Sunday, November 25, 2012

German investigative reporter infiltrates fundamentalist Christian college by posing as prospective student. What she learned is quite troubling.

The woman pictured above is Amrai Coen who attempted at first to work with the administration at Patrick Henry College but was rejected due to “bad experiences with foreign journalists.” So undaunted she instead showed up on "Visitor's Day" in which prospective students visit and are invited to hang out with the current students who show them around the campus and essentially provide the school's sales pitch.

You can find Ms. Coen's entire article here at Die Zeit. It is translated by the website and the translation certainly leaves room for improvement, however here are a couple of excerpts just to give you an idea of what this young reporter encountered:

All students and professors, Patrick Henry College sign a "confession." It says that the Bible is infallible, that Satan and hell are real. And that "all those who die without Christ, forever shackled and tortured while fully conscious." In biology class, students learn that God created the earth in six 24-hour days and that the world is about 6,000 years old. 

Well so much for encouraging critical thinking. And don't forget THIS is an institution of higher learning. However the focus of this college is not simply to indoctrinate young adults, it is also to use them as a type of missionary and advocate for the fundamentalist Christian mindset while embedding them in various government agencies:  

"Everywhere we go we are loved as interns," says one who has studied Strategic Intelligence (SI). The Patrick Henry students accept internships with the FBI, the CIA, and with Republican members. When George W. Bush was President of the United States the Patrick Henry College had the most interns in the White House, as measured by the number of students. At Christmas, the university still receives autographed cards from the Bush family. 

The SI student explains why Patrick Henry interns are so popular: "The FBI has no internal newspaper? We make a free one and offer it to them. The border police have no place where all their data is bundled? We take care of that and prepare the figures, offering them virtually a free news service." They help large companies gain a higher Google ranking and land in the first place. They fill the niche in the system and fill it with their own values. They infiltrate American society, and they do it discreetly.

Okay so let that sink in a little. These young people are provided seemingly unrestricted access to some government agencies, and large businesses, where they are free to proselytize and even provide important services, ALL with a very aggressive agenda.

But wait there's more:

When you speak with students and graduates, you come to understand a fear that they seem to all share: the fear of being meaningless. It is like a poison that is administered to them at that college, a poison that makes them hungry for power. Graduates make plans, in which they desire to serve ten years in the Senate.  

Teresa Scanlan (Student and former Miss America) wants to have as many children as God give will her, she says. "And adopt at least ten." Children should be taught at home. By whom? "Of course I, their mother," says Scanlan. How does she intend to combine this with her career? To that she has no answer. "But God will have a plan for me," When asked about her role models, she says. "Mother Teresa and Sarah Palin," Mother Teresa, because it is the proof that a single person can move society.. Sarah Palin because she is a woman who combines politics and faith.

Mother Teresa and Sarah Palin, THAT is who this poor delusional young woman cites as role models.  I think that pretty clearly sums up the intellectual acuity present at this college. And yet apparently THEY are like a virus infecting government at every level.

And you KNOW they are not alone, there are other schools that have been actively working with the same agenda. Such as the late Jerry Falwell's Liberty University, which essentially overran the Bush administration with interns and staff members, and pat Robertson's Regent University, whose alum Monica Goodling played a particularity nefarious role within the Bush administration.

I know that I sometimes receive blowback from my readers for constantly pointing out the negative impact that certain fundamentalists Christians are having on our country, but essentially THIS is what I am referring to when I say that we are in a war for the very soul of this country.

If these people get their way this country will look very much like the theocracy from which our Puritan founders fled in the first place. We visualize a country of freedoms and equal rights for all, THEY visualize one with strict moral laws, and a unified Christian mindset, with little room for dissension or critical thinking.

And as the nation, and its young people, move further and further beyond their reach, they will only become MORE aggressive, and MORE subversive in their attempts to wrestle back what they believe to be THEIR country.

In short we are at war, and it may very well be that we are ill equipped for the battle ahead.

(P.S. If you choose to read the original article you may see that I corrected some of the translations to make them easier to read. I did not change the content in any way, but the original translations made it hard to read through without finding yourself mentally correcting the grammar in your head, which in my opinion interfered with the ability to simply absorb the information. If you prefer you can simply skip my interpretations and read it for yourself at the link provided at the beginning of this post.)

44 comments:

  1. Anonymous7:11 AM

    Those students who become interns are also facing competition from the Mormons. The services they ay they are infiltrating now, have been bastions of Mormons for decades.

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  2. What am I doing wrong? The page loads with the German version, and no English.

    Maybe I shouldn't read it. Need to protect my blood pressure!

    I still can't get over how ignorant, biased, poorly educated Monica Goodling was - and she was given a very important job in this country!

    All this makes me say - I love President Obama!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Open it in Google. They offer the opportunity to translate webpages.

      Delete
    2. Copy the link into your clipboard

      [ctrl-c]

      visit http://translate.google.com

      paste link into box at left of screen

      select German from the language at top (this article does not pass autodetect)

      use the "translate" button to view.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous12:20 PM

      Thanks for mentioning Monica Goodling. She was a scary piece of work and you are right, she had a fairly high-powered position in the Bush admin. Liberty University grad — scary.

      Delete
  3. Anonymous8:09 AM

    I'm stunned that the brainwashed student admired Mother Theresa. I spent my college years living with fundy whackjob roommates (at a state university, not a private college) and the one thing they all agreed on was that Mother Theresa was a tool of Satan and was going to hell to be punished for all eternity because she was....CATHOLIC (Satans slaves).

