[greenyes] Evangelicals - Threat or Promise

["Peter Anderson" <anderson@no.address>]

[I suppose that the intent of this article is to arouse the secular left to 
fight back with renewed rigor. But, three things intertwine with the 
question of what is the best approach.  First, the two divirgent groups have 
swung back and forth in ascendancy since WWII with no clear winner. Second, 
the secular left lost in 2004 notwithstanding the fact that it had equal 
financial resources and maximum grassroots work, because there were more of 
the evangelical right.  Third, much of what is good in the evangelical right 
is, at heart, not inconsistent with a better world.  Perhaps, this is the 
time for the secular left to see the power of what Christ did say about 
turning the other cheek. - peter]


ROLLING STONE - 4/7/05
      The Crusaders

      Christian evangelicals are plotting to remake America in their own 
image

      By BOB MOSER



It's February, and 900 of America's staunchest Christian fundamentalists 
have gathered in Fort Lauderdale to look back on what they accomplished in 
last year's election -- and to plan what's next. As they assemble in the 
vast sanctuary of Coral Ridge Presbyterian, with all fifty state flags 
dangling from the rafters, three stadium-size video screens flash the name 
of the conference: RECLAIMING AMERICA FOR CHRIST. These are the evangelical 
activists behind the nation's most effective political machine -- one that 
brought more than 4 million new Christian voters to the polls last November, 
sending George W. Bush back to the White House and thirty-two new pro-lifers 
to Congress. But despite their unprecedented power, fundamentalists still 
see themselves as a persecuted minority, waging a holy war against the 
godless forces of secularism. To rouse themselves, they kick off the 
festivities with "Soldiers of the Cross, Arise," the bloodthirstiest tune in 
all of Christendom: "Seize your armor, gird it on/Now the battle will be 
won/Soon, your enemies all slain/Crowns of glory you shall gain."
Meet the Dominionists -- biblical literalists who believe God has called 
them to take over the U.S. government. As the far-right wing of the 
evangelical movement, Dominionists are pressing an agenda that makes Newt 
Gingrich's Contract With America look like the Communist Manifesto. They 
want to rewrite schoolbooks to reflect a Christian version of American 
history, pack the nation's courts with judges who follow Old Testament law, 
post the Ten Commandments in every courthouse and make it a felony for gay 
men to have sex and women to have abortions. In Florida, when the courts 
ordered Terri Schiavo's feeding tube removed, it was the Dominionists who 
organized round-the-clock protests and issued a fiery call for Gov. Jeb Bush 
to defy the law and take Schiavo into state custody. Their ultimate goal is 
to plant the seeds of a "faith-based" government that will endure far longer 
than Bush's presidency -- all the way until Jesus comes back.



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FOR FULL ARTICLE: 
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/_/id/7235393?rnd=1113802661328&has-player=true&version=6.0.12.872

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