THE CHRISTIAN RIGHT:
CREATING A NEW & OMINOUS
STRATEGY AGAINST THE LEFT

INTRODUCTION

In our last article, "The Men Who Gathered Themselves Together at Clint Murchison's Dallas Home Forty-Five Years Ago," we spent a good deal of time describing the character and temperament of the core elements that make up the so-called Christian Right: People who "HAVE A FORM OF GODLINESS" but whose "Christianity" is a vain and empty affair (2 Timothy 3:5); "Christian" businessmen and politicians such as H.L. Hunt, Howard F. Ahmanson Jr., Theodore Olson, Kenneth Starr, ad infinitum; and so-called "Christian leaders" such as Rick Joyner, Francis Frangipane, C. Peter Wagner, ad nauseum; steely-eyed, Bible-toting, hyper-critical, censorious, disapproving men and women who believe that "The poor deserve to be poor," and that the "Pursuit of wealth and the preservation of property is," as John Calvin insisted, "a Christian duty;" people about whom Jesus said:

"Woe unto you ... hypocrites! FOR YE DEVOUR WIDOW'S HOUSES, AND FOR A PRETENSE MAKE A LONG PRAYER." (Matthew 23:14)

HAVING A FORM OF GODLINESS

The "FORM OF GODLINESS" they display to the world revolves around their own personal morality and piety - a fake (counterfeit) "godliness" that Jesus condemned in Luke 18:9-14:

"And he [Jesus] spake this parable unto certain WHICH TRUSTED IN THEMSELVES THAT THEY WERE RIGHTEOUS, AND DESPISED OTHERS:

"Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican.

"The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, GOD, I THANK THEE, THAT I AM NOT AS OTHER MEN ARE, EXTORTIONERS, UNJUST, ADULTERERS, or even as this publican.

"I FAST TWICE A WEEK, I GIVE TITHES OF ALL THAT I POSSESS.

"And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.

"I tell you, this man [the publican] went down to his house justified rather than the other [the Pharisee]: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted." (Luke 18:9-14)

And be clear here: What Jesus means is people who "exalt" themselves on the basis of their own personal righteousness and "moral rectitude." Moreover, it should be noted in this connection that they not only exalt themselves on this basis (i.e., on the basis of their own personal piety), they look down on others who they think don't measure up to their standard of "holiness;" and even more, they DESPISE them - and, oh, how I tell you, I have known many, many such men and women over my more than 50 years of Christian ministry; the kind of people about whom Jesus said:

"They love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men ..." (Matthew 6:5)

THESE ARE PEOPLE WHO HAVE NOT
THE LOVE OF GOD IN THEIR HEARTS

These are men and women who -

"... pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law: judgment, mercy, and faith ..." (Matthew 23:23)

NOTE: Mint, anise and cummin were spices that were added to recipes to make a more aromatic or better tasting dish of food. In other words, these people were so "religious" and dutiful insofar as the Law was concerned that they gave a tenth (tithe) of even the spices they used to flavor their food. Now that is being meticulous in the extreme.

These are people about whom Jesus said -

"Ye blind guides, WHICH STRAIN AT A GNAT [i.e., "pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin"], AND SWALLOW A CAMEL.

"... ye make clean the outside ... but within ye are full of extortion and excess." (Matthew 23:24-25)

THEY PLAN TO BRING
YOU INTO CAPTIVITY

These are precisely those who plan - sooner or later - to bring us all as Christians into captivity - a captivity not to Christ, but to someone else altogether (John 5:43). These are - every single one of them -

"... false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ.

"And no marvel [i.e., don't be so surprised]; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.

"Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness ..." (2 Cor. 11:13-15)

NOW NOTE VERY CAREFULLY HOW THEY DECEIVE - SPECIFICALLY BY TRANSFORMING THEMSELVES INTO "MINISTERS OF RIGHTEOUSNESS," people who authenticate themselves by their appearance of piety. It is precisely against these "false apostles of Christ" that Jesus warns us:

"... Take heed that no man DECEIVE you.

"For many shall come in my name ... and shall DECEIVE many." (Matthew 24:4-5)

And make no mistake about it, their master is not the poor, gentle carpenter of Nazareth, but the stern, menacing "PRINCE OF THIS WORLD" (John 12:31, 14:30, 16:11; Ephesians 2:2), and it is human souls that these "men of piety" trade in. Merchants of Babylon! - ALL OF THEM. These are those that the Bible says traffic in -

"... gold, and silver, and precious stones, and of pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all thyine wood, and all manner vessels of ivory, and all manner vessels of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble,

"And cinnamon, and odours, and ointments, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and slaves, and THE SOULS OF MEN." (Revelation 18:12-13)

They are seeking to make merchandise of your soul, and in doing so to bring you into captivity to the "PRINCE OF THIS WORLD" whose kingdom and person "HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH CHRIST." (John 14:30)

These are those that Jesus condemned by saying:

"I KNOW YOU, that YE HAVE NOT THE LOVE OF GOD IN YOU." (John 5:42)

What an awful thing to have Christ say to you! - "I know you, that ye have not the love of God in you." THESE ARE EXACTLY THE KIND OF PEOPLE (SO-CALLED "CHRISTIANS") WHO WERE BEHIND THE "YES" ON PROPOSITION 8 CAMPAIGN AGAINST GAY MARRIAGE IN CALIFORNIA.

