UNLIKELY ALLIES WEAVE MYTH OF CHRISTIAN AMERICA, HISTORIAN SAYS

A seemingly unlikely alliance between conservative Christian evangelicals and Mormons recasts American history as the founding of a distinctively Christian republic, Stephen Stookey told a gathering of church historians. Self-styled historian David Barton and conservative provocateur Glenn Beck—both inspired by the late Mormon conspiracy theorist W. Cleon Skousen—use tactics of half-truth...

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JESUIT TO BECOME CHAPLAIN OF THE HOUSE

(RNS) A Jesuit will be sworn in as the 60th chaplain of the House of Representatives on May 25, when he will become the first member of his order and second consecutive Catholic priest to serve the House. As chaplain, the Rev. Patrick Conroy will be in charge of opening House sessions with prayer, coordinating guest chaplains, counseling members of the House community and arranging memorial services, weddings and funerals. “One does not aspire to become the chaplain to a chamber of Congress,” Conroy, 60, said in ...

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THE CALVARY CHAPEL DAVID BARTON CONNECTION

After Understand the Times uncovered David Barton’s agenda in a News Alert posted May 12, 2011, some contacted us and asked the question: why would David Barton attempt to convince Calvary Chapel church audiences that America’s Founding Fathers were Christians by appearing to manipulate the words of the Founding Father documents? What would be the motive behind him doing this? Some also asked, could the motive be for money...

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DAVID BARTON APPROVES SHARIA LAW & LIES TO JON STEWART

Last week, David Barton appeared on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart to defend his views on American history. Much of Barton’s dialogue was hard to follow, and he strangely seemed to suggest that he was not really pushing for the idea of America as a “Christian nation,” something radically different from the impression he gives in the Christian community. His comments concerning Hasidic Jews and Muslims showed that he was interested in universal ideas of religion. Perhaps most shocking is that at one point in the interview, Barton actually defended the practice of Sharia Law in America, giving the...

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THE WALDENSES & THE ALBIGENSES: DEFENDING THE PILGRIM CHURCH

Since the release of our film, “A Lamp in the Dark,” we have had many comments on the information concerning those who are called “The Pilgrim Church.” The term does not just refer to the Pilgrim believers who came to America, but to the whole body of Bible believing Christians through the centuries who were never a part of the Roman Catholic system. The two chief groups were the Waldenses and the Albigenses. Rome waged the most dreadful and bloody persecutions against these Bible believers for centuries, almost completely wiping them...

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