The Quietest Christian Rightist
D. James Kennedy has been one of the key leaders in the development of the Christian Right. He has also been a pioneering televangelist, who has methodically build a massive religious, media, and political empire. He recently held his tenth annual conference on "Reclaiming America," one of the premier Christian Right political conferences. But most people have never heard of him. This needs to change.
Fortunately, two fine reporters have recently written important stories, from different perspectives, about the Kennedy empire.
Jane Lampman of The Christian Science Monitor was at the conference and wrote a feature story about the conference and Kennedy's role in public life. One of the conference highlights was a display of the controversial monument to the Ten Commandments, which Alabama Chief Judge Roy Moore had installed in the state courthouse. A federal judge ordered it removed. When Moore refused, Moore was removed from the bench, and "Roy's Rock" was removed from the courthouse.
"For more than 900 other Christians from across the US," Lampman reported, "the draw at Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church last month was a national conference aimed at 'reclaiming America for Christ.' The monument stood as a potent symbol of their hopes for changing the course of the nation.... Their mission is not simply to save souls" Lampman continues. "The goal is to mobilize evangelical Christians for political action to return society to what they call 'the biblical worldview of the Founding Fathers.' Some speak of 'restoring a Christian nation.' Others shy from that phrase, but agree that the Bible calls them not only to evangelize, but also to transform the culture."
"In material given to conference attendees, the Rev. D. James Kennedy, Coral Ridge pastor wrote: 'As the vice-regents of God, we are to bring His truth and His will to bear on every sphere of our world and our society. We are to exercise godly dominion and influence over our neighborhoods, our schools, our government ... our entertainment media, our news media, our scientific endeavors - in short, over every aspect and institution of human society.'"
Kennedy has Washington-based political operation called the Center for Reclaiming America, which is growing in political significance.
"The Center," Lampman reports, "aims to increase its 500,000-strong 'e-mail army' to 1 million, and to encourage Christians to run for office. It has plans for 12 regional offices and activists in all 435 US House districts. And a new lobbying arm in Washington will target judicial nominations and the battle over marriage.
"'If they don't vote our way, we'll change their view one way or another,' executive director Gary Cass tells the group. As a California pastor, Dr. Cass spearheaded efforts to close abortion clinics and recruit Christians to seek positions on local school boards. 'We're going to take back what we lost in the last half of the 20th century,' he adds."
Independent journalist, and columnist Bill Berkowitz also recently published a must-read profile on Kennedy and his multifaceted religious, political and media empire.
Kennedy is a Christian nationalist who believes that the framers of the Constitution did not intend that church be separated from the state, and that the Christian Nation must be restored.
The several varieties of Christian nationalism is a core, animating part of the ideology of the Christian Right. I have long argued that it is essential for those who seek to preserve religious pluralism in the U.S., to understand what Christian nationalism is about, and be able to counter the bogus history and false premises on which it is based.
I sought to do this (among other things) in my book Eternal Hostility: The Struggle Between Theocracy and Democracy. Last December, adapting material from the book, I sought to debunk Christian nationalism in an essay on this site, and crossposted on The Daily Kos.
Kennedy is far less flamboyant than Jerry Falwell or Pat Robertson, and is less likely than James Dobson to get silly and attack SpongeBob Squarepants, and other cartoon characters. His operation is not to be underestimated, and like the others, must not be ignored.
Fortunately, two fine reporters have recently written important stories, from different perspectives, about the Kennedy empire.
Jane Lampman of The Christian Science Monitor was at the conference and wrote a feature story about the conference and Kennedy's role in public life. One of the conference highlights was a display of the controversial monument to the Ten Commandments, which Alabama Chief Judge Roy Moore had installed in the state courthouse. A federal judge ordered it removed. When Moore refused, Moore was removed from the bench, and "Roy's Rock" was removed from the courthouse.
"For more than 900 other Christians from across the US," Lampman reported, "the draw at Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church last month was a national conference aimed at 'reclaiming America for Christ.' The monument stood as a potent symbol of their hopes for changing the course of the nation.... Their mission is not simply to save souls" Lampman continues. "The goal is to mobilize evangelical Christians for political action to return society to what they call 'the biblical worldview of the Founding Fathers.' Some speak of 'restoring a Christian nation.' Others shy from that phrase, but agree that the Bible calls them not only to evangelize, but also to transform the culture."
"In material given to conference attendees, the Rev. D. James Kennedy, Coral Ridge pastor wrote: 'As the vice-regents of God, we are to bring His truth and His will to bear on every sphere of our world and our society. We are to exercise godly dominion and influence over our neighborhoods, our schools, our government ... our entertainment media, our news media, our scientific endeavors - in short, over every aspect and institution of human society.'"
Kennedy has Washington-based political operation called the Center for Reclaiming America, which is growing in political significance.
"The Center," Lampman reports, "aims to increase its 500,000-strong 'e-mail army' to 1 million, and to encourage Christians to run for office. It has plans for 12 regional offices and activists in all 435 US House districts. And a new lobbying arm in Washington will target judicial nominations and the battle over marriage.
"'If they don't vote our way, we'll change their view one way or another,' executive director Gary Cass tells the group. As a California pastor, Dr. Cass spearheaded efforts to close abortion clinics and recruit Christians to seek positions on local school boards. 'We're going to take back what we lost in the last half of the 20th century,' he adds."
Independent journalist, and columnist Bill Berkowitz also recently published a must-read profile on Kennedy and his multifaceted religious, political and media empire.
Kennedy is a Christian nationalist who believes that the framers of the Constitution did not intend that church be separated from the state, and that the Christian Nation must be restored.
The several varieties of Christian nationalism is a core, animating part of the ideology of the Christian Right. I have long argued that it is essential for those who seek to preserve religious pluralism in the U.S., to understand what Christian nationalism is about, and be able to counter the bogus history and false premises on which it is based.
I sought to do this (among other things) in my book Eternal Hostility: The Struggle Between Theocracy and Democracy. Last December, adapting material from the book, I sought to debunk Christian nationalism in an essay on this site, and crossposted on The Daily Kos.
Kennedy is far less flamboyant than Jerry Falwell or Pat Robertson, and is less likely than James Dobson to get silly and attack SpongeBob Squarepants, and other cartoon characters. His operation is not to be underestimated, and like the others, must not be ignored.
posted by Frederick Clarkson at 11:38 PM
2 Comments:
I listened to Fresh Air. Not all home-schoolers use Rushdooney. We didn't. We are not in favor of Rushdooney and the other reconstructionist. We have found them to be misguided and argumentative. However we are Christians and home-schooled for years. Many in the Presbyterian Church in America find the reconstructionist movement odious. We were envolved with many other home-schoolers and none were in favor of theonomy or reconstruction.
The separation of church and state was to protect the churches, not the government. When that wall of separation comes down, it will harm the church, but in this case it will greatly harm the state. The dominionists obviously want to eradicate people of all other faiths from the public squares, including the athiests and agnostics among us. They are not Christians at all, in my estimation, but just use the Bible to hide their fascism.
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