Hi,
Sorry, I spelled Wayne Madsden's name wrong.
I can't resist pointing out that the Bush=Antichrist line is symbiotic with the LaRouchite "Children of Satan" series, whereby Cheney and the neocons are portrayed as agents of Satan. This is also the line in the neonazi wing of the Christian Identity movement.
The Antichrist is Satan's chief henchman in the apocalyptic End Times. These beliefs are largely the domain of Protestant fundamentalists, but there has long been a faction inside Catholicism, usually tied to Marianism and the militant anti-abortion movement.
Michael W. Cuneo, The Smoke of Satan: Conservative and Traditionalist Dissent in Contemporary American Catholicism (New York: Oxford University Press, 1997).
Askin, Steve. (1994). A New Rite: Conservative Catholic Organizations and Their Allies. Washington, D.C.: Catholics for Free Choice.
Mason, Carol. 2002. Killing for Life: The Apocalyptic Narrative of Pro-Life Politics. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.
And a section in chapter 12 in Berlet & Lyons, Right Wing Populism in America: "Catholic Marianist Apocalyptics."
-Chip Berlet
-----Original Message----- From: cberlet at igc.org Sent: Jun 14, 2004 2:29 PM To: lbo-talk at lbo-talk.org Subject: Re: [lbo-talk] W = the antichrist?
Hi,
Madsden is spreading gossip from an ultra-right faction of apocalyptic Catholics who have been around for years. Unlike Mel Gibson's father, these ultra-right Catholics think the Pope is the real Pope, but they embrace a form of apocalyptic millennialism discouraged by the Vatican. They are trying to shove the already ultra-conservative Pope further to the right. To do this they leak these hysterical stories to gullible journalists. The idea is that in the End Times an Antichrist emerges to build a One World Government and New World Order.
There is a gigantic pile of information about this on the PRA website.
http://www.publiceye.org/tooclose/apoc.html
Chip
-----Original Message----- From: Doug Henwood <dhenwood at panix.com> Sent: Jun 14, 2004 12:26 PM To: lbo-talk <lbo-talk at lbo-talk.org> Subject: [lbo-talk] W = the antichrist?
[Another from the Counterpunch stable, though not in CP itself. Dunno, I just don't believe this.]
Pope fears Bush is antichrist, journalist contends New Catholic Times, May 18, 2003
WASHINGTON DC -- According to freelance journalist Wayne Madsden, "George W Bush's blood lust, his repeated commitment to Christian beliefs and his constant references to 'evil doers,' in the eyes of many devout Catholic leaders, bear all the hallmarks of the one warned about in the Book of Revelations--the anti-Christ."
<<SNIP>>