I SAY AGAIN ...

I have said this many times before, and I say it again now: What do we as Christians have to do with the affairs of this world? Jesus said:

"My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight ... but ... my kingdom is not from hence." (John 18:36)

Brothers and sisters, listen to me here: We are to consider ourselves as "sojourners in a strange country" [a country that is not their country; a country that - at least supposedly - they do not have the "right to vote in"] (Hebrews 11:9); people who "confess that they are strangers and pilgrims on the earth" (Hebrews 11:13); people who -

"Declare plainly that they seek a [heavenly] country.

"And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned.

"But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly [country]: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them [such] a city [country]." (Hebrews 11:14-16) [We urge you to see our article, "Political Christianity."]

BELIEVE ME WHEN I TELL YOU ...

Believe me when I tell you, I am not one of those who desires to return to the country he has left - AND NEITHER SHOULD YOU BE!

Plainly, however, that's what ALL those Christians who rallied for the "Yes" on Proposition 8 Campaign (a ballot initiative to ban same sex marriage in California by amending the state constitution) have - by their actions - declared: That their home is "THIS WORLD AND THIS LIFE HERE ON EARTH" - and that they are going to do everything they can to make it a "better place" by bringing it into conformity with what they see as "God's Law." 

Nonetheless, in the end all they are doing is TARTING up a WHORE by making her more appealing to their prurient sensibilities; but a whore is a whore, whether she is beautiful or not; and whether she dresses up in leather and spike heels or she wears Versace and Dior gowns.

THE "YES" ON PROPOSITION 8 CAMPAIGN

It sounds so pious! It sounds so "right" - to champion an amendment to the California state Constitution to ban "same sex marriage," and - whether one admits it or not - to, at the same time, make war on the "sinners of this world." BUT IT IS SO WRONG! Jesus said:

"I came not to judge the world [meaning the people (sinners) of this world], but to save the world." (John 12:47)

This, however, is something that Christians in the United States have forgotten - even people like Rick Warren, someone who makes a habit of appearing to be so "sensible" and "moderate" with regard to his secular opponents, but whose "moderate" demeanor is merely a facade behind which he carries on an unrelenting and vicious war against the so-called "sinners of this world." [More about this later in upcoming articles.]

Surina Khan traces the genesis of the "Yes" on Proposition 8 Campaign to Pastor Jim Garlow of the 2,500-member Skyline Church in San Diego who got 1,000 pastors to join him in stopping the homosexual "hedonists" and "Philistines" from taking over the state.

NOTE: Khan is Vice President of Programs for the Women's Foundation of California. She is a virulent opponent of Proposition 8. Khan and people like her insist that the "Yes" on Proposition 8 Campaign was an effort to overturn the California State Constitution, implying that same-sex marriage was a "guaranteed right" that had been enshrined in the Constitution by the "will of the people." It was, of course, no such thing; it was established by judicial fiat in June 2008 as the result of an arbitrary ruling by liberal elements of the California Supreme Court - a judicial fiat that overturned an earlier voter-approved proposition - Proposition 22 - that had been passed "by the people" in 2000 by a margin of more than eleven percent. 

Garlow explained what prompted him to get involved:

"When I find myself up past the midnight hour," he said, "asking 'why am I doing this?' I think of the conversation that took place in Cairo, Egypt, between an Egyptian Christian pastor who has been severely persecuted by Islam and a man named Lou Engle"

NOTE: Lou Engle is the theocracy-minded founder of The Call, a Christian youth organization dedicated to bringing "Christian government" to the country; Engle led a 40-day fast to pass Proposition 8.

Garlow continued:

"When Lou was in Cairo, Egypt, this pastor said to him, 'As a pastor that suffers at the hands of radical Islam, I can tell you that the eyes of the world are on California. We're watching California and the vote on marriage. Because if you fail there to stop it, if you fail to stop it, what will be unleashed across the world will be a spirit worse than radical Islam'." [We will "get into" the actual details of Garlow's entry into the fray over Proposition 8 later on in this article.]

"Wow" - as Khan breathlessly and nervously remarks - "So, same-sex marriage is worse than terrorism? What kind of radical worldview is that?" - and she has reason to be nervous: You need to understand, that's precisely how many Christians (so-called) feel about the homosexual community - and their protestations that they "Love the sinner, but hate the sin" ring about as true as the Nazis' claim that the death camps of Auschwitz, Treblinka, Belsen-Belsen, etc. were merely "relocation camps" that the Jews were being moved to prior to their final re-settlement "in the East." [Please see our article, "Creating an Enemy Absolute: Beginning First with the Gay and Lesbian Community."]

KHAN, COMMENTING ON THE SUCCESSFUL
EFFORT BY PROPONENTS OF PROPOSITION 8 ...

Like other liberals, Khan was astounded at the ultimate success of the "Yes" on Proposition 8 Campaign. Commenting on the successful effort by proponents of Proposition 8, she disingenuously - at least to a certain extent - chalks the success of the "Yes" on Proposition 8 Campaign up to an effort that traded in "misinformation" and a "whole lot of long-range planning;" she writes:

"An analysis of how the Right succeeded in their efforts reveals a campaign of misinformation and unlikely alliances that took years of planning, dating back to at least the mid-1990s."

