Friday, August 12, 2011

Rachel Maddow on Presidential Candidate Rick Perry & Christian Dominionism & Christian Nationalism

The genius of Rick Perry hosting The Religious Right prayer and worship event "The Response".


 “That's the brilliance of what Perry has done here…He doesn't need to talk about politics, or do anything besides be here and understand this event. The religion is the politics. These worshippers understand that if they can bring ‘the kingdom of God’ to Earth, economic problems, even macroeconomic problems, will sort themselves out.” Dave Weigel  Quote from: Perry, Prayer, Politics and the Presidency by Peter Montgomery Right Wing Watch, People For The American Way, August 9, 2011


Rachel Maddow comments on Rick Perry's religious Right gathering "The Response" where speakers prayed that God would guide America back to Christ.
These speakers and preachers deny that America's founding fathers were in favor of the Separation of Church and State. By insisting on such a separation America has lost its way and is being tested by God with an increasing economic problems, unemployment , massive government deficit and budgetary short fall
as War against terrorist  that is Islam intensifies and which America may lose if God so chooses.

 Therefore according to their logic if Rick Perry or some true believer does not take the presidency in 2012 the US is in for even worse times and crisis and the possible fall of the American Empire.

Rachel Maddow: Rick Perry May Be The Face Of A Christian Movement Seeking Political Domination Huffington Post August 11, 2011

Rachel Maddow raised concerns on her Wednesday show that Texas Gov. Rick Perry may be the face of a shadowy group of bizarre Christian conservatives seeking to infiltrate the government.

True, it all sounds a little "Da Vinci Code," but Maddow's case came from a lengthy article in the Texas Observer that discussed the connection between Perry--who is due to jump into the GOP presidential race on Sunday--and a movement called the New Apostolic Reformation.

In the Observer's words:

The new prophets and apostles believe Christians--certain Christians--are destined to not just take "dominion" over government, but stealthily climb to the commanding heights of what they term the "Seven Mountains" of society, including the media and the arts and entertainment world. They believe they're intended to lord over it all. As a first step, they're leading an "army of God" to commandeer civilian government.
Perry's recent (and controversial) Houston prayer event was endorsed by many of the members of the movement. Maddow played several minutes of clips of some of the leading members of the group. Subjects discussed included Oprah's status as the Antichrist, the Emperor of Japan's misconduct with a "sun goddess," and Hitler's fondness for gay soldiers.

Maddow quoted from the Observer article, which reports that Perry met with a group of New Apostolic Movement preachers in 2009, where they told him that he had a crucial role to play in their plans.

Perry, she said, had just held a prayer event with "a specific Christian political movement...that seems to want a Rick Perry candidacy to be their political vehicle."

 




Pat Robertson's praise for Governor Rick Perry whom Robertson believes has run his government in Texas based upon religious principle and praise Perry for ignoring the Separation of Church and State .

Robertson: Perry "Founded His Administration On The Bible" by Brian Tashman, Right Wing Watch at People For The American Way, August 8, 2011

Today on The 700 Club, Pat Robertson praised Texas Gov. Rick Perry for leading The Response prayer rally in Houston on Saturday. Perry did an interview with The 700 Club just days before the event to publicize it, disclosing that he would be praying against the “over-taxed, over-regulated, and over-litigated” economy. Robertson lauded Perry’s much disputed handling of Texas’s economy, arguing, “He has founded his administration on the Bible, and if I might add it works.” Robertson went on to say that Perry is trying to bring America “back to the roots of our nation” against forces that are trying to “separate this country from God.”

