Republicans Devolving: It Goes Beyond Creationism

There is new evidence that the Republican Party is devolving - dragged down to the state of neanderthal by Evangelical Fundamentalist Christians.

PEW Research:

     "There are sizable differences among partisan groups in beliefs about evolution. Republicans are less inclined than either Democrats or political independents to say that humans have evolved over time. Roughly two-thirds of Democrats (67%) and independents (65%) say that humans have evolved over time, compared with less than half of Republicans (43%).

"The size of the gap between partisan groups has grown since 2009. Republicans are less inclined today than they were in 2009 to say that humans have evolved over time (43% today vs. 54% in 2009), while opinion among both Democrats and independents has remained about the same."

     

The below PEW chart shows who are the culprits in this move backwards:






White and black evangelical protestants contribute so much to the cause of Creationism that it is hard to separate them. The groups populate the entirety of Southern Baptist Convention (16 million) as well as all other Fundamentalist Christian denominations (e.g., Assemblies of God). They are also the most vocal in (conservative) politics and have recently challenged the separation of church and state so as to openly preach politics from the pulpit.*

It is ironic that while Republicans claim a rise in Creationist beliefs, their support from the Christian Right has waned in regard to other issues like marriage equality: they have found out that when pandering to the Christian Right, you must hold strong on ALL its beliefs ... or else. They have also found out that the problems of teaching Creationism must be tackled at the local and state level first, since America's diversity counterbalances Fundamentalism: America may indeed be a Christian-majority nation, but it is fast becoming a nation of "no particular affiliation."

Andrew Sullivan:

     "An alarming study by the Barna group looked at the mass exodus of 20-somethings from evangelicalism and discovered that one of the major sources of discontent was the perception that “Christianity was antagonistic to science.” Anti-evolution, and general suspicion of science, has become such a significant part of the evangelical identity that many people feel compelled to choose one or the other. Many of my most talented former students no longer attend any church, and some have completely abandoned their faith traditions.

Whither go the youth, so go conservatives and the Republican Party. William F. Buckley would not be amused. 

The Turn-Off Point

When the Republican Party will become tired of being a pawn of the Christian Right and capitalism remains to be seen: indeed, it may never recuperate from the devolution (and never get tired of capitalism). Some pundits think that it has already reached the turn-off point with its growing (but grudging) acceptance of gay rights. This, however, is an illusion: Christian Right hold-outs like North Carolina, Tennessee and Texas will uphold the banning of same-sex marriage and the right to proselytize with Creationism (as a kind of science) until their cows come home.

They continue into the darkness willingly. Will they ever be seen again ... as intelligent homo sapiens?


*Although Catholic priests and bishops have been vocal, the emergence of Francis' doctrine of reaching out to the poor and not to politicians will definitely have its effect.

Instant Commendation, Instant Condemnation: The Jason Collins Coming Out Story, Right, Left and Center.

"I will guarantee you if the ownership of whatever team is thinking about bringing him back or thinking about trading for him - and they go to the players on that team and they say 'how do you feel about an out, active homosexual being in the same locker room sharing the same shower facilities with you' they'd say 'no way. I don't want that. I don't want some guy, a teammate eyeballin' me in the shower and my wife does not want that." Bryan Fischer - Focal Point - American Family Association. (see full video below)

The most celebrated cover in the history of Sports Illustrated, may not be for one of its swim suit issues. It may, in fact, feature the most masculine and courageous athlete of the year: in the current issue, Jason Collins of the Washington Wizards (and formerly of the Boston Celtics) comes out as gay, becoming the first openly gay player in a major American professional team sport.





The news hit the internet yesterday morning, and the response has been positive, garnering a call from President Obama in support of the player and his decision to come out of the closet. In fact, an avalanche of support from celebrities and sports figures including Magic Johnson, John Amaechi and Chris Kluwe came in tweets immediately.

Unfortunately, some condemning tweets chimed in as well. Note these by Breitbarters:







Perhaps the most egregious response was that of ESPN sportscaster Chris Broussard who said:

"If you’re openly living in unrepentant sin, whatever it may be, not just homosexuality, whatever it maybe, I believe that’s walking in open rebellion to God and to Jesus Christ. So I would not characterize that person as a Christian because I don’t think the bible would characterize them as a Christian."

Unfortunately, he said it to LZ Granderson who retorted: “I really don’t need Chris or anyone else telling me if I’m a Christian because Jesus tells me I am.”

Granderson is gay. Oooops.

The exchange spawned a number of tweets with the hashtag #IStandWithChris. Most of them were of the Fundamentalist variety, but some were downright NSFW in their descriptive homophobia.

Whither NOM?

