theocrat Rick Perry's reading list: A how-to on converting Jews and Muslims to Christianity #p2 #tcot

from http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/08/30/1011972/-Rick-Perrys-reading-list:-A-how-to-on-converting-Jews-and-Muslims-to-Christianity?via=blog_1

Rick Perry and his handlers would like you to know that he is currently reading some books, and therefore not dumb. Some people are questioning one of his choices, however:

[O]ne of the books the Texas governor says he's reading lately, Charles Stanley's Turning the Tide, sounds a bit extreme. Although it's described by Politico as "a Baptist pastor's how-to for Christian conservatives who want to change the country's direction," some choice excerpts from the actual words inside reveal "change the country's direction" to be something of a euphemism for "convert all Jews and Muslims because they are heathens."

As Mother Jones notes, the "tide" in the title is actually a "tsunami of death and depravity that we're running out of time to thwart." Then there's this, from Stanley: "Pray for God's protection against terrorism and ask that Muslims throughout the world will come to know Jesus as their Savior."

The New Yorker's Ryan Lizza, who recently detailed Michele Bachmann's own penchant for batty religious writings, tweeted some additional excerpts from the Stanley book, including "pray that Jews worldwide will accept Him as their Savior," and, "May the people of Israel acknowledge their guilt, seek Your face, and accept Your Son -- the Messiah."

So it's essentially a book about how people of all creeds and religions should come together in harmony to worship Jesus Christ as their savior, and if they don't we're going to be buried beneath a sea of depravity and chaos and restaurants that are open on the wrong holidays.

I don't think this is going to hurt Perry in any way: It seems perfectly consistent with his positioning as Head Jesus Guy, the candidate who is most ostentatious in their public prayer and godbothering. The people that like Perry would very much like all the Jews and Muslims to be converted, and have no issues with believing that all those folks are not only going to hell, but dooming the rest of America as well. No doubt many of them even have bumper stickers to that effect.

Among the things that are not extreme these days: banning mosques because we don't trust Muslim Americans (see: Herman Cain), hanging around with people who still believe witchcraft is responsible for misfortunes (see: Sarah Palin), blaming earthquakes and hurricanes on God wanting to send abstract messages to people, but having atrocious aim (see: any number of supposedly serious national preacher-types), and wanting to bring about the Apocalypse, because dooming everyone else on the planet to trials and tribulations and mass destruction and flaming sky ponies is a small price to pay to prove once and for all to those bastards down the street that you really were one of God's chosen ones (ibid). Saying America is doomed if we don't convert all the Jews and Muslims to evangelical Christianity is pretty old-school stuff, all told.

There is a strong tendency to brush this sort of thing off; we've become so inured to religious intolerance, when it's coming from the evangelical Christian side of the fence, that it hardly ever seems worth pointing it out. But maybe we shouldn't be inured to it. It would be a dismal thing indeed, if we elevated religious bigotry on behalf of one particular sub-sect of one particular religion into being a prime duty of the presidency, and there is a large percentage of America that would like nothing less than that. I'm not really sure Rick Perry immersing himself in a good, thorough read of My Pet Heathen is what America needs.