Regent University: Christ Almighty What a Pal
On your way out of church this Easter Sunday, or perhaps on a walk with your family if you’re not a churchgoer, consider the major role that graduates of Pat Robertson’s Regent University law school have played in the Bush administration.
An extraordinary 150 Regent University alumnae have signed on with Bush, but that is exactly what televangelist founder Robertson intended. The school’s motto is “Christian Leadership to Change the World” and the express goal is, as Slate scribe Dahlia Lithwick puts it:
Not only to tear down the wall between church and state in America but also to enmesh the two.
This bring us to Monica Goodling, a Regent alumna who until Friday was senior counsel to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and Justice Department liaison to the White House. Monica is spending more time with her family after resigning over her insistence on taking the Fifth Amendment when called to testify before a Democratic-controlled congressional committee regarding the scandal. This, she explains, is because she is concerned that she will get into big trouble for telling the truth.
More from Lithwick:
Is there anything wrong with legal scholarship from a Christian perspective? Not that I see. Is there anything wrong with a Bush administration that disproportionately uses graduates from Christian law schools to fill its staffing needs? Not that I see. It’s a shorthand, no better or worse than cherry-picking the Federalist Society or the American Bar Association. I can’t even get exercised over the fact that Gonzales, Karl Rove and Harriet Miers had their baby lawyers making critical staffing decisions. The baby lawyers had extremely clear marching orders.
No, the real concern here is that Goodling and her ilk somehow began to conflate God’s work with the president’s. Probably not a lesson she learned in law school. The dream of Regent and its counterparts, such as Jerry Falwell’s Liberty University, is to redress perceived wrongs to Christians, to reclaim the public square and reassert Christian political authority. And while that may have been a part of the Bush/Rove plan, it was only a small part. Their real zeal was for earthly power. And Goodling was left holding the earthly bag.
In the end, Goodling and the other young foot soldiers for God may simply have run afoul of the first rule of politics, codified in Psalm 146: “Put not your trust in princes, in mere mortals in whom there is no help.”
77 Responses to “Regent University: Christ Almighty What a Pal”
Thanks Shaun!
I wonder how they would like it if a different denomination were in office and our officials decided that they wanted a call to prayer 5 times a day, study the book of mormon in schools, etc…? Hmmm…would there be an uproar? Religion and politics do not need to mix, period.
You might want to check out this weekend’s blogswarm, ‘Blog Against Theocracy’
It is my view that a goodly number of God-fearing people who applauded the takeover of the Republican Party by self-righteous right-wing Christians now regret that.
Tina is correct that religion and politics don’t mix, especially when religion is used for political gain.
There is an emerging backlash among some Evangelicals who realize the error of their ways. That backlash is likely to grow.
Them evil Christians. What are they thinking breathing our air? Them evil Mormons and Muslims and Hindus and Catholics and everyone who has any sort of religious intents at all.
We’re sorry we have inconvenienced you. Nah not really.
While I know the op is attempting to make a point that Religion is at the root of the matter the problem becomes that you cannot seperate man from his God. Therefore Man is religious. No matter which religion he embraces. To then blame everything on religion is actually true, but you can just as easily make the case that all the world problems are the result of too much oxygen. AFter all, all men breathe air. If we just get rid of the oxygen we will solve the problem
This sort of disconnect amuses me and scares the crap outta me all in the same sentence. For in the end this is the exact attempts that the AntiChrist will be making.
Lets disconnect God from man and make room for the AntiChrist.
Your post only confirms that ANTI CHRISTian is becoming fashionable. In a time of worldwide Religious warfare I would be trying to get closer to God, not blaming him for the worlds evils.
Oh yeah and I know it was George Bush and the religious right who started this war.
BS. The worldwide Jihad and Caliphate have been going on for sometime now. We just finally joined the fight. While the religious war raged we tried to keep out of the battle. While they continued to blow up Airplanes, overthrow governments in Africa, blow up embassies and take over countries like Afghanistan and Iran we continued to wonder who was going to pay for the next round of welfare hikes.
Finally the USA could no longer ignore the war. Had Al Gore (A Christian) Been president. The war would have been fought. Had John Kerry (A Christian) been elected in place of George W. Bush we would most likely still be in Iraq and still be fighting the war on terror.
This is not a Christian war. This is most decidedly a Religious war but it is not about Christian’s imposing their religious beliefs on Muslims, but it most certainly is about Muslims trying to force their Religious wills on everybody else.
Does NOBODY really think that there is or will be an Anti-Christ? Perhaps NOBODY even thinks Satan exists.
