I think we've all wondered why the Christian Right is so willing to support the warmongering GOP. From the view of secular humanists and left-leaning Christians, the idea that a president would lie in order to launch a war of choice seems, you know, wrong -- or sinful, if you want to frame it in religious terms. At the very least, it is obviously hypocritical that those who profess to be Christians are willing to ignore several commandments and major portions of the sermon of the mount at the same time. But the Christian Right doesn't seem to see it that way. There is something we're missing that keeps us from understanding their complicity in Neocon agenda and the demonization of those who call for peace.
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Ann Coulter already told us that Christian Dominion theory means that the Earth is here for mankind to rape. And we've heard that many Christians eagerly anticipate catastrophes that they believe are harbingers of the end times. (See
The Godly Must be Crazy,
On Receiving Harvard Medical School's Global Environment Citizen Award and
the End of the World.)
However, the analysis I've seen doesn't explain why the Christian Right feels justified in ignoring the sermon of the mount. (Matthew 5.) Specifically, I don't understand why they condone and participate in the demonization of those who speak out against war, when Jesus said "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God."
I think I gained a little understanding of this while watching a History Channel program on the antichrist. I noticed that the narrator often stated that the antichrist would appear as "a man of peace," who later reveals himself as a destroyer. If this is the predominant view, it explains the Christian Right's hostility toward anyone who speaks out against war. As a peace activist, even if your message is "Hey, look at Jesus' words - why aren't you following them?" your message is likely to be interpreted as a deliberate deception by an agent of the antichrist.
Messages of peace are only going to get through if they come from those that the Christian Right trusts - and (Catch-22) no one they trust is currently being called to preach that message.
The irony is that it took me forever to find the biblical reference that supports the antichrist = Man of Peace connection. It's a very common theme, but the actual reference is hard to find. (Plus most of the pages are written by those who eschew proper language skills.) I finally found a page that mentioned Daniel 8:25 -- King James version*:
And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many: he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes; but he shall be broken without hand.
I might have avoided some effort if the word "man of peace" or "peace" appeared in any of the other translations, which... well here's the New American Standard version:
And through his shrewdness He will cause deceit to succeed by his influence; And he will magnify {himself} in his heart, And he will destroy many while {they are} at ease. He will even oppose the Prince of princes, But he will be broken without human agency.
And here's the New International version:
He will cause deceit to prosper, and he will consider himself superior. When they feel secure, he will destroy many and take his stand against the Prince of princes. Yet he will be destroyed, but not by human power.
The New Living Translation:
He will be a master of deception, defeating many by catching them off guard. Without warning he will destroy them. He will even take on the Prince of princes in battle, but he will be broken, though not by human power.
Even the New King James version doesn't use the "by peace" construction:
Through his cunning He shall cause deceit to prosper under his rule; And he shall exalt himself in his heart. He shall destroy many in their prosperity. He shall even rise against the Prince of princes; But he shall be broken without human means.
I am by no means an expert on bible translations, but it doesn't looks like the antichrist = Man of Peace connection is that strong. The Bible seems to be referring to someone who brings (or promises) prosperity, or ease, or security. Then destruction begins after people have become complacent. Personally the verse makes me think of the Wendall Phillips quote (often attributed to Thomas Jefferson):
Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty--power is ever stealing from the many to the few.... The hand entrusted with power becomes ... the necessary enemy of the people. Only by continual oversight can the democrat in office be prevented from hardening into a despot: only by unintermitted Agitation can a people be kept sufficiently awake to principle not to let liberty be smothered in material prosperity.
It is very difficult for me to respect a religious point of view that is as petulant and destructive as the Christian Right. Its adherants gleefully anticipate a day when the Earth will be unliveable because they think they soon won't need it for themselves. At the same time they desperately need to dominate the government to the exclusion of those who don't plan to participate in the Rapture. War is good -- it's a sign of the end times. But the UN is evil for the same reason. There is no common ground between persons of good will -- there's only a group who (any day now) are going to rise up into the air and meet Jesus, while the rest of humanity gets its just desserts. If you disagree with their agenda, you must have been sent by the Devil. So really, there really is no arguing with the logic.
*All the bible quotes are from www.crosswalk.com.