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Posted on 11/07/2007 3:04:16 PM PST by TaxesR2High
I have added my own commentary throughout this article. -- TaxesR2High
Utopian fantasies have long transfixed the human race. Yet today a much rarer fantasy has become popular in the United States. Millions of Americans, the richest people in history, have a death wish. They are the new “Armageddonites,” fundamentalist evangelicals who have moved from forecasting Armageddon to actually trying to bring it about.
Most journalists find it difficult to take seriously that tens of millions of Americans, filled with fantasies of revenge and empowerment, long to leave a world they despise. These Armageddonites believe that they alone will get a quick, free pass when they are “raptured” to paradise, no good deeds necessary, not even a day of judgment. Ironically, they share this utopian fantasy with a group that they often castigate, namely fundamentalist Muslims who believe that dying in battle also means direct access to Heaven. For the Armageddonites, however, there are no waiting virgins, but they do agree with Muslims that there will be “no booze, no bars,” in the words of a popular Gaither Singers song.
These end-timers have great influence over the U.S. government’s foreign policy. (I would argue that most of them don't honestly believe in 'God'...but that their words and actions are motivated by a concern for 'mother earth' and the 'virus' that plagues it.) They are thick with the Republican leadership. At a recent conference in Washington, congressional leader Roy Blunt, for example, has said that their work is "part of God's plan." (God's plan for worldwide socialism? Because that's all I've seen Republicans endorsing lately.) At the same meeting, where speakers promoted attacking Iran, former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay glorified “end times.” Indeed the Bush administration often consults with them on Mideast policies. (Hmmm...) The organizer of the conference, Rev. John Hagee, is often welcomed at the White House, although his ratings are among the lowest on integrity and transparency by Ministry Watch, which rates religious broadcasters. He raises millions of dollars from his campaign supporting Israeli settlements on the West Bank, including much for himself. Erstwhile presidential candidate Gary Bauer is on his Board of Directors. Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson (the same guy that endorsed Giuliani today?) also both expressed strong end-times beliefs.
American fundamentalists strongly supported the decision to invade Iraq in 2003. They consistently support Israel’s hard-line policies. And they are beating the drums for war against Iran. Thanks to these end-timers, American foreign policy has turned much of the world against us, including most Muslims, nearly a quarter of the human race. (Thanks for fulfilling the 'prophecy' guys, good job.)
The Beginning of End Times The evangelical movement originally was not so “end times” focused. Rather, it was concerned with the “moral” decline inside America. The Armageddon theory started with the writings of a Scottish preacher, John Nelson Darby (1800-1882). His ideas then spread to America with publication in 1917 of the Scofield Reference Bible, foretelling that the return of the Jews to Palestine would bring about the end times. (So this particular so-called 'prophecy' has only been in existence less than 200 years?! Hmmm!) The best-selling book of the 1970s, The Late, Great Planet Earth, further spread this message. The movement did not make a conscious effort to affect foreign policy until Jerry Falwell went to Jerusalem and the Left Behind books became best sellers. (So much easier to fulfill 'prophecy' if you can convince everyone that it's coming no matter what - then people just resign themselves to it and accept their 'fate'.)
Conservative Christian writer Gary North estimates the number of Armageddonites at about 20 million. Many of them have an ecstatic belief in the cleansing power of apocalyptic violence. (AH-HA! Population control!) They are among the more than 30% of Americans who believe that the world is soon coming to an end. Armageddonites may be a minority of the evangelicals, but they have vocal leaders and control 2,000 mostly fundamentalist religious radio stations. (Yea, let's convince everyone that a clash of civilizations is inevitable. Then we'll carry out a BIG war and at just the right point, in what will be determined by religious leaders and pundits to be in accordance with 'prophecy', we will direct our armies to turn against Israel...despite the fact we've been standing up for them...then all religious people will know that the 'end times' have arrived.)
Although little focused on in America, Armageddonites attract the attention of Muslims abroad. In 2004, for instance, I attended Qatar’s Fifth Conference on Democracy with Muslim leaders from all over the Arabian Gulf. There, the uncle of Jordan’s king devoted his whole speech to warning of the Armageddonites’ power over American foreign policy.
