Politics Plus

Pastor Rick Perry (R-TX) claims that he is called by God to minister the Gospel through holding political office.  He does not seem to care that the establishment clause isn’t too accepting of evangelization through government.  Aside from all his insistence on faith and patriotism, except when he talks about seceding, his views are both anti-American and anti-Christian.

It’s important that Democrats inform themselves all about the dangerous religious extremists with whom Texas Gov. Rick Perry is aligning himself:

So you have to wonder: Is Rick Perry God’s man for president?

Schlueter, Long and other prayer warriors in a little-known but increasingly influential movement at the periphery of American Christianity seem to think so. The movement is called the New Apostolic Reformation. Believers fashion themselves modern-day prophets and apostles. They have taken Pentecostalism, with its emphasis on ecstatic worship and the supernatural, and given it an adrenaline shot.

The movement’s top prophets and apostles believe they have a direct line to God. Through them, they say, He communicates specific instructions and warnings. When mankind fails to heed the prophecies, the results can be catastrophic: earthquakes in Japan, terrorist attacks in New York, and economic collapse. On the other hand, they believe their God-given decrees have ended mad cow disease in Germany and produced rain in drought-stricken Texas.

Their beliefs can tend toward the bizarre. Some consider Freemasonry a “demonic stronghold” tantamount to witchcraft. The Democratic Party, one prominent member believes, is controlled by Jezebel and three lesser demons. Some prophets even claim to have seen demons at public meetings. They’ve taken biblical literalism to an extreme. In Texas, they engage in elaborate ceremonies involving branding irons, plumb lines and stakes inscribed with biblical passages driven into the earth of every Texas county.

… [emphasis original]

Inserted from <Crooks and Liars>

Here’s the video from the article:

Can you imagine the implications of having this man responsible for foreign policy?

As Rick Perry moves toward what appears to be a run for the Presidency, he is milking his planned prayer meeting for all the free publicity he can get.  To help him in this endeavor, he has assembled a premier collection of Republican favorites, the most heinous hate mongers the gospel of Republican Supply-side Jesus (NOT the real Jesus) has to offer.

Inspired by the massive amount of video and other materials we are turning up in examining the extremists with whom Gov. Rick Perry is partnering with in promoting his upcoming "The Response" prayer rally, we decided to put together a little video to highlight just who these people are.

The video consists of the invitation Gov. Perry recorded asking people to attend his rally interspersed with footage of event endorsers, organizers, and sponsors – including Bryan Fischer saying gays should be banned from public office, Cindy Jacobs saying God was going to move unrighteous leaders out of government, Mike Bickle saying Oprah is a forerunner to the Antichrist, Jim Garlow saying the gay rights movement is driven by an "Antichrist spirit," John Hagee saying God sent Hitler as a hunter to force the Jews to move to Israel, David Barton saying God is not going to tolerate those who don’t vote against issues like gay marriage or abortion, Stephen Broden saying the use of violence must always remain on the table, and finally Fischer again saying liberals hate God…

Inserted from <Right Wing Watch>

Here’s the video.

These are the people Perry and the Republican Party honor as their spiritual advisors.  Could anything be more anti-American or anti-Christian?

To the best of my knowledge, there has never been a nation ruled by God.  There have been Theocracies, but they have invariably been nations ruled by people, purporting to be acting in God’s behalf, and, more often than not, lining their own pockets in the process.  Fortunately, our nation’s founders had the wisdom to foresee that we could not maintain our freedom if ruled by Theocons, and they guaranteed against the establishment of a state religion in the 1st Amendment.  Republican supply-side pseudo-Christians reject that wisdom, and would impose their beliefs on everyone.

Rep. Paul Broun (R-GA) is a gigantic ass. There, I just saved you a few paragraphs of reading. But if you care to know more, here it is:

On the Fourth of July, many lawmakers set aside partisan disagreements in favor of sweeping tributes to American freedom. But not Rep. Paul Broun (R-GA), who couldn’t keep his abhorrence of Americans who disagree with his political views out of his invocation at a barbecue hosted by the Cobb County GOP. […]

U.S. Rep. Paul Broun (R-Athens), who delivered the invocation, warned about the future of the U.S.

"We’re standing on the precipice, staring down in the deep chasm of socialism and total government control," Broun said. […]

There are those who wish to destroy the U.S., Broun said, citing radical Islam and "progressives."

"Father, there are many who want to destroy us from outside this nation," Broun said. "Folks like al-Qaeda and the radical Islamists. But there are folks that want to destroy us from inside, the progressives and the socialists, who want to make this nation a nation that’s no longer under you, under God, but a nation that’s ruled by man."

I think spending the 4th of July at a GOP-sponsored barbeque while offering a prayer to God against progressive Americans who are like al-Qaeda is quote possibly the most awesome God-fearing and flag-waving thing I can think of. The only thing it lacks is that Rep. Broun should have been wearing a giant red-white-and-blue painted crucifix, and he should have been riding in a pickup truck that was jumping a pit full of flamethrower-wielding lions, and the pickup truck should have a picture painted on the tailgate of Jesus and Ronald Reagan high-fiving each other… [emphasis original]

Inserted from <Daily Kos>

Don’t get me wrong here.  I consider myself a man of faith, and hope you will honor that, as I honor your faith, whatever it may be.  What I will not honor is any attempt to impose faith of any kind, any attempt to control others, racism and bigotry under the guise of faith, any attempt to seek personal gain under the guise of faith, and any attempt to legislate piety codes.

If we allow religion to interfere with government, it guarantees something even worse.  Government will interfere in religion.