Glenn Beck is driving the Left and the Right crazy. Beck co-opted the Martin Luther King, Jr. “I Have a Dream” celebration and turned it into a near religious revival. This drove Al Sharpton up the wall. His counter event was a non-event. Many on the Right are condemning the efforts of Beck because he’s a Mormon. So where are the evangelical pastors and churches doing what Beck is trying to do? You can’t beat something with nothing. So what’s your plan besides telling people not to get involved in politics and “moralizing” is not the gospel? Is it possible that there is a moral dimension to the Christian life? Of course there is, and those who say otherwise are diluting the gospel and putting us in danger. I’ve addressed this issue ad nauseum. See my book Myths Lies and Half-Truths if you want to know my thoughts on this issue. Beck is an indictment on evangelicals similar to the way women politicians are an indictment on weak-willed male politicians who helped to get us into this political mess.
The Left has been using King’s legacy for decades but with little effect for those who should have benefitted by it. The latest example of this is found in a new rug that has been put in the Oval Office that includes quotations from Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, and the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. woven along its curved edge. But there’s only one problem. The quotation attributed to King is not really his. “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice” are actually the words of Theodore Parker (1810–1860), an abolitionist, a Unitarian minister, and Transcendentalist who spoke out against slavery. It’s not King’s fault that the quotation was falsely attributed to him. When he first used it, he made it clear that it came from Parker. But like so much of what politicians say, words are props. The ultimate goal is to use words as weapons to subjugate the masses into believing that only the State can save. Gary Oldman’s character Carnegie[1] in the film The Book of Eli (2010) is the personification of the wordsmith politician. He understands the power in words if he gets to control how they are used. Here are some words from King that could have been used on the carpet. Why weren’t they? They seem too close to what Christian upstarts have been saying for decades:
“I still believe that standing up for the truth of God is the greatest thing in the world. This is the end of life. The end of life is not to be happy. The end of life is not to achieve pleasure and avoid pain. The end of life is to do the will of God, come what may.”[2]
“We will win our freedom because the sacred heritage of our nation and the eternal will of God are embodied in our echoing demands.”[3]
“Seems that I can hear God saying that it’s time to rise up now and make it clear that the evils of the universe must be removed. And that God isn’t going to do all of it by himself. The church that overlooks this is a dangerously irrelevant church.”[4]
“The church must also become increasingly active in social action outside its doors. . . . It must exert its influence in the area of economic justice. As guardian of the moral and spiritual life of a community the church cannot look with indifference upon these glaring evils.”[5]
“If one is truly devoted to the religion of Jesus he will seek to rid the earth of social evils. The gospel is social as well as personal.”[6]
“As Christians we owe our ultimate allegiance to God and His will, rather than to man and his folkways.”[7]
“Any religion which professes to be concerned about the souls of men and is not concerned about the social and economic conditions that scar the soul, is a spiritually moribund religion only waiting for the day to be buried.”[8]
Put these same words in the mouth of a Tea Party member and the Left will scream “intolerance,” “keep religion out of politics,” and “you can’t impose your morality on others.”
