What simplistic stereotyping this is. Try changing the word Christian to the word Communist or the phrase "NFL viewing."
Some versions of Christianity, such as certain ultra-fundamentalist non-denominational or conservative Baptist sects fit this description. Not all of Christianity.
Try applying it to the Berrigans. Have you ever read "The Good Book" by Peter J. Gomes, the Harvard chaplain? How about any of the feminist theologians such as Rosemary Radford Reuther?
Your bigotry could be cured with a little reading.
-Chip Berlet
----- Original Message ----- From: "Christopher Rhoades Dÿkema" <crdbronx at erols.com> To: <lbo-talk at lists.panix.com> Sent: Friday, July 06, 2001 7:58 AM Subject: Re: Christian love
> I read this too. It's no surprise. Since Christian faith
is an ideological
> expression of historically specific gender relations with
combined sadistic and
> masochistic components (gendered sado-masochism), it's
only to be expected that
> some gross forms of masculine sadism will come up from
time to time. Christian
> men are encouraged to show masculine sadism, Christian
women to show feminine
> masochism. But in each the other component lurks under the
surface, showing
> itself in certain circumstances
>
> There are corresponding feminine masochist
manifestations. We on the left tend
> to like them a lot more, because they often lead to
political action we
> sympathize with, ahd even see as heroic.
>
> Christopher Rhoades Dÿkema
>
> Kevin Robert Dean wrote:
>
> > July 5, 2001
> >
> > Christian School Questioned Over Discipline for Wayward
> >
> > By RICK BRAGG
> >
> > http://www.nytimes.com/2001/07/05/national/05SCHO.html
> >
> > Tom Gannam for The New York Times
> > The Heartland Christian Academy near Newark, Mo., uses
old-time religion and
> > and old-fashioned discipline. Five staff members have
been charged with
> > child abuse after students were punished in manure pits.
> >
> > Expanded Coverage
> > In Depth: Education
> >
> > Join a Discussion on School Discipline
> >
> > Christopher Berkey for The New York Times
> > "When I die, I'll either go to heaven or hell, and I
won't go to heaven if I
> > am abusing kids," said Charles Sharpe, founder of the
Heartland school.
> >
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------
------------------
> > ----
> >
> > EWARK, Mo., July 4 - Charles Sharpe made millions in the
insurance business,
> > then decided to use his wealth to make the world a
better place, one child
> > at a time.
> >
> > Called by God, he said, he established a
nondenominational Christian school
> > for troubled children and teenagers who had passed
through juvenile courts,
> > foster care and broken homes.
> >
> > "I always thought that doing good, you wouldn't offend
people," said the
> > 73-year-old Mr. Sharpe, whose Heartland Christian
Academy in rural
> > northeastern Missouri uses old-time religion and
old-fashioned discipline to
> > try to save the lives and souls of its students. The
teachers do not spare
> > the rod - here, it is a paddle - and they expect
children to pray.
> >
> > But now, five staff members at the school have been
charged with multiple
> > counts of felony child abuse. They are accused of taking
discipline too far,
> > forcing students to stand in pits of cow manure at a
dairy near the school
> > as punishment for misbehavior.
> >
> > Eleven students, ages 13 to 17, were taken to concrete
basins at a dairy
> > farm and ordered into the cow manure as punishment for
such infractions as
> > fighting, being disrespectful to their instructors, not
paying attention in
> > class and having a bad attitude, said Sheriff David
Parrish of Lewis County.
> >
> > Workers at the dairy, which is owned by Mr. Sharpe, said
they saw children
> > standing in manure in depths ranging from their ankles
to their chests, and
> > saw another student smeared with the manure from head to
toe, Sheriff
> > Parrish said.
> >
> > Last week, the five staff members were arrested, charged
and released on
> > bond, and the 11 children were removed from the school
and taken into state
> > custody.
> >
> > "All we want, now, is what's right for the kids," said
Sheriff Parrish, who
> > said he feared that the students might become sick from
infections from
> > bacteria in the manure.
> >
> > Mr. Sharpe, who said he had stopped the manure
punishment more than six
> > weeks before the arrests, said that the charges of child
abuse were false
> > and that the witnesses' descriptions were exaggerated or
dead wrong.
> >
> > He said the punishment in the manure was abandoned
because it was bad public
> > relations, not because he considered it illegal or
abusive, or a health
> > risk.
> >
> > "When I die, I'll either go to heaven or hell, and I
won't go to heaven if I
> > am abusing kids," said Mr. Sharpe, a politically
influential backer of
> > organized school prayer and conservative lawmakers, and
a longtime friend of
> > John Ashcroft, the United States attorney general and
former senator from
> > Missouri.
> >
> > Mr. Sharpe said the students were sent to work in the
manure, not stand in
> > it. They used shovels to move manure from one place to
another, as
> > punishment, he said. They never were forced to stand in
deep manure, or to
> > stand, period, he said. They worked, he said, mucking
out sections of the
> > basins.
> >
> > There is no apparent outcry from parents.
> >
> > Of the 11 students who were removed from the school by
the State Division of
> > Family Services, eight have been returned to the school
by their parents or
> > legal guardians, and another is expected to come back to
the school any day,
> > Mr. Sharpe said.
> >
> > That would not have happened, he said, if the charges
were valid.
> >
> > "I've shoveled manure my whole life, and I'm still
having some shoveled on
> > me," said Mr. Sharpe, who was born in rural Missouri and
reared on a farm
> > before going on to riches as the founder of the Ozark
National Life
> > Insurance Company in Kansas City, Mo.
