Conservative ministers hypocritically fuse church, state, military

A friend of a friend on Facebook recently posted one of these memes with attacking Clinton and Obama for lack of military service.

First, there's three big things militarily "wrong" with the picture.

One is that Shrub Bush, of course, used Air National Guard service, quite sporadically, to avoid Vietnam. Two is that the draft had ended before Obama graduated high school and thus he was not subject to Selective Service call-up.

And three is that Reagan, while in the Reserves even before World War II started abroad, let alone Pearl Harbor, was blind as a bat, never saw actual military work, and spent most of his active duty time making war movies, to be followed 25-50 years later by ongoing massive self-deception that he had in fact fought in World War II.

There's three things wrong with the attitude of the person who posted it, too. This gentleman, a Rev. Kevin Wenker is a pastor in the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, the main denomination of the conservative, even fundamentalist, wing of Lutheranism. (This, and his Facebook posts in general, are posted as "public," therefore, per my standards about social media and blogging or resharing, I'm not violating any privacy.)

The first thing wrong is a selective lack of respect, which is addressed in this gentleman's scriptures by Romans 13:

1 Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. 2 Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. 3 For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and you will be commended. 4 For the one in authority is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God’s servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. 5 Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also as a matter of conscience. 

6 This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, who give their full time to governing. 7 Give to everyone what you owe them: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.

I highlighted that last line on purpose. Because that's obviously not being done by this gentleman, nor by thousands of other conservative Christian ministers, of whom he is a type.

Clearly, above cheap spoofing at both Obama and Clinton, the Obama picture bears either the insinuation that he is a Muslim, or was born in Africa. Both are, of course, lies, which is far below respect and honor.

The second thing wrong is somewhat related. It's the assumption that because the politics of one president, or one president's party, more than another, align with certain mores and doctrine of a denomination, that president should be run up the flagpole and saluted.

The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod is "pro-life," and hence, part of the love for GOP presidents. But it, and most Protestant churches, who have quasi-officially, or at the individual pastor level, supported a man deliberately waging a war that was stupid, whether or not Augstinianly unjust, aren't so pro-life; that's even more true if they support the death penalty. 

Catholics, at least popes, get this right, with opposing the death penalty, and John Paul II questioning the Iraq invasion.

Heck, my own LCMS minister daddy got this right, in his last congregation, when some of his members got too gung-ho about running the Iraq War up the flagpole and saluting it.

Of course, the LCMS, like most conservative Protestant churches, has many members close to, or in Tea Party country, opposing Obamacare as "socialism" and more.

To that, and to Southern Baptists — per Jefferson's Danbury letter to Baptists — I note the fusion of church and state.

As for "supporting the troops"? This gets back to more and more veterans who say to wingnut types that your "thanks for your sacrifice" words are empty bullshit. I "support the troops" by not wanting them sent to stupid wars in the first place.

And, per Romans 13, and per additional blogging of friends like Dan Fincke, this is just another example of how fundamentalists can be selective about their fundamentalism.

Richard Carrier, other Jesus denialists, meet the Obama #birthers

Richard Carrier is one of the chief water-bearers among Jesus denialists, whose general lack of credibility, and general lack of academics for most of them, I have critiqued here, easily enough on my own, without needing any "help" from the likes of Bart Ehrman (although his own critiques, in even more depth, are spot on).

Massimo Pigliucci, at Scientia Salon, has a new post, referencing an essay from a few years ago about the use of Bayesian probabilities in establishing the soundness of informal logical arguments.

Early in comments, a British Gnu Atheist nutter (nice British term) trotted out the greatness of Carrier's work. I responded with my link about him and other Jesus denialists. To which, I have responded back, with editing and expansion, per the below.

Coel, it matters not whether the 0.0008 is a low end, or a precise number in general. Per Aravis, that’s not how you do history — or any other of the humanities. Bayesian probabilities or anything else, you simply cannot be that precise with history. And, you know that.

