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My horrible right-wing past: Confessions of a one-time religious right icon (barfalert needed?)
Salon ^ | Wednesday, Dec 24, 2014 06:58 AM EST | Frank Schaeffer

Posted on 12/29/2014 9:25:13 AM PST by Olog-hai

I am a white, privileged, well-off, 61-year-old former Republican religious right-wing activist who changed his mind about religion and politics long ago. The New York Times profiled my change of heart saying that to my former friends I’m considered a “traitorous prince” since my religious-right family was once thought of as “evangelical royalty.”

You see, only in the Mafia, the British Royal family and big time American religion is a nepotistic rise to power seen as normal. And I was good at it. And I hated it while hypocritically profiting from it—until, that is, in the mid-1980s, I quit. These days I describe myself as an atheist who believes in God. […]

The leaders of the new religious right were gleefully betting on American failure. If secular, democratic, diverse and pluralistic America survived, then wouldn’t that prove that we were wrong about God only wanting to bless “Christian America?” If, for instance, crime went down dramatically in New York City, for any other reason than a reformation and revival, wouldn’t that make the prophets of doom look silly? And if the economy was booming without anyone repenting, what did that mean?

What began to bother me was that so many of our new “friends” on the religious right seemed to be rooting for one form of apocalypse or another. …

(Excerpt) Read more at salon.com ...


TOPICS: Religion; Weird Stuff
KEYWORDS: antichrist; atheism; barkingmoonbat; burninhell; demagogicparty; frankschaeffer; godgap; gopestablishment; liberallies; lyingliar; memebuilding; partisanmediashill; partisanmediashills; religiousleft; salon
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To: Olog-hai

Just got done with Frank’s book Patience With God.

He’s a man wandering about the middle of the battle field. He had bad experiences with the goofiness of high-profile Evangelicals, and then noticed that there is an equal and opposite intolerant fundamentalism on the Dawkins/Hitchens end of atheism. He committed Ham’s sin against his father Noah, revealing too much about his parents, Francis and Edith.

The book was full of I/me/my/mine sentimentality, a grandfather just trying to write his own definitions of philosophical balance. I don’t think he has found ‘it’ yet. The ‘it’ is Jesus.


21 posted on 12/29/2014 9:51:51 AM PST by lurk
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To: Olog-hai

I give, who is this guy and why does he think he is important?


22 posted on 12/29/2014 9:56:58 AM PST by svcw (Not 'hope and change' but 'dopes in chains')
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To: Olog-hai

If you become an ‘icon’ in Christianity and your name isn’t Jesus Christ or “The Pope” (this current ‘thing’ we have aside), then you likely got that way through non christian means.

See also Roberts
Swaggart
Bakker


23 posted on 12/29/2014 9:57:25 AM PST by Norm Lenhart (1`)
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To: Olog-hai

This idiot was Francis Shaeffer’s son. He no longer deserves that title. He is a complete psycho who is a disgrace to his great father and all things that are positive and good.


24 posted on 12/29/2014 9:57:56 AM PST by Dr. Thorne ("Don't be afraid. Just believe." - Mark 5:36)
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To: Norm Lenhart

None of the TV preachers ever really believed what they say anyway.


25 posted on 12/29/2014 9:58:31 AM PST by darkangel82
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To: darkangel82

Exactly.


26 posted on 12/29/2014 9:59:08 AM PST by Norm Lenhart (1`)
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To: Olog-hai

I don’t think this guy and I have been living in the same country for the last 30 years.


27 posted on 12/29/2014 10:00:08 AM PST by WayneS (Don't blame me, I voted for Kodos.)
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To: Olog-hai
"You see, only in the Mafia, the British Royal family and big time American religion is a nepotistic rise to power seen as normal."

Only a lazy mind speaking to an uncritical audience would attempt such sloppy rubbish. Nepotism is very much alive in all walks of life. To cite just one example, my local newspaper - The Seattle Times - has been handed down within the Blethen family for about 5 generations.
28 posted on 12/29/2014 10:02:07 AM PST by Steve_Seattle
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To: Olog-hai
What began to bother me was that so many of our new “friends” on the religious right seemed to be rooting for one form of apocalypse or another. …

So Frank is more comfortable with the secular Global Warming-type apocalypses of the Godless Left?

