What is ISRP?

ISRP is the Institute for the Study of Religion in Politics. ISRP was created by the founders of Antipas Ministries as a way to research, analyze and report on the alarming trend of Christian involvement in the political process. Antipas Ministries began this endeavour in the early 1990's and over the years, we have expanded our focus to include reporting upon the ominous direction America and Christianity have taken.

As we sit here on what should be an otherwise innocuous day in February, what becomes apparent is that something is afoot insofar as this present world is concerned.  Earthquakes in New Zealand, protests throughout the Middle East, and the United States [for remarkably different reasons I might add] have many of us scrambling to arouse ourselves from our slumber to try and figure out what is going on.  Insofar as New Zealand and the Middle East are concerned . . . I will let our dear compatriot S.R. Shearer speak in detail to those matters – with my only offering being to point out that ever more frequent earthquakes in diverse places is something predicted in the Bible and to point out that there has to be a radical realignment in much of the Muslim World [Egypt, Libya and Turkey in particular] for the occurrence of what many of us believe will eventually unfold.

As I already noted though, I will let Steve speak in depth on these matters.  Instead, I want to make a few quick points about the current labor unrest taking place in Wisconsin, Ohio, and Indiana; and the potential this situation has to spread to other states [with substantial protests in Washington State on Monday serving as a possible precursor to what might be a growing situation].  As noted by the press, the issue in Wisconsin and the other states is an attempt by conservatives to take away the rights of government employee unions to collectively bargain in full.  This means that Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker and his peers in Ohio and Indiana are attempting to deny state unions the right to collective bargaining for anything other than their salaries.  What is also interesting to note is that President Obama was just in the Midwest and to my knowledge had nothing to say in support of one of his largest constituencies.

Let me pause here for a second to make a couple of ancillary points and acknowledgements . . . First, I realize that many of the Christians that read the Antipas Ministries website are anti-union. However, [and I don’t mean to offend here] most that are anti-union probably came to this position because of the propaganda that has been shoveled at them from the pulpit of many conservative churches through their partnership with the Business Right. Do I acknowledge that unions have been guilty of excess and of protecting substandard performance? Yes I do . . . however; I do not think most people realize how much unions were responsible for the middle class lifestyle to which most Americans aspire.

Back to the main issue though, which is what the present labor protests in the Midwest mean. The efforts by conservatives in these states is nothing short of an overt attempt to destroy one of the last remaining labor strongholds, state employees’ unions. Since the 1970’s the US elites have aggressively sought to destroy union activity in the United States in their never ending search for cheap labor. Because of this they have shifted millions of formerly unionized manufacturing jobs overseas. The American workers that previously would have populated these jobs now work in service industries and construction industries that are for the most part non-unionized. Furthermore, the elites have insured that these sectors will never again become organized due to the influx of cheap illegal labor.

In this environment pretty much the only “dangerous” sector the elites have to worry about insofar as labor is concerned are government employees.  And if there is any doubt about the involvement of the elites in what is going on in Wisconsin, Ohio, Indiana, etc. – then take a hard look at the billionaires responsible for pushing the right wing into power in these states and the agenda that is important to them.  If the elites are successful in breaking the collective bargaining power of government employees then they can accomplish a couple of very significant things.  First, by breaking the power of government employees unions they will derail one of the most powerful lobbying groups on the federal and state level.  And once broken it will be much easier for right wing politicians to pass legislation that slashes deeper into government spending and programs and open the way for the corporate elite to privatize more government services.

Furthermore, once the counterbalance of the labor movement has been completely removed any sort of meaningful place in the economic landscape of the US – it will be much easier for the elite to continue their process of turning the average American into just another cog in the globalized production machine. When this finally occurs it will not be much better for most Americans than it is for the average production or service worker in Latin America, Eastern Europe, or the Far East. And just in case you were wondering . . . the same thing is happening to the workforce in Western Europe.

The bottom line is that the US elite are playing a zero sum game in which they seek to gain complete control over all of the resources and riches of the world. This game is not only responsible for what is happening in the Middle East, but what is happening to the US economy as well. It is a process that allows the elites to be enriched while average Americans lose the ability to earn a good living. The new economy that is taking shape is one that will all but eliminate the true middle class in America and will turn more and more people into working poor with no rights to organize. What is taking place in the Midwest is the next step in this game and union leaders as well as those on the far left are aware of this fact and may be digging in for the battle.

THE STRUGGLE FOR AMERICA
May 23, 2010
By S. Mayfield

There is a battle taking place in the United States and it is becoming more and more apparent that it is a battle for the United States in which there will only be one side standing at the end. Now more than ever it seems that every aspect of American life has become completely politicized. On issues as far-flung as taxes, what is taught in public schools, gay rights, the oil spill in the Gulf, Arizona’s immigration law, and the latest Supreme Court Justice Nominee – more Americans than ever before are being driven to embrace staunch ideological views that paint each issue as part of a larger struggle for the “soul of America”.

Regardless of whether or not he was being genuine; upon his election in 2008, President Obama made an impassioned plea to change the tone of America’s politics to bridge the divide between what has been simplified and narrowed down to two sides (the liberals and the conservatives). Yet the evidence overwhelmingly reveals that the President, along with moderate Democrats and Republicans have failed to do so.

Their failure in many ways is grounded in a naiveté that leads them to think that those on the extreme right are willing to seek out common ground for the good of the nation or at the very least acknowledge the “will of the people” in making the President’s party the majority. Obviously, this has not occurred and for the most part Obama and his allies face a right wing opposition that has defined the President, all moderates and liberals, as well as their plans and the direction of their governance as evil by nature.

Spending a day listening to Rush Limbaugh, Fox News, or Glenn Beck should make this pretty clear. In their view Obama and his socialist brigade are hell-bent on overturning democracy and free-market capitalism to establish a radical left wing dictatorship. And make no mistake about it – millions of Americans agree with the sentiments they express. In this sort of mindset every jot and tittle . . . every fine point of policy, every crisis and peril is defined as part of a larger struggle for the very fate of the nation. Those entrenched in this sort of hard right, its either us or them ideology will never honestly seek compromise, because they are fully committed to permanently establishing themselves as the ruling power. Additionally, they are just as fully committed to the total annihilation of the liberalism and the Left. Continue

Want to know the real reason why American Christianity has gone in the wrong direction? Check out "Greed is Good," a feature length documentary from Antipas Ministries.