Why is outside justification so important to
validate this belief system anyway? Some inherant weakness of the doctrine itself or just the personal failings and insecurities of the followers?
Annnnyway... Despite the rather recent appearance of all this public space idolatry you're so concerned with defending (mostly donated my a bunch of liberals in the 1960's -enjoy-), I think it's more from the offensive hyper-political tone of public space idolatry defenders that anyone is even rallied to "persecute you" ...as I'm sure you must feel I'm doing now much to your delight.
The reason you think the way you do and are so offensive about it though has much more to do with the post 1964 reformation of the right by Paul Weyrich than any Christian doctrine. As founder of the Heritage Foundation and forefather of the "Moral Majority" (he coined the term), he basically reinveted everything from the ground up with the merger of Christianity (formerly a predominantly liberal philosophy) and angry politics (always a right wing philosophy).
And of course, the rest is history...
Paul Weyrich, speaking in Dallas in 1980, captured the spirit of this new movement. He said,
"We are talking about Christianizing America. We are talking about simply spreading the gospel in a political context."
Jerry Falwell, who became the leader of the Moral Majority said: "get them saved, get them Baptized, and get them registered."
Thousands of fundamentalist preachers participated in political training seminars that year (you were looking for a conspiracy co-opting true Christianity right Jake?), and by June, more than two million voters had been registered Republican. Their goal was to register 5 million by November. In the 1980 elections, the newly politicized Religious Right succeeded in unseating five of the most liberal Democrat incumbents in the U.S. Senate, and provided the margin that helped Ronald Reagan defeat Jimmy Carter. The year 1980 was the year that a sleeping giant was awakened, and the political landscape of the United States was dramatically altered.
Or rather neo-history because you're taught now this is the way it's always been and America was supposed to be... but nothing could be further from the truth.
I'd be happy to show you why your neo-Church would probably tar and feather America's own founding fathers today for the beliefs they actually held (as opposed to what you've been told), but it never does any good.
And as for The Scholars, whom I take it you think just sound funny... I laugh when you talk about The COUNCIL or any of the esteemed shapers of ever evolving Christianity in much the same way.
As to a conspiracy, you're right. There is a conspiracy here. You're it. All of you.
Not all Christians, of course. I like Christians.
And I'm personally not offended by the public space idolatry of your politcal sect any more than if you put up statues of Zeus. It's all cute. But you were asking why people complain about your "forcing views" ...
It's really not the statues Jake. It's everything else about the conspiracy in which you find yourself immersed and constantly witnessing upon some rather fed up "persecutors."
"We are talking about Christianizing America. We are talking about simply spreading the gospel in a political context."
