Elitist Howie Pastor Undermines Christian Persecution Complex and RINO Crusade

Why do I listen to Gordon Howie's horsehockey? I suppose because no one else provides me with such convenient practice at rooting out contradictions. Listen to Howie's pal Pastor Ron Burtz undermine some of the main arguments his theocratic friends make:

Note that Burtz opens with the vague attribution standard to most of Howie's blogganalia: "Recently I heard a discussion in which a prominent Republican leader made a rather startling statement...." That's code for "Gordon and Ed and I were sitting around trying to come up with content for our fantasy TV show, and Gordon said...."

Now let's get to the rotten meat of this theocratic whining. Gordon bases much of his propaganda on the Christian persecution complex, the desire to re-enact the somewhat mythy martyrdom of early Christians.

But in his eagerness to forge an analogy between false Republicans and false Christians (and yes, Gordon Howie and his chosen elite thinkers are the sole and final arbiters of purity in politics and religion), Burtz slips and admits Christians have an easy time in America. "The Christian Church has had it pretty easy for over 200 years in this country," says Burtz. "It's so easy to be Christian," says Burtz. "Even in the early days of the Church when it was more difficult and downright dangerous to be a Christian..." says Burtz.

Come on, Ron. You can't base your claim of a plague of fake Christians on the contention that Christians have it easy, then base your call to arms on the contention that Christians are under mortal attack. Pick one argument, or lose both.

Burtz goes on to call a good chunk of the nice people going to church "weeds among the wheat," further establishing the exclusionary nature of arch-Republican politics and religion. They really don't want most of us hanging around them. They want to be part of an elite, a chosen few who elect themselves to glory by their pious works.

And they want their Jesus to cast the unworthy aside. They want a Lord who will look at us weeds among the wheat and say, "I never knew you." But they love to cite Jeremiah 1:5 to say that since God knew everybody in the womb, the state should ban abortion. Make up your mind, Lord and Burtz! Do you know those people you crave to condemn or not?

Stunningly, Burtz then undermines Howie's entire raison de politique with a mote-plank warning against rooting out Christians in Name Only (CHRINOs):

...[I]t's probably best not to go on a CHRINO hunt and try to weed out those false brethren among us. The most important thing is to make sure that you yourself are not one of them. Are you familiar with and living according to the party platform that's found in this Book...? [Ron Burtz, "428-13 Revival Report #37," TheLibertyToday, 2013.05.11]

So if words mean anything (though in Howie's world, I worry they mean less than the urgency of churning out content for 24-hour Patriot Gospel Television!), the proper lesson for angry conservative activists in the GOP is to stop agitating and robocalling against the Republicans with whom they are so disappointed and concentrate on their own personal political purity. Your reward is not in November, Stace and Dan and Bill; it's in Heaven with Ronald Reagan.

Burtz says Paul (of Tarsus, not Ron or Rand) warned of "false teachers and false brethren." Burtz needs to look in the mirror.