June 27, 2015


News Clips For The Day


Pardon me for getting into such a deep subject and ignoring other news articles, but this Religious Right issue had no end to it the more I investigated it, and everything here is relevant. It all began with an article by a Progressive blogger by the name of Manny Schewitz. I had been aware, and very much disturbed on principle, by the radical right religious goals of setting up Christianity as our country’s “State Religion.” I tended to think such people were simply crackpots until the last two years or so when Tea Party types began making the occasional recommendation for making such a move by Constitutional amendment or by testing the doctrine of separation with new laws and then court cases. One woman legislator actually suggested that if there were a law requiring every citizen to go to church each Sunday, maybe our country would be “more moral.” In the last few years they have been complaining about “persecution” by “secular liberals,” who tend to try to prevent them from flooding high school classrooms with free Bibles, etc. They want to collect their government subsidies, but they don’t’ want to follow the rules. They have every right to set up private religious schools for high school level students, but they are supposed to keep their fingers out of the public school system.

Also, these megachurches make millions and millions of dollars on their TV broadcasts. Let them use that money to promote their government takeover goals rather than keeping their tax free status. That’s just another form of “Corporate welfare,” Maybe there shouldn’t be any tax free organizations at all. Better still let that extra money be funneled into feeding and clothing the poor. That, after all, is what Jesus commanded them to do “Feed my sheep.” They have become the richest of the rich, and by means that remind me of the crime families and drug lords. That much money and power forms a corrupting influence on anyone, and our country is under that influence again. The 1920s powerful book by Sinclair Lewis called Elmer Gantry would be useful in considering these “churches.’

I first came across the Youth For Christ Movement in the 1960’s and found them extreme and aggressive, but at that point I had no clue that there was a Dominionist wing to Protestant Christianity. My idea of a good church life was the small, quiet Methodist Church in which I grew up. Please read and consider what is here. Putting it all together, it looks a great deal like a genuine attempt to undo our democracy as I know it. White supremacy is also mentioned in one place below to make it even more pernicious, but the main focus of the movement is to challenge the Separation of Church and State section in the Constitution. I think most of the push is coming from the poor/blue collar and rural areas of the nation, especially the South and the West, but my favorite conspiracy theory says that the “Koch Brothers” are guiding it. It is certainly true that the Republican Party of my youth has almost disappeared and this mind control group has replaced them.

On the other hand, I don’t take Glenn Beck too seriously, seeing him as “an entertainer,” as Rush Limbaugh has styled himself. That doesn’t mean that there aren’t any sick or very ignorant individuals in our country, however, who won’t become aroused by the hype he generates and try to achieve their own revolution here under the banner of Fundamentalist Christianity.

I must say, though, most of the Christians I know personally quietly go to their local church for prayer, meditation and fellowship and aren’t into megalomania. That, to me, is what religion should lead us toward – personal self-improvement. Movements like this one which is being promulgated by Beck and others are not religion at all, but a radical attempt to take over politically, and they definitely shouldn’t be given tax free status by the IRS, but instead should be watched closely by the ACLU, the Department of Justice – in the shadows behind them are criminal elements after all, or other watchdog groups. People like Timothy McVeigh come to mind. He emerged onto the scene from this blue collar radical background and bombed the Oklahoma City Courthouse, killing a large number of children and other citizens going about their daily business there. Just because he was delusional, obsessed and deranged doesn’t mean he wasn’t dangerous and even evil. Our most recent case of such a massacre is the young man who shot up a quiet black church in Charleston two weeks or so ago. They all “believe” something and feel that they are fighting for a cause. There are many forms of mental illness, and fanaticism is among the worst.

The following material, coming from a number of different but related articles, gives more background information than I have ever seen up to this point on the growing Dominionist-leaning Christian movement. There is actually a church called “Dominionist,” but this group sponsored by Beck is not officially under their umbrella. It is promoted byBeck and he’s undoubtedly getting ever richer daily off the proceeds. The one thing besides their radical view that I have always noticed about the 700 Club, to cite a popular group from some twenty years ago, is that their fundraising is constant and intense. Some people must really be guilt ridden to buy into such a plea from the 700 Club evangelists and send all their money to them.

The articles clipped below are on the Google search engine under the term “Dominionist Church.” The article entitled “The Theology of Government Shutdown” sounds especially fascinating. I thought the Tea Party government shutdowns of the last few years were just irresponsible and ruthless power grabs which cause pointless trouble in the wheels of the government. I can see them now, though, as part of a ploy to actually topple the government by some legislators. I think the ability to stymie the wheels of Congress by refusing to legislate should be made illegal. It really can cause a serious problem. I don’t believe they will work, however, and in fact some of the more intelligent and honest Republicans such as John McCain stepped in at least once and pushed the legislative action forward. I think, and hope, that the more radical these Tea Partiers become the more they will fall down in popularity with the majority of Americans. Most Christians are not Dominionists, after all.

