The government is put in power by God and if you question the government you are questioning God. So don't, in a nutshell." This was their faithful response when questioned about Bush’s ethics, "He is a Believer,” implying immediate allegiance is expected.
I received identical answers from virtually everyone. They were all plugged in and connected to the same belief structure as Dr. Charles Stanley, Rush Limbaugh and others. The media dominance of these fanatical extremist types means they can put out their messages in customized brain washing packages. They utilize all means of modern communication to spread their message. This version of “Pop Christianity” is now sweeping the country with its mind, heart and sex controlling traps.
To answer my question about the war in Iraq and pointing out that "there were some 100,000 casualties in this war led by a self proclaimed Christian,” Stanley and his followers proclaim defensively and somewhat eerily "we are not fighting people, we are fighting Satan and Evildoers," and "George Bush claimed God counseled him to go to war for our country and furthermore, sometimes God favors war.” Charles Stanley boasted repeatedly about G.W Bush being his good friend and intimate prayer partner.
Famous Right Wing Christian stars such as Pat Robertson, Billy and Franklin Graham, Dr. Charles Stanley, Ted Haggard, James Dobson, John Ashcroft, Jerry Falwell, Tom DeLay, Gary DeMar, Tim LeHay, author of the bestselling End Times Apocalypse "fiction" series and others, are moving aggressively into the arena of recruiting youth from pre-teens into early adulthood.
Reconstructionist/Dominionism Thinking at the Root
This group of Christians is aligned with Dominionist [2] [4] ideology. The father of the Christian Reconstructionist/Dominionist movement is Rousas Rushdooney who believed we should “...subdue all things, and all nations to Christ and his law word.” Dominionists believe, according to
Gary DeMar “The reign of Christ...is meant to subdue every enemy of righteousness.” Domininists believe “non-Christians cannot rule themselves and must be excluded from government under God’s law.”
They also believe, according to the Texas GOP, the only legitimate functions of the State are: 1. Restraining evil, 2. Punishing evil, 3. Protecting the law abiding and 4. Defending the nation.
They believe a government controlled and funded welfare system is unbiblical. Scripture makes
it clear; God is provider, not the State.
Wikepedia defines Christian Reconstructionism as follows: In the terminology of Christian Reconstructionism, theonomy is the idea that in the Bible, God provides the basis of both personal and social ethics. In that context, the term is always used in antithesis to autonomy, which is the idea that self provides the basis of ethics. Theonomic ethics asserts that, the Bible has been given as the abiding standard for all human government: individual, family, church and civil; and that, Biblical Law must be incorporated into a Christian theory of Biblical ethics.
Puritan, Calvinist, Protestant, and Catholic theologies are the roots of the umbrella of Dominionist thinking. It is the far Christian right, with the common thread of the belief of the inclusion of the military state with free market corporate influence, which is the type of Christianity in question. Dominionist theory seeks to utilize "justified" violence, including judicial dominance and state sponsored military might, to enforce the perspective of a literal biblical world order.
In addition, Leo Strauss, Jewish philosopher, has brought a neoconservative movement idealizing a Machiavellian model of governance. It is similar to and therefore linked to Dominionism. These models join with the violent, extremist branch of Islam to form a triplet Dominionist world view. Strauss,
Neoconservative guru, requires his disciples to take leadership of religious organizations. For example, Donald Rumsfield, Dick Chency and Paul Wolfowitz are all disciples of Strauss.
The neoconservative dictate utilizes Machiavellian principles to purposely despoil [2] in order to control. To despoil means to render something so fully into disorder or chaos that the “governed” people can do nothing but writhe in misery trying to survive. People in this position offer no resistance to the Despot attempting to rule with, in this case, a biblical iron fist.
These extremists are gaining momentum to further cement their takeover of the separate branches of government: the U.S. House, Senate, judiciary and Executive. Two more anti-choice Christian extremist Justices have just been confirmed to the Supreme Court. Bush said in a fundraising letter in March, 2005 “We need common sense judges who understand that our rights are derived from God. Those are the kind of judges I intend to put on the bench.”
Thirteen states have considered or are considering abortion bans. Two hundred ninety more anti-choice federal candidates are running for office this November. It is the mid-term elections which give rise to the greatest opportunity to gain seats in the government.
Pat Robertson set out with the goal to take control of the Republican Party from the bottom up. With the Christian Coalition in 1994, a watershed year, they distributed 40 million voter guides in 100,000 churches.
These people state from the onset, God's regents should take Dominion of the land and enforce God's Law. They consider themselves God’s freelancers. In Revelations, we learn they believe the annihilation of the earth will force the return of the Messiah. All "believers" will rapture up to heaven. Hence, the drive for the lost lambs because they don’t think there is much time left.
These "Rapturists" are energetically trying to force their angry and murderous God's hand by creating the destructive, life denying conditions on Earth to force their god to act and destroy the world utterly by their promiscuous use of radioactive uranium, [5] [6] It is an orgy of violence as they scatter disease, death and wanton destruction throughout the world in the form of unending imperial wars.
They are working backwards to engineer a gigantic Holocaust killing billions of people and destroying the planet on purpose. The idea is that the sooner the earth is destroyed, the sooner the return of Jesus and the Kingdom of God. [7] Therefore, it makes no difference if we use up all of the resourses of the planet since God is returning. (And what rough beast, its hour come round at last, slouches toward Bethlehem to be born? Yeats, “The Second Coming.”)
The Holy Land and Mesopotamia Lay in Waste
The Iraqi people are privy to being located in the eye of the “Apocalypse”. In Salam Pax’s, The Clandestine Diary of an Ordinary Iraqi, [8] Salam states in his blog entry of Wednesday, 9 October 2002, “Now this next article is grrrreat. I bet you haven’t read something like it during all this media-on-war block party.”
“But there is one other little-known scenario, based on the American leadership’s theological belief system. Bush, Vice-President Dick Cheney and Attorney-General John Ashcroft are all self-professed Evangelical or Born-Again Christians, and like their co-religionists could well believe in the Bible’s end-time prophecies to the letter. Such Messianic prophecies include the stipulation that before the Messiah can return to earth, there will be a major East-West war and the Jews must rebuild their temple in Jerusalem.”[9]
Salam concludes “You see, they are preparing for the return of the Messiah. It’s the end times scenario, stupid! I wonder if anyone has bought the film rights yet”.
Thousands of tons of genocidal weaponized uranium gas was dropped on Iraq in the five week 2003 “Shock and Awe” bombing campaign alone. From Bob Nichols’ Project Censored [6] article we learn: “Civilian populations in Afghanistan and Iraq and occupying troops have been contaminated with astounding levels of radioactive uranium weapons as a result of post-9/11 United States’ use of thousands of tons of uranium munitions. Researchers say surrounding countries have already received the fallout as well.”
“Most American weapons (bullets, land mines, tank shells, dumb bombs, smart bombs, missiles, cruise missiles, etc.) contain high amounts of radioactive uranium. These types of uranium weapons, on detonation, release a radioactive gas and dust which, when inhaled, goes into the body and stays there. It has a life of 45 billion years. Basically, it’s a permanent and deadly radioactive contaminant, distributed in the environment, where dust storms or any water nearby can disperse it. Once ingested, it releases subatomic particles that literally slice through DNA.”
