Christianist Terror, Ctd

A reader writes:

Terry Mangum's reference to being Elijah is a major clue to where his theology of hate is coming from. There is a scripture in the last chapter of Malichi predicting that before the end of the world, God would send forth Elijah the prophet to turn "the hearts of children" back to God's covenant with their forefathers.

This scripture is pivotal to the "End Times" theology of many American Christian fundamentalist traditions. That Mangum would be inspired by this prophecy is an indication that he is not operating outside of the mainstream of Christian fundamentalism.

As for Fundamentalist Christians and their hatred of homosexuality, the proof can be found in the history of the Religious Right itself. In the mid to late 70's, the likes of Anita Bryant, Pat Robertson and Jerry Fallwell rose to power by provoking mainstream Christianity's uneasiness over the emerging issue of equal civil rights for homosexuals and the decriminalization of homosexual acts. Even the Religious Right's opposition to the ERA was partly predicated on the fear that if passed, the ERA would make gay sex, gay marriage and gay adoption civil rights.

In September of 2003 I attended a Southern Baptist Sunday service in southwest Georgia. This was just a few months after the Texas sodomy laws were overthrown. The minister spent his entire sermon lamenting that decision, and predicting that God's wrath would be unleashed on America if Conservative (aka "Christian") judges were not appointed to the Supreme Court to overturn such rulings.

As I explain at some length in The Conservative Soul, the eschatology of Christianism is just as dangerous as the eschatology of Jewish extremists in Israel and, more potently, the Shiite nutters around Ahmadinejad. It is not surprising that religious fundamentalists cannot see the parallels between their movements. But that doesn't mean others can't.