Help! Our culture is brainwashing Christians!

That's what Pentecostalist J. Lee Grady says.

Grady is the editor of the rightwingnut magazine, Charisma. He's very worried. "Forces in our culture want to rip the foundations of Christian faith right out from under America," he cries.

What forces? Well, the devil, for one, who "is working overtime today to gain control of our nation's soul." Yes! This is a "life-and-death struggle." Christians can't be "squishy in their faith or spineless in their convictions."

Got to fight the devil and other "forces."


Christians are being brainwashed by our "culture" in four ways or by four "lies." Christians gotta fight these lies!

1. First lie: Hell does not exist. Jesus preached about hell. A lot. Got to warn everybody - "not to condemn people in mean-spirited judgment but to warn them that mercy has a time limit."

Yup. God's gonna get you, sooner or later, if you "reject Him."


2. Second lie: God didn't create the world. That damn Darwin screwed everything up. Everybody knew God created the world, and then along came Darwin with his "sketchy" theory. Heh, heh.

Did you know that Darwinism is "laughably lacking in scientific basis" and "has roots in spiritualism" and "is not really about science at all--it is about rebellion against God's rule over us"?

In response, the first thing to note is that there is no such thing as "Darwinism." Grady is throwing out a fundamentalist straw man. There's a theory as to how life came into existence known as evolution. The theory has been proven over and over again and all scientists use it as a basis of their work. One cannot begin to understand biology, for example, without an understanding of the evolutionary process.

Grady would have us believe that the "world" (whatever that is) resists believing in a "Creator" because the "world" is fearful that it would have to obey God. Without a Creator God, you see, we are all amoral creatures running about doing all kinds of evil things. You can't be "good" without God, says Grady.

What Grady is really pissed about is people who don't accept a literal interpretation of one of the creation stories in Genesis: they don't BELIEVE the Bible!

Yet there are many Christians today who believe in a God and further believe that their God created all that exists, but also believe that God used and uses the process of evolution in her ongoing creative endeavors.

Of course, Grady would probably say they weren't "real" Christians, because they don't take everything in the Bible literally. (Grady doesn't either, but it's unlikely he would admit that.)

Furthermore, if anything has been made clear down through the centuries, it is that belief in a Creator God does not, in any way, shape or form, guarantee moral behavior. The truth is often the reverse.

Grady is frustrated because "The mainstream media and academia insist that evolution is pure fact. Anyone who dares to challenge it is considered a religious idiot."

Actually, to reject the theory of evolution is idiocy. Most people who reject it are, in fact, religious idiots, and that includes J. Lee Grady!


3. Third lie: All religions lead to God. Even George W. Bush might believe this one, and Barack Obama definitely does!

It is, however, a terrible heresy. Salvation is only possible through believing in Jesus Christ! Unfortunately, some churches (like the Episcopal church) have adopted this terrible notion that you might get to God by walking another non-Christian path, but then, they deny the authority of scripture!

People who believe this, says Grady, are like the prophets of Baal in Jezebel's court. Therefore, "We must arise in the spirit of Elijah to confront this deception and prove to the world that the one true God answers by fire."

Yup. By fire! And if you dare to think that the loving Creator God might find it in her heart to accept all people under the umbrella of her massive and ultimate love for her creation, YOU will BURN FOREVER IN HELL!


4. Man can redefine morality. "This," says Grady, "is perhaps the most deadly lie of all." Perhaps? Isn't he sure? What does he mean? Well, it's a terrible situation: "Everywhere we look today," says Grady, "leaders in media, politics, education and entertainment are plotting the virtual overthrow of conventional morals. They want a hedonistic world with no rules and no guilt."

What? "Plotting"? Is Grady frigging crazy? Can he prove that?

Yes. No. Well, not really. What's got his shorts in a knot is the fact that Newsweek published an article "brazenly claiming that the Bible approves of same-sex marriage."

So, in the end it comes down to the same old crap: It's all about homosexuality and the homophobic fears of the christianist wingnuts; it's about abortion and sex. "A lying spirit has invaded many mainline churches and is convincing weak Christians to change their views about homosexuality, abortion and fornication."

