DUIN: Religions face identity theft

Washington Times ^ | March 25, 2010 | Julia Duin

[Between the Lines]

There's this odd sleight of hand going on in the nation's capital.It used to be that you called the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) or someone at the Vatican to get the Catholic Church's side of things. With evangelicals - a far more diverse and scattered group - you could call a certain handful of organizations, magazine editors and pastors and pretty much get the drift of what the born-again crowd thought.

That all changed around the time of the 2004 elections. Liberal folks realized that religion was important to the electorate and if you can't beat them, not only join them but appropriate their brand.

All of a sudden, new groups including the word "Catholic" sprung up like crocuses in March: Catholics United, Catholic Democrats and Catholics in Alliance for the Common Ground.

The emergence of such groups infuriated William Donohue of the Catholic League to no end, as he felt these were faux Catholic organizations that were being showcased to show then-candidate Barack Obama had Catholic support. It didn't help that atheist billionaire George Soros was donating hundreds of thousands of dollars to the Catholics in Alliance group.

"[President Obama's] entire 'Catholic outreach' has been toward leftist Catholic groups that say they oppose abortion yet they agree with every decision Obama has made about it," Mr. Donohue told me.

The same thing happened on the evangelical side of the fence. Liberal evangelicals like Ron Sider and Jim Wallis came out of the woodwork; Mr. Wallis produced a book on moral issues that rose to the top of the New York Times best-seller list and sat there. Folks like former National Association of Evangelicals Vice President Richard Cizik, filmmaker Steven Martin and ethicist David Gushee founded a "New Evangelical Partnership for the Common Good."

[Woebama]

Educate your family and your neighbors about the propaganda in the system. They may think you are a little looney until they are part of a story themselves.

[afraidfortherepublic]

I’ve sent this info on. Be suspicious of any organization with the word “Common” in the title. Especially if your church is giving big bucks to them.Get on your church’s parish council, or other governing board and stop this nonsense. I refuse to donate to any parish, or diocesan, appeal that is giving our money away to these Commie, or Alinsky, groups. They are prolific. Our Parish could probably find the funds to build a much needed new school, if we would just top giving funds to the Alinsky orgs that are squandering it.

[Between the Lines]

Baptist Ping!

We used to say that we were ‘born again’ until the left stole that name from us. Now we are rapidly distancing ourselves from Evangelical as they take over that name as well. Half of our churches do not use Baptist in their name anymore any many choose to be called non-doms rather than Baptists. All because the left has demonized the name Baptist.

So I ask, do you think it will be much longer before we lose our identity entirely?

[prairiebreeze]

read later

[alpha-8-25-02]

The Hatred of the World

John15v18 “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. 19 If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. 20 Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. 21 But all these things they will do to you on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me. 22 If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have been guilty of sin, [3] but now they have no excuse for their sin. 23 Whoever hates me hates my Father also. 24 If I had not done among them the works that no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin, but now they have seen and hated both me and my Father. 25 But the word that is written in their Law must be fulfilled: ‘They hated me without a cause.’

Constantia Center Independent Baptist Church

Serving our Lord Jesus Christ for more than 152 years!

This should be every Christian's proud and courageous identity.

Soli Deo Gloria!

[wmfights]

We used to say that we were ‘born again’...

We still do. It's pretty easy to spot the phonies and their spokesmen. The media is never going to portray us accurately it's the one on one situations where we have to be clear who we are.