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Tag: James Dobson

  • Film Review: “One Nation Under God” (2011): Misinterpreted facts and frightening conclusions

    By Jason Hines, Esq. –

    Yesterday was a premiere event for the Religious Right movement. In churches, homes, and other venues around the country, conservative Christians watched the premiere of “One Nation Under God,” a DVD created by the group United in Purpose, headed by Bill Dallas. (You can find out more general information about the DVD at the One Nation Under God website.) We attended a showing that was being held at the Old West Cowboy Church in Robinson, TX. Yes it was exactly as it sounds. One man showed up in spurs and chaps on a horse. The pastor of the church, who is also a charter member of the Waco Tea Party, welcomed us and talked about how it was important for Christians to “repossess America.” He told us that about 2,500 different venues would be premiering the DVD and they hoped to have 50,000 showings before the 2012 election.

    There were several speakers on the DVD, and each of them had two responsibilities. First, to make sure that they established the idea that America is a Christian nation that that Judeo-Christian principles are to be inculcated into government. Second, the goal was to convince Christians that they should be politically involved, vote their values and encourage other Christians that they should do the same. Several popular conservatives are recruited to help make these points. Despite the multiplicity of voices, there are some problematic themes that run throughout the presentations. Each of the presenters engages in some element of either misrepresentation or misinterpretation of facts, specious logic, or just plain bad theology.

    The misinterpretation of facts was somewhat expected. Most of it was conservative evangelical talking points. Both David Barton and Newt Gingrich made mention of the fact that the Supreme Court has taken prayer out of schools. Of course this is not true. Engel v. Vitale (1963) did not take prayer out of schools. Instead it ruled that teacher led school prayer is unconstitutional. The Court has since ruled that sectarian prayers at school events are unconstitutional. But the right of the individual to pray or lead other like-minded individuals in prayer is still allowed. To obfuscate this point is to pull the wool over people’s eyes. Barton also misinterprets the US Constitution. He says at one point that Art. VII of the Constitution incorporates the Declaration of Independence. Art. VII actually says, “The Ratification of the Conventions of nine States, shall be sufficient for the Establishment of this Constitution between the States so ratifying the Same.” I am sure Mr. Barton has a reason for saying that a one sentence article of the Constitution that makes no mention of the Declaration of Independence somehow incorporates that document, but he gave no further explanation.

    Gingrich misinterpreted the historical understanding of Thomas Jefferson. Gingrich said that historians say that Jefferson didn’t believe in God, except that no reputable historian would say that. The truth is that Jefferson was a Deist who believed in the concept of God, but not in the supernatural elements of Christianity. People like Barton, Gingrich, Bill Dallas, and others have a historical problem. The US Constitution makes no mention of God or Christianity, and has some explicit anti-religious statements (i.e., the Establishment Clause and the prohibition on religious tests for holding office). Therefore, in order to make their argument, they have to connect the Declaration of Independence to the Constitution, and that’s a hard sell unless you’re willing to stretch the facts.

    The speakers on the One Nation Under God DVD also engage in some interesting and fallacious logic. Most of it is found in the assumptions that they make. Barton for example, makes two very dangerous assumptions. First, he assumes that nothing has changed in the 235 years since the Declaration of Independence. So the vastly different context of today has no effect on how he views what our nation should do and what the Constitution should allow. The great strength of the Constitution in my opinion is that the Founders were smart enough to build in flexibility so that the document could adjust to fit the times. Barton, Gingrich, Dobson, Rodriguez, and the other speakers on this DVD seek to bring America back to an era where it was more homogenous. Gingrich in fact quoted a statistic that 80% of Americans believe in “classical America.” I do not know what that means, but that description is scary to me. Dr. Timothy Johnson, the head of the Frederick Douglass Foundation, an African-American conservative group, also used specious logic in order to attack liberal Christians. Dr. Johnson said that he did not understand how people could say they are pro-life themselves and then vote for pro-choice candidates. Dr. Johnson seems not to be able to understand that there are some people who believe in their personal morality, and yet do not want to impose that morality on others.

    Mr. Barton makes the same illogical leap in his discussion of Christians in the voting booth. He assumes that all Christians feel the same way he does, and that if those Christians vote pro-choice or pro- gay marriage, then they are not voting their values. This type of rhetoric is disingenuous and does not help to win people to their cause.