Let’s put it this way. Carrier has a Ph.D. in ancient history. Whether I phrased as just 0.008 or per you:

“The probability that Jesus existed is somewhere between 1 in 12,500 [the 0.008%] and 1 in 3. In other words, less than 33% and most likely nearer to zero. We should conclude that Jesus probably did not exist”

But, instead, said that about, Anaximander, Pythagoras, or another of the pre-Socratics, or about Homer, he would laugh in my face, and so would you. I know Aravis or Massimo would.

But, because it’s about Jesus, Jesus denialism, and Gnu Atheism, such utter rot, to use a good old British term, is acceptable, eh?

Well, no, it’s not.

The rest of your opinion is just that — an opinion. And, it may become more “mainstream” among Gnu Atheists. That doesn’t make Carrier any more accurate than Dr. Andrew Wakefield.

The “argument from silence” is not done sensibly by Jesus deniers. Again, if I used the argument from silence on classical history the way Carrier does on Jesus, again, you and he would laugh at me. But, because it’s about Jesus, Jesus denialism, and Gnu Atheism, such utter rot, to use a good old British term, is acceptable, eh?

Well, no, it’s not.

As for the rest of your comments, again, you’re not a Biblical scholar, and neither is Carrier, and you continue to prove that with vague comments about “Paul’s letters” that I know are wrong just as easily as an Ehrman knows are wrong.

And, also per Aravis, my undergrad degree was in classical languages and history, so, yes, I know you don’t do history that way. (As I told Massimo in an email, the first writing I ever read on free will was in an independent study on Augustine, which included his tractate on free will.)

===

To complete the snark, I await Ted Cruz or somebody even worse among US “birthers” using Bayesian probabilities the way Carrier does to “prove”:

 The probability that Barack Obama was born in the United States is somewhere between 1 in 12,500 [the 0.008%] and 1 in 3. In other words, less than 33% and most likely nearer to zero. We should conclude that Obama probably was not born in the United States, but was born in Kenya.

Yep, lies, damned lies and misuse of Bayesian probabilities.

To be honest, beyond him being an easy name of a nutbar to hang the birther label on, the Havana Ham is only a birther fellow traveler, on the Obama birth BS, and, his own birth in Canada has spawned its own birther industry.

But, yes, in my mind, it's a fair analogy to compare the likes of Richard Carrier to the likes of Ted Cruz. And, people like Carrier, and their loyal touters like the commenter Coel, are yet more proof that Gnu Atheism is a variety of fundamentalism. And, in both cases, it's like shooting fish in a barrel that refuse to admit they've been shot.

Or, per the one tag on this blog post, a good example of village idiot atheism.

Or, per another commenter at Massimo's site, perhaps we should invoke Hillary Clinton instead of Ted Cruz.

==

Alex says:

Also, in what sense is Carrier not a Biblical scholar? He is said to have got a PhD in ancient history and writes about little else but Biblical scholarship and possible misinterpretations of old Aramaic words. Does it only count as Biblical scholarship if one is a believer?

First, while he may comment on misunderstanding of old Aramaic words, I see no information that he has any knowledge of Aramaic or Hebrew on his quite extensive CV, which speaks only about the Greco-Roman world in general. I would think that, if he actually knew Aramaic, as long as his CV is, he’d explicitly mention it.

Beyond that, I even did a Google search: “Does Richard Carrier know Aramaic?” And I can’t get any hits that will confirm that he does.

Assuming he does not, the fact that he would still think to comment on misunderstandings of old Aramaic words “goes to character,” your honor. And, that’s putting it politely.

But, places where he calls a Targum an “Aramaic translation of the Old Testament” show he’s no biblical scholar. 

Fuller quote, from his original blog site: “A Targum is an Aramaic translation (or paraphrase or interpretation) of the OT. So really, this is akin to a textual variant for this passage.” 

Targums, as actual scholars know, were far more than that. They were commentaries, exegesises and more.

