Christians apparently are under attack these days--well those Christians who have aligned the bible with neo-conservatism anyway.
And they are fighting mad.
At least those who decided it was time to draw up a contract to support only those lawmakers and representatives whom abide by the ten commandments, I mean ten covenants/terms of the Value's Voters Contract.
This instrument, developed in the spirit of Newt's Contract With America, was the creation of forty three religious leaders, aptly called the Servant Committee, who felt it is time for Americans of Values to put their vote where their prayers are.
And let it be known this was a broad spectrum of religion's brightest; why there were even four women and two rabbis in the bunch.
Okay, so I didn't see any Catholics, at least any by title; it must have been some of the tough language on illegal immigrants that kept them away from the table.
And of course there were no ...
you know ...
Muslims; but then again, America is God's gift to Christians; Muslims need not indulge.
The make-up of the contract drafters is interesting, especially when one considers the justification for creating this pact.
It all starts with a rather startling interpretation of the most spun document ever written, The Declaration of Independence.
I hate to bore you with this but here it is again, that one sentence that gets all the attention: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
" Here is how the gang of forty three interpreted that in the opening of their contract: "We are citizens of the United States of America and subjects of the sovereign Creator, acknowledged in the Declaration of Independence as the Supreme Ruler and Judge of the World.
Some real slight of hand there: "subjects of the sovereign Creator".
Geez ...
where does it say we are the subjects of any Creator, let alone 'THE' sovereign Creator.
In fact, the Declaration of Independence is carefully worded to say "endowed by THEIR Creator"; acknowledging the freedom for people to have differing beliefs in whom their Creator might be.
And apparently "endowed", as only Bible interpreters can do, implies the sovereign Creator is the Supreme Ruler and Judge of the World.
I'm already a little nervous and I haven't even gotten to the ten terms in this contract.
And here is the core reason for their angst: "We strongly affirm our allegiance to the Constitution of the United States, and are moved by our faith in God to join together now to defend government of, by, and for the people against the greatest assault it has ever faced: the destruction of our Constitutionally-mandated republican form of government by judges who legislate from the bench and, thereby, subvert our liberty and our entire way of life.
" Folks, it's those damn activist judges who legislate from the bench.
That is what is wrong with America.
Great sickness and pestilence can't come to them quickly enough; the bastards! This is a summary list of the ten terms to this contract: 1.
Affirm the national relationship with God by preventing "activist judges" from ruling against public acknowledgements of God 2.
Secure the national interest in the institutions of Marriage and Family by passing a Constitutional Amendment defining marriage as between a man and woman only 3.
Secure parental rights to the care, custody and control of their children 4.
Secure Right to Life by prohibiting abortions, human cloning, and the use of human embryos for research (death penalty excluded) 5.
Secure God-granted liberties by passing legislation to allow greater religious expression without penalty and support any legislation that specifically denounces the anti-family and deceptively-named "U.
N.
Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW)" 6.
Secure the God-given right to property stewardship by passing legislation to stop Government from reclaiming property as "public use" for the purpose of taking from on individual and giving to another 7.
Secure an environment of decency that is free from pornography and obscenity 8.
Secure just taxes, and end immorally destructive taxation (balanced budgets optional) 9.
Secure our national borders and identity (hmm ...
and what identity might that be?) 10.
Judges who legislate from the bench subvert the republican form of government of the people, by the people, and for the people, and threaten all these legislative aims.
Therefore, we urgently call for Judicial Restraint, and an end to Judicial Activism.
Their proposition is that if the above "value" tenants and supported identified legislation are endorsed by our political leaders, the problems America faces will be corrected.
Okay, so let's say we allow prayers in school and work environments; we permit the ten commandments and references to God to be omnipresent; we stop all abortions, human embryo research, human cloning; we don't allow gays to marry and even return the sodomy laws; we build a fifty foot wall across the south and north borders to keep illegals out; we protect property ownership; we rid the country of porn; we end immorally destructive taxes (again, whatever that means); and we hang every activist judge in the land.
