Jesus Made Me Puke-Matt Taibbi Undercover with the Christian Right (Rolling Stone)

[kpete]

Rollingstone.com

Jesus Made Me Puke
Matt Taibbi Undercover with the Christian Right
MATT TAIBBI

Posted May 01, 2008 12:00 AM

......................

I had been attending the Cornerstone Church for weeks, but this was really my first day of school. I had joined Cornerstone — a megachurch in the Texas Hill Country — to get a look inside the evangelical mind-set that gave the country eight years of George W. Bush. The church's pastor, John Hagee, is one of the most influential evangelical preachers in the country — not because his ministry is so very large (although he claims up to 4.5 million viewers a week for his Sunday sermons) but because of his near-absolute conquest of a very trendy niche in the market: Christian Zionism.

The whole idea behind Christian Zionism is to align America with the nation of Israel so as to "hurry God up" in his efforts to bring about Armageddon. As Hagee tells it, only after Israel is involved in a final showdown involving a satanic army (in most interpretations, a force of Arabs led by Russians) will Christ reappear. On that happy day, Hagee and his True Believers will be whisked up to Heaven by God, while the rest of us nonbelievers are left behind on Earth to suck eggs and generally suffer various tortures.

................


"Hello," I said, taking a deep breath. "My name is Matt. My father was an alcoholic circus clown who used to beat me with his oversize shoes."

The group twittered noticeably. Morgan's eyes opened to tea-saucer size.

I closed my own eyes and kept going, immediately realizing what a mistake I'd made. There was no way this story was going to fly. But there was no turning back.

"He'd be sitting there in his costume, sucking down a beer and watching television," I heard myself saying. "And then sometimes, even if I just walked in front of the TV, he'd pull off one of those big shoes and just, you know — whap!"

I looked around the table and saw three flatlined, plainly indifferent psyches plus one mildly unnerved Morgan staring back at me. I could tell that my coach and former soldier had been briefly possessed by the fear that a terrible joke was being played on his group. But then I actually saw him dismissing the thought — after all, who would do such a thing? I managed to tie up my confession with a tale about turning into a drug addict in my midtwenties — at least that much was true — and being startled into sobriety and religion after learning of my estranged clown father's passing from cirrhosis.

It was a testament to how dysfunctional the group was that my story flew more or less without comment.

more at:
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/20278737/jesus_made_me_puke/print

[madeline_con]

1. K&R People need to be aware of these freaks. n/t

[ccharles000]

2. ...

John Hagee is a piece of shit.

[mrreowwr_kittty]

7. So is Doug Coe.

You should read up on him. And on who one of his most famous acolytes is.

[sasquatch]

3. My brother is a member of the "Church of God" and this is the type of nonsense they preach

:grr:
I really do hate these people.

[silverweb]

4. K&R #5.

Wow. Just finished reading the whole piece and now I want to read Matt's book. Unbelievable.

The author does a great job of describing the psychological process of this indoctrination ...

"The fundamentalist formula is much less a journey from folly to wisdom than it is from weakness to strength. They don't want a near-complete personality that needs fine-tuning — they want a human jellyfish, raw clay they can transform into a vigorous instrument of God." ...

as well as the outcome ...

"Once you've made a journey like this — once you've gone this far — you are beyond suggestible. It's not merely the informational indoctrination ... It's that once you've gotten to this place, you've left behind the mental process that a person would need to form an independent opinion about such things."

Scary, scary people.

[progressoid]

5. Woooooooow.

:wow: Not sure I want to read the whole book. That's scarier than a Stephen King novel.

[Duke Newcombe]

6. I question the author's motivation. eom

Duke

[EstimatedProphet]

10. And I question yours.

[Duke Newcombe]

12. Sensitive much?

Unless, of course, you're Matt Taibbi?

Duke

[EstimatedProphet]

24. Not at all. I just question your previous post.

Since Matt Taibbi wrote an investigative story about a facet of American society (which is after all, his job), and you question it for no discernible reason, I find I must question your motives. What Taibbi wrote stands on its own, especially since you provided no criticism. What you wrote is nothing more than whining.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

34. Now I fear I must disagree with you.

I find the reason highly discernible.

