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gilliam
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From Captain’s Quarters:
I wrote two essays today regarding the attack on religious belief by the secular Left in today’s politics. From judicial nominees to citizens speaking their minds, the Left has gone on the offensive to portray religious belief as a kind of fascism, with citizens espousing traditional values as proponents of an American theocracy. Stanley Kurtz writes at length about this same phenomenon in National Review Online, specifically taking on Chris Hedges’ article in Harper’s about how Christians have supposedly declared war on America:
Hedges is worried about extreme Christian theocrats called “Dominionists.” He’s got little to say about who these Dominionists are, and he qualifies his vague characterizations by noting in passing that not all Dominionists would accept the label or admit their views publicly. That little move allows Hedges to paint a highly questionable picture of a virtually faceless and nameless “Dominionist” Christian mass. Hedges seems to be worried that the United States is just a few short steps away from having apostasy, blasphemy, sodomy, and witchcraft declared capital crimes. Compare this liberal fantasy of imminent theocracy to the reality of Lawrence v. Texas and Roper v. Simmons (the Supreme Court decision that appealed to European precedents to overturn capital punishment for juveniles). Both of these decisions relied on the existence of a supposed national consensus on behalf of social liberalism. In conjuring up that false consensus, the Court treated conservative Christians as effectively nonexistent. That is the reality of where the law is, and where it is headed. It is completely unsurprising that after a long train of such decisions, conservative Christians have decided they’re tired of being trampled on by the courts. The reality we face is judicially imposed same-sex marriage in opposition to the clearly expressed wishes of the American people. Yet to cover its imperial judicial agenda, the Left is now concocting nonsensical fantasies of theocratically imposed capital punishment for witchcraft. Yes, witchcraft is back. Only now traditional Christians have been cast in the role of devious enemies who need to be ferreted out by society’s defenders.
I had not read Kurtz’s piece before I wrote my posts earlier today, but Kurtz picks up the same thread and runs with it at length. He points out a proposed speech restriction in California that would make “anti-gay” arguments in an election campaign illegal. While I don’t share the same viewpoint on gay marriage as many on the Christian right, the topic certainly should remain open for debate, and several elections have shown that the Christian viewpoint overwhelmingly represents the mainstream of American thinking on the topic. However, the Left wants to make it impossible for Christians to argue their case to the American electorate – and Hedges thinks that it’s the Christians who are acting like fascists?
I surmise that the Left has seen its power slipping away, and they’re getting desperate and radical in their attempts to get it back. One pundit said that the illusion that history was on the side of secular socialism has faded in the last twenty-five years, and the emergence of viable media access for conservatives has frustrated their decades-long grip on information dissemination. Whatever the cause, the result has been an open assault on faith, such as that offered by Hedges and the hysterical ranting in the Senate and elsewhere whenever the faithful engage in political debate. Make sure to read all of Kurtz’ fine article. (via Shot In The Dark)
I wrote two essays today regarding the attack on religious belief by the secular Left in today’s politics. From judicial nominees to citizens speaking their minds, the Left has gone on the offensive to portray religious belief as a kind of fascism, with citizens espousing traditional values as proponents of an American theocracy. Stanley Kurtz writes at length about this same phenomenon in National Review Online, specifically taking on Chris Hedges’ article in Harper’s about how Christians have supposedly declared war on America:
Hedges is worried about extreme Christian theocrats called “Dominionists.” He’s got little to say about who these Dominionists are, and he qualifies his vague characterizations by noting in passing that not all Dominionists would accept the label or admit their views publicly. That little move allows Hedges to paint a highly questionable picture of a virtually faceless and nameless “Dominionist” Christian mass. Hedges seems to be worried that the United States is just a few short steps away from having apostasy, blasphemy, sodomy, and witchcraft declared capital crimes. Compare this liberal fantasy of imminent theocracy to the reality of Lawrence v. Texas and Roper v. Simmons (the Supreme Court decision that appealed to European precedents to overturn capital punishment for juveniles). Both of these decisions relied on the existence of a supposed national consensus on behalf of social liberalism. In conjuring up that false consensus, the Court treated conservative Christians as effectively nonexistent. That is the reality of where the law is, and where it is headed. It is completely unsurprising that after a long train of such decisions, conservative Christians have decided they’re tired of being trampled on by the courts. The reality we face is judicially imposed same-sex marriage in opposition to the clearly expressed wishes of the American people. Yet to cover its imperial judicial agenda, the Left is now concocting nonsensical fantasies of theocratically imposed capital punishment for witchcraft. Yes, witchcraft is back. Only now traditional Christians have been cast in the role of devious enemies who need to be ferreted out by society’s defenders.
I had not read Kurtz’s piece before I wrote my posts earlier today, but Kurtz picks up the same thread and runs with it at length. He points out a proposed speech restriction in California that would make “anti-gay” arguments in an election campaign illegal. While I don’t share the same viewpoint on gay marriage as many on the Christian right, the topic certainly should remain open for debate, and several elections have shown that the Christian viewpoint overwhelmingly represents the mainstream of American thinking on the topic. However, the Left wants to make it impossible for Christians to argue their case to the American electorate – and Hedges thinks that it’s the Christians who are acting like fascists?
I surmise that the Left has seen its power slipping away, and they’re getting desperate and radical in their attempts to get it back. One pundit said that the illusion that history was on the side of secular socialism has faded in the last twenty-five years, and the emergence of viable media access for conservatives has frustrated their decades-long grip on information dissemination. Whatever the cause, the result has been an open assault on faith, such as that offered by Hedges and the hysterical ranting in the Senate and elsewhere whenever the faithful engage in political debate. Make sure to read all of Kurtz’ fine article. (via Shot In The Dark)
