The War God rising
September 18, 2006
Fellow Virginia Blogger and Southwest Virginian Brian Patton notes the improving situation for technology workers in rural Virginia and governor Tim Kaine’s Return to Roots campaign. As I noted in the comments at Brian’s site, we need more than just economic opportunity to feel able to return; we need to know the region is at least accepting of people with different ideas. I’ve been back to Bristol many times, and there are certain elements there who are eager to make it clear that SWVA is God’s Country. The Conservative Christian, Warrior Jesus kind of God’s Country. It’s a situation that’s getting worse instead of getting better.
The Elf and I talked about this some yesterday; we’d like to move to a rural area, but we’re afraid of the environment we’d be raising a child in. “Most parents worry about their kids doing drugs and having wild sex,” I said. “I’m going to be laying awake nights worried they’ll join a Christian youth movement.”
I’m not talking about daycamps and crafts and coloring in stories from the Bible, which I think is perfectly fine and necessary education even if we’re not Christian—I’m talking about this:
Speaking in tongues, weeping for salvation, praying for an end to abortion and worshipping a picture of President Bush—these are some of the activities at Pastor Becky Fischer’s Bible camp in North Dakota, Kids on Fire, subject of the provocative new documentary, “Jesus Camp.” “I want to see them as radically laying down their lives for the gospel as they are in Palestine, Pakistan and all those different places,” Fisher said. “Because, excuse me, we have the truth.” [ Film Shows Youths Training to Fight for Jesus ]
Gary says Christians don’t get violent when insulted, but I say wait and watch. We’re getting there.
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September 18th, 2006 at 1:25 pm
A couple of comments:
– When thinking about Southwestern Virginia and Northeast Tennessee, I’m beginning to wonder if we need to find others who wish to return, and schedule a date for said return. If we all go back, get jobs/start companies and register to vote at the same time… well… there is strength in numbers. And, also, media attention. :)
– I’m also worried about us getting to a point where we a new version of The Crusades, particularly in the South. I would argue with Gary that some fundamentalist Christians *do* get violent when insulted or when perceiving certain facts of life as a personal insult — thus, violence against people associated with abortion clinics, homosexuality and even being of another race or faith (let us not forget the Ku Klux Klan purports to be a Christian organization, and usually don’t even consider Catholics to be Christians.) There is a fine line between crazy fundamentalist Christians and crazy fundamentalis Muslims, and the line continues to blur day by day.
I don’t like calling this a “Culture War” because that term seems to mean something different than how I perceive it in my daily life in the South. But at the same time I don’t know what else to call it. To me, a lot of the issues that arise often translate as, “You are expressing yourself culturally in a ‘free’ society. And so we, (insert appropriate acronymn of crazy organization here), therefore declare war on you.”
This seems to be particularly problematic in rural areas, and definitely in the rural South. It scares me to think I’ve grown strong in my desire to live in a large-ish city largely because of this fact — but that things are unlikely to change in rural America (and the chasm is likely to grow even wider) if those who are somewhat liberal don’t stand up for themselves and their “land.”
It breaks my heart that we’re ceding these places to the crazies. But I sure as hell don’t want to live alone in the middle of it either.
September 18th, 2006 at 1:48 pm
Is their a party that is pro-life and pro-birth control , separate from church. That would be Ideal.
September 18th, 2006 at 2:12 pm
Could be another civil war brewing, is the whole world going crazy?
September 18th, 2006 at 7:36 pm
“I would argue with Gary that some fundamentalist Christians do get violent when insulted”
Certainly they do. I never claimed they don’t. But a cursory glance at the news indicates that there is less such behavior in the non-Muslim community than in the Muslim community. Now, this could be simply a matter of coverage. (Before I get accused of watching FOX News, I’ll point out that I don’t own a television and I rely on NPR, the NYT, the Washington Times, the IHT, and BBC online for most of my news.) But given the calls to violence we find in the Koran, it seems at least vaguely possible that there is more such violence coming from the Muslim community than most other religious communities.
Re: the Battle Cry site — come on, Thud. They’re an evangelical youth ministry — one of many. Show me where they’re advocating physical violence. Show me where they’re even hinting at it. If you’re talking about their desire to get evangelical laws passed, so what? That’s what a democracy is for. It just means that those of us who disagree with their positions have to get more politically involved ourselves.
September 18th, 2006 at 7:59 pm
I assume you’re reading the Washington Times (owned by Rev. Sung Yung Moon and well known as a conservative rag) for balance? It is the Fox News of print journalism.