How sad.
John Kerry wouldn’t have gone into Iraq- neither would Al Gore. Hopefully the next president will learn from the mistakes of this one- that replacing competent experienced personnel with faith-based loyalists weakens the government and so the nation. I don’t trust these Christian 30-somethings to make the hard decisions necessary. There is no substitute for the judgement that comes from experience.
Does NOBODY really think that there is or will be an Anti-Christ? Perhaps NOBODY even thinks Satan exists.
How sad.
Yes and Yes.
And your right the prospects of an AntiChrist is sad indeed.
I see it everyday in ANTI CHRISTian posts from left wing bloggers who are so absorbed in getting their social agenda out to the world that they have to Kill God first to do it. Their Agenda is So ANTI CHRISTian, so opposed to everything that the religous fundamentalist of this world treasure.
I wonder how often you have wondered Holly that the Muslims who are engaged in Jihad are not opposed to Christians but rather are opposed to your Godlessness. Your agenda that would totally remove God from their world.
Yet you point at Christians as the reason we are at war when in fact the Jihadist point to YOUR Social Agenda as the very reason they are fighting against the west.
Im sorry but Yes Holly The Anti Christ does exist and the internet has been the means in which the Anti Christ will manifest him/herself.
The delfection and the subtle brilliance of his/her work is that he will put the blame on Christians as the bible predicted. Exactly as is happening today on this blog and every other blog on the internet.
Oh I can understand how insane I sound. But Im not insane. Hmm or am I? I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness. “Let my people Go!”
And if the AntiChrist is real then So is God.
Holly is a very religious Jew, Nobody Says- she is not Godless as you claim.
I did not say they would have gone into Iraq. I said the war would have been fought. I said if Kerry were elected in 2004 we would probably still be in Iraq and the war on terror would still be being fought.
Why?
Because reasonable Democrats as well as Republicans realize this war MUST be fought. This is not a religious war. YET. At least for the West. However I really believe the left is trying to turn it into one by their incessant attacks on Christians and religions.
Oh and responding to her post I no where said she was Godless. I said her agenda might be Godless but not her personally. Her Bio states she is a Gay.
Now my point is not that I (me personally) am opposed to gays. But the Fundamentalist of the Muslim faith who are fighting this war are most certainly opposed to her Agenda. Her Gayness.
All I am saying is the left and their Godless agenda (as seen thru the eyes of the Jihadists) is what they are fighting against. Not against Christians.
Now turn this around all you want. Attack me for bigotry or whatever but the truth is that the Jihadist hate and despise All things Godless and that includes many things including abortion and Gay rights. etc. etc. etc.
Im not making a case for or against any of these social issues I am only stating this is the war. Not Christians against Muslims.
What makes you think GLBT folk are Godless? Many of us are not only religious, we are well-accepted as who we are within our religions. For example, I’m on the board of my synagogue.
Most of the Christians I know don’t bother with or believe in either Satan or the Antichrist. Why should they be concerned about 2000-year-old apocalyptic ramblngs?
I fear no God, and I certainly fear no anti-Christ, but I do fear the kind of fundamentalist extremist thinking that conflates separation of Church and State with Devil worship, or some such nonsense. I fear those who feel we are in the second crusades, that just KNOW they are right, because God tells them so, so they don’t really need to listen to the reasoning of others. That happens to be the most terrible thing about fundamentalist Islam, since God is on their side, they need not respect or dialog with anyone.
There is a problem, in the US and everywhere. Fundamentalists, I believe, are a minority everywhere they are to be found. But in many many places in the world, their word is the one that counts. Why? Because they work harder than anybody else, they are willing to march, fight and die for their beliefs, while the rest of us would rather sit at the table and discuss compromise. In the Muslim world religion has so taken over that it is state sponsored, and opposition to an official belief can get you killed, legally. The Western world has the benefit of less radical (or at least less violent) fundamentalists, as well as a strong set of laws that makes sure that no one religion will ever dictate all the rules. Tear down separation of Church and State, and can someone guarantee that it won’t become illegal to oppose a religious view? That I as an atheist won’t be conflated with a Devil Worshiper and jailed? Can someone point me to a theocratic state that doesn’t practice religious persecution?
Actually in rereading my post I did make this statement.
I wonder how often you have wondered Holly that the Muslims who are engaged in Jihad are not opposed to Christians but rather are opposed to your Godlessness.
For that I apologize. I always make it a point to never attack anyone personally. Only their political or social beliefs. That was my intention here and I failed.