To sum up, radioactive rubble lasts for eternity and now lies permanently over the Middle East and the world. [10]
End Times Ideology
These Dominionist minded "Christians" are contributing to the belief in the End Times of Revelations in the form of unending wars. They are purposely using lies to lead us into these violent missions for “God”. They are encouraging the Revelations symptoms by believing they exist, therefore consciously and unconsciously contributing to them.
Domionists believe that large scale world war, famine, natural disasters, and the view that varying expressions of personal sexuality are perversion and must exist if their version of the bible is true. They are creating a demented circular argument and self-fulfilling prophesy.
I learned through research the trend toward Dominionist thinking has been in motion since the founding of the United States. Its upsurge over the past three decades is largely due to these Christo-fascists fighting the Equal Rights Amendment! This, along with the utilization of television and radio, is what is responsible for the acquisition of the enormous power they now wield.
After having whittled away at women's right to choose, they strive to enforce the relinquishment of the right of sovereignty over our bodies by working to overturn Roe vs. Wade and making it difficult, already, if not impossible, to obtain abortions, especially in the red states. They assert they will deny all women the legal right to reproductive freedom.
I discovered this secretive Christian cult thinking controls the actions of the White House and sets the agenda for the whole nation. This agenda, like a coup, has re-claimed the so-called “original intentions” of the founders of the United States for it to be a "Christian Nation”. [11]
Persecution is a compliment and a sign of following in Jesus’ footsteps
Dissent is a given, persecution is seen as a compliment or confirmation of following in Jesus’ footsteps of crucifixion.
Ever wonder why George Bush looks so proud, smug and arrogant in the face of his current 70% disapproval rating? The bible writes in its own free ticket to be happy if people yell at you. From the bible one is instructed to expect persecution. It is the religious right’s loophole from accountability for the rising tide of distress the public naturally exhibits in response. Justified fingers are pointed at “evildoers”, while military “solutions”, pushing Armageddon, are pursued.
Tom Delay received a standing ovation at the “War on Christians” conference, reports The Washington Post of March 29, 2006. [12] Speaking of DeLay’s forced resignation due to his affiliation with lobbyist Jack Abramoff, Rick Scarborough, convener of the conference said “I believe the most damaging thing that
Tom DeLay has done in his life is take his faith seriously into public office, which made him a target for all those who despise the cause of Christ.
When DeLay finished speaking Scarborough said to him,” God always does his best work right after a crucifixion.” DeLay basked in the rapturous ovation that followed. “Keep your eyes on Jesus,” Scarborough called after the fallen leader as he departed the stage. If the left thinks that the right is embarrassed or ashamed for the Abramoff scandal, they are wrong. It is proving to them that God’s “chosen ones” will be persecuted.
Peter Perl writes in his article in the Washingon Post April 9, 2006 titled “DeLay’s Next Mission From God.” “DeLay may be leaving Congress, but he will be back with a vengeance, in a new and potentially more powerful role, because he is a ferociously determined man who believes he is on a politico-religious mission from God.”
Christianity packaged into youth enticing, easy to swallow pills.
As the extremist Muslims recruit their youth, recounted by Salam Pax in his diary, so do the Christians. With the packaging of Christianity into the Pop youth culture of feel good rock concerts [13], they are selling redemption, during and after life, to the impressionable, sexually developing and questioning, fearful youth of our times. This coalition of emotionally crippled Christians creates "Teen Mania” [14] to redirect the natural sexual development of the youth to a militaristic style movement.
Uncertain and impressionable youth are attracted to this psychotic and globally suicidal version of Christianity by its Pop Culture presentation. It’s okay to own the military’s civilian version of the gas guzzler Hummmer. It’s okay to have a gun, but it’s not okay to be sexual. What is this? Selective abstinence? Yes for handling and shooting cold phallic guns! No to the warm intimacy of sex!
When I was on the Christian cruise, I noticed a palatable rigidity among the group. These are people who care a lot about doing the right thing and believe their version of biblical interpretation is correct. They mean well and have convinced themselves they are among the most righteous, perhaps even claiming to be the chosen ones. They are willing to fight to hold onto their version of “truth”.
With that, there is a sense of self-righteousness, there is a fear of doing something wrong, of having the facade crumble. A peculiar tension ensues. Under these dreadful conditions, people seem to develop internal thought police to keep up with the authoritarian rules, which are an integral part of this system. George Orwell would be nauseas, shake his head and say “I told you so.”
My friend who sponsored me on the cruise has a five-year-old daughter. I witnessed her use the reward/punishment, good/bad style of parenting the bible says is required. When I attempted to discuss a mutual respect model of parenting, this is the reply I received "This and like expressions of ‘disobedience’, are proof of our fallen nature, and she is, as all humans are, violent by nature. The belief is that we must discipline with strictness to overcome the inherent evil nature.”
I thought, “spare the rod, spoil the child?” A shiver entered my spine.
I have another friend who is a Fundamentalist Christian. Her teenage son made a serious attempt to commit suicide. She said he claims he is no longer a believer. The thought crossed my mind that perhaps it is likely his fear of his own parents overwhelming disapproval of him if he wasn't a "Christian" likely contributed to his attempted suicide. Or perhaps, the thought of living with this horrific Christian supremacy world view is more than he can bear.
The latest trend these despots are pursuing are Mega youth rally/rock concerts in key cities throughout the United States. The parallels to Hitler’s youth movement and the current day Islamic Madrasahs are disquieting. But this one has a candy coated twist. As the popular movie Matrix asks “Which do you want, the blue pill or the red one?”
To further this trend, a high priority on the Christian agenda is the drive for school vouchers in order to create “Christian” classrooms which teach biblical law. Many of the rallies are staged by faith based initiative sponsored, tax free religious corporations and held in corporate dominated public arenas. Projects of this nature are popping up in many ways, shapes and forms.
The event "Battlecry, Acquire the Fire” [15] is in the disguise of a rock concert. San Francisco's Battlecry event held at Southwestern Bell Corporation (SBC) Park drew twenty five thousand youth for two days. These concerts are being held throughout the country all year long with various different promoters and sponsors. Pop Christian magazines are there to advertise, turning Christianity into pop cultural christolatry and a commodity. [16]
At "Battlecry,” I saw the pumping up of extreme nationalism featuring, among others, the Navy Seals, and an Oakland Raider Quarterback, who all gave Christian testimony and talked of how our government is facing Evil Forces just like the youth are in their personal lives. Ron Luce, [17] leader of the “Battlecry” youth movement, claims the phrase “they are building an army for God" is metaphorical. Military rhetoric and paraphernalia, images of automatic weapons abound in the arena, complete with a Hummer on stage displaying a red revolution style flag, Navy Seals, military fatigues and dog tags. I didn’t think to ask them if the government was paying them to be there to recruit for them or if they signed out for the hummer.
