PS: The Statue of Liberty is Demonic, Too
Oct. 11th, 2011 08:20 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
Last night Mississippi Public Radio aired Terry Gross' interview with New Apostolic Reformation leader C. Peter Wegner on Fresh Air.
My daughters, who I haven't let visit local Christian churches, had never heard Dominionist rhetoric before and were incredulous, outraged, and disgusted at what Wegner said, including but not limited to:
1) the Japanese Emperor had sex with the demonic Japanese Sun Goddess in order to cause hurricanes to fall on Japan and crash the Nippon,
2) that many politicians, especially Democrats, are controlled by demons,
3) that both non-Christians and non-Apostolic Christians are "part of the kingdom of darkness",
4) that democracy is bad for Christian churches, which should instead be controlled by authorized Apostles,
5) "...our goal is to try to have as many kingdom-minded believers in positions of influence in the arts and entertainment mountain as possible." Not to mention in business, government, the media, education, religion, and the family;
6) to have as many Apostles in all branches of government as possible,
7) casting demons out of both individuals (which sounds suspiciously like "rebellious" children of Apostolic parents) and cities (apparently the demons give a copy of their Hierarchy and Employee List to the Apostolics so they know who's in charge where),
8) why Sarah Palin needed special protection against Witches
... there would be some people who practiced witchcraft and other forms of the occult who would try to take Sarah Palin down through certain rituals or curses or other techniques that witches have, and try to destroy her through those things. (Gee, isn't laughter the most effective ritual against Palin?),
9) how they respect all religions, but don't think anyone should belong to any religion except their religion because all other religions are controlled by demons. And this is respectful of other religions. Honest.
But the thing that has Brighteyes (12) up in arms was when Wegner defended fellow Apostolic John Benefiel's claim that the Statue of Liberty is a demonic idol.
GROSS: Okay. You know, you mentioned that you're close to John Benefiel, one of the organizers of this rally. Something he said that was very controversial, he called the Statue of Liberty a demonic idol. Do you agree with that?
The chilling part of all this is that due to the delay in airing the Fresh Air broadcast, we heard Wegner's interview yesterday as this story was breaking: 14 Peruvians shamans were butchered by members of a Protestant sect that believed the shamans were controlled by demons.
Does anyone believe they won't be doing the same thing in this country if they ever achieve their goals?
My daughters, who I haven't let visit local Christian churches, had never heard Dominionist rhetoric before and were incredulous, outraged, and disgusted at what Wegner said, including but not limited to:
1) the Japanese Emperor had sex with the demonic Japanese Sun Goddess in order to cause hurricanes to fall on Japan and crash the Nippon,
2) that many politicians, especially Democrats, are controlled by demons,
3) that both non-Christians and non-Apostolic Christians are "part of the kingdom of darkness",
4) that democracy is bad for Christian churches, which should instead be controlled by authorized Apostles,
5) "...our goal is to try to have as many kingdom-minded believers in positions of influence in the arts and entertainment mountain as possible." Not to mention in business, government, the media, education, religion, and the family;
6) to have as many Apostles in all branches of government as possible,
7) casting demons out of both individuals (which sounds suspiciously like "rebellious" children of Apostolic parents) and cities (apparently the demons give a copy of their Hierarchy and Employee List to the Apostolics so they know who's in charge where),
8) why Sarah Palin needed special protection against Witches
... there would be some people who practiced witchcraft and other forms of the occult who would try to take Sarah Palin down through certain rituals or curses or other techniques that witches have, and try to destroy her through those things. (Gee, isn't laughter the most effective ritual against Palin?),
9) how they respect all religions, but don't think anyone should belong to any religion except their religion because all other religions are controlled by demons. And this is respectful of other religions. Honest.
But the thing that has Brighteyes (12) up in arms was when Wegner defended fellow Apostolic John Benefiel's claim that the Statue of Liberty is a demonic idol.
GROSS: Okay. You know, you mentioned that you're close to John Benefiel, one of the organizers of this rally. Something he said that was very controversial, he called the Statue of Liberty a demonic idol. Do you agree with that?
