Watchmen on the Wall

The Family Research Council's Watchmen on the Wall conference is truly a unique event, as it brings together a cornucopia of conservative pastors and religious leaders to hear from all sorts of political activists, evangelists, Creationists, and anti-Muslim crusaders, all of whom are free to promote their own specific agendas. Which is why Anne Graham Lotz, daughter of Billy Graham, was given a half an hour to lay our her views about how the End Times will arrive "within my lifetime."

Working from Matthew 24, Lotz systemically checked off a long list of recent wars, environmental disasters, and examples of Christian persecution, all of which she asserted were proof that the return of Jesus was just around the corner.  And yet, Lotz warned, people today are just blindly going about their business amidst an atmosphere of rising secularism and atheism, completely unaware that God's judgement has already begun:

Criticizing the theory of evolution is not just one of a variety of Religious Right priorities, but is central to their cause as many social conservatives believe that evolutionary thought is the culprit behind much-despised notions like secular government, feminism and moral relativism. As leading young earth creationist Ken Ham explained at the Family Research Council’s Watchmen on the Wall conference, belief in a non-literal interpretation of Genesis is even responsible for President Obama’s support for marriage equality:

The Family Research Council is currently hosting its annual Watchmen on the Wall Pastors Briefing in Washington DC, featuring a variety of Religious Right leaders and members of Congress working to mobilize pastors from across the nation. 

Today, in between speakers, FRC handed the floor over to Jesse Connors so that he could promote his web-based evangelism tool called TrueLife.org which claims to offer "reliable answers from a biblical worldview via the Web that are non-threatening and easy to understand and directs people to church."

Connors' service seems to revolve around producing, for a fee, personalized business cards that pastors can hand out, encouraging people to visit the True Life website where they can learn more about Jesus and the Bible and find local churches.  At least, that was the best we could discern, as it was hard to know just what Connors was talking about as he grew increasingly emotional while discussing the success of the effort and demonstrating a video about struggling with homosexuality: 

Family Research Center president Tony Perkins joined James Robison on Life Today to discuss the dire consequences of the separation of Church and State that has allowed the “unrighteous” to rule. Perkins and Robison, who was Mike Huckabee’s mentor and recently addressed FRC’s Watchmen on the Wall summit, both agreed that God will judge America for not voting for politicians aligned with the Religious Right.

Watch:

Sen. Jim DeMint spoke today at FRC's "Watchmen on the Wall" pastor's conference and afterward joined the AFA's official spokesbigot Bryan Fischer, who was broadcasting his daily radio program live from the conference, for an interview.

During the discussion, DeMint said that the 2012 election is literally the "last chance" they have to save America and that conservatives and Republicans simply cannot cooperate or compromise with Democrats on any level because Democrats are bent on instituting socialism and don't share the same values, visions, or goals:

I think it's out last chance. I really think it's now or never. Just looking at the financial situation of our country and just the polarization of views between the two parties. I mean, we have one that is really pushing toward centralization, collectivization, secularism - and we have some good people in that party; some of them are my best friends - but frankly they do not believe in individualism, they do not believe in the type of moral values that we do and we cannot compromise with them. You cannot cooperate with someone who does not have your values, does not share your vision, and does not have your goals.

• Everything you ever wanted to know about Herman Cain.
• FRC's "Watchmen on the Wall" group for pastors is holding a conference later this month featuring Michele Bachmann and Jim DeMint.
• Gary Bauer says the fact that President Obama would take money from gay donors just "show[s] how vulnerable he is."
• Honestly, how long before the ACLJ files a suit on behalf of this guy alleging he was discriminated against because of his faith?
• Finally, the latest prayer update from the Family Research Council: "Please pray that DADT will be restored, and that until then, measures will be put in place to protect the religious conscience and physical safety of our men and women in uniform."

One thing I find fascinating about the Religious Right is how seemingly every major new organization or effort that it launches is literally the same as every other organization or effort it has ever launched.

Just today I noted how yet another group was calling for 40 days of prayer heading into the mid-term elections, as if all the other calls to 40 days of prayer and fasting were not enough.

Similarly, it seems like every few weeks, some new Religious Right group is formed that does exactly the same thing all of the other Religious Right groups are doing.

And now we have Glenn Beck announcing the formation of his Black Robe Regiment:

Apparently, the idea began with Beck's favorite historian, David Barton. When Beck told Barton he wanted to "get religious leaders together," Barton suggested forming a Black Robe Regiment -- named after what Barton had said was a group of preachers who supported the American Revolution from their pulpits. Beck decided that was "exactly" what he was looking for because it was a movement supposedly like his that was "not about politics."