Note: the Wikipedia article on David Barton’s work below ominously states: “Barton, in his book The Myth of Separation, argues that Christians were the ones who were intended to hold public office and that Jews and members of other sects were not.[34] According to Skipp Porteous of the Massachusetts-based Institute for First Amendment Studies, Barton was listed in promotional literature as a "new and special speaker" at a 1991 summer retreat in Colorado sponsored by Scriptures for America, a far-right Christian Identity ministry headed by Pastor Pete Peters, which has been linked to neo-Nazi groups.[35] Barton's assistant Kit Marshall said in 1993 that Barton was previously unaware of the anti-Semitic and racist views of these groups.[36][37] In September 2011, Barton sued two former Texas State Board of Education candidates for posting a video on YouTube that stated that he was "known for speaking at white supremacist rallies".[38] Barton is a lecturer for Glenn Beck's online Beck University.[39]”




The following by Manny Schewitz is clearly biased toward Progressives, but it is well written and in my opinion true. Read it, if you please. Manny Schewitz is surely a pen name – just too cute not to be.


http://www.forwardprogressives.com/glenn-beck-warns-that-10000-pastors-are-willing-to-die-opposing-marriage-equality

Glenn Beck Warns That 10,000 Pastors Are Willing To Die Opposing Marriage Equality
By Manny Schewitz
June 5, 2015

To hear them tell it, you’d think that folks likes Glenn Beck or Mike Huckabee or others who cry wolf on a daily basis are going to be rounded up and tossed into prison any moment now. With the impending Supreme Court decision that is expected to make marriage equality the law of the land across the United States, they’ve been screaming into any microphone that they can access that Christians are going to be persecuted and turned into criminals for discriminating against the LGBT community. Just the other day, presidential candidate Mike Huckabee sounded the alarm and claimed that Christians would become criminals.

Now, Glenn Beck and his fringe religious friends are sounding their own alarm and proclaiming that there are at least 10,000 members of their “Black Robe Regiment” who are willing to die resisting the fictitious persecution of Christians in America that they’ve been predicting for years. Via Right Wing Watch: “The number in the Black Robe Regiment is about 70,000 now,” Beck said. “The number that I think will walk through a wall of fire, you know, and possible death, is anywhere between 17,000 and 10,000. That is an extraordinary number of people that are willing to lay it all down on the table and willing to go to jail or go to death because they serve God and not man.” Garlow was in complete agreement, saying that the necessity of being willing to die is “honestly where we are.” “We’ve come to that moment,” he said. “People like you and me and, thank God, many others are digging in very deeply and laying the benchmark of where we’re going to stand on these issues.” “You’re going to see these 10,000 to 20,000 pastors begin to stand up,” Beck promised, “and say ‘it doesn’t matter if I lose my church, it doesn’t matter if I lose my building, it doesn’t matter if I lose my life, I will not sit down!’” (Source) Martyrdom and sacrificing yourself for your religion? Where have we heard that before? Doesn’t that sound an awful lot like radical jihadists, the same people who right-wing alarmists want us to declare war on, even though they share a lot in common? If you were wondering who the Black Robe Regiment is, it’s an organization of right-wing clerics created by David Barton and Glenn Beck back in 2010. Here’s David Barton himself explaining it on Glenn Beck’s show in April 2010, before Fox News decided Beck was too radical even for them: “The Black Brigade or Black Regiment were the preachers, because they wore black robes. Black preachers, white preachers — they all wore black probes. And the British specifically blamed the preachers for the American Revolution. That’s where the title “Black Regiment” came from. One of the British officials talked about that. It’s interesting that the British so hated what the preachers — they claim if it hadn’t been for the preachers, America would still be a happy British colony. So they blamed it on the preachers. When they come to America, they start to decimating churches. They went to New York City. Nineteen churches — they burned 10 to the ground. They went across Virginia burning churches. They went across New Jersey burning churches. Because they blamed these preachers.” (Source) The truth is that Glenn Beck and others of his ilk aren’t going to do a damn thing once marriage equality is the law of the land, other than beat their chests and find something else to get their followers riled up about.

What is alarming is the fact that there are many unhinged individuals out there who aren’t aware that people like Glenn Beck or Alex Jones are little more than clever scam artists selling fear to anyone who can’t see through their act. Some of these people will see the Supreme Court’s expected decision as the beginning of the persecution Glenn Beck and David Barton have been predicting, and it is very possible that they will take it upon themselves to commit acts of domestic terrorism. Unfortunately, there’s little that can be done because the First Amendment protects free speech, even when it is hateful and irresponsible. Unless Glenn Beck were to call for armed rebellion against the government – which he won’t do because he’s not stupid enough to lose his show – he can continue to flirt with that fine line between inciting violence and free speech, while laughing all the way to the bank.