    Finally, there are just some shocking cases of bad theology. David Barton cites several texts that he claims stand for certain propositions. We checked each of the ones we could manage to write down, and all of them were misinterpreted. For example, Barton cites Is. 33:22 as support for the separation of powers. While that verse does mention the 3 branches of government (king, lawgiver, and judge) the verse says that the Lord is all those things. Therefore, a government that followed Isaiah’s words there would vest all those powers in one position, because that is what the Bible says in that verse. Reverend Samuel Rodriguez states that there is a biblical and moral imperative for Christians to vote a certain way, but cites no biblical support. Dr. James Dobson makes 2 egregious theological errors. When asked about whether Christians should be involved in politics, Dr. Dobson quotes Abraham Lincoln not the Bible. Dr. Dobson goes on to say that when a country forgets who they are, then they are destroyed. He implies that if America forgets their Christian heritage and begins to allow abortion and gay marriage then they will be destroyed. This statement is not just bad theology, but it is also offensive to every group of people who have been oppressed in the history of America. So God’s destruction will not fall because America enslaved Africans, destroyed their families, raped and killed them, but it will fall because of the unborn and gay people? America did not forget who they were when they were oppressing women or Asians or Catholics or any other group, but now is the time America is moving away from its Judeo-Christian principles. As with Gingrich’s statement about longing for a “classical America,” this statement bothered me. Dr. Dobson is using his theology to whitewash history, and to ignore the fact that America has never been the Christian nation that these people envision it to have been.

    Dr. Dobson is using his theology to whitewash history, and to ignore the fact that America has never been the Christian nation that these people envision it to have been.

    As I think about the events of the day and the content of the DVD, two final points jump out to me. One, Newt Gingrich said what the goal of this DVD really is. At one point he states that it is time for people of faith to take back power from the minority elite. That is the real issue. It is not truly about having this nation be Christian. It is not truly about feeling persecuted for their majority faith. Rather, this is about wanting to be in control of others. To compel people to follow their will (not even the will of God).

    Two, my wife and I noticed something interesting as we sat amongst the members of the Old West Cowboy Church. The pastor provided note paper for us and encouraged us to take notes for our own edification. As we looked around room, we realized that we were the only people attempting to take detailed notes. Most people did not write anything down at all. Some only wrote down a sentence here or there. My wife and I were the only people who attempted to record all the major points being made by all the speakers. This lack of critical thought was the most appalling thing to me. These people were being sold on all kinds of historical, logical, and biblical inaccuracies, and they were more than willing to accept it without inspection.

    —–

    Jason Hines is Associate Editor for ReligiousLiberty.TV an independent religious liberty website. A Harvard Law graduate, Jason practiced commercial litigation in Philadelphia for five years and conducted seminars on religious liberty in his spare time. This gave him the opportunity to discuss issues of religious freedom with Adventists in churches all over the United States. In 2008, Jason decided to devote his life to work in religious liberty. To that end, he enrolled at the Seminary at Andrews University, where he is pursuing a Master’s Degree in Religion. He is also a PhD candidate in the Religion, Politics, and Society at the J.M. Dawson Institute for Church-State Studies at Baylor University. Jason blogs about religious liberty and other religious issues at thehinesight.blogspot.com

  • The Politics of Obama’s Faith and the Evangelical Left – Stephen Manfield

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    Thomas Nelson Publishers has published a new book objectively presenting Barack’s faith. This video introduces the book. Many voters question Obama’s authenticity and beliefs, both religious and political, and how the two intertwine. According to Stephen Mansfield, the author of this book, Barack is “raising the banner of what he hopes will be the faith-based politics of a new generation . . . and he will carry that banner to whatever heights of power his God and the American people allow.”

    A portion of the proceeds of the sales of this book from the above link will go to support ReligiousLiberty.TV.

  • VEEPSTAKES WINNER: It worked – Dobson says he would “pull lever” for McCain-Palin

    In the last couple of days, I have wondered what it would take for John McCain to get the evangelical vote, particularly when Dr. James Dobson had previously said that he could not vote for him.  Well, apparently the selection of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin worked some magic for the good doctor and he said “But I can tell you that if I had to go into the studio, I mean the voting booth today, I would pull that lever.”  

