Posted on 08/05/2011 6:28:22 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
As I wrote last week, there are a number of troubling facets of the New Apostolic Reformation [NAR] that cry out for media attention. The NAR is the significant, yet relatively little-known religious movement embraced by many prominent endorsers of Texas Governor Rick Perry's upcoming prayer event, "The Response". It represents a major break with the Religious Right of the past: it's not about issues or even "values". It's about power, pure and simple. About taking over the world, a form of Christian dominionism, and as I described, they've even got a seven-point plan for doing so - the "Seven Mountains Mandate".
[BIG SNIP]
Thus, the very model of how democracy is supposed to work is systematically being dismantled in America, the birthplace of modern democracy. As Obama sells out his base in ever more sweeping ways at every turn, he relies on their fear of much worse to support him anyway. And what does the GOP have to oppose him?
Rick Perry, with the aid of the NAR post-fundamentalists, or so it would seem.
4. With malice toward none
Investigative reporter Forrest Wilder of the Texas Observer, recently published an extensive article on Perry's August 6 prayer event and his endorsers, "Rick Perry's Army of God." I spoke with Wilder at some length, and our discussion also encompassed the prolonged drought that Texas is experiencing, with virtually no policy response, except of course, for Perry having issued yet another call for prayer - this time for rain.
Whether or how much Perry actually shares in the NAR's belief system is difficult to say, Wilder told me, but, "You can say this about Perry and The Response - there is this underlying theme which is kind of throwing up one's hands at all these problems that we're faced with in society and saying: 'Well, I got nothing, so let's see what God can do for us.'"
Although Perry - along with the preachers behind him - tries to spin this as typically American, and a return to an earlier, more overtly religious attitude among presidents and other political leaders, the lack of any sort of rational planning, or pragmatic foundation is actually profoundly at odds with our real American heritage, which is much more along the pragmatic, activist lines that "God helps those who help themselves". What's more, the hollow helplessness at its core is the exact opposite of the NAR's self-promotion as an organisation of prophets and apostles so powerful that God himself can't get the job done without them.
In contrast to these pseudo-religious shenanigans, Lincoln's second inaugural address is a deeply religious meditation on the meaning and significance of the Civil War, arguably the most terrible tribulation America has ever faced as a nation. It was a masterful blend of both mythos and logos, addressing both, confusing neither. On the one hand, Lincoln saw it as beyond human power to say what the war's outcome would be.
"Fondly do we hope, fervently do we pray, that this mighty scourge of war may speedily pass away," Lincoln said. "Yet, if God wills that it continue until all the wealth piled by the bondsman's two hundred and fifty years of unrequited toil shall be sunk, and until every drop of blood drawn with the lash shall be paid by another drawn with the sword, as was said three thousand years ago, so still it must be said 'the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether'."
Such was the level of Lincoln's surrender to the will of God. Yet, that did not for one moment lead him to Perry's sort of pathetic despair and utter cluelessness about what to do. He did not abandon logos or determination, even hope. Instead, Lincoln concluded with one of the strongest statements of national purpose and commitment ever uttered by an American President, or any other national leader:
"With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations."
Lincoln's words reveal what it means to be a secular leader with a profound religious sense of moral and spiritual accountability, conscious of the requirements that mythos and logos each demand. His words tower over America today, which seems utterly incapable of even recognising what it has lost - much less figuring out how to regain it.
If America is to be saved, it will be in no small part because the people of other lands, such as Egypt, have learned lessons from America that America herself has forgotten. Seeing them put America's lessons to work in their countries - perhaps, just perhaps, Americans can relearn what we've forgotten. And in the words of Langston Hughes, let America be America again.
I heard Al Gore calling for America to have something like the "Arab Spring" uprisings against our conservative ascendancy [he's been telling students that their parents don't see the threat of climate change and that they must be prepared to act, as their parents' generation had when they marched for civil rights] -- yet this will not be elevated to being a radical position, like Rick Perry asking Christians to come together and pray.
