THIS is not a weekend feel-good diary. Beware. The image below is from the IRD website. The IRD ? Well, if you don't know what the IRD is, it's time you learned - because, the IRD is central to the political calculus that may shape your life.
...We consult with a large number of our constituency on a variety of issues including assistance with legal, strategic and communications issues. This includes some covert activity! One of the major problems we face in the AAC is that a large portion of what we do is under the radar or behind the curtain...[ quote : David Anderson, President & CEO of the American Anglican Council credit for finding quote : Father Jake
The Institute on Religion and Democracy has for two decades helped organize such bodies as the ACC - and, the ACC - in turn - has stated ( in documents obtained by court order ) that it works covertly, "beneath the radar" .
Welcome to the campaign to undermine, fragment, and politicaly neutralize mainstream religious faith in the US. Do you want to learn more ?
Shadow War: The Attack on Mainstream Faith
Think about this: While the members of churches affiliated with the National Council of Churches account for about a quarter of the population, approximately half of the members of the U.S. Congress say they are members of these communions. NCCC church members' influence is disproportionate to their numbers and include remarkably high numbers of leaders in politics, business, and culture. The prevailing ethos of American culture is and has been shaped by the leadership and membership of theses churches. Moreover, these churches are some of the largest land owners in the U.S., with hundreds of billions of dollars collectively in assets, including real estate and pension funds. A hostile takeover of these churches would represent a massive shift in American culture, power and wealth for a relatively small investment [ Andrew J. Weaver ]
The general M.O. of these efforts is this :
Build a "para church" structure external to the official church, and gradually supplant those original churches.
What's wrong with that ?
Well, not anything necessarily, except for the "covert" aspect.
Remember that we're dealing with religion here, and religion concerns ethics, and "covert" activities don't mesh well will public ethical systems.