And, click that first link. It’s clear that not only does he not know Aramaic, but that he just doesn’t know the bible that well, especially the Tanakh or Christian Old Testament, especially when he’s engaged in quote-mining and gets caught.

Carrier, as far as I can tell, also does not know Hebrew. He claims to know five languages — as best as I can tell, these are English, French, German, Latin and classical Greek. Because he doesn't know Hebrew, and probably doesn't know details of the biblical koine Greek translations of the various books of the Tanakh, this leaves him unable to comment on text-critical issues of quotes of or references to, the Tanakh or Old Testament in the New Testament.

Beyond that, Alex, this?

He … writes about little else but Biblical scholarship and possible misinterpretations of old Aramaic words.

I’m not even sure what logical fallacy that should be named, but it’s definitely a fallacy.

There are people who write about nothing other than how the Earl of Oxford wrote Shakespeare. Do you call these people “Shakespearean scholars”?

And, no, I never said one had to be a believer to be a Bible scholar. One of the best today, Bart Ehrman, is an agnostic.

To extend another analogy to US politics, Gnu Atheists defending the scholarship of Richard Carrier is like Democratic muckety-mucks defending the transparency of Hillary Clinton.

BREAKING #Obama immigration plan reveals #birther fears true

A leaked advance copy of President Barack Hussein Obama's immigration speech tonight reveals that he is going to implement his radical, socialist ideas in entirely new ways, betraying new evidence of his Kenyan birthplace.

Details follow, with a special note at end.

Primary point? Reportedly, using the "excuse" of being allegedly "worried" about a flood of Mexican immigrants, and with "Hispanics" passing "African Americans" in total US population, Obama plans to expand immigration from his Kenyan birthplace and other African countries.

And next?

Reportedly, Obama will also help expedite visas and other paperwork for Kenyans and other Africans.

Overall?

Doubling the number of African immigrants is reportedly his goal.

You read that right. Doubling the number of people that may go on welfare. Doubling the number of people who may have Ebola. Doubling the number of people who will want Obamacare.

...

Simply put, he is going to use executive action like no other president has done, to destroy traditional America.

This will be hard to stop. Many Americans will believe that the leaked version of Barack Hussein Obama's speech does not mean this. But it does.

Obama, now that the midterm Congressional elections in his second term are over, is now finally revealing his truly radical socialist plans.

Really.

You should stay tuned for further updates as to what he will do next. Reports are that Agenda 21 being implemented could be next. After all, this new flood of immigrants will be clamoring for land. And that he's going to spring illegals from jail. And that he has new love for anchor babies.

And
If
You
Are
Smart
Enough
To
Understand
Acrostics ....

The "deather" conspiracy widens!

Even al-Qaeda is in on it!

I am sooooo waiting for deathers to spin this one.

Also, I am kind of curious about bin Laden's final tape message.

Obama's birth certificate - the political angle and timing

President Obama has finally released his full, long-form birth certificate.

And, as the Guardian notes, as of the moment before the official release, 4 in 10 Republicans believe he was not born in the United States.

And, with that release, birtherism as looniness vs. allegedly serious GOP candidates, especially just a week after Arizona Gov. Jan. Brewer veteod her legislature's birther bill, becomes more stark. Brewer herself served up a poster quote to that end:

"I never imagined being presented with a bill that could require candidates for President of the greatest and most powerful nation on earth to submit their 'early baptismal or circumcision certificates' among other records to the Arizona Secretary of State," Brewer wrote in her veto letter. "This is a bridge too far."

Now, the 2012 GOP presidential campaign is slowly starting to gain traction. And, in current governance, Obama faces a GOP-lead House with significant tea party elements pushing to slash, slash, slash on the budget.

So, "a bridge too far" has been exposed to the light of day. GOP presidential candidates and House leadership alike are going to have to decide not only how strongly they want to personally repudiate birtherism, but how strong they want to repudiate it within their party as a whole.