The civil rights movement of the 1960s was influenced by those who brought morality to bear on issues related to race and equality. “For the first time in history, a single Protestant‑Orthodox, Roman Catholic, and Jewish testimony was presented to Congress in support of legislation. Congress became aware that the religious community was aroused in a startling way. The participation of the religious groups in the March on Washington was another bit of evidence. Over 40,000 white church people participated in the March.”[9] With just a few changes, this description of the 1964 March on Washington could easily describe the activities of the often vilified “religious right” and their efforts to influence legislation. The similarities are not lost on Stephen L. Carter, William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Law at Yale University and one of the nation’s leading experts on constitutional law:
Religious organizations were among the strongest supporters of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which outlawed discrimination in employment and public accommodations. They testified in support of it. They made public appeals for it. And, once again, only the segregation[ist]s complained. Senator Richard Russell of Georgia charged that those who made religious arguments in favor of the legislation did not understand “the proper place of religious leaders in our national life,” adding that the religions should not “make a moral question of a political issue.” Indeed, there is little about the civil rights movement, other than the vital distinction in the ends that it sought, that makes it very different from the right‑wing religious movements of the present day.[10]
Civil rights legislation was passed in the early 1960s because the “moral question” was pressed by religious leaders. “When it was finally passed, friend and foe alike credited the passage of the bill to the persistent power of the church.”[11] Hubert H. Humphrey, the leader of the struggle in the Senate for passage, along with other veteran fighters for civil rights legislation, “insisted that the churches’ efforts had made the difference which had been lacking in other struggles for such bills.”[12]
Endnotes:- The use of the name “Carnegie” for Oldman’s character may be a reference to Andrew Carnegie who used some of his vast fortune to establish the Carnegie library system of more than 2,500 libraries around the world. [↩]
- From a sermon preached in November 1956. Quoted by William J. Bennett, from the Foreword to Ralph Reed’s Politically Incorrect: The Emerging “Faith Factor” in American Politics (Dallas, TX: Word, 1994), xiii. [↩]
- Quoted in Taylor Branch, Parting the Waters: America in the King Years, 1954B63 (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1988), 743. [↩]
- Quoted in Branch, Parting the Waters, 696. [↩]
- King, Stride Toward Freedom, 208. [↩]
- Martin Luther King, Jr., Stride Toward Freedom (San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1986), 117. [↩]
- King, Stride Toward Freedom, 117. [↩]
- King, Stride Toward Freedom, 91. [↩]
- Robert W. Spike, The Freedom Revolution and the Churches (New York: Association Press, 1965), 106. [↩]
- Stephen L. Carter, The Culture of Disbelief: How American Law and Politics Trivialize Religious Devotion (New York: Basic Books, 1993), 228. [↩]
- Spike, The Freedom Revolution and the Churches, 108. [↩]
- Spike, The Freedom Revolution and the Churches, 108. [↩]
Gary is a graduate of Western Michigan University (1973) and earned his M.Div. at Reformed Theological Seminary in 1979. Author of countless essays, news articles, and more than 27 book titles, he also hosts The Gary DeMar Show, and History Unwrapped—both broadcasted and podcasted. Gary has lived in the Atlanta area since 1979 with his wife, Carol. They have two married sons and are enjoying being grandparents to their grandsons, Calvin and Paul. Gary and Carol are members of Midway Presbyterian Church (PCA).
I don't give a rat's pointy rear end WHAT religion a person follows as long as he can & does adhere to the teachings of Christ Jesus, which ultimately benefit ALL people.
Glenn Beck is not perfect as sombody stated here… Of course, no one of us is perfect neither. But at least he accomplished a lot more than many politically correct pastor or priest did. I believed in unity to be able to conquer great things. The ones trying to divide is because they want to "divide & conquer" and in the meantime everyone else looses. Stop the nonsense and do not criticized somebody like Glenn Beck because he does open our eyes in every way possible.
Ah yes lets bash SOMEONE. and no Glenn Beck sis NOT support same sex marriage. As for what he says it means we have bigger fish to fry then a small argument over what 2% want and may get.
Now lets get down to brass tacks, if the U.S.A. goes bankrupt, does it matter if 2 guys get to "marry" in Mass.,,,,,no.
If the economy falls apart and there is mass starvation, unemployment and no tax money coming if for the liberals to spend to help everyone, no.
Now ,as a person who listens to the words said by a person, doesnt try to read anything into them and simply LISTENS, Glenn said pray, meditate, worship that the higher powers that any individual believes in should attempt to raise up the U.S.A. and save it from the left wing liberal Marxists/Socialists.
Glenn believes in God, country and the U.S. Constitution.
Now while many will bash deride and completely dismiss the Restoring Honor rally, has anyone looked at part of its core,,,,helping the Special Operations Warrior Foundation , the group that represents and helps our fallen and wounded warriors from Special Ops teams, the ones who shed blod, and gave their life for this country and Constitution we hold so dear.
Now lets look at the big picture, we need to get government under control, stop spending ours and our children and grand children's future away, pay down the debt, get energy independent, keep the environment clean, and get as many people working as possible. Rebuild the moral values that founded our country, THEN and only THEN can we fight the same sex marriage issue.
Teach the children that same sex partner ships are not moral or proper or right, the few who prefer to live an immoral life style, let them be. its called individual freedom, and remember homosexual relations cannot produce off spring.
While many will bash me for believing what I do, they live in the U.S.A., let them be treated fairly, and reach out to them with the Word.
If you beat a person over the head with a bible , how do you open it and allow them to read and learn the Word?