After each pounding rock band is a hard sell pitch from someone giving "biblical guidance" and testimony. It's a giant glitzy "Let's get you all charged with juicy music, all open and happy, then let's plug you into some brain programming" kind of gig.
The facilitators warn the youth “Christ is the ONLY way toward salvation” from the ills of a degraded society and the certain End Times [18] in the foreseeable future. The "Battlecry" tag line is utilizing scripture to produce the implied meaning of "there is a war for your heart and your soul”. The End Times are here and only those proclaiming Christ as their savior will be saved.” One musical artist, Hawk Nelson, titled a song "Smile, the end of the world is here”. [19]
The concourse floor is saturated with hanger-on businesses selling books describing End Time Apocalypse. T-shirts, books, bracelets, ATM (abstinence 'til marriage) mock credit cards, fancy bibles, and Christian rock band paraphernalia abound. Youth in military fatigue is a common sight. Young men wearing shirts with the biblical verse Timothy 2:3 is quoted "Therefore endure hardness, as a soldier of Christ."
T-shirts sporting the “Battlecry” theme quoted scripture, Jeremiah 4:19, "My heart pounds within me, I cannot keep silent, for I have heard the sound of the trumpet, I have heard the Battle Cry.” This is likening the world to the one in which the earth was torn to shreds due to the wrath of God toward his people whose "own conduct and actions have brought this upon them".
Jeremiah 4:10 reads “You have deceived the people of Jerusalem by saying, 'you will have peace, when the sword is at our throats.” This is the announcement of the judgment, by laying waste to the land, against the people for their wickedness. The leaders of this movement then add Revelations apocalyptic metaphors about the End Times, insinuating it is at hand. Now!
Sex phobia and Homophobia
Featured at “Battlecry” was former Miss Black California, Lakita Garth, [20] to speak on bible based abstinance advocacy. Mrs. Garth instructed the youth to not even kiss before marriage and to stay married until death do ye part. Marriage, of course, only being possible between a man and a woman as that is what is deemed appropriate in "God's instruction book.” Divorce is seen as a giant no no.
Mrs. Garth spent a good hour describing the horrors of sexually transmitted diseases, for example: She described advanced untreated herpes in great and gory detail, convincing the youth if they have sex, it is inevitable they will get herpes or another horrific STD. She ostensibly coaches that if they do have sex, they will get an STD, be embarrassed and wish they were dead. Therefore, the “Battlecry” crew proclaims, the youth absolutely must take a vow of abstinence in order to avoid these "plagues".
The dialogue about sexual possibilities is adamantly ignored and shut tight with double-barreled locks. It is a given in this culture to have the attitude "it’s not ok to be gay and if you are, only Christ can fix you.” Millions of dollars are being funneled by the Bush Administration to “faith based organizations” to teach abstinence only based sex education to public middle school students and third world countries.
The April 10, 2006 Los Angeles Times reports: “The religious right aims to overturn a broad range of common tolerance programs: diversity training that promotes acceptance of gays and lesbians, speech codes that ban harsh words against homosexuality and anti-discrimination policies that require college clubs to open their membership to all.” [21]
In Carmichael, California, in April, just three weeks after the Battlecry event in San Francisco, The World Can’t Wait organization was contacted by distressed students at the high school to ask for support in combating a rage of Christian homosexual hatred that has surfaced. The Christian students have begun bringing signs denouncing homosexuality as “sinful”. At the core of Dominionist philosophy is the biblically based belief that homosexuality is unequivocally wrong.
This onslaught of hate directed at diversity of sexual expression on a daily basis is devastating to the cultural climate of society to an extremely dangerous degree. Case in point: In Kansas, the Rev. Fred Phelps and his Westboro Baptist Church have been picketing services for dead soldiers and the veterans' hospitals.
Members of the Topeka church are picketing at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., and carrying signs that say, "Thank God for maimed soldiers." "America's doom is now irreversible," the church said in one statement. "All the resources of a Sovereign God are now devoted to cursing this Land of the Sodomite Damned."
Phelps and his followers believe soldiers' deaths and serious injuries in Iraq and Afghanistan are God's punishment for the United States tolerating homosexuality, and they're promising to protest outside every Veteran’s Administration hospital.
Phelp's church said the United States faced "the white-hot wrath of God" for tolerating homosexuality and persecuting Westboro Baptist. The church cited a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in 2003 striking down a Texas anti-sodomy law as "a fateful line" the nation crossed. Not only do they want sodomy laws, but ultimately what they seek are death penalties. In other words, they want blood.
Pat Robertson claimed on his TV show “The 700 Club,” that Katrina was probably God's way of showing wrath for all the sexual promiscuity going on in New Orleans. Condoleezza Rice stated in a church in Louisiana after Katrina hit, the hurricane was a good thing, “it meant Jesus was coming soon.”
Dr. Condoleezza Rice is the United States National Security Advisor. On January 28, 2005, President Bush attended Dr. Rice's swearing-in ceremony as the 66th Secretary of State.
This is the sort of sadistic, homophobic and religiously fanatic attitude that we see when persons of strict "faith" try to jam their literal biblical views onto the lives of others through means of the judiciary.
In the afternoon before the event began on Friday, March 24, leader of Battlecry, Ron Luce, a Bush appointee to the Anti-drug Task Force [22] called for a special press conference and rally on the steps of San Francisco's City Hall.
The Battle Cry invitation to teenagers, on their website, made plain the symbolism of gathering in San Francisco for a pre-event rally was “on the very same steps where just months ago gay people were married”. Members of the resistance added, “This is the same City Hall in which a right wing Catholic assassinated a mayor and a gay supervisor.” [23]
Luce claims the reason for this action is so the youth may proclaim their taking a stand for “Biblical values” in response to a degraded culture where gangs, violence, drugs and excessive sex are prevalent. Many believe this is code for wanting to entrench Biblical values into the judicial system. Is this behavior not on the road to Kansas Phelps’ land?
Resistance in California
San Mateo Peace Action, San Mateo County Green Party, War Resisters League West , American Atheists, The World Can't Wait, Code Pink members, and many people from the San Francisco Lesbian and Gay community converged in uproarious protest. [24] The World Can’t Wait [25] organization is taking a major lead in the peace activism community to initiate further protest against extremist Christianity, especially among youth.
San Francisco Board of Supervisors’ Tom Ammiano and Californa State Assemblyman Mark Leno proclaimed an official citywide condemnation of “Battlecry” on the basis of the homophobic rhetoric on its website. Their “homosexuality is wrong” stance clearly demonstrates an adamant lack of toleration of sexual diversity and promotes a hate filled public homophobic [26] public response. They are contaminating the commons with hate inducing attitudes. Our society is in extreme danger as a consequence.
Journalist Bob Nichols, Project Censored [6] Award Winner, states in his October. 12, 2005 article
“US Military, President out of Control.”
