How much infuence does the Christian right have on the government ?

Question

I am begining to realize just how "Christian" the US really is

Fox news seems like a cult on wheels with so called analisis that is 100% opinion coloured by an extremist view of puritanical doctrine and yet millions watch it and more over they appear to believe it


Since Christianity is waiting for Jesus to come and rule the world and fix everything - Is this a good religion to have influencing the world scence -Really

Now we appear to have 2 competeing dogma's both waiting for some magical occurance to fullfill somthing written down in a 2000 yr old book

If this war really is about Jesus vs Allah then it was apparenty jesus who started it

I was just wondering if we could let jesus and allahduke it out for themselves and leave us the people out of it

Moiraes Fate

you are right in Canada it has no impact at all and the idea of religious views being allowed to infiltrate the news is laughable -

Perhaps this is my shock - I will stick with my secular reading of the news -

Fox has really opened my eyes just not in the way they had hoped it would

Those people are baltantly dangerous and = to any extremist muslim group of your choice They are delivering the same message just giving credit to Jesus and the flag instead of Allah and a different flag

Answer 1

As a conservative I watch Fox News more often than any of the other news networks. However, as an Atheist, I am getting my fill of the Religious pap that Hannity, ORielly and a few of the others keep putting out there with the Psalm singing crowd. It is sickening.

Answer 2

This is a very good question. Fox news IS like a cult, a cult in fact who lies about what's really going on in the world. Try checking out whatreallyhappened.com. If you check it often, you can find a lot of good stuff before the government comes in and erases it. (For example, the most "recent" Osama Bin Laden video. It wasn't a threat, and then all of a sudden the government changed all the news sources (had them deleted) and he was threatening our country like mad).

I am a Christian and a lesbian and a member of the Green Party. It kind of makes a funny situation for me. And even more so, I'm really digging Ron Paul right now. So I'm kind of all over the place with beliefs.

I agree that since our country is so sure that Church and State are separated, that Church and State should, in fact be separated. I think that it should be more based on human and environmental rights.

I think when you say that "Jesus will come and rule the world and fix everything" you are referring to what the Christians believe to be the rapture (the Revelations part of the Bible). That's great and all, but there is no actual timeline of the Rapture and no one knows when that is going to be. Sure, a lot of believers think that it will be happening soon, but then again, they did during WWI and WWII. What about the genocides? What about Dar Fur? No one knows when it is really going to happen and for people to say, "Hey, let's just wait for Jesus," Well, that's decent in theory (for Christians), but not for the rest of Americans or for the world. And of course, as a Christian, I will say that Christianity is correct, but you are absolutely right when you say it shouldn't influence the world. Everyone is entitled to their own opionion and beliefs. And the government is not a religious cult, or at least it should not be.

I don't know that I would say the war is about Jesus and Allah or even Jesus vs. Allah. I think it is more about oil and power. In fact, I'm not too sure that anyone really knows why we are at war. It all started with the World Trade Centers, but then again, wasn't there enough substantial proof (before the government ripped the majority of it off the Internet) that it was a planned event and the U.S. was highly involved? For example, I mean come on, why was all of the money being transported under the tunnels of the Trade Centers if "no one" had prior knowledge? It all seems so silly to me.

The American government spends too much money on not the right things. Tax payers lose too much money to things that don't really help them personally, or are for the "greter good of our country."

I think the best thing anyone can do, of any belief, religious or political affiliation, is to really take a step back, look at the country, look at the world, and do a little research on the Presidential Candidates and sincerely try to make a change (or keep it the same based on the beliefs of the individual) and vote responsibly. Ignorance can be bliss, but not in this situation.

I also think that Americans trying to make changes without the help of the government is a good idea, too. Take control of what problems you care about in the country. One civilian can't change the law, but can do many things to help change the situation.

I hope this helps, even a little. You've got a decent idea, even if it is not what I personally believe, but I think in the end, we are "fighting" for the same cause, a better, more peaceful America and World.

Take care.

Answer 3

The problem is that extremist Christians-fundamentalist/evangelical represent themselves as Christian. They are nothing like most Christians but have made moderates defensive enough to join their side.

Watch Gods Warriors, the CNN series. Really excellent. Muslims, Jews, and Christians all have extremists-these "christian" kids look like the Nazi youth movement.

On your question, the influence by the Jerry Falwell/Pat Robertson type is immense. Do some googling, you will find there's a whole bunch of these armageddon types running things. Ann Coulter and her "Jews are imperfect"statement makes sense to these nuts. Jews are an act in the a play for them.

Answer 4

Less influence than you might think. I believe in the morals of what you term the "Christian right", but not the methods. People need to know Jesus because only He and the Holy Spirit can transform lives to keep the morals the Christian Right believes in.