Manny Schewitz -- Manny Schewitz is a progressive from the Dirty South with an inclination to say it like it is. He is a co-founder of Forward Progressives, and also maintains an active and lively presence on Facebook. You can find him on Twitter as well, @MannySchewitz. Be sure to check out Manny's archives on Forward Progressives for more of his viewpoints.




AN OPPOSITIONAL ARTICLE ON MANNY SCHEWITZ --

https://confidencemanny.wordpress.com/tag/manny-schewitz/

The truth about Manny Schewitz, Forward Progressives


“Manny Schewitz Forward Progressives -- Manny Schewitz is a grifter, a con artist, a confidence man. Manny co-created the left-wing political blog Forward Progressives as well as his personal blog, Whiskey and the Morning After. How does that make him a con man? Just read on.

In 2013, Manny published a post on his Whiskey blog attacking a couple of fellow left-wing bloggers for attempting to strong arm a liberal Facebook page admin. The basis of the post really isn’t relevant now. What is relevant is the first paragraph of Manny’s post:

“Remember how I often discussed the unethical and strong-arm tactics used by many “liberal” bloggers and site owners? If you’ve been following us for awhile, you’ll know of my utter disdain for the people behind “Being Liberal” and the website Addictinginfo.org as well as others who are just out there to make a buck.”

The key point here is that Manny is supposedly outraged by other websites and bloggers who are “just out there to make a buck.” This is an integral part of Manny’s con, but there’ s much more.

Manny’s daily write ups on Forward Progressives earn a substantial amount of money through the Google Adsense advertisements placed on their site (more on that later). You’ll also find Adsense ads on his Whiskey blog. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with earning money through ad revenue; however, Manny’s game is not only to make money but to smear and tarnish the reputations of other sites for engaging in exactly the same practices that he engages in for the sole purpose of disingenuously gaining the trust of more and more followers as he simultaneously turns them against his competitors. Manny wants you to believe he’s the little guy who’s only looking out for your best interests when in reality, he’s a snake in the grass. That’s his con.”



Despite this rave against Manny Schewitz, the following was in the Internet about the subject of just how far out on the right wing fringe Glenn Beck and his Black Robe Regiment go toward trying to forcibly bring the US government under the wings of a radical Christian domination. They argue strongly against the “wall of separation between church and state. See the following articles:

Under “Black Robe Regiment Wikipedia” I found only this – Glenn Beck and others held a “Restoring Honor Rally” was held August 28, 2010 at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. and was organized by Glenn Beck to "restore honor in America" and to raise funds for the non-profit Special Operations Warrior Foundation. Billed as a "celebration of America's heroes and heritage,"[1] several veterans were honored. Along with Beck, the main speakers included former Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin[2] and activist Alveda King, the niece of Martin Luther King Jr.[3][4] The Black Robe website is quoted below.


http://www.blackrobereg.org/ --
“Welcome to The Black Robe Regiment

The Black Robe Regiment is a resource and networking entity where church leaders and laypeople can network and educate themselves as to our biblical responsibility to stand up for our Lord and Savior and to protect the freedoms and liberties granted to a moral people in the divinely inspired US Constitution. The Regiment had its historical beginnings during the Revolutionary War when Pastors from across the colonies arose and lead their congregations into the battle for freedom. Unlike today, the church during this time served as the center-point for political debate and discussion on the relevant news of the day. Today's church leaders have all but lost that concept of leading their congregations in a Godly manner in all aspects of their worldly existence and are afraid to speak out against the progressive agenda that has dominated our political system for the past century. Through this time the church and God himself has been under assault, marginalized, and diminished by the progressives and secularists. The false wall of separation of church and state has been constructed in such a manner that most are unaware of its limited boundaries. The church and the body of Christ has been attacked on all fronts and challenged by the progressive courts and groups such as the ACLU while we have sat idle in consent.

The time has come that we must now arise and awaken to the danger of this hyper-progressive agenda that so permeates every aspect of our political, legal, and educational systems. It is time now to educate ourselves and push back against the erosion of our freedoms and liberties and restore the constitutional authority back to all aspects of our governance. It will take the leaders of our churches to shepherd their flocks as did their predecessors during our first fight for liberty.

It is in this spirit that we have created this site. It is to serve as a resource and reference for church leaders and laypeople alike. It is to be a portal for Christians to communicate and network in order to restore the body of Christ to its rightful position of tolerant leadership in all aspects of our government.