Among the responses, it is interesting to note that no one (as yet), has mentioned the fact that Jason Collins stated he is both BLACK and gay. The (now) infamous strategy by The National Organization for Marriage (NOM) strategy - to "drive a wedge" between the black and gay communities - is rendered ineffective - or irrelevant. It will be interesting to see NOM's response - if any is forthcoming.

Left, Right and Center

In the past, the responses to Collins' statement could have been characterized as Left (supportive), Right (Collins is sinful) and Center (really doesn't matter). However, in today's increasingly polarized society, Center has almost faded away. Social media like Twitter has shown us just how confrontational we have gotten when it comes to issues like gay rights: the immediacy of support or condemnation causes a huge rush to join whatever side you feel you are on. And if you are silent on the issue, both sides take the silence as assent for the other side.

In the end, perhaps, the most important outcome of Jason Collins' coming out may be the responses ... and the amount of them: so far, the supportive responses seem to outnumber the negative ones, which may cause a fierce backlash by pundits weightier than Bryan Fischer. Rush Limbaugh will certainly voice concern over the fact that Obama took it (too) seriously. Sounds of dismay coming from the Family Research Council's Tony Perkins will certainly be forthcoming, but will FOX News' Sean Hannity join the fray? Will Bill O'Reilly? Will Glenn Beck find a conspiracy in there somewhere?

The coming days will be cause for reflection ... and amusement.

Thank you, Jason Collins.

My War Against Pat Robertson and Why It Matters

I've had to take a break from blogging. Other things intruded. Personal lives are like that, aren't they? One could arguing that this blog is personal, but it really isn't, since it goes out there to so very many people whom I don't know. It's PUBLIC.

Anyway, I 've been delving into the issues published today (the new Pope, marriage equality) with an atypical languor simply because everyone else has been writing about them and there is nothing new under the sun about them to write about. And there's the intensity the subjects create, which is wearing on a writer, especially one as snarky as I am.

So I'm turning to an old subject with which I am familiar and which oddly energizes me: Pat Robertson, that senile, Christofascist and abysmally insipid piece of "eye pudding" (as Stephen Colbert so aptly put it). Robertson's stomach-churning displays of "wisdom" are legion, but today's latest entry struck me as the core reason of my war against this incredible slab of hypocrisy, because it's been at the core of his "ministry" from day one: money.

His video profile of a family who "turned to God" (and, of course, The 700 Club) after losing it all is the stuff of sitcoms, or at the very least a good SNL sketch. It is also a great ad for the prosperity gospel, although Robertson has eschewed the term for "reciprocity" when dealing with the Lord. His throw-away line is "You can't out-give God," but you CAN give the 700 Club $20 a month which may give you back 20, 30, 60-fold. The featured family did so, and look where they're living now!! 

The idiocy of the video lies in the last shots: the denouement supposedly comes from the family realizing that money isn't everything, that material goods should not be placed before God, but the house (and wealth) they garnered after giving Pat their money was definitely worth more than the one they lost! It looks twice the size! These people lived in a million-dollar home, incurred $5 million in debt, lost the home, went bankrupt, then gave Pat Robertson $20 a month for several years and now live in a whopping mansion! 

This is a picture of Pat Robertson's home - the ONLY house the $20-per-month tithe ever generated:

It's modeled on the opulent Governor's Palace of Colonial Williamburg, VA and a tribute to Robertson's father, Senator Absolom Willis Robertson, the quintessential Dixiecrat (a "Byrd Democrat" devoted to segregation). It houses the televangelist (worth an estimated $1.5 billion) in dignified comfort, an additional tribute to God's "reciprocity." 

Sh*t Matters

Scam artists like Pat Roberton never die. They just fade away, dragging their unearned billions behind them, inspiring others to do the same. That's why a war, any war against the likes of Pat Robertson is so important: it prevents future Pat Robertsons, or at least dwindles their numbers down to an irrelevant few.  

Additional note:  during the last part of the donor drive, Robertson offers a book about people who have had have near-death experiences. Notice the author: Gordon Robertson, Pat's son.

"Reciprocity." It's all in the family.

Cast Those Demons Out Of Your Clothes From Good Will!

Perennially senile Christofascist Pat Robertson nails it right on the head: he dimly remembers a vague story about a witch in some Thai or Asian (whatever) backwater who put her spirit into a ring and a girl who bought it, well, "all hell broke lose!" 

He laughs at the practice of casting out demons form every Goodwill item, but his is a "better safe than sorry" attitude that is patently ridiculous. Of course, tell that to the little old ladies who were, at the time of the broadcast, placing their hands on the TV screens hoping Pat would cure their hemorrhoids.