“In the famous Nuremberg War Crimes Trials, established after World War II to try Nazi War Criminals and assess their guilt and punishment, the Chief Prosecutor said of the German people something that applies directly to Americans today. He speaks knowingly and directly across more than 50 years of time to resolutely instruct American Citizens on exactly what our duty is today, right now:"
"Individuals have international duties which transcend the national obligations of obedience…therefore have the duty to violate domestic laws to prevent crimes against peace and humanity from occurring."
- Nuremberg Tribunal, 1950
Nichols goes on to say, "The statement was affirmed by the Nuremberg Tribunal. It is now international law and by extension, American Law. It is our duty as Americans. The fascist government controlling America and the US Military can no longer be allowed to exist. The world and international law holds us all accountable, and the price is dear ".
Maniacal Cult
On the "Bill O'Reilly" Show, Ron Luce, when debating Sunsara Taylor [27] of The World Can't Wait the day after the protest, claimed the “Battlecry” warrior theme is a metaphor for the spiritual war humanity is facing. Luce is not, at least publicly, admitting the societal consequences of the meanings of this
guns = glory metaphorical mandate.
Pat Robertson sharply criticized the city of San Francisco for condemning "Battlecry" as well and showed the protest on the steps of city hall on his 700 club TV show. Whistleblowers Katherine Yurika, in her Yurika report [2] and Joan Bokaer of Theocracy Watch[4] draw a line from Pat Robertson's televangelical beginnings in the 1970's to the rise of this fascist type of Christianity.
This is the very same bloody artery of Religious tradition that G.W. Bush is connected to. Think of it! The person in charge of our entire country is caught up in a maniacal cult!
[End.]
Debra Schaffer Hubert is a peace and social justice activist. She is exposing and instigating nonviolent direct action confrontation of the right wing Christian extremist movement. She encourages interested potential allies to e-mail her at dshubert [at] gmail.com
Notes:
1. December, 2005 issue of Mother Jones, “A Nation under God.”
2. Katherine Yurika, Yurkia Report, News Intelligence Analysis, “The Despoiling of America, How George W. Bush became the head of the new American Dominionist Church/State. February 11, 2004 YurikaReport.com "The Despoiling of America"
3. Dr. Charles Stanley, In Touch Ministries http://www.intouch.org/
4. Theocracy Watch, Center for Religion, Ethics and Social Policy, Cornell University. A must see is http://www.theocracywatch.org for an in-depth analysis and historical perspective of how the Christian Extremists, with the leadership of Pat Robertson and Ralph Reed in the early 90’s, took working control of the Republican Party. A must see is “Are We Becoming a Theocracy?" Joan Bokaer's talk at the New York Open Center, recorded April 29, 2005.
5. Leuren Moret, “The Queens Death Star,” Support the Truth , Dennis Kyne, http://www.Dennis Kyne.com
6. Bob Nichols, August, "US Military, President Out of Control, What does 'Mildly Radioactive' Mean, Anyway?" http://tinyurl.com/lhsxq and http://tinyurl.com/qdasf
Project Censored http://www.projectcensored.org http://www.projectcensored.org/publications/2005/4.html
7. Stephenie Hendricks, Dominionism: 'Wise use,' dominion theology, and the making of American environmental policy.
8. Salam Pax, “The Clandestine Diary of an Ordinary Iraqi”, 2003 Grove Press, NY. The quote on the first page of Salam's Diary reads - "The West won the world not by the superiority of its ideas or values or religion but rather by its superiority in applying organized violence. Westerners often forget this fact, non-Westerners never do." Samuel P. Huntington
9. Might Sharon Nuke Iraq? How Things Could Go Bad, Very Bad” (2 October 2002) by Linda S. Heard at http://www.Counterpunch.org.
10. http://www.rense.com/general70/deathmde.htm
11. We Will Pray for Election Day, Thomas Freiling and Michael Klassen, Pg. 111,“Read America’s founding documents.” Go to http://www.WallBuilders.com to see how they claim the United States was meant to be a “Christian” Nation.
12. Washington Post, Dana Milbank, March 29, 2006. “ DeLay a Star at ‘War on Christians’ Conference.”
13. http://www.battlecry.com and http://www.harvest.org/crusades/
14. Teen Mania http://www.teenmania.com
15. The ATF symbol is used on Battlecry merchandise including posters which show youth with automatic weapons. This picture was taken at San Francisco’s Battlecry event on March 24, 2006.
16. Christian Music Planet is published six times per year by Educational Media Foundation, Inc, a nonprofit organization recognized for tax-deductible giving by the federal government. wwwChrisiianMusicPlanet.com
CCM Christian Music Magazine http://www.ccmmagazine.com/
17. Luce is an addict who formerly used cocaine, and now claims to be clean and sober, through Christ.
18. Tim LeHaye, author of the Bestselling series Left Behind Series http://www.leftbehind.com/
19. Hawk Nelson, “Smile, its the end of the world.” ww.hawknelson.com
20. Lakita Garth, http://www.lakitagarth.com Garth is the proprietor of “No Ringy, No Dingy” Abstinance ‘Til Marriage mock credit Cards and educational material.
21. http://www.religiousheadlines.org
22. In March 2003, Ron Luce was recognized as a national voice on teen issues and appointed by George W. Bush to the White House Advisory Commission on Drug-Free Communities. The eleven-member commission was established in 1989 to provide input and expertise on the Drug-Free Communities Program.
23. Referring to the assassination of San Francisco Board of Supervisor Harvey Milk and Mayor George Moscone in 1978 by Catholic right wing extremist Dan White.
24. San Francisco Bay Guardian, March 27, 2006, “Christian Soldiers throw down in SF”, San Francisco Chronicle Saturday, March 25, 2006, “Evangelical Teens Rally in SF,” San Francisco Bay Times
March 30, 2006 “BattleCry Fundies Invade the City – So What?”
25. http://www.worldcantwait.net/ Read the World Can’t Wait’s call to drive out the Bush regime which talks about the theocracy in the United States.
26. Homophobia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homophobia
27. Sunsara Taylor’s blog spot Sunsara’s World. http://www.sunsara.blogspot.com/ Be sure to check out the video of Bill O’Reilly’s interview with Sunsara and shots of the Battlecry protest on the steps of City Hall in San Francisco.
Capital Punishment for Sinners
Gary DeMar stated he’d execute gays only if they were caught indulging in sodomy, but others envision sinners in line for the death penalty would include women who commit adultery or lie about their virginity, blasphemers, witches, children who strike their parents, and gay men. Thus, DeMar is considered somewhat of a liberal in this extreme authoritarian movement.
Gary DeMar is not a fringe Christian. He is in the same realm with Mainstream Extremist Christian leaders such as Televangelist Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell. DeMar is leader of the Restore America Rally, head of American Vision and one of the most prolific publishers of the movement.
Katherine Yurika writes in The YurikaReport.com "The Despoiling of America"[2] “As Antonin Scalia, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court explains, the Bible teaches and Christians believe ‘...that Government.....derives its moral authority from God. Government is the ‘minister of God’ with powers to ‘revenge,’ to ‘execute wrath,’ including even wrath by the sword...’”