That said, Obama gets a political kudo for the timing of this issue. He knocks Donald Trump down a peg (not that what passes for seriousness in a GOP "establishment" was taking him seriously), invites other GOP presidential candidates to play with birtherism at even greater general-election peril, and sets up "serious" GOP candidates for other offices to deal more directly with tea partiers and other true loons.

Besides Trump, this could most hurt Huckabee, given his recent comments about Obama, Kenya and anti-American anti-colonialsm. He's been quietly fence-straddling the birther issue for some time, and he's now going to have to put up or shut up. I'm waiting for the first interview of him forthcoming to squarely ask him this issue. Also hurt? Sarah Palin. Contra Salon magazine thinking Andrew Sullivan is a wingnut for asking for more information about Trig Palin's birth, her already-shredded credibility will fall even lower if she raises the birther issue more.

"Helped"? The serious but Obamacaring Romney and the serious but bland Pawlenty. And, if you're Obama, you know Romney doesn't "rally the base," and Pawlenty's attempts to do so have pandering fingerprints all over them.

Now, is birtherism going away? No, because a fair strain of it has been a smokescreen for racism, unthinking anti-Muslim feelings or some combination thereof.

Assuming Texas state Rep. Leo Berman is typical, we have clear evidence of how birtherism will shift its goalposts.

I just got off the phone with Texas GOP State Rep. Leo Berman, sponsor of his state's birther bill, and a vocal proponent of the idea that the President was not born in this country. Berman, who has explained previously that he gets much of his news via "YouTubes," was not aware of the White House's release when I called him up, but his initial reaction more or less set the tone: "I wonder why it took them almost two years to release that? That seems kind of strange."

I sent Berman the White House's statement and a copy of the certificate, and after a few minutes he called back ready to talk. "If this is the true birth certificate, I'm very happy to finally see it," he said. But today's news didn't answer his lingering doubts; if anything, it raised even more questions. Berman was comparing the White House release with another birth certificate he said was from Mombasa, Kenya. "There are two hospitals [in Honolulu] at the time and neither hospital will claim him," Berman said. "Today, if you have a hospital where the president was born they'd probably take the room where he was born and make a shrine out of it." Plus, the Kenyan certificate just seemed more compelling: "When I look at the one from Kenya, there is a British lord who is the clerk for registering all births in Kenya at that time." He added, "The one from Mombasa even has a footprint on it. Like a human footprint."

Note all the goalpost-shifting:
1. "If this is ... "
2. The reverse spinning of Obama hagiography
3. The "truthism" of the fake Kenyan certificate
4. An arguably racist (whether conscious or not) comment with "like a human footprint." Not "a human footprint," but "like" one.

Mojo is right on why this won't go away, too. Birtherism is just a smoke screen for even greater loonery. That said, Obama again gets the timing kudo.

Salon has a roundup of birther responses. A couple are fully accepting, others are splitting hairs and yet others are like Leo Berman. Those in Berman's league or beyond already had the next steps in their conspiracy thinking ready and have now unleashed them.

So, Huckabee will have to decide whether he wants to raise the Kenya issue any more.

John Boehner and Eric Cantor will have to decide how forceful they want to be when any of their caucus still spot birtherism - or when Obama's minions or other Democrats link birtherism to other tea party nonsense.

Per another story on the release and Obama's news conference.:

"We're not going to be able to solve our problems if we get distracted by sideshows and carnival barkers," Obama told reporters. "We're not going to be able to do it if we just make stuff up, and pretend that facts are not facts."

And now, GOP leadership had to decide how much or how little slack to cut "carnival barkers" in its own ranks.

Well done, Mr. President, on the "timing."

Interestingly, wingnut blogger Hot Air agrees with me on the political timing issue.

More evidence that this is part of a plan? AlterNet notes that Obama seems to really want to campaign against Ayn Rand luster Paul Ryan. Now, Ryan hasn't come out as a birther, but, beyond his scorched-earth budget, he's played enough footsie with tea partiers that it's clear this is part of strategy.