Robertson: Perry Governs By The Bible



From Right Wing Watch here is a compilation of clips from Rick Perry's Christian Dominionist & Christian Nationalist rally held in Texas
The Response: We Watch So You Don't Have To by Kyle Mantyla on August 6, 2011

.
..Christian Rock-jam session that was Gov. Rick Perry's "The Response" rally, we put together a short video featuring the appearances by all of your favorite Religious Right and elected leaders, including Perry, David Barton, Tony Perkins, Penny Nance, Gov. Rick Scott, Gov. Sam Brownback, Jim Garlow, John Hagee and finally even a quick shot of Perry giving some love to Don Wildmon of the AFA, the founder of the SPLC-designated hate group which footed the bill for this prayer event:

The Response: Religious Right and GOP Leaders United In Prayer

Rick Perry, David Barton, Tony Perkins, Penny Nance, Gov. Rick Scott, Gov. Sam Brownback, Jim Garlow, and John Hagee speak and pray at "The Response."



Fact Sheet: Gov. Rick Perry’s Extremist Allies by Miranda Right Wing Watch at People For The American Way, August 5, 2011

On August 6, Texas Gov. Rick Perry will host The Response, a “prayer rally” in Houston, along with the extremist American Family Association and a cohort of Religious Right leaders with far-right political ties. While the rally’s leaders label it a "a non-denominational, apolitical Christian prayer meeting," the history of the groups behind it suggests otherwise. The Response is powered by politically active Religious Right individuals and groups who are dedicated to bringing far-right religious view, including degrading views of gays and lesbians and non-Christians, into American politics.

In fact, a spokesman for The Response has said that while non-Christians will be welcomed at the rally, they will be urged to “seek out the living Christ.” Allan Parker, a right-wing activist who participated in an organizing conference call for the event, declared in an email bearing the official Response logo that including non-Christians in the event "would be idolatry of the worst sort."



 “That's the brilliance of what Perry has done here…He doesn't need to talk about politics, or do anything besides be here and understand this event. The religion is the politics. These worshippers understand that if they can bring ‘the kingdom of God’ to Earth, economic problems, even macroeconomic problems, will sort themselves out.” Dave Weigel from:

Perry, Prayer, Politics and the Presidency by Peter Montgomery Right Wing Watch, People For The American Way, August 9, 2011

Casual viewers of “The Response,” including some political reporters who don’t pay a lot of attention to the Religious Right, may have watched Texas Governor Rick Perry’s prayer rally on Saturday and wondered what all the fuss was about. Most of the time was taken up with prayer and praise music. Few of the speakers seemed overtly political. Nobody used the occasion to endorse Perry’s pending presidential bid.

But context is everything, and the context for this event was remarkable: a governor launching a presidential bid by teaming up with some of the nation’s most divisive extremists to hold a Christians-only prayer rally that suggested Americans are helpless to solve the country’s problems without divine intervention. Some media coverage is missing the boat: the issue wasn’t whether it was ok for a politician to pray, or the size of the audience, but the purposes of the event’s planners and their disturbing vision for America.

Organizers argued (unconvincingly) that “The Response” was about prayer, not politics. But groups like the American Family Association (AFA), which paid for the rally and its webcast, and organizations like the Family Research Council, whose president was among the speakers, are not designed to win souls but to change American law and culture through grassroots organizing and political power-building. They have a corrosive effect on our political culture by promoting religious bigotry and anti-gay extremism, by claiming that the United States was meant to be a Christian nation, and by fostering resentment among conservative evangelicals with repeated false assertions that liberal elites are out to destroy religious liberty and silence conservative religious voices.

By calling for this rally, and partnering with the far right of the evangelical world, Perry aligned himself with all these troubling strategies. When he drew criticism for the event and the extremism of its sponsors, Perry suggested his critics were intolerant of Christians. Speakers returned to the theme, with one of them declaring that “there is an attack on the name of Jesus.” Such claims of anti-Christian persecution are a tried-and-true strategy of the Religious Right for rousing conservative Christians to political activism. And for those who actually believe that Christianity is on the verge of being criminalized in America, Perry’s event defined him as a defiant and courageous defender of the faith.

As journalist Dave Weigel writes, “That's the brilliance of what Perry has done here…He doesn't need to talk about politics, or do anything besides be here and understand this event. The religion is the politics. These worshippers understand that if they can bring ‘the kingdom of God’ to Earth, economic problems, even macroeconomic problems, will sort themselves out.”



and so it goes,
GORD.

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