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From: tim@unc.UUCP (Tim Maroney)
Newsgroups: net.religion,net.politics
Subject: Life in a Judeo-Christian State
Message-ID: <5946@unc.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 28-Sep-83 22:12:38 EDT
Article-I.D.: unc.5946
Posted: Wed Sep 28 22:12:38 1983
Date-Received: Sun, 2-Oct-83 02:04:28 EDT
Lines: 125


Recently I have been going on a campaign of contacting religious groups
which advocate "turning this nation around", i.e., making the U.S. a
Judeo-Christian nation rather than the nasty secular humanist society they
say it is now.  I tend to ask a series of very specific questions dealing
with what life will be like in this proposed system for those of us outside
the Judeo-Christian tradition.  For instance, as a witch, would I be able to
live without worrying that my job, my children, or my home would be taken
away from me?  If I were to be sent to prison for some crime, would my
chances for parole depend on whether or not I was a good Christian girl?
Would I be able to teach in public schools, or run for public office?

In short, would I enjoy the same freedoms that born-again Christians enjoy
in the current "secular humanist" society?

Originally, I considered these questions strictly rhetorical.  I naively
believed that these Christians would not advocate the restriction of
someone's freedom on the basis of religion.  Then I began to notice that I
was not getting any answers.  The young man from Maranatha Ministries who
was passing out a newsletter advocating a Judeo-Christian nation hemmed and
hawed for a few minutes before telling me that "it didn't matter" what my
position in this future society was, as long as I eventually "turned to
Christ".  A young woman from the same organization refused to reply to my
questions at all, saying she hadn't really thought much about it.

I decided to get in touch with some of the more famous organizations.  I
called the 700 Club.  The young man who answered the phone was very polite.
He told me that my questions were very good and offered to send me some
literature.  He did not answer any of my questions, and I had already read
most of the literature he offered me.  (Tim LaHaye's "Battle for the Mind"
and C.S. Lewis' "Mere Christianity")  I had less success when I called the
PTL Club.  The fellow who answered the phone did not want to talk, so I
asked him to send me some literature.  "What about?" he asked.  "The legal
position of non-Judeo-Christians in a Judeo-Christian America," I replied.
He said he would get right on it and took down my name and address.  The
other day I received a letter from PTL congratulating me on having "accepted
the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal saviour" and recommending a local
minister I could get in touch with.

This unwillingness to answer what are very simple questions makes me
nervous, and it leads me to suspect the worst.  Therefore, judging from
conversations I have had with some born-again Christians, the literature
they have written on the subject, and the views they have expressed on their
television shows, here is my vision of what life in a Judeo-Christian
America would be like.

The first people to feel the effects of the new order would be those groups
which would be the easiest and safest to attack -- homosexuals, people
involved with the radical left, and people involved in the occult or
"cults". The homosexuals would be the simplest to destroy.  They would
simply be driven back underground by the threat of felony convictions or, at
the least, the loss of their jobs, homes, and families.  The radical left
would have to be handled with more care.  After all, McCarthyism almost did
for red-baiting what Hitler did for anti-Semitism.  While not faced with
actual imprisonment, someone who admitted to being a Communist or a
Socialist would find job opportunities limited and their movements watched.
People who were not members of the state-sponsored religions would be fair
game.  After all, even now "de-programming" is advocated by many Christian
groups.  No doubt a thriving private de-programming business will be
established and de-programming centers set up, "rehabilitating" the
benighted with the good, old-fashioned methods of hard work, prayer, and
sleep-deprivation.

By making it government policy that the Constitution guarantees "freedom of
religion" rather than "freedom from religion", the rights of atheists and
agnostics to their own beliefs will be effectively removed.  The children of
unbelievers will be easy to spot during morning prayers at public school.
Of course, it is not required that they participate in prayers.  It is
strictly "voluntary".  There is, however, nothing to prevent a good
Christian teacher from taking the poor little heathens aside and explaining
to them that if they don't become Christians and pray, they will go to Hell.
The teacher could even encourage the other children to witness to the child,
using schoolyard peer-pressure for the glory of God.  Naturally all teachers
in the public schools will be Judeo-Christians by law, and if a teacher
falls into the undesirable category of being a "secular humanist", she will
understand that her job depends on keeping her radical views to herself.

The poor are an especially vulnerable group.  Welfare handouts from the
state will, of course, no longer exist, but the Churches will handle charity
work.  Of course, those who utilize church charity will have to listen to a
sermon if they wish to recieve aid, or perhaps submit to the local pastor
"checking up" on them every now and then to see that they are deserving.  Of
course, a hefty portion of the poor will be unbelievers -- atheists,
agnostics, witches, homosexuals, Communists, etc. who have lost their jobs,
so requiring them to listen to Christian sermons will be doing them a favor.
It will all be "voluntary".  Heck, they wouldn't have to accept church
charity.  They could just as easily watch their children go hungry or cold.

It is inevitable that certain elements among the poor will commit crimes
such as prostitution or theft.  These criminals can be put in prison with
other lawbreakers, such as fornicators, homosexuals, stubborn witches or
cultists and Sabbath breakers.  Once in prison, the sky's the limit in
experimenting with various methods of religious conversion.  Only
Judeo-Christian literature and counseling will be allowed, and the prisoners
will understand that their chances for parole will depend on whether or not
they have seen the light.  I mean, let's be serious.  Everybody knows that
Christians are less likely to commit crimes than non-Christians.

Since non-believers are basically sick people who deserve pity, all of these
actions will be undertaken in the spirit of kindness and concern.
Unbelievers will know that when the government imprisons them or restricts
their activities, it is in their own best interests.  They won't be FORCED
to convert, only to follow the basic Christian tenets of pre-marital
chastity, obedience to authority, and respect for the Sabbath.  By the same
token, candidates for public office won't be required to be
Judeo-Christians, just to sign an oath swearing to uphold Bibical
principles.  Thus the non Judeo-Christian element will be rendered
politically powerless without the fuss and bother of dis-enfranchisement.

I have not written this article off the top of my head.  A good bit of
research has gone into it.  I have talked to Christians who advocate a
Judeo-Christian state, have read their books and watched their television
network.  If there are any Moral Majority Christians out there who take
issue with what I have written, I ask them to get in touch with me and tell
me where I am mistaken.  I would also like it if they would tell me what
WOULD happen to me and my family in a Judeo-Christian state.  This is
something I would really like to know, and the lack of response I have
gotten so far is anything but reassuring.

___________
Pamela Troy
c/o Tim Maroney
duke!unc!tim (USENET)
tim.unc@udel-relay (ARPA)
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill