The Family - discussion

Several powerful Republicans at the heart of recent sex scandals—including Senators John Ensign and Tom Coburn and Gov. Mark Sanford—are members of The Family, a secretive religious right organization running a compound for Christian politicians on C Street in Washington D.C., called the C Street House, which is owned by Youth With a Mission of Washington DC. (More here from Bruce Wilson.)

Jeff Sharlet, from the discussion on Religion Dispatches concerning The Family and American Christian fundamentalism:

[F]undamentalism...sought power post-Scopes trial by building up a social movement of para-church organizations, educational institutions, and, most understudied by academic scholars—an elite cadre, best exemplified by The Family. This American fundamentalism looked like a democratic bunny—they built schools, they organized, they elected their champions to office—but it swims like a shark, seeking anti-democratic ends: restricting the free exercise clause of the First Amendment, ignoring the establishment clause altogether, and supporting an imperial vision of American power that imposes its hybrid-version of American democracy/American gods around the world through support of dictators considered “men of God” (Haiti’s Papa Doc Duvalier, for whom Family members arranged congressional support, Efrain Rios Montt, the Guatemalan killer championed by Pat Robertson, etc.).

Comments

[Helen Bascom]

There is much more to these folks than meets the eye. Bad intentions masked as a benevolent Christian family.

[citizenship]

Very true, Helen.

[David VanLandingham]

MSNBC is reporting a connection between the Family and the initiative in Uganda called the “The Anti-Homosexuality Bill 2009” which seeks to impose the death penalty on HIV positive gay men and a variety of other penalties for being gay or not reporting gays to the government.

For those who believe the Christian extremism we saw in the inquisition, the crusades and various other efforts over the two thousand year history of evangelism by force is a thing of the past and couldn’t happen in today’s America, the Family effort in Uganda proves that Christianity has not changed.

These folks believe their religion entitles them to kill, imprison, and, I am sure by extension, to torture, just as they have done for so many centuries. Given sufficient power the Family will reinstate such practices in America. We have reason to be afraid.