Florida

I guess I shouldn't be surprised that militant anti-Islam activist Pamela Geller continues to exploit the Rifqa Bary controversy by unveiling an anti-Islam ad campaign:

Ads by a group calling itself Stop Islamization of America, which aims to provide refuge for former Muslims, read: "Fatwa on your head? Is your family or community threatening you? Leaving Islam? Got questions? Get answers!"

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A self-described "anti-jihadist," Pamela Geller is the conservative blogger and executive director of Stop Islamization of America who conceived of the "Leaving Islam" ad campaign. Her bus posters, she says, were partly inspired by the ongoing Florida case involving a teenage girl who ran away from her Muslim parents after converting to Christianity. The girl, Rifqa Bary, made headlines last year when she claimed her father threatened to kill her for becoming a Christian.

Ms. Geller described her campaign as "a defense of religious freedom," in an e-mail response to questions. The goal, she says, is mainly "to help ex-Muslims who are in trouble" and also "to raise awareness of the threat that apostates live under even in the West."

I guess I should point out that Bary became convinced that her life was in danger after hooking up with Lou Engle-associated activists in Ohio, so she fled to Florida where she was taken in by other right-wing activists (and continued to associate with Engle). 

In fact, just about the only ones who believe that Bary was ever in danger of being harmed by her family are the professional anti-Islam activists who have worked diligently to turn her saga into the right-wing crusade - people like Pamela Geller.

Back in 2008, the Alliance Defense Fund launched its "Pulpit Initiative" designed to encourage pastors to openly endorse political candidates in their sermons and a direct challenge to IRS restrictions.  And ADF is planning to do it again this year right before the elections.

But not all right-wing legal groups are so bold, which is why Mat Staver and the Liberty Counsel partnered with the Florida Family Policy Council and Christian Coalition of South Florida for a series of "Pastors’ Freedom Forums" to explain just what churches legally can and cannot do.

But you have to admit that Staver doesn't seem particularly concerned about the possibility that they might lose their tax exemption if they cross that line, because God will always provide for them:

“So why do we think God depends upon tax deductibility to keep the Gospel going?” Staver asked. “We enjoy tax deductibility now, and that’s fine; but if we ever have to give it up, so what! God owns the cattle on a thousand hills. His resources aren’t limited.”

And while Staver was telling pastors not to worry about losing their tax-exept status, Liberty Counsel's Harry Mihet was urging them to stand up adn fight in the "time of war" or else watch America turn into "communist Romania": 

“Dear brothers and sisters, this is a time of war,” Mihet said. “As citizens of this country and as citizens of the Kingdom, we are engaged in a battle for the very heart and soul of our nation against people and groups that are fighting tirelessly day and night to radically transform our country—to change it from the land of the free into a place that is without God, without values, a place where anything goes except genuine Christianity—to a place that looks more and more like communist Romania.”

Mihet said it would be tragic for “future generations” if the Americans don’t “show up” and, as a result, the battle is lost. “What a powerful testimony to the might of the God we serve it would be if men and women of God would stand up and rise to this challenge and join in the fight for the soul of our country,” he said.

I've been writing a lot lately about the self-proclaimed "prophets" and "apostles" like Cindy Jacobs and Lou Engle and their increasing role within the "mainstream" Religious Right movement, so I wanted to just take an opportunity to point out something that I think is important in understanding this:  when they call themselves "prophets," they means that literally and believe themselves to have the same power and authority as the prophets of the Bible.

Case in point is this recent prophesy from Chuck Pierce, following up his recent discussion with Jacobs about the BP oil spill being due to President Obama's treatment of Israel, claiming that God has promised to stop the oil spill "supernaturally" and deliver the Gulf states from "occult spirits" with a wave of revival and prosperity that will wash over America ... note particularly that the sections in italics are reported to literally be the Word of God as it was spoken to Pierce: 

There is something peculiar in the seas that has yet to be uncovered in this situation. There will be a greater explosion to heal this explosion. There has to be something that creates a ripple and a move in the water deeper than anything we have ever seen. Some way or another the move in the water in the Gulf has to cause that which is defiled in that whole area to come out some way. We have to get into a move deeper than we know.

