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The Fundamentalist Christian Plan for America

By: Hrafnkell HaraldssonJul. 23rd, 2011more from Hrafnkell Haraldsson

James Robison published on Friday a table detailing the “Enemy’s Plan”. This table is presented by Wayne Grudem, Ph.D., a professor at Phoenix Seminary and author.

Robison claims that Grudem “began to write what God revealed to him concerning the strategy and effectiveness of the enemy. He outlined the enemy’s tactics and contrasted them with the will of God as it relates to many issues of deep concern to everyone who understands the importance of faith, family and freedom.”

According to Robison,

With God’s help, believers can defeat the enemy’s plan. We must join together to see hearts changed and fulfill the will of God. We can and must defeat the enemy’s strategy. Remember, we are not warring against flesh and blood, but against spiritual powers and hidden sinister forces of darkness and deception. Satan is the father of all lies.

I have taken Grudem’s table and made a few changes to reflect the plans of the true enemy, that is, of Robison’s and Grudem’s fundamentalist Christianity. For example, Grudem’s first two categories read as follows:

Topic The enemy’s desired result Means to reach that end By contrast: God’s desired result
1 Life Death of Babies Abortion More babies born; not aborted
2 Sexual Morality Increase in homosexuality Same-sex marriage laws; hate speech codes Healthy marriages between 1 man and 1 women

This should be enough to show you where Grudem is headed with this but you are encouraged to refer to the original table while examining mine. No god told me what to write; my table is based on observable fact:

Topic The enemy’s desired result Means to reach that end Fundamentalism’s outcome
1 Life Death of women (mothers, incest victims, even adolescent females)
 Banning of Abortion More women dead, especially poor and minority women
2 Sexual morality Limits on Constitution’s guarantee of the pursuit of life, liberty, and happiness
 Banning Marriage Equality; hate speech; teaching that “homosexuality” is a choice
 Marriages between 1 man and 1 woman only, even for LGBT people
3 Sexual morality Adherence to cherry-picked version of  Mosaic Law
 Teaching in schools that only heterosexual Christians are normal Boys and girls sexually repressed and forced to adhere to unnatural gender roles
4 Israel Elevation of Israel to status equal to U.S.A.; Israel Right or Wrong
 Accusations of anti-Semitism leveled at  those critical of Israeli government policy;
 Israel preserved intact for Jesus’ return so he can destroy Israel and initiate the genocide of Jewish people who refuse to become fundamentalist Christian
5 American system of government Destruction of American democracy by destroying the heart of the system that governments must derive their “just powers” from “the consent of the governed,” and that all are equal before the law as per the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights Government power taken over by activist judges who are not accountable to voters and who legislate from the bench rather than being bound by the original public meaning of the Constitution and laws American theocracy
6 Defense America in a state of perpetual war
 Economically crippling defense spending; gunboat diplomacy
 United States as the new Holy Roman Empire
7 Defense Conversion of the U.S. military to a crusader-like Christian army
 Repression and marginalization of non-Christians in the U.S. military; taxpayer supported proselytization
 America subject to a federally-sponsored army of Christ; the army as a force of proselytization
8 National debt America bankrupt, unable to pay its debts Unbridled and unregulated corporations and untaxed wealthy while pursuing ruinous defense spending and wars; and money that went to so-called entitlement programs going to churches instead
 Absolute control of all levels of society in the hands of fundamentalist Christianity by forced conversion of those seeking aid
9 Moral standards Taliban-like control and imposition of fundamentalist Christian morality
 Teaching of creationism, with implication that we are all morally accountable to the fundamentalist idea of God; teaching of Mosaic law in public schools; banning of teaching about other religions or moral codes
 Belief that all people are accountable to the fundamentalist idea of God for their actions; belief in some moral absolutes
10 Patriotism American citizens embracing an excessive and dangerous level of American exceptionalism based on the idea that God created America for fundamentalist white Christians only
 Revisionist, anti-American teaching of history; obsessive repetition of mythical American purity; banning of teaching of America’s questionable and morally ambiguous actions
 Zealous devotion to a revisionist ideal of an American that never existed and was never meant to exist
11 Children Parents exercising a Biblically exacting control over their children and the children of others
 Religious monopoly on K–12 education funds; Bible “experts” rather than qualified teachers determining what is taught Fundamentalist control of education
12 Children No teaching in schools that other religions or gods exist, or that such a thing as atheism exists
 Court-imposed revisionist view of “separation of church and state” that distorts original meaning of First Amendment by claiming the First Amendment applies only to Christians
 Freedom of religion protected for white fundamentalist Christians, teachers forced to teach belief, not scientifically proven facts; local school boards forced to adhere to a fundamentalist-imposed cirriculum
13 Children Poorly educated high school graduates, without any useful knowledge of science or of how the universe functions
 Fundamentalist monopoly on K–12 education funds; teachers unions banned and fundamentalism’s goals put ahead of best interests of students All children thoroughly indoctrinated in fundamentalist religious doctrine and creationism
14 Children Children reduced to role as future soldiers of Christ
 Laws against anything that might “tempt” children away from a strict fundamentalist interpretation of behavior and morality
 Perfectly indoctrinated Christian Stormtrooper children
15 Racial differences Belief that only white fundamentalist Christians are Americans
 Minorities deprived of ethnic pride, equality, and opportunity
 Minorities put firmly in their place as second-class citizens
16 Freedom People in economic bondage and slavery to fundamentalist Christian religion; little freedom to decide how to use their time and money Excessive fundamentalist control of movies, books and other forms of entertainment
 Individual freedom abolished; strict adherence to cherry-picked form of Mosaic law
17 Prosperity Poverty for all but the wealthy and corporations
 Taxes that penalize the middle class and poor; destruction of collective bargaining and child labor laws; elevation of wealthy and imposition of myth of “wealth-producers”; social Darwinism
 Prosperity for the wealthy and corporations; poverty and social marginalization for all others
18 Natural resources The relentless and unrestrained plundering of Earth to line the pockets of the wealthy and of corporations
 Radical deregulation of the fossil fuel industry
 A dead world
19 Belief in God Belief of a narrow and restricted view that there is only one God who created universe Creationism presented as only viewpoint in schools, and the only explanation for life Teaching that the fundamentalist idea of God created the universe and human beings
20 Freedom of religion Oppression of religious pluralism and diversity of belief; prison sentences for those who teach “objectionable” scientific or religious viewpoints. Fundamentalist lawsuits, based on wrongful claims about “separation of church and state” and that people have a right not to feel “offended” at being religiously repressed Freedom of religion for fundamentalist Christians and freedom of hate speech in public places; no right for subjects of hate speech to respond or object
21 Freedom of religion Christian intolerance and bigotry permitted on campuses at taxpayer expense
 Lawsuits directed at universities who follow the law and Constitution
 Freedom of fundamentalist Christian hate speech on college campuses
22 Freedom of religion Silencing of atheism and paganism
 Federally subsidized ate speech directed at atheists and pagans; lawsuits directed at atheists
 Atheism and paganism removed from First Amendment protections banned
23 Freedom of religion No mosques built
 Laws preventing mosques from being built in communities
 Islam removed from First Amendment protections and banned
24 Freedom of religion Pastors allowed to influence politics but free of taxation
 Destruction of the Constitution and in particular, the First Amendment
 Biblical control of all levels of government – local, state, and federal

