Quotes from iPledge Sunday

On September 9th, the Family Research Council and American Family Association hosted iPledge Sunday: A Call to Faith, Family, and Freedom. iPledge Sunday took place at First Baptist Church in Charlotte, NC and was simulcast to churches across the U.S. Featuring FRC president Tony Perkins, Kirk Cameron, Star Parker, former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum, and Bishop Harry Jackson, the gathering was intended to prepare listeners for the 2012 elections and encourage them to pray and vote. For your reading pleasure, I have selected some choice quotes from the evening's transcript.

First, in an introductory video, Tony Perkins expressed his desire to help Christians influence Charlotte. He waxed poetic about the relationship between Christianity and freedom in America.

"I came here to help Christians influence this city that was once dominated by Christian influence ... The real question is will we do our part to influence America? And that is exactly what iPledge Sunday is all about. It’s a call to Bible-believing Christians across America to faith, family and freedom. Many Christians today don’t understand the foundational role that Christianity and the Bible have played in America’s success. It is an incredible story, but it’s now missing from public school textbooks and, sadly, it’s missing from many church pulpits. If more of us understood the connection between our faith and our freedom, we would not so easily cast biblical principles aside when choosing our leaders or even passing legislation or educating our children."

Perkins attributed America's economic downturn, acceptance of abortion, and struggles over LGBTQ issues as a result of Americans ignoring "biblical principles."

"We now see the results of ignoring these biblical principles. We ignored biblical principles on economics and now we have almost $16 trillion in debt. We ignored biblical principles about the family and then divorce, abortion and the redefinition of marriage became more and more acceptable. We ignored biblical principles about God-given rights in our first freedom, religious liberty, becomes expendable."

Former Growing Pains star and evangelist Kirk Cameron lamented America's debt, claiming that "devastating" spiritual developments can be seen in public schools and malls.

"Economically we’re $16 trillion in debt; morally it’s frightening to see what happens. Just go down to our local public school or our mall and take a look at see if this is the direction we want our children to continue to go. Spiritually, the things that are happening in our world and our nation are devastating to stand by and watch."

Cameron spoke warmly of the Pilgrims as he reflected on America's heritage. At length, he described the Monument to the Forefathers in Massachusetts, a granite monument commemorating the Pilgrims that depicts Christian Faith, Morality, Law, Mercy, Education, Liberty, and Peace as the foundations for society. Cameron emphasized that humans needed God to restore them to the proper path.

"Our forefathers had enough foresight to know that we would get off track, because they knew the heart of man. Man comes with instructions. And we’re told that by nature, we will drift because we are bent toward selfishness and greed as human beings. That’s why we need the spirit of God to come. We need God to straighten us out and to turn our eyes to him so we begin to love the things he loves and hate the things that he hates."

Cameron asserted that "God is the platform" for America's political situation, insisting that abortion, same-sex marriage, and alleged assaults on "religious freedom" would appall America's forefathers.

"One of our political parties right now is wondering if the name of God should be in the platform. According to our forefathers, God is the platform. When I think of how far our country has drifted, our forefathers would be rolling over in their graves to hear what we are discussing: The sanctity of life. Really? The definition of a marriage? Really? Religious freedom? Really? They would be appalled."

Among the event's speakers was Star Parker, founder of the Coalition on Urban Renewal and Education. Parker fumed over the alleged encroachment of "socialism" in America, the supposed hallmark of "atheist societies."

"For some reason, far too many Americans have accepted that economic issues are separate and apart from what we call social and moral issues – issues like traditional marriage and abortion. However, the Lord of the universe never got this message. The 10 Commandments, in addition to addressing family and murder, address theft and covetousness. Central to a free society and a godly nation is a nation in which private property is respected, in which it is not permissible to steal. Central to socialism is the disregard of private property, that government and politicians can decide what is right there and take from some and redistribute to others. Socialist societies are atheist societies."

Former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum attributed the alleged disintegration of the family, including out-of-wedlock births, for America's economic woes, a well-worn right-wing chestnut.

"The hopelessness that you’re seeing, the want that you’re seeing, yes, it’s economic, but it’s mostly because of the brokenness of the lives and the families and the communities, because now 40 percent of our children are born out of wedlock. Over – well, now roughly half of people over the age of 18 are married. That’s down from 75 percent just 30 years ago. The family is coming apart, and it is no wonder the economy is crumbling."

Bishop Harry Jackson, senior pastor of Hope Christian Church in Beltsville, MD, urged voters of color to "come off of the ideological plantation" and vote in accordance with "biblical values."

"My black neighbor, my black friend, my Hispanic brother, my Hispanic friend, I want you to understand that you have got to vote your biblical values. You’ve got to decide that you’re going to come off of an ideological plantation into the freedom of the liberty of the sons of God ... This is the call to biblical fidelity. We’ve got to believe that somehow, in God’s economy, the reason that the pressure is so heavy on America right now economically is that we have not been biblically faithful ... God’s first institution is marriage. And so if we turn against him on this situation, we then will fail."

Jackson claimed that resistance to same-sex marriage would heal America's woes, asserting that "if we will guard the institution of marriage, if we will give ourselves to healing marriages on our watch, God will heal our nation."

Ba'al-ing Out: Fun Quotes from Life Today

The April 12th edition of Life Today featured Wallbuilders founder David Barton and former Fox News commentator Glenn Beck. During the third hour of the show, host James Robinson discussed the alleged "assaults" on values in our nation. Barton made his familiar claims, arguing that the founding fathers quoted the Bible extensively and that the Constitution was based on Biblical principles. For your reading pleasure, I'd like to share a few chuckle-worthy quotes from today's show.

At the 6:44 mark, James Robinson claimed that America was experiencing "an all-out assault" on values.

"Would you agree there's an all-out assault on faith, an all-out assault it seems on God, it seems on our founders, and even on the Constitution, an all-out assault on the family, on marriage, an all-out assault on life. We don't have the right to life anymore, we have the right to choose death, and literally not provide life to the most vulnerable, helpless being on the planet ... We've got an all-out assault on freedom, which includes the fertile field of opportunity, which God obviously wanted to take his people into, and we've experienced it in the free market."

At the 7:41 mark, Barton claimed that the Bible generates freedom wherever its principles are cultivates.

"The Bible produces freedom. Anywhere you take the Bible and use it in a civil nation, you will have a free nation. Real simple stuff. The Bible calls itself the law of liberty. You want liberty? Live by the scriptures."

Hilariously, Glenn Beck claimed that many people are unwittingly worshipping the Canaanite/Phoenician god Ba'al and "in bed with absolute evil" at the 10:52 mark.

"The one thing that the Lord has impressed on me in the last year is, like, most people don't know that God is waiting to do great miracle things with them, that they are going to do great good. I think most people don't know they're being used by evil. And some are. Some do know, but most people don't have any idea that they are in bed with absolute evil. It's not a Republican-Democrat thing. This is evil that is happening right now, and we have to call evil by its name, and I really think that we are a society globally that is now worshipping Ba'al. I think we are going right down that line ... We're not doing it consciously, but we are doing it. We are worshipping Ba'al, and it's a frightening realization that everything in the Bible is just a warning. 'Hey! See these patterns? Look at these spooky patterns. Don't do those things.' And we're doing them."

I'm used to hearing New Apostolic Reformation figures preach about pagan deities and demons, but this is the first time I've heard it from Glenn Beck. There's a first time for everything!

Hat tip to Right Wing Watch. To watch the episode, click here.