So far NOTHING Glenn Beck has said has clashed with my church or beliefs.
Remember religious freedom is guaranteed by our Constitution, his happens to be LDS.
He believes in the saving grace comes from belief that the true way to God is through the Lord Jesus Christ.
so he decided to help SOWF, even uses his own money to rent Kennedy Center and gives tickets away, donated many thousands of dollars to the organizing of the Restoring Honor rally, and yet has to get anything but derided.
Now lets get fair, if we let people have freedom they MAY do something we dont agree with, like same sex partnership.
But as Christians do we hate them, or do we love them as Gods children and pray for them, and try to lead them away from there life of sin?
Again, beat them over the head, or talk, pray and lead.
Come on folks, the liberal left wing idiots are destroying our country and instead of dragging it back, fixing its problems and then take on 2%.
Teach the country right, and slowly take it back, beat it with a stick or bible and and it will fight back.
Good text Lee; what we have in common. God, saving grace by Jesus who is the Christ. Let us lead by example. The world hated Jesus and he said thw world would hate His followeres also. Be hated not hate others. Hard as it is we are to love our neibhor as ourselves after we Love God with all of our being. I am ignorant of an education but hopefull not stupid about what and who God/Jesus is and what He taugh. God is in charge and we are His workers in this date and time.
Loran
God gave us the freedom to choose the kind of life we want to lead; be it with Him in our lives to guide us or without Him. But, in ALL hearts, regardless if we follow Him, He has placed morals and the knowledge of right and wrong. Believe that or not, everyone KNOWS morals and, the choice to live by them. Our founders were LED by them, and called them Divine Principles. It is what our country was FOUNDED upon. But, today, our government is corrupt, and HAS been for over 100 years. All Beck did was re-awaken us so that we can SEE what's going on, and put a stop to it.
My father was not a Christian until very late in life, yet, he didn't lie, cheat, steal or commit adultry; therefore, to me he was a man of morals. Look at the deception and the back scratching going on in our government. Look at how they are manipulating their way into destroying the freedom our country was founded on. Politicians are all about money, power and fame, anymore – NOT about what's GOOD for the country. Where has honesty and integrity in our leaders gone? Where has the perception of SERVICE to US gone? All they do is rob us any way they can – of our money and our freedom. Hell, they even want to "govern" what kind of frigging LIGHT BULBS we can use beginning 2014!
I do love your daily articles but am somewhat confused by them sometimes.I noticed that the liberal conservative, Glenn Beck, gathered all these different religious leaders together to display a unity about morality in America. Honestly Gary,is it the morality as displayed in the Catholic church, or the Koran, the book of Mormon, the Jews who rejected the Messiah, or John Hagee's version that asks us to help pay for Jews to return to Israel so armaggedon can commence?
MLK was a plagiarist, an adulterer, and a mega-liberal. There is no reason any conservative should attempt to appropriate his mythos. Contrary to what many conservatives say, MLK believed in reparations for slavery. He was not in any sense an embodiment of true Christianity. Saying that "true Christianity" sees people as unique individuals deracinated from collective groups is pure nonsense, confusing the faith with Ayn Rand libertarianism.
King went where he was wanted. The Left embraced him. The Evangelical world did not. We are paying the price. Beck has surrounded himself with solid Christians. Give him some time. In the meantime, come up with more than criticism.
the evangelical world 'spat' on king and I believe thats why the ultraliberals got a foothold in our nation. .If the evangelical world embraced him in the beginning, we wouldn't have lost prayer in school and 'separation of church and state' wouldn't have even been in issue—remember it was 1963 when things started to go nuts, and a few years later, DRUGS MAINSTREAMED beginning with pot, and then going all the way to heroin, angel dust, etc.–no end in sight –divorce ,as common as girlfriends and boyfriends breaking up, etc. I may be critical of Beck, but I watch his show on fridays and at times, he makes sense
Your friend Joseph Farah wrote a great article recently in WND regarding how important saving the institution of marriage is. While Beck isn't mentioned in his article, the things that Beck mock are. Farah, a great Christian and defender of God, exposes the fraud behind the libertarian movement by closing with these words:
"There is no middle ground on this issue.
Either you believe the Bible or you don't.
If you don't, there are consequences. If you do, you are obligated to take a stand for righteousness. Of course, there are worldly consequences for that, too – for some apparently too great to accept.
