Did they hound Hillary to repudiate her spiritual adviser Billy Graham:
At the last of his 417 crusades, the one held in New York City in June 2005, evangelist Billy Graham made an unscripted proposal.
Both Bill and Hillary Clinton were sitting with him on stage in Flushing Meadows when Graham greeted them as his "wonderful friends of many years." "I told him," Graham said of President Clinton, "when he left the presidency, he should become an evangelist, because he had all the gifts." Graham paused, and added with a smile, "And he could (let) his wife run the country."
That remark caused such a furor in some quarters that Graham's evangelist son Franklin had to explain that it was meant as a joke.
But Graham had praised and defended both Clintons before. And in a new interview, Hillary Clinton reports that the evangelist fulfilled a pastoral role during the Monica Lewinsky scandal and helped the First Lady endure the ordeal. At that time, Clinton says, Graham was "incredibly supportive to me personally. And he was very strong in saying, 'I really understand what you're doing and I support you.' He was just very personally there for me."
linkAs in 1972, things said in the shadows still fuel the national narrative but now with the help of those tapes we are better able to imagine what is presently being said. The Nixon tapes are like a guided tour. We would hope that glimpses into what has been said in the hallowed halls of government when no one is supposed to be listening would be inspiring and stimulating. What the Billy Graham/ Nixon tape exposes are fear, disdain, religious chauvinism and hubris. All other proofs of these particular engines in the present Bush strain of government have been hermetically sealed like a climate-controlled skyscraper. But the Nixon tapes are its illuminating shadow.
The Nixon/Graham tape is like DNA on a cotton swab from the mouth of a man involved in a paternity suit. The genetic code of the present mysterious and bastard government is in that taped exchange between the holy man and the strung out commander-in-chief. The Billy Graham on that tape is the same man who saved minor George’s soul. He’s the same man who preaches that the only way to salvation is through Jesus Christ. Jews to Billy Graham are not saved – Muslims are not saved – the ONLY way to God, according to the revered reverend, is by accepting, as George has done, Jesus Christ as your personal savior.
Billy Graham is there in both Bush oval offices during each massive release of ordinance doing his best to put a blessed glow on the high tech holy sword. He must believe it’s his destiny and duty to be in every oval office so he can guide the might of the military and the government to fulfill his mission of bringing the message of Christ to every living soul.
He is bowed to and treated with syrupy deference by every major television interviewer. He is asked for answers to deep, theological and philosophical questions – all in between phone calls and commercials. The interviewers are usually cowed and honored to be able even to ask him a question. Meanwhile Billy Graham is thinking that he is on a network run by pacifist Jews who are ruining the country because they reject what he knows and will declare - that Jesus is the only way for personal, national and global salvation. He knows this even as the pacifist Jews he categorically condemns live the word of Jesus more fully than he does.
linkNo!
Billy Graham Library Dedication
May 31, 2007
Charlotte, NC
Thank you. Thank you very much, distinguished platform guests, Mrs. Bush, Mrs. Graham. To Ruth, we’re thinking about you. Billy, I am very honored to be here, grateful to have been asked to a day I wouldn’t have missed for the world.
I was listening to Jimmy Carter talk and thought they just put the real odd couple together. They used to say George Bush and I were the odd couple, but here we may be the odd couple, two Southern Baptist Democrats who were both profoundly influenced by Billy Graham.
Billy Graham has known me since 1985, but I have known him for nearly 50 years. I am here because of both the public Billy Graham and the private Billy Graham. I am here because, beginning in 1989, I have seen firsthand his kindness when following a crusade he preached in Little Rock. He had known that my then pastor was dying of cancer and had only a couple of months to live. With all that he had to do, Billy Graham let me take him to my pastor’s home, who then weighed less than 90 pounds. I listened to them talk about life and afterlife. It was a conversation that will stay with me until the day I die. He didn’t have to do that. No one would have known if he hadn’t. Not a single soul would have thought a bit less of him. He did it because of who he is.
When I was in the White House, on many occasions Billy would come by to visit with Hillary and me, or call, or just write a letter when some foreign crisis or something was going on, and always it was incredibly kind.
linkCLINTON: I just want to add something here, because I faced a similar situation when I ran for the Senate in 2000 in New York. And in New York, there are more than the two parties, Democratic and Republican. And one of the parties at that time, the Independence Patty, was under the control of people who were anti-Semitic, anti- Israel. And I made it very clear that I did not want their support. I rejected it. I said that it would not be anything I would be comfortable with. And it looked as though I might pay a price for that. But I would not be associated with people who said such inflammatory and untrue charges against either Israel or Jewish people in our country.
And, you know, I was willing to take that stand, and, you know, fortunately the people of New York supported me and I won. But at the time, I thought it was more important to stand on principle and to reject the kind of conditions that went with support like that.