It was, of course, no such thing; the alliance was an ad hoc arrangement hastily thrown together at the last moment by the Christian Right to counter a well-oiled, rather underhanded effort by liberals and secularists to impose "on the people" a definition of marriage that had been overwhelmingly rejected by "the people" seven years earlier. As to Khan's statement that Mormons and evangelicals had been planning this effort against gay marriage dating back some fifteen years, the charge is nonsense.

The Mormons and the evangelicals (let alone the Catholics) have never worked well together. Indeed, less than a year ago (December, 2007) Newsweek Magazine - one of the most well-known mouthpieces of mainstream liberal thought in the United States - gleefully reported on a "holy war" between the two "communities of faith" centering around the candidacies of Mitt Romney (a Mormon) and Mike Huckabee (an evangelical) for the Republican nomination for the presidency. The article, by Jon Meacham, read:

"The clash [between evangelicals and Mormons] centers on issues that are, in Saint Augustine's phrase, ever ancient, ever new: the nature of God, the disposition of power and the sanctity of conscience ... A century ago, in the 1908 campaign, William Howard Taft, a Unitarian, was attacked as an apostate by supporters of William Jennings Bryan. 'Think of the United States with a president who does not believe that Jesus Christ was the Son of God, but looks upon our immaculate Savior as a ... low cunning imposter', the Pentecostal Herald said in July 1908 ..."

Meacham goes on to say:

"IT SEEMS CLEAR THAT WE HAVE NOT MOVED VERY FAR BEYOND WHERE WE WERE IN THE TAFT-BRYAN RACE."

A "GRASS ROOTS" PHENOMENON BORN
OF ANXIETY AND DESPERATION

The editors at Newsweek go on to opine,

"The tension between evangelicals and Mormons is as old as the Mormon Church itself" [implying that the tension would not soon disappear].

And, of course, the very real fact of the matter is, liberals have been counting on the fact that these tensions will never disappear; and if they did insofar as the "Yes" on Proposition 8 Campaign was concerned, it was only an anomaly imposed on the memberships of the two "faith communities" by their leadership working surreptitiously behind the scene.

The truth of the matter, however, is quite the opposite: The alliance between the evangelicals and the Mormons (as well as the Catholic Church) that resulted from the "Yes" on Proposition 8 Campaign was an alliance birthed in the pews (rather than the pulpit), and was pushed on the leadership by ordinary members of each "faith community." IT WAS (AND IS) A "GRASS ROOTS" PHENOMENON born of an enraged "Christian" public who feel besieged by a godless, hedonistic movement of "leftists" and "secularists" who are attempting to drive them out of the public sphere.

It was (and is) an alliance formed by men and women who feel that if they "don't hang together, they will surely hang separately" - AND LIBERALS ARE MAKING A HUGE MISTAKE IN UNDERESTIMATING THE DESPERATION AND ANXIETY THEY HAVE CREATED IN THE HEARTS OF THEIR "CHRISTIAN" ADVERSARIES ON THIS POINT.

WHAT HAPPENED TO SHIFT THE PUBLIC AWAY
FROM SUPPORTING SAME-SEX MARRIAGE?

Initial reports (and polls) indicated that Proposition 8 would be decisively defeated, and that Christian support for the initiative would wither in the face of a malignant effort on the part of liberals to paint those who supported the proposition as "fanatics" and "dogmatists" bent on taking the country back to the Dark Ages. As a result, Khan and her liberal cohorts were shocked by the fury with which they were attacked - and so late "in the game," and, again, after - as liberal activist Kathryn Lybarger reported - "Early polls had indicated the antigay measure would be easily defeated."

Lybarger asks dejectedly, "What happened to shift the vote in such a massive way?"

The reason is - as we described above - "Christian activists" (meaning those on the so-called "grass roots level") sensing that they were under a brutal attack by their opponents on the Left, became involved with a vengeance. Khan - while frantically trying to chalk up the success of the "Yes" on Proposition 8 Campaign to an effort laced with misinformation - admits to a grudging admiration as to how Christian activists organized their effort; she writes:

"It [i.e., the "Yes" on Proposition 8 Campaign] reveals a shrewd, media-savvy, well-funded and well-organized GRASSROOTS movement that understood California's complex geographic and political landscape. The Yes on 8 campaign effectively reached California's diverse racial and ethnic communities with materials translated into at least fourteen different languages including Spanish, Hmong, Vietnamese, Chinese, Filipino, Samoan, Punjabi, Farsi, Russian, and Polish."

Again, however, note how Khan implies that the effort by "the Right" was a well thought-out, long-planned-for campaign; but one wonders if Khan really believes this, for in the very next paragraph she back-handedly admits to the "Johnny-come-lately," ad hoc nature of the campaign - tracing it back just 6 months to a speedily arranged telephone conference call made by Pastor Jim Garlow to 1,000 other pastors throughout the state. [Please see our section (above) on Garlow.]

