BARBARA'S TCHATZKAHS

I read C.S. Lewis' THE SCREWTAPE LETTERS years ago. And loved it. Never has it been more true than it is right now, today: Screwtape (a pseudonym for an emissary of Satan) advises his young cousin on how to derail a Christian: Let him begin by treating patriotism…as a part of his religion. Then let him, under the influence of partisan spirit, come to regard it as the most important part. Then quietly and gradually nurse him on to the stage at which the religion becomes merely a part of the “cause,” in which Christianity is valued chiefly because of the excellent arguments it can produce… [O]nce he’s made the world an end, and faith a means, you have almost won your man, and it makes very little difference what kind of worldly end he is pursuing. ~~~~~~~~~~~~ Putting Faith Before Politics By DAVID KUO Op-Ed Contributor SINCE 1992, every national Republican electoral defeat has been accompanied by an obituary for the religious right. Every one of these obituaries has been prematur...

A DEADLY MIX I was privileged to read Constantine's Sword about 5 years ago and I highly recommend it!! It's now a movie and I hope to get to see it. For those of us who love history, politics and insightful writing - it's a must. American Exceptionalism Meets Team Jesus: Interview with James Carroll By Tom Engelhardt He's a man who knows something about the dangers of mixing religious fervor, war, and the crusading spirit, a subject he dealt with eloquently in his book Constantine's Sword: The Church and the Jews . A former Catholic priest turned antiwar activist in the Vietnam era, James Carroll also wrote a moving memoir about his relationship to his father, the founding director of the Pentagon's Defense Intelligence Agency. Carroll essentially grew up in that five-sided monument to American imperial power. For him, as a boy, the Pentagon was "the largest playhouse in the world" and he can still remember sliding down its ramps in his stocking fe...

A CHRISTIAN NATION? The religious right is still working tirelessly to push America towards a theocracy. Something our founding fathers POSITIVELY did not want! Our military is being steered towards Christianity and the separation of Church and State is being chipped away at right under our noses. Precedents are not just being overturned--the five Catholic justices (John Roberts, Samuel Alito, Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas, and Anthony Kennedy) are endangering jurisprudence in this nation by violating their oaths of office. Instead of maintaining judicial impartiality it appears they are imposing their religious and political ideology upon all Americans. The U.S. Code Title 28, Part I, Chapter 21 at Section 453 states the oath of justices and judges as follows: Each justice or judge of the United States shall take the following oath or affirmation before performing the duties of his office: "I, ________, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I...