> >
> > The students did work in manure that was at times
thigh-deep, some staff
> > members said. The boy who was seen smeared with the
manure from head to toe
> > had fallen down, and was soon hosed off, a spokesman for
Mr. Sharpe said.
> >
> > Sheriff Parrish said some of the students told him they
had been forced to
> > stay in the manure for as long as an hour and a half.
Mr. Sharpe said the
> > longest time of the punishment was 30 minutes.
> >
> > It is, Mr. Sharpe conceded, a dirty job and that is why
it was used as
> > punishment.
> >
> > The main manure basin is a powerful-smelling dump of
drying and thick,
> > congealing excrement. But its smell is not so powerful
as the separating
> > pool where the manure runs into a lagoon. The students
worked both places.
> >
> > Workers said they used machines to handle the manure
from the dairy farm's
> > 7,000 cows, which produce 28,000 pounds of manure a day.
They said that
> > sometimes afterbirth from calving was put in the manure
pits.
> >
> > It was workers at the dairy who notified county
authorities of the
> > punishment by calling a child abuse hotline. "I've had
beating my whole
> > life, and I don't think that's right," said a worker who
spoke on the
> > condition of anonymity. "But put them in the pit? That's
horrible."
> >
> > Mr. Sharpe said the real abuse was the way the children
lived in the world
> > outside this complex of brick houses and concrete and
metal buildings here
> > in thousands of acres of corn, pasture and rolling
hills.
> >
> > Inside the school, which has 227 students, about half of
them considered
> > troubled children or teenagers from around the country,
they find a haven
> > from abuse, neglect, drugs, school shootings, pregnancy
and hopelessness, he
> > said.
> >
> > No student here, Mr. Sharpe said, goes to school afraid
of guns. "They live
> > better than any time in their lives here," he said.
> >
> > But county officials said the punishment could not be
viewed as anything
> > except abuse. "It is my professional opinion that these
actions were abusive
> > in nature, for any youth," said Michael Waddle, chief
juvenile officer of
> > the Second Circuit Court, which includes Lewis County.
"And it's our job to
> > make sure all the kids in this state are safe."
> >
> > Mr. Sharpe is fighting back with a lawsuit.
> >
> > The Heartland Academy Community Church and CNS
International Ministries,
> > both headed by Mr. Sharpe, filed a lawsuit on Monday in
Federal District
> > Court for the Eastern District of Missouri against Lewis
County, as well as
> > Sheriff Parrish, Deputy Sheriff Patricia McAfee and Mr.
Waddle.
> >
> > The lawsuit contends that the county and its
investigators have conducted a
> > "systematic, persistent and continuous campaign of
harassment" against the
> > faculty, staff and community at Heartland, by unlawfully
removing the
> > students from the school and interrogating them.
> >
> > The suit says Mr. Waddle and Mr. Parrish spoke with the
parents and
> > guardians of some of the 11 students and told them that
Heartland was
> > engaging in abuse and neglect and encouraged them to
remove their children
> > from the school.
> >
> > The suit claims that the arrests and charges caused the
students, their
> > families and the faculty and staff at Heartland to
suffer from "humiliation,
> > mental anguish, inconvenience."
> >
> > County officials have called Heartland a "cult" and
"little Waco," the
> > lawsuit says.
> >
> > "The most frustrating part of this entire episode is
that these baseless
> > charges threaten to overwhelm the enormous good we've
done at Heartland, the
> > dozens of lives we've turned around, the many families
we've helped heal,"
> > Mr. Sharpe said. "We do work within the limits of the
pertinent laws, but we
> > do not intend to run things the way the state does. That
system already has
> > failed these kids."
> >
> > Elijah Reese drove more than 400 miles from Memphis to
pick up his son
> > Coradell Baggett after he received a call from Mr.
Waddle, in which he heard
> > about the treatment his 14-year-old son had received.
> >
> > "He's back here with me because they weren't treating
him right," Mr. Reese
> > said. "That's inhumane treatment. That's stuff you do to
prisoners of war,
> > not kids."
> >
> > But Douglas Gardner, whose son Douglas Gardner Jr. was
one of the students
> > punished in the manure pits, immediately returned his
son to the school. Mr.
> > Gardner said he thought the school had made his son a
better person.
> >
> > "Heartland's made a 100 percent turnaround in his school
work, attitude,
> > morale," Mr. Gardner said. "They're doing a fantastic
job, and the county is
> > doing something they shouldn't be doing."
> >
> > The Heartland complex is in two counties, with the main
buildings in Shelby
> > County and the dairy farm in Lewis County. The Heartland
complex is Shelby
> > County's biggest employer, and people's attitudes about
the place seem to
> > range from gratitude and admiration for the way the
school tries to help
> > people to disinterest or suspicion. Most people here
said they minded their
> > own business.
> >
> > Mr. Sharpe said the arrests of his five staff workers
left him "outraged."
> >
> > "For the first time in my life," he said, "I'm a little
disillusioned about
> > what America has become."
> >
> > A hearing on the charges is set for later this month. A
spokesman for Mr.
> > Sharpe said he did not expect the charges to stand.
> >
> > "A group of little men thinks they can stop God?" Mr.
Sharpe said. "No."
> >
> > ooooooooo
> > Kevin Dean
> > Buffalo, NY
> > ***Visit http://www.yaysoft.com for the latest in
computers,
> > politics and strange off-the-wall news and
discussions!***
> > ICQ # 8616001
> > ooooo
> >
> >
_________________________________________________________
> > Do You Yahoo!?
> > Get your free @yahoo.com address at
http://mail.yahoo.com
>
>