RUSSERT: Are you suggesting Senator Obama is not standing on principle?
CLINTON: No. I'm just saying that you asked specifically if he would reject it. And there's a difference between denouncing and rejecting. And I think when it comes to this sort of, you know, inflammatory -- I have no doubt that everything that Barack just said is absolutely sincere. But I just think, we've got to be even stronger. We cannot let anyone in any way say these things because of the implications that they have, which can be so far reaching.
OBAMA: Tim, I have to say I don't see a difference between denouncing and rejecting. There's no formal offer of help from Minister Farrakhan that would involve me rejecting it. But if the word "reject" Senator Clinton feels is stronger than the word "denounce," then I'm happy to concede the point, and I would reject and denounce.
linkAre they hounding McCain to denounce his:
Televangelist Rod Parsley, a key McCain ally in Ohio, has called for eradicating the "false religion." Will the GOP presidential candidate renounce him?"
The spirit of Islam, he maintains, is one of hostility. He asserts that the religion "inspired" the 9/11 attacks. He bemoans the fact that in the years after 9/11, 34,000 Americans "have become Muslim" and that there are "some 1,209 mosques" in America. Islam, he declares, is a "faith that fully intends to conquer the world" through violence. The United States, he insists, "has historically understood herself as a bastion against Islam," but "history is crashing in upon us."
At the end of his chapter on Islam, Parsley asks, "Are we a Christian nation? I say yes." Without specifying what actions should be taken to eradicate the religion, he essentially calls for a new crusade.
Parsley, who refers to himself as a "Christocrat," is no stranger to controversy. In 2007, the grassroots organization he founded, the Center for Moral Clarity, called for prosecuting people who commit adultery. In January, he compared Planned Parenthood to Nazis. In the past Parsley's church has been accused of engaging in pro-Republican partisan activities in violation of its tax-exempt status.
Why would McCain court Parsley? He has long had trouble figuring out how to deal with Christian fundamentalists, an important bloc for the Republican Party. During his 2000 presidential bid, he referred to Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell as "agents of intolerance." But six years later, as he readied himself for another White House run, McCain repudiated that remark. More recently, his campaign hit a rough patch when he accepted the endorsement of the Reverend John Hagee, a Texas televangelist who has called the Catholic Church "the great whore" and a "false cult system." After the Catholic League protested and called on McCain to renounce Hagee's support, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee praised Hagee's spiritual leadership and support of Israel and said that "when (Hagee) endorses me, it does not mean that I embrace everything that he stands for or believes in." After being further criticized for his Hagee connection, McCain backed off slightly, saying, "I repudiate any comments that are made, including Pastor Hagee's, if they are anti-Catholic or offensive to Catholics." But McCain did not renounce Hagee's endorsement.
McCain's relationship with Parsley is politically significant. In 2004, Parsley's church was credited with driving Christian fundamentalist voters to the polls for George W. Bush. With Ohio expected to again be a decisive state in the presidential contest, Parsley's World Harvest Church and an affiliated entity called Reformation Ohio, which registers voters, could be important players within this battleground state. Considering that the Ohio Republican Party has been decimated by various political scandals and that a popular Democrat, Ted Strickland, is now the state's governor, McCain and the Republicans will need all the help they can get in the Buckeye State this fall. It's a real question: Can McCain win the presidency without Parsley?
The McCain campaign did not respond to a request for comment regarding Parsley and his anti-Islam writings. Parsley did not return a call seeking comment.
"The last thing I want to be is another screaming voice moving people to extremes and provoking them to folly in the name of patriotism," Parsley writes in Silent No More. Provoking people to holy war is another matter. About that, McCain so far is silent.
linkDuring the Summer of 2004, Parsley openly criticized Sweden for the conviction of Åke Green under Sweden's hate crimes legislation. During the same time, he founded The Center for Moral Clarity to address moral issues and influence politics from a Christian point of view.
On October 3, 2004, Parsley preached a sermon titled "Uncensored: While Freedom Still Rings," which was in many ways the mission statement for the Center for Moral Clarity. In the two-part sermon, Parsley expressed opposition to the view that there is a separation of church and state in the U.S. Constitution; same-sex marriage; partial-birth abortion; hate-crimes legislation in California, Canada, and Sweden; sexual orientation themes in children's books; racism; and poverty.
A few weeks before the 2004 elections in US, Parsley encouraged his congregation and television audience to vote for Ohio's state constitutional amendment to define marriage as the union of one man and one woman. (The amendment passed by a wide margin). He also encouraged citizens of other states with similar marriage amendments on their ballots to vote similarly. He headlined the "Silent No More" tour to register Christian voters.
Parsley supported John Roberts' nomination for the Supreme Court of the United States. He currently endorses the presidential campaign of Republican nominee John McCain.