Beck then described the first meeting he held with "the largest evangelical leaders in the country" some of whom had been involved in the Christian Coalition. ... Beck elaborated on his call to "mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes," calling on his listeners to "tithe 10 percent" and encouraging them to "sacrifice our fortunes so our children don't have to pay for our lifestyle." Beck implored his listeners: "You must tithe because these people [the Black Robe Regiment] are going to be in trouble. They're going to come under attack."

So Beck's brilliant idea is to bring together a bunch of Religious Right leaders in an effort to motivate pastors to play a bigger role in politics and the culture?

Has Beck never heard of the Patriot Pastors?

Fellow pastor Russell Johnson lacks [Rod] Parsley's charisma, but he has mastered the art of organizing. His group, the Ohio Restoration Project (ORP), recruited nearly 1,800 churches with "Patriot Pastors" and deputized them to draft new "values voters."

The ministers signed 410,000 Ohio homes onto Johnson's mailing list, and the ORP can tap 100,000 prayer warriors through e-mail in a moment's notice. This is more than just a group of voters ready to punch some ballots. According to ORP outreach materials, it is a "mighty army" ready to do battle.

While Johnson reaches white evangelicals and fundamentalists, Parsley appeals to both African Americans and Pentecostals. Together, the two men have forged a political machine that aims to remake Ohio politics—and the nation.

Or what about the US Pastor Council?

The mission of the Houston Area Pastor Council and sister councils in USPC is to empower pastors and their congregations across racial and denominational lines to impact the culture and community through concerted prayer, to equip our congregations for effective citizenship and to provide a unified voice on spiritual, cultural, social and moral issues from a Biblical perspective. The AMERICA Plan was developed as a Purpose Statement of how pastors and churches can and must enage in godly citizenship.

HAPC has become a respected voice on front line cultural and political issues from a non-partisan perspective, holding elected officials of both major parties and non-partisan offices to a Biblical standard. The Pastors' Declaration of Godly Citizenship was developed to clarify the core values of this coalition.

HAPC has conducted numerous luncheons, workshops, rallies, elected official summits, Pastors' Day At the Capitol and many other activities bringing pastors together, proving top quality Biblical, historical, legal and public policy information as well as standing in the gap for our nation.

Or what about the Pulpit Initiative:

Historically, churches have emphatically, and with great passion, spoken Scriptural truth from the pulpit about government and culture. Historians have stated that America owes its independence in great degree to the moral force of the pulpit. Pastors have proclaimed Scriptural truth throughout history on great moral issues such as slavery, women’s suffrage, child labor and prostitution. Pastors have also spoken from the pulpit with great frequency for and against various candidates for government office ... It is time for the intimidation and threats to end. Churches and pastors have a constitutional right to speak freely and truthfully from the pulpit – even on candidates and voting – without fearing loss of their tax exemption.

Or the Watchmen on the Wall:

Watchmen on the Wall" is a powerful conference in the nation's capital especially designed for pastors and ministers, based on Isa. 62:6: "I have set watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem. They shall never hold their peace day or night. You who make mention of the Lord, do not keep silent..." FRC launched the Briefing in May 2004 to:

* Remind spiritual leaders of our nation's Judeo-Christian heritage.
* Inform them about the moral issues being debated in the public square.
* Ignite their passion to become watchmen who will sound the alarm.
* Inspire them to encourage their churches to engage the culture.

Our hope is that you will return home encouraged and educated about the issues of the day that affect faith and family and that you will be inspired to share with your congregations what they may do to take a more active role as salt and light in your community and government.

Or what about the Patriotic Pastors, or Pastors for Family Values, or even the Patriot Pastors’ T.E.A. Party?

And those are the groups I can think of just off the top of my head. 

Obviously, none of the previous efforts have accomplished their goals - if they had, there would be no need to keep launching new groups with the exact same mission over and over again. 

But apparently Beck believes that Beck thinks that he (with the help of the very Religious Right leaders behind all these other efforts) has finally found the key:  getting pastors more engaged in the political process. 

Gee, why has nobody ever thought of that before?  

It is no secret that Religious Right groups do not particularly like the Southern Poverty Law Center, especially ever since it started keeping a list of "Active Anti-Gay Groups" that includes groups like the Family Research Institute, Watchmen on the Walls, and Traditional Values Coalition. 

MassResistance is also featured on the list, and is now fighting back, claiming that the SPLC secretly wrote the Department of Homeland Security report on right-wing extremism that was released last year: 

So now we find out that the Southern Poverty Law Center, the leftist front group that has called so many good Americans "haters", authored the infamous Dept. of Homeland Security report last year (“Right-wing Extremism: Current Economic and Political Climate Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization and Recruitment”).

