I am just appalled with the news article below! What is America coming to? Our World War I & II Heroes must be turning in their graves! Despite all the evil things done by the German NAZI's and the Japanese to civilians and POW's in World War II, our soldiers prided themselves as being from a Judeo-Christian civilization that was above such things as torturing prisoners. Well, duh-h-h-h that's what they were fighting for? It was a war between opposing viewpoints of humans of how we should live and treat each other. Even after the NAZI's brutally mass-murdered American prisoners-of-war during the Battle of the Bulge, our soldiers continued to treat German prisoners of war according to the provisions of the Geneva Convention.
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The more often Americans go to church, the more likely they are to support the torture of suspected terrorists, according to a new survey.More than half of people who attend services at least once a week -- 54 percent -- said the use of torture against suspected terrorists is "often" or "sometimes" justified. White evangelical Protestants were the religious group most likely to say torture is often or sometimes justified -- more than six in 10 supported it. People unaffiliated with any religious organization were least likely to back it. Only four in 10 of them did.
"Only 40% of non-church goers supported torture? That is still an abomination. That is NOT the American way. When we become no better morally than the terrorists, then who are "the bad guys?"
I guess, I shouldn't be surprised about the politicization of white Protestants. I had always been a church leader . . . whether when married or divorced. I came to this town in 2000 just as the right-wingers were taking over the churches. I visited all the Protestant churches in the town. All of them treated me like s-t as soon as they learned I was single. Undoubtedly, many, if not most of the adults, in those churches had gone through divorces. Their rudeness was not based on morality, but a need to look down on someone, so they could feel better about their miserable small-minded lives. The essence of Fascism is the need to have scapegoats to bully around and . . . well, torture.
Well, I am certainly not anti-Christ. I try to live a very spirtual life. However, I am increasingly becoming anti-church. Even so, twice in recent years, total strangers have asked me to baptize them. YET, the only time I go to church now is either my former church in Midtown Atlanta, Peachtree Christian, where I was once a deacon, or one of its satellite churches about 30 miles north of here. Both of these churches are too far away to be actively involved, however.
One interesting phenomenon that has paralleled the rise and fall of corporate National Socialism in the United States . . . mega-churches. All of the mega-churches (10-50,000 members) in the Atlanta Area are now having financial troubles. Several have been foreclosed on in the past few months. Guess the bigger they are, the harder they fall. 
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AverageJoe
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May 4 @ 1:38PM
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Just more media propaganda designed to undermine the Christian religion. They are trying to make GOD a four letter word in America. I don't know if it is true or not, but I received an e-mail yesterday saying the new U.S. One Dollar coin coming out will not say "In God We Trust". These people who are trying to remove God from our lives are probably the same fools who complain about all the violence in America! Go figure. 
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ttomtarr
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May 4 @ 1:51PM
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I suspect Jesus would smile in amusement, and go fishing with his friends.
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observed50
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May 4 @ 1:58PM
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In every society, the more conservative the religion, or the more religious the person, the greater the support of the State, and the greater the support of State violence to achieve the ends of the masses feeling safe...not being safe...but feeling safe.
This study shouldn't surprise anyone really, though it puts it out in the open, in your face. It isn't mainline denominations and Quakers and Unitarians that supported Bush...it was the evangelicals, the pentecostals, the conservative religious and ultra conservative religious like Christian Identity churches, that supported the president, twice, who reintroduced torture into US culture, and found a way to sell it to these followers.
The more conservative the religion, the more it is rule bound, and has it's followers yield their reason and doubt to authority and belief. You aren't a 'Bible' church because you think the document is a living document needing constant reinterpretation...but is instead a document that requires some guy (almost always a man) from a pulpit telling you what it REALLY means...the 'literal' interpretation. And that includes gods blessing who is leading the government, a natural arm of authority looked over by the ultimate authority.
To wrap your head in safe blankets of belief, the more conservative denominations require more time from you, more financial commitment. The time keeps you focused on the ideology offered by that church, while the financial commitment creates psychological/emotional bonds that you fight to justify, despite their cost to you.