<...>
Mr. Parsley has called upon Christians to wage a "war" against the "false religion" of Islam with the aim of destroying it. He urges his readers to realize that a confrontation between Christianity and Islam is unavoidable: "We find now we have no choice. The time has come." And he has bad news: "We may already be losing the battle. As I scan the world, I find that Islam is responsible for more pain, more bloodshed, and more devastation than nearly any other force on earth at this moment." He also claims that Christopher Columbus shared the same goal: "It was to defeat Islam, among other dreams, that Christopher Columbus sailed to the New World in 1492…Columbus dreamed of defeating the armies of Islam with the armies of Europe made mighty by the wealth of the New World. It was this dream that, in part, began America." Parsley claims that Islam is an "anti-Christ religion" predicated on "deception." The Muslim prophet Muhammad, he writes, "received revelations from demons and not from the true God." <2>
linkNo!
Jeremy WrightPat Robertson: Views concerning feminism, homosexuality, abortion and liberalism
Robertson is opposed to abortion and same-sex marriage.<5><6>
He has described feminism as a "socialist, anti-family political movement that encourages women to leave their husbands, kill their children, practice witchcraft, destroy capitalism and become lesbians."<7> Many of Robertson's views mirror those of the evangelical activist Jerry Falwell, who made frequent appearances on The 700 Club. He agreed with Falwell when Falwell stated<8> that the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks were caused by "pagans, abortionists, feminists, gays, lesbians, the American Civil Liberties Union and the People For the American Way."
After public outcry regarding the dialog, which was conducted via television monitor and took place only days after the attacks, Robertson claimed that his earpiece was malfunctioning, and that he was unaware of what he was agreeing with at the time.
On the June 8, 1998 edition of his show, Robertson denounced Orlando, Florida and Disney World for allowing a privately sponsored "Gay Days" weekend. Robertson stated that the acceptance of homosexuality could result in hurricanes, earthquakes, tornadoes, terrorist bombings and "possibly a meteor."<9> The resulting outcry prompted Robertson to return to the topic on June 24, where he quoted the Book of Revelation to support his claims.
While discussing the Mark Foley scandal on the October 5, 2006 broadcast of the show, Robertson condemned Foley saying he "does what gay people do".<10>
linkPat Roberson:
Pat Robertson's endorsement could be both a blessing and a curse for Rudy Giuliani Pat Robertson, founder of Christian Coalition of America and host of the Christian Broadcasting Network's The 700 Club, made misleading and incorrect statements regarding the Terri Schiavo case during a March 31 appearance on Fox News.
linkPat Robertson:
REV. PAT ROBERTSON: Thanks, Wolf.
BLITZER: ... thanks very much for joining us.
linkPat Robertson:
EQUAL TIME FOR WINGNUTS? Thanks to Ronald Reagan, there is no longer a Fairness Doctrine that compels broadcasters to give equal time to various political views. So what can be the explanation for CNN inviting Pat Robertson on to talk about, well, anything? They have no obligation to provide nuts access to their audience. (And Robertson does have his own show on his own network.) But once again Wolf Blitzer had Robertson on his Sunday show this past weekend.
Robertson is a bigoted madman. He has made assorted derogatory remarks about Methodists, Muslims and Hindus. He recently called for the assassination of Hugo Chavez, denied he had done so, then conceded he had misspoken. He blamed feminists and ACLUers for upsetting God so much that He (not Her) permitted 9/11 to occur. He's been implicated in various financial scandals. So why listen to anything he has to say--especially without first informing the viewers of all of the above (and more)?
Yet Blitzer gave Robertson no such intro. He quickly asked Robertson to explain why the world has seen the Indonesian tsunami, Hurricane Katrina, and the Pakistani earthquake happen within the past year. (Blitzer left out the mud slides of Guatemala.) Robertson eagerly swung at this slow pitch and said that all of this might mean we're at "the end of time," the calamitous era right before Jesus Christ returns. To that, Blitzer said, "All right. Let's move on to something that we perhaps can understand a little bit better, which would be Harriet Miers." And Robertson went on to praise Miers. Then Blitzer gave Robertson the chance to "clarify briefly" his previous call for bumping off Chavez. Robertson teed off again: "This man is setting up a Marxist-type dictatorship in Venezuela. He's trying to spread Marxism throughout South America. He is negotiating with the Iranians to get nuclear material. And he also sent $1.2 million in cash to Osama bin Laden right after 9/11. "
Chavez gave money to bin Laden? If Bush had proof of that, US troops would be in Caracas by now. "Where did you get that from?" Blitzer asked Robertson. Robertson replied, "Well sources that came to me. That's what I was told." Could Robertson be more vague? Blitzer did not press him further. It was time to sign off. He thanked Robertson for having joined him and moved on to the next segment.
