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Our usual focus with religious figures is how they play into politics and blur the separation between Church and State, something that televangelist Kenneth Copeland has certainly been guilty of with his backing of Mike Huckabee. But Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA) is looking at Copeland for the wholesale lack of accountability of the business of teleministries and whether they should keep their tax-exempt status.

Longing for the Rapture

via Shakespeare's Sister

...Earlier today, we were talking about the Rapture, and there were some jokes about how it can’t come soon enough, if it means ridding the country of Christian fundamentalists. Thinking about it this evening, however, I began to contemplate how far-reaching the effects of the puritanical hold they currently have on American politics actually are. It’s more than attacking gay rights; it’s more than attempting to blur the line between church and state; it’s more than trying to eradicate abortion rights; it’s so, so much more.

The trend toward religious values (which are, I would like to note, not the only or even remotely the most American set of values one might hold) is subverting intellectualism, and indeed, if further pursued, will undermine the very things that afforded America the superpower status that these same people depend on to wage the wars they so rabidly support...read on