It is Sunday and the only thing you find on TV early in the morning is right-wing extremist fundamentalists.
I saw the most disturbing thing on TV this morning.
I’m a channel surfer (high level of ADD) so for me to find something and watch is for more than ten minutes is unusual.
Donation address at the end of the program was Albert Lea , MN
The program was
on one of the oddball Minnesota
Truth in Action Ministries was Coral Ridge Ministries and is about the hundredth iteration of for-profit ministry that was started by D James Kennedy. Looking into Kennedy’s background proved to be overwhelming so I wont’ go there.
I will share this one – widely used quote by Kennedy
"Our job is to reclaim America
Cause most of us can see that happening in today’s society.
And I think it is important to try and figure out where there extremists are coming from in their thought patterns.
The purpose of this entry is to make you aware of what the Truth in Ministries is preaching on Sunday mornings. It is scary stuff meant to alienate our population. It is meant to further divide this country. It is extreme. It is radical. It is inflammatory. And to me – that makes it unpatriotic.
Their two-part series is called:
Socialism: A Clear and Present Danger
The first part is on their webpage – the second part comes out on next weeks broadcast.
The basic tenant of the program is socialism is evil – the Bible preaches capitalism.
I stole this phrase from an unrelated document at PFAW – but it such an accurate description of what I saw on TV today.
… distorts history and the Constitution for political purposes; he encourages religious divisiveness and unequal treatment for religious minorities; and he feeds a toxic political climate in which one’s political opponents are not just wrong, but evil and anti-God.
From their webpage:
Socialism: A Clear and Present Danger
As the United States has recently moved toward more European models in health care, government control of banking and industry, and ever- increasing regulation of the marketplace, there is concern that socialism—and the philosophy behind it—is extending its tentacles into American life. Often, this socialism is even advocated by professing Christians, who claim that it more closely accords with the teaching of Jesus Christ than does free enterprise, which is sometimes called capitalism. Socialism essentially is the redistribution of wealth. Is this what the Bible teaches? To understand, we must first define socialism and see why some view it as a serious threat.
The video is has underlying themes - laced with extremely bad arguments.
One of them is:
A liberal is a socialist
A socialist is a Communist
A Communist is an atheist
Therefore all liberals are atheists.
Another statement that was made that I found disturbing was that the socialist experiment has killed the most people – just look at the record.
What record?
How did socialism kill the most people?
No substance – just a blatant irrational statement – meant to scare the people watching the program.
Another statement that was made was that centralized government leads to tyranny. There are a lot of synonyms for the word tyranny – but for me tyranny looks like a Scott Walker Wisconsin or a Rick Snyder Michigan or Kasich Ohio
Another argument that they used – which after researching it gave me an ah-ha moment is that social welfare programs are bad.
Capitalists are Forced to Give 50% of Revenues to Socialists
In the video they show two kids with a lemonade stand (good capitalists) – but they end the scene showing these two little kids being forced to give 50% of their revenue to other people (socialism) – which makes the capitalists unhappy and teaches the kids who got their money (socialists) to be lazy and dependant on capitalists.
50% - really????
Why not pick 75% or 90%???
What a LIE.
Yeh, like the United States
What an exaggerated piece of religious capitalistic shit.
Collecting Taxes is Stealing
“Socialism is Unbiblical”
Then they went somewhere that I had never been exposed to before - taxes represent a breaking of the fifth and eighth Commandments
Though shall not covet
Though shall not steal
Really!
According to this philosophy it is wrong to covet the incredible wealth of capitalists for additional taxes.
According to this philosophy it is wrong to take money from one citizen by force to give that money to another.
Therefore the government is a thief.
Therefore Democrats who generally pay for things through increased taxes (rather than accumulating debt like Republicans) are coveting what your rich capitalist neighbor has and then are thieves.
Taking money from capitalist to fund social programs – such as welfare is stealing from the capitalists.
They even show an old person who is in a bed – and while I choose to believe that this person is receiving Medicare/Medicaid and Social Security – which is paid for by MY FICA taxes and MY EMPLOYERS share of FICA taxes – they imply that providing services to the elderly is stealing from capitalists.
There are so many rebuttals I put forth on that scenario – but my purpose here is not to argue their insanity – but to expose you to how the right-wing extremist fundamentalist are insane in their thinking.
Don’t just read this – think about and realize how their entire program is an exaggeration of extremes meant to create fear and hate among the viewers. It is extreme. It is radical. It is inflammatory. It is divisive.
Taxes are for Violence Only
So us liberals always ask – if you can’t fund social programs – how can you fund war?
Well the answer is in this video.
Per the video
When taxes are collected for Caesar the only legitimate purpose for those taxes is — justice and national defense — then taxes are entirely appropriate and biblically justified.
I couldn’t’ believe the Bible said that and after a quick search I found a right-wing Bible thumper who had it on their webpage
As the New Testament says, "This is why you...pay taxes" (Romans 13:6, NIV).
Fundamentalist Religion and Free Market Thinking
We are seeing a resurgence of evangelical fundamentalist religion and free-market thinking now – in the 20th/21st century, in the United States
The claim that markets are products of higher-order law, products of nature or of divine will, simply lends legitimacy to one particularly extreme view of politics and society.
Free markets don’t promote public virtue; they promote private interest. In this way they are neither “free” (that is, independent of human influence) nor uniformly helpful in promoting freedom.
"True, people of faith have always tried to bring their interpretation of the Bible to bear on American laws and morals ... it's the American way, encouraged and protected by the First Amendment. But what is unique today is that the radical religious right has succeeded in taking over one of America
Please - don’t just read this – think about and realize how their entire program is an exaggeration of extremes meant to create fear and hate among the viewers. It is extreme. It is radical. It is inflammatory. It is divisive.
It is divisive.
Maybe that is where our rebuttal has to go – is it your religious goal to tear this country apart? Is that what your god wants?
As much as I hate to say it – you should watch the video on their webpage – today and next week.
It is really important that we understand where these right-wing nut jobs are coming from if we are going to have a chance to grab
The horrible, divisive, inflammatory, unpatriotic, fear-mongering video is located >>HERE<<
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