Pastor Terry Jones seems to have found a fast track to fame, by burning the Koran. But his roots are much more traditional-he rallies his followers by invoking the usual suspects-homosexuals and abortionists.
From his wetsite:
“Homosexuality, Abortion, and Islam have one thing in common - they produce death. They produce no life. They are destroying the moral fiber of our country.”
Jones seems to be following in the tracks of the Westboro Baptist Church. He picks a topic and preaches such intolerance and hatred that all the news organizations have to pick it up. Of course, most of the hatred about gays and abortion is old hat, so he managed to glom on to a topic, in such a way (burn the Koran) that coverage was inevitable.
This path to fame is nothing new. People like Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson made names for themselves by inflaming passions rooted in predjudice. Indeed, a lot of it began with the Christian Reconstructionist Movement as espoused by Rousas Rushdoony in the 1960’s. He advocated the death penalty for anyone failing to keep the 10 commandments. Here’s a great video by the Theocracy Watch of Cornell University giving a history of the movement.
http://www.youtube.com/...
Of course, such insanity is fun to watch, but there is also a less insidious kind of fundamentalism taking hold throughout the land. The Pastor John Hagee is considered mainstream by Westboro Church and Terry Jones standards. Hagee is preaching the end of the world to his flock,
http://www.youtube.com/...
Hagee’s ministry, Cornerstone Church, boasts 19,000 active members and an outreach to more than 235 nations worldwide. Hagee’s end of days theology is closely mirrored by other preachers in the country, it seems to be a popular theme. Here’s a quote from Tim LeHaye, author of the “Left Behind” series, telling us that the recent Earthquake in Japan is God’s doing, and a precursor of things to come.
"The Bible tells us in Matthew 24 that one of the signs of the last days – one of the birth pangs to occur – is an increase in earthquake activity and intensity," LaHaye told WND. "We're seeing that happen here. It's not just earthquakes, but hurricanes and all kinds of natural disasters."
Of course, none of this has anything to do with global climate change caused by mankind.
So these are some of the fun things brought to you by the fun-damentilists lately:
Burn a Koran if you want maximum exposure.
Blame natural disasters on our loving god because it points to the End of the Days.
And remember that God hates Fags.
Just a few current events brought to you by Religion Watchdogs.