Join The Black Robe Regiment Interactive Portal Here

As many of you are aware we had the great good fortune of participating in the Great Awakening Conference in Plymouth MA this June. This conference was truly one of the all time most influential events in my spiritual growth and was an amazing blessing. The seeds sewed and the repercussions of this event continue to ripple out and the support and encouragement we are receiving is overwhelming. For me personally I have considered writing in detail about this event but in my heart of hearts I know that I could not do it justice with my mere words. It is our intention and hope to be able to offer the conference videos sometime in the near future. In the interim we wanted to share with you the main conference audio files so that you can be blessed with the powerful messaging that God manifested throughout this conference. I encourage you to give these a listen as they speak directly into our culture and our present condition. I especially challenge all pastors and faith leaders to listen to Pastor Paul Blair's message "Blind Watchmen and Sheepdogs That Don't Bark". It is your clarion call to action and is vitally important for our nation’s future. You can find the audio files here for your listening and downloading pleasure. Enjoy!!

Black Robe Regiment Update

LAUS DEO - First we would like to thank all who have joined our social network and have sent messages of inspiration and support. It is you and the love of our Lord and Savior that sustains us. We have finally been able to secure the hosting for our member directory. We are sorry that this has taken so long to get accomplished as it was a considerable financial investment. We still have to secure funds to develop the search module but this was an important first step and we can now begin the process of getting all our member faith leaders and organizations to register. If you are a faith leader or organization and you wish to be included in our directory you must complete the registration form. In the coming weeks we will launch the search capabilities.

In the interim we need your help. You can help by spreading the word and sharing this site with others. Most importantly please invite your church leaders in and make them aware of the various initiatives that are available here. Please ask them to register for the directory listing. We need your prayers to cover not only this effort, but also to cover those church leaders who have answered the call. As these leaders step up they will be attacked and challenged in their congregations, the media, and the public at large. We must do all that we can to support these men and women in their ministries. It is also of vital importance that we all join in the forum and connect with one another and lift each other up. Please add to and participate in the discussions as this feeds and nurtures us all.

Thank you so much for your interest and support. Please stay tuned for future announcements and developments.

Faith Leaders - Know Your Rights

Since the 1954 passage of the Johnson Amendment the secular progressive left has lead a campaign to suppress the ability of faith leaders to speak on a whole variety of topics from the pulpit. Mostly centered around the political sphere these efforts have effectively stifled all but the most brazen of pastors. Although no church has been has had their tax status revoked since this law was enacted the mere threat suppresses their ability to be the Godly ordained Guardians of Our Culture.

It is time that our pulpits again become the place for biblical based oratory on all matters that effect our Christian walk through our secular society. But first it is important to know your rights and freedoms. We seek here to provide a host of resources to study and learn what can and cannot be done from the pulpit. A good starting place is learning the history of the Johnson Amendment. The document below gives a concise historical overview of this law.


Join the Initiative to Distribute the Teacher's Guide to Christian Students

Our educational arm, the Salt and Light Institute, has developed a guide and other resources to combat the growing tide of special interest groups indoctrinating our youth at the exclusion of the Christian perspective. Please join us in promoting this initiative in your community. Sign up as a Facilitator or Champion and help us spread the word.

Wall Builders

Although we are not affiliated with David Barton or the Wall Builders organization, David serves as an inspiration and Wall Builders is a great resource of historical knowledge.

Wall Builders Black Robe Regiment

Visit the Black Robe Regiment on Wall Builders. This site provides a great historical overview of the Black Robe Regiment.



SEE ALSO THE ARTICLES BELOW FOR MORE INFORMATION ON DOMINIONISM.


Reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dominion_Theology
“Dominion Theology”

“Dominion Theology is the idea that Christians should work toward either a nation governed by Christians or one governed by a conservative Christian understanding of biblical law. At least under this name, it exists primarily among non-mainstream Protestants in the United States.”



>>Dominion Theology - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dominion_Theology
Wikipedia

“Indeed, some writers have applied the term "Dominionism" more broadly to .... opposition to separation of church and state, while "hard" dominionism refers to ...
‎Etymology - ‎History - ‎Christian Reconstructionism - ‎Kingdom Now theology

>>5 Facts About Dominionism - Huffington Post
www.huffingtonpost.com/.../5-facts-about-dominion...
The Huffington Post
Sep 1, 2011 - Depending on whom you ask, "Dominionism" either signifies a ... the influence of C. Peter Wagner, a church-growth guru and prolific author. (See C Peter Wagner and the term “Latter Rain.”)