    With the blessing of America’s self-appointed Christian leader, millions of evangelicals can now go and cast their vote for McCain-Palin without having to go to the protestant version of confession afterwards.

    Here is an excerpt of the interview.  The interesting thing is that both Dobson and host Dennis Prager know that what Dobson says is the equivalent of a Papal Bull (but without the Papal part). 

    Dobson: Well, you know I did a radio program about a month ago with Dr. Albert Mohler, and we talked about what was at stake in this election and our concerns about the policies that Barack Obama would implement. The more I hear the more I learn, the more concerned I am, and so on that program Dr. Mohler and I talked about the fact that John McCain is not the perfect candidate. He’s certainly would not be my choice and, for over a year, I did not feel that I could vote for him. But I said in that radio program that “I can’t say it now”-which was then, because I didn’t know who his vice presidential choice would be, and he if would come up with Lieberman or Tom Ridge or somebody like that, we’d be back in a hole again. But I said for the first time “I might, I might.” And some people call that a flip-flop. If they do, so be it. Campaigns are long. You get information. You find out what the choices are. So I’ve been moving in John McCain’s direction. I don’t know if anybody cares, but for me?

    Prager: Plenty, plenty of people care and that’s why I am having you on. I care, many people care and you have a lot of followers. You have earned the right to that respect.

    Read more at 

    http://townhall.com/columnists/DennisPrager/2008/08/29/dobson_”i_would_pull_that_lever”_for_mccain-palin

  • VEEPSTAKES: Could Tim Pawlenty Bring 30 Million Evangelicals Back to the GOP?

    Back in June,The Minnesota Independent explored the question of what type of Vice Presidential candidate Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty would make, and in particular whether Pawlenty could bring evangelical voters out to vote for John McCain.  

    Although McCain has won the GOP nomination, some evangelical leaders such as James Dobson have expressed that they will not vote for him because he is too “liberal.”  Can Pawlenty bridge this gap?

    Here are some excerpts from the story:

    Pawlenty became an evangelical Christian in the mid-1980s when he married Mary Anderson, a member of Wooddale Church, an evangelical megachurch in Eden Prairie. The couple were married by the Rev. Leith Anderson, a senior pastor at Wooddale since 1977. Anderson happens to be the president of the National Association of Evangelicals, an organization representing more than 30 million American evangelicals. In fact, Anderson had been the president of NAE from 1999 to 2003, and became the current president after the Rev. Ted Haggard’s troubles involving methamphetamines and gay sex forced him out in 2006.

    . . . 

    In 2003, Pawlenty and Wooddale hosted about 1,600 evangelical leaders from around the country for a two-day convention of the National Association of Evangelicals. Pawlenty praised the work of President Bush and his faith-based initiatives, a program that funnels federal funds to religious charities. “If you’re going to change destructive behavior, you’ve got to change hearts,” said Pawlenty, according to the Star Tribune. “Governors can’t do that. We hope you can do that in a God-honoring manner that meets the challenges of our day.”

    . . .

    In 2005, Pawlenty created the Governor’s Council on Faith and Community Service Initiatives, a Minnesota version of Bush’s White House Office of Faith Based and Community Initiatives. Also in 2005, Pawlenty began National Day of Prayer services at the State Capitol, a move that garnered significant praise from evangelicals and social conservatives. In fact, annual Minnesota’s Day of Prayer activities, at which Pawlenty is a regular speaker, are exclusively evangelical, due to a takeover of such events by Shirley Dobson, wife of Focus on the Family’s James Dobson.

    . . . 

    Pawlenty toed the line for the Family Council and Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life in the 2008 session when he vetoed legislation to fund stem cell research and legislation to allow cities to implement domestic partner benefits. He even vetoed a bill authored by a fellow Republican, Rep. Kathy Tinglestad. Her bill would formalize the processes involved in surrogate motherhood, but because anti-choice groups said it didn’t ban abortion, Pawlenty vetoed the bill.

    . . . 