Khan explains what happened:

"On June 26, 2008, 1,000 ministers, mostly from evangelical congregations, met by conference call to discuss tactics for passing Proposition 8, a ballot initiative to ban same sex marriage in California by amending the state constitution. The call was convened by Pastor Jim Garlow from the 2,500-member Skyline Church in San Diego County. The ministers on the call had a far reach: they lead congregations representing about one million people, and Garlow alone provides radio commentary to 629 stations each day.

"The strategy session, which included input from lawyers and political consultants, was one of many efforts in a broad-based organizing campaign by the Christian Right to galvanize support for Proposition 8."

BUILDING A POWERFUL RELIGIOUS COALITION

She continues:

"Campaign organizers built a well-funded operation that rivaled any major electoral campaign in its scope and complexity. They also built a powerful, religious coalition that centrally involved -

• "The Roman Catholic Church,

• "Protestant evangelicals, and

• "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints."

[So much, then, for Newsweek's asinine article (Dec. 2007) that it would be impossible for the grass roots constituencies of these three faith communities to ever work in consort with one another (see above) - Please see our article, "The Left Is in Danger of Creating a Monster."]

FUNDING THE CAMPAIGN

In less than three months, the campaign raised more than $40 million from conservative supporters across the country. The principle "givers" to the "Yes" on Proposition 8 Campaign came from a plethora of independent evangelical churches and ministries such as Focus on the Family, Concerned Women for America, and the Family Research Council. In addition, the Utah-based Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and the Roman Catholic conservative group, Knights of Columbus, gave substantial amounts of money to "The Cause."

The initiative's third largest private donor was Howard F. Ahmanson Jr., the reclusive heir to the Home Savings of America banking fortune and a trustee of the Ahmanson Foundation. Ahmanson donated $900,000 to the passage of Proposition 8. Ahmanson once told a reporter with the Orange County Register, that -

"My goal is the total integration of biblical law into our lives."

Ahmanson has been a supporter of anti-gay issues for many years. Ahmanson's most controversial philanthropy relates to his funding of the religious empire of the late Rousas John (R.J.) Rushdoony, a dominionist theologian who advocates placing the United States under the control of a Christian theocracy WHICH INCLUDES DEATH BY STONING FOR PRACTICING HOMOSEXUALS. [Please see our article, "The Rutherford Institute and R.J. Rushdoony."]

NOTE: "Dominionism" is a militant, post-millennial eschatology ("doctrine of end times") which pictures the seizure of earthly (temporal) power by the church and the establishment of a Christian theocracy on the earth as the only means through which the world can be rescued; only after the world has been thus "rescued" can Christ return to "rule and reign." [Some dominionists see the seizure of the earth as the result of "signs, wonders, and miracles;" others picture it as the result of military and political conquest; most see it as a combination of both.]

The "Yes" on Proposition 8 Campaign also received donations from Elsa Broekhuizen, the widow of Michigan-based Christian Right supporter Edgard Prince and the mother of Erik Prince, founder of the controversial private military firm, Blackwater. Jeremy Scahill, author of Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army, describes Blackwater "... not as the Ford of the [mercenary] industry, but the Maserati. There're less of them, but they're considered to be 'the best of the best'."

Scahill says that the Prince family helped to fund the rise of what we today call the "Religious Right." He writes that "Erik Prince's father, Edgar Prince, gave the seed money to Gary Bauer to start the Family Research Council." [The connection of Blackwater to the Religious Right is something that should frighten all of us - and it will be the subject of an upcoming article.]

NOTE: The Family Research Council (FRC) is tightly connected to Dr. James Dobson's Focus on the Family; Dobson is a FRC board member. The Washington Post calls FRC "one of the largest Christian lobbying organizations in Washington."

DRAFTING "WORKERS"
FOR THE CAMPAIGN

Khan writes:

"Throughout the summer, Yes on 8 had more than 100,000 volunteers knocking on doors in every zip code in the state which gave them an enormous grassroots advantage. CENTRAL TO THEIR BASE OF SUPPORT WERE CHRISTIAN PEOPLE WHO THEY WERE ABLE TO ORGANIZE THROUGH THEIR CHURCHES. According to the Campaign, they visited 70 percent of all California households in person, and contacted another 15 percent by phone ... The weekend before the vote, the Campaign's volunteers went door to door, speaking to supporters and directing them to the right precinct locations. On election day Yes on 8 had 100,000 people - five per precinct - checking voter rolls and contacting supporters who hadn't shown up to vote."

Think about that! - 100,000 volunteers going door to door in California! There's no leftist group in the country that could muster that kind of support, especially in the face of the withering hatred the left mustered against these volunteers (see below).

CENTRAL TO THE LEFT'S OPPOSITION WAS THE EFFORT
TO LABEL THEIR OPPONENTS AS "HATERS" & "BIGOTS"

The "Yes" on Proposition 8 Campaign won despite an appalling effort by the liberal-left to intimidate all those who dared to come out openly in favor of the proposition; they were ruthlessly attacked as "haters" and "bigots." The accusation was that proponents of Proposition 8 were attempting to remove the rights associated with marriage - but, again, that was simply false. Prop. 8 didn't remove any of the rights that were already granted to same-sex couples under domestic partnership laws in California. They have all of the same rights, privileges and protections that they had before.