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Gov. Rick Perry at a private meeting with business and religious leaders: And I think that it's time for us to just hand it over to God and say, 'God, you're going to have to fix this.'"
..."Perry invited President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, congressional and Senate leaders from Texas, and all of the country's state governors to join him in Houston to pray for an America that "is in a state of crisis. Not just politically, financially, or morally, but because we are a nation that has not honored God in our successes or humbly called Him in our struggles."……….Source
July 15, 2011 -- AUSTIN — Gov. Rick Perry said Monday that he doesn’t necessarily subscribe to the extreme beliefs of some of the ministers coming to his prayer summit next month. “I’m sure that through my elections in the past that there have been some groups that have endorsed me publicly, that I appreciate their endorsements, but their endorsements of me doesn’t mean I endorse what they believe in or what they say,” Perry said. Source
July 25, 2011 -- CWA added to Perry's support Concerned Women for America –……"I am honored to be a national co-chair of The Response," says CWA's Penny Nance. She adds that members of her group nationwide "are invited to take part in whatever way possible, whether it's coming to actually be a part of the event, or just praying at home. We believe that it's just important that women of faith ... come together and pray for our country."
And in response to the opposition to the prayer event -- including the lawsuit filed by the Freedom From Religion Foundation that claims the gathering violates the religious freedom article in the First Amendment -- she assures: "We'll pray for them."
Aug 3, 2011: "Governor Perry is very excited about this event and fully embraces what it is about," Bearse said. "He believes people of various denominations and differences praying together will create a spirit of unity. And he believes God's presence will be palpable." Source
August 4, 2011--Austin American-StatesmanTexas is bigger than Perry [Austin Dem Party Chairman rallies special interests to march against prayer event being held in Houston on Saturday and GOP)………“Yes, the Austin rally — Rick Perry: Bad for Texas, Worse for Our Nation — will take place on the same day as Perry's gathering in Houston. But we are not rallying to oppose prayer, as I'm sure Perry will accuse us of doing. We are coming together as a community to protest Perry and his fellow Republicans' unprecedented cuts to public education, the Draconian cuts to human services, disastrous environmental record, attack on women's reproductive rights, smoke-and-mirrors accounting of the state budget that will doom us for years, and, most glaringly, his hypocritical use of prayer and religion to exclude and divide.”…..
August 3, 2011--Austin Activist: Minister/Community Organizer: Five Scriptures You Won't Hear At Rick Perry's Prayer Event …………… “Worship by those who neglect the poor is offensive to God -- “I hate, I despise your religious festivals; your assemblies are a stench to me… Away with the noise of your songs! I will not listen to the music of your harps. But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!” (Amos 5:21-24)”………………
Many consider those words from the previously secular Lincoln to reflect his conversion to Christianity. The following is not my research, just a copy/paste from the internet, but I've seen it elsewhere about Lincoln in the past. I do know he was raised by a solidly religious mother.
The Parish Messenger of the Church of the Saviour: Commemoration of Lincoln, 1909Abraham Lincoln: the Christian, William J. Johnstone, 1915
The Lincoln Memorial: Album-Immortelles – O.H. Oldroyd Collection, pg 366, 1883
The story, corroborated in all three sources, goes like this. An Illinois Pastor, whom Lincoln knew well and trusted, asked him “Mr. President, do you love Jesus?” After a long pause, Mr. Lincoln replied: “When I left Springfield I asked the people to pray for me. I was not a Christian. When I buried my son, the severest trial of my life, I was not a Christian. But when I went to Gettysburg and saw the graves of thousands of our soldiers, I then and there consecrated myself to Christ. Yes, I do love Jesus.”
We need more people standing up for prayer and the very One this nation was founded on - our Lord, Savior, and King!
Perry has REALLY struck a nerve.
I heard on the news that before the “debt ceiling” vote some Representatives went into a room to pray rather than meeting with the caucus (or something to that effect) and some people were dismayed about it.
Perry is looking better and better.
The First Amendment of the US Constitution stipulates that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof...” and Article VI specifies that “no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.”
