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 Chapter 3 The Great Religious Intolerance On September 11, 2001, radical Islamic extremists centered in Afghanistan attacked the Twin Towers at the World Trade Center in New York City. Jihadists, on suicide missions, hijacked planes loaded with passengers from a variety of countries and flew them into both of the towers. As the entire civilized world looked on in horror, the buildings both collapsed, eagerly swallowing up the living and the dead as they went down. Over three thousand lives were lost that day. This momentously tragic event became even more calamitous since it set the stage for religious backlash and for the ascent of the Catholic/Fundamentalist alliance twenty years later. That alliance greatly intensified the degree of religious intolerance present in the United States. The state of mind brought about by that intense religious intolerance, in conjunction with religious intolerance demonstrated by fundamentalist Muslims in the Middle East, culminated in the Great Religious War. Not only were the fundamentalist Muslims at fault for the 9/11 attack. To add insult to injury, the leader of Al Qaeda, Osama bin Laden, was seen worldwide, in video, celebrating the acts of terrorism. He was seen laughing about, and praising, the falling of the towers and the deaths of the American "infidels." There was no doubt that this was an Islam-triggered event. This revelation led to even further tragedy because it couldn't have come at a more unfortunate time in world politics. George W. Bush had only been in office since January of 2001. His prior experience had been as a governor of Texas. He had no international experience with diplomacy. Moreover, diplomacy was not a quality that would easily come to him. Just like the jihadists and Osama bin Laden, President Bush seemed to have a calling. He evidently believed that God had chosen him to lead the country. Now he apparently knew why. It seems that George W. Bush felt that only he, with a tough take-charge aura, could salvage the United States following its devastation. One only needs to look back into President Bush's earlier life to understand his mindset. Years before becoming president, rumor had it that George had become a problem drinker. His inability to cope with his alcoholism apparently led to unfortunate displays of diminished self-control. It was rumored that he had been arrested for drunken driving. His drinking was leading to problems in other areas of life. He seemed on a road to self-destruction. Then something happened that, in his mind, showed him a way to get his life back. He accepted Jesus Christ as his personal savior and became a born-again Christian. This simple act of "being saved" profoundly changed him. He gave up alcohol. However, as those with an addictive personality often do, he then seemingly substituted one addictive coping mechanism for another. Instead of allowing alcohol to dictate his life, he allowed the rigid fundamentalist teachings of his Christian faith to control and ordain it. George W. Bush had attended both Yale and Harvard. However, many felt that he'd merely gained his admissions into those universities through the influence of his family. Many also felt that he was of only average intelligence. He did not demonstrate the caliber of intellectual ability that one would expect from a graduate of Yale or Harvard. Indeed, he had personality traits that would interfere with the sense of curiosity necessary to form thoughtful logical conclusions based upon facts. He had a stubborn, inflexible approach to decision making. He also had a simplistic view of problem solving. His decisions appeared to be impulsive, not well thought out and not based in logic and the facts. Probably, as a consequence of George's earlier drinking days, he was a friendly and likeable sort. In fact, he seemed a bit too affable. He was loyal to friendships to a fault. He tolerated incompetence, and his cronyism was rather obvious. The friends and colleagues whom he appointed to important positions frequently had little or no qualifications for those positions. George W. Bush was an oilman from Texas. His links were to other oilmen in Texas who shared his interests. Those interests often seemed limited to a desire for more American power and more control over Middle Eastern oil. Moreover, individuals, particularly other oilmen, with self-serving motives that were dangerous to the country, easily influenced him. This was the mindset of George W. Bush, president of the United States, when the Twin Towers were attacked in 2001. Couple this with a delusional belief that he had been chosen by God to lead the country, and you had before you an inevitable recipe for disaster. It was rather quickly determined that bin Laden and his group, Al Qaeda, had been responsible for the Twin Towers tragedy. President Bush took charge of the devastation, and the entire nation rallied around him. The evidence left little doubt that the Taliban in Afghanistan was supporting the Al Qaeda movement. It was clearly giving refuge to bin Laden. The degree of nonpartisan support in America seemed unprecedented. In fact, it seemed that most of the world was sympathetic to, and rallying behind, the United States. President Bush sought congressional approval to invade Afghanistan, and it was quickly forthcoming. There was little, if any, opposition to U.S. retaliation. We had been attacked, and we were defending ourselves. It was that simple. President Bush swore that he would get bin Laden dead or alive. The invasion of Afghanistan was partially effective in that the Taliban was quickly routed. Unfortunately, the leaders of the Taliban were neither completely exterminated nor captured. Instead, a great majority of them, including Osama bin Laden, merely went underground, primarily into Pakistan. Nonetheless, President Bush declared victory, and celebrations took place in the United States. The majority of troops came home with some left behind to maintain order. Almost everyone thought that the surgical attacks were successful in removing a dirty, politically cancerous growth. Few seemed to realize that the wounds would remain to fester and reopen. George W. Bush gave a State of the Union Address in January 2002. This is part of what he said to the applause of the nation: We last met in an hour of shock and suffering. In four short months, our nation has comforted the victims, begun to rebuild New York and the Pentagon, rallied a great coalition, captured, arrested, and rid the world of thousands of terrorists, destroyed Afghanistan's terrorist training camps, saved a people from starvation, and freed a country from brutal oppression. America and Afghanistan are now allies against terror. We'll be partners in rebuilding that country. And this evening we welcome the distinguished interim leader of a liberated Afghanistan: Chairman Hamid Karzai.The last time we met in this chamber, the mothers and daughters of Afghanistan were captives in their own homes, forbidden from working or going to school. Today women are free, and are part of Afghanistan's new government. And we welcome the new Ministerof Women's Affairs, Doctor Sima Samar. The men and women of our Armed Forces have delivered a message now clear to every enemy of the United States: Even 7,000 miles away, across oceans and continents, on mountaintops and in caves—you will not escape the justice of this nation. (Applause.) North Korea is a regime arming with missiles and weapons of mass destruction, while starving its citizens. Iran aggressively pursues these weapons and exports terror, while an unelected few repress the Iranian people's hope for freedom. Iraq continues to flaunt its hostility toward America and to support terror. The Iraqi regime has plotted to develop anthrax, and nerve gas, and nuclear weapons for over a decade. This is a regime that has already used poison gas to murder thousands of its own citizens—leaving the bodies of mothers huddled over their dead children. This is a regime that agreed to international inspections—thenkicked out the inspectors. This is a regime that has something to hide from the civilized world. States like these, and their terrorist allies, constitute an axis of evil, arming to threaten the peace of the world.The United States of America will not permit the world's most dangerous regimes to threaten us with the world's most destructive weapons. (Applause.) But America will always stand firm for the non-negotiable demands of human dignity: the rule of law; limits on the power of the state; respect for women; private property; free speech; equal justice;and religioustolerance. We've come to know truths that we will never question: evil is real, and it must be opposed. Beyond all differences of race or creed, we are one country, mourning together and facing danger together. Deep in the American character, there is honor, and it is stronger than cynicism. And many have discovered again that even in tragedy—especially in tragedy—God is near. History later revealed that, as Mark Twain may have said had he been there, the rumors of the Taliban's death were greatly exaggerated. However, this address hinted at another agenda. North Korea, Iran, and Iraq were designated as the "axis of evil." Of interest, more detail was provided regarding Iraq. In fact, only that country was singled out as having something to hide. Some wondered if President Bush felt free to opportunistically use the tragedy of 9/11 to forward his own personal agenda. Many were aware of his grudge against Saddam Hussein for the attempted assassination of George W.'s father. Could it be that this president had been plotting his revenge even before 9/11? Was he merely the recipient of a gift from that devastation—a gift to justify a war? Could it be that if the Iraq war had been effectively and quickly concluded, he had additional plans to invade North Korea and Iran as well? Was he delusional enough to think that God would be on his side so he couldn't lose? Some thought that history and the facts would suggest an answer: Yes. Believing that God had been with him and that the Taliban had been defeated, President Bush turned his attentions to other arenas. He seemed to have an uncanny knack for provoking those of non-Judeo-Christian faiths. George W. Bush made another speech on November 6, 2002. That speech revealed the following as to his beliefs about America:Liberty is both the plan of Heaven for humanity, and the best hope for progress here on Earth. Those views could certainly be perceived as the precursor to a desire for Christian imperialism.