The words "hatred" and "bigot" are emotionally charged and intended to produce a specific effect, namely to generate in the proponents of Prop. 8 a conflicting twinge of shame; the tactic is called "Direct Emotional Modeling" and it is achieved in a variety of ways, all making use of repeated exposure to pictorial images or verbal statements that are incompatible with one's self-image as a "well-liked person," one who "fits in with the rest of the crowd."

When one sees someone like himself being disapproved of and disliked by "ordinary Joes," "Direct Emotional Modeling" ensures that he will feel just what they feel - and transfer it to himself. This wrinkle effectively elicits shame and doubt. The effect is achieved without reference to facts, logic, or proof. In short, "Direct Emotional Modeling" succeeds insofar as it inserts even a slight frisson of doubt and shame into the target audience.

THE MORMONS SINGLED OUT FOR SPECIAL
ACTS OF INTIMIDATION AND RETRIBUTION

Mormons were singled out for special acts of intimidation and retribution. The Mormons were seen by the opponents of Proposition 8 as an "easy target" as opposed to the Catholic and Evangelical Church - both of which are recognized as carrying considerable political clout in the United States.

NOTE: Historically speaking, when one attacks the Catholic Church he finds himself "fooling around" with a sleeping tiger. The Catholic religion is more a "cultural" phenomenon than it is a "religious" phenomenon; by that I mean to say that Catholics - on the whole - are not a particularly religious group of people: You won't find most Catholic churches filled with worshippers on Sunday mornings like one is likely to find at evangelical churches. Most Catholics take the religious aspects of their faith with a yawn. But should Catholics once perceive that their church is threatened, then God help those who are doing the threatening. As the British found with the Irish Catholics, and the Soviets found with the Polish Catholics, and the Protestant Brahmans of New York City found with "Tammany Hall," there will be "HELL TO PAY!"

As a result, the Mormons - as the weak link in the Right's triumvirate (at least politically speaking) - faced the brunt of the Left's attack. A "No" on 8 blogger on the e-magazine Malcontent explains what's going on:

"Notice how these protests overwhelmingly target the Mormon Church. Why? Because these protesters [i.e., those who are attacking the Mormon Church] are cowards ... What is required in these protests is a target. But the very nature of identity politics precludes the two most obvious demographics who voted for the initiative - Hispanics and African-Americans. Could anyone imagine a parade of mostly white gays and lesbians descending on black communities and churches in protest? No, and those pushing the protests know that tactic would never fly in America. Why not go after Catholics, a demographic that supported the proposition with both cash and votes? First, because Catholics comprise roughly 25% of the American population. In addition, California is a heavily Hispanic state, and Hispanics are overwhelming Catholic. Would any smart GLBT [gay, lesbian, bi-sexual, transgender] organizer have their activists and supporters declare war on the Catholic Church and expect support from Hispanics and a large portion of white voters? No, not even in that liberal state. This leaves us with the Mormons, the red-headed stepchild of American religion ... They're the safe target. The only target. The one target that invites almost no recrimination among a large swath of [the American public]."

Now, that may be true, that is to say, the "No" on 8 people were "cowards" to attack the Mormons and leave the Catholics and the evangelicals relatively unscathed; nevertheless, the attack on the Mormons by these so-called "cowards" was vicious and brutal. WorldNet Daily reports on the spiteful and potentially violent verbiage coming out of one prominent leftist group that attacked the Mormons:

• "Burn their fu...king churches to the ground, and then tax the charred timbers"
• "While financially I supported the Vote No, and was vocal to everyone and anyone who would listen, I have never considered being a violent radical extremist for our equal rights. But now I think maybe I should consider becoming one. Perhaps that is the only thing that will affect the change we so desperately need and deserve."
• "Can someone in CA please go burn down the Mormon temples there, PLEASE. I mean seriously. DO IT."
• "I'm going to give them something to be fu...king scared of ... I'm a radical who is now on a mission to make them all pay for what they've done"

Protests at LDS Places of Worship

A number of protests were held in front of LDS temples, many of them with a "hell of a lot" more violence attached to them than was reported by the mainline media. Note also that these protest rallies were not confined to California:

• Los Angeles Temple (Westwood, California). Protests held daily beginning November 6 through November 9, 2008.
• Mesa Temple (Mesa, Arizona). Protest held on November 28, 2008.
• Manhattan Temple (New York City, New York). Protest held on November 12, 2008.
• Newport Beach Temple (Newport Beach, California). Protest on November 16, 2008.
• Oakland Temple (Oakland, California). Protests held on October 26, 2008 and November 9, 2008.
• Salt Lake Temple (Salt Lake City, Utah). Protest on November 7, 2008.
• San Diego Temple (University City, California). Protest on November 9, 2008.
• Seattle Temple (Seattle, Washington). Protest held on November 9, 2008).
• Spokane Temple (Spokane, Washington). Protest held on November 12, 2008.
• Washington Temple (Kensington, Maryland). Protest held on November 15, 2008.

