Washington, DC — Snubbing the conservative Christians who helped him
win the Republican nomination for president, Sen. Bob Dole declared
that abortion is not a litmus test for his vice presidential choice.
"We're all Republicans. We can be pro-choice, pro-life," Dole said.
Calling it a "terrible mistake," Gary Bauer of the Family Research
Council, told National & International Religion Report
that such a choice by Dole would show a lack of seriousness about the
issue. At 72, if Dole wins the election, he may not complete his term,
and even if he does, it is likely that his vice president would
succeed him.
"Pro-life Christian voters will not accept candidates who act like
conservatives in the primaries but move to the center in the general
election, Focus on the Family's Paul Hetrick said. "That's not going
to cut it. As far as the pro-life vote goes, it just doesn't fit."
A number of conservative Christian leaders, including James Dobson of
Focus on the Family, Chuck Colson of Prison Fellowship, Bill Bright of
Campus Crusade, sent a message to Dole and other Republican leaders
urging them to protect the pro-life position of the party. Some of
these leaders have warned of a mass exodus from the GOP to a third
party. The party most-often mentioned is Howard Phillips' U.S.
Taxpayers Party. (Source: National & International Religion
Report, April 1, 1996)
Chicago, Illinois — After Billy Graham, 61-year-old Argentine-born
Luis Palau is probably the world's most popular evangelist. Based in
Portland, Oregon, Palau is especially well-known overseas. Out of
respect to Billy Graham, Palau waited until the 1990s to preach in
America.
Palau began an eight-week crusade in Chicago on April 4, 1996. With a
$2.2 million budget, and the participation of more than 1,500 churches
in the Chicago area, Palau hoped to attract 500,000 people.
In a recent interview with Christianity Today, Palau was
asked, "What are your opinions about Christians being involved in
politics?"
"Those who are called to enter the political arena should take it as a
ministry from the Lord. I don't care if he or she is left wing, right
wing, an atheist, or a religious leader; I always tell politicians,
'Your position is a delegated authority from God and you are a
minister of God' (Romans 13). So I encourage them to think of justice
and righteousness, and to defend the poor and the needy. That's the
role of a politician.
"I think that Paul, if he were here, would encourage young people to
be the salt and light in public places. But politics has its limits.
Don't expect from politics what politics cannot deliver. Don't confuse
the kingdom of God with party politics." (Source: Christianity
Today, April 8, 1996)
Washington, DC — Public support for freedom of expression is being
diminished by the growing number of politicians who have adopted the
right wing strategy of exploiting culture war issues for political
gain, according to a report just released by People for the American
Way. The fourth edition of Artistic Freedom Under Attack
documents 137 challenges to artistic expression in 41 states and the
District of Columbia. Of those challenges, 73 percent were successful
in having artwork removed or restricted in some way.
To portray more accurately the breadth of the culture war in America,
researchers for the first time included in this year's Artistic
Freedom Under Attack incidents involving popular culture such
as television, films, music, and advertisements, in addition to the
fine arts that have been the report's traditional focus.
"Culture warriors are going after free expression in television and
films and even cyberspace," said People for the American Way research
director Matthew Freeman. "Rather than viewing new technologies like
the Internet as an opportunity to inform, engage, and challenge one
another, self-appointed morality watchdogs are working to diminish
those opportunities through censorship. And by grossly distorting the
nature of most material available, they have eroded the public's
natural opposition to censorship."
The Christian Coalition, American Family Association, and other
Religious Right political organizations continue to lead a national
assault aimed at silencing individual artists and undercutting public
support for continued funding of arts and culture; that effort
continues to spread at the local level, the report says.
Artistic Freedom Under Attack 1996 also includes
information and assistance for those who want to confront and defeat
challenges to the arts in their communities. The activist's kit
includes: information about the First Amendment and artistic
freedom, guidelines for coalition-building, working with the media,
organizing grassroots campaigns, and more. People for the American
Way may be reached at (202) 467-4999.
Kansas City, Missouri — Since 1993, five people have been killed and
eleven wounded at clinics across the country. Sixteen months after the
massacre by John Salvi III at a Brookline, Massachusetts clinic that
left two dead and five wounded, abortion providers find themselves
working in virtual armed fortresses. Clinics are spending hundreds of
thousands of dollars a year for armed security guards and high-tech
security equipment, including metal detectors and closed-circuit TV
systems.
Although there hasn't been a shooting in almost a year and half,
antiabortion terrorism continues. In 1995, six acts of arson were
reported at clinics in California and two in Florida, one of which
destroyed a St. Petersburg clinic.
In January of this year, a Chicago-area man was convicted of robbing
an armored car to finance antiabortion activities. He said he planned
to kill at least one doctor by August 22, 1996.
In spite of these continuing activities, the Department of Justice
recently dropped its investigation into the possibility of a
nationwide conspiracy against abortion facilities and doctors.
Abortion providers still believe such a conspiracy exists.