Chapter 4 The Extension of Western Imperialism In 2002, President Bush accused Iraq of harboring weapons of mass destruction. He had no proof of WMDs, as they came to be called. Still, fear and hysteria following the 9/11 attacks set the stage for irrational thought. Not only the president but Congress and the populace as well appeared unable to think beyond panic and revenge. Almost everyone rushed forward to hop on the sword-rattling bandwagon with no thought as to the consequences. Some seemingly more sane voices tried to remind the country of the Vietnam War era, but to no avail. One cable news network stepped forward to take the lead in portraying the unquestionable sanity and absolute necessity for a misguided and unplanned invasion of Iraq.On September 12, 2002, President Bush was supposedly trying to work with the United Nations Security Council to make sure that Security Council resolutions were enforced. Time and time again, the United Nations tried to call for restraint and patience. George W. Bush would not heed a word of it. Consistent with his imperialistic crusade, he prepared for war. Moreover, he convinced most of those about him that there was no other option. On October 16, 2002, Congress issued a joint resolution entitled Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002. The resolution characterized an attack on Iraq as part of the United States' determination to prosecute the war on terrorism. It stated as follows: "Iraq's ongoing support for international terrorist groups combined with its development of weapons of mass destruction" justified "the use of force if necessary." Congress had essentially authorized the president to do whatever he felt should be done. That emboldened him and his administration. On what was to be called "A-Day," the United States planned to commence with air strikes "so devastating they would leave Saddam's soldiers unable or unwilling to fight."[i] The air force and the navy planned to launch between three hundred and four hundred cruise missiles on one day in March 2003. A CBS News correspondent noted that this would be more than were launched during the entire forty days of the first Gulf War.[ii] The United States planned to launch another three hundred to four hundred cruise missiles on the second day of the attack. One Pentagon official who had been briefed on the plan said, "There will not be a safe place in Baghdad."[iii] The Pentagon called the plan "Shock and Awe." The goal was to destroy the enemy's will to fight. Apparently, according to plan, if Shock and Awe worked, there would not be a ground war.[iv] Even before this war started, some members of the Bush administration had concerns that Shock and Awe would not succeed. In fact, one senior official was reported to have called it "a bunch of bull." Nonetheless, this official confirmed that Shock and Awe would be the strategy.[v] According to the thoughts of Harlan Ullman, we planned to do to Baghdad what we did to Hiroshima in World War II.[vi] Yet, some feared that the essence of U.S. foreign policy had deteriorated. According to one professor of religious studies, the United States was "Putting on a terrifying show for the whole world to see … just so they know who is the meanest, toughest son of a bitch on the global block."[vii] The politically useful name of the war campaign: Operation Iraqi Freedom. George W. Bush ordered dropping of the first bombs, which commenced on March 21, 2003. The Shock and Awe slogan was consistent with his cowboy mentality and his showboat personality. It made the violent onslaught sound like an early celebration of the Fourth of July. News networks showed detailed footage of the bombs being dropped and the country being literally destroyed. Of course, given the financial resources and the big guns of the United States, the U.S. military quickly routed the enemy troops. Apparently, George W. Bush seriously believed that the war was over and that we had won. He announced on the deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln on May 1, 2003, with the backdrop of a banner reading "Mission Accomplished," that we had fully completed our agenda. He couldn't have been more wrong, and, it would seem, he had no idea what lay in store for him. If God was indeed on his side, he was keeping himself well detached from the disastrous consequences to come. After Shock and Awe, not much in Iraq was left unscathed. The "surgical attacks" destroyed more than arsenals and weapons strongholds. The bombs also destroyed hospitals, schools, mosques, and homes. The "surgical attacks" not only took out military personnel. The bombs killed civilians as well. Men, women, and children were victims of "collateral damage." It would appear that a modern-day Moses, operating under divine orders, was attacking another generation of Midianites.[viii] This time, the aggressors were not necessarily told to intentionally kill the civilians. Rather, they seemed indifferent to civilian welfare. They appeared able to deny the foreseeable consequences of their actions. Even more shamefully, they were reluctant or unwilling to even acknowledge when civilian suffering and death occurred.
Chapter 5 Christian Churches and Christian Fears in 2007 As with most religions, Christians based their beliefs on faith. These beliefs included the basic tenets of Christianity. One of those tenets essential to the Christian faith was that Jesus Christ had died and had experienced a physical resurrection of his body. That belief, of course, was celebrated every year at Easter. However, in 2007, a documentary put that theory into question. In 1980, a tomb had been found in the Middle East. Although ignored for over twenty years, Charles Pellegreno wrote a book about the finding, entitled The Jesus Family Tomb. A documentary followed. According to that documentary, The Lost Tomb of Jesus,[ix] the tomb of Jesus had been found with sediment from his remains. The remains of others were also found in the tomb including Mary Magdalene and Judah, believed to be the son of Jesus. The documentary concluded that based upon DNA studies, Mary was not a relative of Jesus. Even more intriguing, based upon tradition at the time of Jesus's death, if she was not related to him by blood but was buried in his tomb, she was most likely married to Jesus. Of course, all Christian faiths, particularly the Evangelicals that strictly construed the Bible, strongly and emotionally rejected such conclusions. Alleging that there was physical scientific proof that Jesus had likely been married, and likely fathered a child, was untenable to them. Even more importantly, the idea that he had not bodily risen from the dead attacked the very foundation of Christian theology. This was significant because, in 2007, two-thirds of the nation's citizens considered America to be a Christian nation. Nine out of ten Americans, in 2007, considered themselves to be Christian.