The intent of this statement was against Hollys movement not against Holly herself but it certainly did not come out like that and for that I apologize. I meant to imply that HER MOVEMENT, not her personally.
Although perhaps that is splitting hairs. I might have to rethink that portion of my thought process and realize that by attacking a persons movement or ideas is the same as attacking the person themselves.
It is vital to our future as citizens of the USA to maintain the separation of church and state – it is the key to America’s success!
Folks might want to visit http://www.firstfreedomfirst.org and the many resources I have posted at http://jlresources.blogspot.com/2005/05/separation-of-church-state-and-related.html
A bigger problem with Goodling is her limited experience and weak resume for a senior position in DoJ. If she wasn’t a rabid idealogue would she be in her position – NO. This is like the loyalty test at CPA, qualified people were ignored for Bushies, and the US and the world suffered.
What movement? I am part of multiple communities.
Another link:
Jonathan Sacks : Why religion and politics should never mix
The Times Online (UK) on December 10, 2005:
Rabbi Sir Jonathan Sacks is the Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth.
Here’s the deal Nobody.
I’m happy for you, really. You seem to have a strong faith that buoys you and that’s great.
And I won’t laugh at you or make fun of your fear of worldwide Jihad and Caliphate, whatever you think that means. Nor will I belittle your belief in the coming armaggedon.
In exchange, try to avoid rushing it along if that’s not too much to ask. And don’t assume that my lack of terror concerning this Caliphate of yours is due to some character flaw or godlessness on my part.
Frankly, I’M very concerned about the Caliphate, being a prime target to be murdered by it.
What the Democrats think about this is immaterial, it is the opinion of the libertarian wing of the Republican party that counts. They believe they have been marginalized by the Social Conservatives and this is another confirmation of their suspicions. The bargain made between the two groups to form the Republican party might be unraveling, the Libertarian wing is very secular and they will not long support a party they see as being run exclusively by Evangelicals. It will be interesting to see how the slate of Republican candidates shakes out, if the party goes for a Social Conservative I could see the libertarians sitting out the next election just to send the party a message on how they can’t win an election without them. Even the diatribes by waterboy Limbaugh might not keep the coalition together.
Rudi is right except he doesn’t take it far enough- not only were more qualified people overlooked, there was an unusually high turnover of experienced bureaucrats at Justice – just as there was in the intelligence agencies. Look at the case in Minnesota where 3 experienced managers in the USA’s office demoted themselves rather than work with the 34-y-o Christian Bush appointee who quoted Bible verses and treated her subordinates very severely. That would seem to contradict the assertion that some of the USA’s were removed for poor management style- here is one whose management style has demoralized the office, yet she has remained for a year.
Holly,
Your fears are, to say the least, unfounded.
Just ask Ghandi! Proud member of the Khilafat Movement.
Words have meaning. Nobody and others may want to obscure that meaning to whip up fear but I wouldn’t encourage them if I were you.
They pose a far greater risk to you than your percieved Caliphate.
What makes you think GLBT folk are Godless? Many of us are not only religious, we are well-accepted as who we are within our religions. For example, I’m on the board of my synagogue.
Here we go. The total lack of communication. The flailing blindly at what you think I said as opposed to what I actually said.
Here is what I actually said.
Now my point is not that I (me personally) am opposed to gays. But the Fundamentalist of the Muslim faith who are fighting this war are most certainly opposed to her Agenda. Her Gayness.
I am once again throwing out a new concept here. Most on the left believe the war by Jihadist somehow is against Christianity when I am pointing out that it is more then likely against Godless agendas of the West that they are lashing out against.
Does that make their war just? No. It is however what it is.
I take offense that the left continually tries to portray all the worlds evils, the war on terror, iraq, afghanistan, silly putty and anything else as the Fault of Christians.
It is not and I will stand up and say so.
Hmm, I’ll have to email my childhood pal Rick the Libertarian and see what he has to say!
And I won’t laugh at you or make fun of your fear of worldwide Jihad and Caliphate, whatever you think that means. Nor will I belittle your belief in the coming armaggedon.
You sir have your head buried in the sand. This Jihad that does not exist in your mind would kill Holly in a minute. It would behead you with no thought for consequences. In their mind it would be doing the world a favor.
Now is that terror mongering. Perhaps but it is reality. It is the truth. Ask Danile Pearle.
Davebo, you must be kidding! Most Muslims aren’t this way, but the Jihadists are threatened by coexistence.
I am reminded of a verse I read back in the 1970s:
Co-existence
or no existence.
