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Last Updated: Oct 30th, 2006 - 02:18:15 |
Religion
Theo-political prostitution: Bush and the Christian Right
By Mel Seesholtz, Ph.D.
David Kuo is a conservative Christian. Until 2003, he
was deputy director of President Bush�s Office of Faith-Based and Community
Initiatives. Even before his new book Tempting
Faith: An Inside Story of Political Seduction was released (pertinent
excerpts from the book are now
available), fallout from the nuclear detonation -- or �nu-cu-lar� as
linguistically-challenged George W. would say -- was being reported:
Oct 20, 2006, 01:10
Religion
Ban Ki-moon: Is he or isn't he a Moonie?
By Wayne Madsen
(WMR)
-- WMR was the first to report on UN Secretary General-designate Ban Ki-moon's
possible connections to the Unification Church of Sun Myung Moon, an enigmatic
South Korean power broker and billionaire whose funding originally came from
the Korean Central Intelligence Agency (KCIA).
Oct 17, 2006, 00:39
Religion
The conversion factor
By Bill Berkowitz
As Christian evangelicals in the United States
grow their support for Israel, conversion of Jews to Christianity continues to
be a thorny issue for both Christians and Jews.
Oct 12, 2006, 00:53
Religion
The bully pulpit, sanctimonious Santorum, and the meaning of �zero�
By Mel Seesholtz, Ph.D.
As the November elections near, the Christian Right is
again using the pulpit to bully (and scare) people
into voting as they want them to vote.
Oct 11, 2006, 01:22
Religion
A new low, even for the Traditional Values Coalition
By Mel Seesholtz, Ph.D.
Lou
Sheldon and his Traditional
Values Coalition are notorious for their vile rhetoric and unbridled hatred
of gay and lesbian Americans. Their vicious, often profane attacks denigrate
the �God,� Christian faith and churches they say they represent: �TVC
speaks on behalf of over 43,000 churches . . . and includes most Christian
denominations.� It was difficult to believe they could sink to a new low, but
they did.
Oct 6, 2006, 00:59
Religion
For God's sake
By Philip J. Rappa
I always felt that my
hometown was a microcosm of the world. With that said, I would like to address
this talk of separation of God and State.
Sep 28, 2006, 00:58
Religion
Pious right-wing Republicans smear the name of Jesus and ravage the image of Christianity
By Nick Paccione
There was a brief period during the early
seventies when Jesus Christ was on the way to becoming a totally bitchen, hip
and with-it cultural icon in America.
He was climbing the Billboard charts as the subject of several songs
including �Jesus Christ Superstar� in 1971,
�Put Your Hand in the Hand (Of the Man Who Stilled the Water)� in that
same year and �My Sweet Lord� in 1970 (Granted this George Harrison song was
more about Krishna but the general public didn�t really see it that way. If you were Christian this song was about
Jesus Christ).
Sep 26, 2006, 00:53
Religion
Tolerating intolerance
By Remi Kanazi
Pope Benedict XVI is not having a good week and yet
doesn�t seem to mind. Upsetting one
out of every five people living today may be of no concern for His Holiness --
made evident by his half-hearted, �sorry my infallible words offended you�
apology -- but one can surely understand why some Muslims took offense to his
recent speech.
Sep 22, 2006, 01:36
Religion
The Panzer Pope pontificates on Muslim violence
By Jerry Mazza
The Panzer Pope,
originally the �Panzer Cardinal,� according to his German curiae buddies, was a
reference to the young Joseph Ratzinger's membership in the Hitler Youth. This
as Luciana Bohne points out in Neocon Pope,
�was a sly reference to Benedict�s disputed military past in the last days of
the terminally delirious Third Reich -- and, perhaps to his continuing
reactionary politics.� Actually, back in the old days, Joey was alternately
called �the enforcer� and �God�s Rottweiler,� so I took the liberty of
upgrading him to Panzer Pope. If the Iron Cross fits, wear it.
Sep 20, 2006, 01:17
Religion
Et tu, Benedicte?
By Ben Tanosborn
So Benedict XVI
didn�t intend to offend Muslims. But he did! Any pope must realize that outside
the realm of ecclesiastical dogma, his pronouncements, whether casual or formal,
are always taken by people around the world, other than Catholic theologians,
as if made ex cathedra. Sermons, lectures or just casual addresses by
the pontiff log in for all to see where the Church stands on political, social
and economic issues . . . not just religion. And no, they don�t have to come in
the form of an encyclical.