WAGNER: I - let me say that I don't have enough information to disagree with it. I know it was given to the nation by - as a gift from the Freemasons of France. And there might be some demonic power that he and his friends discern in that statue, but I don't want to - I really don't want to make a strong commitment one way or another to that one.
Brighteyes read all 442 comments on the Fresh Air website. She found people upset over nearly everything else Wegner said, but not this fact. As it was left out of the abbreviated transcript she thought some people might not have listened to the full audio or read the full transcript and missed it. She wanted me to be sure and tell everyone what "that idiot" said about one of our greatest national symbols.The chilling part of all this is that due to the delay in airing the Fresh Air broadcast, we heard Wegner's interview yesterday as this story was breaking: 14 Peruvians shamans were butchered by members of a Protestant sect that believed the shamans were controlled by demons.
Does anyone believe they won't be doing the same thing in this country if they ever achieve their goals?
(no subject)
Date: 2011-10-12 02:16 am (UTC)Is guy for REAL?!
(no subject)
Date: 2011-10-12 01:59 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-10-12 04:53 am (UTC)I know I am massively missing the point, but every time some nutjob espouses this theory I want to scream. Not only is it just flat out wrong, but why the hell would the Japanese Emperor even consider having sex with his many time great-grandmother?
(no subject)
Date: 2011-10-12 01:56 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-10-12 02:07 pm (UTC)Because of the demons! Pay attention. ;)
(no subject)
Date: 2011-10-13 01:45 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-10-13 01:51 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-10-12 02:05 pm (UTC)They're quite sweet for wanting to protect Sarah Palin from the witches, though. That conjures up a lovely image!
(no subject)
Date: 2011-10-12 02:29 pm (UTC)Dominionism's been going on since the late 1960s. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dominionism It took off with Hal Lindsey's 1970 bestseller The Late Great Planet Earth http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Late,_Great_Planet_Earth By the late 1970s it had taken over several Protestant Southern churches. By the middle 1980s I gave up trying to find a Southern Protestant church that hadn't been taken over by it and left Christianity.
In 1978 Dominionists took over the Southern Baptist Convention, then America's most liberal Christian church after the UUA, and made it one of the most extreme Conservative churches. Southern Baptists then spread throughout the nation, becoming the fastest growing Christian denomination in America.
The American Press seldom talks about what happens in American churches. This is wrong. They need more exposure to fresh air (pardon the pun).
(no subject)
Date: 2011-10-12 09:16 pm (UTC)The American Press seldom covers any important issue, or if they do, they do a disgracefully poor job.
(no subject)
Date: 2011-10-12 10:18 pm (UTC)Lindsey was hugely influential, but he had fertile ground. Bruce Bawer's Stealing Jesus: How Fundamentalism Betrays Christianity has an excellent history of the movement. http://www.amazon.com/Stealing-Jesus-Fundamentalism-Betrays-Christianity/dp/0609802224/
(no subject)
Date: 2011-10-13 07:47 pm (UTC)Clearly. Thanks for the rec, I'll put it on my list. Any others?
(no subject)
Date: 2011-10-12 05:09 pm (UTC)The scariest thing is the vague sense of organisation and mobilisation in his comments - the aim of filling government with his anti-democratic, superstitious, with-hunting co-religionists. Augh.
(no subject)
Date: 2011-10-12 05:55 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-10-12 08:58 pm (UTC)Hell, YES, I think they'd do the same thing here; I've met some people who're spoiling for the chance.
(no subject)
Date: 2011-10-12 10:13 pm (UTC)I honestly don't know what to say when people tell me they've never heard this before. It's been part of my life for 40 years now, since grade school. I've grown up with it, rather like growing up watching a giant poisonous dragon growing up in the same neighborhood to the delight of my neighbors, and having nothing to defend myself or others with against it.
(no subject)
Date: 2011-10-13 07:09 pm (UTC)Well, I've stated for the record that I'm a curmudgeon, so you won't be surprised by my view that most people have "never heard this before" because they haven't been paying attention or are denying the implications. Quite honestly, I'm always reminded of the final scene in "Judgment at Nuremburg" where the German judge says that "they never expected it to go so far".