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Thanks for correcting my misunderstanding,
Michael. I was at a loss to understand your post as I originally took it,
and
somehow connect it to the brilliant and gentlemanly
Michael Hudson I know. And, yes,
clearly I do share your concerns
about the
televangelists' "rapture" theology and their noxious political impact.
BTW, though Gary North is a "right winger"
in the way that I am
a "right-winger" (Austrian School), I think you would find his books on
Biblical economics of interest.
I'd always assumed that North must have been reared
in a committed Christian household, but apparently that isn't the
case. (And when I learned he is Rushdooney's
son-in-law, I understood his faith was deeply felt or else the old man
would
never have handed over his daughter :-) In fact, he
became a Christian as an adult and made it his
personal life's ambition
as an economist and a Christian to write a book on
the economics of each of the Bible's books -
so those books are his
life's true work (www.freebooks.com). Thanks again for
the correction; I'll be able to sleep tonight even in this
miserable
NYC heat. -A.
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Thursday, June 26, 2003 8:34
PM
Subject: Re: [A-List] Re: COUP d' ETAT IN
WASHINGTON
In a message dated 6/26/03
7:33:18 PM Eastern Daylight Time, annewilliamson@xxxxxxx writes:
Michael,
I don't believe you are a theologan, and your
representation of Christianity is deeply incorrect.
It's nonsense that
Christians believe they should act as the avenging arm of God "against
anybody who would criticize the rich, thereby turning the Bible on its
head." Where do you get
such ideas? Not from the Bible,
Christ's teachings, or regular Church attendance. Nor do I
believe
you attend revival meetings regularly, and perhaps stumbled upon one once in
your life.
Apparently, it was dramatic.
"Rapture"
Christians are an off-shoot of Protestantism, and you should know that the
thrust of
their beliefs were advanced by a conman named Cyrus Scofield,
who spun out the ideas of an
obscure early 18th century Reverend Darby,
a Scotsman, at the urging and with the support of
Sam Untemeyer, a
prominent Zionist of the early 19th century - who, in turn, managed to get
Oxford Publishing to bring out Scofield's Biblical concordance.
This trash document is used
by Jerry Falwell, who is about the
only Christian minister allowed a fulltime television network -
and if
you turn it on, you will see that most of the programing is concerned with
Israel. Perhaps
this is why he flies around in a private jet Ariel
Sharon presented to him.
Currently I am involved in an onrunning
legal battle with "rapture" elements, who I believe murdered
my father.
So you needn't think this message is a defense of those people; they
are "angry,"
self-righteous, disturbed, frighteningly materialistic,
alarmingly misguided, and easily "played"
by likes of Bush, DeLay,
Falwell, etc. But the real story isn't them, but the men who "play"
them -
and that story begins with Darby, Scofield, and Untemeyer, and it
involves Zionist aspirations
more largely than any bona fide Christian
tenets.
But to take the ambitions, activities, and theories of these
pathetic, nominal "Christians" and present
them as the guiding spirit
and the very heart of Christendom is not only inaccurate, but deeply
offensive.
Anne
Dear Anne,
I didn't mean my remarks at all the
way you took them.
Of course I wasn't
talking about REAL Christianity. (I am active in Church of England circles,
and have given sermons in two churches in London in the past year, worked for
many years with the Vatican, and also with various Protestant groups, by the
way.) I'm talking about right-wing televangelism and its politics, and I
gather from your message that you and I have identical feelings toward them.
Obviously these guys have hijacked and
vulgarized Christianity. My point was how basically different and right-wing
these Americans are (and also the Koreans, for that matter) in comparison to
the left-wing tendencies of European Christianity - which is why my Christian
contacts are all over there, not over here.
I hope this helps clarify matters. It
did not occur to me that you would think that I mistook them for the real
thing.
Michael
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