Recent readings
Kingdom Coming * is a polemic. As with any polemic, a reader who disagrees with the author will call it a screed, but one who is sympathetic to the author’s view will find it insightful and a forceful argument. I fall into the latter category
* Kingdom Coming: The Rise of Christian Nationalism by Michelle Goldberg, W. W. Norton, New York 2006, 242 pages
Ms. Goldberg’s theme is simple: the far-right, conservative Christians are a present danger insofar as their intent is not simply to win others to their convictions but, rather, to force their style of governance on the United States. The 31-year-old author describes herself as a "secular Jew" who is a contributing writer to the magazine Salon; she describes a tremendous amount of research that she put into the book, having interviewed a large number of the Christians she writes about and attended megachurch services and conferences of the faithful. She names not only the usual suspects (Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson, James Dobson, Tim LaHaye, Paul Weyrich, Ralph Reed) but many others that I had never heard of.
While I have no admiration of these conservative Christians, these "people of faith"–I could never be one of them–I have never felt threatened by them. However, if one gives credence to Ms. Goldberg’s testimony, they are a clear menace to our society. They not only want school prayer, the "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance, the Ten Commandments displayed publicly, and the other trappings of their faith, they also want elected government officials, teachers of our children, and everyone with influence on our lives to be of their ilk.
She talks about "Christian Reconstruction": "Reconstruction theory calls for a stealth strategy to Christianize politics and culture." She refers to one Gary North, "one of the movement’s key theorists, (who) wrote of the need for activists to penetrate secular institutions to ‘smooth the transition to Christian political leadership....Christians must begin to organize politically within the present party structure, and they must begin to infiltrate the existing institutional order.’ " (p. 14).
She quotes a variety of the far-right Christians, whose words point out the menace of their ideology.
"We must remove all humanists from public office and replace them with pro-moral political leaders." Tim LaHaye. (p. 39).
"Christians have an obligation, a mandate, a commission, a holy responsibility to reclaim the land for Jesus Christ–to have dominion in civil structures, just as in every other aspect of life and godliness...World conquest. That’s what Christ has commissioned us to accomplish" George Grant, identified as executive director of Coral Ridge Ministries, "a multimedia empire" headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. (p. 41).
"The humanist West is our modern throne of iniquity, framing mischief by enacting laws. We must return to God’s law. We must work towards a true Christendom. Thy kingdom come, O Lord!" R. J. Rushdoony (now deceased), described as a leader of "Christian Reconstructionism." (p. 158).
"The overarching question we face today is: ‘Who is America’s sovereign?’ and ‘What is his law?’...The holy Bible makes clear that Jesus Christ is our sovereign...America’s founding fathers understood and acted on this Biblical truth." Howard Phillips, another Reconstructionist who has "called for the execution of abortionists, a crucial plank in the Reconstructionist agenda." (p. 167).
Further on the theme of the menace to America’s free society of the far-right Christians, Ms. Goldberg writes "If fascism’s rise is gradual and subtle, how does one spot it?" As an answer she quotes Robert O. Paxton, a history professor at Columbia University, "We know from tracing its path that fascism does not require a spectacular ‘march’ on some capital to take root...Fascists are close to power when conservatives begin to borrow their techniques..." (p. 179).
She adds, "Those who don’t want to live in the country the Christian nationalists would create have no choice but to fight...the threat will not simply fizzle out without a countermovement organized to defend pluralism, religious equality, reason, and personal freedom. If current trends continue, we will see ever increasing division and acrimony in our politics. That’s partly because, as Christian nationalism spreads, secularism is spreading as well, while moderate mainline Christianity is in decline." (p. 181).
Well said.
My response to "Anonymous's" comment that Ms. Goldberg would take offense at my referring to her as a "31-year-old." (See "Comments" below.) I went with the odds. I only knew that she was born some time in 1975 (that info was given at the front of the book), so on July 2nd (the date of my posting), the 183rd day of 2006, there was a 50.13709% chance that she had turned 31 (183/365).