Observing the NeoCon Christian Crusaders
I’ve scrutinized these NeoCon Christian crusaders very closely since 1999 when I realized for certain G.W. Bush was one of them. Horrified, I decided I would go to their inside circles and debate them on key issues, mainly about Jesus' complete prohibition of violence and how they could justify war.
I accepted an invitation to go with Dr. Charles Stanley’s In Touch Ministry on a cruise to Alaska [3] to help a friend with her five-year old daughter and so I could have a deeper look inside the mentality of these people who seemed to me to have gotten Jesus’ message all wrong, yet were claiming to be his most dedicated followers.
I discovered many of these people believe the vast majority of Americans, especially anyone disobeying God's laws, earn God’s wrath by their licentious and undisciplined lives. They believe "The government is put in power by God and if you question the government you are questioning God. So don't, in a nutshell." This was their faithful response when questioned about Bush’s ethics, "He is a Believer,” implying immediate allegiance is expected.
I received identical answers from virtually everyone. They were all plugged in and connected to the same belief structure as Dr. Charles Stanley, Rush Limbaugh and others. The media dominance of these fanatical extremist types means they can put out their messages in customized brain washing packages. They utilize all means of modern communication to spread their message. This version of “Pop Christianity” is now sweeping the country with its mind, heart and sex controlling traps.
To answer my question about the war in Iraq and pointing out that "there were some 100,000 casualties in this war led by a self proclaimed Christian,” Stanley and his followers proclaim defensively and somewhat eerily "we are not fighting people, we are fighting Satan and Evildoers," and "George Bush claimed God counseled him to go to war for our country and furthermore, sometimes God favors war.” Charles Stanley boasted repeatedly about G.W Bush being his good friend and intimate prayer partner.
Famous Right Wing Christian stars such as Pat Robertson, Billy and Franklin Graham, Dr. Charles Stanley, Ted Haggard, James Dobson, John Ashcroft, Jerry Falwell, Tom DeLay, Gary DeMar, Tim LeHay, author of the bestselling End Times Apocalypse "fiction" series and others, are moving aggressively into the arena of recruiting youth from pre-teens into early adulthood.
Reconstructionist/Dominionism Thinking at the Root
This group of Christians is aligned with Dominionist [2] [4] ideology. The father of the Christian Reconstructionist/Dominionist movement is Rousas Rushdooney who believed we should “...subdue all things, and all nations to Christ and his law word.” Dominionists believe, according to
Gary DeMar “The reign of Christ...is meant to subdue every enemy of righteousness.” Domininists believe “non-Christians cannot rule themselves and must be excluded from government under God’s law.”
They also believe, according to the Texas GOP, the only legitimate functions of the State are: 1. Restraining evil, 2. Punishing evil, 3. Protecting the law abiding and 4. Defending the nation.
They believe a government controlled and funded welfare system is unbiblical. Scripture makes
it clear; God is provider, not the State.
Wikepedia defines Christian Reconstructionism as follows: In the terminology of Christian Reconstructionism, theonomy is the idea that in the Bible, God provides the basis of both personal and social ethics. In that context, the term is always used in antithesis to autonomy, which is the idea that self provides the basis of ethics. Theonomic ethics asserts that, the Bible has been given as the abiding standard for all human government: individual, family, church and civil; and that, Biblical Law must be incorporated into a Christian theory of Biblical ethics.
Puritan, Calvinist, Protestant, and Catholic theologies are the roots of the umbrella of Dominionist thinking. It is the far Christian right, with the common thread of the belief of the inclusion of the military state with free market corporate influence, which is the type of Christianity in question. Dominionist theory seeks to utilize "justified" violence, including judicial dominance and state sponsored military might, to enforce the perspective of a literal biblical world order.
In addition, Leo Strauss, Jewish philosopher, has brought a neoconservative movement idealizing a Machiavellian model of governance. It is similar to and therefore linked to Dominionism. These models join with the violent, extremist branch of Islam to form a triplet Dominionist world view. Strauss,
Neoconservative guru, requires his disciples to take leadership of religious organizations. For example, Donald Rumsfield, Dick Chency and Paul Wolfowitz are all disciples of Strauss.
The neoconservative dictate utilizes Machiavellian principles to purposely despoil [2] in order to control. To despoil means to render something so fully into disorder or chaos that the “governed” people can do nothing but writhe in misery trying to survive. People in this position offer no resistance to the Despot attempting to rule with, in this case, a biblical iron fist.
These extremists are gaining momentum to further cement their takeover of the separate branches of government: the U.S. House, Senate, judiciary and Executive. Two more anti-choice Christian extremist Justices have just been confirmed to the Supreme Court. Bush said in a fundraising letter in March, 2005 “We need common sense judges who understand that our rights are derived from God. Those are the kind of judges I intend to put on the bench.”
Thirteen states have considered or are considering abortion bans. Two hundred ninety more anti-choice federal candidates are running for office this November. It is the mid-term elections which give rise to the greatest opportunity to gain seats in the government.
Pat Robertson set out with the goal to take control of the Republican Party from the bottom up. With the Christian Coalition in 1994, a watershed year, they distributed 40 million voter guides in 100,000 churches.
These people state from the onset, God's regents should take Dominion of the land and enforce God's Law. They consider themselves God’s freelancers. In Revelations, we learn they believe the annihilation of the earth will force the return of the Messiah. All "believers" will rapture up to heaven. Hence, the drive for the lost lambs because they don’t think there is much time left.
These "Rapturists" are energetically trying to force their angry and murderous God's hand by creating the destructive, life denying conditions on Earth to force their god to act and destroy the world utterly by their promiscuous use of radioactive uranium, [5] [6] It is an orgy of violence as they scatter disease, death and wanton destruction throughout the world in the form of unending imperial wars.
They are working backwards to engineer a gigantic Holocaust killing billions of people and destroying the planet on purpose. The idea is that the sooner the earth is destroyed, the sooner the return of Jesus and the Kingdom of God. [7] Therefore, it makes no difference if we use up all of the resourses of the planet since God is returning. (And what rough beast, its hour come round at last, slouches toward Bethlehem to be born? Yeats, “The Second Coming.”)
The Holy Land and Mesopotamia Lay in Waste
The Iraqi people are privy to being located in the eye of the “Apocalypse”. In Salam Pax’s, The Clandestine Diary of an Ordinary Iraqi, [8] Salam states in his blog entry of Wednesday, 9 October 2002, “Now this next article is grrrreat. I bet you haven’t read something like it during all this media-on-war block party.”
“But there is one other little-known scenario, based on the American leadership’s theological belief system. Bush, Vice-President Dick Cheney and Attorney-General John Ashcroft are all self-professed Evangelical or Born-Again Christians, and like their co-religionists could well believe in the Bible’s end-time prophecies to the letter. Such Messianic prophecies include the stipulation that before the Messiah can return to earth, there will be a major East-West war and the Jews must rebuild their temple in Jerusalem.”[9]
Salam concludes “You see, they are preparing for the return of the Messiah. It’s the end times scenario, stupid! I wonder if anyone has bought the film rights yet”.
