subject. Dispensationalists are also easily identified by negatives -
what you don't see them doing is talking a lot about such basic
Christian tenets as "God is Love" for instance, or the Sermon on the
Mount, let alone practising such things, quite the opposite.
This view is neither Christian, nor biblical. It's a
perversion of the scriptures; writings which demand stewardship of
creation.
It's anti-Christian, IMHO, little more than a demonic cult, at its
worst. I'd take action against an attack on a genuine religion on the
list, but I don't believe this is a religion, it's a perversion, as
you say, and a highly lethal one.
Nice references too Robert, thanks.
I reffed these before:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,3604,1195568,00.html
Comment
US Christian fundamentalists are driving Bush's Middle East policy
Their beliefs are bonkers, but they are at the heart of power
George Monbiot Tuesday April 20, 2004
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=13750
Fundamentally Unsound
By Michelle Goldberg, Salon
August 2, 2002
Useful, I think.
(No, I'm not a Christian, though I was brought up as one. I don't
have a religion, nor feel any need of one.)
What's all this got to do with BIOFUELS?!!! LOL!
Apart from what you say about the environment Robert (quite correct),
would-be topic cops could try this:
Oil and Israel
http://infoarchive.net/sgroup/BIOFUEL/34947/
(Which caused us a lot of trouble! - pretty much proving what Mr
Dreyfuss says, as if it needed any proof.)
Best wishes
Keith
Rick Littrell wrote:
Dear Robert,
Thanks for your comments. They are vary helpful. I'm not sure I
understand this "Neo Con Dispensationalist principle" but I also
have to confess I don't understand the Neo Cons all that well.
Not all NeoCons are dispensationalists, nor are all
dispensationalists NeoCons, and I certainly can't claim to
understand either. (I find dispensationalism the most confusing
eschatology ever devised by mankind!) There are enough people in
powerful positions who use one perspective or the other to justify
policies that amount to fascism, and by couching their rhetoric in
pseudo-religious phrasing lead a great many sincere people astray.
This is a complex issue, so by being brief, I will not do justice to
the topic. It has, however, been discussed at length in this forum,
and you can learn a lot by searching the archives.
You are likely aware that the United States is a very diverse
nation, comprised of people from a wide range of political and
religious persuasions; among these a large group of very zealous
Christians constitutes a kind of critical, political mass. Many
Christians believe that "worldly" society opposes their core belief
structure, they feel "persecuted and oppressed" by "liberal"
society, and further, that it is their "right" as Americans to
demand political representation for their point of view. This has
been exploited by some people in Christian leadership circles who
seek to galvanize support for legislation that would return
"morality" to American society. (Has American society EVER been
"moral"?)
Because this group of Christian people is actually rather
diverse, there are some "common denominator" issues that cut across
many racial, ethnic and denominational barriers. I will explain
these as best as I can. At its core, the most widespread Christian
point of view sees the world as a hostile place, where strong moral
leadership is necessary to guard against danger. Thus, a powerful
"father figure" helps to focus support. (This explains the vehement
opposition to Mr. Clinton we witnessed a few years ago.) In a world
filled with evil, strength is necessary for protection; therefore, a
large military budget and strict policing benefits society.
Business exists in a competitive environment, so a legitimate role
of the government is to protect American business interests from
hostile actions by foreign companies and governments. These people
see themselves as intrinsically "good" and moral. Their affluence
is taken as an indicator that God is blessing their course of
action. Anyone who lives beyond the bounds of their narrowly defined
morality can be dismissed as worthy of nothing more than punishment.
Therefore, these "moral" people want strict laws, long imprisonment
for criminals, and think nothing of killing "godless" foreigners or
ignoring the plight of the poor, a group of subhumans deserving of
God's wrath for not following his edicts. (That must be, after all,
why they're poor!) They see "liberal" people as weak, immoral and
oblivious to the "truth" of their perspective.