Joan Walsh seems to speak for many when she talks about letting bullies win, but, you're wrong on this one, Joan.

That all said, per this history professor (and many others, including me), will Obama nonetheless find a way to blow this big gain in political capital? Or, more to the point, will he not blow it, as a campaign move, but yet not get serious with real liberal answers to the needs of everyday Americans?

Obama action won't dissuade birthers

President Obama has finally released his full, long-form birth certificate.

But, assuming Texas state Rep. Leo Berman is typical, it won't dent "birtherism."

I just got off the phone with Texas GOP State Rep. Leo Berman, sponsor of his state's birther bill, and a vocal proponent of the idea that the President was not born in this country. Berman, who has explained previously that he gets much of his news via "YouTubes," was not aware of the White House's release when I called him up, but his initial reaction more or less set the tone: "I wonder why it took them almost two years to release that? That seems kind of strange."

I sent Berman the White House's statement and a copy of the certificate, and after a few minutes he called back ready to talk. "If this is the true birth certificate, I'm very happy to finally see it," he said. But today's news didn't answer his lingering doubts; if anything, it raised even more questions. Berman was comparing the White House release with another birth certificate he said was from Mombasa, Kenya. "There are two hospitals [in Honolulu] at the time and neither hospital will claim him," Berman said. "Today, if you have a hospital where the president was born they'd probably take the room where he was born and make a shrine out of it." Plus, the Kenyan certificate just seemed more compelling: "When I look at the one from Kenya, there is a British lord who is the clerk for registering all births in Kenya at that time." He added, "The one from Mombasa even has a footprint on it. Like a human footprint."

That said, Obama gets a political kudo for the timing of this issue. He knocks Donald Trump down a peg, invites other GOP presidential candidates to play with birtherism at even greater general-election peril, and sets up "serious" GOP candidates for other offices to deal more directly with tea partiers and other true loons.

Birtherism as looniness vs. allegedly serious GOP candidates, especially just a week after Arizona Gov. Jan. Brewer veteod her legislature's birther bill, becomes more stark.

Besides Trump, this could most hurt Huckabee, given his recent comments. "Helped"? The serious but Obamacaring Romney and the serious but bland Pawlenty.

Mojo is right on why this won't go away, too. Birtherism is just a smoke screen for even greater loonery. That said, Obama again gets the timing kudo.

Salon has a roundup of birther responses. A couple are fully accepting, others are splitting hairs and yet others are like Leo Berman. Those in Berman's league or beyond already had the next steps in their conspiracy thinking ready and have now unleashed them.

More proof hardcore birthers won't be changed? WorldNutDaily head Joe Farah is digging in. And, per the story on that, remember, many birthers also believe Bill Clinton aide Vince Foster was murdered, or other nuttery.

As for the "why did it take so long" question that birthers have raised? They know the answer, for the most part: Hawaii state law only provides for computer-generated facsimiles. Obama himself was granted the first, and likely last, waiver since the law was enacted in 2001.

That all said, Joan Walsh speaks for many when she talks about letting bullies win.

Sorry, Joan, but I disagree. This was more an event of political timing than anything else, as to the "when" of Obama's decision.

And, the Guardian has a good story on the announcement, too.

Meet the Obama birthers' new enemy

Hawaii's new governor, Neil Abercrombie, took office Dec. 6, and has declared himself determined to shoot down birther nuttery. Given that he knew Obama's parents, he's probably in good position to fight the birthers.

Abercrombie, a native of Buffalo, N.Y., arrived in 1959 to study sociology at the University of Hawaii. As a teaching assistant, he met and befriended Obama's father, a native of Kenya.

That said, as the story notes, with this as with most conspiracy theories (which are usually as evidence-free and nonamenable to reason as fundamentalist versions of other faith-based ideas), Abercrombie is likely to produce a backlash.

"Sure, you were born in Buffalo, Mr. Governor ... "