Snark fails me, except to say that I really don't want to hear it from anyone, the next time I talk about how "our" military is being turned into the armed wing of the theocratic crusade against the Enlightenment. Read more…

Juan Cole is an even-more-than-usual must-read today. An evangelical telepreacher is saying the Iraq war is a disaster because it is delaying the Second Coming:

Houston-based preacher K. A. Paul said:

...the Bush administration has delayed the second coming because U.S. foreign policy has blocked Christian missionaries from working in Iraq, Iran and Syria. . . "Somebody needs to say enough is enough," he said to worshippers who stood, waved and called out in support. . Paul, who claimed to support conservative political leaders in the past, is launching "a crusade to save America from the wrath of God and Republicans abusing their power," according to his press materials. . . "God is mad at this country," Paul told the congregation. He described the war in Iraq as "unnecessary genocide."

As opposed to the necessary ones, I guess.

Go read the whole thing. Cole travels a lot and he's seeing some interesting things.. Read more…

It's very simple. Bush and Rove have played fast and loose with the First Amendment prohibition about church and state, and spread a lot of cash around faith communities. Having met some of the "leaders" in the religious communities of color, I can tell you that many are truly unimpressive and self-motivated. There are plenty of black and Latino ministers willing to tout the Republican party line at the pulpit, just as white pastors do. Kuo's book describes what that's really all about, but the good news is that it's not working anymore:

Black, Hispanic Conservatives Bailing Out of GOP Read more…

Or perhaps they should try to keep the, you know, pedophiles out of the party. A lot of teens think creepy old men hitting on them over the IM system while standing up and singing with the Faithful on Sundays is, well, hypocritical. Music to my ears:

Despite their packed megachurches, their political clout and their increasing visibility on the national stage, evangelical Christian leaders are warning one another that their teenagers are abandoning the faith in droves.

At an unusual series of leadership meetings in 44 cities this fall, more than 6,000 pastors are hearing dire forecasts from some of the biggest names in the conservative evangelical movement.

Their alarm has been stoked by a highly suspect claim that if current trends continue, only 4 percent of teenagers will be “Bible-believing Christians” as adults. That would be a sharp decline compared with 35 percent of the current generation of baby boomers, and before that, 65 percent of the World War II generation. Read more…