What then? How does that help us with the Iraq mess? How does that help our growing deficit and burden we continue to build for our children and grand children to pay? How does that help the folks still reeling from Katrina? How does that solve global warming? How does that solve our addiction to fossil fuels? How does it stop the shrinking middle class? How does it address terrorism, nuclear proliferation, genocide in Africa? Where is there any discussion of AIDS? What about the trade deficit, bird flu, outsourcing of jobs? And what about the accountability of our legislators to be honest, forthright and transparent? After all, they are the ones creating the laws the activist judges overturn.
Well, when you have Tom Delay as a keynote speaker at Pastor Rick Scarborough's 'The War Against Christians and the Values Voter 2006' Conference in Washington D.
C.
late March 2006, it is really hard to take this seriously.
Oh that's right, Tom Delay didn't do anything wrong, he is just one of those Christians under attack.
By the way, Rick Scarborough, for those who don't know, is founder of the religious activist group Vision America, contributor to the Values Voter's Contract With Congress, and author of the book, "Liberalism Kills Kids".
And he thinks he is under attack! I worry about people who can take a belief system based on an unyielding faith and twist it and turn it until they can justify an ideology that spews purposeful fear like liberalism kills children.
It is the same machinery that fifty years ago clamored against desegregation and inter-racial marriages in the name of Christ.
Before that the scourge was women voting.
These were all a by-product of the same traditions they so eagerly want to return this country to; when women and coloreds knew their places and Jews lived quietly in the shadows.
Now it will be homosexuals, activist judges and apparently liberals who will find themselves on the outside of "traditional values".
And if I were black or female, I'd be a little wary about jumping on the Value Voters bandwagon.
It's one of the reasons I'm no longer religious.
In a world where the wheels seem to be coming off right now, it just strikes me that the focus of this contract is all about reclaiming the good old days, when white male privilege was in full stride.
It has little to do with fixing anything.
And they are fighting mad.
At least those who decided it was time to draw up a contract to support only those lawmakers and representatives whom abide by the ten commandments, I mean ten covenants/terms of the Value's Voters Contract.
This instrument, developed in the spirit of Newt's Contract With America, was the creation of forty three religious leaders, aptly called the Servant Committee, who felt it is time for Americans of Values to put their vote where their prayers are.
And let it be known this was a broad spectrum of religion's brightest; why there were even four women and two rabbis in the bunch.
Okay, so I didn't see any Catholics, at least any by title; it must have been some of the tough language on illegal immigrants that kept them away from the table.
And of course there were no ...
you know ...
Muslims; but then again, America is God's gift to Christians; Muslims need not indulge.
The make-up of the contract drafters is interesting, especially when one considers the justification for creating this pact.
It all starts with a rather startling interpretation of the most spun document ever written, The Declaration of Independence.
I hate to bore you with this but here it is again, that one sentence that gets all the attention: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
" Here is how the gang of forty three interpreted that in the opening of their contract: "We are citizens of the United States of America and subjects of the sovereign Creator, acknowledged in the Declaration of Independence as the Supreme Ruler and Judge of the World.
Some real slight of hand there: "subjects of the sovereign Creator".
Geez ...
where does it say we are the subjects of any Creator, let alone 'THE' sovereign Creator.
In fact, the Declaration of Independence is carefully worded to say "endowed by THEIR Creator"; acknowledging the freedom for people to have differing beliefs in whom their Creator might be.
And apparently "endowed", as only Bible interpreters can do, implies the sovereign Creator is the Supreme Ruler and Judge of the World.
I'm already a little nervous and I haven't even gotten to the ten terms in this contract.
And here is the core reason for their angst: "We strongly affirm our allegiance to the Constitution of the United States, and are moved by our faith in God to join together now to defend government of, by, and for the people against the greatest assault it has ever faced: the destruction of our Constitutionally-mandated republican form of government by judges who legislate from the bench and, thereby, subvert our liberty and our entire way of life.