God says, "I am capable of moving in the waters deeper than you've seen Me move. But you're going to have to be willing to ride the wave when it comes." There is a move of God coming that is so deep, the waters are going to move so deep, it is going to create such an action that we will have to ride the waves in this coming year. I am announcing this. This is an announcement. We will have to learn to ride some unusual waves for the year ahead!

There are some occult spirits along that Gulf that the Lord is ready to move. I speak to Texas. I speak to Louisiana. I speak to Mississippi. I speak to Alabama. I speak to Florida. The Lord says, "Get ready. You are being delivered from an occult operation by MY supernatural power that is coming in some very unusual ways! I AM going to cleanse that area of divination. It is going to come through the power of MY display. I'm going to do this supernaturally. You've tried to do it with your brain and I'm going to do it supernaturally. You've tried to move one way in your thinking process.

"Watch Me go deep and push it out. I am going to start a move, and watch Me do unusual things in that Gulf Coast. I am going to go deep. I'm going to create swells. I'm going to bring in waves. I'm going to dispel things. Things are going to be thrown on land for you to wrap up and get out of the place. This is a beginning and this next year get ready to ride the waves for I will be moving people around. I will be changing locations. You get ready to ride the wave for I am going to push out that spiritual force that has held you captive and defiled the move of My Spirit. You are going to be released in a whole new way to hear Me and to move with Me and to prosper in a way you've not prospered."

This is a warning from the Lord. He says, "I can turn the Gulf upside down like I turn ponds upside down and bring the bottom to the top! I am getting ready to bring the bottom to the top. Be creative. Know that I can give you understanding on businesses. Know that I can tell you what to do. Things will be coming from the top to the bottom. Get ready because you haven't seen anything like you're about to see. BOTTOMS UP!"

Thank You, Lord, that there will be a new glory coming from the seas onto the land of America.

As Evan Hurst noted yesterday on his piece on Lou Engle, Engle likewise considers himself not a teacher but a prophet; the difference being that he has not come to "teach" us God's Word, but to "tell" us God's Word, so that God's Word and the words of the "prophets" are one and the same.

I guess that it if the BP oil spill in the Gulf is due to God's anger over President Obama's treatment of Israel, then it only stands to reason that the best way to end the crisis is prayer.

And that is exactly the solution that four Southern Republican governors appear to be banking on:

Four Gulf Coast governors are calling on residents to set aside Sunday as a Day of Prayer to pray for a solution to the oil spill and for citizens impacted by the disaster.

Alabama's Bob Riley, Louisiana's Bobby Jindal, Mississippi's Haley Barbour and Texas' Rick Perry all issued proclamations calling on prayer for the spill, which entered its 66th day Thursday.

"Throughout our history, Alabamians have humbly turned to God to ask for His blessings and to hold us steady during times of struggle. This is certainly one of those times," Riley said in a statement.

Riley's proclamation reads in part, "Citizens of Alabama are urged to pray for the well-being of our fellow citizens and our State, to pray for all those in other states who are hurt by this disaster, to pray for those who are working to respond to this crisis, and to pray that a solution that stops the oil leak is completed soon."

Perry's proclamation says it "seems right and fitting that the people of Texas should join with their fellow Gulf Coast residents" and others across the country and around the world "to thank God, seek his wisdom for ourselves and our leaders, and ask him for his merciful intervention and healing in this time of crisis."

Barbour's notes that the spill threatens the "livelihoods of our fellow citizens, the environmental beauty of our coast, and our quality of life." Jindals's says "Louisianians all across the world are united in hope for an end to this catastrophic event and pray for" the coast's recovery.

Jindal, in fact, participated in a prayer vigil earlier this week where, according to the Louisiana Famly Forum (Tony Perkins old haunt,) "intercessors" laid hands upon him:

Pastors Dino Rizzo, Apostle Lloyd Benson, Bishop Ricky Sinclair, Bishop Raymond Johnson, and Pastor Dennis Blackwell led in prayers for the bereaved families, for our government officials, for the environment, for the people and businesses of the Gulf Coast, and for solutions to this economic and environmental crisis.

And they were not alone, as Southern Baptist Convention is calling on churches and Christians "to pray for the end of this catastrophe and for the homes, lives, cultures, and livelihoods of those in the Gulf Coast region" while John Stemberger of the Florida Family Policy Council "is working on a coordinated effort, and is asking believers and churches across America to unite in prayer for the Gulf this Sunday" and even Wallbuilders is "urging everyone across the nation to join with these states, asking for God's hand to be on all the decision-makers and lawmakers, that He would give them discernment and guidance, and that a solution would be forthcoming."

Interestingly, Wallbuilders' David Barton "drafted the prayer day proclamations for the governors to adapt."

Earlier this week we noted that Rep. Randy Forbes had been a guest on James Dobson's new radio program where he unveiled his plan to create a series of state-level "prayer caucuses" that would monitor legislation, court rulings, and elected officials and mobilize activists to fight them.

The latest issue of World Magazine profiles Forbes and his Congressional Prayer Caucus and reports that he has already created one state-level caucus in Mississippi, with others in Virginia and Florida coming soon: 

Forbes says anti-faith groups have raised vast sums of money to pick fights with religious organizations. "For decades now people of faith have said, 'We are just working our own ministries, and we are going to wait and play defense when they come after us.' Our strategy is different. We think we need to push back."

To do so Forbes set up the nonprofit Congressional Prayer Caucus Foundation to raise both awareness and money. The foundation's website, which asks churches and individuals to sign up to pray for the nation on a "digital prayer wall," also offers $5,000 annual memberships to a club called the "300"—a reference to Gideon's army in Judges.

The money funds Forbes' signature strategy: franchising out the Congressional Prayer Caucus concept to state legislatures.

Mississippi became the first state to partner with the caucus. Mississippi's GOP Lt. Gov. Phil Bryant spearheaded the effort after Forbes visited his office in February. At that meeting Forbes enticed Bryant by telling him Mississippi could help spread the movement around the country. "I immediately accepted the challenge because Mississippi is one of the most religious states in the nation," Bryant told me.

On April 22, a bipartisan group of more than three dozen Mississippi lawmakers crowded onto steps inside the state Capitol for a press conference on prayer. To make it official the state legislature even put it to a vote, unanimously passing in both the House and Senate a resolution that formed the state caucus. Next year a Senate Republican will lead the weekly prayer group while a House Democrat will take over in 2012.

Legislatures in Virginia and Florida are at work on similar partnerships.

It is through these state groups that Forbes hopes to change the debate over religion in public life. Many of the nation's legislatures already have prayer groups, but Forbes wants to bring them together into a nationwide network that tracks threats against religion. The D.C. caucus would serve as the clearinghouse where policy makers formulate and coordinate strategies.

"Here is the new world, if you send 100 lobbyists against us, we send two and a half million emails raising this issue," said Forbes. "Do you really want to fight that battle?"

• PFAW President Michael B. Keegan: A New Debate on the Court and the Constitution.
• Think Progress: Defending Raghead Comment, South Carolina State Senator Says ‘We’re At War’ With Foreign Countries.
• Ezra Klein: The concerned speed-readers of America.
• Sarah Posner: Scott Roeder's Religion.
• Good As You: Only 13 groups have the SPLC's 'anti-gay hate group' label. Here's NOM applauding one of them...
• The Advocate: OK City Pol Likens Gays to Pedophiles.
• Phoenix New Times: Chris Simcox Allegedly Threatened To Kill Family and Cops, According To Wife's Order of Protection.
• Andy Birkey: Bachmann’s Christian counseling clinic receives state funds.
• Joe.My.God: Florida AG Bill McCollum Hired Dr. George Rekers Against The Advice Of Own Staff.
• David Neiwert: Foxheads freak out when Rep. Linda Sanchez points out the white supremacists lurking behind Arizona's immigration law.