* Kingdom Coming: The Rise of Christian Nationalism by Michelle Goldberg, W. W. Norton, New York 2006, 242 pages
Ms. Goldberg’s theme is simple: the far-right, conservative Christians are a present danger insofar as their intent is not simply to win others to their convictions but, rather, to force their style of governance on the United States. The 31-year-old author describes herself as a "secular Jew" who is a contributing writer to the magazine Salon; she describes a tremendous amount of research that she put into the book, having interviewed a large number of the Christians she writes about and attended megachurch services and conferences of the faithful. She names not only the usual suspects (Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson, James Dobson, Tim LaHaye, Paul Weyrich, Ralph Reed) but many others that I had never heard of.
While I have no admiration of these conservative Christians, these "people of faith"–I could never be one of them–I have never felt threatened by them. However, if one gives credence to Ms. Goldberg’s testimony, they are a clear menace to our society. They not only want school prayer, the "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance, the Ten Commandments displayed publicly, and the other trappings of their faith, they also want elected government officials, teachers of our children, and everyone with influence on our lives to be of their ilk.
She talks about "Christian Reconstruction": "Reconstruction theory calls for a stealth strategy to Christianize politics and culture." She refers to one Gary North, "one of the movement’s key theorists, (who) wrote of the need for activists to penetrate secular institutions to ‘smooth the transition to Christian political leadership....Christians must begin to organize politically within the present party structure, and they must begin to infiltrate the existing institutional order.’ " (p. 14).
She quotes a variety of the far-right Christians, whose words point out the menace of their ideology.
"We must remove all humanists from public office and replace them with pro-moral political leaders." Tim LaHaye. (p. 39).
"Christians have an obligation, a mandate, a commission, a holy responsibility to reclaim the land for Jesus Christ–to have dominion in civil structures, just as in every other aspect of life and godliness...World conquest. That’s what Christ has commissioned us to accomplish" George Grant, identified as executive director of Coral Ridge Ministries, "a multimedia empire" headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. (p. 41).
"The humanist West is our modern throne of iniquity, framing mischief by enacting laws. We must return to God’s law. We must work towards a true Christendom. Thy kingdom come, O Lord!" R. J. Rushdoony (now deceased), described as a leader of "Christian Reconstructionism." (p. 158).
"The overarching question we face today is: ‘Who is America’s sovereign?’ and ‘What is his law?’...The holy Bible makes clear that Jesus Christ is our sovereign...America’s founding fathers understood and acted on this Biblical truth." Howard Phillips, another Reconstructionist who has "called for the execution of abortionists, a crucial plank in the Reconstructionist agenda." (p. 167).
Further on the theme of the menace to America’s free society of the far-right Christians, Ms. Goldberg writes "If fascism’s rise is gradual and subtle, how does one spot it?" As an answer she quotes Robert O. Paxton, a history professor at Columbia University, "We know from tracing its path that fascism does not require a spectacular ‘march’ on some capital to take root...Fascists are close to power when conservatives begin to borrow their techniques..." (p. 179).
She adds, "Those who don’t want to live in the country the Christian nationalists would create have no choice but to fight...the threat will not simply fizzle out without a countermovement organized to defend pluralism, religious equality, reason, and personal freedom. If current trends continue, we will see ever increasing division and acrimony in our politics. That’s partly because, as Christian nationalism spreads, secularism is spreading as well, while moderate mainline Christianity is in decline." (p. 181).
Well said.
My response to "Anonymous's" comment that Ms. Goldberg would take offense at my referring to her as a "31-year-old." (See "Comments" below.) I went with the odds. I only knew that she was born some time in 1975 (that info was given at the front of the book), so on July 2nd (the date of my posting), the 183rd day of 2006, there was a 50.13709% chance that she had turned 31 (183/365).
posted by Mycroft Watson at 10:30 AM
http://rpc.technorati.com/rpc/ping
1 Comments:
I fully agree with your thoughtful post, but having met Ms. Goldberg personally, I can say she would surely take offense at your characterization of her as a "31 year old." I believe she is 30, at the moment at least.
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