You can come awfully close to advocating violence without actually advocating violence, which is what Luce and his group do. “Here is my original War God post”:http://www.thudfactor.com/wordpress/2006/04/12/a-war-god/ featuring plenty of violent language, and “here is my Battlecry post”:http://www.thudfactor.com/wordpress/2006/05/24/battlecry/, which describes the violent rhetoric Battlecry aims at teens. The Battlecry site I linked to is also laced with rhetoric describing its followers as warriors and those with differing opinions or agendas as “the enemy.” Not in ideological or political terms, but in Military terms:
bq. A stealthy enemy has infiltrated our country and is preying upon the hearts and minds of 33 million American teens. Corporations, media conglomerates, and purveyors of popular culture have spent billions to seduce and enslave our youth. So far, the enemy is winning. But there is plenty we can do. We need to take action. We need to answer the Battle Cry. [ "Battlecry: The Crisis":http://battlecry.com/crisis.php ]
Mixed with a daily right-wing reinforcement that liberals are traitors and Al Qeda sympathizers, it’s not hard to see where that’s likely to lead. Yes, they _are_ an evangelical youth ministry. One of many. And they are _officially_ encouraging policy changes, but what they are actually doing in their stadium-filling events is inciting violence.
September 18th, 2006 at 9:26 pm
I assume you’re reading the Washington Times (owned by Rev. Sung Yung Moon and well known as a conservative rag) for balance? Correct, sir. I get Fox News forced down my gullet when I visit my folks, so I know my blood pressure can’t handle their website on a regular basis. But I do, admittedly, glance over occasionally. I look at it this way: I hate it when someone says, “I won’t watch CNN/read NYT because of the liberal bias.” My response: “Then how do you know it has a liberal bias?” I try to apply that standard to myself.
As for the call to violence, I’m sorry — I still don’t see it. The notion of spiritual battle runs through the New Testament — the armor of God and all that. But no where in the NT do we find an actual incitement to kill people. Yes, there are violent images of “sodomites” being cast into hell, but no calls for Christians to send gays there by their own hand. In the Koran, however, we do find such calls to violence. For starters: “Now when ye meet in battle those who disbelieve, then it is smiting of the necks until, when ye have routed them, then making fast of bonds; and afterward either grace or ransom till the war lay down its burdens.” (47:4) Further, it is a well documented fact that many Muslim clerics use their “pulpit” to call for violent jihad against non-Muslims. Does it happen in Christian churches? Sure. But I’d say the proportion is no where near the same.
September 18th, 2006 at 9:27 pm
But yes, the imagery of commandos is a bit over the top, to say the least…
September 18th, 2006 at 10:39 pm
I’m not claiming that the New Testament, or Christianity, is necessarily a violent religion (although Revelations is pretty vile). I’m saying that the modern fundamentalist movement (and Christian Nationalism) have turned it into one, despite the scriptures.
Nor am I saying that fundamentalist Christians are as violent as Muslims. Fundamentalist Muslims have the advantage of state sponsors for their violence, hatred, and theocracy.
What I am saying is Fundamentalist Christian elements here have put us firmly on the path of sectarian violence Islam is already on. Or, as I said, “wait a while.� Once this generation grows up, we’ll see how well it sticks. Since they are being groomed for political action, maybe they too can have the state sponsoring their radicalism.
September 18th, 2006 at 11:37 pm
The difference between Muslim and Christian ideas of the religious basis of war and religious wars in general is not just a matter of scale. Although there are Christians who believe that a nation should conform to religious laws (and believe that God elected George W. Bush to be our president) Christian scripture supports a different vision of the relationship between government and religion, essentially saying that these are separate and different. [See Matthew 22:16-21, in which Jesus in no uncertain terms makes a distinction between what belongs to God and what belongs to a human ruler, and also 4th chapter of John, in which Jesus separates the worship of God from geographic and political arenas.] Muslim teaching has no division such as this, at least none that I have been able to discover.
That said, I believe that we are seeing a dangerous trend toward the idea of embattled Christianity. It is just an idea. There is no war. The promoting of a mentality of a war where there is none is a means of indoctrination to obedience. It does not train the individual to evaluate and decide. You just make the “decision for Christ” and then you do what the leader (who talks to God, as we know) tells you to do.
July 21st, 2007 at 9:21 am
[...] where there is precious little (War on Christmas anyone?). Militarize their worship. Prepare their children for battle and seek wars of conquest for religious [...]