But why would CNN let a hate-monger with a record of saying wrong and stupid things come on to pop off about anything and to make unfounded charges based on "sources that came" to him? Just because Robertson has people who watch him on his own TV show? Does that entitle him to appear on CNN and say whatever he wants? CNN let down the people who come to it for serious-minded news.
moreWill Fox (and the hypocrite Hannity) and CNN make Jeremy Wright a guest on their programs?
Million Man March:
Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, who organized the historic march, said he was trying to bridge the gap between Whites and Blacks in America. "Today, whether you like it or not, God brought the idea through me," said Farrakhan, flanked by uniformed followers. "He didn't bring it through me because my heart was dark with hatred and anti-Semitism or hatred of White people. If my heart was that dark, how is the message so bright?"
Poet Maya Angelou read a special poem for the Black men.
"Draw near to another," she urged them. "Save your race. You have been paid for in a distant place. The old ones remind us that slavery's chains have paid for our freedom again and again."
Ms. Angelou had spoken from the same Capitol steps at the inaugural of President Bill Clinton.
linkIt's okay for Hillary supporters to respect Farrakhan?
Bill Clinton Supports Million More MarchThe UCC defends Wright:
CHICAGO'S TRINITY UCC IS 'GREAT GIFT TO WIDER CHURCH FAMILY'
UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: The Rev. J. Bennett Guess Director of Communications United Church of Christ Phone: (216) 736-2173 E-Mail: guessb@ucc.org
Friday, March 14, 2008
United Church of Christ leaders respond to 'media caricatures' of congregation
Cleveland, OH - In the wake of misleading attacks on its mission and ministry, Chicago's Trinity United Church of Christ is being lauded by United Church of Christ leaders across the nation for the integrity of its worship, the breadth of its community involvement and the depth of its commitment to social justice.
"Trinity United Church of Christ is a great gift to our wider church family and to its own community in Chicago," says UCC General Minister and President John H. Thomas. "At a time when it is being subjected to caricature and attack in the media, it is critical that all of us express our gratitude and support to this remarkable congregation, to Jeremiah A. Wright for his leadership over 36 years, and to Pastor Otis Moss III, as he assumes leadership at Trinity."
Thomas says he has been saddened by news reports that "present such a caricature of a congregation that been such a great blessing."
"These attacks, many of them motivated by their own partisan agenda, cannot go unchallenged," Thomas emphasizes. "It's time for all of us to say 'No' to these attacks and to declare that we will not allow anyone to undermine or destroy the ministries of any of our congregations in order to serve their own narrow political or ideological ends."
Located in the heart of Chicago's impoverished Southside, Trinity UCC's vast array of ministries include career development and college placement, tutorial and computer services, health care and support groups, domestic violence programs, pastoral care and counseling, bereavement services, drug and alcohol recovery, prison ministry, financial counseling and credit union, housing and economic development, dozens of choral, instrumental and dance groups, and diverse programming for all ages, including youth and senior citizens.
Thomas, a member of Pilgrim Congregational UCC in Cleveland, has attended worship at Trinity UCC on a few occasions - most recently on March 2 - and says he is "profoundly impressed" with the 6,000-member congregation.
Among Trinity UCC's crowning achievements, Thomas says, is its work with young people.
"While the worship is always inspiring, the welcome extravagant, and the preaching biblically based and prophetically challenging, I have been especially moved by the way Trinity ministers to its young people, nurturing them to claim their Christian faith, to celebrate their African-American heritage, and to pursue higher education to prepare themselves for leadership in church and society," Thomas says.
'Exceedingly gracious'
The Rev. Steve Gray, the UCC's Indiana-Kentucky Conference Minister, describes Trinity UCC as a "jewel."
"It's everything a Christian community is supposed to be," says Gray, who has been working with Trinity UCC for the past three years to develop a new UCC congregation in Gary, Ind. "Trinity has given well over $100,000 in support of its partnership with us, and in 15 months of regular meetings with Jeremiah Wright, we always found him to be a man of gracious hospitality, humor, generosity, who paid attention to detail but also a man who does not call attention to himself."
Trinity UCC has been involved in planting more than 15 new congregations, according to the UCC's Evangelism Ministry in Cleveland.
Gray, a member of First Congregational UCC in Indianapolis, has worshiped several times at Trinity UCC and is most impressed by the overflowing sense of welcome it extends to visitors.
"When you're Euro-American, the people (at Trinity UCC) are so exceedingly gracious, warm and welcoming. They hug you and say, 'Welcome to our church!'"
Many, including Gray, point with appreciation to Trinity UCC's generous support of denominational and ecumenical ministries. From 2003 to 2007, Trinity UCC gave more than $3.7 million to Our Church's Wider Mission, the UCC's shared fund for connectional mission and ministry.
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