Doomsday Agenda?

[mnaz]

An article I ran across here in Albuquerque....http://www.crosswindsweekly.com/cover.htm...

Is the powerful Christian far-right pursuing a "doomsday agenda"?
The basic idea here is that many, or even most Christian fundamentalists feel that concern for the future of our planet is irrelevant, because it has no future. They believe we are living in the End Time, when the son of God will return, and the righteous will enter heaven and sinners will be condemned to eternal hellfire.
Thus, not only do we see the overt aggression in the Middle East, and the obsession over social/moral legislation and a steady push in the direction of American theocracy (to prepare for the Savior´s return), but we also see a continued pattern of disregard for the environment from this bunch. Examples: Sen. Inhofe (R-Ok.), who presides over an Environment and Public Works Committee, and seems to derive his energy policy from the fossil-fuel industry and Christian pseudo-science...... also House Majority leader DeLay (R.-Tex.), a born-again Christian and self-declared member of the Christian Zionists, believing that the formation and expansion of Israel is key to the coming of Armageddon.

What do you think about this theory? Any comments?

[bohonato]

What ever happened to seperation of church and state?
There's a reason why it is part of the American Constitution.

[mnaz]

Ah yes.... But you see, the Law of God trumps the Law of Man....
and there are plenty of fundamentalist types around who have appointed (anointed?) themselves to tell you exactly just what that "Law of God" is, according to authorized, patched-together doctrine. That´s the problem..... someone, or some group who believes that they have been chosen to do "God´s work" attaining power, especially if they subscribe to literalist/dispensationalist interpretations of Revelation and the apocalypse. Constitution? What Constitution?

[perezoso]

I have encountered more than a few protestant nutcases in my time who believe in this sort of Book of Revelations crap. Many of them do believe in a literal "rapture". There are little videotapes on it--mostly out of Tejas or Okiehoma or some Dixie protestant nutcase seminary. And people are, in the Dixie Rapture vision, literally whisked off the earth to Beulahland in the midst of a nuclear holocaust or some other nightmare (when Satan's legions take over or something. )

De Lay does seem to be one of these prot. nutcase types (though there are plenty of catholic nutcases and deviants to be found-- pagan nutcases are common too). Bush himself has said some stuff about the Book of Revelations as being one of his inspirations, which may be the most bizarre if not psychotic piece of writing to be found anywere. Jefferson claimed Revelations was the work of a madman. And really you are correct, as was TJ--the protestant Rapture based on the Book of Rev. should be quite troubling to any rational person.

Have you heard of dispensationalism? One aspiring hick preacher/student I met told me about it: it's the sort of uberCalvinist notion that Xtians are forgiven of ANY sins (e.g. crimes) at all times simply by being Xtians and attending Church, "acceptin' Jee-suss as their personal savior" etc.

IN other words the church goin' Xtian can do whatever he wants and is forgiven simply because he's Xtian. There's more than a hint of that in much of the US right-wing agenda. The muslims have a scary rapture notion though too. And the leftist pagans are about as nauseating. As someone recently said on the Fray, the rightwingers are closet brownshirts, yet the leftists have become blackshirts....

[mnaz]

Yes. I was taught dispensationalism in my formative years, as I graduated through the various 2-story Sunday School wings of my sprawling suburban fundamentalist church.... they even showed me a Rapture movie where the believers were suddenly swept up, causing car accidents and exploding graves and the whole works.
I rejected this insanity quite early on.

The thing about all these unbending, literalist doctrines and interpretations of scripture.... many of them conflict....Not only that, but a doctrine such as dispensationalism reads like a bumbling God, who keeps changing His holy mind, and is only now deputizing various "latter-day saints"to finally put His Program right, after thousands of years of fruitless detours.... It makes no sense.... But then...."God works in mysterious ways".... the believers always have that to fall back on....

[stilltrucking]

Is the powerful Christian far-right pursuing a "doomsday agenda"?

no shit sherlock

I maybe sicker then I thought but I think a post vanished here, I put a link to a theme park in Florida called Holyland. American jews remind me of the good german jew with his Iron Cross sailing home on KAP's ship of fools, there is a fat old preacher here in texas who had a special night to honor Isareal and buy one way tickets to Israel for jews wanting to exercise their right of return, none of the local rabbis from san antone showed up, I was so proud,,

welcome to america
I forgot
what was your point?

[mtmynd]

mnaz... that would take a lot out of me to give you my opinion on the Rapture and all that goes with it, but my health presently disallows such discourse, but you are correct in seeing such ravings as lunatical.

Perhaps some day soon (hopefully) we can talk about this over the revelations of a good tequila.

[shamatha1]

inre dispensationalism; I had never heard of that but it rings true with much that goes on in contemporary Christianity, or any 'belief' system in general. All that matters is that one believes, practice is nice, but not necessary.

I think it was Alan Watts who said something alongs the lines that Christianity had ceased to be the religion of Jesus and had become the religion about Jesus.

[knip]

Rapture, starring Mimi Rodgers and David Duchovny, is a surprisingly good movie that deal with rapture believers

[stilltrucking]

no shit sherlock

I been thinking a lot about the last couple posts I sent to you, I think I once said you sound like a fourteen year old methodist. I got to live with my obsidian words, shitty karma i suppose. Of course there is a doomsday agenda, you talked about oh so sweetly and rationaly and logicaly reason with people who are doing everything they can do to full fill their theological nightmares... what can I do to stop them, maybe I can't stop them maybe they are right, but I bet my life that they are dead wrong, and even if I cant stop them I wont play into their fear and hate and do anything to oppose them when it is meaningless to do so. I see a lot of possible screnarios, and I am told constantly by those people that all it will take for them to succeed is for good people like me to do nothing. But "resist not evil is a an odd thing to say. I can see how it would be counter productive to oppose them on some meaning less issues. for example I am trying to think how a two ton marbe tombstone is the court of some cracker judge in Alabama is going to harm anyone? Only if they can use the issue to stir up their base for money to do something like take a way a woman's reproductive rights. I just don't want to do or say anything to help them, I don't want to defend the seperation of church and state because that only helps them. Or so it seems to me.

A good movie knip?

was it about the believers or was it about the rapture with special effects? i have gone off the idea of supernatural powers. It just don't jibe with the G-d fearing heretic that I am. I am not sure if transcendant means the same as super or out of the natural world about us. If I disapear from here one day, it won't be no rapture, it will be all natural. This is all just some meaningless speculation about something I know nothing about, if I am lucky herr professor will have it on his syllabus next semester. I got a jam or poem or something like it to you mr mnaz, I was going to delete it when you got to phar lepht, but by cecil's post you ain't made it yet. I saw a texas sunrise this morning that made me think of you. Happy motoring

God grant us serenity to know what to shoot for, is that too much to ask for in this age of mass destractions?
sorry for being such an old grouch shine it on if you can.

[mnaz]

Well, Truck.... all "accurate" prophecy is self-fulfilling. If enough people believe in it, it will eventually come true. And really, Christ-ianity was hijacked by extremists centuries ago. We live in our own self-imposed End Times, if we choose to.

[perezoso]

If the fundies care to believe in their own End Time nightmare and keep it to themselves ( of course they don't), that is one thing; but when they want to include the non-believers in it, or decide to bring it about by military means, and appoint who is or who isn't among the blessed or elect--then fuck them. Really there are good grounds for banning ALL religions: even Paine and Jefferson considered doing so at the time of the American Revolution. I think the established churches are more about unionizing, if not organized crime, then they are about Xtian ethics.