Texas' Transformation Into a Christian Theocracy

[TexasTowelie]

By Carol Morgan

t used to be funny.

Rick Perry’s religious tent revival confession that he’s a “misunderstood prophet”, Tom Delay’s legal troubles as his “time in the wilderness”, and Raphael Cruz’ pronouncement that his son, Ted, was anointed by God to be President; all of it was chuckle-fodder for bloggers and late night comedians.

It’s no longer funny.

Consider Texas’ political events in the last ten years, and it’s easy to see that the GOP’s vision for the future of Texas is that of a Christian theocracy. It’s a frightening possibility.

Theocracy conjures up images of religious leaders who control everything and use their power arbitrarily to persecute others who don’t share their views.

When you examine past and present theocrats like Oliver Cromwell, Bloody Mary’s reign of terror, the Taliban or perhaps, even ISIL, the results are not pretty.

The U.S. Constitution says that there shall be no religious test for the office of President, but don’t tell that to the congregation at Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano; a megachurch that recently held tryouts for those seeking the lead in their conservative absurdist drama.

That political gathering should feel unsettling to all Texans. It was deliberately provocative, dangerously blurring the line between the affairs of state and the church’s tax exempt status as a house of worship. It was same uncomfortable baiting as when a Lubbock Baptist church held a Republican meeting in its sanctuary on the day that SCOTUS upheld gay marriage.

You owe it to yourself to watch the mini-documentary, God and Governing, a production by the Texas Tribune and PBS. It’s enlightening (and a bit shocking) to see our Texas legislators and how stubbornly entrenched they are within the uncomfortable quagmire of religion versus law. It makes one question our lawmakers’ abilities to make evidence-based decisions about Texans’ welfare when they are restricted by a concept that has no legal basis in government.

After your viewing, please follow up by reading Texas Representative Donna Howard’s editorial on how religion combined with lawmaking creates a special club which excludes the over 10 million Texans (40 percent) who do not ascribe to a traditional religion.

I have no doubt that a tiny number of Christian politicians in Texas are sincere, but many of them are not. They use the word “God” as the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval to obtain the trust of the gullible and naïve who buy into their unashamed ploys; mistakenly viewing Caesar and God as the same entity.

I couldn’t care less if law enforcement places “In God We Trust” decals on their vehicles, but it does bother me when our Governor chimes in with his congratulations and refers to it as “a patriotic display”.

How is a reference to religion “a patriotic display”? Patriotism and religiosity are two different matters, but our extreme religious leaders in Texas are beginning to regard them as one in the same.

This slow slide to Christian theocracy is a political strategy to use God as a weapon to divide and exclude Texans. As an interfaith believer, this offends me. One’s religion should be a private relationship between you and whatever god you worship, not be a badge of honor that screams of pride, self-righteousness, and superiority.

The recent alliance on Monday, between Dan Patrick and Ted Cruz, is a harbinger of things to come in Texas. Both men are Dominionists, Christian Reconstructionists who believe they are compelled by God to govern over non-Christians. It is their explicit belief that they should control and dominate, not only the government, but family, religion, education, media, entertainment, and business.

It’s a mirror image of Sharia Law with a different label; the flip side of a coin minted as religious extremism.

Dan Patrick has already stated his prioritized initiatives for the future. Religious liberty and religious school vouchers (he calls it “school choice”) are at the top of his list.

A little over a month ago, Pope Francis warned churches that they should start practicing religion or start paying taxes. That’s a strong statement, but perhaps it’s true. Many of the mega churches thrive on their man-made prosperity gospel, but if you examine their work, outside of their private services and private social gatherings, there is nothing Christ-like about the way they conduct themselves, nor in the way they conduct their businesses.

The offering of prayers has become as perfunctory as “Have a nice day”. You know they don’t really mean it. Other Christians see these hypocrisies, yet they remain silent because they don’t wish to be excommunicated from their special social club.

One of the purposes of a church is to evangelize, but I wonder...has a big beautiful building, a pricey private school or a basketball activities center ever brought a person to Christ? Not likely…

It appears these walled and gated communities with their private schools are designed to keep people out, rather than invite people in. Their congregations have taken “be ye separate” way too literally. They disdain fellowship with “those people”.

The extreme Christian right in our state government is an outgrowth of these wall and gated communities of believers. They seek dominion over all things—the safety of Texas’ workers, women’s reproductive health, who we can love, the God-given right to kill others on a college campus, who will eat, who will starve, who will be sick and who will be well, who will be educated and who will be ignorant.

One of the many reasons our ancestors came to this country was to enjoy religious freedom, but it seems that some 250 years or so later, we’ve recreated the environment our ancestors so desperately desired to escape.

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Carol Morgan is a career/college counselor, freelance writer, and former Democratic candidate for the Texas House. She is the award-winning author of two books: Of Tapestry, Time and Tears and Liberal in Lubbock. Email Carol at [email protected] , follow her on Twitter and on Facebook or visit her writer’s blog at www.carolmorgan.org

http://lubbockonline.com/interact/blog-post/carol-morgan/2015-10-29/texas-transformation-christian-theocracy#.VjMCOSvziBY

Permission granted to post this blog in its entirety.

Cross-posted in the Religion Group.

[DetlefK]

1. I recently read a blog-post by a pastor on predatory mega-churches. Very disappointing.

She lamented that they are no longer true Christians, that they worship money too much, that they prey on the weak and gullible.

She recounted how she once took part in a mass in a mega-church and she was the one who stood up in the crowd and shouted "Enough". She recounted how she made a scene and left.

And at the end of her blog-post, the pastor reminded the reader that it's nevertheless not okay to condemn mega-churches because they are above criticism because God.

[hobbit709]

2. These people believe religious freedom only applies to their particular brand.

No others need apply and if they do, they'll get attacked for infringing upon THEIR religious freedom to persecute you.

[Gothmog]

3. It is tough living in Texas as times

[DhhD]

4. The Merchant Church of Texas replacing the Republic of Texas; as if never a part of the US of A.

The Merchant Church does not recognize the Second Coming of Christ. They will NOW, shoulder both law and faith under one umbrella. See Revelations 18: 2-3; 11-13.

Old Testament says that Christ will return to shoulder both law and faith under one cape. And until His return, we are to keep faith and law separate. The founding fathers set up a government to constitute a separation of law from faith, with a bill of rights, extra-biblical.

The Merchant Church:
http://www.discernment-ministries.org/ChristianImperialism.htm