I'm always amazed that these so-called god-lovers seldom, if ever, deal with "real" problems - like hungry people, people without medical care, an economy going down the toilet, the massive corruption in the corporate world and the government, wars without end, the desecration of the environment, the homeless, the millions without work, global warming, the shredding of our civil rights and the increasing encroachment of "Big Brother," etc.


J. Lee Grady acts like a frightened rabbit in a corner. He perceives evil everywhere, and attributes evil motives to just about everyone who doesn't believe as he does, and obviously has aligned himself with a weak, incompetent nincompoop god who can't do a thing about the terrible things that worry Mr. Grady! Grady and the flock of frightened, wimpy believers who fall in behind him, cower beneath the onslaught of this massive cultural attack on all they hold dear and sacred.

What a crock! It would funny if it weren't so sad. What a terrible waste of energy and time! J. Lee Grady is, of course, preaching to his choir. And they will nod and look sober and say "Amen."

For the rest of us, however, he gives four good reasons why intelligent and loving people should reject Christianity as a viable spiritual path.

Palin problems and expense reports

There are many problems with Sarah Palin. One is she's not smart enough to be vice president. She knows almost nothing about our federal government, and is abysmally ignorant relative to the vice presidency. Palin is also a religious fanatic, connected to the most extreme fundamentalist Christian elements in our country. Her religious mentors are theocrats who believe that she has been chosen by God to be president in order to remake this nation into a Christian country ruled by biblical law as they interpret it, and that Palin's destiny is to preside over the end-times when Jesus returns to earth.

Palin is also one of those political fanatics who, in spite of the fact they don't know what they're talking about, disparage and attempt to disenfranchise people who disagree with them, by whatever means possible. Thus, Palin is known as a Pit Bull. She is mean, vicious and vindictive, as seen by her attempt to get her ex-brother-in-law fired as a state trooper.

But Palin is also unethical and without a moral core - in spite of her religious propensities and her baptism in an Alaskan lake. Her religion is useful in that it provides her with justification for any reprehensible act she undertakes and also with forgiveness for sins committed and sins of the future.

Palin lies. Over and over again. When the Troopergate report was released, a report that explicity and clearly said she abused her authority, she said it vindicated her actions. She lied about selling the plane on eBay; she lied about her opposition to the infamous "bridge to nowhere; and she lied about her opposition to earmarks.

And now it has been discovered she lied about the reasons she took her children on a variety of political jaunts around the country and around her state of Alaska. Palin charged the state of Alaska many thousands of dollars for her children to travel with her to different events even though, in most cases, they were neither invited nor expected.

Initially, Palin justified this travel by "noting on travel forms that the girls had been invited to attent or participate in events on the governor's schedule." That was not true.

But here's the kicker (from an investigative report by the AP):

"On Aug. 6, three weeks before Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain chose Palin his running mate, and after Alaska reporters asked for the records, Palin ordered changes to previously filed expense reports for daughter's travel." [My emphasis]

There is much more, but this suffices to indicate once again that Sarah Palin's ethics are sadly lacking and that she is a liar and a cheat.

You can read the full AP report here.

The lies of the Florida Republican (Christian) Party

According to Joe Follick of the Star Banner's Tallahassee Bureau, hundreds of leaders of the Republican Party of Florida held their quarterly meeting yesterday at the Rosen Shingle Creek Resort.

What ensued portrays once again the moral degradation that seems to typify most Republican organizations these days. It is truly a party without a soul. It is a party of predatory swine, feeding from the swill at the bottom of the trough.


Jeff Kottkamp, the Lt. Gov., told the poohbahs assembled that the Republicans would win in Florida, just like they always have. He said that the Republican Party stands "for faith, for family, for lower taxes and job creation, not the party that wants to raise taxes, to kill the economy."

He said that with a straight face!

