HULK SMASHED
FUUUCCKK Bush
Not first? My life is ruined!
This is like some super-secret thread. All mine! Muhahaha!!
Somebody should tell Mister Kristof about Reverend Jesse Lee Peterson and the Brotherhood Organization of a New Destiny.
And Mister King, too, since he's apparently willing to let slip some facts about religious radicals.
I despise Nick Kristof, but I don't despise this editorial. He does, in his usual neutered way, politely suggest to the right wing that true believers tend to thrive where it is most oppressed, and that if they got their way on school prayer, etc., their ranks would decrease. And his point that Christianity is showing its greatest gains in the third world, and that their zealotry could lead to future wars are apt.
So, I'll save my fury for the next column Kristof devotes to false equivelancy.
There was a great article a couple of years ago in the Atlantic Monthly about Christianity being the fastest growing religion in the world due to huge growth in the third world. It's attraction was more along the lines of "Jesus will protect you from evil spirits" and other beliefs tied into their pre-Christian superstitions. Homo-haters in the U.S., however, love these new Christians, and many reactionary American Episcopal churches have had their priests ordained by bishops from Africa and Asia who are in line with their anti-gay stance.
politely suggest to the right wing that true believers tend to thrive where it is most oppressed
Sorry, but where _what_ is most oppressed?
his point that Christianity is showing its greatest gains in the third world, and that their zealotry could lead to future wars are apt.
But he misses the point of what the zealotry _already_ is resulting in, as demonstrated by the contrast with King's concurrent article.
it's the churches with the strictest demands, like giving up drinking, that are flourishing.
Has Nick Kristof ever had any personal experiences with Third-World Christianity (including that in Red-State America?)?
The churches that are flourishing are not those that have the strictest demands (well, they may pay lip service to a few and want the money) -- if so then where are the masses of people in the Third World converting to Islam, Judaism and even Buddhism which have some real demands on folk.
The churches that are flourish are the ones which promise you that if you just call upon the name of Jesus and let the Holy Spirit take you over you will receive salvation in heaven and maybe even prosperity on earth.
The churches that are doing well are certainly those that give quick comfort to the afflicted, but they are not ones that make demands or afflict the comfortable (as, say, Jesus did). The latter part is why the corporate right is so excited about this kind of "Christianity".
Marx was right when he called religion the opiate of the masses. Sometimes when you are sick, the first step in feeling better is to be able to manage the pain or coughing with some codeine or oxicodone. But the religion spreading in the third world is not some demanding program of palliation and physical therapy of fellowship and good deeds but rather the cheap high of heroin.
Fundamentalist religion is not demanding -- it is successful because it demands nothing (but simple obedience) and promises everything ... and is addicting like heroin. It is a scourge no matter what Nick Kristof may think.
Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooo.............
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