Secretive "C" Street Spiritual Haven
Yesterday as we all heard Gov. Mark Sanford, (R) South Carolina, publically admitted to having an extra-marital affair. In his statement he made reference to a house on "C Street" (in the SouthEast section of the District of Columbia, very near the nations Capitol Bldg.) where some congressmen come to face "hard questions". At least 5 members of the House and Senate live there. They, and others, engage in bible study classes. For more details I refer you to today's Washington Post article, "The Political Enclave That Dare Not Speak Its Name". www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article
If it is a place of refuge, a place for some harried members of the Congress and Senate to recharge depleted batteries, I have no problem with the idea. Even if they do conduct bible study classes, that's their private business. The article refers to efforts by one resident to persuade Senator John Ensign (R) Nevada (who also admitted to the same 8 days ago) and Gov. Sanford (a former congressman) to end their affairs. Sen. Tom Colburn (R) Oklahoma, who lives there apparently tried to be a peacemaker by pursing the topic of forgiveness with the husband of Sen. Ensign's mistress. Good Christian behavior.
What bothers me, and many others, is that Gov. Sanford has made past santimonious statements condemning just such extra-marital affairs by others, such a Bill Clinton. Adultery seems to plague both political parties, but at least the Democrats do not make parsimonious statements.
What comes as a result of these studies and personal relationships does, however, concern me. If efforts to block progressive initiatives come from here, then we must become aware of who lives there, what relationships have been formed and what policies have been informally created there.
What concerns me in particular is that a highly secretive group known as "the Fellowship", which organizes the National Day of Prayer breakfast, owns the building, and by hosting the breakfast, has contact with "legions of top government officials". Does the organization informally cross the line that separates church and state? It seems obvious to me that it would be very hard not to. I, for one, will continue to closely watch this situation as closely as I can.
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NPR: Fundamenatalism, Friends in High Places
NPR ran a good article on this yesterday, www.npr.org/templates . It reviews the new book, "The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism in the Heart of America" authored by Jeff Sharlet. He examines the power wielded by the secretive Christian group, (the Family or the Fellowship) I referred to in the above Washington Post article. Here are a few highlights. In additon to his research Mr. Sharlet relates his first hand experience from a visit to the groups meeting place.
It was founded in 1935 by a minister named Abraham Vereide, who had a vision in which God came to him in the person of the head of United States Steel Corporation. Subsequently he dedicated The Family to opposition to FDR's New Deal. The evangelical group's views on religion and politics are so singular that other Christian-right organizations consider them heretical.
Mr. Sharlet notes that the group has a connection to the "C" Street house referred to in the Post. He further notes that it is owned by a foundation affliated with the Family and is officially registered as a church. Known as Ivanwald, it serves both as a meeting place where classes in the Bible are taught and has been a residence for such luminaries as Gov. Mark Sanford, Sen. John Ensign (both now discredited for having had extra-marital affairs) and others such Sen. Tom Colburn, another well known conservative.
Mr. Sharlet notes that "The group's approach to religion is based on a "a sort of trickle down fundamentalism" which holds that the wealthy and powerful, if they "can get their hearts right with God...will dispense blessings to those underneath them". Members ardently support a free market philosophy, in which they believe God's will operates directly through Adam Smith's "invisible hand".
It's no wonder to me then that this Oligarcical group feels as though they and other capitalists are a priviledged class and thus resist anything that challenges the status quo, such as Mr. Obama's health insurance reform and clean energy initiatives.
Of even more interest to me is that NPR also notes that in September 2007 Sharlet and Kathryn Joyce wrote a piece in Mother Jones magazine in which they reported that Hillary Clinton has been active in Bible-study and prayer groups affiliated with The Family. She described it's current leader, Doug Coe, a rather reclusive person, "as a unique person in Washington: a genuinely loving spiritual mentor and guide to anyone, regardless of party or faith, who wants to deepen his or her relationship with God."
So IMO, C. K. Chesterton summed up the current political climate of entitlement on Wall Street and in D.C. quite well when he said, "It isn't that they can't see the solution. It's that they can't see the problem."
Projecting Guilt
I was in clinical social work about a minute when I discovered there was really something about this projecting guilt thing. If they went on and on about how much they hated Gays, we had some latent homosexual issues to deal with (or often not so latent). If they were very judgmental about other people's extra marital affairs, such as Bill Clinton, they usually had issues in that area. They had either had an affair or wanted to have one.
A Course in Miracles is a spiritual work that deals extensively with projecting guilt.It is an amazing work.