" Folks, it's those damn activist judges who legislate from the bench.
That is what is wrong with America.
Great sickness and pestilence can't come to them quickly enough; the bastards! This is a summary list of the ten terms to this contract: 1.
Affirm the national relationship with God by preventing "activist judges" from ruling against public acknowledgements of God 2.
Secure the national interest in the institutions of Marriage and Family by passing a Constitutional Amendment defining marriage as between a man and woman only 3.
Secure parental rights to the care, custody and control of their children 4.
Secure Right to Life by prohibiting abortions, human cloning, and the use of human embryos for research (death penalty excluded) 5.
Secure God-granted liberties by passing legislation to allow greater religious expression without penalty and support any legislation that specifically denounces the anti-family and deceptively-named "U.
N.
Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW)" 6.
Secure the God-given right to property stewardship by passing legislation to stop Government from reclaiming property as "public use" for the purpose of taking from on individual and giving to another 7.
Secure an environment of decency that is free from pornography and obscenity 8.
Secure just taxes, and end immorally destructive taxation (balanced budgets optional) 9.
Secure our national borders and identity (hmm ...
and what identity might that be?) 10.
Judges who legislate from the bench subvert the republican form of government of the people, by the people, and for the people, and threaten all these legislative aims.
Therefore, we urgently call for Judicial Restraint, and an end to Judicial Activism.
Their proposition is that if the above "value" tenants and supported identified legislation are endorsed by our political leaders, the problems America faces will be corrected.
Okay, so let's say we allow prayers in school and work environments; we permit the ten commandments and references to God to be omnipresent; we stop all abortions, human embryo research, human cloning; we don't allow gays to marry and even return the sodomy laws; we build a fifty foot wall across the south and north borders to keep illegals out; we protect property ownership; we rid the country of porn; we end immorally destructive taxes (again, whatever that means); and we hang every activist judge in the land.
What then? How does that help us with the Iraq mess? How does that help our growing deficit and burden we continue to build for our children and grand children to pay? How does that help the folks still reeling from Katrina? How does that solve global warming? How does that solve our addiction to fossil fuels? How does it stop the shrinking middle class? How does it address terrorism, nuclear proliferation, genocide in Africa? Where is there any discussion of AIDS? What about the trade deficit, bird flu, outsourcing of jobs? And what about the accountability of our legislators to be honest, forthright and transparent? After all, they are the ones creating the laws the activist judges overturn.
Well, when you have Tom Delay as a keynote speaker at Pastor Rick Scarborough's 'The War Against Christians and the Values Voter 2006' Conference in Washington D.
C.
late March 2006, it is really hard to take this seriously.
Oh that's right, Tom Delay didn't do anything wrong, he is just one of those Christians under attack.
By the way, Rick Scarborough, for those who don't know, is founder of the religious activist group Vision America, contributor to the Values Voter's Contract With Congress, and author of the book, "Liberalism Kills Kids".
And he thinks he is under attack! I worry about people who can take a belief system based on an unyielding faith and twist it and turn it until they can justify an ideology that spews purposeful fear like liberalism kills children.
It is the same machinery that fifty years ago clamored against desegregation and inter-racial marriages in the name of Christ.
Before that the scourge was women voting.
These were all a by-product of the same traditions they so eagerly want to return this country to; when women and coloreds knew their places and Jews lived quietly in the shadows.
Now it will be homosexuals, activist judges and apparently liberals who will find themselves on the outside of "traditional values".
And if I were black or female, I'd be a little wary about jumping on the Value Voters bandwagon.
It's one of the reasons I'm no longer religious.
In a world where the wheels seem to be coming off right now, it just strikes me that the focus of this contract is all about reclaiming the good old days, when white male privilege was in full stride.
It has little to do with fixing anything.