This is true of all religions around the world. The most conservative groups in each religion give greater support to the State, and thus nationalism, patriotism and the deserved and righteous authority of the State. If you watch the most conservative bloggers on here, they not only are deeply supportive of the State, under Republican leadership (the god-blessed leadership), but are also most likely to talk of religious interpretations of things they find foul and vile.
This is simply the role of ideology...to help people feel safe when they don't know...
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Etowah
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May 4 @ 4:15PM
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Thank you folks for your well thought out responses.
Don't know what I am religiously. In a sense I would be called an ultra-conservative because I don't believe in adding words and beliefs to what Jesus, the Apostles and prophets said. On the other hand, what I see in Jesus's words are foremost God's Love and Forgiveness & and denial of worldly concerns. . . which lately has not exactly been in style - downright radical!
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electricman
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May 4 @ 4:46PM
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First and foremost that article is nothing more than liberal spin on a left biased survey of primarily left leaning people who have drunk so much socialist Koolaid from the media that they think everything the county does is bad and wrong and Christians have to be responsible. never mind none of them have stepped into a church since they were kids and haven't heard a single sermon or learned what any mainstream pastor is really saying which is straight out of the bible and that message is very simple. Love your neighbor, turn the other cheek and be a good example, plain and simple. One day people will wake up, I hope soon. Until then it's Omamamania..When he finally flushes the Country down the financial and moral toilet and takes away all our liberties, then people will finally get a clue...God Bless America..
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Etowah
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May 4 @ 5:34PM
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What the above comment described is like the churches I knew in the past.
Except, I remember one incident. I was too young to know anything about it at the time, however. Pernell Roberts (Adam Cartright of Bonanza) was a Sunday School teacher in my family's church in Waycross, GA. It was in the early days of the Civil Rights Movement and a lot of folks were spending all their energy coming up with reasons why God didn't want Colored Folks to sit in church with good Christian White Folks. Those White Folks probably did more intense studying of the Bible, looking for sanctification of segregation, than you can imagine.
Pernell was Creek Indian, like his much younger neighbor down the street, Burt Reynolds. Probably, his family remembered the nightmares their ancestors had gone through in the 1800s. At any rate, he became so frustrated with the hypocracy, that he gave up his dream of becoming a minister, and instead went to New York to become an actor. The rest is history.
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observed50
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May 4 @ 7:29PM
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As several posters make clear above, truth is not something to pursue…belief, ideology, junk thinking is what is to pursue. Protect ideology, regardless of truth. Argue by defaming, not by logic and evidence.
The source of the survey is one of the Pew Charitable Trusts. The Pew network of Trusts, though it does some wonderful and noble things, is not a leftist liberal group-of-seven bunch of charities. Rather…
“The Pew Charitable Trusts, an independent nonprofit, is the sole beneficiary of seven individual charitable funds established between 1948 and 1979 by two sons and two daughters of Sun Oil Company founder Joseph N. Pew and his wife, Mary Anderson Pew.
From its first day in 1948, Pew’s founders steeped the new institution with the entrepreneurial and optimistic spirit that characterized their lives. Early priorities supported a cancer-research institute, a museum, higher education, the Red Cross and a pioneering project to assist historically black colleges.
As the issues of the late 1940s and following decades evolved, Pew has remained dedicated to our founders’ emphasis on innovation and an entrepreneurial approach.
Its mission: The Pew Charitable Trusts is driven by the power of knowledge to solve today's most challenging problems. Pew applies a rigorous, analytical approach to improve public policy, inform the public and stimulate civic life.
In its early days, the foundation worked anonymously and was therefore virtually unheralded and unknown. That was the choice of the Pew family members, who insisted on following a biblical admonition instructing alms givers to give in secret…
…and it continued to give in secret until changes in the Federal Tax Code forced foundations to list their giving, so donors to organizations could know the influences on leadership of organizations influencing policy and program.
“A devout Christian and highly principled man, Pew was a notable philanthropist who passed his values on to his children.
Throughout its history, The Pew Charitable Trusts endeavored to reverse the decline of religious faith wherever it was occurring, promote the free-market economic system throughout the world, and extend charity where evidence clearly indicated it was needed.”
