Planet of the jihadists (graphic: from deep in the Tidmus Archives)

[ updated: see below ]

Laurie Goodstein, writing at The New York Times, alerts us to this latest bit of hysteria from the radical religious right. They’re apparently experiencing some kind of collective Howard Beale moment — as in they’re mad as Hell and they’re not going to take it anymore:

Citing the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s call to civil disobedience, 145 evangelical, Roman Catholic and Orthodox Christian leaders have signed a declaration saying they will not cooperate with laws that they say could be used to compel their institutions to participate in abortions, or to bless or in any way recognize same-sex couples.

“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 says.

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.

Apparently, convicted Watergate felon Chuck Colson is behind the wheel of the christianist clown car this time out. That would be the same advocate of domestic terrorism who thought, according to former Nixon White House Chief of Staff HR Haldeman, fire bombing the liberal Brookings Institute was a good thing. Colson also suggested feeding anti-Nixon commentator Jack Anderson LSD. Dude has nearly as many greatest mistakes of my life in his closet as christianist pin-up Carrie Prejean.

This collection of frustrated Busheviks have announced their intention to issue a document they’re calling the Manhattan Declaration: A Call of Christian Conscience. The only problem is: this grandstanding bit of malarkey tramples all over the religious liberties, conscience and Constitutionally-protected rights of real Christians and Americans of other faiths and non-faiths who disagree with the strategy and objectives of this coterie of jack-booted thugs.

The list of 145 signatories is a veritable who’s who of homophobia in America. Quelle surprise !

The document says, “We will not comply with any edict that purports to compel our institutions to participate in abortions, embryo-destructive research, assisted suicide and euthanasia, or any other antilife act; nor will we bend to any rule purporting to force us to bless immoral sexual partnerships, treat them as marriages or the equivalent.”

But, of course, these pro-life hypocrites are fine with capital punishment, war and torture.

Ira C. Lupu, a law professor at George Washington University Law School, said it was “fear-mongering” to suggest that religious institutions would be forced to do any of those things. He said they are protected by the First Amendment, and by conscience clauses that allow medical professionals and hospitals to opt out of performing certain procedures, and religious exemptions written into same-sex marriage bills.

Jeremy Hooper, at Good As You, got his hand on an advance copy. Here’s a taste:

It is ironic that those who today assert a right to kill the unborn, aged and disabled and also a right to engage in immoral sexual practices, and even a right to have relationships integrated around these practices be recognized and blessed by law—such persons claiming these “rights” are very often in the vanguard of those who would trample upon the freedom of others to express their religious and moral commitments to the sanctity of life and to the dignity of marriage as the conjugal union of husband and wife.

One thing is clear, above the incessant honking of the christianist clown car’s horn, these pseudo-christian supremacists are out to preserve the traditional definition of insanity. Can they really expect to be taken seriously? I think not. Their day has come and gone.

Read more:

• Jeremy Hooper (Good As You): Far right to issue manifesto, drag Big Apple into rotten attacks
• Michelangelo Signorile: Latest Fundie Whine: “The Manhattan Declaration”
• Bruce Garrett (Truth Wins Out): Statement Of Conscience: Just Give Us The Money
• Kyle at Right Wing Watch: Manhattan Declaration: The Right’s Last Hope For Stopping The Looming Obama-Nazi Dictatorship
• Truth Wins Out: TWO Declares ‘Manhattan Declaration’ is Bigoted, Lawless and a Danger to American Values
• Sandhya Bathija (Americans United): Praying For Theocracy?: Across The Country, Groups Seek To Impose ‘Religious Law’

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UPDATE (20 November 10:33am):

Kyle at Right Wing Watch has a priceless video clip of Chuck Colson doing a little dog and pony in advance of the Manhattan Desecration:

Chuck Colson’s Two Minute Warning: Manhattan Declaration
(video: Right Wing Watch at YouTube)

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UPDATE (20 November 12:59pm):

Americans United for Separation of Church and State has issued a press release condemning the Manhattan Declaration:

Americans United charges that the real agenda is not protecting the religious freedom of churches, but rather attempting to impose those doctrines on all Americans by government decree.

Said the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, Americans United executive director, “This declaration is certain to be deeply divisive. These religious leaders want to see their doctrines imposed by force of law, and that goes against everything America stands for.

“The United States is an incredibly diverse nation,” he continued, “and it would be a disaster if government started favoring one religious perspective over others.”

Tags: Crazy Fundies, Harry Jackson, Queer Culture, Queer Rights, The Manhattan Declaration, The Right, Theofascism

This entry was posted on Friday, November 20th, 2009 at 10:18 am and is filed under People, Politics, Religion. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.