    Pawlenty courts the religious right in Minnesota albeit on the down-low. He’s made appearances at anti-abortion rallies, and was a featured speaker at the Minnesota Family Council’s Legislative Insights Luncheon in early 2007. A member of that group asked him, “Do you think you would have won without the faith-based vote?” Pawlenty quickly responded “No,” and was greeted with laughter and applause.

    Will McCain pick him as the VP Candidate?  We’ll know in a few hours.

    Read the full newspaper story at The Minnesota Independent 

    Thanks to Pastordan for posting a link to this on his blog “Street Prophets.”

  • VIDEO: Barack Obama on Religious Pluralism – The Speech that sparked the Debate

    Last week’s dispute between James Dobson and Barack Obama centered on this speech given on June 28, 2006.  We posted the text previously.

  • OPINION: Patrick J. Buchanan: The Wars of Religion Return (HumanEvents.com)

    Conservative commentator Patrick Buchanan, in a column published by Human Events, explores the conflict between those who want to achieve “social peace” between people regardless of their beliefs and the “duty” to “make God’s Law man’s law.”

    The full article is online at http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=27282&s=rcmp

    Last week’s clash between Dr. James Dobson and Barack Obama is but the latest skirmish in a war that dates back to the time of Christ. At issue: What is Christian truth? Does the true Christian put social peace ahead of his duty to make God’s Law man’s law?

    In a speech in June 2006, Obama, citing the Book of Leviticus, which declares homosexuality an abomination, noted that Leviticus also says the eating of shellfish is an abomination and condones slavery.

    Moreover, Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount is “a passage so radical that it’s doubtful that our own Defense Department would survive its application.”

    Read the rest at http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=27282&s=rcmp

  • RAW MATERIALS: This week’s Obama / Dobson broughaha

    To help understand what’s going on between Focus on the Family’s Dr. James Dobson and Presidential Candidate Barack Obama, we have assembled the raw materials and news stories about the subject.

    1. Read Obama’s Speech from June 28, 2006

    “Whatever we once were, we are no longer just a Christian nation; we are also a Jewish nation, a Muslim nation, a Buddhist nation, a Hindu nation, and a nation of nonbelievers.”

    2. Listen to Dobson’s June 23, 2008 broadcast about Obama’s speech here.

    “Obviously, that is offensive to me,” Dr. Dobson says. “He’s deliberately distorting the traditional understanding of the Bible to fit his own worldview, his own confused theology.”

    3. Read the news reports and blogs. Some of the hundreds that hit the web are listed below with some key paragraphs.

    Focus on Fruitcake: Dr. Dobson’s Half-Baked Recipe for Theocracy by Rob Boston
    Americans United for Separation of Church and State

    “Dobson’s broadcast makes one thing clear: He remains a “my-way-or-the-highway” guy. Dobson is as dogmatic as they come. On this morning’s broadcast, he comes dangerously close to saying that the views of Buddhists, Muslims, Hindus and other non-Christians can be safely discarded because they are in the minority.”

    Deborah’s US Liberal Politics Blog – Deborah White

    “But as brilliant Obama’s speech was, Dobson’s larger concern is decidedly not words uttered two years ago by the junior senator from Illinois. It’s about the political inroads Obama is making in 2008 with Republicans and younger evangelical Christians disenchanted with Bush administration dishonesties and failed policies, and with the narrow focus of older religious-right leaders as Dobson.”

    US News and World Report Blog Buzz: Dobson, Obama – by Robert Schlesinger and Johannah Cornblatt

    James Dobson tears into Obama, making WashMo’s Kevin Drum think that irking Dobson really isn’t very hard. Andrew Sullivan seems to think it’s not anger as much as fear, and other liberal bloggers agree. Hot Air’s Allahpundit manages to both brush off Dobson and criticize Obama. And Taylor Marsh thinks it’s the latest reason to bring back the Fairness Doctrine.

    “James Dobson Rips Barack Obama” David Brody
    Christian Broadcasting Network

    During one part of the show Dobson said of Obama, “I think he is dragging biblical understanding through the gutter.”

    Obama has spent a considerable amount of time reaching out to Christians. He has held conversations with everyone from T.D. Jakes to Max Lucado. His message has been warmly received by some and shunned by others who agree with Dobson.