• Texas Freedom Network: Fox News: ‘Fair and Balanced’?
• Kevin Drum: Birthers and Truthers.
• Think Progress: After Serving More Than 30 Years In The Senate, Hatch Says ‘Hell No’ He’s Not ‘Part Of Washington’.
• Joe.My.God: Conservative GOP Transgender Woman Running For Congress.
• Bill Berkowitz: John Hagee Said God Sent Hitler to Hunt the Jews. Now He Wants to Be the Comeback Kid.
• Good As You: It's official: NOM's bombing North Star State equality.
• Will Bunch: Beck's city of gold continues to unravel.
• David Weigel: Concerned Women for America: Souder was felled by 'frat house environment on Capitol Hill'.

The Eagle Forum's Phyllis Schlafly sat down for an interview with Newsmax TV during which she stated that President Obama owes the nation an apology for "the poor moral tone" he has set and for not recognizing America's greatness or Christian foundation: 

Conservative activist and commentator Phyllis Schlafly says President Obama owes the American people an apology for lowering the nation's moral tenor and marginalizing Christianity.

In an exclusive interview, Schlafly told Newsmax that the president is wrong to say America isn't a Christian nation. And she strongly objected to the "political correctness that has infected the Pentagon, the Army, that was manifested in the Fort Hood massacre, and now with this dis-inviting of Franklin Graham."

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Newsmax.TV asked Schlafly: "Considering the president of the United States is traditionally expected to be a role model, do you think President Obama owes America an apology for the poor moral tone set by his presidency?"

"Yes I do," Schlafly replied. "And he should stop going around the world apologizing to other countries for America. Most other countries are better off because the United States has protected them against aggression. The great inventions of the United States have made their lives pleasanter and easier. And America is a very exceptional country.

"It's unfortunate that Obama does not believe in American exceptionalism, or the Christianity in America. Yes, he does owe us an apology," Schlafly said.

Among some of the other highlights: Schlafly also attacked the Bush family, saying conservatives were sick of them; claimed that Christians were being treated like smokers; and asserted that feminists hate Rep. Michele Bachmann and Sarah Palin because they have husbands, families, and success careers: 

She reacted strongly to former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush's statement that the GOP must shed its image as "the old white guy party" and move beyond nostalgia over the presidency of Ronald Reagan. "We're tired of the Bush family," Schlafly said bluntly. "They're ancient history now. We're proud to be the party of no. We say no to Obama's globalist ideas. We say no to his bad judicial appointments. We say no to his incredible spending, his spreading the wealth, and trying to turn America into something we're not. We're proud to be the party of no."

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Anti-Christian activists are trying to marginalize any public expression of Christian faith. "What the atheists are doing is treating Christians like smokers," Schlafly said. "In other words you can do it in your own room, in your own house, but not in public. And that's not the American way. Americans have always had public demonstrations of our belief in God. The pledge of allegiance is another thing that's under attack."

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"They are successful women," Schlafly told Newsmax. "And you need to understand that the main goal of the feminists is to make women feel they are victims of an oppressive, patriarchal society. And both Michele Bachmann and Sarah Palin are successful women. They've both got a neat husband, a lot of children, they have been successful in politics -- and that is what the feminists absolutely cannot stand."

• Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum has been forced to issue a statement trying to explain why his office paid George Rekers $120,000 for his anti-gay testimony.
• Marco Rubio sits down for an interview with Human Events.
• Frank Pavone says his "pro-life freedom rides" are just like the civil rights movement: "In that case, it was skin color. Today, it's the age of the child -- the fact that the child is still in the womb. But it's the same fundamental mistake that we think that we can exclude some human beings."
• I'm starting to think that the GOP is being run by Bartleby, the Scrivener.
• You know, if the National Day of Prayer is going to go on again next year even with government recognition, then why is the Right so miffed? Nobody is trying to stop them from holding events.
• Finally, don't let the United Nations destroy Mother's Day.