|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts December 2, 1998 Calendar reminders: For our next meeting date, Dec. 16, we will gather at the UICA for a purely social get-together; no topic. Please bring finger food and a beverage. Family and friends are welcome. Hope to see you there! There will be no meeting on the 30th. We will resume on Wednesday, January 6, 1999, where we will conduct a planning meeting to talk about the shape and direction we wish for our group. Bring ideas and concerns. Our topic for this meeting was"The Promise Keepers", moderated by Jeff Smith of the Institute For Global Education. He was introduced by Lanette Grate. Jeff touched briefly on the Promise Keepers authoritarian, male dominated structure but did not dwell on this as it is widely known and the chief criticism to be aired against them. He spoke of PK as the third wave of a theocratic push by the Religious Right. The first was in the Moral Majority, headed by Falwell, followed by Robertson, et. al. He also talked of the Reconstructionists, whose members and adherents hearken back to Bible (or God's) Law over and above Constitutional (or Man's) Law. They wish for contemporary society to devolve into one where stoning to death for blasphemy and other barbarous biblical practices are the law of the land. The PK and other related groups are headed by those with zero tolerance for differing viewpoints and questioning of their intentions. People are routinely dismissed for slight infractions. Thinking for oneself and questioning authority are the hallmarks of freethinkers and humanists and these groups are not surprisingly vilified by this leadership and their devoted followers. Smith mentioned the PK practice called "shepherding" where 20 males are totally accountable to one dominate male. The idea is for men to share all the intimate details of their lives and gain direction from these other men. It was mentioned that for a "pro-family" group, this behavior has little to do with family members working out their problems together. Many other groups, churches and personages were mentioned with their ties to this third wave. All are united by an anti-gay agenda, intolerance for other thinking or religious practices, anti-feminism, anti-choice thinking and strong suspicion of science and the negation of reason. The anti-gay sentiment is often used as a hook to garner support from other religious groups that might otherwise feel excluded. The plan to infiltrate the school boards so as to push creationism and purge public schools of their "godlessness" (get prayer and Bible recitation back in, etc.) was discussed. Many of the leaders of this and other Religious Right groups speak of immobilizing an army to "take back" America from all those who are different from them. They are very good at getting the view across that the country is in ruin because it has turned its back on its "Christian foundation." The analogies of PK and other such groups with military practices and thinking, to recruit Christian soldiers, was mentioned. Many of us recall the enthusiastic reception given by the religious community to Luis Palau when he spoke here. What many are probably not so aware of is that this "Latin American Billy Graham" is the spiritual leader for dictators who practice torture and genocide. Massacres are blessed by God because it is the demons that are being killed when those with the demons inside them (all those targeted by said dictators) are felled by the righteous. Smith, who lived for a time in Latin America, saw first hand these practices and found that one can trace support for them back to prominent Religious Right leaders. While the PK is still primarily an American phenomenon, they are making many inroads into other countries. Smith discussed the strong financial backing given to religious bigots and anti-freedom groups by the DeVos family. Often times the groups' identities are couched in innocuous or positive sounding terms. When Smith has attempted to get in print what the organizations DeVos supports actually stand for, his efforts have been squelched. He brought with him for our perusal various Religious Right publications (to understand their thinking better) as well as ones by authors who expose the hidden and in some cases not-so-hidden agendas of these organizations and churches. In particular, Sarah Diamond's works were mentioned in this latter regard, including Facing the Wrath, Roads to Dominion, and Spiritual Warfare. Smith encouraged us to refute errors in reporting that we see, investigate connections, stay alert, be involved; write letters, support groups that watch the activities of the Religious Right and attempts made to dismantle the separation of Church and State. Jeff invited interested members of our group to talk on GRTV (which he is involved with) on issues pertinent to freethinkers. He mentioned how the failure of progressive groups to more effectively reach out to disgruntled and disenfranchised people impels many toward PK and other hard religious right groups for a sense of belonging and unity. It is also easier for such groups to give out dogma to parrot than it is to question, investigate and think for oneself as one must do in humanist affiliations. _____________________
"Does it seem ironic to anyone else that the Promise Keepers have as their premise the desire to be better husbands and fathers, yet as their role model have a childless, spouse-less man (Jesus) and for their rule book, have one of the most misogynist, female and family-nullifying books known?" "Isn't it also strange that Rich DeVos goes on and on in his thanks to God for saving his life after his recent (at the time of this quote) surgery, but not to the medical personnel who actually worked on him? And why did he need to go to a different country to receive his Divine aid? Does God only work on English soil?" Two quotes from C. LaRue in letters written but not published.
Charles LaRue Recorder
|
|
Home
| Meetings | Calendar
| Past Meetings | About
Us | Membership | Volunteer
| E-mail Lists |
Message
Board |
