CNN's God's Warriors: Ron Luce
By John Amato Sunday Aug 19, 2007 5:30pm
C&Ler Bill sent this in via email:
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This preview's about Ron Luce and his militarized Christian group "Battle Cry"---"Armed with faith and prepared for battle" ..." against the evils of secular society and pop culture," Battle Cry's members are taught by their leader Ron Luce that they must retake America from those he ironically refers to as the "virtue terrorists that are destroying our kids" ... "raping virgin teenage America on the sidewalk."
Reminds me of Jesus Camp, but on a larger scale....Being brought up Catholic---I'm not an anti-religion guy---although I think the Dobson's have perverted it to the point that they have created more hostility towards religion than ever before. I always aim my criticisms at these leaders who make a fortune off of the backs of their members and not to spirituality or religious belief. David Kuo: “The name of God is being destroyed in the name of politics”
Pam:
Even as he tells kids to swear off pop culture, Luce doesn't swear off capitalism, cashing in for Jesus by making money selling Battle Cry books, t-shirts, and videos...read on
fuck religion, no good can come of it.
Ron Luce...you go, guy. Next stops: meth, gay sex massage, gay prostitution and tax evasion...
I love all the "warrior" and "battle" talk........It's as if they were putting their lives on the line like the troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.....
Hate and Intolerance.
Keeping America going for over 500 years!
nuts can be found in all ideologies.
There will always be someone like this who will see a gap and realize the monetary rewards for filling it when it comes to religious people who will actually believe anything they are told and do anything they are told if it makes them think they have a guarantee to get into heaven when they die. He's just another one who is using them.
I've always thought that people who are so bent on doing whatever is needed to go to heaven must have something in their background that's working against that ambition.
What little bit I know about the bible is more than I want to know but didn't they baby jesus warn against false prophets somewhere in the little black book?
I hear ya JA. My southern baptist upbringing not only turned me against religion it made me want to get the hell out of the south. I now live in NYC and for the first time in my life I have tasted the true freedom our forefathers intended for the whole country but sadly exists only in pockets on the two coasts.
"The Squeaky Wheel gets the grease!"
That's why the Silent Majority gets ran over!!
Luce's plan is to save our kids from an exploitative culture by having a show filled with... flashing lights, numerous explosions, and general glorification of violence?
What a dumbass.
Offered the choice between a toxic waste toddy and religion, I'll take the toddy every time.
Sometimes it makes me sad that if I only I could be cynical, craven, hypocritical, manipulative, and greedy, I, too, could make a fortune swindling the gullible faithful, plus the power trip for my ego would be like a Harley ride to heaven.
Alas, I'm secular, borderline atheist (I do believe in a nonspecific universal power), and I have too much of a frickin' conscience to lie, cheat and steal in the name of the Lord, and my basic sense of human decency forbids me to allow atrocities to be committed or encouraged in the name of the Lord.
If I were a faithful Christian, though, I'd stay the hell away from someone whose name sounds like an abbreviation for Lucifer.
CD @ 5:
Ting-a-ling!
Any time a Holy Roller is the subject of a post, C&L should provide a link to Al Pacino's climatic, rug chewing scene from the movie, Devil's Advocate.
There seems to be a problem with the Quicktime copy of this video. I can not get it to play.
Blue Buddha @ 12:
eh?
CD @ 5:
Yes. Ideologies are like shit that way.
Is it just me or I only see white people in these kind of events?
No blacks, no latinos, no asians?.........can somebody explain why this type of christianism seems to be the domain of certain white segment?
Besides, all this talk and posturing about war, warriors, battlecry, lights, fireworks, bravado, red flags......man, I don't know, didn't God say only the meek will inherit the earth?, they ain't meek to me.
I would comment but my comments get censored
nigel @ 3:
Praise Jesus! Testify! You said it!
