A Progressive Theo-Political Blog Bringing You The Best and Worst of Baptist Life.

Friday, September 08, 2006

If it walks like a duck....

At the new Faithful Democrats website, Randall Balmer has an excellent post which deserves your attention. Entitled "Theocracy", Balmer writes...

The thing I find most amusing about the leaders of the Religious Right these days is the way fly into an apoplectic fit anytime anyone mentions the word "theocracy."....
One has to wonder why a single word provokes such a dramatic response. Could it be that it strikes a nerve? Hmmm. The Religious Right passionately denies that it seeks a theocracy, of course, but my view of the matter is that it's appropriate to administer the duck test: If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it's almost certainly a duck.

The first step toward creating a theocracy is to eviscerate the First Amendment and to demolish the line of separation between church and state. And this, of course, brings our discussion full circle. If you seek to undermine the Baptist principles that have served this nation -- and the faith -- so well for more than two centuries, you begin by undermining the First Amendment.

Once you do that, you're well on your way to a theocracy.

4 Comments:

Blogger beepbeepitsme said...

RE: Dominionism
Dominionism, The Other Autocratic Regime
http://beepbeepitsme.blogspot.com/2006/09/dominionism-other-autocratic-regime.html

12:57 AM

 
Blogger Nathan Finn said...

Could it be that "theocracy" grossly represents what is really going on, but it is a nice, nasty word that gets people worked into a frenzy (like Dominionism)?

Listen, I have no dog in this fight, and most of my friends know that I am really uncomfortable with the Religious Right, but "theocracy?" There are more secretly gay Republicans in Congress than there are true theocrats in the Religious Right.

Balmer seems to be infected with "Prescott-itis," which results in making outrageous and false claims against those you disagree with in the hopes that all your peeps will say "atta boy--you stick it to those nasty conservatives."

5:22 AM

 
Blogger Big Daddy Weave said...

I don't like the term "dominionism."

Obviously, not all in the Religious Right are true theocrats. At the same time, not all in the Religious Right can be called mere conservatives. That would be like claiming that all Southern Baptists are fundamentalists, yea?

Both the left and right have extremists. Extremists on the right just tend to have more $$$

If the wall of separation is allowed to be torn down - what's next? Do you suggest that those on the right do not wish to "eviscerate the First Amendment and to demolish the line of separation between church and state"?? Christian Nationalists are not coy about their true desires.

It's quite hard to deny the influence that men like Gary North, David Barton, Chalcedon Foundation, Roy Moore (and others) have had on politicians such as Tom Delay and Katherine Harris. If those mentioned above do not desire a "theocracy" - what will they settle for?

10:00 AM

 
Blogger Big Daddy Weave said...

Delay may be out - but surely Michael Farris has foot soldiers to fall into line. Gary North can still pack the Georgia Baptist Conference Center with 600 cheering Christians...

This discussion hinges on how you define the term "theocracy" or "theocrat"

Some would define "theocracy" as narrowly as possible. These same folks would have you believe that the only true fundamentalists are folks like Bob Jones.

Like fundamentalism, the definition of theocracy has broadened in the past 25 years.

Bruce Gourley had a great article on Theocracy in the June 2006 Baptist Studies Bulletin. In his article he quotes Senator Sam Brownback (Kansas) who is the favored candidate of the Religious Right in 08. In a recent interview Brownback stated that he "doesn't demand that everyone believe his God - only that they bow down before Him."

If the threat of theocrats and those with theocratic-tendencies wasn't real - organizations like the Baptist Joint Committee would not be needed.

If a theocracy is not desired - what is desired? Last I checked, historically right-wingers are not in the business of "settling" or "compromising."

8:29 AM

 

Post a Comment

<< Home

 
eXTReMe Tracker