Followers of Jesus have a choice: They can please God or please men. They can accept God's laws, which are not burdensome, and obey them, or they can reject them and try to tickle the ears of men. They can offend God or offend men.
But followers of Jesus cannot find some happy medium where they can please God and please the world. Nobody can.
I choose obedience." http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pag…
I want the "message" to 'get out'.
Messengers are 'not the issue'.
SO, let us discuss a few things.
WHAT is our MESSAGE? We are CONSERVATIVE! What do we bring to the U.S. citizenry that shows them our vision, our way, our know;edge & wisdom, is WHAT THEY NEED TO EMBRACE?
Geebus, you fools!!!!!
THINK!!!
Our message needs to be clear — not confusing!
Glenn Beck is NOT PERFECT. He believes in Same Sex Marriage.
So, grow some freakin' balls, and get the MESSAGE out — the GOD based laws of the Bible are what MADE THIS COUNTRY GREAT. Everything else is ancillary. Everything ELSE "follows."
Did I make myself CLEAR?????
There are very few things that will have a consequence.
Start with restating the 10 Commandments in 2010 terms. People will read. People will reflect. People will LISTEN. You need to be patient, but ……….. you need to start NOW!!!!
Go to your next door neighbor and say you love your country, but you read about that Founding, and you believe the Founders had a DIVINE Revelation. I did not say "Revelations." For those keying on that word/phrase …. those 'end times' can't EVER happen without getting things straightened-out on Earth ….. you know that was the "directive" from our Creator ……….
Stop your whining. Stop your block-hardheadedness. Get up off your arses, and MAKE A DARN DIFFERENCE!!!!
I am here to help.
Feel for me —- I came fro the Heartland, but I reside in Kalifornication.
Not too bad, but you are a little off on your statements regarding end times. Things do not have to get straightened out here first… because we humans are not capable of it.
"Many on the Right are condemning the efforts of Beck because he’s a Mormon." Straw man argument in my book, Gary. I don't know a single Conservative who cares one way or the other about Mr. Beck's religious affiliation. Personally, after twenty years of uniformed service to my country, I find I prefer the company of Latter Day Saints. They were always the ones interested in visiting worthwhile places and always respectful of the local populace. The “regular” Christians seemed eager to hit the bars and hire prostitutes.
I agree with you, Gary. Glenn Beck has done more to expose the weaknesses in our thinking on government than all of the liberals combined; he has singlehandedly brought serious damage to racial politics-and all of this while evangelicals have done…just what exactly? We have the truth, and someone without the truth is standing out there on the front lines doing what Glenn Beck is doing. It is very sad.
God Bless,
Adam
MLK would have been very diappointed by the way race is used today…to paraphrase: what's important is not the color of the skin but the character within. MLK sought a color-blind society, not a culture of set-asides and affirmative action. He sought to have each person treated as an individual, not judged on basis of skin color, national origin, biology or ancestory. This really is Christianity, which sees each person as a unique individual, not as a member of some collective group or class.
Regarding MLK Jr:
Not such a great guy.
http://www.newswithviews.com/Stang/alan28.htm
Remember that King was the first recipent of the Margaret Sanger Award as well. Look at his acceptance speech from this Planned Parenthood site: http://www.plannedparenthood.org/about-us/who-we-…
You know I agree with you 99.9% of the time Gary; BUT…
Gary (Gary, Gary);
Glenn Beck is by no means a conservative, just ask him: "I’ve always been a conservative. But every day I find myself believing more and more in states’ rights, individual rights — let people alone, get the government out of everybody’s lives, let everybody rule themselves,” Beck said of why he finds himself agreeing more often with libertarians.
In fact, during the 2008 election Beck hosted Libertarian presidential candidate Bob Barr and eventual vice-presidential nominee Wayne Root. In his first week hosting FNC’s Glenn Beck from 5:00 to 6:00 p.m. ET weekdays his guests included Congressman Ron Paul, a libertarian and the party’s 1988 presidential nominee and libertarian thinkers Steve Moore of the Club for Growth and ABC’s John Stossel. http://www.independentpoliticalreport.com/2009/02…
Dare I link the Libertarian Party Platform to show what kind of "Christian values" they espouse?
Need I post Beck's mockery of the institution of traditional marriage (from an appearance on The O'Reilly Factor)as additional proof?.
I agree with you 100%.