Thousands of tons of genocidal weaponized uranium gas was dropped on Iraq in the five week 2003 “Shock and Awe” bombing campaign alone. From Bob Nichols’ Project Censored [6] article we learn: “Civilian populations in Afghanistan and Iraq and occupying troops have been contaminated with astounding levels of radioactive uranium weapons as a result of post-9/11 United States’ use of thousands of tons of uranium munitions. Researchers say surrounding countries have already received the fallout as well.”
“Most American weapons (bullets, land mines, tank shells, dumb bombs, smart bombs, missiles, cruise missiles, etc.) contain high amounts of radioactive uranium. These types of uranium weapons, on detonation, release a radioactive gas and dust which, when inhaled, goes into the body and stays there. It has a life of 45 billion years. Basically, it’s a permanent and deadly radioactive contaminant, distributed in the environment, where dust storms or any water nearby can disperse it. Once ingested, it releases subatomic particles that literally slice through DNA.”
To sum up, radioactive rubble lasts for eternity and now lies permanently over the Middle East and the world. [10]
End Times Ideology
These Dominionist minded "Christians" are contributing to the belief in the End Times of Revelations in the form of unending wars. They are purposely using lies to lead us into these violent missions for “God”. They are encouraging the Revelations symptoms by believing they exist, therefore consciously and unconsciously contributing to them.
Domionists believe that large scale world war, famine, natural disasters, and the view that varying expressions of personal sexuality are perversion and must exist if their version of the bible is true. They are creating a demented circular argument and self-fulfilling prophesy.
I learned through research the trend toward Dominionist thinking has been in motion since the founding of the United States. Its upsurge over the past three decades is largely due to these Christo-fascists fighting the Equal Rights Amendment! This, along with the utilization of television and radio, is what is responsible for the acquisition of the enormous power they now wield.
After having whittled away at women's right to choose, they strive to enforce the relinquishment of the right of sovereignty over our bodies by working to overturn Roe vs. Wade and making it difficult, already, if not impossible, to obtain abortions, especially in the red states. They assert they will deny all women the legal right to reproductive freedom.
I discovered this secretive Christian cult thinking controls the actions of the White House and sets the agenda for the whole nation. This agenda, like a coup, has re-claimed the so-called “original intentions” of the founders of the United States for it to be a "Christian Nation”. [11]
Persecution is a compliment and a sign of following in Jesus’ footsteps
Dissent is a given, persecution is seen as a compliment or confirmation of following in Jesus’ footsteps of crucifixion.
Ever wonder why George Bush looks so proud, smug and arrogant in the face of his current 70% disapproval rating? The bible writes in its own free ticket to be happy if people yell at you. From the bible one is instructed to expect persecution. It is the religious right’s loophole from accountability for the rising tide of distress the public naturally exhibits in response. Justified fingers are pointed at “evildoers”, while military “solutions”, pushing Armageddon, are pursued.
Tom Delay received a standing ovation at the “War on Christians” conference, reports The Washington Post of March 29, 2006. [12] Speaking of DeLay’s forced resignation due to his affiliation with lobbyist Jack Abramoff, Rick Scarborough, convener of the conference said “I believe the most damaging thing that
Tom DeLay has done in his life is take his faith seriously into public office, which made him a target for all those who despise the cause of Christ.
When DeLay finished speaking Scarborough said to him,” God always does his best work right after a crucifixion.” DeLay basked in the rapturous ovation that followed. “Keep your eyes on Jesus,” Scarborough called after the fallen leader as he departed the stage. If the left thinks that the right is embarrassed or ashamed for the Abramoff scandal, they are wrong. It is proving to them that God’s “chosen ones” will be persecuted.
Peter Perl writes in his article in the Washingon Post April 9, 2006 titled “DeLay’s Next Mission From God.” “DeLay may be leaving Congress, but he will be back with a vengeance, in a new and potentially more powerful role, because he is a ferociously determined man who believes he is on a politico-religious mission from God.”
Christianity packaged into youth enticing, easy to swallow pills.
As the extremist Muslims recruit their youth, recounted by Salam Pax in his diary, so do the Christians. With the packaging of Christianity into the Pop youth culture of feel good rock concerts [13], they are selling redemption, during and after life, to the impressionable, sexually developing and questioning, fearful youth of our times. This coalition of emotionally crippled Christians creates "Teen Mania” [14] to redirect the natural sexual development of the youth to a militaristic style movement.
Uncertain and impressionable youth are attracted to this psychotic and globally suicidal version of Christianity by its Pop Culture presentation. It’s okay to own the military’s civilian version of the gas guzzler Hummmer. It’s okay to have a gun, but it’s not okay to be sexual. What is this? Selective abstinence? Yes for handling and shooting cold phallic guns! No to the warm intimacy of sex!
When I was on the Christian cruise, I noticed a palatable rigidity among the group. These are people who care a lot about doing the right thing and believe their version of biblical interpretation is correct. They mean well and have convinced themselves they are among the most righteous, perhaps even claiming to be the chosen ones. They are willing to fight to hold onto their version of “truth”.
With that, there is a sense of self-righteousness, there is a fear of doing something wrong, of having the facade crumble. A peculiar tension ensues. Under these dreadful conditions, people seem to develop internal thought police to keep up with the authoritarian rules, which are an integral part of this system. George Orwell would be nauseas, shake his head and say “I told you so.”
My friend who sponsored me on the cruise has a five-year-old daughter. I witnessed her use the reward/punishment, good/bad style of parenting the bible says is required. When I attempted to discuss a mutual respect model of parenting, this is the reply I received "This and like expressions of ‘disobedience’, are proof of our fallen nature, and she is, as all humans are, violent by nature. The belief is that we must discipline with strictness to overcome the inherent evil nature.”
I thought, “spare the rod, spoil the child?” A shiver entered my spine.
I have another friend who is a Fundamentalist Christian. Her teenage son made a serious attempt to commit suicide. She said he claims he is no longer a believer. The thought crossed my mind that perhaps it is likely his fear of his own parents overwhelming disapproval of him if he wasn't a "Christian" likely contributed to his attempted suicide. Or perhaps, the thought of living with this horrific Christian supremacy world view is more than he can bear.
The latest trend these despots are pursuing are Mega youth rally/rock concerts in key cities throughout the United States. The parallels to Hitler’s youth movement and the current day Islamic Madrasahs are disquieting. But this one has a candy coated twist. As the popular movie Matrix asks “Which do you want, the blue pill or the red one?”
To further this trend, a high priority on the Christian agenda is the drive for school vouchers in order to create “Christian” classrooms which teach biblical law. Many of the rallies are staged by faith based initiative sponsored, tax free religious corporations and held in corporate dominated public arenas. Projects of this nature are popping up in many ways, shapes and forms.
