quick question for reformed bros and sisters

[julian the apostate]

what is it with the league of the south and neo-confederacy movement
and the reformed?

just curious
i absolutely do not want to argue
just trying to understand,

thanks
God bless

 

[Turn'D-OuT-DiffurnT]

what is it with the league of the south and neo-confederacy movement
and the reformed?

just curious
i absolutely do not want to argue
just trying to understand,

thanks
God bless

Not surprisingly, there's no short, simple answer to that. I can attempt one, though I doubt it will be entirely adequate. It's my understanding that before, during and for a while after the Civil War, the South was largely Presbyterian and Episcopalian, strongly Trinitarian and more theologically conservative in general than the North, where the Puritans' religion had undergone a steady decline and slide into Unitarianism, which was also non (or anti-) Trinitarian. Those differences ended up having a big influence on and helped shape the course of events of the War. I guess the easiest way of putting it is to say that quite a few Southern Reformed folks think of themselves not as Americans, but as citizens of the Confederacy; a nation which was unjustly and illegally invaded and conquered by a hostile foreign power i.e. the United States. They can also be called Southern Nationalists who want to be free and independent of the U.S.A. Others think of themselves as loyal Americans who are simply proud of their history and heritage, others see themselves as something in between. Viewpoints run the gamut, really. Even among members of the L.O.T.S. and other organizations. In this situation, it wouldn't be wise to paint everyone with the same broad brush or overgeneralize.

 

[rmwilliamsll]

for those who would like to look at some of the issue:

http://www.dixienet.org/ LOTS webpage
http://www.auburnavenue.org/ Steven Wilkins church

from: http://www.religioustolerance.org/reconstr1.htm

2000-Summer: Neo-Confederates attempt split of PCA: According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, Rev. Steven J. Wilkins, is the "pastor of the Auburn Avenue Presbyterian Church in Monroe, La., and a founder and current board member of the neo-Confederate" League of the South (LOS). The LOS is allegedly attempting to take control of conservative churches in the Southern US -- an act that could lead to a schism within the PCA. Wilkins promotes Christian Reconstructionism. Leaders of the Reconstructionist movement advocate that the "death penalty be used to punish those guilty of 'apostasy (abandonment of the faith), heresy, blasphemy, witchcraft, astrology, adultery, 'sodomy or homosexuality,' incest, striking a parent, incorrigible juvenile delinquency, and in the case of women, 'unchastity before marriage.' Non-capital crimes would be sanctioned with whipping, indentured servitude or slavery." Wilkins has allegedly said that the League's goal is to save America from "paganism" and restore it as "the last bastion of Christendom" (It is not clear to which of the five different meanings of "Paganism" he is referring.) He has allegedly stated that slavery is "perfectly legitimate." Wilkins had tried to remake the PCA, but allegedly told Christian Renewal in 2000-APR that "the denomination is unreformable." In 2000-AUG, he sponsored a meeting involving 10 churches of the Louisiana Presbytery. They discussed leaving the PCA. The Rev. Kennedy Smartt, moderator of the PCA’s 1998 General Assembly, says that the PCA could lose "25 to 30 churches" pastored by men with "theonomic views." 4

this is where i started my research on the topic:
http://www.splcenter.org/intel/intelreport/article.jsp?aid=235

 

[Mary of Bethany]

Hi, everybody.

Please pardon my butting in here, and my complete ignorance - but is this group associated with the preacher who wants Christians (only conservative/Evangelical, I'm sure) to move to South Carolina so they can make it a "Christian State"?

 

[rmwilliamsll]

Hi, everybody.

Please pardon my butting in here, and my complete ignorance - but is this group associated with the preacher who wants Christians (only conservative/Evangelical, I'm sure) to move to South Carolina so they can make it a "Christian State"?

you are talking about: ChristianExodus.org
for details see: http://abcnews.go.com/sections/US/GoodMorningAmerica/christian_exodus_040812-1.html

doesn't appear to be an organization connection, but it is the same kind of folks.

 

[Turn'D-OuT-DiffurnT]

rm, thanks for posting the LOTS and Auburn links. Just a note however, to whom it may concern on the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) headed by Morris Dees...it is not exactly the most credible source of information. He's kind of the white race-baiting huckster equivalent of Jesse Jackson and the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, only sleazier. At any rate, I wouldn't rely on the SPLC to be objective, since they tend to brand anyone to the right of Al Gore as "racists" and "hate groups", whether they actually are or not. All one has to do is voice the slightest dissent from the tenets of the SPLC's rigid left-wing PC orthodoxy on race issues/relations to have the most libelous statements hurled their direction.

 

[Mary of Bethany]

you are talking about: ChristianExodus.org
for details see: http://abcnews.go.com/sections/US/GoodMorningAmerica/christian_exodus_040812-1.html

doesn't appear to be an organization connection, but it is the same kind of folks.

Thanks - that's the one.