[Echo In Light]

36. Get a bang outta your sig line

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

13. The author's motivation is to make people like you look bad.

Which, IMHO, is a GOOD motivation.

[Duke Newcombe]

15. Well, he failed, miserably...

That's what "writing in a Vicodin enduced haze" will do for you, though. Aren't there more important things going on to write about?

As long as your amused, that's what's important. Do go on. :shrug:

Duke

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

19. Sensitive much? -nt

[Duke Newcombe]

29. Yes. Now, get me a tissue, Tito...

:shrug:

Duke

[QueenOfCalifornia]

38. Haaaa!

You are kidding... right?

Matt T's intentions? He is well known for exposing all kinds of crap and the evangelical movement is at the top of the crap heap.

I too question YOUR motives.

[GaYellowDawg]

8. That's off the deep end...

I lived with a fundamentalist group during graduate school (the rent was very cheap). It was a college group for the Church of Christ. The college minister was a very nice man, who let me live with them and didn't demand that I belong to the Church of Christ, but did ask for participation in their events and asked that I attend a church somewhere. It didn't bother me; I'm Presbyterian, and the rent was $35 a month for a furnished room. As long as I followed their rules I was just fine. I was even encouraged to speak up at some of the smaller meetings when I had differences with the theology. I will say that I heard muttering from alumni and church contributers in the community that they thought the guy was a little too liberal for their liking. He's been there, though, for close to 20 years.

I went on a couple of their spiritual retreats, and fortunately, they were nothing like that. No speaking in tongues, none of the pop psychology, no casting out of demons, and no "end times" rhetoric that I can recall. I don't recall anything like the wackiness that this guy described. There were long breaks - I remember playing football, making snowmen, and going on hikes. It didn't feel like a "hard sell" approach at the time.

I'm no fan of fundamentalism. Their goal is to have everyone think exactly as they do. I think, though, that what this guy is describing is just about a worst-case scenario. I'm certainly not saying anything in defense of fundamentalism; I just thought it'd be somewhat of a relief for people here to know that this is an extreme example.

[DadOf2LittleAngels]

17. And an important note is that

*every* group has their wackjobs...

[GaYellowDawg]

20. Oh, you're right...

Every group does. I have no doubts that every single denomination out there has at least one congregation or group that would make my hair stand straight up. I just posted that to let people know that not all fundamentalists are like that.

I do think that the influence, power, and money that they've gained over the past 10 years is a very volatile mix.

[EstimatedProphet]

25. That's true

And in this case, the wackjobs are all the Members of the Cornerstone Church.

[lildreamer316]

9. I haven't laughed so hard in ages.

Yes, I know it really isn't funny, but dammn.
I am *SO* buying his book when it comes out.

[dorkulon]

26. Hell yes, brilliant. nt

[hatrack]

27. Particularly the bit about Fudgie The Whale . .

Freakin' brilliant!

[lildreamer316]

30. I have been giggling all day about the alcoholic circus clown father beating him with his shoes.

It's absolutely classic.

[awoke_in_2003]

40. Hey, that's not funny

clowns are evil (creepy, too)<G> Seriously, how the others in his group did start laughing, especially when he related how his father chased him in a whale suit, is beyond me.

[malaise]

11. That was unfuggingbelievable

and fall down funny. :rofl:

[alphafemale]

14. kick

[stranger81]

16. Both the funniest & most deeply disturbing read I've had in a while --

thanks for posting, & K&R.

[Mad_Dem_X]

18. Holy crap. Literally.

I don't know how he kept from giving himself away. I'd be sitting there laughing to whole time.

[awoke_in_2003]

41. I do...

he was probably creeped out. If you can come up with a wild story like this, and people just suck it up, you know you are around zombies.

[Generic Other]

21. I think we should take a collection and send Will Pitt to one of these!!

He'd have some fun...

