How would you feel if you knew that your elected representatives belonged to a secret religious cult that praised the likes of Hitler, Pol Pot, Papa “Doc” Duvalier, Mao, and other despots. According to this insider, these politicians make up as much as 30% of our elected officals of mostly Republican and a handful of Democrats. They feel they are chosen by God to be our leaders, and because of this all their transgressions from simple adulterous behavior to the toppling and ruin of foreign governments are forgiven and protected by the Family.
In a new August 17, 2009 Maddow Show segment, Rachel Maddow and Jeff Sharlet discuss, among many new revelations, the disturbing fact that the “Christian Embassy” scandal, propelled by a complaint to the Department of Defense from the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, was investigated by a Pentagon Inspector General who is in fact a Family member.
The Family, also known as “The Fellowship”, is a secretive fundamentalist Washington DC ministry which runs the National Prayer Breakfast and Bible study groups attended by numerous US Senators and Congress members, wields global influence, and celebrates the leadership lessons of Hitler, Lenin, and Mao.
Over the course of the summer of 2009, Washington’s Family-run “C Street House” has become notorious as a string of sex scandals have engulfed national GOP political figures who live at, have lived at, or attended Bible study classes at the secretive former convent turned church-cum cheap-rent high end boarding house: Senator John Ensign, former Congressman Charles “Chip” Pickering, and South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford.
By far the story has been driven, first, by Jeff Sharlet, who wrote the 2008 book The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at The Heart Of American Power, which followed Sharlet’s 2003 Harper’s expose Jesus Plus Nothing. But MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow, who has pursued breaking new aspects of the festering scandal with a long-term dedication only rarely seen in mainstream media news coverage, has played an invaluable role in giving the mafia-like “Family” widespread public exposure.
Maddow’s willingness to cover the story of The Family and the C Street House in an ongoing manner, week to week over the summer, implicitly indicts much of mainstream news coverage as suffering from collective attention-deficit disorder; given the level of international, geopolitical influence The Family apparently wields, its members’ penchant for describing their group as a Christian “mafia”, and in light of Family head Doug Coe’s zest for celebrating useful leadership lessons Coe says can be gleaned from studying Lenin’s Bolsheviks, Mao’s Red Guard willing to chop off their own parents’ heads for the good of the revolutionary state, and Hitler’s Nazis, it’s nothing less than astonishing and appalling that most of mainstream news media has neglected for so long to dig further into revelations seeded in Jeff Sharlet’s The Family book, which came out early in 2008.
You can see a list of members here, and act appropriately when it’s time to vote.
Papa
#20 PotBoil said
“Good atheist all and lovers of the State.”
No, these are very bad atheists. It makes no sense to refuse to worship God only to worship the State.
Good atheists abide by the “Golden Rule” and so, in effect, are anarchists.
#100–Alfred1==I didn’t think you would answer the question, but you did, and quite ably as well with the best answer I think is possible. Sad that Tommie the Groundhog couldn’t overcome his desire to bash you.
I think most people would agree that if you lop off the old testament, and carefully pick and choose from what is left, you can find some good rules to guide your life. Now, you don’t have to believe in god for those rules to be pretty clear even if god did not exist. Darwinian evolution for herd animals is clearly evident.
Pascals Wager was advice to Thomas, not your own position.
Impossible Huh? The universe is bigger than even the Tower of Babble could reach.
That’s nothing!
There’s a much scarier family in Russ Baker’s “Family of Secrets”
(with apologies to Scott Adams and Oprah)
Ever notice they never follow their own teachings? Even in this they are ignorant:
And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
#117 — Alfred1
“He replied, “I suppose I would say, ‘I tried to follow the Golden Rule …'” …
“Its ironic, this man who fought Christ for much of his life, would justify his life, by claiming to have followed Christ.” ….
Or perhaps Confucius.
#105
Where was the bash? I’m surprised you would consider the label of indoctrinated to be a smear.
#107
It would appear Paul was able to look more critically at his belief than Alfred1. Clearly he grasped the consequence should his belief be based on fiction. We can give Paul more of a pass than Alfred1 who has far more information and tools at his disposal to make a rational analysis.
Rather, I’m fascinated by the gaping blind spot in people’s critical thinking. They can use logic and reason for everything except this.
#117
Except that the Golden Rule is not uniquely Christian.
I always laugh at Christians that follow the Old Testament instead of the New when it comes to how they want to live their lives (and other’s). They only seem to hear what they want from Christ.
#114
Your habit of sophomoric responses truly is old.