Sep 20, 2006, 00:58
Religion
Neocon pope
By Luciana Bohne
Some Italians began
to refer to Pope Benedict XVI on his ascenscion to the throne of Peter as
"the Panzer Kardinal," a nickname bestowed on him apparently by his German curiae
colleagues. This was a sly reference to Benedict's disputed military past in
the last days of the terminally delirious Third Reich -- and, perhaps, to his
continuing reactionary politics.
Sep 18, 2006, 02:26
Religion
The role of religion in political affairs
By Rodrigue Tremblay
The role of religion in political and geopolitical
affairs has taken center stage in many periods in history, with disastrous
results. Religion can be rewarding for individuals as a source of private
morality and meditation. But when politicians and leaders start using religion
for political purposes, disasters inevitably follow.
Sep 18, 2006, 02:17
Religion
The curse of radical Islam as a political religion
By Rodrigue Tremblay
Some readers have told me that I do not write enough
about the political side of Islam, especially as it
relates to the mixing of religion and politics and to the fringe element of radical
Islam which is supportive of international terrorism. As a matter of
fact, I have written extensively on the question, but in French (see my 2001
book "L'Heure juste"). Here, then, is my position on this topic.
Sep 13, 2006, 02:10
Religion
Schwarzenegger caves to bigots and bullies in vetoing Bias Free Curriculum Act
By Mel Seesholtz, Ph.D.
In its last session, the California legislature passed
several equality bills. One of them was SB 1437. The
Bias Free Curriculum Act would have prohibited discrimination based on
sexual orientation and gender identity in textbooks, classroom materials and
school-sponsored activities. It would have allowed curricula to include such
historically and culturally significant events such as the 1978 assassination
of San Francisco supervisor Harvey Milk and the 1969 Stonewall Rebellion in New
York City.
Sep 12, 2006, 01:06
Religion
Theocrats or theofascists? The Religious Right�s true colors
By Mel Seesholtz, Ph.D.
The August 9 Focus on the Family CitizenLink article by Wendy
Cloyd was titled �The �Religious Right� is Under Attack and One Guy is Fed Up.�
The opening paragraph set the agenda and asserted one of the Religious Right�s
fundamental deceptions:
Sep 8, 2006, 00:53
Religion
November 2006: The GOP and Christian Right, inbreeding and infighting
By Mel Seesholtz, Ph.D.
As the November elections draw near, some political
candidates are again misusing religion, while others are again nurturing
anti-gay sentiments. All are seeking to divide and conquer, but their deceit,
bigotry and hypocrisy are becoming increasingly transparent.
Sep 1, 2006, 00:36
Religion
Scapegoats and bloodlust
By Mel Seesholtz, Ph.D.
Blaming gays for Armageddon and the Hezbollah-Israeli
conflict, as absurd as it sounds, is just what Rabbi Yehuda Levin did and
implied: �The homosexualization of the Middle East, beginning with God�s
backyard, is one of the end-day struggles that could literally lead to a
spiritual and physical Armageddon in both Israel and spread back to America.�
Aug 23, 2006, 01:24
Religion
�Subornation of false muster�: The case against �Dr. Dino� and Young Earth Creationism
By Mel Seesholtz, Ph.D.
You remember Kent Hovind, aka �Dr. Dino,� although his
claim to the �Dr.� and academic credentials is
questionable, at best. He�s the founder of Florida-based Creation Science Evangelism which, among its
other quaint novelties, offers Dinosaur Adventure
Land and this hokey (not to
mention grammatically challenged) promo on its homepage:
Aug 17, 2006, 00:13
Religion
A �New Vision� prompts a new low
By Mel Seesholtz, Ph.D.
When needed, should members of a family and their
children have unfettered access �to vital government support programs,
including but not limited to: affordable and adequate health care, affordable
housing, a secure and enhanced Social Security system, genuine disaster
recovery assistance, welfare for the poor�? The so-called �pro-family� lobby doesn�t
think so.
Aug 11, 2006, 01:09
Religion
Christian right steps up pro-Israel lobbying
By Bill Berkowitz
Over the past two
decades, as the Christian Right has grown in political power in the United
States, there has been parallel growth in support for Israel. A number of
organizations made up of conservative evangelical and Jewish leaders have been
founded, and millions of dollars have been raised and donated to charities in
Israel.
Aug 11, 2006, 01:03
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