Evangelicals wage spiritual warfare

Jeebus! If you want to be scared silly, read this article at NPR. (Hmm,... this isn't going to make them any more popular with the right-wing, I suspect.)

An emerging Christian movement that seeks to take dominion over politics, business and culture in preparation for the end times and the return of Jesus, is becoming more of a presence in American politics. The leaders are considered apostles and prophets, gifted by God for this role. ...

Two ministries in the movement planned and orchestrated Texas Gov. Rick Perry's recent prayer rally, where apostles and prophets from around the nation spoke or appeared onstage. The event was patterned after The Call, held at locations around the globe and led by Lou Engle, who has served in the Apostolic Council of Prophetic Elders of the NAR. Other NAR apostles endorsed Perry's event, including two who lead a 50-state "prayer warrior" network. Thomas Muthee, the Kenyan pastor who anointed Sarah Palin at the Wasilla Assembly of God Church in 2005, while praying for Jesus to protect her from the spirit of witchcraft, is also part of this movement. ...

[Rachel] Tabachnick says the movement currently works with a variety of politicians and has a presence in all 50 states. It also has very strong opinions about the direction it wants the country to take. For the past several years, she says, the NAR has run a campaign to reclaim what it calls the "seven mountains of culture" from demonic influence. The "mountains" are arts and entertainment; business; family; government; media; religion; and education.

"They teach quite literally that these 'mountains' have fallen under the control of demonic influences in society," says Tabachnick. "And therefore, they must reclaim them for God in order to bring about the kingdom of God on Earth. ... The apostles teach what's called 'strategic level spiritual warfare' [because they believe that the] reason why there is sin and corruption and poverty on the Earth is because the Earth is controlled by a hierarchy of demons under the authority of Satan."

As the article indicates, these people aren't just obsessed with the usual "culture war" issues - gay marriage, abortion, etc. They're also adamantly against Social Security and Medicare. They see "socialism" in everything, and they don't think the government should be providing any social safety nets at all.

I said this is scary, and I meant it, because Rick Perry is currently zooming to the top in the Republican presidential campaign. And Republicans have done a very good job of sabotaging our economic recovery. That, plus an astonishing lack of leadership and... fire from Barack Obama, has made the upcoming presidential contest a real question mark.

Earlier this month, Perry claimed that global warming is just a hoax, with greedy scientists manipulating the data for personal financial gain. (Gee, wouldn't it make more sense for them to sell out to the oil companies?)

Now you might shrug that off as just another politician trying to appeal to the loony, anti-science Republican base. But here's Rick Perry claiming that Social Security is just a "monstrous lie" and a "Ponzi scheme."

Social Security used to be the "third rail" of American politics, and it's still widely supported in America. So when a politician goes after Social Security like this, you can probably assume that (1) he's a true believer, and (2) he doesn't think it's going to hurt his chances of getting elected.

Well, Perry has God on his side, right? And more importantly, he's got a terrible economy on his side - and ignorant Americans eager to believe in miracles, especially when times are bad.

Think George W. Bush - another darling of these evangelical Christians - was bad? Well, Rick Perry is George W. Bush on steroids. We really could be headed for a theocracy in this country, if worse comes to worst.