Armageddonite Foreign Policy The beliefs of the Armageddon Lobby, also known as Dispensationalists, come from the Book of Revelations, which Martin Luther relegated it to an appendix when he translated the Bible because its image of Christ was so contrary to the rest of the Bible. The Armageddonites worship a vengeful, killer-torturer Christ. They also frequently quote a biblical passage that God favors those who favor the Jews. But they only praise Jews who make war, not those who are peacemakers. (Interesting...go on.) For example, they vigorously opposed Israel’s murdered premier Yitzhak Rabin, who promoted the Oslo Peace Accords.
Based on this Biblical interpretation, the Armageddonites vehemently argue that America must protect Israel and encourage its settlements on the West Bank in order to help God fulfill His plans. The return of Jews to Palestine is central to the prophetic vision of the Armageddonites, who see it as a critical step toward the final battle, Armageddon, and the victory of the righteous over Satan’s minions. There are a couple internal inconsistencies with this prophecy, such as the presence of Christians already living in the Holy Land and the role of Jews in the final dispensation. In the first case, Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson, and other Religious Right leaders tried to pretend that Christians already in the Holy Land simply didn’t exist. As for Jews, they needed to become “born again” Christians to avoid God’s wrath (or, according to some Armageddonites, a separate Jewish covenant with God will gain them a separate Paradise) <---(the author's commentary, not mine).
Everyone else -- Buddhists, Muslims (of course), Hindus, atheists, and so on – are then slated to die in the Tribulation that comes with Armageddon. As described in the bestselling Left Behind series, this time of human misery ends with Christ then ruling a paradise on earth for a thousand years. (I wonder if this 'paradise' will include a bunch of RFID tags? Read Spychips by Katherine Albrecht.)
Armageddonites know little about the outside world, which they think of as threatening and awash with Satanic temptations. They are big supporters of Bush’s “go it alone” foreign policies. For example, they love John Bolton. They were prime supporters for attacking Iraq. And, with very few exceptions, they were noticeably quiet about, if not supportive, of torturing prisoners of war (only with a new leadership did the National Association of Evangelicals finally condemn torture in May, 2007) <- (author's commentary). (I used to support all of that too, but then I made the transition from ideologue to realist. I must admit that it was a hard thing to do...admitting that I was wrong about some things to friends/family.) Their support of the Senator Joseph Lieberman (I-CT) and former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani shows that they consider aggressively prosecuting Mideast war (to help speed up the apocalypse) more important than the domestic programs of these socially liberal politicians.
On other foreign policy issues, they are violently against the pending Law of the Seas Treaty (not sure about the violently part, but I'm also opposed to it), indeed any treaty which possibly circumscribes U.S. power to go it alone (Well, sovereignty should still be an important issue to Americans, at least until we're able to beat back socialism...but it's not looking too good for us at the moment. We are currently heading into a world government largely influenced by the UN. I ask, "If world government is inevitable, why can't it be under the influence of something like a 'United States of the World' where other nations, when they're ready, choose to adopt our Constitution.) They want illegal immigrants expelled and oppose more immigration. They fear China’s growth. They despise Europeans for not being more warlike. The UN figures prominently in their fears, and the Left Behind books present its Secretary General as the Antichrist (well...who knows?). Domestically, they strongly support the USA PATRIOT Act and all of President Bush’s actions, legal or illegal. (Well, through social conditioning put out by various media outlets, many people have been transformed into ideologues that blindly reject any objective criticism of their fearless leaders.)
Armageddonites and Fascism Author and former New York Times reporter Christopher Hedges argues that worldview and reasoning of the Armageddonites tend toward fascism. In his book American Fascists, Hedges focuses on their obedience to leadership, their feelings of humiliation and victimhood, alienation, their support for authoritarian government, and their disinterestedness in constitutional limits on government power. (I started to notice this too...it's pretty freaky) Theirs was originally a defensive movement against the liberal democratic society, particularly abortion, school desegregation, and now globalization, which they saw as undermining their communities and families, their values, and livelihood. (Which I totally agree with.)Their fundamentalism is very fulfilling and, Hedges writes, “they are terrified of losing this new, mystical world of signs, wonders and moral certitude, of returning to the old world of despair.” (Well, when it happens, they will have noone to blame but themselves)
Hedges, a graduate of Harvard Divinity School, also shows that fundamentalists are quite selective. They don’t take the Bible literally when it comes to justifying slavery or that children who curse a parent are to be executed. The movement is also very masculine, giving poor men a path to re-establish their authority in what they perceive as an overly feminized culture. (True, the culture has been feminized.) Images of Jesus often show Him with thick muscles, clutching a sword. (LOL, do what?!) Christian men are portrayed as powerful warriors.