Vandalism

The following incidents of vandalism occurred:

• Orangeville, California. Opponents of Prop 8 spray-painted 'No on 8' on a LDS meetinghouse.
• Arapahoe County, Colorado. A Book of Mormon was burned on the doorstep of an LDS chapel outside Denver.
• Utah. As of November 14, there had been reports of vandalism at seven Utah meetinghouses, all being investigated by the FBI.
• Farmington, Utah. Opponents of Prop 8 spray-painted 'Nobody's born a bigot' on a LDS meetinghouse.
• Sacramento, California. Ten LDS buildings in the Sacramento area have been vandalized since the election (more than usually occurs in an entire year).
• Olympia, Washington. A group vandalized a LDS chapel, and then boasted of their act on the internet. "Last night, under the veil of fog, we visited the Church of Latter Day Saints. We left their locks glued with anarchist messages scrawled in spray paint over their boring veneer."  The vandalism was confirmed by the Olympia Police Dept. The same group is responsible for the invasion of worship services in the Mount Hope (evangelical) Church in Lansing, Michigan on November 9^th (see below).
• Ukiah, California. A LDS chapel was spray painted with the words "Separate church and state Prop. 8 cult."

Death Threats

• Fresno Mayor - a Mormon - was sent a death threat. 

Hacking of Church (LDS) Related Web Site

• The web site that hosts Meridian Magazine was hacked. Content was replaced with "horrible, explicit lesbian films," according to the site owner.

Threats to Revoke the Church's Tax-Exempt Status

• The organization "Californians Against Hate" made a rather fascinating plea to the Enforcement Division of the Fair Political Practices Commission to investigate the Church's alleged "undeclared" donations to the Prop 8 campaign, which the FPPC agreed to examine. First, they claimed that "The Mormon Church has been highly secretive about its massive involvement in the campaign." Then, they proceeded to accuse the Church of not sufficiently hiding its involvement from the general public. But the critics can't have it both ways-either the Church was "highly secretive," or it was offering presentations that were "clearly designed to communicate with the public." The absurdity of this dichotomy speaks for itself.

But the vicious nature of the attack by secularists and lefties on the Mormon Church did nothing but cause the three faith communities (Catholics, Protestant Evangelicals, and Mormons) to huddle that much closer together in the fox hole they had dug for themselves. Indeed, the Mormons received an unprecedented acclamation of support from leaders in both the Protestant and Catholic communities for the beating they were taking from the Left: Both the Catholic archbishop of San Francisco and the Catholic archbishop of Los Angeles sent letters to the Mormon leadership addressing them as "Our BROTHERS in the faith" - giving them in one full swoop the "legitimization" as Christians for which they had longed for more than a century and a half; many evangelical leaders sent similar letters of support.

OTHER ACTS OF INTIMIDATION

In addition to the Mormons, the Left attacked other targets:

Blacklists and Boycotts

Public records containing donor information were used to create blacklists of individuals and businesses who supported Prop 8; for example:

• AntiGayBlacklist.com
• "Californians Against Hate" also created what they call a "Dishonor Roll," which lists donors, the amount they donated, place of business, addresses and phone numbers. It is notable that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints does not appear on this list, with the largest single donor listed being the Knights of Columbus ($1,425,000).
• Alison Stateman, What Happens If You're on the Gay "Enemies List", Time (Nov. 15, 2008).

Blacklist Targets

• A woman working in Silicon Valley whose name was on the blacklist said that someone contacted her employer and tried to have her fired from her job.
• The owner of a Subway franchise who apparently donated $2,500 under his company name was identified on the Prop 8 donor list. The gay blogger who identified the donor "threatened to rally a major boycott of Subway sub-shops if his demands weren't addressed: repudiating the gift, adding 'sexual orientation and gender identity' to the company's nondiscrimination policy and giving an equal gift to the other side." According to the letter sent to the owner by Subway, "You have represented to us that your bookkeeper inadvertently used one of your business accounts that included the trademark to make the actual contribution." Subway requested that the donation be rescinded, and added the nondiscrimination clause as requested. The third demand of "giving an equal gift to the other side" was dropped.
• The franchise owner of a chicken restaurant who donated $6000 of his own personal funds has his restaurant picketed.
• The owner of a health food and vitamin store became the target of boycotts after it was discovered that he made a $27,500 donation to support Prop 8 through his business.
• Boycott of LA radio station (K-Earth 101) called for when it was found out one of the on-air personalities donated to "Yes on 8."
• Boycott of an ice cream store in Sacramento (Catholic owned).
• "Soft Boycott" of Bolthouse Farms dropped after the company was pressured into giving $100,000 to support gay political causes.

Public Confrontation and Humiliation

• Boycott of El Coyote restaurant (Los Angeles, California). According to an editorial in The Mercury News, "One ugly case was the boisterous protest by dozens of gay marriage supporters outside a small Los Angeles restaurant where the owner's daughter had contributed $100 to Proposition 8. The loss of customers threatened the livelihoods of employees, some of whom were gay and opposed the initiative." 

Intimidation to Resign

• Scott Eckern, Artistic Director for California Musical Theatre for seven years, resigned after the theatre was threatened by some in the entertainment industry. Eckern gave an apology and donated an equal amount to the effort to overturn Prop 8.
• Richard Raddon, LA Film Festival director, resigns after "anti-Raddon bile continued to bubble in the blogosphere," and "No on 8" supporters "berated Raddon personally via phone calls and e-mails."
• Calls for resignation of Mark Paredes, national director of Latino outreach for the American Jewish Congress. It was "demanded that Paredes retract his financial contribution to the Yes on 8 campaign, donate money to the anti-Proposition 8 campaign or resign his position at the Jewish communal organization."