MassResistance links to this article by Tom DeWeese, president of the American Policy Center, who asserts that this is the case: 

The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) hates us. Who? According to several reports they have released over the past year, “us” is the following: One concerned over the economy; loss of jobs; foreclosures; antagonism toward the Obama Administration (that it’s racist); criticism of free trade programs like NAFTA and the Security and Prosperity Partnership; anti-abortion; oppose same-sex marriage; believe in the “end times;” stock pile food, ammunition and weapons; oppose illegal immigration; opposition to the new world order; opposition to the United Nations; opposition to global governance; fear of Communist regimes; opposition to loss of US manufacturing to overseas nations; opposition to loss of US prestige; use of the Internet (or alternative media) to express these ideas. Did this list miss anyone reading it? You are all haters and potential terrorists.

The above list was published in a report issued last year by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) entitled, “Right-wing Extremism: Current Economic and Political Climate Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization and Recruitment.” The report, while issued by the DHS, was in fact, written by the Southern Poverty Law Center, which labels itself as a civil rights organization which “tracks the hate movement.” Ironically, SPLC is becoming one of the biggest purveyors of hate and discord in the nation. Worse, SPLC’s reports are often so inaccurate and misleading that they would be simply laughable if they didn’t have the support of the Federal government.

DeWeese provides no evidence or documentation for the allegation that the SPLC drafted the DHS report ... but that doesn't matter, as the Christian Anti-Defamation Commission is already accepting it as truth and is therefore demanding that Congress must "defund the Southern Poverty Law Center":

The Southern Poverty Law Center is an extremely liberal group that compiles a list of hate groups in America. But according to their latest list, if you advocate for traditional biblical values, you are lumped together with violent neo-Nazis and skinheads.

The Law Center just named forty leaders of the conservative movements as extremists including pastors and elected members of Congress. This is slanderous and outrageous, yet many people take this unscientific, biased list seriously.

Even the Federal Government, that gives the Law Center millions of your tax dollars, uses the biased information to shape national policy. Last year’s discredited report from the Department of Homeland Security on Right-Wing Extremism was actually written by the Southern Poverty Law Center.

We must stop the biased practices and the hateful campaign against Christians and urge Congress to defund the Southern Poverty Law Center.

Where the CADC got the idea that the Federal Government "gives the [SPLC] millions of your tax dollars" is anybody's guess, since they cite absolutely nothing to support the claim.

Last week I wrote about Janet Porter warning everyone that a massive catastrophe is on the way and citing, as her source, Teen Challenge founder David Wilkerson, who has been prophesying that God is about the judge America for its sins and that "major cities all across America will experience riots and blazing fires ... There will be riots and fires in cities worldwide. There will be looting—including Times Square, New York City. What we are experiencing now is not a recession, not even a depression. We are under God’s wrath … God is judging the raging sins of America and the nations. He is destroying the secular foundations."

The reliability of Wilkerson's prophecy hinged on the fact that, prior to the September 11th attacks, he had received a similar warning from God and, as Porter explained it, gotten prepared:

And on the 10th of September they stayed up all night making hundreds and hundreds of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. By morning they had about 2,000 sandwiches. At 8:46 a.m. the first plane hit the World Trade Center and Times Square Church was ready to feed and minister to rescue workers and victims of our nation's worst attack.

Porter said that “we'd be crazy not to listen” to Wilkerson this time around, considering that he was right last time and that "when the guy who made the 2,000 sandwiches on Sept. 10 warns us: 'AN EARTH-SHATTERING CALAMITY IS ABOUT TO HAPPEN,' I think we would do well to heed it."

Perhaps we would be wise to heed Wilkerson's warning, provided the claim about him making sandwiches throughout the night of September 10th is true - which, as it turns out, it's not, leading to Porter's column this week in which she apologizes:

Despite the fact that multiple people told me they read about Times Square Church members making sandwiches prior to Sept. 11, 2001, in the Times Square Newsletter – and the fact that when a staff member of mine called the church he got someone who answered the phone who confirmed it, saying they knew "exactly" what we were talking about, that information was wrong.

There were sandwiches. There were lots of them. But they were not made prior to Sept. 11.

Of course, now Porter is saying that it doesn't really matter that Wilkerson didn't stay up all night preparing sandwiches on September 11th and that his warning of massive devastation is still valid:

I wish I could say that because I was wrong on the sandwiches detail the rest of Pastor David Wilkerson's warning was also invalid, but I don't believe that is the case ... I don't want a calamity to come. I don't want judgment to fall during my lifetime. I hate reading this stuff. But it's now coming from so many sources, so many watchmen on the wall, that we can no longer ignore it ... If we don't follow that very clear warning directly from God Himself, I'm afraid that the calamity Wilkerson spoke of will, in fact, approach us quickly – regardless of when any sandwiches were made.

So even though she was wrong about Wilkerson, she still believes that we are getting a "very clear warning directly from God Himself" that his judgement is coming.

Have I mentioned that this woman was co-chair of Mike Huckabee's Faith & Family Values Coalition during his presidential campaign?  I just think it is important to keep pointing that out.