There are many people in America who claim to be Christians -- but don't know God. No amount of good works makes one a Christian -- and no professed belief in the facts of the Bible does anybody any good until they come to the end of themselves, and attempt to live by the faith that God can keep through them what they can not do on their own. We have a tendency to be filled too much with pride and an independent spirit to ever be dependent upon another, even if that "other" is God. Many look to God to give them health and wealth, to answer self-centered prayers. This is not what faith is about.

Now, as to Fox News, I've heard both sides of the news on the channel -- they have analysts on both sides so that the whole story is heard, but I will grant that most of the "facilitators" leading the discussion tend to lean a little right.

You state, "Since Christianity is waiting for Jesus to come and rule the world and fix everything" - the world is getting more evil and more evil every day, and will continue to do so until He comes. Nothing we do one way or the other has any influence over what He does when He comes back. There are many who believe we need to make the world perfect BEFORE He comes -- not going to happen. You ask "is this a good religion to have influencing the world science"? I don't know what that has to do with the first part of the question about Jesus fixing everything -- but Christianity as it is described in the Bible, most notably how to live after we are in Jesus, and the Holy Spirit is in us, is a religion of peace, where we love others, care for them, witness to them. Don't take what passes for Christianity in the majority as being true of Christianity. Many people I know who profess Christianity don't even know the names of the four gospels, let alone what's in them. Read the Bible to see how Christianity is SUPPOSED to be, and I believe anger spent on God would be directed more towards where it is due -- people misrepresenting God.

We did not go to war for religious reasons. Whether or not you like President Bush, or believe him to be on the "Christian right" (which can't be true since they are FURIOUS with him!!) -- you will have to admit that he has never made a derogatory remark about Moslems - RADICAL Moslems, yes, but he is always careful to state that they've hijacked a peaceful religion. This IS a holy war -- on the Moslem side -- but is not on the American side. Nor did we start it - terrorists did on 9/11 -- as the final straw.

Having said all of that, I got out of looking at news and politics two years ago. As I read the Bible, Jesus saved his harshest words for religious leaders, not for the world system. I want to help people, I want to witness to people, I don't want to get carried away in the world's system, just deal with the individuals in that system. The world will do as it pleases until Christ comes anyway.

Answer 5

The Fellowship and The Christian Embassy are two groups that have quietly managed to influence the government and military, respectively. The Fellowship organizes the National Prayer Breakfast and politicians flock to it, lest they be pointed out as not having attended.

Answer 6

Right now with the "King Fundie" in office it is a huge problem...and he's made a huge mess of things.....him and his bunch of religious whackos.....

But, never mind, he (and they) will be gone soon and we can go back to America, land of the free and home of the brave once more...where we are Constitutionally protected from Religious interference and those who would be king.

They can all go back in their spider holes once again.

Answer 7

They have no more power than what the rest of society gives them. They are a minority. Yet they vote and lobby and use the system. Any group can! You can't complain if you don't vote and use the power that YOU have.

Answer 8

Bible in schools a serious consideration, starving people and lack of good health care, completely ignoring global warming, and so much else. You don't have to be a fiscal liberal to give a crap about other people.

Answer 9

I feel sorry for people like you. You should consider the contributions Christians have made to civilization

In their book, The Soul of Science,authors Nancy Pearcey and Charles Thaxton make a case for the essential role Christianity played in the development of science. Christianity provided important presuppositions of science. The Bible teaches that nature is real, not an illusion. It teaches that is has value and that it is good to work with nature. Historically this was an advance over pagan superstitions because the latter saw nature as something to be worshipped or as something filled with spirits which weren't to be angered. Christianity "played a role in regulating scientific methodology." Previously, the world was thought to work in perfectly rational ways which could be known primarily through logical deduction. But this approach to science didn't work.

Healthcare is another area where Christianity has made a positive impact on society. Christians have not only been involved in healthcare; they've often been at the forefront in serving the physical health of people. Christians played a significant role in the establishment of hospitals. In 325 A.D., the Council of Nicea "decreed that hospitals were to be duly established wherever the Church was established." A key factor in making long-term medical care possible was the "professionalization of nursing" because of higher standards of sanitation. Before the 16th century, religious motivations were key in providing nursing for the sick.

One of the favorite criticisms of Christianity is that it inhibits freedom. When Christians oppose funding pornography masquerading as art, for example, we're said to be unfairly restricting freedom of expression. The problem is that people now see freedom not as self- determination, but as self-determination unhindered by any outside standard of morality. Some go so far in their zeal for self- expression that they expect others to assist them in the process, such as pornographic artists who expect government funding. Radical feminists complain that Christianity has been an oppressive force over women. But it seems to have escaped their notice that Christianity made significant steps in elevating women above the place they held before Christ came.

Answer 10

Just as much as the secular left.