[x] Yet, identifying the true meaning of Christianity was difficult because many different creeds existed. According to a Baylor University study, about 34 percent, or 100 million Christians, professed to be Evangelical. These Evangelicals comprised several denominations, primarily Baptist. Such churches literally interpreted the Bible, tended to be politically conservative, and were primarily in the South. Twenty-two percent of the Christians who were not Evangelical were in mainline denominations such as Presbyterian or Episcopalian. They took a more flexible approach, did not literally interpret the Bible, and tended to be more politically liberal. Some African Americans, about 5 percent, belonged to African American Christian churches such as Methodist ME. The largest single denomination was Catholic with 21 percent concentrated in the eastern part of the country. However, Evangelical Christians were growing in numbers more than any other group. It was easy to calculate that a combination of Evangelical Christians and Catholics would constitute 55 percent of the population.[xi] Often, Christians, particularly Fundamentalists, believed that their religion was under attack. They resented the ACLU's attempt to keep Christmas out of public places. They disliked secular humanism, and they organized in ways to become politically significant. Banning same-sex marriage and assuring the election of conservative candidates, and the appointment of conservative Supreme Court justices, was high on their agenda. One church had a picture of George W. Bush hanging in the church's preschool. The pastor characterized the 2006 election of Democrats to Congress as a "crucifixion." Some individuals, particularly those in the intellectual arena of colleges and universities, objected to the politicalization of religion and the lack of tolerance. However, pastors said that although Jesus had a place for tolerance, he also had a place for truth.[xii] According to what was generally referred to as the "Religious Right," America was in danger. To their way of thinking, America could only be saved by an army of the righteous. To this end, and armed with biblical text, the Religious Right anointed Israel as the only nation deliberately created by a sovereign act of God. Many Christians and Jews were aligned together into a Judeo-Christian political union. Seven of ten Evangelicals contended that God gave the land of Israel to the Jews. One Christian church raised $18 million for Israeli charities. Moreover, it brought 3,500 Evangelicals to lobby in Washington for a hard line in support of Israel.[xiii] As always, the Bible was the basis for that support. During this same time frame, strange fringe-group religions started to spring up. The pastors of these churches preached a theology based upon obtaining money and wealth through faith. One in Dallas was the apparent precursor to the religious movement fronted by Rev. Rob. The Dallas church became the largest television church in the country based upon the concept that good faith and good fortune go hand in hand. Another stated: "The word of God is the gateway to the world of wealth. … Poverty is a curse. Poor people can find riches if only they believe."[xiv] Both pastors had luxurious expensive homes and drove pretentious costly cars. Some Christians had rejected the strict dogma of the traditional Christian churches. They reached out to churches like the Unitarian denomination. Unitarians had no specific creeds. The church allowed for free thought, questioning of faith, and independent analysis of one's religious beliefs. However, Unitarian churches were in the minority with little more than one thousand churches and about 220,000 members. Also, some new isolated Christian churches were taking more liberal stands in favor of conservation in recognition of global warming. Yet the most influential Christian churches, the Evangelicals, saw nature as existing only secondary to man. For authority, they referenced the Bible specifically stating that human beings are most important.[xv] Many pastors were preaching that the end was coming soon when all Christians would vanish from earth, during the Rapture. The faithful would then spend eternity with their savior as foretold in Revelation. What was happening in the Middle East, with the radical Islamic extremists, was seen as the beginning of the end. The Christian evangelicals viewed the radical extremists essentially as Satan. Pastors saw the chaos in the Middle East as a clear sign that the end is near. A CNN-TIME poll taken in 2002 revealed that 59 percent of those polled believed that the events of Revelation would come to pass. There would be a battle in Israel where Jesus wins over the antichrist. For most of the Religious Right, the antichrist in 2007 was the president of Iran since he had threatened to destroy Israel.