Then Paul Senft, who hails from Polk County and is a national committee member, brought up the Rev. Jeremiah Wright - the guy that said "God damn America." McCain has studiously avoided any discussion of the Rev. Wright, and suggested that his minions do the same. (Evidently, McCain has lost control of the troops. And he wants to be "commander-in-chief"!)

Senft, believing that the Republican Party is the party blessed by God, and a true Christian party, went on to say, "I want you to pray hard between now and Nov. 4. I know that everybody in this room has not been in a church where the pastor said, 'God damn America.'"

How would he know that? Notice, too, that Mr. Senft conveniently "forgot" to mention that this is really old news and that Obama not only resigned from Wright's church but roundly condemned Mr. Wright's comments.

That's bad enough on the part of Senft. He wasn't done, though. Senator Obama's tax and health care plans are "Marxist," he said. "It's Marxist. It's communist. But let's just call it socialism."


Where, oh where, do these morons come from? These are Bush's people. These are the people that have controlled the government for eight years! These are the people who have run this country and the state of Florida into the ground.

YOU, MR. SENFT, AND YOU, MR. KOTTKAMP, REPRESENT THE PARTY THAT KILLED THE ECONOMY!!!!

And Mr. Senft, do you really believe that if you pray to your god she will help you win the election? Does your god commend your gutter-tactics and your lies and your character-assassination?

"Marxist?" "Communist?" "Socialism?"

You really ought to make up your mind, because those words all refer to different things. Marxism is one particular form of communism. Communism is a political system. Socialism is an economic system in which the government controls some of the economic engines that run the society.

Furthermore, the United States has always been "socialistic," at least in part. What do you think public schools are? What you think NASA is? What do you think Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid are, if not "socialistic"? What about the Post Office? The military? The judicial system? The Interstate Highway system? The TVA? The Veteran's Administration?

You use those words to attack the character of a sitting U.S. Senator with whom you want to disagree but can't figure out how to go about it because you and your Republican friends don't even care enough to discover what it is you disagree with!

Furthermore, when you call upon your god to turn the election your way, you are connecting your political system to your religious beliefs which could lead, if you had your way, to some kind of a Christian United States, which was one thing of which the so-called "founding fathers" were deathly afraid!

You also debase your faith and your fellow citizens by pretending that your Christian god loves you and your Republican friends more than she does the other people of our land. If that is true, Mr. Senft, your god stinks to high heaven!


The Republican Party is dead! Long may it stay that way!

Palin in the papers

McCain's operatives obviously failed to properly vet the vice presidential candidate, Sarah Palin.

But less than two years ago, when Ms. Palin was running for governor, the Democrats did their own vetting. They put together a document of 62 pages "with countless summaries or direct quotes, largely from local newspapers, [which covered] all of the important issues you would expect to see, from her views on abortion and abstinence to tangled oil pipeline questions."

Editor & Publisher reveals that "Politico.com obtained a copy and printed merely a handful of the hundreds of findings on Tuesday. These included serious matters such as her use of the mayor's office in political campaigns. But it also posted a PDF of the entire document which few have probably examined. Here [are] some of the more outrageous, or surprising, revelations -- strictly from newspaper clips."

1. On the death penalty. When questioned about the death penalty, in extreme cases, e.g. the death of a child, Palin said, "My goodness, hang' em up, yeah." (Anchorage Daily News, 8/18/06)

2. On religion. "Palin wrote a Letter to the Editor saying only, 'San Francisco judges forbidding our Pledge of Allegiance? They will take the phrase 'under God' away from me when my cold, dead lips can no longer utter those words. God bless America.'" (Juneau Empire, 6/30/02)

3. On Walmart. "Palin presided over a wedding at a Walmart. ... 'It was so sweet,' said Palin, who fought back tears during the nuptials. 'It was so Wasilla.'" (Anchorage Daily News, 8/28/99)

On Walmart and health coverage. "Asked about expanding health care coverage and about Wal-Mart's corporate conduct, she delivered non-answers with a disarming smile." (Anchorage Daily News, 1/30/06)