Protests at other Christian Places of Worship

• The Saddleback Church (Lake Forest, Orange County) was the target of one protest. Influential pastor Rick Warren, who leads the Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, urged his flock to support Prop. 8. Warren wrote, "There is no reason to change the universal, historical definition of marriage to appease 2% of our population." Warren, author of the best-selling Purpose-Driven Life, stated in the e-mail, "There is no doubt where we should stand on this issue."
• Mount Hope Church (Lansing, Michigan). A "gay anarchist group" disrupted services at the Mt. Hope Church. According to the Rev. John Elieff, they "disrupted the service by bursting into the sanctuary, throwing fliers, hanging a banner from the balcony and pulling fire alarms." 
• Cornerstone Church in Fresno, California picketed. 

Harassment

• Palm Springs, CA. Gay Marriage Proponents Attack Elderly Woman: An elderly woman carrying a large cross is harassed by a large man during a Prop. 8 rally.
• Los Angeles, CA. Racial epithets were used against Blacks who were driving through Westwood, near UCLA with a "Yes" on Proposition 8 bumper sticker on their cars. They were "accosted in their cars and, in addition to being denounced, were warned, 'You better watch your back'."
• San Francisco, CA. A Prop 8 supporter writes a letter to the editor of the San Francisco Chronicle. According to the editorial page editor, "Within hours, the intimidation game was on. Because his real name and city were listed - a condition for publication of letters to The Chronicle - opponents of Prop. 8 used Internet search engines to find the letter writer's small business, his Web site (which included the names of his children and dog), his phone number and his clients. And they posted that information in the "Comments" section of SFGate.com - urging, in ugly language, retribution against the author's business and its identified clients." 

This is just a very short list of the kind of intimidation and harassment that the liberal left has been directing against the "Christian Right" over the issue of same-sex marriage,

GALVANIZING CHRISTIANS INTO ACTION

It's here - it's precisely here - that the Left is making a huge mistake: These are the kind of threats that "ordinary Christians" need to see in order to galvanize them into action in defense of their culture - the kind of threats that make them believe that, as liberal professor Ronald Dworkin says, "There is no middle ground between the cultural world views of the Left and the Right." Alan Wolfe, professor of sociology and political science at Boston University, agrees; he writes:

"... [A]bortion [and homosexuality] are matters of 'high' politics, involving fundamental questions about the definition of public and private, liberty and authority, and the meaning and purpose of life ... At this principled elevation, abortion [and homosexuality] present a tragic conflict, like the Civil War [and the question of slavery]. Each side to the debate understands itself, and is understood by its antagonists, as standing for a worldview that cannot be compromised."

THE "YES" ON 8 CAMPAIGN WON BECAUSE ...

It is exactly for this reason that one can say that the proponents of Proposition 8 won BECAUSE rather than DESPITE these threats. It convinced thousands and thousands of "ordinary Christians" to get off their fat asses and into the fray.

IT'S IN THIS LIGHT THAT ONE SHOULD VIEW THE VICTORY THAT THE SO-CALLED "CHRISTIAN RIGHT" GAINED OVER THE LEFT WITH REGARD TO PROPOSITION 8  -  a victory that was achieved (1) despite the fact that the campaign itself got a very late start, (2) despite the overarching hostility of California's mainline media, (3) despite the opposition of the Democratic-controlled state legislature, (4) despite the antagonism of the state's massive "official" bureaucracy - which worded the proposition on the state ballot so as to mislead the public as to what the measure was really all about, (5) despite heavy resistance coming from the SEIU, (6) despite the antagonism from the leadership of every ethno-centric voting bloc in the state, and (7) despite the millions and millions of dollars from the "Hollywood crowd." AND ALL THIS AT A TIME WHEN CONSERVATIVES WERE BEING CRUSHED BY A LIBERAL-LEFT COALITION THAT PUT BARACK OBAMA INTO THE WHITE HOUSE AND SECURED FOR THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY ABSOLUTE CONTROL OF THE LEGISLATIVE BRANCH OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.

THE LEFT CLAIMS ...

The Left claims that they are making progress on the same-sex marriage "front" because they lost out to the proponents of Proposition 8 by "only" 4 points. That's what Khan believes; she claims that -

"... public perception had shifted significantly in support of LGBT [Lesbian, Gay, Bi-Sexual, Trans-gender] people and marriage equality since Proposition 22 in 2000 when 61 percent of voters voted to ban same-sex marriage in California."

NOTE: It's interesting to note the fact that when it comes to Obama's four point win over McCain in the presidential election, the result is reported as a huge win for Obama (and the liberal Left); but when the proponents of Proposition 8 win insofar as "gay marriage" is concerned, the result is reported as a "bare miss" for the opponents of Proposition 8.

But the supposed seven point drop in support of "traditional values" regarding marriage most likely resulted from the MASSIVE intervention of the media on behalf of the opponents of Proposition 8 (which did not occur in 2000) and the fear engendered into voters that they were "haters" and "bigots" if they voted for Proposition 8 - something that makes a big difference even in the secrecy of the voting booth.

