RELIGIOUS PROBLEMS
IN MODERN AMERICA
EVANGELISM, HOLY WAR
AND THE GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL CRISIS
EDITORIAL DISCLAIMER: We want to make very clear that we are certainly not opposed to all Christian people. There are many fine Christian people today. However, certain aspects of Christian theology have had disastrous effects on world history, and this is why they are listed. We are not going to debate whether many of the more troubling Bible verses are or are not "symbolic" rather than direct. However, in the real world of history, these ideas have not only been taken as direct truth by the Christian church but have been enshrined as law as result of the political power of the church. In particular, the largest campaign of religious persecution in world history came from Biblical theology became law in 395 and remained in force until the eighteenth century.
We have documented some of the grim horrors of past problems of Christianity in our Christian Totalitarianism Report.
In America severe religious problems are also nothing new. Before the Civil War many white evangelical "born again" Christians believed that their "personal relationship with Jesus Christ" required them to support the slave trade. (See our report.) We have also documented the totalitarian nature of the Puritan state in Boston. (See our report.)
Unfortunately, religious problems in Christianity are not limited to the past. Race was very much an issue in the birth of the modern "religious right". (See related article.) Jerry Falwell's original actions in politics were a vitriolic campaign against Martin Luther King and the civil rights movement.
Today we have very dangerous trends promoting holy war and imperialism. Top U.S. evangelical leaders such as Richard Land and Charles Colson openly campaigned for the American invasion of Iraq.
SEE ALSO: Ugly Realities of Some Evangelical Support for Israel The Crusades: Religious Delusion and Mass Murder
Now some of the these same political forces, plus others are actually trying to oppose efforts to stop global warming and the deadly threat it poses to our planet's future. These are ideas that could end up killing billions of people.
EVANGELICAL SUPPORT FOR PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP
For instance, around 70% of Evangelicals support President Donald Trump (Pew Research 2019). The Trump Administration is dangerous to life itself. This is a party that pulled the United States out of the Paris Climate Agreement. This is a party that has made tireless attempts to destroy the Affordable Care Act (which would take away healthcare from 20 million people), roll back protections for women and LGBT minorities, embolden the KKK, and is pushing for reprivatization of prisons and harsher drug sentences.
WORLD FUTURE FUND ARTICLES ON TRUMP: The Downfall of White Christian America Trump's Muslim Ban Trump Lies About Muslims and 9/11 The Insanity of the Republican Party
It is important to note that we are NOT saying all Christians share there views. There are many fine Christians who do not. However, the people and organizations listed below are not from the obscure fringe. Leaders such as Franklin Graham represent some of the most powerful organizations and people in American evangelism.
The following quotes and articles speak for themselves.
ADVOCATING HATRED OF ISLAM
SUPPORT FOR THE U.S. INVASION OF IRAQ
CALLS FOR ATTACKING IRAN
OPPOSING ARAB-ISRAELI PEACE INITIATIVES
OPPOSITION TO EFFORTS TO
STOP GLOBAL WARMING
I believe it [Islam] is a very evil and wicked religion." -- Franklin Graham, President, Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (NBC Nightly News, November 16, 2001)
Quotes on Islam by Franklin Graham compiled on ReligiousTolerance.org
Evangelicals Against Islam: A Collection of Quotes
Quotes on views toward Islam by many prominent right-wing evangelical leaders.
This page shows the statistical
results of a non-partisan poll on evangelical leaders’ views of Islam from
2002. The survey apparently makes the mistake, common in much of the
post-9/11 discourse, of conflating often misinformed ideas about Islam with the
Pat Robertson
Founder and Chairman of the Christian Broadcasting Network
The
goal of Islam, ladies and gentlemen, whether you like it or not, is world
domination."
--Pat Robertson on The 700 Club, March 13, 2006
“This is worse than the Nazis. Adolf Hitler was bad, but what the Muslims
want to do to the Jews is worse.”--Pat
Robertson on The 700 Club, November 11, 2002
Pat Robertson Defends Comments about Islam
Jerry Falwell (Deceased)
“Muhammad was a terrorist.”—Jerry
Falwell on 60 Minutes, October 6,
2002 Falwell
Brands Prophet Mohammed a Terrorist
Jerry Falwell: Founder of Islam Set a Bad Example Reverend Jerry Falwell and His Anti-Muslim Rant
Chuck Colson
Founder,Prison Fellowship
Ministries
Colson Writes that U.S. Culture Inflames Radical Islam
John Hagee
Founder, Cornerstone Church, National Chairman, Christians United for Israel
John Hagee calls for war against Islam
SUPPORT
FOR THE U.S. INVASION OF
ONE MILLION IRAQIS DIED IN A WAR CHEERED ON
BY TOP U.S. EVANGELICAL LEADERS
The Land Letter on Iraq
The letter below, sent to President Bush by some of the most powerful U.S. evangelical leaders, urged a U.S. invasion of Iraq under the pretext that it was a "Just Cause" as determined by so-called Just War Doctrine, as it has been espoused by the Religious Right. The letter was signed by Richard Land, President of Public Policy for the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, Chuck Colson, Founder, Prison Fellowship Ministries, William Bright, Co-Founder, Campus Crusade for Christ International, James Kennedy, President, Coral Ridge Ministries, Inc., and Carl Herbster, President, American Association of Christian Schools.
Evangelical Leaders' Letter to President Bush, October 3, 2002 Calling for a "Just War" in Iraq PDF Official
Evangelical Leaders' Letter to President Bush, October 3, 2002 Calling for a "Just War" in Iraq Wikipedia
Richard Land
President of Public Policy for the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention
“Conducting war in a just manner is an act of Christian love
that seeks to accomplish the divinely ordained duty of the state: to punish and
restrain evil and to protect and reward good. The Bush administration’s policy
vis-à-vis Saddam Hussein fits well within the framework of Just War theory.” –Richard
Land, in an article of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the
Southern Baptist Convention, Feb 6, 2003
An Interview with Richard Land
Other leaders
Silent Evangelical Support of Bush's Proposed War in Iraq
War in Babylon Has Evangelicals Seeing Earth's Final Days
CALLS
FOR ATTACKING
A report on
John Hagee’s paranoia and enthusiasm for Iran war
OPPOSING ARAB-ISRAELI PEACE INITIATIVES
Should Israel be willing to give up occupied territory for peace?
Most Israelis say yes but many conservative U.S. evangelicals say
no. They claim this would violate God's law. One of the most
visible evangelical proponents of this view is preacher John Hagee of
Evangelical Christians Plead for Israel
OPPOSITION TO EFFORTS TO STOP GLOBAL WARMING
Despite widespread scientific consensus on evidence for the existence of global warming, some within the Christian Right continue to argue against it. This has caused a split within the Christian Right as those who call for the protection and conservation of "God's Creation" are pitted against those who deny that climate change is coming. This section provides links to views from both sides of the argument.
A lot of the same evangelical leaders such as Colson and Land who cheered on the war in Iraq are now trying to oppose efforts to stop global warming.
General Stories
Christian Right Views are Swaying Politicians and Threatening the Environment
Evangelical Supporters of Efforts to Curb Global Warming
Evangelical Environmental Network
Evangelical leaders join efforts to counteract global warming
Evangelical leader calls global warming a “moral crisis”
Evangelical leaders join scientists to fight global warming
Evangelical Opponents of Efforts to Curb Global Warming
James Dobson urges evangelicals to fire or exclude leaders who favor counteracting global warming
Leader of National Association of Evangelicals criticized for take on global warming
Evangelical Leaders Warn Against Christian Involvement in “Climate Change” Hysteria