- Piet Hein
grog – The Democrats feilded candidates, like Heath Shuler and Jim Webb, that the Libertarians would support over the likes of Brownback and Romney. As long as the Democrats don’t revert back to the classic Liberals and the Republicans kiss the rings of Falwell and Roberts, I don’t think the Libertarians will stay away. The pro-gun Democrats will make the Libertarians happy.
Doesn’t that make my point Holly? If most Musllims aren’t “this way” what makes you think that even if after 80 years a new Caliphate was formed it wouldn’t reflect the views of “most muslims”?
The Jihadists would not exist unless the Caliphate called for Jihad. And, since most Muslims aren’t “this way” what makes you think they would do so?
Seriously, a tiny minority of Muslims are indeed threatened by coexistance. But it sounds to me as if you are suffering from the same fears.
Davebo, because most Muslims do what their fundies want out of fear of being killed.
Davebo, because most Muslims do what their fundies want out of fear of being killed.
I’m sorry Holly, but that statement is ludicrous. Stop and think for just a second here.
If most muslims do what they were told by fundamentalists out of fear for there lives wouldn’t we be facing an army of over a billion right now in our global war on terror?
Geez, I’m amazed you manage to build up the courage to enter a Seven Eleven.
Seriously.
Perhaps you should avoid publicly making incredibly ill informed statements about a vast group of people you obviously know very little about.
Might be a good first step to eliminating the actual problem that exists you know. Because grossly inflating the problem in your mind could actually exacerbate the real problems we face.
Muslims roll with the flow. They do not have agendas other then how they are going to eat today, and survive till tomorrow. Ask the Lebanese.
However Muslim faith is not democracy. 1 percent control the thoughts and actions of the other 99 percent out of fear of retribution, death and all kinds of other serious repercussions. For the world to allow 1 billion people to live under this fear is a travesty that the world should face.
When we faced it. Our left rose up and accused the Holier then Thou right of starting a holy war. Thats absurd. Its as absurd as me implying Holly is Godless. I never meant to imply that. I meant to imply the agenda she supports….Jewish/Gay rights….is
Listen carefully……IS in the eyes of the Jihadists…..Godless.
This is their war. They believe Jews are Godless. Christians support Jews so by default the war on terror is caused by Jews and Christians. Wrong. The Jihad is caused by Radical Agenda Driven Fundamental Muslims. Those fighting it are the Jews and America and her allies who are overwhelmingly Christian.
To make the leap this is Christians fault is preposterous.
Fortunately, I’m quite well-informed.
BTW, I am center-left and do NOT try
Nobody,
Tell us all about them. No doubt from your years of living in Jeddah, or Izmir, or Jakarta.
What did your experiences living not in a compound, but among muslims in a muslim nation teach you?
Perhaps on some subjects. But sadly, not this one.
On this subject in particular, I am quite well-informed. Davebo, do you actually know any Muslims?
Yes I know lots of muslims. Arabs, Persians, Indonesians.
Which makes it hard for me to square what I know with what you and nobody are claiming here.
Nobody, for instance, claims
I find it hard to square this claim with the fact that the worlds most populous muslim country is a constitutional republic with democratically elected leaders.
Now, obviously I approach this question without your ethnic biases. But having lived in more than one muslim country, I also come to the question with a bit more perspective.
For instance, you’ll never convince me that “most muslims follow their radical leaders out of fear of death”. Though perhaps somewhat true in an extremely tiny percentage of muslim communities, it’s certainly not the norm. We see rebellion against radical muslim leaders almost everywhere we look. Iran, Pakistan, Jordan, Kuwaitt.
Remember, the majority of the population of Iran is under the age of 25 and extremely susceptible to western influence. The problem is, by invading and occupying two of it’s biggest neighbors we have weilded that influence in a rather clumbsy way.
And like Americans, Iranians too are susceptible to fierce nationalism and propaganda. When they feel their country is being coerced by or threatened with force by outsiders attempting to exert influence they react more or less exactly as we would ourselves. And they do this despite their own mustrust of misgivings of their leaders.
Davebo,
Most Muslims do not do what the terrorists want. But they do stay out of the way and don’t stand up to the hijacking of their religion from a combination of fear, the nature of their faith and “Muslims can’t be evil.”-itis. Please note that I say most, not all. There are Muslims who stand up to this semi-perversion of their faith.
As far as what I meant about the nature of their faith, it is just that the structure (More correctly the lack of same.) of Islam combined with its greater emphasis on the inerrancy of the Quran lends itself to more fundamentalism and refusal to modernize and tolerate other religions.