After this massive indoctrination excersie the little priviledged pasty white chickenhawk hatchlings will head to the mall in mommie's SUV and hang out at the food court while the true soldiers are dying on the battlefield for George Bush and Dick Cheney's lie based oil wars for profit.
The Christian Mullahs here pose the greatest threat to America.
CD @ 15:
The sound of a bell... y'know, like when someone wins a prize on a game show... ;)
Blue Buddha @ 20:
I didn't get that either. The all knowing and wise Blue Buddha shows us why he is the Blue Buddha.
How long do you think it will be before this guy gets caught bopping some underage male or female in his group?
I dunno, it seems to me that what this putz is doing is 'pop culture' - is he railing against himself?
Another hypocrite at work.
"They're raping virgin teenage America on the sidewalk" - Ron Luce
What an odd metaphor, vivid imagination that man has...
Mark my words. 6 months from now Ron Luce will be in the news again this time caught emailing web cam photos of himself in his underwear to pre-teen boys.
.
WHO WOULD JESUS BOMB?
Let the cleansing begin.
Go forth and eradicate the non-believers.
WHO DID JESUS DISPARAGE FOR NOT BELIEVING IN HIM?
"Maybe it needs to be divisive," says Luce(ifer).
.
This is a sign that they are getting more and more desperate. I used to claim to be an agnostic, but I dropped that when I realized that I share nothing in common with these beliefs. I am truly offended by the gratuitous hyperbole.
The Talibaptist and Evilgelicals have given us a new one... "Virtue Terrorism"
Things were so much simpler when all we had to worry about was the "War on Christmas." Now we have to worry about walking down the sidewalk and tripping over some teenage virgin having their virtual virtue raped! Oh My!
Sometimes I get the feeling that all of these High and Mighty types are the equivanlent of the old hucksters you see selling miracle cures out of the back of their wagons. They know what they are saying won't do anything except make some happy and some mad, but in the end it will make them lots of money. Guys like Dobson, Luce, Falwell, and Robertson have just been smart enough not to get caught like Baker. In the end they are all the same hucksters getting richer off of the poor and downtrodden.
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Personally,
I see people like Luce(ifer), who promote intolerance, exclusivity, conditionality, hate, bigotry, etc. as EVILgelicals. They aren't preaching God's word and the messages of Christ by teaching and promoting ant-Christian values that are counter to real Christian doctrine/values/principles of acceptance, tolerance, forgiveness, inclusivity, love.
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You know the wingnuts love this crap.
But, let's just put this exact show in another country, using a different language, and a different religion. Everything else is the same, the show, the delivery, the message. Let the show be in Palestine, and the religion be Islam, but let the message of "battle" and "warriors" and "war" be the same.
Now how would the wingnuts react?
It's absurd.
Wonder if she'll cover these loons?
I had to take my dog outside before I could watch the whole thing. 22,000 of them came to see him. That's scary! I agree, his name will come up again and not in a good way. This guy is up to something besides being "god's warrior". I'd put money on it.
ah , 'battle cry' , amerikkka's al-qaeda-lite.
Rusty Shackleford @ 9:
Yeah Jesus just digs a good pyro show...woooo hoooo!
I think it minimizes the severity of any issue when the really bright people rationalize discusting behavior exists everywhere..."nuts in every camp."
THIS GUY IS A HITLER IN THE MAKING.
CHRISTIANS SHOULD BE CAREFUL WITH THIER DOGMATIC FANTASIES.
Don't call me Jeezy Creezy!!
Whatever happened to that other God Warrior (trademarked, I'm sure) who was all the trading spouses rage?
Dark-sided?
I thought she would have gotten her own t.v. show by now...
This is not silly, it is serious. See the movie "Jesus Camp". Then google Michael Weinstein. Many of the top brass in the military are members of this fundamental dominionist group.
Why must these Wing-nutO's always try to prove to the world that they think they are holier than thou, when everyone knows they have proven to be nothing but ignorant, hate monguering, bigoted, homophobic liars.