[kpete]

22. xlnt idea

[mikita]

23. thanks for posting this

great read -- ordinarily I avoid topics re Christian Right, as we get enough of it day-to-day. But his title was just irresistible......

[Pushed To The Left]

28. Jeremiah Wright looks pretty tame by comparison! n/t

[GreenPartyVoter]

31. Interesting and scary stuff

[davidthegnome]

32. Wow!

First off, I have to tip my hat to the Author. Tremendous work - his writing style reminds me somewhat of Andrew Greeley's (one of my favorite authors). He certainly knows how to make people laugh or wince at the appropriate moments.

Secondly... I wonder about what he didn't say. The stories (or wounds, as Fortenberry called them) shared by those in his little group. Probably, and understandably, to protect their identities, but imagine the kind of life story that can bring someone to such a place.

I laughed pretty damn hard about the Alcoholic clown for a Father that beat him with over-sized shoes. How the heck can you say that with a straight face? Despite having pulled it off, it's amazing they didn't laugh him right off the ranch.

Still, the whole business with the wailing, the shrieking... the speaking in tongues, casting out the demon of intellect.... the destruction of a Harry Potter book rescuing children. It's pretty hard to believe that any of this is true. Then again, it's hard to believe George Bush isn't an alcoholic clown in some wandering circus.

Still, I've had experience with men like Fortenberry. A few years ago I fell in with a man much like him - though fortunately, he was an individual wacko and not part of a group. I was young, depressed, unhappy and lonely and looking for companionship - guidance, leadership, you name it.

So I can see how people can fall for this kind of thing - I almost did it myself once. In fact, for the most part, I did - though it was not nearly so extreme as this example. I became much like an Evangelist, similar to men like Fortenberry, if not as obviously raving insane. Fortunately I was still young enough that my Father had a stronger hold on me than the Preacher did. I thank the "demon of intellect" for the metaphorical mirror he held up in front of my face, showing me what I was becoming. I certainly didn't thank him at the time though, I was miserable, and the Preacher had given me friendship, guidance, something to believe in.

For the most part I've recovered from that madness, though occasionally I still have an urge to go visit the Preacher, to spend another day listening to him guide me with his "wisdom and righteousness".

It is so very easy to let someone else do your thinking for you. It is so very easy and comforting to fall into line with a group like that - far easier than you would believe. Especially for those who are lonely and suffering. Black and white - good and evil so clearly and simply (if ignorantly) defined. Your sins can be forgiven and dismissed, should you repent appropriately. And I was overwhelmed with guilt and shame.

Now, as alone as I am, I have found better principles to cling to. Still, at times I envy men like Fortenberry - not for any admirable qualities, but because - they are not alone. They have guidance, a group of shared values and principles that I have always lacked in my own life - a more clearly defined path. They have a little church "family" to share with them the burdens of their lives.

Well, hopefully that madness too, will pass in time.

[lildreamer316]

33. Don't be so sure you don't have a family..

I have certainly found one here.

And the problem is, that usually someone like you describe,the 'Fortenberry', eventually comes across a life experience wherin the principles and shared values do not hold the answer. Then, it is all hollow.

When one finds the way for oneself, it is always solid footing. Using someone else's footpath or toehold can lead to thin air...

:hi:

[B3Nut]

37. "Demon of intellect"...yeah, I've heard that one before

I used to attend some wierd charismatic churches when I was younger, and this kind of phraseology and thinking is far from uncommon. And I've seen all manner of histrionics at some of these services, so I can totally believe his account, especially since it's Hagee's church. Hagee is a scary, scary man...he terrifies me.

[awoke_in_2003]

42. I have heard it, too

and have always wondered "why are they scared of intelligence and learning?" Of course the answer is- the whole religion thing is based on ignorance. In the garden of eden fable, man was kicked out for eating from the tree of knowledge.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

35. Kick -nt

[Locrian]

39. holy crap!

Wow, just wow. Scary yes, but I laughed my ASS off at the "daemons out" part!

[ronnie624]

43. A society that values education

would be impervious to this sort of indoctrination.