News Intelligence Analysis
What Is and What Should Never
Be
with apologies to Led
Zeppelin
A Review of The Despoiling of America
By Dennis Crews
June 30, 2004
"...there is now overwhelming evidence
that conservative Christians have
set out to overthrow the government of the United States, dispense
with our democracy, and institute in its place a government ruled
by
Old Testament..."
https://www.yuricareport.com/Dominionism/TheDespoilingOfAmerica.htm
I've read this long article by Katherine Yurica carefully
several times now and believe it's a sound analysis and very
late warning of what has been happening through politicized evangelical
churches (which constitute a growing percentage of all churches
in America). I've been studying the religious right for over
20 years so this isn't a new subject to me. I sat on the board
of a conservative Christian ministry nearly the entire decade
of the 1980s (I have no affiliation with any religious organization
now). I am familiar with the ideas and histories of many of the
people named in the article - they have been well documented
by their own writings and public resumes.
This article traces the pedigree of the philosophy driving the
religious right's political ascendance. Although Christians repudiate
Machiavelli, their leaders have embraced Machiavellian strategies
and tactics wholeheartedly. Leo Strauss, guiding light of the
neoconservatives who are steering this administration, would
have no use for Christianity except as a means to manipulate
the masses - which the Bush administration has eagerly done from
the get-go.
One has only to look at events since Yurica's article was written
(February) to realize the Bush administration has applied Machiavellian
principles, as interpreted and refined by Strauss, across the
board. Secrecy and obfuscation, conjuring outside enemies to
unite the populace in fear, "noble" lies (consider
the declaration of Ahmad Chalabi regarding Iraq's pre-war threat
to America: "We are heroes in error...as far as we're concerned
we've been entirely successful"), legal wrangling to place
the president above all binding statutes, etc.
That Michael Ledeen - student of Strauss, frank admirer of both
Machiavelli and fascism - is one of the most highly influential
advisors to the Bush White House speaks volumes to its value
system. This is why I believe they are ethically capable of virtually
any trick, including fixing national elections, to gain or keep
advantage. Demonizing Islam (or terrorism or any other scary
thing) to manipulate the public is a basic Straussian doctrine,
as is deception. Meanwhile political overtures are being made
to the pope to help influence the election.
What outrages me most is the Bush camp's liberal use of religious
rhetoric to gain support for policies that are manifestly opposed
to Christian teachings, and to advance values repudiated by Jesus
in the Gospels. The overwhelming wealth and ambition of evangelical
leaders like Pat Robertson, and the way hunger for political
power has been cultivated among rank-and-file church membership
in place of genuine spiritual goals and ministry, is a stain
on the name of Christianity. It has caused good and honest people
to abhor Christianity - not for what it truly is, but for how
it is represented by these men.
Pat Robertson, on 700 Club:
"God's plan is for His people, ladies and gentlemen, to take dominion…What is dominion? Well, dominion is Lordship. He wants His people to reign and rule with Him..."
There is a whole generation of young American evangelicals
who have been indoctrinated with this concept all their lives;
I have corresponded with a number of them and listened to such
sentiments over and over (often couched in contemptuous, frighteningly
pejorative language toward "liberals", leaving little
doubt that such are worthy of religious persecution).
The following is taken from an email to me from a young Bush
supporter:
"You selfish hypocrite! Do you really expect me to bow down to accept your hypocritical verbal excrement? I don't know why you cling to a party that is downright evil. Whatever Jesus Christ stands for, today's liberal Democratic Party opposes. If you look at the National platforms of the two parties, the Democrats actively support EVERYTHING that is destructive, immoral, unbiblical... EVERYTHING. You are supporting the greatest destructive influence that the American family and the American church has ever seen...."
This was in response to my question on how Bush's policies
could be reconciled with Christ's teachings in the Sermon on
the Mount (I never identified myself with any political party).
If these sentiments were the exception they would be easier to
dismiss, but this is representative of what I have heard coming
from self-described "Christian believers" nationwide.
Much more could be said about end-time prophecies, and how they
have been twisted by evangelicals like Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson,
Tom DeLay etc to advance purely political goals and to create
violence and unrest in the Middle East (not a theme of Yurica
in this article, but in the "rapture madness" email
I sent earlier). Theirs is not a gospel of peace; they have vowed
to be the sword of division and in this regard they are the mirror
image of Islamic extremists - the other side of the same coin.
There is no doubt, if one studies the movement in its totality,
that leaders of the American religious right are intent on replacing
the present government of the United States with its own version
of the Taliban.
I would love to be found wrong on this; it brings me nothing
but alarm to contemplate what lies ahead if these people attain
their goals. Even more alarming is how close they've come already,
and how unaware the middle class of Americans are of these things.
And most likely they will remain unaware until it already has
happened. Regular folks trust authority, and would really rather
be entertained. The war in Iraq is confusing enough to confound
most of them without even attempting to look behind the curtain
here at home. For most Americans to imagine their leaders as
anything but patriotic do-gooders short-circuits their brains.
The only good thing I can see about the war in Iraq is that it
has shown the true incompetence of this administration, which
may (God willing) set back the plans of the religious right for
a few more administrations. All they need now is to solidify
their foothold in the judiciary to turn this country upside down.
(Incidentally former Asst. Attorney Gen Jay S. Bybee, who wrote
the "torture-is-okay" memo for the White House, has
since been assigned to the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.
We can't afford more judges like him, for reasons amply laid
out in the article.)
I realize all this sounds very alarmist, but the electorate
isn't paying attention and these people are dead serious. There
are many millions of them, and they are intent on setting up
"God's kingdom" in the here and now. They already are
running our Middle East policy (to Israel's sole advantage, which
not only is terribly unjust but further enrages the Arab world
- but these fanatics want war with Islam) while Europe watches
with incredulity. Americans think "oh, they're good people,
Christians are fine" but these leaders are anything but
Christian. As for their followers, they believe George W. Bush
is the very instrument of God on earth. I believe they must be
defeated in the coming election - not to favor Democrats or any
other political party, but to keep the ball of democracy in play
at all. Otherwise the ball could be stolen and it will be game
over.
I'm a lover of freedom, and the America of our founders that
I was taught to love. That nation is nearly gone. The veneer
of civilization is extremely thin everywhere. The only safe place
to hide, whether we win or lose, is in the Rock of Ages -
d.c.
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about
this article
written during Reagan's
second term. The situation
in 1984 foreshadowed the
present reality, only the
religious right's power has
grown
unimaginably since
then.
Copyright © 2004 Yurica Report. All rights reserved.