February 10, 2005

More from Seattle Weekly on Bush theology

The entire article is interesting--including a dissection of the Left Behind theology and its origins. I also recommend the Paul Boyer book, When Time Shall Be No More for those interested in this topic.

Anyway, here is a good take on what some of us see as the use of moral language with pretty Machiavelian actions. A friend told me recently that Karl Rove is not only a fan of Machiavelli, but also Antonio Gramschi. That is very interesting, given that I suspect that most of Bush's supporters would not see themselves in that category.

Seattle Weekly: "In this sense, the Bush church is Antichristlike indeed. It is institutionalized deception, anti-American ugliness with a beguiling face, a neocon job. Only when necessary does it employ the perilous bald-faced lie, the outrageously transparent duplicity—the political equivalent of Robertson arguing that 'Do unto others' indicates Christ's support of capitalist selfishness. More often, a smoothly dissembling surface is preferred. Rove notoriously emulates Machiavelli; the Christian right is a stealth movement, infiltrating school boards and mainstream churches and every institution of democracy like a thief in the night—in order to undermine, overthrow, and replace democracy with theocracy. Bush is the father of lies. The Union of Concerned Scientists proclaims Bush's lies about science 'unprecedented.' In With God on Their Side, Kaplan concludes, on mountainous evidence, 'The goal is not to engage your opponents in the public square, but to kneecap them, or send them into exile.'

'It is a conspiracy in the sense that they have not been public and accountable to their ideology,' says Lang. 'Follow the money! The same filthy-rich foundations that have funded the rise of neocons are funding the rise of the religious right.' He suggests that you check out the exposé Web site www.yuricareport.com for the terrifying particulars."

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