A Loosely Orgainzed Pawn

That's what I am and, I suspect since you are reading this, you are one too. That's according to a piece written by Dr. Edward Hinson, Assistant to the Chancellor of Liberty University. That's right, he works for Rev. Jerry Falwell.

In this diatribe written for "Jerry Falwell's National Liberty Journal", Dr. Hinson targets the Christian Alliance for Progress but essentially throws any organization that would refer to itself as "religious liberal" under the bus. Essentially, that would include anyone who does not subscribe to the version of Christ touted by the Religious Right. The tone of this essay was hardly doctorate in nature. Rather, I could almost hear him saying "Nyah nyah nyah nyah, we're bigger and better than you are."

The main flaws Dr. Hinson points out, besides these groups disagreeing with his narrow view of Christianity, are that the leaders are not nearly as famous as men like Falwell, James Dobson, and yes, Pat Robertson. It is a darn shame that none of the "religious liberal" leaders have ever received anywhere near the publicity that Robertson did today, isn't it?

I would think that a representative of a university (a lovely campus I had the pleasure of touring recently) founded on christian principles and purporting to teach future religious leaders would show at least a trace of Jesus' love. He writes "evangelicals are not the stupid, backward obscurantists you think we are," yet in the rest of his essay appears to go out of his way to disprove his own point.

Thanks to the excellent blog "Christian Dissent" for finding this piece.

Robertson Wants Chavez Whacked

You just can't make this stuff up. If you did, it would be considered so far out there that it would be ridiculed. On Monday's edition of "The 700 Club", a show my mother and I used to watch together because of its loving Christian message and moving stories, host and right-wing religious czar Pat Robertson encouraged the U. S. government to assassinate Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. He veered so far to the right that Fox News doesn't even have his back on this issue.

I'm trying to make sense out of this, which is of course impossible since IT MAKES NO SENSE! Like it or not, Robertson is a religious leader with some influence in this country. I'm sure he has some twisted justification of how murdering this political leader would advance the cause of God's kingdom. I'm also happy to say that is escapes me, meaning I still have at least one foot firmly planted in reality.

Robertson endorses the assassination of the Venezuelan president in large part to save another $200 billion to get rid of a dictator, obviously referring to the cost of the war in Iraq. Robertson sees Venezuela becoming "a launching pad for communist infiltration and Muslim extremism."

I suppose we can infer from his statements, made on his own television program, that if we see any nation or group that he determines is a threat to our nation, it's okay to go Tony Soprano on them so we can save some money.

Of course, Robertson and his right-wing ilk often expound on the threat homosexuality is to our society. If there was a "President of Homosexuals" I guess Robertson would put a contract out on him or her. Since Canada has legalized gay marriage, is Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin on his hit list?

Does the Fab Five from "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" have bodyguards? If not, they might want to look into it--they could be next in the 700's Club's crosshairs.