Yes, Pascal proposed his wager as a means of justifying faith even when logic and reason argued against it. However, Pascal’s logic was flawed which was the point.
>> chrisw10 said, on August 25th, 2009 at 9:48 pm
>> Hang on… hang on. You mean there are a bunch of Christian fundamentalist wackos
The Family is not a wing of Christian fundamentalism. That’s what makes this connection with the famous Bible Belt Christian so odd.
>> Alfred1 said, on August 26th, 2009 at 3:09 am
>> I follow Christ’s teaching in all things
So, I assume you are a pacifist. 😉 loving your enemies and all.
I, personally, don’t claim to successfully follow all of Christ’s teachings and I’ve never met a Christian who did.
Greg, there is no real proof that Jesus actually existed.
#117, Alphie,
Its ironic, this man who fought Christ for much of his life, would justify his life, by claiming to have followed Christ.
And how ironic that you, someone who claims to have accepted Jesus into his heart, still has so much hate inside him. And yet you don’t care. You continue to spew your vile hatred to all as if this is what Jesus wanted you to do.
You aren’t on the list. Trust me. If ‘god’ is going to chose you, you will have to clean up your act.
*
Nor are you a Liebertarian. How can you be? You want to claim sovereignty over a woman’s body. You want to put religion in schools. You want several other government functions imposed upon people. These are counter to Liebertarian ideals.
*
Years ago, during an acid induced experience, a friend talked to ‘god’. We supplied several Valium and talked him down. Later he made many claims about that experience and wanted to join a monastery. But then he took some more acid and talked to his goldfish for a few hours and we never heard about ‘god’ again.
#124, Mr. Improbus.
Greg, there is no real proof that Jesus actually existed.
Very true. Nor is there real proof that any other number of things happened. But there is evidence that a man named Jesus did indeed walk the earth. And as with most historical happenings, evidence counts for something, even if it has an asterisk beside it.
It was quite common in those ignorant times that when a young girl became pregnant that it was “god’s will’ or ‘divinely implanted’. In such cases the young girl would be married off to an older man searching for a wife he couldn’t attain through love or was widowed. That clearly explains Mary’s marriage to Joseph.
It is quite probable that many called Jesus a carpenter because Joseph was a carpenter and sons followed in their father’s footsteps. Yet there is evidence that Jesus ever practiced carpentry or had any skill at it.
It is assumed (suggested), with very little evidence, that on attaining adulthood he traveled to India where he was influenced by Persian, Indian, and Chinese philosophies. He brought these philosophies back to Palestine and tried to convert others to his way of thinking.
Many of the “miracles” he supposedly did could have been mere applications of medical treatment he learned during his travels. The record is too incomplete to “really” know.
I do believe there was someone named Jesus. It is also believed that Jesus was a philosopher who preached peace only to die a violent death.
#126, Alphie, the Budding Nazi Statist,
#123 Christ wasn’t a pacifist…in fact, He is a manly God of War…
Now you are delusional. Please post something attributed to Jesus that suggests he was anything other than a pacifist.
Maybe to you “turn the other cheek” means let them know you are two faced.
@Mr. Fusion
But there is evidence that a man named Jesus did indeed walk the earth.
What evidence, pray tell (pardon the pun), would that be? The Gospels? Bzzzzt. Those were written about a generation after the supposed death of Jesus. There is no first hand account of him that I am aware of. Real historical figures leave a document trail … even in the bronze age.
#130, Mr. Improbus,
I understand your point. The issue is that there IS evidence there was a man named Jesus. There is also evidence there was a man named Moses too. Both are only mentioned in the bible. That though, is a written record even if based upon secand hand stories.
I am not suggesting that either character lived up to their reputation. Most historians will take that evidence on face value with the caveat that it is weak. It doesn’t take much imagination to see that such a man as Jesus applying Indian medical arts could cure a leper or bring an apparently dead man back to life. Such a reputation would quickly lead to this healer curing the blind and impotent.
I believe Alfred1 and pedro are lovers.
Alphie, the Budding Nazi Statist,
Most sociologist would agree that the message Jesus taught is more akin to Karl Marx than George Bush or Lyndon LaRouche.
Honestly though, if Jesus were to return to earth tonight, who do you think he would want to take back with him?
The man who is trying to feed the hungry and see that they have medical care
or
the man who wants these people to beg for scraps as they slowly succumb to their illness.
Do you think Jesus would want to give ever lasting life to someone who delights at torturing others, guilty or innocent
or
those who condemn such cruel treatment of their fellow man.
