"They forge 'relationships' beyond the din of vox populi (the Family's leaders consider democracy a manifestation of ungodly pride) and 'throw away religion' in favor of the truths of the Family. Declaring God's covenant with the Jews broken, the group's core members call themselves 'the new chosen.' [....] At Ivanwald, men learn to be leaders by loving their leaders. 'They're so busy loving us,' a brother once explained to me, ' but who's loving them?' A Quote: "People separate it out. Oh, okay, I got religion, that's private. As if Jesus doesn't know anything about building highways, or Social Security. We gotta take Jesus out of the religious wrapping."
I saw that article in the Harpers, and read part of it at the news stand, so I can't comment definitively on the author's statements. But, first...Why does he put quotation marks around the terms "relationships"? It's like he's saying, "They form relationships [wink wink, nudge nudge]..." Now, THAT's creepy. Are friendships now suspect?...Also, I know a little bit about this Fellowship group, because I was in a Bible study run by members of this organization in Sacramento (they promote fellowship, Bible study, encouragment, and outreach to members and staff of the Legislature) and there was nothing creepy about it, and nothing out of the Christian mainstream as the author of the Harper's article implies. Frankly, I think the author of the Harper's article had an agenda, and was trying to spin this organization and its work into something sinister. Since when should we put credence into leftwing journalists, particularly when they write about Christians?...
And now that I re-read the excerpt from the Harper's article, I don't think the author was referring to this particular organization that provides the housing for congressmen.