A VERY DISCONCERTING FACT EMERGES
INSOFAR AS THE LEFT IS CONCERNED

Finally - and very importantly - a very disconcerting fact has emerged insofar as the Left is concerned regarding the victory of Proposition 8: And that is, in the end - when push comes to shove - RELIGION MAY TRUMP RACE (AND EVEN THE ECONOMY) AS A DEFINING ISSUE FOR BLACKS AND LATINOS IF IT COMES TO AN ALL-OUT CULTURE WAR WITH THE RIGHT.

Khan writes with some fear and trepidation:

"For years, the California Christian Right apparatus, long hampered by nativism and racism, had been unable to make inroads into communities of color-a demographic necessity in a state that is more than 50 percent people of color and growing. With Proposition 8, they finally took hold in building a base of support in communities of color. This base ... will be important for the Christian Right as they move forward to advance a broader agenda."

Now what she is saying here is very, very important. The so-called "mainline media" has been pushing the idea that the Republican Party will have to jettison their alliance with the Religious Right because their "traditionalist ideas" regarding morality are so out-of-date. But what Khan is essentially saying is that not only are they NOT out of date (when presented from a "God says" perspective), but if the Republican Party zeros in on these ideas they have the very real possibility of breaking the stranglehold the Democrats have over "communities of color."  The very real fact of the matter is, CALIFORNIA'S BLACK COMMUNITY VOTED 69 PERCENT TO 31 PERCENT IN FAVOR OF PROPOSITION 8 - AND THAT AT THE INSISTANCE OF THE LEADERSIP OF THE BLACK CHURCHES WHICH INSISTED, AS RICK WARREN SUGGESTS,

"THERE IS NO DOUBT WHERE THE BIBLE STANDS ON THIS ISSUE."

Very obviously, on the question of same-sex marriage, RELIGION TRUMPED RACE.

Khan continues:

"Yes on 8 placed advertisements on Latino television and radio statewide with prominent Latino spokespeople and [Latino] religious leaders voicing support for the proposition. In the African-American community, the Campaign was successful in building alliances with pastors who used their sermons to galvanize their congregations to support the Proposition. The Asian community also was well-represented with advertisements in Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean, and South Asian media markets."

She elaborates further:

"The Campaign had a well-developed strategy of buying media ads in a range of ethnic media outlets. Early on in their efforts, the Yes on 8 Campaign purchased ad space in Chinese, African-American, Spanish, and Korean media. In addition to purchasing these ethnic media advertisements, the Campaign held massive rallies for Christians in communities of color."

She concludes:

"With Proposition 8, the Christian Right was successful in furthering a divisive political agenda that offers fundamentalist Christian dogma and heterosexuality as the only acceptable norms."

WHAT IS THE MEANING IN ALL THIS?

The question that fairly begs to be asked here is this: What does all this mean insofar as the direction of the "Christian Right" is concerned - those steely-eyed, Bible-toting, hyper-critical, censorious, disapproving men and women who believe that they can make over this present evil world in the image of Christ, despite the fact that Jesus plainly told His disciples:

"My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight ... but ... my kingdom is not from hence." (John 18:36)

What it very plainly means IS THAT WE ARE LIKELY TO SEE - SOONER OR LATER - A GREAT INTENSIFICATION OF THE SO-CALLED "CULTURE WAR;" a "Culture War" that, as Alan Wolfe, professor of sociology and political science at Boston University, says will be as intense and as vicious as the one the country fought during the Civil War; a crisis where each side -

"... understands itself, and is understood by its antagonists, AS STANDING FOR A WORLDVIEW THAT CANNOT BE COMPROMISED.

AND THE MORE THE LEFT "PUSHES" WHAT THE RIGHT SEES AS ITS SECULAR, "HEDONISTIC" AGENDA, THE QUICKER THEY (THE LEFT) WILL GALVANIZE THEIR OPPONENTS (THE RIGHT) TO COALESCE AND TAKE ACTION AGAINST THEM (which is exactly what happened over the issue of same-sex marriage in California) - and eventually even the kind of murderous action that the Christian Right has shown it is capable of up through the centuries. And make no mistake about it: These so-called Christians - the kind that "devour widow's houses, and for a pretense make a long prayer" (Matthew 23:14), and "who love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men ..." (Matthew 6:5) - are more than capable of this kind of murderous rage.

These are the people about whom Stephen Mansfield writes in his book, The Faith of the American Soldier; Christian warriors, soldiers of Christ who are the -

It is precisely this Soldier of Christ that the Right is seeking - during its exile from government as a result of the Obama Interregnum - to create, and if the results of the "Yes" on Proposition Campaign have anything to say about it, the Right may very well succeed in this endeavor. Indeed, that's exactly what the Prophetic Scriptures anticipate.

SO AGAIN I URGE YOU ...

It's in the light of these facts that I again URGE you to acquaint yourselves with what's happening today; to acquaint yourselves with what the Prophetic Scriptures have to say on this matter, and TO CONSIDER TAKING THE FOLLOWING ACTIONS:

1. Those of you who continue to reside WITHIN the borders of the United States, we URGE you to involve yourself in the ANTIPAS TRAINING (ALIYA) by -

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God bless you all!

S.R. Shearer
Antipas Ministries

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