4. Used public funds for political gain. "In her 2002 Lt. Governor bid, Mayor Palin used city employees, telephones, computers, fax machines for campaign fundraising and literature. On her candidate registration form, she used her City Hall fax number, and her mayoral e-mail address. Records show that Wasilla city property was used to contact supporters, donors, media contacts, and media purchasing. (Anchorage Daily News, 7/21/06)

5. Gender card. "After Palin fired Irl Stambaugh, the police chief, he sued the city in part based on gender discrimination. The [Wasilla] Frontiersman wrote, 'The gender discrimination issues stem from statements Palin allegedly made to others that she was intimidated by Stambaugh's size. He stands over 6-feet tall and weighs more than 200 pounds, which, the lawsuit said, is attributed to his gender.'" (Frontiersman, 2/26/97)

Palin goes to Costco to see Ivana Trump. "Sarah Palin, a commerical fisherman from Wasilla, told her husband Todd on Tuesday she was driving to Anchorage to shop at Costco. Instead, she headed straight for Ivana. And there, at J.C. Penney's cosmetic department, was Ivana, the former Mrs. Donald Trump, sitting at a table next to a photograph of herself. She wore a light-colored pantsuit and pink fingernail polish. Her blonde hair was coiffed in a bouffant French twist. 'We went to see Ivana,' said Palin, who admittedly smells like salmon for a large part of the summer, 'because we are so desperate in Alaska for any semblance of glamour and culture.'"
(Anchorage Daily News, 4/3/96)

Palin couldn't run for Senate because she couldn't be the "team Mom." "A hockey mom and a former standout athlete herself, Palin said she understood her son's concerns. 'How could I be the team mom if I was a U.S. Senator?' she said." (Anchorage Daily News, 4/24/04)

6. Lying. "Palin Exaggerated Work Experience for Mayoral Campaign. In 1997, Frontiersman columnist Paul Stuart wrote that after Palin had criticized her opponent for using City Hall resources for political gain, 'when Palin was asked back then (by me) why the lodge where she claimed, in her campaign, to have gained her management experience, had no record of a borough business license or of paying any bed tax, she paused and said it might have been because the place had no clients for a year or so.' In an article describing the possibility of recalling Palin, the Frontiersman wrote the 'reasons include Palin's alleged falsification of her credentials during the campaign last fall." (Frontiersman, 1/22/97, 2/5/97)

"Frontiersman Editorial Said Palin Made Statements That Were 'Patently Untrue,' Said She Had Shown 'Unrepentant Backpedaling and Incessant Whining.' A Frontiersman editorial wrote, 'Wasilla residents have been subjected to unlawfully appoint[ed] council members, statements that have been shown to be patently untrue, unrepentant backpedalling, and incessant whining that her only enemies are the press and a few disgruntled supporters of former Mayor John Stein." (Frontiersman editorial, 2/7/97)

Another Frontiersman editorial: "Mayor Palin fails to have a firm grasp of something very simple: the truth." (Frontiersman, 2/7/97)

7. Personal. "Palin's Brother-in-Law Appeared on Reality Dating Show. Lt. Gov. candidate Sarah Palin thought it might help her campaign when brother-in-law Jack McCann showed up as a desirable catch on the new 'reality' TV show, 'Looking for Love: Bachelorettes in Alaska.' That hope lasted until she actually saw an episode of the series, which turns out to be your basic meat market twitch and grin. 'Oh Lord,' she said, 'My sisters and I watched it in horror.' Jack, who is scheduled to appear again even though he crashed a mountain bike in the first episode, is pretty cute and has a sense of humor, Sarah reports. 'He described his occupation ... as an office environment consultant,' she said. 'He sells furniture.'" (Anchorage Daily News, 6/9/02)

"Palin told The Associated Press that she and her husband, Todd, made a bet on whether Murkowski would run. If the governor says he'll enter the race, Palin has to get the Big Dipper tattooed on her ankle. If Murkowski says no, todd gets a wedding ring inked on his finger." (Anchorage Daily News, 5/26/06.)


Doesn't a lot of this stuff sound familiar?

Read more from Editor & Publisher here. There's more here at the E & P Pub. And Politico is here.