Interesting read about secret theocrats in the US.

[Peter Frazier]

Got this from Cruel.com: http://www.harpers.org/online/jesus_plus_nothing/?pg=1
It's an article from Harpers magazine by a guy who went undercover into this very influential group of people 'in Christ' (they don't use the term 'Christian'). Great conspiracy fodder but I'd like to know what the US readers think. Isn't your government meant to be secular, or is it preferable for your politicians to have strong links with religion? I'd like to think that we are a bit less affected in Australia but I remember that our politicians have a group that does regular prayer breakfasts- makes me wonder if we've been infiltrated here too.

[Kyle Wilson]

Freaky. It's interesting that the religious conservatives admire sheer power so much that the examples they use for role models are people like Hitler, Lenin, Genghis Khan... and Jesus. I think maybe they're missing a certain incongruity there.

[XPav]

That just so wierd.

It confuses me how people expect to make informed decisions about say, technology or complex issues when they're expected to not read anything but the bible.

I went to a Catholic high school -- they pumped my head full of science (including evolution, of course), math, and hell, I seem to recall reading quite a few more books than the bible. Heck, I don't recall any organized "bible study" in the Protestant sense.

So then it personally confuses me when people say that the Bible is the only book they need.

The undercurrent of "women are inferior" in that article also bothers me.

[Brian Rucker]

If there's anything to this story, and it paints such a surreal and dark, even paranoid, vision then I'm freaked out. It sounds like quite the cabal of the powerful. Heck, religion isn't the point - they say it themselves - their vision of 'Jesus', one even the Religious Right might not even recognise, is just a cypher for the power of The Family. It may have started out from some nutbag's vision for Christian conquest of the world but it seems to have much more to do with power for power's sake now with Christianity as - not so much a facade - but a mold for this covenenant of theirs.

I'd be surprised if this group is as powerful and ominous as this article makes them sound. Why hasn't anyone followed up in the mainstream press?

[XPav]

Because the mainstream press is lazy and most likely, part of the conspiracy.

Me, I'm glad I have my tinfoil hat.

[DavidCPA]

I'm not sure whether to be very disturbed about the article or just tack it up as another very powerful men's organization out for it's own means. :shock: Acutally I'll do both.

-DavidCPA

[Menzo]

Whatever. There's always going to be some shadowy fraternal organization that caters to men who want to feel like they're part of some sort of movement like this. Where else will these guys get to snap towels at each other, make gay jokes, and shower together?

[Shawn Metcalf]

I heard about this article a month or two ago and was disappointed to see it was already off the stands. I don't buy Harper's often but it sounded intriguing enough to read.

When it finally went up online, it was discussed on Plastic a few weeks back; one of the respondents said he actually spent a couple of weeks at this place. It sounds much like Adam says - a place for the doofus sons of religious types to crash for a few weeks.

I was kind of disappointed in the article, really; it just ends right when it's getting interesting. Yes, they're crazy, but it's not clear from the article if that crazyness is actually having any effect or not outside of their circle.