For people who claim to support the Constitution, Republicans surely have a way of ignoring it whenever it is inconvenient to do so. The First Amendment to the Constitution of the the United States protects the free exercise of religion, but Republican Bryan Fischer of the AFA insists only the religions he chooses should be protected.
Unsurprisingly, Bryan Fischer is not happy that religious leaders won’t be addressing a ceremony marking the ten year anniversary of the September 11th attacks in New York. A spokesman for Mayor Michael Bloomberg said that they wanted to keep the focus “on the families of the thousands who died on Sept. 11,” and the Wall Street Journal noted [Murdoch delinked] that previous events marking the anniversary similarly did not include religious speakers and that there “will be an interfaith event recognizing first responders on Sept. 6.”
But Fischer believes that Bloomberg is up to something more sinister. By failing to include religious speakers, Fischer insists that Bloomberg is “playing favorites, and his favoritism is heavily stacked toward Muslims.”
According to Fischer [Supply-side pseudo-Christian delinked], such public prayers should “be reserved for Christians and Jews,” (although he goes on to leave out the latter when he calls for prayer to be restricted to “the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ.”) Fischer explains that the Founding Fathers would have wanted it that way because Muslims “pray to a different god.” Of course, as we pointed out on Friday, the AFA made clear that Christians and Jews “do not worship the same God” and that Christians should build friendships with their Jewish neighbors to convert them… [emphasis added]
Inserted from <Right Wing Watch>
Fischer’s bigotry anti-American as well as anti-Christian. Republican hatred toward Muslims directly opposes both Jesus’ teaching and his practice, as he honored people with faiths different from his own. Fisher is just another Republican Supply-side pseudo-Christian. His views do not represent authentic Christianity.
23 Responses to “Republican Religious Bigotry”
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I’ll behave – honestly I will! This is the sort of bigotry that I associate far too often with the “chritians” I’ve come to know – and just as the muslims have their extremism and the jews have their orthodoxy and Israel – right or wrong, it is only one of several reasons I’ve been forced to reconsider the faith of my childhood – read the bible through 4 times studying it carefully and came to my atheistic conclusion without regret, although I do miss the comforting thought of “after death, afterlife” in a happy spot – rather than my own morbid after life consciousness/enrgy idea that more closely resembles buddhism. The fact that extremism incites bigotry – as does any of the above faiths due to their exclusivity is one of the most repulsive aspects that these religions have to offer, therefore that this idiot should spout off in the manner he does is of no surprise, and to be pure in one’s religion there is no escaping the fact that each is exclusionary and there is noone that follows its particular mandates – without exception each of these religions will interpret its tenets in a way that satisfies the reader – making even those adherents within each of these myths fight each other, if you have dissonance among the troops – heaven help you if they should have an enemy they can take out their vengeance on!
It doesn’t have to be that way. Some of us are happy to coexist.
Me too!
Thanks!
I agree with much of what you say (what we disagree on isn’t important).
Such exclusionary and hostile religious beliefs leads to tribalism, the basic sociological reason our society is falling apart. The reason that this extremist “christian” even gets any media coverage is that his divisiveness extends and expands the growing tribalism, something that the economic powers-that-be need to establish and maintain control over us. Divide and conquer – for profit. Even the God as people believe they understand becomes just another tool for the advancement of evil.
Very well said, my friend. I agree.
I am a Christian, but my Christianity bears no resemblance to the Republican version, thankfully.
I see God, the Creator, like a mountain. If I approach the mountain from the north sidde, it presents a certain face. If I approach the mountain from the east, it presents a different face. If I approach from the south or the west, again it presents different faces. But guess what, it is still the same mountain. The Creator does not change, but the people do. They do not think about what we all have in common but rather rally to the differences in hopes of pressing their own view, their own agenda. That becomes extremism. There is no place for extremism in this world.
I do not critise atheism because that is your experience, and I can understand your view given the extremism we see, by Christians, by Jews, by Muslims, by . . . well you name it.
There is a book called ‘Comparative Religion for Dummies’ by William P Lazarus and Mark Sullivan. No, I’m not doing a prop for it, but it does go into a comparison of Judaism, Christianity and Islam that can provoke some thought. You don’t have to “miss the comforting thought of “after death, afterlife” in a happy spot . . .” as you say.
I’m like you Lynn. I believe that, if an atheists are authentic in their beliefs, God honors them too.
To condemn this man for his ugly bigotry- just lowers us to his level of intolerance— I read a book– had a lot of really interesting things in it ; I think an appropriate bit from that book for Fischer might be the request for what ever God he prays to– :” Father forgive him ; for he knows not what he does—“
Phyllis, in many cases, I think they know perfectly well because they are charlatans.
You are right when you say it lowers us to their level but this may be a tad naive since the radical religious, especially the Dominionists do not want to play fair. They believe they are called by god to have dominion over the world which includes education, politics, art, corporations, etc. They are playing for keeps and are not adverse to using force and lying all in the name of god.
If one of my pastors was correct, they are misunderstanding the word “dominion.” As I understand it (knowing no Hebrew), the word we translate as “dominion” carries a strong connotation of “stewardship.” Dominion in the Biblical sense doesn’t mean domination or control, but caretaking. Of course, that’s not what the Dominionists mean by it….
Oudiva, your pastor was telling you the truth on this point. ‘Dominion’ does indeed mean stewardship, caretaking. It does NOT mean domination or control.
Yes. I can;t speak for the Hebrew words but the koine is clear in that regard.
Welcome Wanda. 🙂
Exactly!
It is people who think like this that become the martyrs held up for the rest of us to emulate. I’m sure the Aztecs had something similar to use to acquire sacrificial victims when they ran out of enemy captives.
They did.
Not surprising from a Talibangelical christianist like Fischer who claims the only “Christians” are protected by the First Amendment.
How bigoted!
He’s jumping the gun if he’s acting on his own volition. Neither Rick Perry nor Michele Bachmann has won election yet, nor has the entire Congress been subverted by dominionists. I can’t rule out that he’s serving the RNC in some capacity, however.
Too true, and we need to keep it that way!
Separation of church and state — this has to be otherwise you have inequality of citizens.
Going back to the article, Fischer is so far off base. Why should only his brand of Christians be allowed to lead prayers at the remembrance of 9/11? How many of those who were killed were Jews? How many were Muslims (not the perpetrators but the innocents caught in the buildings and planes)? How many belonged to other faiths or were atheists? How many of the rescue personnel were Jews, Muslims, Buddhists? The rescuers didn’t stop and say I can’t help you because you are not a Christian. The monument and remembrances should be for all.
Mr Fischer, and all those like him, need to reread their Bibles (assuming it isn’t a revisionist copy, and if it is I’ll give him mine!). Jesus made no differentiation between Jews and Gentiles. He spoke to the Samarian woman at the well and treated her with dignity even though culture at the time would have dictated otherwise. Jesus said ” . . . love your neighbour as yourself . . . “. There must be a whole lot of self proclaimed Christians that really hate themselves! We must do as Jesus says which means we respect each other and co-exist.
I can’t speak to their self-image, but their agenda has nothing in common with Christianity.