Of course the long term pipe dream of America's conservative fundamentalist theocrats is to eventually march right into Washington DC and take command of the government... and your lives, but for now it looks like they'll settle for taking control of the Republican party of Ohio, with an eye on eventually seizing the governor's office.
Today Ohio. Tomorrow, who knows?
Maybe your town or state.
Armageddon In Ohio
by Jeremy Leaming
Ohio pastor Russell Johnson is girding for a battle of biblical proportions.
"There is a warfare for the heart and soul of America," says Johnson, pastor of a burgeoning fundamentalist Christian congregation in Lancaster. "This is a battle between the forces of righteousness and the hordes of hell. Millions of souls weigh in the balance and the church stands at the Critical Crossroads of history."
What is Pastor Johnson’s strategy for addressing this crisis? He and an array of powerful Religious Right leaders across Ohio are trying to form a church-based political machine to dominate the state Republican Party and eventually seize control of the governor’s office and other governmental posts. [...]
Rod Parsley, an Ohio televangelist whom the Times describes as "a rising star in the religious broadcasting world," is on board with Johnson. Parsley opened his mega-church, in Canal Winchester, just outside Columbus, to the Ohio Restoration Project on May 9 for a prayer breakfast to help recruit Patriot Pastors. The Dispatch reported that the event, the third in a series of similar meetings, lasted more than four hours and was attended by Johnson, Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell and former Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore. [...]
Johnson sees a nation gone awry. He blames public schools, arguing that the nation’s youth must be taught Religious Right values and hopes the Ohio Restoration Project will prove a model for other states to follow in fighting the nation’s alleged ills.
In the letter initially posted on his church’s web site, Johnson argued that the nation’s culture has "become increasingly pagan" and the stakes in turning the tide are enormous. Johnson insisted on the need to "restore godly principles in culture."
"Restoring the teaching of biblical creation to children is a foundational truth that is essential to a vibrant faith," Johnson wrote. "Reclaiming the teaching of our Christian heritage among America’s youth is paramount to a sense of national destiny that God has invested into this nation." [...]
The Rev. Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, called the Ohio Restoration Project a troubling "new wave" on the part of Religious Right activists to use houses of worship to elect politicians.
"These groups are blatant about pushing houses of worship into the political process," Lynn said. "They are equally candid about their desire to see other states follow their lead. They see this project as the start of a new national effort to make the country officially Christian. This movement could be potentially more harmful to church-state separation than the decades-long work of televangelists Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson."
(my emphais)
Parsley, Parsley, let's see, where have I heard that name before?
Oh yeah, now I remember. He's one of Republican Presidential candidate John McCain's "spiritual advisors." John also has other fanatic fundamentalist supporters like Rev. Hagee helping him out. Politics sure makes for some strange bedfellows. That's for damn sure. And here I thought the Religious Right was anti-strange bedfellows. Silly me. I hope John is using some protection. You never know what dreaded disease you might pick up when you hop in the sack with these guys. Maybe a fevered desire to eradicate Islam, like Parsley does, or a burning urge to drop the "Big One" on Iran, like Rev. Hagee (McCain seems to have already caught that bug). Anyways, you can't be too careful. Eventually, you do become the company you keep.
Hmmm, now that this threesome has hooked up, maybe that march to Washington DC by America's theocrats isn't as fanciful a pipe dream for them as I first thought.
If that's the case, God help us ALL.
Why do they hate America... and Jesus so? That's what I want to know.
crossposted >>> here.