29 posted on 12/29/2014 10:02:28 AM PST by Opinionated Blowhard ("When the people find they can vote themselves money, that will herald the end of the republic.")
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To: Norm Lenhart

It’s one thing to lose faith, I would know first-hand. But if you never believed, like the above-mentioned con men, or what you do believe in is all lies(like Schaeffer) then there’s not much else that can be said.


30 posted on 12/29/2014 10:03:59 AM PST by darkangel82
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To: darkangel82
"None of the TV preachers ever really believed what they say anyway."

Some of them seem sincere to me - Charles Stanley and James Robison come to mind.
31 posted on 12/29/2014 10:04:45 AM PST by Steve_Seattle
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To: Olog-hai

This guy’s ONLY claim to fame is apostasy.


32 posted on 12/29/2014 10:05:48 AM PST by Mr Rogers (Can you remember what America was like in 2004?)
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To: Opinionated Blowhard
"So Frank is more comfortable with the secular Global Warming-type apocalypses of the Godless Left?"

Exactly. And global warming isn't the only apocalyptic idea that gets wide support on the Left.
33 posted on 12/29/2014 10:06:41 AM PST by Steve_Seattle
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To: Olog-hai

He starts off lying.


34 posted on 12/29/2014 10:07:34 AM PST by sport
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To: fieldmarshaldj

Yes, you can’t get anymore dissonant than this ...

” These days I describe myself as an atheist who believes in God.”

Sorry, Charlie, come back when you’ve figured it out.


35 posted on 12/29/2014 10:09:17 AM PST by sparklite2
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To: Olog-hai

Who is this fool, and why should I care?


36 posted on 12/29/2014 10:09:25 AM PST by Taxman
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To: Olog-hai
Some Prince. I've never heard of him.

"Ceterum censeo 0bama esse delendam."

Garde la Foi, mes amis! Nous nous sommes les sauveurs de la République! Maintenant et Toujours!
(Keep the Faith, my friends! We are the saviors of the Republic! Now and Forever!)

LonePalm, le Républicain du verre cassé (The Broken Glass Republican)

37 posted on 12/29/2014 10:10:37 AM PST by LonePalm (Commander and Chef)
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To: Olog-hai

How many reruns does he get on this?


38 posted on 12/29/2014 10:17:15 AM PST by gusopol3
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To: Olog-hai

WOAH! Those 61 years have not been kind to him! If he’d been 81, I would have thought he looked fairly good for 81.


39 posted on 12/29/2014 10:17:47 AM PST by FrdmLvr ("WE ARE ALL OSAMA, 0BAMA!" al-Qaeda terrorists who breached the American compound in Benghazi)
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To: Olog-hai

I’ll grant that there are some people who want the worst case scenario to come to pass, you’ll find that on the left and right, nothing new here, sadly. The references to himself couched in such romantic terms “traitorous Prince”... really?!... seems a bit, much. The fact is that people have voted for the GOP in droves because after long and fairminded deliberation they decided that they did not like what the democrats were selling. That is to say, open borders and all the joys that brings, that militant lunatic nurse and Ebola, angry young spincters left/right/center, there were beheadings and Saddam’s people reconstituted into ISIS (or ISIL, guess they couldn’t go by the name of an ancient female deity), really the foreign policy is the gift that keeps on giving. We had Bradley Manning, Julian Assange, I’m sorry but I don’t think ANYONE is ready for Hillary anymore.

The country has moved on, hopefully commonsense voices will prevail in the GOP. Thing is a lot of those commonsense voices are among the religious right, who weathered the silliness that this man profited on and have come out the other side, older, wiser, and with their values intact. Christianity is not for wimps.


40 posted on 12/29/2014 10:18:20 AM PST by BlackAdderess
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