Can Christianity be saved by Christians? NJ poll: 35% Obama could be Anti-Christ

In a September 16, 2009 interview on Rachel Maddow’s show on MSNBC, Frank Schaeffer, the author of “Crazy for God” asked the question:

“Can Christianity be saved by Christians?” Meaning that he, as a devout Christian, does not agree with the radical segment of society that has hijacked the true values of God, Christ, and the peace and tolerance they symbolize.

Schaeffer, who grew up in a strict evangelical home, has this subtitle on his book: How I Grew Up as One of the Elect, Helped Found the Religious Right, and Lived to Take All (or Almost All) of It Back .

Schaeffer is the son of the late evangelist Francis Schaeffer, who died in 1984.

During the interview, Rachel Maddow revealed a survey that was done in the state of New Jersey, which asked Christian participants if they thought President Obama was the Anti-Christ.

The result was 18% “yes” and 17% “unsure”. That’s 35% who either think the president is the Anti-Christ or are not sure. Not sure?

Thankfully, that means that 65% sane Christian Americans answered the survey with a “no” answer, but 35% is a frightening number that is clear evidence of the religious sub-culture that Frank Schaeffer talks about.

According to Schaeffer, they are known mostly as a segment of our society, who takes Evangelical Christianity beliefs to the extreme. They believe the appearance of the Anti-Christ will soon be followed by the “rapture”: A mysterious evacuation of true “believers” into the atmosphere, where their bodies will transform into celestial beings that will pass into the heavenly dimension to meet Jesus.

“The religious far right is a sub-culture that has been weaned on our mother’s milk, and taught from birth through high school to reject facts,” said Schaeffer. “These are a bunch of people who believe in the coming of the Anti-Christ and many of them are beyond crazy.”

Mr. Schaeffer believes the extreme religious indoctrination has “rotted the brains” of many in the evangelical sub-culture, who are waiting for Armageddon, when they believe Jesus will come back to save them.

“They are dangerous,” says Schaeffer, because they have been left behind and they are bitter. They have been left behind by science, by art, by culture, and many have become emboldened by current events. When you have people showing up at town hall meetings carrying guns: It’s a disaster waiting to happen.

The radical religious sub-culture crazies are from “la-la land”. They have become a cult that has been fed “red meat by the likes of Limbaugh and Hannity,” said Schaeffer. These are (talk show hosts) people who are not terribly bright, who are talking to even stupider people.”

If the day comes when some self-righteous religious radical-cult member goes out and kills someone in these heated times, Schaeffer believes, people like Limbaugh and Hannity should be held complicit in their deaths, because they are feeding hate and toxic rhetoric to religious and mentally radical people.

There have been fears of violence as the town hall meetings and teabagger rallies have been a driving force in whipping up tempers and clashing ideologies.

This morning, the Huffington Post ran an article on Nancy PelosiNancy Pelosi’s request for a calmer atmosphere in our public discourse:

"I think we all have to take responsibility for our actions and our words. We are a free country and this balance between freedom and safety is one that we have to carefully balance," she said.

"I saw," she added, choking up, "I saw this myself in the late seventies in San Francisco. This kind of rhetoric was very frightening and it gave--it created a climate in which violence took place."

The San Francisco riots in the mid 70’s were violent and had police beatings, and several shootings. Most notably, Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk, the first openly gay elected official in the state of California. He was shot by an arch-conservative, Dan WhiteDan White.

To sum up her interview with Frank Schaeffer, Rachel Maddow asked him if there was any one in the Republican party that could turn it around and quiet all the conspiracy theories.

Schaeffer said there had been hope for John McCainJohn McCain, when he worked on his campaign to get him elected over Bush, but “McCain sold out when he aligned himself with Sarah PalinSarah Palin.”

The radical animosity toward Barack ObamaBarack Obama was seeded in the campaign rhetoric that Palin piled on in stacks of “Drill, baby, Drill” gusto.

Furthermore, in October, 2008, in the midst of the campaign, Frank Schaeffer was very concerned about the level of rancor and prejudice being allowed and wrote a public letter to McCain published in the Baltimore Sun, with a plea to denounce such a festering and vitriolic tone, because it could lead to violence.

That was then, and this is now. The prejudice and hate filled speech has expanded into Nazi sign-carrying, gun-toting, name-calling, all out toxic pesimissim; fueled by Republican leaders, who call the president a “liar” and red-meat throwing talking-heads.

Schaeffer answered Maddow’s question by saying there was no one he could think of that had the integrity and leadership in the Republican party that can pull it back from the brink of insanity and the era of “you lie” Joe WilsonJoe Wilson.

According to Schaeffer, who was once a Repbulican before changing to an Independent: Reagan would despise today's wholly negative Republican Party.

Will all the sane Christians and spiritual leaders in the room please stand up?

***

Copyright DelilahStarling 2009