First up from this week’s God machine is a story that reminds us that all that stuff in the New Testament about peace is still pretty important to some church groups. (thanks to hark for the tip)
A coalition of American churches sharply denounced the U.S.-led war in Iraq on Saturday, accusing Washington of “raining down terror” and apologizing to other nations for “the violence, degradation and poverty our nation has sown.”
The statement, issued at the largest gathering of Christian churches in nearly a decade, also warned the United States was pushing the world toward environmental catastrophe with a “culture of consumption” and its refusal to back international accords seeking to battle global warming.
“We lament with special anguish the war in Iraq, launched in deception and violating global norms of justice and human rights,” said the statement from representatives of the 34 U.S. members of World Council of Churches. “We mourn all who have died or been injured in this war. We acknowledge with shame abuses carried out in our name.”
The World Council of Churches includes more than 350 mainstream Protestant, Anglican and Orthodox churches; the Roman Catholic Church is not a member. The U.S. groups in the WCC include the Episcopal Church, the Presbyterian Church (USA), the United Methodist Church, several Orthodox churches and Baptist denominations, among others.
And from Karl Rove’s perspective, each of these churches is soft on terror, inviting another attack on U.S. soil, and suffering from a pre-9/11 worldview.
While these religious leaders are speaking out against war, a preacher who loves the war is finding a new round of resistance. (thanks to MW for the tip)
Wearing vests covered in military patches, a band of motorcyclists rolls around the country from one soldier’s funeral to another, cheering respectfully to overshadow jeers from church protesters.
They call themselves the Patriot Guard Riders, and they are more than 5,000 strong, forming to counter anti-gay protests held by the Rev. Fred Phelps at military funerals. Phelps believes American deaths in Iraq are divine punishment for a country that he says harbors homosexuals. His protesters carry signs thanking God for so-called IEDs — explosives that are a major killer of soldiers in Iraq.
The bikers shield the families of dead soldiers from the protesters, and overshadow the jeers with patriotic chants and a sea of red, white and blue flags.
“The most important thing we can do is let families know that the nation cares,” said Don Woodrick, the group’s Kentucky captain. “When a total stranger gets on a motorcycle in the middle of winter and drives 300 miles to hold a flag, that makes a powerful statement.”
Indeed, it does. Not all of the Patriot Guard Riders support the war, but it really doesn’t matter — they all support those families who’ve lost a loved one and who shouldn’t have to be harassed by scum like Phelps.
And, finally, in the category of dubious religious crusades, it appears that the Christian Exodus movement isn’t working out terribly well.
From his rural home near Lodi, Calif., Cory Burnell keeps close watch over the news from South Carolina, and he likes what he sees.
Turning the state into a promised land for conservative Christians will be easier than he had thought, he says.
Burnell, a 30-year-old financial adviser and founder of Christian Exodus, believes thousands of religious conservatives across the USA agree with him when he says their influence on government is diluted by liberals and Republicans who have failed to do what mainstream Americans elected them to do.
The answer he came up with in late 2003: Move like-minded Christians to one state: South Carolina.
Burnell’s plan is to convince thousands of far-right evangelical families to move to South Carolina to order to establish a mini-theocracy by popular will. (It’ll be kind of like the Taliban’s Afghanistan, only Christian.) How many have moved so far? 20 people — and Burnell isn’t one of them.
Edwin Gaustad, professor emeritus of history and religious studies at the University of California-Riverside, said the group’s mission is kind of quixotic anyway, since “it would have little chance of going anywhere unless there was a secession of South Carolina from the union.”
How does Christian Exodus respond to this? By saying they’d consider secession as an option. I’m sure we could get together and buy them a very nice parting gift….