>>The Theology of Government Shutdown: Christian ...
www.huffingtonpost.com/.../the-theology-of-govern...
The Huffington Post
Oct 1, 2013 - They would preach in church on Sunday and then go out and fight with ... Cruz's vision is in Christian dominionism; he talks about preaching a ...

>>The Christian Right, Dominionism, and Theocracy - Political ...
www.publiceye.org/.../dominionism.htm
Political Research Associates

>>Inside the Christian Right Dominionist Movement That's Undermining Democracy. Rick Perry ... The church has its own ecclesiastical structure and governance.

>>Rise of the Religious Right in the Republican Party
www.theocracywatch.org/
Sarah Palin is a "Dominionist" with an apocalytic End Times theological ... Neither Sarah Palin nor her Protestant church affiliated with the Assemblies of God ...

>>Ted Cruz, Dominionism and Jesus | JONATHAN TURLEY
jonathanturley.org/2013/10/12/ted-cruz-dominionism-and-jesus/
Oct 12, 2013 - Education and social welfare will be handed over to the church. .... The same thing is true of the Dominionist Christian Movement in the United ...

>>What is Christian dominionism? - GotQuestions.org
www.gotquestions.org/Christian-dominionism.html
Answer: Dominionism, or Christian Dominionism is a term coined by social ... taught in the book When Heaven Invades Earth by Bill Johnson of Bethel Church.

>>Dominionism - Discernment Ministries, Inc.
www.discernment-ministries.org/ChristianImperialism.htm
Dec 19, 2005 - There are two other dominionist sects within evangelicalism that have ... They assign to the Church duties and rights that belong Scripturally ...

>>Dominionism - RationalWiki
rationalwiki.org/wiki/Dominionism
Dominionism (sometimes used interchangeably with Christian ... "Theonomy" is a subset of this -- it entails a separation of church and state powers, but with an ...

>>Dominionism | Right Wing Watch
www.rightwingwatch.org/category/topics/dominionism
-Chuck Stetson, CEO of Essentials in Education, speaking at Skyline Church's Future Conference, June 2015. First they came for the adoption ministry, but I did ...
Indeed, some writers have applied the term "Dominionism" more broadly to .... opposition to separation of church and state, while "hard" dominionism refers to ...
‎Etymology - ‎History - ‎Christian Reconstructionism - ‎Kingdom Now theology




ON THE CURRENT FEDERAL POSITION RE MIXING POLITICS AND RELIGION –


The 1954 Johnson Amendment:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnson_Amendment

The Johnson Amendment refers to a change in the U.S. tax code made in 1954 which prohibited tax-exempt organizations from endorsing or opposing political candidates.

Background[edit]
Proposed by then-Senator Lyndon B. Johnson, the amendment affects churches and other nonprofit organizations with 501(c) tax exemptions.[1] In recent years the Alliance Defending Freedom has attempted to challenge the Johnson Amendment through the Pulpit Freedom Initiative, which urges church pastors to violate the statute in protest. The ADF contends that the amendment violates First Amendment rights.[2]

501(c) prohibition[edit]
Organizations recognized under Section 501(c)(3) of the U.S. tax code are subject to limits or absolute prohibitions on engaging in political activities and risk loss of status as tax exempt status if violated.[3] Specifically, they are prohibited from conducting political campaign activities to intervene in elections to public office.[4][5]
IRS explanation of the statute[edit]
The Internal Revenue Service website elaborates upon this prohibition as follows:

Under the Internal Revenue Code, all section 501(c)(3) organizations are absolutely prohibited from directly or indirectly participating in, or intervening in, any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for elective public office. Contributions to political campaign funds or public statements of position (verbal or written) made on behalf of the organization in favor of or in opposition to any candidate for public office clearly violate the prohibition against political campaign activity. Violating this prohibition may result in denial or revocation of tax-exempt status and the imposition of certain excise taxes.
Certain activities or expenditures may not be prohibited depending on the facts and circumstances. For example, certain voter education activities (including presenting public forums and publishing voter education guides) conducted in a non-partisan manner do not constitute prohibited political campaign activity. In addition, other activities intended to encourage people to participate in the electoral process, such as voter registration and get-out-the-vote drives, would not be prohibited political campaign activity if conducted in a non-partisan manner.

On the other hand, voter education or registration activities with evidence of bias that (a) would favor one candidate over another; (b) oppose a candidate in some manner; or (c) have the effect of favoring a candidate or group of candidates, will constitute prohibited participation or intervention.

The Internal Revenue Service provides resources to exempt organizations and the public to help them understand the prohibition. As part of its examination program, the IRS also monitors whether organizations are complying with the prohibition.