By looking at Grudem’s table it should be easy to see how he misrepresents the goals of a pluralistic and diverse liberal democracy. His conclusions (God’s desired result) do not at all match what fundamentalists really want for America. The Grudem Table is an example of pure ideology and as such has little bearing on reality. No liberal or progressives desire the death of babies and equality for everyone does not promote an “increase in homosexuality” but rather promotes an increase in liberty.

With more time, I (or someone else) could easily attach footnotes to each point on my own table to provide examples of fundamentalist rhetoric, Scripture (or actions – lawsuits, legislation, etc) that prove the points I’ve made above. Grudem cannot do the same with his without misrepresenting facts and data (like Minnery’s misuse of a government study discussed here the other day). Sadly, the base, which does not try to discern fact from falsehood, will drink it up on the basis of what they’ve been programmed to believe. Even sadder, an entire generation of children are growing up under identical indoctrination and only adulthood will provide an opportunity to force the scales from their eyes.

The obvious conclusion to draw from all this if we are as claimed under the influence of Satan is two-fold: 1) Satan embraces pluralism and diversity and liberty; and, 2) Satan is a supporter of democracy rather than theocracy. A third possible conclusion, if you wish to take the obvious next step,  would be that it’s actually Satan the fundamentalists are following and that their enemy is God.

The Fundamentalist Christian Plan for America was written by Hrafnkell Haraldsson for PoliticusUSA.
© PoliticusUSA, Jul. 23rd, 2011. All Rights Reserved

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