Ever heard of Patrick Henry College?

[Adsos Letter]

I have a strong interest in Church/State separation, and I found the video herein linked to interesting/alarming on a number of levels. It was produced in 2006, so you may have already seen it, or heard of this school through other venues. The title is God's Next Army

Patrick Henry College, in Virginia, stands at the end of the educational chain for certain homeschooled evangelicals. Its stated purpose is to prepare Christian youth to influence US society, primarily by gaining entrance into the political establishment. I knew of Liberty University's goals/purposes, but had not heard of Patrick Henry College.

According to the video, prepared by Channel4 (I don't know if it is the BBC affiliate), the goal is to "return" the US to its status as a "Christian Republic." Conservative Republican Congresspersons apparently recruit heavily from this school for support staff/interns.

You may find this interesting, if only to gain more insight into one of the ways some conservative evangelicals are attempting to gain political power. The video is a 2006 production, hence the context of the Bush presidency, but the issue of church/state separation remains the same.

For the record: I have NO problem with Christians in politics, as long as they respect the separation of Church and State, and equal protection under the law for ALL people living under the United States legal system. It is, once again, the attempt to establish some form of theocratic governance that is at issue.

The video is approx. 1 hour, and you can fast-forward through the commercials.

LINK: http://www.moviesfoundonline.com/gods_next_army.php


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[xchrom]

1. Recommend

[Adsos Letter]

2. Not abandoning this thread, but She-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed...

is "encouraging" me to go cut the lawn. Back later. :D

And a Happy New Year to you all! :party:

[ChairmanAgnostic]

3. I sat on a panel with a sack job from Henry

There were five of us, and local access TV carried the discussion. We debated several points of law, and constantly, the wack job was making arguments that made no sense. I was intrigued and kept notes. Finally, when our panel talk was over, I went over and introduced myself. It was then that I received the full blast of his ideas and background. Then all te strange positions made sense.

Limited goverment, so small as to be invisible. Strong military, with militias providing a solid defense, no taxes, and a strong religious, (christian) background.

[Adsos Letter]

13. Yup; that pretty much sums it up, ChairmanAgnostic.

The concept of true religious liberty under the governance of a secular state is lost on them.

[struggle4progress]

4. A disproportionate number of White House interns in W's first term came from Patrick Henry,

and DU discussed this tiny little rightwing fundy school then

I'm pretty sure you can find this article in the DU archives:

College for the Home-Schooled Is Shaping Leaders for the Right
By DAVID D. KIRKPATRICK
Published: March 08, 2004
... Of the nearly 100 interns working in the White House this semester, 7 are from the roughly 240 students enrolled in the four-year-old Patrick Henry College, in Purcellville. An eighth intern works for the president's re-election campaign. A former Patrick Henry intern now works on the paid staff of the president's top political adviser, Karl Rove. Over the last four years, 22 conservative members of Congress have employed one or more Patrick Henry interns in their offices or on their campaigns ... http://www.nytimes.com/2004/03/08/education/08HOME.html?ex=1394168400&en=15fb7af553c976b8&ei=5007&partner=USERLAND

It's a weird place:

5 Professors Quit Religious School
Some Complain of Academic Constraints at Loudoun Institution
By Michael Alison Chandler
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, May 19, 2006
... The departure of five of the school's 16 full-time professors follows the forced resignation last year of Jeremy Hunley, a library clerk who promoted the idea that baptism is essential for salvation ... http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/18/AR2006051801995.html

It was sort of strange that so many Patrick Henry students showed up as White House interns, nobody had even accredited the school yet. It now has some (?) kind of accreditation, I guess:

Friday, April 20, 2007
Patrick Henry College: Accredited, But What Does It Mean?
... I was moved to rethink my analysis of PHC after ... PHC's full accreditation by the Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools Seven years after it was formed as an elite evangelical college for home-schoolers, Patrick Henry College became a fully accredited institution this week ... In 2002, it won pre-accreditation from the American Academy for Liberal Education ... But three years later, the college abruptly canceled its application after the accreditor announced a site visit to look into some issues ... The school also filed a preliminary application with the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools .. but did not pursue it ... PHC will never be an elite institution with faculty leaving over freedom of speech issues ... If your institution is struggling to make it past what would constitute, for a regular school, an AAUP censure, then your chances of obtaining accreditation from a mainline agency .. are slim ... http://history-and-education.blogspot.com/2007/04/patrick-henry-college-accredited-but.html

[Adsos Letter]

14. Thankyou for those links, struggle4progress.

I wasn't part of the DU community until 2007, and I should have known it would have been on the board's radar. :)

Perhaps some of the newer members are unaware of this institution, and may find the video helpful.

[hootinholler]

5. Thanks for that! n/t

[Adsos Letter]

15. You are welcome, hootinholler. And a Happy New Year to you!

:party:

[patrice]

6. K & R - The unity of religion with government is the destruction of BOTH. nt

[jwirr]

9. Absolutely. When religion interferes with government they are out of

their element and going against their own bible. When their idiocy fails they not the government will get the blame. Thus first they kill government and then they get the blame which in turn ends their religion. NO where in the bible does it say Christians are supposed to take over the government and there is a reason for that - in the end they will get the blame and they will deserve it. In acting like this they harm what is supposed to be the real mission of the church. To show God's love for all.

I am a Christian who absolutely hates these fools.


Edited to say they need to take Patrick Henry's name off their idiot school. He was not an idiot.

[patrice]

11. It's kind of funny; they think they'll make Christianity stronger; instead it will become weaker.

Character is kind of like a muscle; if it isn't challenged, if you have enough power to sanitize life of any moral/ethical challenges the way authoritarians want, people don't develop their own personal autonomous resistance to things that are harmful.

Life may go along, even without strong independent morally functioning agents everything may seem to be okay, until their is a problem or question to be addressed and, then, without spiritually autonomous individuals, herd mentality, even mass psychosis, can take control and harmful "choices" are made. But they're not really choices at all, because the individuals making them can live almost their entire lives as slaves, more or less, to power, without even knowing it, because TPB reinforce & reward weakness, dependence, and conformity, making it appear to be the opposite of what it actually is. Authentic freedom requires diligent cultivation and responsibility of one's self. No one can do it for you.

[Adsos Letter]

16. Amen, patrice! The combination of church and stae creates only two things....

hypocrites and martyrs.

[Adsos Letter]

17. Agreed on all counts, jwirr!

I, too, am a Christian...but I cherish our secular Constitution, where freedom of conscience is enshrined.

[one_voice]

7. Jesus Camp on steroids. n/t

[Adsos Letter]

18. Yup; Jesus Camp grown up.

[NV Whino]

8. This "Christian" shit

is getting pretty scary. Please note that I put Christian in quotes. There are Christians and then there are "Christians."

[Adsos Letter]

19. Amen, NV Whino! Secular governance is where it's at...

and that is PRECISELY what those who won out on the language of the Constitution had in mind.

I know plenty of Christians who think Church/State separation is the way to go. The SDA's there in The Valley are fully committed to maintaining Church/State separation.

Happy New Year! Can't wait to see some photos from that new camera! :hi:

[provis99]

10. Patrick Henry? Big Virginian slave owner?

Yeah, he's a real beacon for morality.:eyes:

[patrice]

12. Another branch of Saint-Co. providing guaranteed jobs on the backs of those in need. nt