Blue Buddha @ 20:
Oh...Well thank you.
In my life I've met people from almost every ideology some good and some bad.
I hope the latter outnumber the former.
I'm guessing that none of those 22,000 teenagers has ever heard of Triumph of the Will, let alone seen it. But that was the first image that popped into my head when I saw the video.
Well, he's right about one thing. The loudest usually get their way. I mean, this guy got CNN to produce a one hour infomercial for his movement. When will the traditional media learn not to egg these people on?
Pete @ 38:
Here ya go...enjoy!
:D
" His Christian code requires a "wartime mentality": a "survival orientation" and a readiness to face "real enemies." The queers and communists, feminists and Muslims, to be sure, but also the entire American cultural apparatus of marketing and merchandising, the "techno-terrorists" of mass media . . ."
So does this mean this guy and his Christian warriors will be picketting and boycotting Fox, Disney, NBC Universal/GE, Viacom, Time Warner, The Gap, Calvin Klein, the big ad agencies - all the corporations that have cynically turned children into a commoditized market, to be pandered to with violence, inappropriate sexual content and the message that money is everything?
Of course not. Ron Luce just wants to raise contributions from the gullible to go after the usual suspects. And create his own Jesus-brand in the bargain.
Which pinkos, queers and feminazis would Jesus beat up?
This is the second time someone from the religious right has used the image of a publically violated teen-age virgin to make a point (remember the guy from S. Dakota?) I think they get off on the idea of raping teenage virgins.
Oooo, just watched the clip and my Gaydar went crazy. That guy is a definitely Ted Haggard gay. (Not that there's anything wrong with that.)
Dana,
It was a rhetorical question meant as satire*... but thanks!
^_^
*not really sure that satire is the right word, but I'm sure you get my meaning.
David Kuo: “The name of God is being destroyed in the name of politics”
Actually the Bible and the Koran (to name just a couple) have already done a pretty thorough job of destroying the name of God, as everyone from Mark Twain to Robert Ingersoll to Sam Harris to Christopher Hitchens have pointed out rather eloquently.
Maybe if the polite, reticent "I have a lot of respect for all faiths, I was raised as a [catholic, muslim, hindu, baptist, etc] myself" crowd would grow some gonads, admit that they are really atheists or agnostics, and start blasting away at the Jerry Falwell/Pat Robertson/Rod Parsley/Ted Haggard kooks with both barrels blazing, we could get the wingnuts off our backs and move forward and evolve as a culture.
MargeAggedon @ 10:
Religion IS a toxic toddy. Just look at Jonestown.
I just saw part of "Jesus Camp" on Australian public TV last night, and it scared the bejesus out of me. I'm very happy to be living in another country, and very frightened for my own.
This isn't just some innocuous preaching or one-off radical group. This is a massive movement to create a fascist state, supported by propaganda, political power brokers and tax-free capital gains.
They are brainwashing kids to believe the Bible over scientists or teachers.
They are homeschooling, to keep them dumb and obedient.
They are creating religious propaganda for young kids, disguised as secular cartoons ("VeggieTales").
They are creating video games where Christians have to kill non-believers and followers of other religions.
They even have their own army supported by U.S. taxpayer dollars: Blackwater.
Don't laugh. These people are deadly serious.
Sure! next these kids can get Visa cards at 25% or more interest, wasn't that considered loan sharking some time ago? After that, they can buy a house in a bubble market, and owe the bank more than the property is worth for the rest of their lives, or maybe their religious duty will send them off to some conflict overseas. Get a job? the corporations have already outsourced all the jobs to cheap foreign labor. And a media where all they see is Paris Hilton? Who the fuck's fault is that? There are no journalists anymore, only 'conservative commentators' on FOX.
When you watch these kids in the video about Luce's group or Jesus Camp, how worked up they get, and how SURE they are in their faith and what they are told, and add to it all that talk about them being warriors, and this being a battle, how much of a stretch would it be to put a gun in their hands, or put them behind the wheel of a Ryder van packed with explosives.
