Fear This!
by Matt Sutton
I have recently come across two excellent articles that may be of interest to readers of the blog. While I usually prefer some good Reconstructionist conspiracies mixed with
anti-dominionist fear-mongering, both of these pieces (by Ross Douthat and Lisa Miller) are thoughtful and smart. I am sure our friends over at Religion Dispatches will view Miller and Douthat as dupes of Rousas John Rushdoony, but I am much more afraid of the Ralph Reeds and Karl Roves of the GOP than I am of dead Reformed preachers. Of course when Bachmann pushes a proposal through Congress reinstituting Levitical law, the US Supreme Court upholds such legislation as Constitutional, and we start stoning people in the streets, we will all know that I was wrong. But that is about as likely as Harvey fielding a good fantasy football team.
I have recently come across two excellent articles that may be of interest to readers of the blog. While I usually prefer some good Reconstructionist conspiracies mixed with
anti-dominionist fear-mongering, both of these pieces (by Ross Douthat and Lisa Miller) are thoughtful and smart. I am sure our friends over at Religion Dispatches will view Miller and Douthat as dupes of Rousas John Rushdoony, but I am much more afraid of the Ralph Reeds and Karl Roves of the GOP than I am of dead Reformed preachers. Of course when Bachmann pushes a proposal through Congress reinstituting Levitical law, the US Supreme Court upholds such legislation as Constitutional, and we start stoning people in the streets, we will all know that I was wrong. But that is about as likely as Harvey fielding a good fantasy football team.
Comments
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/rick-perry-is-no-libertarian/2011/08/30/gIQA6IsbqJ_story.html?hpid=z3
I didn't pay close attention, but I don't recall any journalist or pundit reflecting on the sheer political brilliance of Perry's prayer at the "Response" event. By showing up to pray at a public event, he bought himself almost limitless network coverage in the two weeks before his announcement. He made himself the target of rather absurd attacks on his supposed transgression of the First Amendment. That immediately informed evangelicals that he could be their candidate in this election cycle. By my reckoning, a GOP candidate who does not have the enthusiastic support of the Christian Right has poor chances next year (see Dole, Robert; McCain, John).
And surely it is a false choice between the Reeds and Roves on the one hand and the Rushdoony brand of the GOP on the other, the feud between Perry and Rove notwithstanding. John Turner's last sentence is correct.
Mocking anti-dominion hyperbole and fearmongering could be useful and fun--if they existed. Maybe take a look at what the good folk at RD actually have said about "Dominionism" and the media's straw-figure fear mongers, eh?
Eric T.