Religions > Atheism > They're at it again! The Texas GOP Declares "America is a Christian nation"
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11 Jun 2006 02:55:01 PM |
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They're at it again! The Texas GOP Declares "America is a Christian nation" |
They're at it again! The Texas GOP Declares "America is a Christian nation"
By Joan Bokaer
http://www.talk2action.org/story/2006/6/7/0745/05899
They're at it again! The Texas GOP Declares "America is a Christian nation"
By Joan Bokaer
,500 delegates participated in the biennial gathering of the Texas GOP
this past weekend. As reported in The Dallas Morning News:
The party platform, adopted Saturday, declares "America is a Christian
nation" and affirms that "God is undeniable in our history and is vital to
our freedom."
"We pledge to exert our influence ... [to] dispel the myth of the
separation of church and state," it says.
The Texas GOP Platform is not merely a document of extremist ideas. The
proposals provide the backbone for both Bush administration policies and
many legislative initiatives coming from our Republican-controlled
Congress. The platform spells out a dominionist agenda , and, as such, is
worthy of our attention..
topic: All Topics section:Dominionism in the military
Some highlights from the Texas GOP Platform, 2004 (I don't think the 2006
platform is available yet as I couldn't find it on the web):
A greatly diminished federal government
Dominionists believe the federal government should recede into the
background while the Church assumes responsibility for welfare and
education. This shift would be achieved through massive tax cuts,
faith-based initiatives and school vouchers.
Tax Cuts
"The Party urges the IRS be abolished," and the following taxes
eliminated:
"income tax, inheritance tax, gift tax, capital gains, corporate income
tax, payroll tax and property tax."
" ... gradually phase out Social Security tax for a system of "private
pensions.."
"Make President Bush's tax cuts permanent."
Downsizing the Federal Government:
We support the abolition of ... the Bureau of Tobacco and Firearms, the
position of Surgeon General, the Environmental Protection Agency, the
Departments of Energy, Housing and Urban Development, Health and Human
Services, Education, Commerce and Labor. We also call for the de-funding or
abolition of the National Endowment for the Arts, and Public Broadcasting
System.
Dominionists support massive deregulation of industry. The first three
agencies listed in the above paragraph are all regulatory agencies. The
Texas GOP Platform calls for business to be "unencumbered by excessive
government regulation."
Faith-based Initiative
President Bush's faith-based initiative might seem like a contradiction to
the notion, espoused in the platform, that all government social programs
are "unconstitutional," and should be "repealed." After all, the
faith-based initiative is another government program -- an infusion of tax
dollars into church-run social programs. But the platform deals with this
apparent contradiction:
Until such time as such unconstitutional spending programs are
repealed, we believe that the faith-based initiative as proposed by
President George W. Bush, and currently implemented, should continue to
receive federal monies.
In other words, the church should assume responsibility for welfare and
education. These programs would be funded through tithing -- collecting 10%
of church members' income -- and through community, and business
contributions. Until the churches have taken over welfare, the government
would fund these programs. The faith-based initiative, then, is not an end
in itself, but serves as a temporary measure until the United States
becomes truly a "Christian" nation.
Education
We call for the abolition of the U.S. Department of Education and the
prohibition of the transfer of any of its functions to any other federal
agency.
All early childhood programs should be phased out.
Teachers should be allowed to use corporal punishment with immunity.
The platform supports school vouchers.
The Family
"The Party recognizes that the family is a sovereign sphere of authority
over which the state has no right to intervene ..."
Homosexuality should be criminalized
The platform supports the Unborn Victims of Violence Act (UVVA) - this is
an effort to establish abortion as murder. Murder is a capital crime. If
the Supreme Court overturns Roe V. Wade, abortion will not become a states'
right because UVVA declares a zygote a human being. Then abortion can be
declared murder and outlawed nationally.
The Environment
"We reaffirm belief in the fundamental constitutional right of an
individual to use property without governmental interference."
"We oppose conservation easements on our natural resources administered by
organizations unaccountable to tax payers and voters." (That means land
trusts and conservation groups would be declared unconstitutional.)
"We oppose the Endangered Species Act."
"We believe that groundwater is an absolute, vested right of the
landowner."
"We oppose passage of any international treaty that overrides United States
sovereignty including the Kyoto agreement and Biodiversity Treaty."
The United Nations
The Party believes it is in the best interest of the citizens of the
United States that we immediately rescind our membership, as well as
financial and military contributions to, the United Nations... The Party
urges Congress to evict the United Nations from U.S. soil."
David Barton Steps Down
No one has done more to popularize the "Christian" nation ideal than David
Barton who stepped down as Vice Chair of the Texas Republican Party at the
recent gathering. Barton, identified by Time Magazine as one of "America's
twenty-five most influential evangelicals," is a self-taught historian. He
has dredged up hundreds of fascinating historical quotes and anecdotes in
an effort to prove that the founding fathers were primarily "orthodox,
evangelical Christians" who intended to create a God-fearing Christian
government.
"Even though his books and videos are riddled with factual errors, half
truths and distortions," according to Rob Boston in Sects, Lies and
Videotape
they have become the weapons of choice for Religious Right activists in
their ongoing war against separation of church and state.
Boston documents Barton's ties not only to Christian Reconstructionist
groups, but also to neo-Nazi racist and anti-Semitic groups.
Beliefnet reported that Barton has served as a paid consultant to the
Republican National Committee:
The Republican National Committee is employing the services of a
Texas-based activist who believes the United States is a "Christian nation"
and the separation of church and state is "a myth."
I wonder what he's going to do next.
***************************************************************
You are invited to check out the following:
The Rise of the Theocratic States of America
http://members.tripod.com/~candst/theocracy.htm
American Theocrats - Past and Present
http://members.tripod.com/~candst/theocrats.htm
The Constitutional Principle: Separation of Church and State
http://members.tripod.com/~candst/index.html
[and to join the discussion group for the above site and/or Separation of
Church and State in general, listed below]
HRSepCnS · Hampton Roads [Virginia] SepChurch&State
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HRSepCnS/
[Its not just Hampton Roads folks who are members, there are members from
all over the US and a couple from overseas as well]
***************************************************************
.. . . You can't understand a phrase such as "Congress shall make no law
respecting an establishment of religion" by syllogistic reasoning. Words
take their meaning from social as well as textual contexts, which is why "a
page of history is worth a volume of logic." New York Trust Co. v. Eisner,
256 U.S. 345, 349, 41 S.Ct. 506, 507, 65 L.Ed. 963 (1921) (Holmes, J.).
Sherman v. Community Consol. Dist. 21, 980 F.2d 437, 445 (7th Cir. 1992)
.. . .
****************************************************************
USAF LT. COL (Ret) Buffman (Glen P. Goffin) wrote
"You pilot always into an unknown future;
facts are your only clue. Get the facts!"
That philosophy 'snipit' helped to get me, and my crew, through a good
many combat missions and far too many scary, inflight, emergencies.
It has also played a significant role in helping me to expose the
plethora of radical Christian propaganda and lies that we find at
almost every media turn.
*****************************************************************
THE CONSTITUTIONAL PRINCIPLE:
SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE
http://members.tripod.com/~candst/index.html
****************************************************************
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