SOME REVIEWS ON DAVID BARTON’S WORK –

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Barton_(author)

David Barton (born January 28, 1954) is an American evangelical Christian conservative political activist and author. He is the founder of WallBuilders, a Texas-based organization which promotes the view that it is a myth that the United States Constitution insists on separation of church and state.[1][2][3] Barton is the former vice chair of the Republican Party of Texas. He has been described as a Christian nationalist and "one of the foremost Christian revisionist historians"; much of his work is devoted to advancing the idea, based upon research that many historians describe as flawed,[4] that the United States was founded as an explicitly Christian nation.[5]

Barton collects early American documents, and his official biography describes him as "an expert in historical and constitutional issues".[6] Barton holds no formal credentials in history or law, and scholars dispute the accuracy and integrity of his assertions about history, accusing him of practicing misleading historical revisionism, "pseudoscholarship" and spreading "outright falsehoods".[7][8][9][10] According to the New York Times, "many professional historians dismiss Mr. Barton, whose academic degree is in Christian Education from Oral Roberts University, as a biased amateur who cherry-picks quotes from history and the Bible."[4] Barton's 2012 book The Jefferson Lies was voted "the least credible history book in print" by the users of the History News Network website.[11] The book's publisher, the Christian publishing house Thomas Nelson, disavowed the book and withdrew it from sale. A senior executive said that Thomas Nelson could not stand by the book because "basic truths just were not there."[12]

A 2005 Time magazine article entitled "The 25 Most Influential Evangelicals" called Barton "a major voice in the debate over church–state separation" who, despite the fact that "many historians dismiss his thinking... [is] a hero to millions—including some powerful politicians."[13] Barton has appeared on television and radio programs, including those of former Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee and Glenn Beck. Beck has praised Barton as "the Library of Congress in shoes".[14] In September 2013, POLITICO reported that he has returned to the political arena and is advising state legislators on how to fight the Common Core academic standards promoted by the Obama administration.[12]

Politics[edit]

Barton is a former vice chairman of the Texas Republican Party under state chairman Susan Weddington. He has also acted as a political consultant to the Republican National Committee on outreach to evangelicals.[13][26][27]

There was a Tea Party movement to get him to run against Senator John Cornyn in the 2014 Senate election from Texas.[28] However, Barton announced on November 6, 2013, that he would not run for the seat.[29]

Affiliations[edit]

He serves on the Board of Advisors of the National Council on Bible Curriculum in Public Schools.[30] This curriculum contains direct quotations from Barton's books, recommends the resources published by WallBuilders, and advocates showing that group's video, Foundations of American Government, at the beginning of the course.[31]

Barton serves on the Board of Advisors of the Providence Foundation.[32] In an article discussing Barton, The Nation described the Providence Foundation as "a Christian Reconstructionist group that promotes the idea that biblical law should be instituted in America."[33]

Barton, in his book The Myth of Separation, argues that Christians were the ones who were intended to hold public office and that Jews and members of other sects were not.[34] According to Skipp Porteous of the Massachusetts-based Institute for First Amendment Studies, Barton was listed in promotional literature as a "new and special speaker" at a 1991 summer retreat in Colorado sponsored by Scriptures for America, a far-right Christian Identity ministry headed by Pastor Pete Peters, which has been linked to neo-Nazi groups.[35] Barton's assistant Kit Marshall said in 1993 that Barton was previously unaware of the anti-Semitic and racist views of these groups.[36][37] In September 2011, Barton sued two former Texas State Board of Education candidates for posting a video on YouTube that stated that he was "known for speaking at white supremacist rallies".[38]

Barton is a lecturer for Glenn Beck's online Beck University.[39]

Media[edit]

In 2007, Barton's group Wall Builders received two Silver Angel Awards from the group Excellence in Media.[40] Time included him in its list of "The 25 Most Influential Evangelicals in America".[41] Barton has been a frequent guest on Trinity Broadcasting Network, including the "American Heritage Series" in 2007 and the "Building on the American Heritage Series" in 2011.[42] Barton has also appeared on the The 700 Club,[43] and The Daily Show.[44]

Barton's 2013 appearance on Kenneth Copeland's "Believer's Voice of Victory" received wider attention when Barton made statements linking abortion and climate change.[45][46][47]

Reception of Barton's work[edit]

Barton has been praised by U.S. conservatives Mike Huckabee, Newt Gingrich, Michele Bachmann[4] and Governor Sam Brownback of Kansas.[48]

He has received criticism from others, including: J. Brent Walker of the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty,[49] Rob Boston of Americans United for Separation of Church and State,[50] Gordon College History professor Stephen Phillips,[51] Senator Arlen Specter,[7] The Anti-Defamation League,[52] Senior Research Director for the Military Religious Freedom Foundation Chris Rodda,[53] Messiah College history professor John Fea[54][55] Baylor University historian Barry Hankins,[56] and Grove City College professors Warren Throckmorton and Michael Coulter.[57]