The overwhelming power and warmongering of the Armageddonites has inspired some resistance from other fundamentalists, but they are a minority. (That's too bad really, because the world is going to hell in a handbasket and we could use some reasoned thinkers.) Theologian Richard Fenn writes, “Silent complicity (by mainline churches) with apocalyptic rhetoric soon becomes collusion with plans for religiously inspired genocide.” Their death-wishing “religion” is actually anti-Christian and should be challenged openly by traditional Christians. (Yes, it should be.)
The next election will likely loosen their grip on the White House. However, their growing ties to the military industrial complex will remain. (That's right, because our society is no longer driven by capitalism; it is driven by corporatism and central economic planning.) Exposure of their war wanting as a major threat to America and the world may well become as destructive for them as was the famous Scopes trial in the 1920s. But that will only happen if Americans become as concerned as foreign observers about the influence of the Armageddonites. (I haven't lost hope...not yet anyway, there's still time.)
Why would anyone give any credence to this incredible pile of horsecrap?
Good God, have mercy on JimRob’s bandwidth, eh?
He imagines the Holy Rollers are going to take over the world and ruin it.
Instead, we should all be more concerned with the fact that the Democrats are taking over the Virginia Senate and will raise taxes on cigarettes to build roads for wealthy Liberal neighborhoods full of leftwing lawyers.
If so it is amazing how you can ignore the amazing contradiction that presents... If you want Armageddon simply let everyone have nukes... That is the path to Armageddon... But to you trying to prevent that path is somehow being an Armageddonite...
And I find it interesting that because “now the whole world is against us” that somehow the rest of the world holds the moral high ground... That’s the same moral high ground that led to the death of a few hundred million in the last century... That “moral high ground” is based on not making their enemies mad because their enemies aren’t killing them at them moment, it is someone else doing all the dying...
If that’s is your view, you are morally bankrupt. Nothing further to discuss.
This is so bogus and is nothing more than a repetition of more anti-fundamentalist tripe.
It would be a good idea to repost this and place your comments in a response, rather than mixing your comments in with the writer’s.
Frankly, I find this whole piece to be offensive.
You say you added to it. Point those comments out instead of mixing it in.
That way we know which kook wrote what.
Well said.
And I agree, it is - all - offensive.
“This is so bogus and is nothing more than a repetition of more anti-fundamentalist tripe.”
Ditto
By the way. I guess I have a new title. I have never heard of an “Armageddonist”, but if the shoe fits...
LOL, yea, call me names and denounce ME as ‘morally bankrupt’...
Would you say it was morally bankrupt or even ‘kooky’ to give chemical weapons to a guy like Saddam in the first place?
Did Saddam need to go? Yea.
Did we need a whole army to do remove him from power? No.
So are we going to learn from our mistakes? Or are we just going to continue to assume that we can do no wrong, because by-golly we’re the U.S. darnit! What’s it going to be?
Iran’s nuclear ambitions...yea, that’s a pretty scary issue. Why aren’t we being more forceful on Russia? Why are we letting Russia help them acquire this nuclear technology? Does anyone have an answer?
Was it moral to allow the mess in Rwanda? Is it moral to allow the mess in Sudan? I’d like some serious answers if anyone has them.
And stop it already with the name-calling and put up a good debate for once.
Never have I seen so much ignorance displayed in one essay.
Tighten the tinfoil dude.
How does the author of this piece fit my agnosticism into my desires to bomb the crud out of Iran, tame Iraq; or support of Israel, erasing the fledgling “state” of Palestine (not the people), and expelling illegal immigrants?
The author is a brownshirt propagandist. Sieg Heil!
Why are you posting this crap?
Well, seeing that we DID NOT . . . .
(Virtual nickel to the first person that points out why we could not).
Fundamentalist Muslims want the final conflict to begin as well, to reveal the "Hidden Imam". They think that they're gonn'a win!
iatz
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