A growing number of Christian conservatives, apostolics and evangelicals, however, believe the founding fathers got it wrong, that devout Christians have a mandate from God, not only to be active in politics and civil society but also to lead the nation and indeed the world with the Bible, not the Constitution, as their primary guide.
They sometimes are referred to as Dominionists and are America’s version of Islamists. They draw their mandate from the Old Testament Bible passage Genesis 1:26 in which God gives man dominion over the earth. The passage makes no mention of rule by Christians given that Christ would not be born until much later.
American Dominionists come in two flavors, soft and hard. The Website Theocracy Watch describes Soft Dominionists as “Christians who believe Biblically-defined immorality and sin breed chaos and anarchy and worry that liberal secular humanists, feminists and homosexuals undermine America’s greatness as God’s chosen land.”
Hard Dominionists, the Website says, have the same beliefs but also want the US to be a Christian theocracy run by Christian men with certain beliefs as they believe is ordained by God. For them the Constitution and Bill of Rights are but addendums to Old Testament Biblical law.
The political right and faith-based organizations have been working in coalitions for years. The embrace of Dominionists and the growth of the fringe Tea Party wing of the Republican party are but the latest wrinkles. …………[snip]
Double guilt-by-association - Gov Perry is linked to a group of NAR "endorsers" (note: not "supporters"), who in turn are linked to a completely unrelated group (oooh, the scary Dominionists!). But we're talking an Al Jazeera Op Ed piece, so it must be true!
Such an editior they have! Oy, vey! Such loathing and self-hatred they have, these Jews for the destruction of Israel!
He continued, “The act of funding, supporting, organizing and engaging in these efforts appears to constitute participation in a naval expedition against a people with whom the United States is at peace,” as well as material support or resources to a foreign terrorist organization and other violations.
Perry said at least two of the ships are registered in Delaware, including one named “The Audacity of Hope,” which was the title of President Barack Obama’s second book.
The letter concludes, “I respectfully request that the U.S. Department of Justice take immediate steps to investigate, enjoin and bring to justice all parties found to be in violation of U.S. law by their participation in these efforts.”
The Left cannot - will not - tolerate us coming together in any fashion. Our coalescing defeats their divide and conquer technique, though they retain their vast network built and networking just under the radar to be called up as needed. It is described so well in this article:
Democrats Unveil the Weapon of the Future "What do the political battles in Wisconsin and the Spanish Civil War have in common? A disturbing characteristic. The Spanish Civil War is one of those events that are on the way to becoming forgotten history. The term "civil war" is a bit misleading, since the conflict internationalized itself in short order, with Hitler and Mussolini lining up with the rebels, or "Nationalists", and Stalin backing the "Republicans" (actually a motley gaggle of various left-wing elements).
The dictatorships utilized Spain as a proving ground for new tactics and weapons, including the Me-109, fighter-bomber, the Ju-87 Stuka dive bomber, along with Rotte fighter tactics and area bombing raids, such as that carried out against Guernica. The war ended in 1939 with the defeat of the Republicans, even as World War II was looming. The Germans learned quite a lot in Spain that they applied to the Blitzkrieg campaigns against Poland and France. (Uncle Joe might have picked up a few things if he hadn't decided to have most of the officers sent to Spain shot on their return.)
Something similar, though on a much lower key (no massacres or bombing raids yet) has been occurring in Wisconsin over the past few months: a nearly open civil war instigated by the left in order to test an array of new tactics. ........"
He’s getting more of my attention...
The anger being directed toward him from the Left is palpable.
“The anger being directed toward him from the Left is palpable. “
The more I see of that anger, the more I’m inclinded to support him.
It will be interesting to see what happens tomorrow.
All the angst in the MSM and vile nasty outrage written on blogs about Perry and prayer and the “division” it causes.
Will all this Left-wing hype be dropped after the news cycle, or is it the beginning of the Left coming together in opposition to the conservative ascendancy?
Ping
OK, I'll go for that AJ - Get your camel and goat humping rear ends OUT of the USA.
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