These kids are going to be killing people and blowing up buildings within 10 years.
Max-1 @ 30:
hmm... mabye evan-genitals
I find it ironic that the people worshipping the cross the most are the ones burning it.
Am I the only one that thought that looked like a Nazi rally? What's with the Red Flags?
Thank you ND, it was a Nazi rally!
CD @ 5:
Yeah, well real social, real economic, and real political philosophies, much like scientific theories, are bound by logic and observation. Religion, on the other hand, is bound only by that voluntary schizophrenia you call religious faith and wishing REALLY hard.
Its not much of a comparison.
Johnny2 Bad @ 47--
Ron Luce *is* a graduate of Oral Roberts University. He was another old-time con man, raking in mucho dough from the gullible.
I don't know about his being gay, but he sure is squirrely.
Ron Luce should jump on the Vick story and start a "Prayers for Pets" division.
Pitbulls for Jayzus. The sheeple are waiting with open hearts and checkbooks. ($$$$$$)
In the words of George Carlin, "Clergymen are full of ****!"
john @ 36:
Hitler youth, anyone? Zieg heil, indeed.
Zenrage @ 56:
"voluntary schizophrenia"
See what I mean folks?
First the flags, then the arm-bands....
What did they do after the stage show, stand in a circle chanting while burning copies of The New York Times and Bill Clintons autobiography?
As an European I can look back at centuries of religious warfare on this continent. America has been staging it's religious culture war for some time now, but it will stay a lame ass affair at home. It's only people in other countries bleeding for it - and religion is once again only used to expand a materialistic and imperialistic agenda.
I can't wait to see him on the news after he is caught up in a teen sex scandal.
“Armed with faith and prepared for battle” …” against the evils of secular society and pop culture,”
Kind of ironic.
I consider evangelists to be part of pop culture.
orangeguru @ 63:
It's always confused me how some self declared Christians can be so materialistic.
All that's missing is a good book burning.
"Wherever they burn books they will also, in the end, burn human beings." Heinrich Heine, German author (1797~1856) How prescient.
I don't see much of a difference between Luce and his ilk and those who rush to condemn all religions. Claiming that everyone with religious belief is bigoted is, itself, a bigoted claim. Claiming that every tolerant religious person is really an agnostic is just ... ignorant.
BTW, you do know that a drink of toxic waste would kill you in seconds, right MargeAggedon? I'm sure you'd really prefer that to religion ....
This made me laugh:
"Being brought up Catholic—I’m not an anti-religion guy..."
What does one have to do with the other? Some of my best atheist (and anti-religion) friends were brought up Catholic.
Actually, it's the secular society that protects his right to have his Hitler Youth Rallies.
...and also gives us the right to point it out for what we think it obviously is.
It'll be sad though, when one of those tweaked out kids grabs a copy of his book and with it tucked under his/her arm, shoots a gay kid at school. I wonder what happens to our "Battle Cry" friend here.
Personally, I'm getting really tired of dealing with the after effects of all these crazy religious freaks, be them Christian or otherwise.
Wow... Looks pretty much the same...
They didn't have the fancy lights back then though...
Ok, I'm scared!
OK here is the deal. Someone put a private investigator on this guy....this way we can save all the hassles of finding out later that he is secretly gay, a pedophile, drug addict, or whatever. The whole of right wing hypocrisy is based on the psychological defense mechanism of "reaction formation", projecting forth a "pious" image to hide the nasty dirt underneath.
V V
Given my experience with right wing Christians and born agains, they not only teach hatred toward "non-believers", they also preach hate toward other Christians, in particular those nasty Papists. The media spins just by sheer weight of exposure that Christianity is Pat Robertson and his ilk. Catholics who make nice with these people are like Jews who make nice with them. The ending this people have for Catholics, Jews, and others is adorned with violent fantasies.
