What a weird time it is among the right wingers. World Net Daily, believe it or not, is still consumed by a quixotic quest to prove, finally, once and for all, that Obama really was born in Indonesia and Kenya and is a Marxist intruder. And no, I ain't linking to them. (Who would read it anyway.)
But then things get really weird. I know an awful lot about right wing fundamentalists, and I'd say their central organizing principle is fear, usually apocalyptic fear. So along comes respected fundamentalist pastor David Wilkerson. In Pastor Wilkerson's alternate reality, it's time to froth with terror, kids!–
I am compelled by the Holy Spirit to send out an urgent message to all on our mailing list, and to friends and to bishops we have met all over the world.
AN EARTH-SHATTERING CALAMITY IS ABOUT TO HAPPEN. IT IS GOING TO BE SO FRIGHTENING, WE ARE ALL GOING TO TREMBLE – EVEN THE GODLIEST AMONG US.
For ten years I have been warning about a thousand fires coming to New York City. It will engulf the whole megaplex, including areas of New Jersey and Connecticut. Major cities all across America will experience riots and blazing fires—such as we saw in Watts, Los Angeles, years ago.
There will be riots and fires in cities worldwide. There will be looting—including Times Square, New York City. What we are experiencing now is not a recession, not even a depression. We are under God’s wrath. In Psalm 11 it is written,
“If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?” (v. 3).
God is judging the raging sins of America and the nations. He is destroying the secular foundations.
This mode of being is the default manner of fundamentalists, and that's a state of mind that will slowly destroy your brain cells–they can't take the stress.
But it turns out Wilkerson might be onto something. Just check in with our old buddy Chuck Norris. Mr. Roundhouse Kick is currently fomenting rebellion. And no, that's not hyperbole. Sounds like he may just want to fulfill Wilkerson's doomsaying:
John Adams declared that, "Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people." Yet we've bastardized the First Amendment, reinterpreted America's religious history and secularized our society until we ooze skepticism and circumvent religion on every level of public and private life.
How much more will Americans take? When will enough be enough? And, when that time comes, will our leaders finally listen or will history need to record a second American Revolution? …
When I appeared on Glenn Beck's radio show, he told me that someone had asked him, "Do you really believe that there is going to be trouble in the future?" And he answered, "If this country starts to spiral out of control and Mexico melts down or whatever, if it really starts to spiral out of control, before America allows a country to become a totalitarian country (which it would have under I think the Republicans as well in this situation; they were taking us to the same place, just slower), Americans won't stand for it. There will be parts of the country that will rise up." Then Glenn asked me and his listening audience, "And where's that going to come from?" He answered his own question, "Texas, it's going to come from Texas. Do you agree with that Chuck?" I replied, "Oh yeah!" Definitely.
Oh yay! You know, I left the fundamentalists behind, but they just keep catching up. I often wish they'd fulfill their dream of turning South Carolina into a theocracy, saw off the place at the border and float off into the sunset. And I don't care that he mentioned Republicans, too–we're not supposed to be a theocracy. That's what the whole Article 6 business was placed in the constitution for. Even if Walker, Texas Ranger wants to be president of Texas.