A radical political movement has overtaken the Republican
party, but interestingly, it started with disgruntled Democrats. (In
the 1980s they were called "Reagan Democrats") The NeoCons (and
their allies) see an opportunity for popular support among the above
described "conservative" Christians (an utter oxymoron from a
biblical perspective) to promote an agenda of American greatness and
power. After Vietnam and Watergate, the American military and the
Republican party were in disarray; providing perfect platforms from
whence to project radicalism. Galvanizing the support of the
Evangelical Christians I've outlined above by the clever
manipulation of certain media outlets (it began with radio, moved to
cable television and now has evolved into internet blogs), they are
promoting their pro-business, pro-military and pro-empire agenda in
the name of God and country. The NeoCons seek to use American
economic and military power to quite literally dominate the world
for the "good" of all people. The Christians who support them
really believe that doing so will prepare the world for the parousia
of Jesus Christ, but really, what they're prepare for is the coming
of THE ANTICHRIST, as they refer to him.
This is where dispensationalism enters the picture. The
eschatology is so confusing that only a "true believer" who is
steeped in the doctrine can comprehend all of its nuance. It's been
hammered from pulpits, in print and by TV preachers for so long,
traditional Christian eschatology has been utterly eclipsed.
Dispensationalism teaches that God's promises (particularly those
relating to land of the "Fertile Crescent" in the Middle East) to
Abraham's descendants must be literally fulfilled. (This
conveniently excludes the descendants of Ishmael, Abraham's first
born son, from whom the Arabs claim their lineage.) God supposedly
divided his attention between the "Jewish dispensation" of the Old
Testament, and the "Christian dispensation" of the New Testament,
supported, in their view, by a few texts such as the famous prophecy:
"Behold, I will make a new covenant with my people. It will
not be like the old covenant. . ."
Dispensationalism dissects a certain prophecy in the book of
Daniel (its in chapter 9, if you're really interested), removes
verse 27 from its contextual connection (these people really don't
understand pronoun / antecedent relationships!) with the Messiah and
instead, transports this section well into the future and inserts a
seven year reign of THE ANTICHRIST (though the scriptures say there
are many antichrists) into the prophecy. Then, in order to prevent
God's people from living through the "seven last plagues",
dispensationalism teaches that they will be secretly raptured up to
heaven while the rest of the world suffers through the plagues.
(The word "rapture" is not found in the scriptures, and the concept
has to be twisted from the context of several verses in order to be
supported.)
Many people believe this nonsense, and the impact it has on
American policy is profound. Keep in mind that the political
support for the NeoCons is largely derived from a group of people
who insist that those promises to Abraham are literally fulfilled in
the modern state of Israel. Hence, Israel becomes an instrument
used by God to bring about the long anticipated battle of
Armageddon. America's role as guardian and protector of Israel is
seen as harmonizing with God's purpose, and any dissension from that
view is interpreted as anti-American, immoral, and therefore worthy
of dismissal or accusations of treason.
Do you think the is a political philosophy here or is it just
another name for business interests who want no limits on their
prerogatives and profits?
The "other" name for this is Fascism.
Who would you suggest reading o understand them better?
http://www.chroniclesmagazine.org/Chronicles/April2003/0403Wolf.html
http://thewitness.org/agw/eltscher100104.html
http://blog.lewrockwell.com/lewrw/archives/006265.html
http://www.springhillatcanfield.com/neoconswho.html
Do a Google search for "dominionism" and "dead constitution" too!
How much of what Bush does is connected with their philosophy?
All of it is connected with their philosophy.
I guess the most important questions for me are how much of the
administrations positions on environment are philosophical and how
much pragmatic.
Why would anyone who believes that the world and its
resources were created by God for his people to exploit give a rip
about the environment? If you believe you're going to be raptured
anyway, what's the big deal about environmental degradation? If
your perspective insists that middle class, consumerist prosperity
is an indication of God's blessing, then why on earth would you
concern yourself with energy efficiency and resource depletion?
This view is neither Christian, nor biblical. It's a
perversion of the scriptures; writings which demand stewardship of
creation.
As several people have pointed out the collapse of cheap energy
i.e., oil and gas will have the most profound effect on peace and
war, economics, and even the nature of life itself in the very
near future. The energy corporations seem to be looking at this
from the standpoint of just maximizing profits with no attention to
other consequences. Is this just shortsighted self interest or a
political philosophy?
It's both.
robert luis rabello
"The Edge of Justice"
Adventure for Your Mind
http://www.authorhouse.com/BookStore/ItemDetail.aspx?bookid=9782>
Ranger Supercharger Project Page
http://www.members.shaw.ca/rabello/
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