[xvi] This set the stage for what was eventually to pass. Fear and hatred provided the fertile soil upon which the teachings of fundamentalist preachers like Rev. Rob could sprout and flourish.** In 2008, there was a general election for the president and vice president of the United States. At first, all of the candidates seemed remarkably the same. Each of them bent over backward to convince the populace of two things: first, that he or she loved Jesus more and, second, that he or she would be the toughest on protecting all Americans from "the bad guys." Occasionally, a candidate would misstep and not sound exactly like the others. If that happened, as with anything else that could prove embarrassing to a candidate, the media stepped in to make the candidate look bad so that he readily got back in step. For example, one candidate suggested, if he were president, he might personally talk to heads of governments that were not very friendly to the United States. He suggested that refusing to talk to the heads of unfriendly nations, just because they disagreed with the United States, might not be the best way to foster cooperation and solve problems. The other candidates swiftly, and thoroughly, chastised him. As time went on, differences between the candidates did become clear regarding continuation of the Iraq war. Unfortunately, with the election of a new Republican president in 2008,[xvii] after many instances of voter intimidation and voter irregularities, no one was able to find a practical way to end the war. In 2010, Osama bin Laden was captured. He was put on trial in the United States. The trial resulted in massive demonstrations in the Islamic nations against the United States. The American jury convicted bin Laden. He was subsequently executed only to become a martyr for the jihadist movement. Few of our allies could understand how the United States could not anticipate his rise to martyrdom. To avenge his death, more terrorist attacks took place in the West. Terrorists found ways to poison food supplies and otherwise corrupt any imports into the United States and other non-Islamic countries. In retaliation, the United States and other Christian nations directed similar, but covert, acts of terrorism toward the citizens of Islamic countries. Those instigating the attacks never disclosed their actions to members of Congress or to the general public. Moreover, the United States fervently denied any responsibility for the acts of terrorism. Many innocent victims, in both Islamic and in predominantly Christian nations, suffered and died just because of violent religious intolerance. No one had any effective plan to stop the violence. The leaders flexed their military muscles and asked for help from their respective deities. Much to their chagrin, no deities came forward to help at all. More violence just begot more violence. And so it went, on and on. More propaganda in America resulted in more fear of attack. Because of this fear, the citizens in 2012 elected the most conservative administration in the history of the United States. This administration legislated enormous spending for munitions and weapons and "national security." More and more personal liberties were sacrificed to "protect democracy from the evil 'bad guys' wanting to attack us." There was less and less spending for any programs even remotely related to the needs of the American people. The injured veterans returning home were again forgotten. More and more people earned less and less money while the majority of wealth became even more centralized in the hands of the small minority. Income taxes for the wealthy were cut dramatically. Ways to completely avoid estate taxes became the norm. Families of wealth just passed more and more of their income on to their children. The money in those families became more and more concentrated, and the family members became more and more affluent. Yet poverty was becoming the norm for the majority of citizens in the United States—even those still fortunate enough to be employed. Unions fell into disarray because of newly enacted employer-friendly laws. Unemployment was exacerbated by the legal influx of workers from impoverished countries like Mexico. Many citizens had no jobs and no incomes at all. Those in charge failed to do anything substantial to reduce the country's dependence on oil. Although foreign oil had been seen as the only problem, it wasn't. All of the oil companies were in collusion with one another. So it really didn't matter what countries were involved in the production and sale of petroleum products. The oil companies, as a group, manipulated and controlled the price of crude oil and refined oil. They dominated the automotive industry and conspired to keep gasoline consumption from being reduced in vehicles. They thwarted any attempts to produce non-oil based fueled vehicles. Proposed "solutions" like ethanol were nothing but an attempt at insincere appeasement. The oil industry knew that those approaches were most likely doomed for failure. Yet the industry was prepared in any event. If new approaches were successful, the oil industry managers intended to monopolize those markets as well. Arguments were made, quite meritoriously, that the grain used to produce ethanol was taking food out of the mouths of the desperately impoverished. Yet very few seemed to care. In any event, the price of oil shot up to the point where only the wealthiest could afford to drive cars. They made no attempt to curb their consumption—they didn't need to, so why should they? The United States administration of 2012 proposed that global warming either didn't exist or wasn't a serious problem. The members argued that even if