America For Purchase

This new “American Taliban,” Frank Schaeffer says, is essentially “trawling for assassins,” using coded, Biblical language in hopes of inciting some lunatic to kill the President.  Schaeffer is referring to the new slogan being pushed and sold by The Christian Science Monitor, this (Cry for Vengeance) reads:

“Pray for Obama: Psalm 109:8 – Let his days be few; and let another take his office.” This verse is followed by a more ominous “Let his children be fatherless, and his wife a widow.”

Frank Schaeffer, whose father Francis Schaeffer helped shape the evangelical movement in the United States grew up in the religious far-right and also authored of ‘Patience With God: Faith For People Who Don’t Like Religion Or Atheism”, recently appeared on Rachel Maddow’s show on MSNBC.  Schaeffer said that this group of extreme religious right wingers is” America’s version of the Taliban and Al Qaeda”. I whole heartedly agree.“Like the Taliban and Al Qaeda, they too must be stopped or we’ll have another Timothy McVeigh and Oklahoma bombing (domestic terrorist attack).”

Chris Hansen, a staff attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), said “Still, that doesn’t push the Psalms citation into the realm of hate speck.  The use of Psalm 109:8 is ambiguous as to whether its users are calling for the President to serve only one term or less than one term,” he says.

Deborah Lauter, Anti-Defamation League Civil Right Director, agrees that the bumper stickers fall within acceptable political discourse.  For it to be considered hate speech, it “would advocate actual violence or cite scripture that was more clear in its message.”

While from a ‘legal’ perspective Hansen and Lauter may be correct, from a moral and civil perspective this is extreme rhetoric coming from ‘Christians’ (the religious right) and is wrong on so many levels. One would have thought that after the violent deaths of John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Bobby Kennedy in the 1960′s and the resulting race riots and mayhem that ensued, this country would have moved away from talk of assassination as a political tool.

We should remember Timothy McVeigh wasn’t joking about killing. Neither are the right wing sociopaths whom are proliferating this thinly veiled assassination threat. To me, the Psalm 109 ‘Christian’ people and McVeigh are cut from the same cloth.

Schaeffer calling these ill-reputes American Jihadists is probably a good name for them. There is a legal definition of ‘terrorist’ which has, as I recall, the particular element that the crime is committed for the purpose of affecting or altering government policy. That is what changes a murderer or a bomber into a ‘terrorist.’  There is no religious exemption for that.

Anyone and I mean anyone advocating the idea that President Obama should be killed and his children be fatherless and his wife be a widow, should immediately be arrested for treason.  Treason is defined as the offense of acting to overthrow one’s government or to harm or kill its sovereign.  This Biblical quote is using language to incite rebellion against the authority of our nation.

This is serious business for the safety of our President.  Schaeffer says “It’s un-American. It’s unpatriotic. And it goes to show that the religious right; the Republican far right have coalesced into a group who truly want American Revolution. If it turns out to be blood in the streets and death, so be it.”

“Look at the Boston Globe article from a few weeks ago that says the threat level faced by the Secret Service has gone up 400%, higher than any other time in 52 years, for any president, Democrat or Republican. These are no jokes.”

These are Birthers, Deathers, Teabaggers and right wing ‘Christians’ who are displaying their true Republican colors for all Americans to see.  These are the same racist ‘Americans’ playing on the prejudices that ‘white people’ have used against this country’s black citizens.  It was not that long ago that white racism led people to commit actual murder as we sadly recall the many lynching’s of the early 20^th century where blacks Americans were regularly lynched.

The ‘Christian’ religious right and the far right are full of fundamentalists and zealots who would use whatever religion or philosophy as a tool for fear and to manipulate everyone to follow their ‘cause’. They use Christianity because that is the major religion in the US, they would be similar to the Taliban in the Middle East.  They also use “American religion”, the ideals and the imagery of patriotism and service to the nation while in the Middle East they would appeal to the more tribal loyalties.  They are the same type of people, cut from the same cloth and want the same sort of result and are the same sort of danger.

No leadership in the Christian or non-Christian communities, the Republican leadership or the evangelical community is doing anything to tamp down on this continuing threatening rhetoric; this from a community that routinely denounces Islamic leaders for not speaking out more forcefully against terrorism.  Until they speak out, they are at the most complicit and the very least, culpable.

When did Christianity in America get hijacked by ‘American Al Qaeda’, the same group Rush Limbaugh has sided with? Will true Christians ever call this out?

I also recall some Biblical scripture: “Do to others as you would have them do to you.” Luke 6:31

“And the man that committeth adultery with another man’s wife, even he that committeth adultery with his neighbor’s wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death.” Leviticus 20:10

Who is calling for the murder of Newt Gingrich, Mark Sanford, John Ensign, Rudy Giuliani, and David Vitter?  Is it time to create new bumper stickers ‘implying for the ‘thinly veiled deaths’ of adulterers?

I would also remind these right wing zealots “I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone; For kings and all those in authority that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.” I Timothy 2:1-2.  Unfortunately this passage does not fit their agenda.

Americans should really examine the motives, fear mongering and death threats by the ‘Christian” religious right and Republicans and ask themselves are they individuals who are truly looking out for the best interests of our families, our children, and our country and do they represent the values our brave soldiers are fighting?

I know my where I stand, do you?

Tags American Taliban Birthers Christian hate Christian Right Christian science monitor Deathers Frank Schaeffer hate groups news politics Religious Right religious zealots Republicans teabaggers

Filed under: Religious Right