Well Davebo, I’m glad you’ve lived in Indonesia. I’ve known several Muslims here in the States, kind and decent folk. That doesn’t mean the fundies wouldn’t murder me and everyone I know without much more than hand-wringing from most American Muslims.
This isn’t just a Muslim tendency though as history has long shown. Resistance to change and intolerance of other religions is practically a cornerstone of nearly all organized religion.
And the use of terrorist tactics to bring about political change is certainly not limited to muslims. Jews and Christians have been known to to use such tactics as well.
I find it hard to square this claim with the fact that the worlds most populous muslim country is a constitutional republic with democratically elected leaders.
While I can agree that they are democratically elected, how many of those democratically elected leaders are Non Muslims? Catholics? Agnostics? Therein lies the question just how tolerant are they. Why would they not elect Jews to positions in Indonesia? Could it be because of the radical 1 percent?
The point is that your version of democracy and mine are far apart. That which is being railed against in America…..AKA those damn Religious right whackos is far, far different then Muslim countries electing Catholics or non believers to fill any and all of their social and governmental positions.
Religion is not tolerated in these Muslim countrys other then very grudgingly if at all.
What is the tolerance rate of Muslims in Indonesia? How many jobs are handed out to athiests or Jews or Mormons? How many Gays get to be in high positions in this Democratically elected country?
You are arguing apples and oranges. The fact remains that the Muslim faith is intolerant and it is that way because of the 1 percent that impress their fear mongering over the rest of the Muslims. Not because the Muslim faith itself is fear mongering.
Iran is the perfect example of what I espouse. How many Jews are in the Parliament. On the Ayatollahs board of trustees?
Davebo you remind me of a friend whose son teaches at the international school in Jordan. He loves the Muslims. He thinks they are great people. Says they will go hungry for 4 days to invite him and his wife over for supper. They live downtown not on a compound. I found this quite intriguing.
On a recent visit I listened for 2 hours of him recounting how wonderful the MUSLIMs of Jordan are. I would agree. It was his heartfelt tug and love for these people that convinced me that pulling out of Iraq was wrong because I thought to myself they are probably just like those Jordanians.
But he also said that with every step he took their was the Jordanian Secret police following him. Following him to make sure of two things. He would not stir up trouble and that no one would harm him.
While Jordan on the surface seems a reasonable country this very fact points to what I am saying. You might claim they are peaceful democratic countries but underneath they are a boiling cauldron waiting to explode into rage. These one billion need liberating from the 1 percent.
Its this very reason that the Arab street did not explode in rage when the USA attacked first Afghanistan and then Iraq. While saying the right things publicly I believe in my heart that they are human beings that deep down want their tyrannical oppressors to be subdued so they can partake in the citizenship of the world that is being deprived them by fundamentalist whackos.
Exodus 23:2 2 Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil
Charlie Savage / Boston Globe: Scandal puts spotlight on Christian law school — Grads influential in Justice Dept. —
Holly,
I’m not sure what denomination your Christian friends are, but I’m not aware of any mainstream churches that have put aside the ideas of Satan and of hell. Practicing Catholics certainly believe in them, and Pope Benedict is speaking about it more and more to remind people that hell is real.
I was wondering, from reading your comments, if you believe that these beliefs are the root of problems with Christianity being corrupted? I definitely don’t agree with that, but wondered if that was the reason that you commented on Nobody’s statements about this. Personally I don’t understand how you could believe in a perfect God without having any explanation for the existence of evil in the world. That doesn’t mean that Christian leaders should hold it over the heads of their congregation by fearmongering with preaching fire and brimstone, but I don’t think you have to focus on the punishment aspect in order to believe in hell. The Catholic teaching is that hell is a place or condition for souls who have rejected God, where they will face eternity without the presence of God. We believe that this will be intensely painful because at the moment of death when souls know that God exists, all will wish to be in His presence.
With a few exceptions, my Christian friends (of all denominations) do not ever talk about Satan, the Anti-Christ or Hell. I doubt that my RC priest friend puts much stock in them, although I did hear him say once, many years ago, that he thought everyone’s goal was “Going to Heaven.”
No, I think Christianity is absolutely fine, for Christians.
It’s very clear that God created evil. Belief in Satan or an Anti-Christ violates the concept of montheism.
All of these ideas are attempts to square the inconsistent belief that God is Omniscient, Omnipotent AND Benevolent.
BTW, I am already in God’s Presence and do not desire an afterlife.