The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power

Jeff Sharlet, author of The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power, was interviewed last evening on MSNBC. There is an interesting Q & A from Rolling Stone here. Sharlet began his interview last evening by pointing out that two recent Republican adulterers, Governor Mark Sanford and Senator John Ensign are card-carrying members of The Family. God has appointed men like these, Sharlet said, to run our nation. Rules and laws of morality do not apply to these fundamentalist chrisitans. God gives them a pass for adultery. Former Congressman Chip Pickering,( R-Miss.), is another member-adulterer.

Nonsense like this is 'believed' by fundamentalist christians; like sponges, they absorb all of this crap while nodding and mumbling biblical passages.

The organization, also known as The Fellowship, hosts the annual National Prayer Breakfast.

Apparently, they also like wars of aggression. The Family 'believes' in confronting the infidels because, after our military missions, christian missionaries will follow and will baptize the heathens. Surely Bush 'believed' that about his preemptive invasion of Iraq.

Sharlet castigates Calvinism in this statement: "It's sort of this Calvinist theology, this idea that you are one of God's elect, one of God's chosen." And, as 'God's chosen,' you have a license to do whatever the hell you want to, including adultery, aggression, and maintaining power. John Calvin- Evangelicalism.

Other congressional members of The Family include Charles Grassley (R., Iowa), James Inhofe (R., Okla.), Bill Nelson (D., Fla.), Sam Brownback (R., Kan.), Susan Collins (R., Me), Mark Pryor (D., Ak), John Thune, (R. SD), Ben Nelson (D., Neb.) and Jim DeMint (R., S.Car.). It is interesting that it also included former senator Norm Coleman who is a Jew.

Still other Fellowship members include [not surprisingly]include members of the U.S. Military: two former Chairmen of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Air Force Gen. David Jones and General Richard Myers, are members as are former Marine Corps Commandant and NATO commander General James L. Jones, Iran-Contra figure Marine Lt. Col. Oliver North, and Army Lt. Gen. William “Jerry” Boykin, the military head of Defense Secretary Rumsfeld’s intelligence branch. Boykin, you may recall, was castigated for encouraging Jesus-talk among the troops- as if Jesus loved war!

Watergate cover-up conspirator Charles Colson, is also a member of the Fellowship. Golly! You know, though, he has 'repented' and now is on a straight-line path to Jesus.

The Fellowship Foundation is related to and shares common management with the Wilberforce Foundation (a.k.a. Wilberforce Project and Wilberforce Forum), which is part of the Charles W. Colson Center for Biblical Worldview. Cozy.

The Wilberforce Foundation is a conservative Christian political and social think tank and action group particularly active in the promotion of Intelligent design in education and in biotechnology and bioethics issues, such as human cloning and stem cell research that is closely allied with the Discovery Institute, center of the intelligent design movement, with the two sharing a number of fellows and advisors.

Imagine that! Quite a web has been woven, eh?

Jesus and politics. Who could have guessed?

Do you suppose, should Jesus 'return from the dead again,' that he would become an automatic member of The Fellowship?

Love one another.