Jay W. Richards, senior fellow at the Christian conservative Discovery Institute, stated in 2012 that Barton's books and videos are full of "embarrassing factual errors, suspiciously selective quotes, and highly misleading claims."[58] The Southern Poverty Law Center describes Barton's work as "anti-gay" "historical revisionism", noting that Barton has no formal training in history.[59]

The Jefferson Lies withdrawn from publication[edit]

In 2012, Barton's New York Times best-seller[60] The Jefferson Lies was voted "the least credible history book in print" by the users of the History News Network website.[11] A group of ten conservative Christian professors reviewed the work and formed a negative view of its claims, reporting that Barton has misstated facts about Jefferson.[58][61] In August 2012, Christian publisher Thomas Nelson withdrew the book from publication and stopped production, announcing that they had "lost confidence in the book's details" and "learned that there were some historical details included in the book that were not adequately supported."[62][63] Glenn Beck announced that his Mercury Ink imprint would issue a new edition of the book,[64] for issuing once the 17,000 remaining copies that Barton bought of the Thomas Nelson edition had been sold.[65]

"Unconfirmed Quotations"[edit]

In an article titled "Unconfirmed Quotations", Barton conceded that he has not located primary sources for eleven alleged quotes from James Madison, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, and U.S. Supreme Court decisions (hence, the title of the article), but maintained that the quotes were "completely consistent" with the views of the Founders.[66] This drew criticism from Rob Boston of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, who in 1996 accused Barton of "shoddy workmanship", and said that despite these and other corrections, Barton's work "remains rife with distortions of history and court rulings".[67] WallBuilders responded to its critics by saying that Barton followed "common practice in the academic community" in citing secondary sources, and that in publishing "Unconfirmed Quotations", Barton's intent was to raise the academic bar in historical debates pertinent to public policy.[66]

The Texas Monthly noted in 2006[1] that Barton has denied saying that in his famous letter to Danbury Baptists[68] "Jefferson referred to the wall of separation between church and state as 'one-directional'—that is, it was meant to restrain government from infringing on the church's domain but not the other way around. There is no such language in the letter." The article goes on to say that this denial is contradicted by a 1990 version of Barton's video America's Godly Heritage in which Barton states:

On January 1, 1802, Jefferson wrote to that group of Danbury Baptists, and in this letter, he assured them—he said the First Amendment has erected a wall of separation between church and state, he said, but that wall is a one-directional wall. It keeps the government from running the church, but it makes sure that Christian principles will always stay in government.

Barton's first non-self-published work was a 2003 article in the Notre Dame Journal of Law, Ethics and Public Policy, (Volume XVII Issue No. 2, 2003, p. 399), which is described as a "rather tame survey" on Jefferson's writings about the First Amendment.[1]

References[edit] Excerpts Only:

Jump up ^ Billy Bruce (1992-02-18). "First Amendment specialist views church/state separation as "myth"". Daytona Beach Sunday News-Journal. Retrieved 2011-09-28.
Jump up ^ "NOW: God's Country". PBS. 2006-04-28. Retrieved 2011-09-28.
^ Jump up to: a b c Eckholm, Erik (May 4, 2011). "Using History to Mold Ideas on the Right". New York Times.
Jump up ^ What is Christian Nationalism?, Michelle Goldberg, Salon.com, May 14, 2006
^ Jump up to: a b Specter, Arlen (Spring 1995). "Defending the wall: Maintaining church/state separation in America". Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy 18 (2): 575–590. Retrieved April 9, 2013.
Jump up ^ "David Barton - Propaganda Masquerading as History", People for the American Way, Retrieved on April 9, 2013
Jump up ^ Boston, Rob (2007). "Dissecting the religious right's favorite Bible Curriculum", Americans United for Separation of Church and State, American Humanist Association. Retrieved on April 9, 2013
Harvey, Paul (10 May 2011). "Selling the Idea of a Christian Nation: David Barton's Alternate Intellectual Universe". Religion Dispatches. Retrieved April 9, 2013.
^ Jump up to: a b Schuessler, Jennifer (2012-07-16). "And the Worst Book of History Is ...". New York Times. Retrieved 2012-07-19.
Jump up ^ The Foundations of American Freedom, Christian Broadcasting Network
Jump up ^ The Turnaround in Education, David Barton, Oral Roberts University
Jump up ^ "Aledo Christian School history" (PDF). Retrieved 2011-09-28.
Jump up ^ Patel, Eboo. "The Faith Divide: Christian Right's attack on rights - On Faith at washingtonpost.com". The Washington Post.
Jump up ^ History of the Republican Party of Texas at the Wayback Machine (archived April 24, 2009)
Jump up ^ The Dobson way, Dan Gilgoff, U.S. News & World Report, 1/9/05
Jump up ^ http://www.politico.com/story/2013/11/texas-tea-party-david-barton-ted-cruz-99278.html
Jump up ^ The Revised Curriculum of the National Council on Bible Curriculum in Public Schools, Mark A. Chancey, Assistant Professor, Department of Religious Studies, Southern Methodist University, October 2005
Jump up ^ Providence Foundation Mission statement at the Wayback Machine (archived July 15, 2011)
Jump up ^ In Contempt of Courts, Max Blumenthal, The Nation, April 11, 2005
Jump up ^ Don S. Wilkey, Jr. (April 2002). "A Christian Looks at the Religious Right: Responding to David Barton". Retrieved 2012-01-21.
Jump up ^ Luckett, Bill (1997-06-20). "Speaker Accused of Racist Ties: Christian Coalition denies Barton's links to white supremacists" (PDF). Casper Star-Tribune. Retrieved 3 May 2012. Also http://www.tfn.org/images/content/pagebuilder/Barton_Lawsuit_CST_2.22.97.jpg
Jump up ^ "David Barton – Extremist 'Historian' for the C"David Barton – Extremist 'Historian' for the Christian Right". Southern Poverty Law Center. Retrieved 2012-07-19.
Jump up ^ Boston, Rob (June 1996). "David Barton – Master of myth and misinformation". Public Eye (Institute for First Amendment Studies). Retrieved August 17, 2012.
Jump up ^ Christin Coyne (2011-09-14). "WallBuilders files libel suit against three". Weatherford Democrat. Retrieved 2011-09-28.
Jump up ^ "Beck University". Retrieved July 8, 2010.
Jump up ^ "American Heritage Series". Trinity Broadcast Network. Retrieved 2012-11-23.
Jump up ^ "David Barton on the 700 Club". Christian Broadcasting Network. Retrieved 2012-11-23.
Jump up ^ "David Barton". The Daily Show. 2012-05-01. Retrieved 2012-09-01.
Jump up ^ http://www.salon.com/2013/11/04/potential_senate_candidate_david_barton_explains_how_abortion_caused_climate_change/
Jump up ^ http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/10/31/possible-senate-candidate-david-barton-climate-change-is-gods-judgement-for-abortion/
Jump up ^ Vaughn, Chris (May 22, 2005). "A man with a message; Self-taught historian's work on church-state issues rouses GOP". Baylor University. Archived from the original on September 20, 2006. Retrieved April 13, 2013. Originally published in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, page 1A.
Jump up ^ Texas Textbook Massacre Architect Backing Grayson Opponent by Ryan Grim, The Huffington Post, August 26, 2010
Jump up ^ Cantor, David (1994). Religious Right: The Assault on Tolerance and Pluralism in America. Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith. ISBN 978-99946-746-9-5.
Jump up ^ Warren Throckmorton, an evangelical professor of psychology at Grove City College, a conservative Christian school in Pennsylvania. "If that's what people are passing off as Christian scholarship, there are claims in there that are easily proved false." Rodda, Chris (2011-05-05). "Do Well By Doing Good". Huffington Post. Retrieved 2011-05-20.
Jump up ^ Throckmorton, Warren; Coulter, Michael. Getting Jefferson Right: Fact Checking Claims about Our Third President [Kindle Edition]. Amazon Digital Services, 2012.
Jump up ^ Epps, Garrett (August 10, 2012). "Genuine Christian Scholars Smack Down an Unruly Colleague: The phony evangelical 'historian' David Barton meets his match at last.". The Atlantic magazine.
Jump up ^ Hagerty, Barbara Bradley (August 8, 2012). "The Most Influential Evangelist You've Never Heard Of". NPR.
Jump up ^ Bob Smietana (August 10, 2012). "Thomas Nelson drops 'Jefferson Lies' book over historical errors". The Tennessean.
Jump up ^ Garrett, Lynn (2012-08-17). "Jefferson Lies Author Negotiating New Edition with Glenn Beck’s Mercury Ink". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved 2013-08-04.
^ Jump up to: a b Barton, David. "Unconfirmed Quotations". WallBuilders website.
Jump up ^ Boston, Rob (July–August 1996). "Consumer Alert: Wallbuilders Shoddy Workmanship". Church & State (Americans United for Separation of Church and State) 49 (7): 11–13. Retrieved April 9, 2013.
Jump up ^ Thomas Jefferson (1802-01-01). "Letter to the Danbury Baptists". Retrieved 2011-09-28.




SUFFICIENT UNTO THE DAY ARE THE EVILS THEREOF. GOODBYE FOR NOW.