Onward Christian Soldiers

Excerpt from "Onward Christian Soldiers...Toward a Theocratic Judiciary" by Mel Seesholtz
http://www.onlinejournal.com/Commentary/041205Seesholtz/
041205seesholtz.html

"For those who think beyond the Bible and who have not become willing slaves to the politicized, perverted version of "Christianity" espoused by the likes of Sheldon and Dobson and their political agents, it's clear America is headed in the wrong direction. Centuries of progress are being systematically dismantled as so-called "religious" leaders and the politicians inhabiting their deep pockets lead America backwards into the new theocracy. In her April 7 column, in The New York Times, Maureen Dowd noted that even the Rev. John Danforth—former Republican senator, U.N. ambassador, and the Episcopal minister with prayed with Clarence Thomas during Anita Hillﾒs testimony—has come to the conclusion that the Republican Party "has gone so far in adopting a sectarian agenda that it has become the political extension of a religious movement."

"The tragedy of a Florida woman well illustrated just how much the Republican Party has become "the political extension of a religious movement."

"On March 31, Terri Schiavo died. The Christian Right and their political sycophants shamelessly exploited the families' personal conflicts and tragedies for their own political purposes and fund-raising efforts. The Rev. Sheldon even bragged about it: "In acknowledging the galvanizing, check-writing effect of her case, the Traditional Values Coalition's founder, Rev. Lou Sheldon, told The [New York] Times, 'That is what I see as the blessing that dear Terri's life is offering to the conservative Christian movement in America.'"

"Exploitive, crass fund-raising aside, perhaps Bishop John Shelby Spong asked the most poignant question: "Why is it, I wonder, that those identified as secular humanists, who express grave doubts about the reality of life after death, seem almost universally to favor allowing Terri Schiavo to die in peace; while those identified as members of religious communities, who claim to believe firmly in life after death, seem so eager to keep bodies alive long after meaningful life has departed?"

"Isn't it time to repair and rebuild that "wall" between church and state Jefferson knew was essential? He and more than a few of the other Founding Fathers—Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, and Samuel Adams to name but a few—were Deists. Then as now, Deists accept the notion of "a Creator" and respect Jesus as a teacher, but do not believe in the second-hand, politically-motivated "revealed word" attributed to Moses and Old Testament prophets, or the dogma of New Testament authorities such as Peter, Paul and John. In the eighteenth century, Deists were particularly skeptical of the allegedly "God given" dogma created and propagated by politically motivated church leaders. The Founding Fathers were astute students of history and had learned the lesson Europe's seventeenth century religious-civil wars taught. In a very real sense, the American republic was conceived as a prophylactic against the marriage of Church and State. And for good reason . . ."

"I don't know that atheists should be considered citizens, nor should they be considered patriots. This is one nation under God."—President George H. W. Bush [!!!!!!!!!!??????????]