A few entries back, I was talking about the most recent doings in the Episcopal Church of the United States, (ECUSA), and where I stack up in the mix. I paraphrased Father Fred Barber's sermon that week, wherein he had emphasized that, "We're called to do the work of the church - To help those who need to be helped, live as we are called to live, be the people that Christians are supposed to be, and love and respect one another in the process. He said that both sides, liberal and conservative, are wrong to push things too hard, wrong to castigate the other, wrong to make this issue paramount over all." I then went on to say that I thought he, "Got it just right, and dead wrong."
I stand corrected once again.
When I wrote that, I was angry and responding to The Network's sabotage and subterfuge campaign surrounding the ECUSA General Convention, and not thinking about the root causes of the whole mess. I forgot what I know about who is doing what, and why it's really being done; so it's time for a little clarification.
In the 60's, when racism and voting rights were being fought, then later, when the Vietnam war was being protested, the liberal Protestant Churches, (Episcopal, Presbyterian, United Methodist, and Lutheran), were among the most-present and most oft heard forces of opposition. Conservative political and religious factions didn't like that. In '80, when Reagan took the White House, they set out to make sure it didn't happen again.
Then, and now, they're embodied in the organization known as The Institute on Religion and Democracy, (IRD). Don't let the name fool you; the IRD doesn't have anything to do with freedom of speech, protection of rights, or the fighting of good fights. They are the conservative rights religious power wing, tagged with not only keeping the liberal Protestant Churches in line, but with crushing those institutions completely by undermining their foundations and replacing them with puppet regimes loyal to the IRD's tenets. Their war plan is classic, simple, and effective - Divide and conquer. This organization was and is literally staffed by ex-spooks, and they have no morals or ethics as we know them. They will do and say anything to achieve their goals - the truth, right and wrong, and the damage done in the process means nothing to them. They are dangerous zealots, and they're coming for your churches.
At a time when global issues are perhaps more destructive than any other, when war, disease, famine, poverty, and government-sponsored wholesale abuse of humanity is widespread, the mainstream Protestant churches are not involved as they could and should be in the good fight. Why? Because we're busy fighting for our lives with a bunch of well funded conservative assassins bent on destroying the very fabric of our faith.
Check out their website: On the first page, you'll find the Weekly Poll - This week, it says "The Episcopal Church and the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) at their recent conventions, have continued to move away from traditional Christian teachings on marriage and sex. What do you think will happen to these denominations? Go take the poll yourself, and see what the options are for answering - What do you think will happen? Beneath this little gem are pieces about 'The Conflict Within the Episcopal Church,' (You guys aughta know, you engineered it... ), Presbyterian action, United Methodist action, Religious Liberty - Go in there and read this horseshit, (And if you don't think its horseshit, my apologies, and go somewhere else and affect discontent, OK? This is my rant...)
Why does the Far Right do so well? Why have they gotten so powerful? Because they have good organization, and they key in on issues that promote fear, hatred, narrow mindedness, and the mean spirited ability to bully anyone and everyone through power and money. They have proven, time and again, a willingness to lie, cheat, steal, and bully their way through any issue or fight, and they do it well: Sad but true fact - A lot of people respond to being scared, and they like the idea of someone powerful dealing with the things that scare them. Think I'm wrong? Check your polical history again, then...
Why does the Democratic Party and the good side of the fight not do well? Because they try to fight fairly, and they have and maintain morals and ethics, and don't believe that you do and say anything to win. And that dog don't hunt in this fight.
Were you reading what I wrote above? Did you hear what the IRD is and does? This is not conspiracy theory, friends, this is reality. This is a shadow company that was designed to allow the Reagan government to fight its little coups in Central America in the 1980s. These people are ex-CIA spooks who know how to do this kind of thing; it is real, folks. They will do and say anything to win. They don't fight clean, they fight to win.
I know personally about this kind of thing. I worked narcotics for the feds. I know how things really work. Do you understand why gang units, dope units, and special investigations units in high crime areas get the job done, and occasionally get in trouble? Because we're badder than the bad guys. Because we fight to win, not to fight nice. Ever thought about fighting a cop? Let me tell you exactly what is said to people who considered that: We'd say, "You know, you might be able to take me - But there are more of us than you, and we don't fight clean, we fight to win, to survive - So, you are going to get the living shit kicked out of you, thrashed to within an inch of your life, and then your sorry ass is going to jail - Still wanna take me on, pal?" Get the picture? That's their mindset, gang - That's the kind of macho horseshit Cheney and Bush throw around the ol' oval office when discussing Iraq, and that's how those shitheads at the IRD operate. Do you get the picture?
That is what is leading the fight to destroy liberal, socially conscious, caring churches. That is what is keeping us from doing the good work of the church. That is why we are busy fighting for our churches.
Do you think I'm extreme? Do you think I'm exaggerating? Do you think this whole thing is blown way out proportion? If you do, I have a message for you: You're wrong; dead wrong. You're naive. Ask somebody who was at the ECUSA Convention - The IRD was openly present and operating - They ain't afraid, they don't even have to pretend that someone else is pulling the strings - That's how powerful they've become... Do nothing, pretend it's not happening, and you're going to lose your church and the values and institutions you hold dear. The hardcore right is going to roll over you. They're going to take your voice and your faith if you don't get off the pot and protect them. Do you get the picture?
If you still think I'm outrageous, start googling some of this - Read what they say, find out who they are, trace the power and the money, and when you see the light, you can come admit to me that you were wrong. In the meantime, get off your ass - It's time to stand up for what you believe in.
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