Tea Party leader hates Christians
Religion Dispatches reports that a key Tea Party leader hates Christians, especially Methodists.
Judson Phillips, founder of Tea Party Nation, has a dream of "no more United Methodist Church." That's right, Phillips, who says he was raised in the Methodist Church until he learned it was "little more than the first Church of Karl Marx," was incensed that the United Methodist Building (known to locals as "the God box") on Capitol Hill had a sign supporting the DREAM Act.
More from Nashville Scene
Phillips took aim at Methodists. Apparently he walked by the United Methodist Building in Washington, D.C., and didn't like what he saw: a sign that said, "Pass the DREAM Act."The gall! That a church could get behind a measure creating a path to citizenship through college education or military service for undocumented immigrants who were brought here as little children is just ... it's just ... outrageous! Would Jesus countenance citizenship for people who know no other home than the United States?
Wait a minute. I knew I was forgetting something I learned in Sunday school: Jesus was an immigrant, too, taken to Egypt by Mary and Joseph.
More at Huffington Post
One wonders if this new found political power will end tax breaks for churches?
Oh look! The Tea Party and the IRD are now bedfellows!
(No, I'm not going to pursue that any further just now....)
Posted by Bill Moorhead![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.episcopalcafe.com/lead/nav-commenters.gif)
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December 21, 2010 11:15 AM
Judson Phillip's remarks calling for "no more Methodist church" are quite chilling for two reasons:
(1) They cast aside some very American notions: constitutionally protected freedom of expression, religion, association and assembly, bedrock values on which America was built, and without which America isn't America. In that, they're un-American.
(2) They completely ignore Jesus' clear-cut teachings about love of neighbor, love of enemy and treating others the same way we want to be treated, and against egoism, materialism, violence, retaliation, gluttony and greed. In that, they're anti-Christian.
"Danger, danger, Will Robinson..." It sounds more and more like those who think themselves the "most patriotic" and "most religious" in their own über-American perception have little use for heeding the Constitution or Christ when it comes to advancing their agenda, and wouldn't mind doing away with both, if need be. That doesn't bode well for the rest of us Americans. USA, beware.
Posted by Gregory Orloff![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.episcopalcafe.com/lead/nav-commenters.gif)
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December 21, 2010 12:06 PM
One of the problems the tea party has is that any idiot can claim to be a leader or founder because they really are not an organization. Any idiot seems to have done so in Tenn.
Jim Beyer
Posted by jimB![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.episcopalcafe.com/lead/nav-commenters.gif)
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December 21, 2010 12:52 PM
Mr. Phillips must have been unaware of the traditions and history of his former church, at the least, or ill-informed regarding the Methodist beliefs in social justice.
From Wikipedia:
"From the movement’s beginnings, with its roots in Wesleyan theology, Methodism has distinguished itself as a religious movement strongly tied to social issues. As father of the movement, John Wesley injected much of his own social philosophy into the movement as a whole. Wesley’s personal social philosophy was characterized by “an instructive reluctance to criticize existing institutions [which] was overborne by indignation at certain abuses which cried out for rectification.” [24] The Methodist Church’s responses to injustices in society are embodiments of the Wesleyan traditions of mercy and justice.”
Perhaps Mr. Phillips was part of the Southern Methodist tradition that split away over the issue of slavery? Or he embraced the more Calvinist version found in some placed in Scotland and Wales?
Either way his point is ridiculous and dangerous as the United Methodist Church boasts somewhere near to 70 million members worldwide. Is he calling for genocide or mass conversion?
I was raised in the Methodist Church and still have many family members who are members. Sadly, my own sister and her family support the Tea Party and radical conservative politics despite their own church’s beliefs. I wonder if they would agree that their church should be abolished?
Posted by Priscilla Cardinale![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.episcopalcafe.com/lead/nav-commenters.gif)
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December 21, 2010 2:12 PM