Christian Right sinks to new lows. Focus on the Family front group says it leads Day of Prayer

[ck4829]

President Bush celebrated a National Day of Prayer, an annual non-sectarian rite going back decades. A much younger tradition was also observed: a phony “official” Day of Prayer group tried to usurp the national celebration with its own Religious Right-flavored broadcast.

As we explained last year, the National Day of Prayer Task Force—chaired by Shirley Dobson, James Dobson’s wife—is in fact an independent group whose platform runs contrary to the multi-faith spirit of the law. NDPTF specifically excludes participation by “Non-Judeo-Christian” groups, promotes fighting a “cultural war,” and its volunteers must swear their belief in an inerrant Bible.

Despite efforts this year by Jews on First, the Interfaith Alliance, and others to clarify that NDPTF is not a federal agency, confusion remains. The president himself helped to muddy the waters during the official White House ceremony, inviting the Dobsons and others involved with NDPTF and opening his remarks by thanking Shirley Dobson “for being the Chairman of the National Day of Prayer.”

The NDPTF ceremony this afternoon featured segments on the three branches of government, each featuring a prominent Republican speaker. The representative of the judicial branch was Judge Janice Rogers Brown, perhaps the most extreme-right of the controversial appeals-court nominees put forth by Bush. After Brown spoke on the nation’s “spiritual trajectory” (through events such as putting “In God We Trust” on coins), Vonette Bright—widow of Bill Bright and co-founder of Campus Crusade for Christ—led a prayer for more right-wing judges to “uphold God’s plan for marriage” and ban abortion.

http://www.rightwingwatch.org/2008/05/phony_official_1.html

[Donkeykick]

1. This sort of nonsense reeks...

of government recognizing religion.

[InkAddict]

2. What a Publican Show -

God's plan for marriage must apply only to elite Rethugs...Anybody else can unofficially "jump the broom" for a small fee. STAY SWEET, YA'LL.

[RainDog]

3. they prostitute Christ for their financial gain

which, in my book, makes them skankier than three dollar whores

[Clear Blue Sky]

4. The Christian Right is irrelevant since they don't have a candidate in the race this election...n/t

[bushesass]

5. You keep

thinking that until they turnout in droves to vote against our guy.

[Clear Blue Sky]

6. I don't know.

Many threaten to sit out the election because they don't like McCain. I think many sat out 2006 allowing us to pick up seats in Congress. Much will depend on McCain and whether he kisses their asses or not.

[Initech]

7. James Dobson is a dangerous, scary, deranged man

If our government had any common sense whatsoever, they would have denounced these idiots a long time ago.

[HockeyMom]

8. Jews will read the New Testament?

I didn't think the Torah included that. Hypocrites. They don't REALLY mean to include Jews, let alone anybody other than their brand of "christianity".

[ck4829]

9. The "judeo" was added as an attempt to say that the Christian Right isn't anti-semitic

In the last month, television evangelist Jerry Falwell has broadcast a satellite television show from Jerusalem featuring Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres, denounced a proposal by Egypt's president that the Palestine Liberation Organization be included in a U.S.-sponsored peace initiative and apologized to a Miami gathering of rabbis for "excesses" by conservative Christians.

Falwell's activities present a paradox. He remains the nemesis of many American Jews, the point man of what they consider an intolerable right-wing threat to America's unique religious pluralism and a major reason that 71 percent of them voted for President Reagan's opponent last November.

To the chagrin of his U.S. critics, however, Falwell is received as an ex-officio ambassador of America's new Christian right by Israeli leaders who, despite pressure from some Jewish liberals, dare not turn away such a staunch supporter. At home, Falwell is making a major effort to mend fences with the Jewish community -- a political mission that some critics charge has a frightening theological motivation.

"I'm going to be their friend whether they want me to or not," Falwell said in an interview.

He remains bent on building a political coalition with conservative Catholics (on opposition to abortion) and with conservative Jews (on support for Israel), creating tension in the traditionally noncoalition-minded fundamentalist Christian movement.

Falwell told the conservative Rabbinical Assembly at their March 13 Miami session, "Twenty-five years ago many of us were saying this is a Christian republic . . . Now we say Judeo-Christian republic. There is a spirit of pluralism that did not exist then.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/15/AR2007051501326_pf.html