Herb Lusk

The Right's New Manhattan Project

Submitted by Kyle Mantyla on Friday, 11/20/2009 10:29 am

It seems that Chuck Colson has gathered together a group of right-wing activists and clergy for something called the "Manhattan Declaration: A Call of Christian Conscience" in order to create a unified front in fighting the culture war: 

The manifesto, to be released on Friday at the National Press Club in Washington, is an effort to rejuvenate the political alliance of conservative Catholics and evangelicals that dominated the religious debate during the administration of President George W. Bush. The signers include nine Roman Catholic archbishops and the primate of the Orthodox Church in America.

They want to signal to the Obama administration and to Congress that they are still a formidable force that will not compromise on abortion, stem-cell research or gay marriage. They hope to influence current debates over health care reform, the same-sex marriage bill in Washington, D.C., and the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, which would prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation.

They say they also want to speak to younger Christians who have become engaged in issues like climate change and global poverty, and who are more accepting of homosexuality than their elders. They say they want to remind them that abortion, homosexuality and religious freedom are still paramount issues.

For some reason, the headline of the New York Times article is "Christian Leaders Unite on Political Issues" instead of "Right Wing Activists Unite On Political Issues," which would have been far more accurate considering that a significant number of those who signed on to this declaration are standard Religious Right political activists:

Chuck Colson Founder, the Chuck Colson Center for Christian Worldview

Jim Daly President and CEO, Focus on the Family (Colorado Springs, CO)

Marjorie Dannenfelser President, Susan B. Anthony List (Arlington, VA)

Dr. James Dobson Founder, Focus on the Family (Colorado Springs, CO)

Dr. William Donohue President, Catholic League (New York, NY)

Dinesh D’Souza Writer & Speaker (Rancho Santa Fe, CA)

Rev. Jonathan Falwell Senior Pastor, Thomas Road Baptist Church (Lynchburg, VA)

Maggie Gallagher President, Institute for Marriage and Public Policy and a co-author of The Case for Marriage (Manassas, VA)

Dr. Robert P. George McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence, Princeton University (Princeton, NJ)

Rev. Ken Hutcherson Pastor, Antioch Bible Church (Kirkland, WA)

Bishop Harry R. Jackson, Jr. Senior Pastor, Hope Christian Church (Beltsville, MD)

Dr. Richard Land President, The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of the SBC (Washington, DC)

Rev. Herb Lusk Pastor, Greater Exodus Baptist Church (Philadelphia, PA)

Dr. R. Albert Mohler, Jr. President, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (Louisville, KY)

Tony Perkins President, Family Research Council (Washington, D.C.)

Alan Sears President, CEO, & General Counsel, Alliance Defense Fund (Scottsdale, AZ)

Mark Tooley President, Institute for Religion and Democracy (Washington, D.C.)

The Declaration can be found here:

While the whole scope of Christian moral concern, including a special concern for the poor and vulnerable, claims our attention, we are especially troubled that in our nation today the lives of the unborn, the disabled, and the elderly are severely threatened; that the institution of marriage, already buffeted by promiscuity, infidelity and divorce, is in jeopardy of being redefined to accommodate fashionable ideologies; that freedom of religion and the rights of conscience are gravely jeopardized by those who would use the instruments of coercion to compel persons of faith to compromise their deepest convictions.

Because the sanctity of human life, the dignity of marriage as a union of husband and wife, and the freedom of conscience and religion are foundational principles of justice and the common good, we are compelled by our Christian faith to speak and act in their defense. In this declaration we affirm: 1) the profound, inherent, and equal dignity of every human being as a creature fashioned in the very image of God, possessing inherent rights of equal dignity and life; 2) marriage as a conjugal union of man and woman, ordained by God from the creation, and historically understood by believers and non-believers alike, to be the most basic institution in society and; 3) religious liberty, which is grounded in the character of God, the example of Christ, and the inherent freedom and dignity of human beings created in the divine image.

We are Christians who have joined together across historic lines of ecclesial differences to affirm our right—and, more importantly, to embrace our obligation—to speak and act in defense of these truths. We pledge to each other, and to our fellow believers, that no power on earth, be it cultural or political, will intimidate us into silence or acquiescence. It is our duty to proclaim the Gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in its fullness, both in season and out of season. May God help us not to fail in that duty.

Religious Right Hopes African Americans Will Help Defeat Hate Crimes Bill

Submitted by Anonymous on Thursday, 6/21/2007 5:41 pm

Bishop Harry Jackson’s High Impact Leadership Coalition ran an ad in the D.C. newspaper Roll Call last week to oppose the Hate Crimes Prevention Act under consideration in Congress. Raising the tired right-wing canard that “prosecutors and anti-Christian groups will use loop holes in this proposed legislation to muzzle the church,” the ad sought to drive a wedge between blacks, who are covered by federal hate-crimes law now, and gays, who seek the same protection against violent crime motivated by hatred:

High Impact Leadership Coalition ad in Roll Call

We are African Americans, though we represent thousands of Christian leaders of all races. We understand more clearly than most that racially motivated violence can be a form of internal terrorism.

The Black community needs a free pulpit. Indeed, ALL Americans need free pulpits.

(View a higher-resolution PDF of the ad.)

As PFAW has explained – the Hate Crimes Prevention Act only addresses violent crimes causing “bodily injury” – not speech, not preaching. Nevertheless, Jackson claims that the bill, backed by “the evil one,” will “shut [the church] down.”

Jackson has been a frequent ally of the Religious Right, especially in efforts to combat equal rights for gays – he wrote that the “wisdom behind” the “gay agenda” is “clearly satanic.” He wants black churches to end their acceptance of gay members. The D.C.-area pastor has often claimed that African Americans are at home on the far Right, from opposing “tax-and-spend policies directed at the poor” to focusing the church on abortion and gays, and he’s also urged blacks to vote for Republicans such a George Bush, whom he endorsed in 2004.

Jackson has also leant his support to right-wing efforts to push Bush’s extreme judicial nominees. At “Justice Sunday II,” a televised rally put on by the Family Research Council, Jackson explained that, because the law targets blacks unfairly, he supports right-wing judges, who will ensure “that justice will be administrated without partiality.”

Several other names on the ad are familiar from religious-right events. Herb Lusk hosted “Justice Sunday III” at his Philadelphia church. Bill Owens started a group called the Coalition of African American Pastors that emerged to support the nomination of Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court. Ken Hutcherson rallied with James Dobson for an anti-gay marriage amendment to the Constitution – just before the 2004 election.

Values Voter Summit: Day 2 Part 2

Submitted by Peter Montgomery on Saturday, 9/23/2006 2:53 pm
A panel on the role of churches in political issues was introduced by a video promoting a rally in Boston on October 15. The theme of the event will be that marriage equality in that state is a grave threat to religious liberty, though the video didn’t explain how. The Southern Baptists’ Richard Land insisted that believers should apply their literal-truth understanding of scripture to the society at large. “It is our job as pastors and church workers to take the truth of God’s word and apply it to the moral issues of our society and call on our society to adhere to the biblical standard.” God may not be a Republican or Democrat, Land said, but He is definitely pro-life, pro-heterosexual marriage, and anti-pornography. Land defended a liberal California church facing an IRS investigation because of an anti-war sermon preached shortly before the 2004 election. Land said he’d read the sermon and it did not endorse any candidates. But, Land argued, churches ought to be free to endorse candidates, even if he personally thought it wasn’t a good idea, and he said the movement should be working very hard to change IRS regulations. Rev. Herb Lusk is the Philadelphia pastor whose church hosted “Justice Sunday III” – the Religious Right’s rally for then-Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito. Lusk said the civil rights movement’s accomplishments were based on blacks and “our brothers and sisters of other hues” preaching a holistic gospel. But, he said, the civil rights movement has taken a different turn, and that now it’s Dr. Dobson and Tony Perkins taking the lead in protecting the civil rights of unborn children. Rev. Dr. John Guest, a Pennsylvania pastor who grew up in London during World War II, said the bombing of London happened because the German church had abdicated its spiritual and moral responsibility to speak the truth. But Guest doesn’t think challenging the Bush administration might be part of that responsibility. “I’ve said from my pulpit that it is treacherous and traitorous to be condemning, belittling, and bringing down our president in a time of war.” Lusk, who had been chafing at speaking while being seated behind a table, was encouraged to take the podium by Tony Perkins, and then he went into full preaching mode, criticizing pastors who weren’t getting involved. “I know why you’re not,” he said. “We know what happened to every prophet in the Old Testament…they killed them.” Lusk brought the crowd to its feet with a high-energy exhortation, saying “Your God will protect you…you have nothing to fear!” An odd element of Lusk’s performance was his declaration that Rev. Barry Lynn, the oft-reviled-at-this-conference director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, should no longer be mentioned by name. “The enemy is out there. We know who our enemy is. The more you call the enemy’s name, the larger he becomes.” It remains to be seen if other speakers will adhere to Lusk’s declaration that Lynn has become, like Voldemort in the world of Harry Potter, He Who Must Not Be Named.
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Herb Lusk Posts Archive

The Right's New Manhattan Project
SUBMITTED BY: Kyle Mantyla, Friday 11/20/2009, 10:29am
It seems that Chuck Colson has gathered together a group of right-wing activists and clergy for something called the "Manhattan Declaration: A Call of Christian Conscience" in order to create a unified front in fighting the culture war:  The manifesto, to be released on Friday at the National Press Club in Washington, is an effort to rejuvenate the political alliance of conservative Catholics and evangelicals that dominated the religious debate during the administration of President George W. Bush. The signers include nine Roman Catholic archbishops and the primate of the... MORE >
Religious Right Hopes African Americans Will Help Defeat Hate Crimes Bill
, Thursday 06/21/2007, 5:41pm
Bishop Harry Jackson’s High Impact Leadership Coalition ran an ad in the D.C. newspaper Roll Call last week to oppose the Hate Crimes Prevention Act under consideration in Congress. Raising the tired right-wing canard that “prosecutors and anti-Christian groups will use loop holes in this proposed legislation to muzzle the church,” the ad sought to drive a wedge between blacks, who are covered by federal hate-crimes law now, and gays, who seek the same protection against violent crime motivated by hatred: We are African Americans, though we represent... MORE >
Values Voter Summit: Day 2 Part 2
SUBMITTED BY: Peter Montgomery, Saturday 09/23/2006, 2:53pm
A panel on the role of churches in political issues was introduced by a video promoting a rally in Boston on October 15. The theme of the event will be that marriage equality in that state is a grave threat to religious liberty, though the video didn’t explain how. The Southern Baptists’ Richard Land insisted that believers should apply their literal-truth understanding of scripture to the society at large. “It is our job as pastors and church workers to take the truth of God’s word and apply it to the moral issues of our society and call on our society to adhere to the biblical standard... MORE >