Well, We Coulda Told You That!!

The Christian Right Goes Back to Bible Boot Camp
By Alexander Zaitchik, AlterNet. Posted December 4, 2006.
After a study revealed that less than 10 percent of evangelicals were Bible literate, James Dobson's Focus on the Family is desperately taking a two-day multimedia Bible boot camp on the road, selling "truth" for $179 a seat.

It's been a rough season for the Christian right. Even for an eschatological movement, these are dark days. First came former Deputy Director of the Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives David Kuo's public admission that evangelicals were often derided as "nuts" and "goofy" within the inner sanctums of the Bush administration. Then, weeks before losing their shotgun seat in the 109th Congress, the booming voice of the National Association of Evangelicals, Ted Haggard, was silenced in a scandal involving a gay hooker, massage oils, methamphetamine, and a string of Denver hotel rooms booked under false names. [WA: a hypocrite who publically professed one standard and privately practised the opposite; a hypocrite, liar and deceiver].

But even before all that hit the fundamentalist fan, the movement was contending with a quieter, more systemic crisis: functional Biblical illiteracy among the flock. That's right, religious conservatives aren't so religious, after all. click here for complete article

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WA: As Gadfly would snort derisively, "No s**t, Sherlock!" All of us out here who profess different religious beliefs or no religious beliefs at all could have told them that a long time ago. It was obvious even to those who had little or no Biblical knowledge that that bunch was a hypocritical batch of screwballs.

I have posted here before that the Fundies/Evangelicals/Religious Right/Christian Reconstructionists/et al did NOT follow Jesus' teachings. The very word "Christian" means "a follower of Christ" and their beliefs and policies denied the name. Jesus did Not teach that being "saved" meant that thereafter you could sin with impunity, that you should hate your brother, persecute your brother, execute your brothers and sisters for failure to conform to your ideals, subjugate your sisters, seek power and dominion and glory (as they do by trying to establish a world theocracy). They do NOT know their Bible.

So Brother Dobson, in his infinite wisdom, is going to hold these little 2 day seminars to enlighten the faithful. I'm sure that a whole 2 days will make Biblical scholars of each of them. And sold out events at $179.00 a seat will incidentally deposit a nice sum in Bro. Dobson's coffers. And everyone will leave wrapped in the rosy glow of righteousness , touchy-feely holiness and a better-than-thou (of the unwashed masses) superiority.

I wonder if Bro. Dobson will include this lesson:

" Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. ' (Mt 7:16-19)

Shall they do a little self examination and ask themselves: "Do our Biblical interpretations follow the teachings of Christ? Have our fruits been good or evil? Is somebody starting to chop (hew) at our trees?"

This blog is not meant to be a religious forum, but when dealing with a religion that is so closely intertwined with our government and politics, it is necessary to interject religious subjects and links.

And puhleeze! just because Granny and I are Christians, do NOT judge us by those misguided folks, the majority of whom are basically good, decent, sincere believers who have been deceived and led astray by their leaders who teach a perverted doctrine.