The event "Battlecry, Acquire the Fire” [15] is in the disguise of a rock concert. San Francisco's Battlecry event held at Southwestern Bell Corporation (SBC) Park drew twenty five thousand youth for two days. These concerts are being held throughout the country all year long with various different promoters and sponsors. Pop Christian magazines are there to advertise, turning Christianity into pop cultural christolatry and a commodity. [16]
At "Battlecry,” I saw the pumping up of extreme nationalism featuring, among others, the Navy Seals, and an Oakland Raider Quarterback, who all gave Christian testimony and talked of how our government is facing Evil Forces just like the youth are in their personal lives. Ron Luce, [17] leader of the “Battlecry” youth movement, claims the phrase “they are building an army for God" is metaphorical. Military rhetoric and paraphernalia, images of automatic weapons abound in the arena, complete with a Hummer on stage displaying a red revolution style flag, Navy Seals, military fatigues and dog tags. I didn’t think to ask them if the government was paying them to be there to recruit for them or if they signed out for the hummer.
After each pounding rock band is a hard sell pitch from someone giving "biblical guidance" and testimony. It's a giant glitzy "Let's get you all charged with juicy music, all open and happy, then let's plug you into some brain programming" kind of gig.
The facilitators warn the youth “Christ is the ONLY way toward salvation” from the ills of a degraded society and the certain End Times [18] in the foreseeable future. The "Battlecry" tag line is utilizing scripture to produce the implied meaning of "there is a war for your heart and your soul”. The End Times are here and only those proclaiming Christ as their savior will be saved.” One musical artist, Hawk Nelson, titled a song "Smile, the end of the world is here”. [19]
The concourse floor is saturated with hanger-on businesses selling books describing End Time Apocalypse. T-shirts, books, bracelets, ATM (abstinence 'til marriage) mock credit cards, fancy bibles, and Christian rock band paraphernalia abound. Youth in military fatigue is a common sight. Young men wearing shirts with the biblical verse Timothy 2:3 is quoted "Therefore endure hardness, as a soldier of Christ."
T-shirts sporting the “Battlecry” theme quoted scripture, Jeremiah 4:19, "My heart pounds within me, I cannot keep silent, for I have heard the sound of the trumpet, I have heard the Battle Cry.” This is likening the world to the one in which the earth was torn to shreds due to the wrath of God toward his people whose "own conduct and actions have brought this upon them".
Jeremiah 4:10 reads “You have deceived the people of Jerusalem by saying, 'you will have peace, when the sword is at our throats.” This is the announcement of the judgment, by laying waste to the land, against the people for their wickedness. The leaders of this movement then add Revelations apocalyptic metaphors about the End Times, insinuating it is at hand. Now!
Sex phobia and Homophobia
Featured at “Battlecry” was former Miss Black California, Lakita Garth, [20] to speak on bible based abstinance advocacy. Mrs. Garth instructed the youth to not even kiss before marriage and to stay married until death do ye part. Marriage, of course, only being possible between a man and a woman as that is what is deemed appropriate in "God's instruction book.” Divorce is seen as a giant no no.
Mrs. Garth spent a good hour describing the horrors of sexually transmitted diseases, for example: She described advanced untreated herpes in great and gory detail, convincing the youth if they have sex, it is inevitable they will get herpes or another horrific STD. She ostensibly coaches that if they do have sex, they will get an STD, be embarrassed and wish they were dead. Therefore, the “Battlecry” crew proclaims, the youth absolutely must take a vow of abstinence in order to avoid these "plagues".
The dialogue about sexual possibilities is adamantly ignored and shut tight with double-barreled locks. It is a given in this culture to have the attitude "it’s not ok to be gay and if you are, only Christ can fix you.” Millions of dollars are being funneled by the Bush Administration to “faith based organizations” to teach abstinence only based sex education to public middle school students and third world countries.
The April 10, 2006 Los Angeles Times reports: “The religious right aims to overturn a broad range of common tolerance programs: diversity training that promotes acceptance of gays and lesbians, speech codes that ban harsh words against homosexuality and anti-discrimination policies that require college clubs to open their membership to all.” [21]
In Carmichael, California, in April, just three weeks after the Battlecry event in San Francisco, The World Can’t Wait organization was contacted by distressed students at the high school to ask for support in combating a rage of Christian homosexual hatred that has surfaced. The Christian students have begun bringing signs denouncing homosexuality as “sinful”. At the core of Dominionist philosophy is the biblically based belief that homosexuality is unequivocally wrong.
This onslaught of hate directed at diversity of sexual expression on a daily basis is devastating to the cultural climate of society to an extremely dangerous degree. Case in point: In Kansas, the Rev. Fred Phelps and his Westboro Baptist Church have been picketing services for dead soldiers and the veterans' hospitals.
Members of the Topeka church are picketing at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., and carrying signs that say, "Thank God for maimed soldiers." "America's doom is now irreversible," the church said in one statement. "All the resources of a Sovereign God are now devoted to cursing this Land of the Sodomite Damned."
Phelps and his followers believe soldiers' deaths and serious injuries in Iraq and Afghanistan are God's punishment for the United States tolerating homosexuality, and they're promising to protest outside every Veteran’s Administration hospital.
Phelp's church said the United States faced "the white-hot wrath of God" for tolerating homosexuality and persecuting Westboro Baptist. The church cited a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in 2003 striking down a Texas anti-sodomy law as "a fateful line" the nation crossed. Not only do they want sodomy laws, but ultimately what they seek are death penalties. In other words, they want blood.
Pat Robertson claimed on his TV show “The 700 Club,” that Katrina was probably God's way of showing wrath for all the sexual promiscuity going on in New Orleans. Condoleezza Rice stated in a church in Louisiana after Katrina hit, the hurricane was a good thing, “it meant Jesus was coming soon.”
Dr. Condoleezza Rice is the United States National Security Advisor. On January 28, 2005, President Bush attended Dr. Rice's swearing-in ceremony as the 66th Secretary of State.
This is the sort of sadistic, homophobic and religiously fanatic attitude that we see when persons of strict "faith" try to jam their literal biblical views onto the lives of others through means of the judiciary.
In the afternoon before the event began on Friday, March 24, leader of Battlecry, Ron Luce, a Bush appointee to the Anti-drug Task Force [22] called for a special press conference and rally on the steps of San Francisco's City Hall.
The Battle Cry invitation to teenagers, on their website, made plain the symbolism of gathering in San Francisco for a pre-event rally was “on the very same steps where just months ago gay people were married”. Members of the resistance added, “This is the same City Hall in which a right wing Catholic assassinated a mayor and a gay supervisor.” [23]
Luce claims the reason for this action is so the youth may proclaim their taking a stand for “Biblical values” in response to a degraded culture where gangs, violence, drugs and excessive sex are prevalent. Many believe this is code for wanting to entrench Biblical values into the judicial system. Is this behavior not on the road to Kansas Phelps’ land?
Resistance in California
San Mateo Peace Action, San Mateo County Green Party, War Resisters League West , American Atheists, The World Can't Wait, Code Pink members, and many people from the San Francisco Lesbian and Gay community converged in uproarious protest. [24] The World Can’t Wait [25] organization is taking a major lead in the peace activism community to initiate further protest against extremist Christianity, especially among youth.
