Just as, 50 years ago, liberalism was the vital center of our politics, our religious landscape then was dominated by mainline Protestants and a Catholic Church becoming less Roman and more American every year. One of the most symbolic events occurred in 1958 when President Dwight D. Eisenhower laid the cornerstone for the new headquarters of the National Council of Churches here in New York City. Before a crowd of 30,000, Eisenhower quoted George Washington, who described religion as the firm foundation of the country's moral life.
That was the decade America put God on our paper money and in the Pledge of Allegiance. And though the churchly DNA often fostered racism, anti-Semitism, bigotry and Cold War dogmatism, many thought biblical religion, in its various incarnations, was the engine driving the American future.
But then, says Ross Douthat, American Christianity went off the rails -- and now threatens to take American society with it. Furthermore, the snake in the garden is not atheism, nor is secular humanism the worm in the apple. Our fall, he argues, is the work of heresy, as you see in the title of his latest book: Bad Religion: How We Became a Nation of Heretics.
Below is a clip from my conversation with Douthat that airs this weekend on Moyers & Company. Look for it on public television.
LAURA KNIGHT-JADCZYK AND JOE QUINN
Since the 9/11 attacks, no book has provided a satisfactory answer as to WHY the attacks occurred and who was ultimately responsible for carrying them out - until now.
More Bull s#!t from PBS or rather US gov. TV. The attack on Christianity is relentless and from every quarter. It seems to be a government program with everyone trying to get in on the act. I was raised in a Christian family and was taught to never criticize or judge others for their beliefs, to do so would be bigoted, uncivilized. Now it seems the murky figures in the shadows have declared open season on Christianity.
I wonder what these "expert" talking heads get paid for this? I know it must make them wildly popular with all of the other experts on TV to say nothing of the professors, politicians and secret societies. The good news is these media meat puppets are so full of s#!t no one believes anything they say. In fact the only reason to tune in is to hear the lie, then one can try to decipher whats really going on. All of this wouldn't have anything to do with the state claiming all of the attributes and powers of god would it? You know that new world order thing where we are all supposed be slaves to big brother and work our asses of for starvation wages would it? Implanted micro chips and a cashless society to be tracked and traced every moment from cradle to grave? Mandatory vaccines and genetically modified food sprayed with horrific toxins to kill you and death panels to deal with the sick, the handicapped and aged. Endless wars against terrorism or any nation that has valuable resources or maybe it just happens to be their turn. Prison camps and reeducation centers for thought criminals and malcontents who think they are sovereign and free. And you can bet your last dollar they will be coming for the Christians.
I would advise those engaged in this dubious practice to lay off. It will come to blood as written by the prophets thousands of years ago. Try not get any on you.