Taibbi currently serves as a special correspondent for Real Time with Bill Maher offering political coverage of the 2008 presidential campaign.
Posted on 05/20/2008 9:28:44 AM PDT by Sopater
AUSTIN, Texas — For the sake of a book, atheist Matt Taibbi lied his way into a Texas church.
Taibbi, a contributing editor for Rolling Stone, spent more than four months in 2006 and 2007 pretending to worship at the San Antonio megachurch whose pastor, John Hagee, has lately aired regrets if his past comments, including a reference to the “great whore” in the Book of Revelation, proved hurtful to Catholics.
Taibbi hung with residents of Austin and Houston who viewed the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks as inside jobs by the U.S. government.
He depicts both camps as delusional in “The Great Derangement,” published this month. [Kindle edition]
I asked him why he ended his secretive stint with Hagee’s Cornerstone Church.
Partly to get back to the magazine, he said, and partly because to become more involved, he would have had to submit his Social Security number to the church for a background check.
“There’s a point at which it becomes, I think, immoral to be in that environment under false pretenses for that long,” Taibbi said. ” I would have had to have relationships that were, you know, really really involved . … I stayed kind of just long enough to see a whole lot without really getting too close to people.”
I wondered if the book’s vignettes, sometimes comic, sometimes heated — including scenes suggesting that U.S. House members are unmotivated to fulfill promises — have stirred objections, at the least from individuals and groups he cheerfully pricked .
Not really, Taibbi said, though he’s fielded letters from Christians suggesting that the teachings at Cornerstone Church are not representative of many believers and from 9/11 Truthers questioning his insistence that there’s no factual basis for believing Uncle Sam struck down the twin towers .
Taibbi can be full-court provocative. For instance, he holds that the craziness he chronicled reflects unease at a political system that doesn’t work for anyone except powerful interests ensuring that money flows to their advantage.
Separately, he posits that Americans want presidents who lie well. He told me the likely Democratic presidential nominee, U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, seems more likely to be a good liar, if necessary, than the presumptive GOP nominee, U.S. Sen. John McCain. Like President Clinton, Taibbi said, Obama “could basically say anything and people would believe him.”
Of Democrats and Republicans in Washington, Taibbi writes: “No voter wants to believe he doesn’t really matter, so he buys into the idea that there are two substantively different parties frantically competing for his attentions, the ideological fate of the country hanging on his decision every few years. It flatters the average citizen to think that way.
“The reality is that the dominant characteristic of our political system is the unchanging nature of the political consensus — while the two parties agree about most all of the important things, they disagree violently about the inconsequential stuff, providing the fodder and the drama for an endless political `struggle’ that plays itself out in entertaining fashion every couple of years” in congressional races.
While praying at Cornerstone, Taibbi writes, he heard church leaders advocate the trashing of the Harry Potter books, describe all gays as victims of childhood sexual abuse and claim that al-Qaeda possessed nuclear bombs with plans to deploy them in 2007 in seven American cities.
The author says he heard no objections.
We need to be consistent on this issue.
If it’s ok to replay and condemn Rev Wright’s racist attacks, then Hagee or anyone else must recognize the field is wide open, all comments subject to external scrutiny.
Hagee called the Catholic Church ‘the great whore’ and a false apostate. I’d like to see how Hagee’s megachurch parishioners would feel if the Pope started calling his church a whore.
Submit your SSN? Wow I don’t care if this church was catholic, protestant, or whatever time to move on if i was a prospective member.
If they were only doing background checks if you wanted to work around youth I am okay with it but I bet they are checking your financial bcakground.
I agree. However Hagee has at least made an attempt at an apology whereas Rev. Wright has not.
Submit his social security number for a background check to attend a church? This seems bats ...
Compared to the Truthers, those are all very rationale positions. Harry Potter is about witchcraft which should be not be glorified by Christians. Many if not most gays were victims of sexual abuse. And if al-Qeada possessed such bombs, they would use them. Hagee may be on the far end on with his statements and a bit of a kook, but it is not based on a bunch of obvious lies like the "Truthers".
“I agree. However Hagee has at least made an attempt at an apology whereas Rev. Wright has not.”
True enough. Wright continues to be the gift that keeps on giving - never disappointing with each open mouthed racist comment. Hagee, has hopefully learned a valuable lesson.
I believe that Hagee denied he was referring to the Catholic Church and has also apologized.
Yeah, I'm calling bull on that one too.
Disgusting. What a pathetic excuse for a human being. Typical militant atheist.
Hagee is a religious kook and a heretic of the first order. The fact that Huckabee has preached in his “church” will not bode well for McCainiac if he picks him for a VP running mate.
The whore is Islam, not Catholicism.
imo
Wow .. I bet his parents are proud of him
He lied to get into the church [Open]
He wouldn't be the first. "They went out from us because they were not of us."
Separately, he posits that Americans want presidents who lie well. He told me the likely Democratic presidential nominee, U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, seems more likely to be a good liar, if necessary, than the presumptive GOP nominee, U.S. Sen. John McCain. Like President Clinton, Taibbi said, Obama “could basically say anything and people would believe him.”
