Comments on: Rolling Stone goes undercover at John Hagee’s evangelical church.

By: Mark

Mark — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 05:22:32 +0000

Unfortunately as a believer I have to accept that Hagee with all his warts is my brother. I don’t get to judge him as a person but I am allowed, and even commanded to judge his words and his fruit. Hagee has been drinking from a theological pool muddied by Tim Lahaye and a few other heretics who in the name of militant Christianity turn their backs on true religion and look for an escape clause whereby they are exempt from actually doing anything about poverty, disease, inequality, racism, or injustice. Just preach about it and collect the plate. We could use a man like Jesus, he’d know how to treat even Hagee.

By: Tim Hogan

Tim Hogan — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 07:58:16 +0000

Hagee hates Catholics, too! It’s a wonder that the Pope didn’t gag when he saw Bush for all the kowtowing the GOP and McCain does to Hagee. None of this will keep the good Archbisop Raymond Burke in St. Louis from endorsing McCain!

http://www.catholicleague.org/release.php?id=1398

By: Tim Hogan

Tim Hogan — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 07:52:14 +0000

What is most scary of all is how much John McCain went after Hagee’s endorsement after condemning W in 2000 for hanging out with “apostles of intolerance” and forcing W to apologize for his support.

My Hagee favorites are how the Roman Catholic Church is the “Whore of Babylon,” the “anti-christ,” and a false cult.” I don’t suppose that will keep St. Louis’ archbishop Raymond Burke from endorsing McCain because he’s “pro-life.”

http://www.catholicleague.org/release.php?id=1394

http://www.catholicleague.org/catalyst.php?year=2007&month=June&read=2264

http://www.catholicleague.org/release.php?id=1398

By: grumpypilgrim

grumpypilgrim — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 23:49:18 +0000

Monica’s comment can perhaps be summed up as “honesty is the best policy.” If someone asks you how you’re doing, and you honestly say you’re not doing well, chances are good the person will listen to your concerns and try to help if they can. Not everyone will, of course — it depends on the setting and circumstances — but surprisingly many. There are a lot of good samaritans out there, and it need not be due to invisible supernatural deities. Humans are social animals, which means we possess many socially-useful traits — empathy being one. Other social mammals (porpoises, primates, dogs, etc.) display similar behavior.

By: Monica

Monica — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 16:11:49 +0000

“So long as you go through all the motions, no one will care who you really are underneath. And besides, so long as you are going through all the motions, never breaking the facade, who are you really?”

This is so unfortunately true in so many cases, even my own at times. I wonder what it would look like for more Christians to actually live out who they are underneath and allow that real person to be changed by God. I had a crisis of faith recently where I stopped pretending nothing was wrong. Instead of counting my blessings and looking on the bright side, people at church asked how I was, and I replied honestly: not good. To my surprise, they didn’t try to blow sunshine up my butt. They sat with me in my confusion and sorrow. I spent a lot of time asking God if he was really there and if he was really good; standing silently with tears welled up during praise and worship time because I couldn’t pretend. That experience was far more real and valuable than if I had gone through the motions anyway, and in the end I felt a quiet comfort from God, not a frenetic urge to dance and sway.

By: grumpypilgrim

grumpypilgrim — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 23:48:23 +0000

Hagee’s a scary guy. I’ve seen him a few times on one of the religious television stations in my area, and I can only take a few minutes of his imbecilic, ranting sermons before I have to shut it off and give my brain a rest. Hagee subscribes to the notion that whatever you scream loudly enough and often enough will become the truth. His methods, style and cadence remind me very much of newsreel footage of Hitler’s speeches: identify a “demon” (scapegoat), rant against the demon, venerate everyone in the audience who will also rant against the demon — Hitler’s demons were Jews, Hagee’s demons are atheists…both appear borderline insane and drunk on power.

By: Dan Klarmann

Dan Klarmann — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 20:28:24 +0000

I found this excerpt more revealing, and chilling:

By the end of the weekend I realized how quaint was the mere suggestion that Christians of this type should learn to “be rational” or “set aside your religion” about such things as the Iraq War or other policy matters. Once you’ve made a journey like this — once you’ve gone this far — you are beyond suggestible. It’s not merely the informational indoctrination, the constant belittling of homosexuals and atheists and Muslims and pacifists, etc., that’s the issue. It’s that once you’ve gotten to this place, you’ve left behind the mental process that a person would need to form an independent opinion about such things.

and

By the end of that weekend, Phil Fortenberry could have told us that John Kerry was a demon with clawed feet, and not one person would have so much as blinked. Because none of that politics stuff matters anyway, once you’ve gotten this far. All that matters is being full of the Lord and empty of demons. And since everything that is not of God is demonic, asking these people to be objective about anything else is just absurd.