Everything these people point to as what is bad about Islam and the Muslim faith, they are simply repackaging in Christian format.
Warriors = Jihad
Radical Islam = Jew
Huge outdoor events with preachers screaming about how to be a better (fill in religion here).
Background images of war and death.
Angles/Rapture = Martyrs/76_virgins.
Organized religion begets, at the very basic of levels, hatred and intolerance. It cannot be avoided if each specific cult believes that it alone is on the "right path", and all others must be converted. I would not be surprised if part of the bush agenda vis a vis Iraq relates to opening the country of Iraq to christianity - and if this causes the coincidental "removal" of Muslims, oh well.......
The indoctrination for christianist fundies begins with the very young - in preschool and in "kids church" services. The precepts of the particular religion are hammered into the heads of children in a relentless fashion, precluding independent thought. Psychologists call this brainwashing, and that is exactly what it is.
No wonder we have bozos in the White House like bush, and no wonder we are quickly approaching a theocratic dictatorship in this country.
I'm not anti religion,But I'm mad as hell at the BS they've pulled off.Who the hell do they think they are?The hypocricy pushed me away from religion....not to mention all that's happened in the name of religion.Every religion has a violent past........no thanks
baby jesus loves popular culture, porn, pot and petite young girls
Like all repugs...Luce(ifer) is in it for the money.......funny how is name is missing a few letters..
dollars to donuts he gets busted within a year for some sex crime.
These homegrown fundies are the ones that we really need to worry about. The bumbling, yet dangerous islamic radicals are of significant concern, but these Christo-fascist nuts are on our home turf. They are JUST as crazy, if not more so.
North Korea??
johnx @ 24:
watch, luce will be exposed as a pedaphile...
Just like Becky Fischer cept he's going after teenagers ...
Powkat @ 42:
That was my first thought too. Also, he complains about people caring more for Paris Hilton than Jesus. The media that obsessively shows Hilton et al is owned by white, conservative, rich men. What's the base of the Christianis movement? White,conservative rich men.
Shell5960w @ 70:
Yea, it's like, "Oh crap, my parents are Catholics so now I have to be Catholic for the rest of my non-thinking life".
...If your parents jumped off a bridge, ... you know the rest.
Repressed fucked up parents make far more damage to kids than watching two adults having sexual intercourse on the TeeVee... But that would require that all those so-called Christian wako parents look at themselves in the mirror and accept their responsibility as parents.
Instead, just drive your gas guzzling SUV to an expectable of special effects and fireworks and blame someone else. It is easier, and far more entertaining... isn't it?
The religious right in this country has nothing to do with the actual tenets of Christianity, it is just a way for these fucked vile creatures to appease whatever it is left of their consciences so they can keep living in denial and get another fine night of sleep.
The evangelist movement is nothing more than a bunch of charlatans that are selling confirmation to an even bigger bunch of assholes. Preachers these days are more motivational speakers than actual men of god. They worship money, if Jesus came back they would be the first ones to nail him back to the cross.
This reminds me of the time when Toma came to my high school and gave an anti drug talk.He carried on like an Evangelical preacher and even convinced a number of the kids to turn their dope into him with no questions asked.Two days later when the euphoria of Toma's charismatic performance wore off they all regretted giving their weed up and came begging for some from the people who did'nt turn it over to him.Now I'm not promoting drug use I'm just saying the effect of guys like Luce has alot of caught in the moment appeal to young people.When he moves on most kids forget about him.
yep...and the tooth fairy leaves quarters under your pillow and the moon is made of cheese and Neptune makes the seas rough......but hey if they want to believe that good for them....just don't try to limit or control my life with their beliefs... that ain't gonna happen...and they can expect a little resistance from me after all the BS they've pushed on people.
It appears to me that these Fundies are trying to copy the indoctrination of Scientologist.
Mama's don't let your babies grow up to be fundies...........