Bill Moyers On The Religious Right's Crusade Against the Earth

One of today's most respected journalists is, rather was, Bill Moyers. Bill has written and spoken about a lot of important topics over his career, but perhaps none is more important than the comments he made upon receiving the Global Environment Citizen Award from Harvard Medical School.

Moyers called our attention to the rising religious right, who with the appointment of George W. Bush to the Presidency of the United States (as he did not win his first election) has attained power that can no longer be ignored. The most dangerous wing of the religious right is that which believes in "The Rapture."

For those of you who aren't familiar with "rapture theology," I'll summarize (though if you haven't you should read the Moyers article at the link provided). After a certain grouping of world events takes place, which includes wars, environmental catastrophe, and certain political events, the "faithful" of Christianity will be literally raised up to heaven, where they'll be able to sit next to God and watch as he destroys the rest of us in accordance with the book of Revelations in the Bible.

So... why is this dangerous, you ask? Isn't everyone entitled to their religious beliefs? This is America, after all. We have freedom of religion here - it's one of the very first rights that our forefathers put into the Constitution's Bill of Rights, and rightly so.

But we also have a standing philosophy that goes along with the Bill of Rights: that we may enjoy our rights as promised by the Bill of Rights as long as those rights don't interfere with the rights of others. And a primary instance of this philosophy is the practice of the separation of Church and State.

Many don't believe in the separation of Church and State, but it's a fact that one of the very first treaties negotiated by our government with a foreign power declares that the United States was NOT founded on the Christian religion. See Article 11 of the Treaty of Tripoli, as signed by President John Adams. It states:

As the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion; as it has in itself no character of enmity against the laws, religion, or tranquillity, of Mussulmen; and, as the said States never entered into any war, or act of hostility against any Mahometan nation, it is declared by the parties, that no pretext arising from religious opinions, shall ever produce an interruption of the harmony existing between the two countries.

You can't argue with that language. And Adams was one of the founders of the nation, a signer of the Declaration of Independence.

Now, fast-forward to the 21st century. We now have a President who has openly told the world he's a born-again Christian. And his policies are right in line with what seems to be the end-time as discussed in books like Tim LaHaye's Left Behind series. Most importantly, he's removing regulations and laws designed to protect the environment and make sure that Americans have a healthy world in which to live. And he's encouraging the same overseas. He talks a good game, talking about renewable energy (though he thinks NUCLEAR energy is clean and environmentally friendly), but his actions speak otherwise.

And his actions are supported by too many in this country - a 2002 Time/CNN poll says that 59% of Americans believe that the Book of Revelations contains prophecies that are going to come true. OVER HALF.

Okay, I've talked about the facts (or at least the facts that exist based on research that has been done). Now, let me tell you my opinion on this subject, and the opinion that is going to drive this blog:

People who believe that they can live as they have without seriously changing their consumption habits from top to bottom, based on what's written in the Bible, are selfish. They are using far-out interpretations of a book that was never meant to be taken literally as justification for their lack of willingness to change in the face of the environmental catastrophe toward which we are rampaging.

It also allows people to justify their bigotry, particularly in reference to homosexuality.

But, if the Bible was to be taken literally, why is it that you can't find one major religion in this country that still calls for burning animals as offerings to God? To be able to sell our daughters into slavery, or possession of slaves in general? Killing people who work on the sabbath? This interpretation isn't literal; obviously, it's selective. And therein lies the selfishness. These people pull from the Bible only what they WANT to believe, not what they're being told to believe.

What do I believe? I'll be very honest. I have a hard time with Christian theology in general. I find it difficult to believe that a supreme being would create a universe only to destroy it later on. And I find it difficult to believe that a supreme creator would make us with free will, only to punish us eternally for not using it the way he wants. That makes no sense.

I like to think that God wants us to take care of the world He's given us. That we were given a gift of life, and that life extends not only to ourselves but to everyone and everything around us. This also extends to treating others as we'd like to be treated and living as part of the world, not in spite of it. Is this a perfect philosophy? Of course not, there isn't one. I'm still developing my personal system of beliefs, as is everyone. But I can't believe that God wants us to bring about global catastrophe just so we can end the world a little bit faster.

In any event, I'll be working to put forth my criticism and exposure of the "rapturists" throughout the months and possibly years ahead, and hopefully I'll help some of you seeing what exactly is going on. Because I truly believe that "rapture theology" is a threat to our world that has never been more prevalent than today.