Fairly perceptive. This guy actually sounds like he'd be an interesting person to interact with.
His (Matt Talbbi’s) father is Mike Taibbi, an NBC television reporter.
Did he do the little Clinton Finger Waggle[tm]? Everybody knows it doesn't count without the little Clinton Finger Waggle[tm]....
Can we not say what we believe in our own church?
Yes, we absolutely should be able to, and outsiders can go jump in the lake (or join an organization more to their liking).
Taibbi currently serves as a special correspondent for Real Time with Bill Maher offering political coverage of the 2008 presidential campaign.
Indeed. And lying is always wrong.
If it’s ok to replay and condemn Rev Wright’s racist attacks, then Hagee or anyone else must recognize the field is wide open, all comments subject to external scrutiny.
Of course they are subject to scrutiny. The difference is that a 20 year member of Jerry Wright's congregation is running for Prez. Can't say the same about Hagee.
Aside from this particular story, there is the larger issue of what a scumbag Taibbi is in general. Note that Taibbi is likely an arab name, not that that alone makes him a scumbag, but may indicate why he hates America so viciously.
In Imus’ latest incarnation, he has been raving about Taibbi and having on as a frequent guest. There appears to be one qualification for great writing these days: as long as you are extremely vicious towards Christians, conservatives, America, republicans, President Bush, VP Cheney or any combination thereof, you are a great writer.
Granted, Taibbi has talent. But all of it is poured into the snidest, nastiest cynical commentary on any issue and always from the left.
When he makes his radio appearances on Imus, you can almost see his twisted mouth through the radio speaker, with that patented liberal whininess and smug speech pattern.
I’m a Catholic.
Personally, I don’t care what he called “The Catholic Church”. I’ve been called worse on the FR Religion Board. Been told I can’t read, that I don’t want Protestants to call me Roman Catholic, etc.
Who cares? Even Rev. Wright, Who cares?
I’ve got bigger things to worry about so I fully agree with you, the man has a right to his opinion.
I don’t like Strawberries and I’m not apologizing for it.
I don't think he did. This is kind of like Bush reference to appeasing and Obama getting his panties in a wad. Hagee did not come out and directly say Catholics are the Great Whore. That is why the only thing in quotes is 'the Great Whore.' You kind of have to read the tea leaves and assume Hagee is talking about Catholics, which is exactly like Bush's appeasement comment and Obama. Perhaps that was his intention, perhaps it wasn't.
It is true. And his parishioners would never throw him out.
Hagee got nailed spewing anti-Catholic bigotry. He has subsequently apologized for his comments that Catholics found hurtful. He has pledged to provide a more complete and balanced portrayal going forward that will not reinforce mischaracterizations of the Catholic Church.
You must be one of them defective eaters.
Hagee’s Church has a very strange theology.
Possibly they do a background check for people who are involved in church finances? I have no problem with his going to the church. A church is open to all and there should be nothing going on there that could not be viewed by the general public. It sounds as though he kept to himself as an observer and didn’t make a lot of friends under false pretenses. He’s just another atheist desperately trying to convince himself there is no God.
/i....oooof.
Carolyn
Seriously, I have no problem with the Vatican claiming that my Protestant beliefs are heresy. I would respect the Pope more if he did that and if he ALSO said that Islam was a "false religion leading people to hell." But, alas, I don't think he'll do either.
I’ll read Taibbi’s trash when he writes about infiltrating Obama’s “Hate Whitey” church.
Either action might be justified. Combined, they suggest insincerity.
It is two very different relationships. Politicians will normally accept “support” from just about anyone who is not actually blowing things up or being tried for rape/murder. McCain has not attended Hagee’s church and listened for years to Hagee’s views and has not thereby evinced acceptance of such views. Obama sat in Wright’s church for 20 years and did not protest the political and racist insanity, in fact, indicated a close relationship with Wright and a position as disciple to the preacher- called him his “spiritual advisor” and had him as campaign advisor until it got uncomfortable. I am Catholic and am afflicted by a pronounced snicker when I hear Hagee expound his silliness or see it in print but I can’t believe that McCain buys into any of it. For one thing, McCain has not evinced much religiosity at all.
He has a smarmy look on his face. Ugh.
WHAT??? You don’t like strawberries? Why, why, that’s un-American!!! (LOL)
I’ve read at least two prophecies talking about 7 cities where there are now nuclear bombs. I can’t recall all of them but here goes: Cincinnati, Montreal, SF, one in FL, one in TX,, NYC, Washington, DC. He may have heard the same ones.
>>WHAT??? You don’t like strawberries? Why, why, that’s un-American!!! (LOL)<<
It is, isn’t it??
Actually, it’s not the berries but the lovely rash that follows them.
Seriously, I have enough problems.
(Chocolate dipped Strawberries, Ooooooo)
I understand. Cats affect me. I love them, but can’t hold them or even be near some of them. Sigh.
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