it did exist, it wasn't because of humans. No one able to afford the affluent lifestyle was willing to give it up just for the sake of stopping global warming. They wanted to do what they wanted to do, and they did. As other countries became more industrialized, they followed the lead of the United States. If the largest industrial nation in the world didn't care about global warming, why should they? So those in power in India, China, and other newly industrialized countries increased their pollution. They did so for the sake of profit, just like the industrialists in the United States of America. By 2012, health care had become unaffordable for most. Soon, only the wealthy could afford more than just doctor visits. New laws were enacted to allow hospitals to turn away those without money. Even the obligation to treat and stabilize was repealed. Hospitals could refuse to treat the ill and injured at emergency rooms unless the individuals could provide proof of the ability to pay. Most hospitals required a cash retainer for payment of services before any care would be provided. Many people suffered and died because of these policies. Yet it was obvious that those in charge were quite indifferent to the inequities at hand. Abortion became illegal. However, services for children born of unwanted pregnancies were slashed and, essentially, became obsolete. Any pregnant woman was on her own with her baby. If she had no family resources, that was her problem. If she had no health care coverage for her and her child, she went without. It seemed that civilization had hardened its heart. If you became pregnant outside of marriage, you were expected to pay the price. If your innocent baby had to pay the price, too, so be it. It soon was recognized that the majority of all political "servants" were male white Christian fundamentalists. This included the Supreme Court and the federal bench as well. The mindset of these men set the tone for legislation that changed education and all of society in America. The Supreme Court heard issues related to teaching of creationism and evolution in the schools. It found that creationism had a reasonable basis in fact while evolution did not. Thus, evolution should not be taught, and creationism should. The Supreme Court, which was obliged to interpret the highest law of the land, believed that its obligation was to enforce and encourage the norms of society. The highest law of the land, according to them, included only those laws that emanated from "natural law," being the law given down by God. The Bible became the final authority to which all other laws had to submit and conform. Minorities, such as homosexual males and females, and nonmarried individuals, suffered immensely. The new laws treated them far less favorably than the individuals in the majority. On the other hand, those few people who had acquired vast wealth were treated to favorable legislation. A caste system became evident as time went on. Fewer and fewer individuals outside of extremely affluent society could take advantage of higher education. Grants and other means of assistance for the underprivileged dried up. Again, either few seemed to care, or they felt powerless to do anything about their unfortunate circumstances. Perhaps those who felt persecuted or those who felt powerless took solace in the fact that things could be much worse. Yet their solace was short lived. It was soon replaced by the realization that things had become much worse. By 2016, a climate fertile for the teachings of the likes of Rev. Rob had come to pass. His popularity soared through the mainstream of society. Different conservative administrations in Washington came and went in 2016 and 2020. Little changed in the Middle East except for the continuation of endless war. In addition, there was a passionate upsurge in intolerance of Muslims by Christians and vice versa. A momentous increase in the desire for jihad by Muslim extremists led to more terrorism. Jerusalem was a constant target of jihadist terrorists. By 2016, fringe groups of radical Christians decided it was time to retaliate. Just as they had found it appropriate to bomb abortion clinics decades before, they decided it was time to bring their vigilante terrorist tactics to the Muslim devils. The national mood in the United States pointed toward becoming a purely Christian nation. More and more Christian views became intertwined with nationalism. The vast majority of citizens, those with lesser intellect who gave little thought to the matter, accepted the theocratic ideology like sheep. A significant minority with higher intellect was concerned about the theocratic nationalists. However, they kept their thoughts and views to themselves. It was obvious to them that the nation had reached a point where you could not be a patriot without being a Christian theocrat. The United States was deemed conceived as a Judeo-Christian nation. The Christian establishment did not want anyone to forget that. By 2020, Rev. Rob was the most notable and persuasive spokesman for that very concept.
1CBS Evening News, January 24, 2003. 2CBS Evening News, January 24, 2003, News Correspondent David Martin. [iii]CBS Evening News, January 24, 2003. [vi] CommonDreams.org, January 27, 2003. [vii] CommonDreams.org, January 27, 2003, Ira Chemus, professor of religious studies at the University of Colorado at Boulder. [viii]Bible, Old Testament, Numbers 31:1–18. [ix]Produced by James Cameron and directed by Simcha Jacobovici. [x] Anderson Cooper, The Jesus Mystery (Atlanta: CNN, March 2, 2007). e
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