Would Jesus embrace the man who doesn’t believe in a ‘god’ but leads a good life of doing what he can to help others
or
the man who screams out bible passages and claims ‘god’ loves him as he spreads his hate and filth onto others.
You decide.
#129 — Mr. Fusion said
… “Now you are delusional. Please post something attributed to Jesus that suggests he was anything other than a pacifist.”….
Ask and ye shall receive!
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%2022:36&version=NIV
Sigh
I recent watched “The God that wasn’t there” which on the whole was very average. However, the creator did make one excellent point. The people that initiated and justified the Inquisition and the hatred of Jews were absolutely right as is Alfred1 here if you interpret the Bible literally, as Alfred1 clearly does. Christians are supposed to hate Jews because they effectively murdered their deity on Earth.
The more you know about what is actually in the Bible and how people interpret it, the scarier they become. Lamb of God my ass.
Alphie, the Budding Nazi Statist,
First, you are overdue on your meds.
Second, you didn’t answer my #133. I think you didn’t answer it is because you realize you just ain’t goin’ to heaven.
You remind me of this woman. Give her any math problem and she has no problem. Put the same problem into word form and she has no clue.
You can spout passages all day long to sooth your own conscience. Yet you don’t understand what the bible in general, and Jesus in particular, has to say.
You somehow think when Jesus said to turn your other cheek means to be violent and warlike. Your comprehension of a lamb laying with a lion is a symbol of war. And the story of the “Good Samaritan” is, well, what a sucker, should have liberated any other belongings.
No heaven for you. Eternity in Hell with Boss Limpdick, Sean Hannity, Dick Cheney, and Adolph Hitler. I bet that makes your day. Oopps, makes your eternity.
Enjoy
🙂
#141, Alphie, the Budding Nazi Statist,
But Alphie, you didn’t answer one question I put out there. Do you really think with your record and the way you act that you will be welcomed into heaven?
Sure you can hate the sin and love the sinner, but there does come a time when even god realizes that that person is just a mean, crazy dude with no comprehension of love. If he didn’t, then everyone would be welcomed. Shit, why would god allow you into heaven when all those other sinners out there lead such better lives?
Think about that. NO, don’t start quoting some scripture that is totally irrelevant. Think about what Jesus was telling you.
BTW, Christ is a title, not a person.
Alphie,
Think about what Jesus said.
Alphie
Think about what Jesus said.
Alphie,
Think about what Jesus said.
#139
Swing and a miss again Alfred1
Matthew 10:33
But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.
Matthew 12:30
He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad.
Matthew 23:31
Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets.
Matthew 23:35
That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar.
John 15:22
If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin: but now they have no cloak for their sin.
Then there is the entire concept of “justification”
Should I go on? The initiators of the Inquisition felt justified, by the Bible, for what they were doing and they were right.
#148
Justification is a rather controversial topic on which many schisms including that between Protestant and Catholics has been based.
The (very) short version is that Christ’s sacrifice alone justifies man’s righteousness before God. What that means exactly and specifically what it means in terms of a man’s deeds is at the heart of the debate.
However, in general this concept has been used to wash away many atrocities of the past in the name of “I have faith, so I’ll be saved”.
Btw, other theological justifications for Inquisition include:
Deuteronomy 13:5-10
Exodus 22:18
John 15:6
#147, Alphie,
#142 I answered that somewhere in this thread, I enter by the merits of Christ Jesus, on my own merits, you rightly judge I fail.
But that is the essence of Christianity, believing Jesus is LORD, risen from the dead, allows entrance because He paid the price for my sins:
But that is where you err. You think that because you asked Jesus to come into your heart you have found salvation. Not so.
If Jesus was in your heart you wouldn’t post so many long diatribes opposing those who do what Jesus would do if he were with us today. Only a fool would believe Jesus would not want all of us to have health care so we might not suffer. Or a safe bed at night to rest our heads. Or to not encourage the brigands among us whom arm themselves with high powered weapons under the guise of protecting themselves.
You don’t have Jesus in your heart. You only have the vile hatred of the devil. The evil bitterness that devours souls. There is no room at the inn for Jesus.
Think about what Jesus would say. Think about what his message would be if he came to earth. Think about how he would want his people to experience love, joy, peace, and the power of god. Think about what Jesus would do and then look at your posts and compare.
Do you really think Jesus would want people to die young from treatable illnesses? Children dieing from leukemia because they can’t afford health insurance? Do you really think Jesus would want children to watch their father commit suicide because their daddy can’t find work.
Think about what Jesus taught.
Alphie,
Think about what Jesus would say today.