I’d like to read Jeff Sharlet’s best seller: The Family and hope to get my hands on a copy eventually.
For a Canadian slant have a look at Canada’s C Street. Holy Pancakes at A Creative Revolution.
As I mentioned in the title, we have our own “C Street” or “Family” here too. And they too do the National prayer breakfasts. They seem to have a much lower profile here in Canada, although the agenda is almost exactly the same. When I say low key, I mean LOW key. But one does not have to do too much reading between the lines to get the complete picture of what is going on here….From the “National Prayer Breakfast” site…..
From the outset there have always been two unique aspects to the Prayer Breakfast. The first was that it should be a lay person who carries out the work. It was felt that lay people could better relate to leaders.
The other aspect was (especially around politicians) that everything should be done in a low-keyed, behind the scenes manner. The main objective was to build relationships and this can be done most successfully in a personal, quiet, confidential way.
Have you blogged about this? Let us know and we’ll add your link.
Why do all these people desire a low profile? Is it shame on their part or do they not want to leave any fingerprints when the going gets rough.
Either way, it sounds as if they don’t have the courage to stand up and be counted like earlier Christian crusaders and martyrs .
So what makes these people so special? I think it’s cowardice and a deep desire to not be recognised for fear of being discovered.
Unworthy of Christians. I call their practice of their faith into question for those very reasons.
They use the same principles as their counterparts in the US. They take the old idea that ‘the end justifies the means’to the extreme.I have literally binders full of examples of lies , slander , defamation and innuendo from the last decade or so ; used against gays on both sides of the 49th.There is apparently an item in the Quran that excuses Muslims from the ‘sin’ of lying and deceiving others (infidels), if the cause of Islam is served.Our conservative Christians feel likewise.I’d love to be able to be indifferent as to the beliefs of others , in our free and secular democracy.But like thousands of others , I have not been able to because of their abysmal view of homosexual persons.The consequences go far beyond just the acquiring of legal rights , and involve violence , bloodshed and murder from the fringes who hear their endless cascade of negativity and denigration.I don’t know if there is a limit on the length of comments , but I’d like to include a history item that has defined the hypocrisy of the religious right.I’ll preface this by stating that I do not view ‘them’ as evil monsters I have communicated with many of them and most are respectful , though ideologically driven. Others are scary …..Tristan Emmanuel.I was a resident of San Diego , Ca. , during the early years of the AIDS epidemic.The religious right , at the time ; largely under the collective umbrella of an organization called the Moral Majority; fiercely and successfully , opposed the use of any public funds for HIV research. The subsequent delay in acquiring anti-viral meds , denied thousands even a fighting chance at survival. The dead came from your neighbourhood and especially mine. I buried fifty-eight good friends. I have a good medical and scientific background. Many of you will evetually develop a dementia like Alzheimer’s, heart disease , and/or be diagnosed with a malignancy ( cancer). Incredible insights have been gained from the intense scrutiny of HIV . Doors have been opened that we never knew existed.And , answers will come from other remarkable areas of study and investigation , such as stem cell research.Do not let them stifle such research , under any circumstances.Stem cells MAY become a human being , or simply a fingernail.And cells dividing ( zygotes, for example)are NOT human beings.The conglomeration of cells must be able to , arguably; think , reason , and problem solve …..or at least be able to sit in the House of Commons. Thank you , merci bien , pour votre attention.