San Francisco Board of Supervisors’ Tom Ammiano and Californa State Assemblyman Mark Leno proclaimed an official citywide condemnation of “Battlecry” on the basis of the homophobic rhetoric on its website. Their “homosexuality is wrong” stance clearly demonstrates an adamant lack of toleration of sexual diversity and promotes a hate filled public homophobic [26] public response. They are contaminating the commons with hate inducing attitudes. Our society is in extreme danger as a consequence.
Journalist Bob Nichols, Project Censored [6] Award Winner, states in his October. 12, 2005 article
“US Military, President out of Control.”
“In the famous Nuremberg War Crimes Trials, established after World War II to try Nazi War Criminals and assess their guilt and punishment, the Chief Prosecutor said of the German people something that applies directly to Americans today. He speaks knowingly and directly across more than 50 years of time to resolutely instruct American Citizens on exactly what our duty is today, right now:"
"Individuals have international duties which transcend the national obligations of obedience…therefore have the duty to violate domestic laws to prevent crimes against peace and humanity from occurring."
- Nuremberg Tribunal, 1950
Nichols goes on to say, "The statement was affirmed by the Nuremberg Tribunal. It is now international law and by extension, American Law. It is our duty as Americans. The fascist government controlling America and the US Military can no longer be allowed to exist. The world and international law holds us all accountable, and the price is dear ".
Maniacal Cult
On the "Bill O'Reilly" Show, Ron Luce, when debating Sunsara Taylor [27] of The World Can't Wait the day after the protest, claimed the “Battlecry” warrior theme is a metaphor for the spiritual war humanity is facing. Luce is not, at least publicly, admitting the societal consequences of the meanings of this
guns = glory metaphorical mandate.
Pat Robertson sharply criticized the city of San Francisco for condemning "Battlecry" as well and showed the protest on the steps of city hall on his 700 club TV show. Whistleblowers Katherine Yurika, in her Yurika report [2] and Joan Bokaer of Theocracy Watch[4] draw a line from Pat Robertson's televangelical beginnings in the 1970's to the rise of this fascist type of Christianity.
This is the very same bloody artery of Religious tradition that G.W. Bush is connected to. Think of it! The person in charge of our entire country is caught up in a maniacal cult!
[End.]
Debra Schaffer Hubert is a peace and social justice activist. She is exposing and instigating nonviolent direct action confrontation of the right wing Christian extremist movement. She encourages interested potential allies to e-mail her at dshubert [at] gmail.com
Notes:
1. December, 2005 issue of Mother Jones, “A Nation under God.”
2. Katherine Yurika, Yurkia Report, News Intelligence Analysis, “The Despoiling of America, How George W. Bush became the head of the new American Dominionist Church/State. February 11, 2004 YurikaReport.com "The Despoiling of America"
3. Dr. Charles Stanley, In Touch Ministries http://www.intouch.org/
4. Theocracy Watch, Center for Religion, Ethics and Social Policy, Cornell University. A must see is http://www.theocracywatch.org for an in-depth analysis and historical perspective of how the Christian Extremists, with the leadership of Pat Robertson and Ralph Reed in the early 90’s, took working control of the Republican Party. A must see is “Are We Becoming a Theocracy?" Joan Bokaer's talk at the New York Open Center, recorded April 29, 2005.
5. Leuren Moret, “The Queens Death Star,” Support the Truth , Dennis Kyne, http://www.Dennis Kyne.com
6. Bob Nichols, August, "US Military, President Out of Control, What does 'Mildly Radioactive' Mean, Anyway?" http://tinyurl.com/lhsxq and http://tinyurl.com/qdasf
Project Censored http://www.projectcensored.org http://www.projectcensored.org/publications/2005/4.html
7. Stephenie Hendricks, Dominionism: 'Wise use,' dominion theology, and the making of American environmental policy.
8. Salam Pax, “The Clandestine Diary of an Ordinary Iraqi”, 2003 Grove Press, NY. The quote on the first page of Salam's Diary reads - "The West won the world not by the superiority of its ideas or values or religion but rather by its superiority in applying organized violence. Westerners often forget this fact, non-Westerners never do." Samuel P. Huntington
9. Might Sharon Nuke Iraq? How Things Could Go Bad, Very Bad” (2 October 2002) by Linda S. Heard at http://www.Counterpunch.org.
10. http://www.rense.com/general70/deathmde.htm
11. We Will Pray for Election Day, Thomas Freiling and Michael Klassen, Pg. 111,“Read America’s founding documents.” Go to http://www.WallBuilders.com to see how they claim the United States was meant to be a “Christian” Nation.
12. Washington Post, Dana Milbank, March 29, 2006. “ DeLay a Star at ‘War on Christians’ Conference.”
13. http://www.battlecry.com and http://www.harvest.org/crusades/
14. Teen Mania http://www.teenmania.com
15. The ATF symbol is used on Battlecry merchandise including posters which show youth with automatic weapons. This picture was taken at San Francisco’s Battlecry event on March 24, 2006.
16. Christian Music Planet is published six times per year by Educational Media Foundation, Inc, a nonprofit organization recognized for tax-deductible giving by the federal government. wwwChrisiianMusicPlanet.com
CCM Christian Music Magazine http://www.ccmmagazine.com/
17. Luce is an addict who formerly used cocaine, and now claims to be clean and sober, through Christ.
18. Tim LeHaye, author of the Bestselling series Left Behind Series http://www.leftbehind.com/
19. Hawk Nelson, “Smile, its the end of the world.” ww.hawknelson.com
20. Lakita Garth, http://www.lakitagarth.com Garth is the proprietor of “No Ringy, No Dingy” Abstinance ‘Til Marriage mock credit Cards and educational material.
21. http://www.religiousheadlines.org
22. In March 2003, Ron Luce was recognized as a national voice on teen issues and appointed by George W. Bush to the White House Advisory Commission on Drug-Free Communities. The eleven-member commission was established in 1989 to provide input and expertise on the Drug-Free Communities Program.
23. Referring to the assassination of San Francisco Board of Supervisor Harvey Milk and Mayor George Moscone in 1978 by Catholic right wing extremist Dan White.
24. San Francisco Bay Guardian, March 27, 2006, “Christian Soldiers throw down in SF”, San Francisco Chronicle Saturday, March 25, 2006, “Evangelical Teens Rally in SF,” San Francisco Bay Times
March 30, 2006 “BattleCry Fundies Invade the City – So What?”
25. http://www.worldcantwait.net/ Read the World Can’t Wait’s call to drive out the Bush regime which talks about the theocracy in the United States.
26. Homophobia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homophobia
27. Sunsara Taylor’s blog spot Sunsara’s World. http://www.sunsara.blogspot.com/ Be sure to check out the video of Bill O’Reilly’s interview with Sunsara and shots of the Battlecry protest on the steps of City Hall in San Francisco.
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You have misunderstood us and missed the point.
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Well put Tsornin1288
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This article is full of lies and deciet.
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Listen for the merest of seconds, and you will hear...
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HAHA!!!
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You are completely wrong about that!
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what???!!
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One last thing
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God loves you all!
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Open Letter to Mr. “God Hates Fags”
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