"All of our information certainly points to a violent national
campaign to stop legal abortion," said Vicki Saporta, director of the
National Abortion Federation. "These people are meeting, plotting to
do violent acts and encouraging one another. They exchange
information, they target physicians. It's just outrageous that the
government would back off of this." (Source: "Fear lingers at abortion
clinics," by Judy Thomas, The Kansas City Star, March 10,
1996)
Anaheim, California — Millions of fundamentalist Christians embrace a
doctrine called "the rapture of the church," which literally involves
born-again Christians flying off into the clouds to meet Jesus when he
comes. Meanwhile, after Jesus takes the believers off to heaven,
unbelievers are left behind to duke it out with the Antichrist.
What is to happen with all the property the faithful leave behind —
after all, they would be declared missing persons? In many states, the
heirs of a missing person must wait five years to receive any
distribution of property. In the meantime, state probate courts decide
what to do with the property.
Meanwhile, after the rapture takes place the Antichrist would gobble
up all the property the Christians left behind. Challenged by this
dilemma, Dennis Watson, an Anaheim, California attorney, figured out a
way to provide for loved ones who might be left behind. It's called
"the Rapture Amendment."
The Rapture Amendment would be signed, notarized, and attached to a
Christian's revocable trust document. The amendment would not be
effective until and unless the rapture occurs. Still, Watson admits,
there is no guarantee the amendment would be effective.
"I think it is important to try and do what we can to help those who
will become believers after Christ comes and takes his church," Watson
said. "Revelation 7:14 speaks of a great crowd of people in heaven who
will have been killed during the tribulation period [an event that
Christian Bible teachers say will come after the rapture]. I hope
someone there will be able to thank us for our efforts in assisting
him or her to avoid the otherwise economic necessity of accepting the
mark of the beast."
Of course, one would have to choose a "post-Rapture Trustee" — an
unbeliever who would be able to take charge after the rapture. "I
certainly do not envy the job of a post-rapture trustee," Watson
said, and he suggests that Christians ask an unbeliever "whom you have
some credibility with" to serve in such a position. (Source:
Southern California Christian Times, March 1996)
Colorado Springs, Colorado — Several years ago members of the
evangelical National Religious Broadcasters held its annual meeting in
a Washington, DC hotel. The hotel offered pay-per-view in-room movies,
including adult fare. After the conference, someone took the trouble
to find out how many of the radio and TV evangelists took advantage of
the adult movies. It seems that more than half of them did. When asked
to explain, one evangelist said, "Research!"
Several years ago, after Skipp Porteous had an article on religious
political extremists published in Penthouse, a number of
Christian radio stations called for an interview. Porteous learned
that those stations gratefully receive "advance copies" of
Penthouse.
The folks at Focus on the Family in Colorado have been keeping up with
their research, too. The March 22, 1996 issue of The Pastor's
Weekly Briefing, in a column called "Stats, Stats, Stats,"
reports on the rise in production of hard-core pornographic videos,
and the sales and rental income from the X-rated films. The article
lists as its source Adult Video News, a slick,
full-color, sexually explicit magazine produced by the adult film
industry.
Costa Mesa, California — The Rev. Bob Simonds, of Citizens for
Excellence in Education, expressed his dismay when a fellow minister
and his wife were denied the privilege of adopting a baby.
In his quarterly newsletter Education Newsline (Spring
1996), Simonds wrote: "When Reverend Ted Norton and his wife Joyce,
tried to adopt a one-year-old boy in need of a home, they knew they'd
make great parents, as Christians who'd raised four children of their
own. They were surprised when county social services denied their
petition upon finding out that the Nortons believe in spanking as a
form of loving discipline (not in anger or abuse). The county based
its reasoning on a state law banning the use of 'corporeal discipline'
on foster children. The Nortons are working to have the California law
changed."
It is no wonder that conservative Christians sanction the striking of
children as a means of "loving" discipline. In his 1970 best-seller,
Dare to Discipline, Dr. James Dobson of Focus on the
Family wrote that spanking is "a painful disciplinary measure to make
a vivid impression." When spanking doesn't work, he writes, "The
spanking may be too gentle. If it doesn't hurt it isn't worth avoiding
next time." Dobson recommends "a firm thump on the head or a rap on
the fingers."
In a Q&A section of the book, a parent asks if spanking will teach her
child to hit other people or make him a violent person. In his
response, Dobson compares spanking to the pain a child suffers in
accidents such as touching something hot or being bitten by a dog.
These acts teach a child to "avoid those mistakes again," and,
according to Dobson, "doesn't make him a violent person." He adds that
"spankings should be reserved for his moments of greatest
antagonism."
However, many sociologists believe that spanking indicates that the
parent is out of control, not the child. Even dog trainers teach that
one should never strike a dog, lest that dog learns to bite in
self-defense. Is a child any different?
Dare to Discipline is still in print and available in
Christian and mainstream bookstores. Over 2 million copies of the book
have been sold.Dole on thin ice over abortion
Palau on politics
Culture war casualty
Threats to clinics persist
The Rapture Amendment
Pornography research
Is striking children a family value?