What does that ‘support’ look like? Funding of organizations like…
• American Enterprise Institute: Now a very ‘conservative’ lobby group with ties to Paul Wolfowitz, Richard Perle, Jeane Kirkpatrick, John Borke, Charles Murray, Elliot Abrams, Dick Cheney and his wife, or much of the internal circle of the Neo Cons.
• Heritage Foundation: Founded by Joseph Coors, Paul Weyrich, and Ed Feulner, later adding Richard Scaife ( a Mellon) and oilman Ed Noble. You can’t find a much more ‘conservative’ group of wealth than that group! Purpose was to create talking papers for conservative causes. Big corporate money.
• British-American Project for the Successor Generation: Founded in 1985, it grooms very conservative U.S. and British youth as leaders from the devotees of Reagan and Thatcher
• The Manhattan Institute for Policy Research: One of the infamous ‘think tanks’ that flows ‘research’ into the public debate all ideologically loaded. Founded in 1978 by William Casey, one of Reagan’s CIA directors, it promotes privatization, deregulation and cuts to social welfare programs.
There is much work of Pew that I find wonderful, such as their support of black colleges, health initiatives and their efforts in environment and with the internet. But they are not some left-leaning, liberal group out to distort what god-fearing Christians are trying to do. Not by a long shot.
The founders of the Pew Charitable Trusts said this…
“Tell the truth and trust the people.” – Joseph Newton Pew Jr., 1946
“No subversive forces can ever conquer a nation that has not first been conquered by ‘subversive inactivity’ on the part of the citizenry, who have failed in their civic duty and in service to their country.” – J. Howard Pew, 1953
Even though they said such things…doesn’t mean they necessarily did such things. But a long way from 'liberal.'
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musicianfriend
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Aug 12 @ 12:24PM
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I go to Cowboy Church..under the big Oak Tree...at the rodeo grounds eatin blueberry pancakes and coffee..
Listening to my pastor preach straight out of the Bible...
If you know your Bible..then you will know if you are in an apostate church..
I dont mean to imply that churches in buildings are bad..beause they are not..because the OTHER church I go to is in town..and it serves many purposes...
On of which I like very much..is their after school program for kids whose parents are NOT at home...
These kids are well protected....no porno internet...no sex parties ...no drugs or alcohol being consumed....no eating of junk food...no being a lazy slug hypnotized by the TV or video games...NO BEING HOME ALONE..
they are with other children...supervised by adults as in tradional home..safe..and protected..
America..you need to quit making the all mighty dollar your God and get back to what is natural.....take care of your own children...quit putting them in Kiddie Feed Lots...
Well..I think I got off the beaten track here..
Back to these evangelicals..I have been to their churches as well...The ones I attended were great...
It is there I learned about the power of the word of God..and how to use it to protect myself from the evil that lurks here on the earth...\
Alot of churches do not teach about spiritual warfare...and how to deal with it..as its is all around you every single day...
And our God provided us with everything we need to live here amongst all the evils..
and that protection is taught in the evangelical churches...the churches that pray in tongues...
I have never experienced praying in tongues..but I know many who do and they are the best people I have ever known..and they are so into God because they have been very close to him and know he exists..even right here amongst us..
We must be careful who we condem...because in all churches..there are bad people there as well..but to condem an entire segment of religion is unfair...
If you were here Etowah...that would have never happened..In the three churches I have attended..there are every kind of person you could imagine..
Homeless...punk rockers...all races....suits...to blue jeans...no one makes a judgement of the others...it all good..
It just takes one bad apple to spoil the whole bunch....The Bible has guidelines on what the spiritual leaders should be...Perhaps those folks there arent reading their bibles..so they have no clue how off track they are..
Kinda like todays situation ...the one where the politicians and the people of this nation seem to have no idea how far away from our constitution we have come..and this is the reason for all the chaos in this nation..and this is also the reason we are in danger of being taken over by dictators.....so it is the same in the apostate churches..
MY PEOPLE PERISH FOR LACK OF KNOWLEDGE..
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