    ‘Fruitcake’ Obama under fire from Christian right leader (AFP)

    Hitting back at Obama’s courting of evangelical voters, Dobson highlighted a speech two years ago to religious leaders in which the Democrat said he could not outlaw abortion based on his own Christian beliefs.

    “That is a fruitcake interpretation of the constitution,” Dobson said on a radio show aired by his Focus on the Family group.

    “This is why we have elections, to support what we believe, to be wise and moral. We don’t have to go to the lowest common denominator of morality which is what he is suggesting,” he said.

    “Am I required in a democracy to conform my efforts in the political arena to his bloody notion of what is right with regard to the lives of tiny babies?”

    Dobson also hit out at Obama’s oft-stated mention of Old Testament passages that call for the stoning of homosexuals, to illustrate his point that the Bible is not always helpful to political discourse.

    “That kind of commentary drives me crazy,” Dobson said. “He is dragging Biblical understanding through the gutter.”

    4. Your turn. What do you think? Post your thoughts below.

    Or you can comment at http://adventistforum.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/174386/James_Dobson_accuses_Obama_of_#Post174386

  • Dobson says Obama has “fruitcake interpretation” of the Constitution and is distorting Bible; still won’t vote for McCain

    COLORADO SPRINGS, CO – In a soon-to-be-aired episode of his non-profit, tax-exempt radio program “Focus on the Family,” Dr. James Dobson accuses Barack Obama of pandering to the “lowest common demoninator of morality” with his “fruitcake interpretation” of the U.S. Constitution and distortion of the Bible.

    “Am I required in a democracy to conform my efforts in the political arena to his bloody notion of what is right with regard to the lives of tiny babies?” Dobson said. “What he’s trying to say here is unless everybody agrees, we have no right to fight for what we believe.”

    Focus on the Family has invited both Obama and McCain to visit their campus in Colorado Springs, Colorado.  Obama apparently has not responded, and Dobson declined a meeting with McCain in Denver because Dobson wanted to bring McCain down to the FOTF campus so he could have a better idea of what their ministry is all about.

    It is hard to guess whom Dobson is going to vote for, since he has said he could not in good conscience vote for McCain and associates Obama’s legal theory with a sugary Christmas confection.

    This is not to say that Focus on the Family does not have some excellent resources for helping families and promoting good values in general, but sometimes it crosses a fine line.

    For more information about this story, read an Associated Press article by Eric Gorski at http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gnLulDbwWGYGLiXlDW5hPiNMGMRQD91G3VJ80

    Listen to Focus on the Family programs at http://www.focusonthefamily.com

     

  • OPINION: Courtship of religion complicates McCain and Obama campaigns

    In an opinion piece published June 9 by Robert Novak, Novak describes the difficulty McCain has had winning the votes of religious right icons such as James Dobson and John Hagee and Catholics.  Hagee, of course, has alienated Catholics with his description of Catholicism as “Godless theology,” something that McCain couldn’t abide, and Hagee has told friends that McCain “threw me under the bus” with his disavowal of the preacher.

    An interesting soup, to say the least.  From a strategic standpoint, McCain would probably do better to simply leave the sphere of religion to the individual conscience and concentrate on the sphere of state. Right now, he is in the tenuous position of having to avoid taking sides on contentious issues of religion.

    My guess is that he did not intend to be in this situation, probably viewing the leading clergy as individuals whose faith would transcend political scuffles, but the reality is that a wrong step in this direction can re-awaken centuries-old debate.  In the past statesmen who have entered this fray have felt the fury of, among other things, forces as strong as the Reformation and Counter-Reformation.  McCain and other candidates would do well to simply recognize the sincerity of religious faith and honor traditions while avoiding inadvertently tying themselves to these viewpoints.  Yes, Hagee has strong views, but so does Pope Benedict. 

    A maxim of “honor the faith, but avoid the endorsement” would appear to be the best way to navigate these dangerous waters.  It is still early enough in the campaign to recover from these foibles, and McCain certainly has opportunity to do so, particularly since Barack Obama has fallen into a similar situation when the political views of his pastor came to the forefront.   

    As these developments take place, ReligiousLiberty.TV will be analyzing these events and giving you an opportunity for your voice to be heard as we continue our celebration of religious freedom.

    Read Novak’s column at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/08/AR2008060801689.html