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  4. Anonymous8:31 AM

    @Gryphen: If these people get their way this country will look very much like the theocracy from which our Puritan founders fled in the first place. We visualize a country of freedoms and equal rights for all, THEY visualize one with strict moral laws, and a unified Christian mindset, with little room for dissension or critical thinking.


    I have a slight disagreement with this. The Puritans were not founders - they came here for the freedom to practice, and then enforce, their own version of religion. As did the Pilgrims, and several other groups. The Founders of the Nation saw the wisdom of a "live and let live" attitude toward religion, and keeping it separate from government. But the various religions in America were busy enforcing their own religion.
    Lucy

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    1. Anonymous4:09 PM

      thank you Lucy, that is absolutely correct.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous3:43 AM

      I was hoping that someone would make this comment.

      Haven't read it yet, but this book about the Puritans looks interesting:

      http://www.amazon.com/Wordy-Shipmates-Sarah-Vowell/dp/B0043RT94Y/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1353933399&sr=1-4&

      "...Was Massachusetts Bay Colony governor John Winthrop a communitarian, a Christlike Christian, or conformity's tyrannical enforcer? Answer: Yes..."

      Delete
  5. hedgewytch8:44 AM

    While I agree that these people and these poor delusional young adults are a serious threat to our government I also think that they are in the minority. The current generation of kids will not be put into a box, will not be told what they can or cannot do.

    And at the same time these kids are interning in the world, they are also being exposed to the world. I'd like to know how many of these freshly brainwashed young adults get to Congress, or the FBI/CIA offices and see what is actually happening in the world - if it isn't a very rude and loud awakening for some of them.

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    1. Anonymous9:03 AM

      By the time they get out of these fundy incubators, they're pretty well set. that's why accreditation is these colleges is so problematic. They are post college at this point.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:09 AM

      I'm not sure how small that minority is though, considering the outcome of this last election. Too close for my comfort. And when you add in the the hate mongers, racists and anti-environmentalists who aren't religious, this country has a big problem. Or maybe the world does, because I think we will see the breakdown of the human society eventually, caused by the unenlightened people of this world- and it only takes a few for that.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous1:54 PM

      I have a friend raised by fundy parents and he went to Liberty and got his BA...in philosophy I believe...he is now 33 and totally liberal and agnostic/nonreligious. He now thinks the fundies are nutjobs.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous2:52 PM

      If you read the article alot of them were interns under GWB and one was even ELECTED for a office!
      The one girl who was miss America and admires sarah palin and mother theresa wants to be POTUS!
      This school is funded by KOCH suckers! Go to their website and look at their Alum.
      Scary shit and I agree a WAR!

      Delete
  6. Anonymous9:03 AM

    I'm reading a very weird book right now, that does a great job of explaining the "why" of people being attracted to what seems to "normal" folks, a robot-like adherence to fantasy.

    For one thing, its a sign of extreme LAZINESS to not bother to think through the heavier aspects of life, but to just accept someone else's version, who seemingly did take the effort.

    Oh: the book...Mercury Falls by Robert Kroese

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    Replies
    1. Laziness and laxity, or in many cases it's simple cowardice.

      Delete
  7. Anonymous9:07 AM

    The Family-book went into this also, C street etc.
    Also we have the domminist 7 mountain thing going on here.
    Crap we have bible quotes on guns for our Military!
    These idiots are like a plague of locusts! Or black plague!
    These fake colleges should be shut down...we should
    shut them down. Also churches need to not get 501c and pay taxes.
    Maybe if they have a food pantry or something then not pay taxes on that but for church and monies collected, PAY! Especially when they are telling people how to vote and making them march, in Cali here they had the Samoan churches marching against prop 8, which was for Gay Marriage. I wish I would of known exactly what church they were from (next time I will ask) and turn that church in.
    Of course the Mormon church was behind all of it.


    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Don't forget, the second "m" is silent.

      Delete
  8. Anonymous9:14 AM

    Overall this younger generation is becoming more secular and eschewing religion. There will always exist these bastions of conservative christian thinkers, however, there aren't enough of them to totally change our country, in my opinion.

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    1. Anonymous2:56 PM

      These are "home-schooled" kids, or home skooled!
      They are brainwashed by their parents that public school is satans work~

      Delete
  9. Anonymous9:26 AM

    While I'm not all that excited about these people serving in the government, just like I'm not all that excited about Bachman, West, Cantor, Santorum, etc. I'm not sure what exactly is illegal, unethical or immoral about what Patrick Henry College does - or the interns for that matter. They may be colossally stupid and ill-informed, even dangerous, but that's not illegal, immoral, or unethical. They don't force anyone to hire them. THey have a great marketing tool. Or maybe I'm missing something.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Anonymous9:42 AM

    Slightly OT, but still Palin-- Palin pork projects to nowhere continue: http://wonkette.com/490644/meet-alaskas-airport-and-harbor-to-nowhere#more-490644

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  11. WakeUpAmerica9:58 AM

    Gryphen, you have received blowback mostly because you labeled these nut-jobs as Christians and included ALL Christians in your statements. Fundamentalists are complete subversive idiots. They are dangerous and frightening. I have the same opinion of most organized religions. However, there are many Christians who merely try their best to follow the teachings of Christ without defining themselves by their membership in an organized church.

    ReplyDelete
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    1. And if they don't speak up and create a public Christian presence, then there is no reason to believe they disagree with any of this.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous1:44 PM

      Exactly Ivyfree.

      A conversation at the Pee Pond today started with this comment re nuns today: "They are all liberal now"

      The comments that followed:

      MarkRNY

      "Not the new ones (if you can find them). The few and far between middle aged nuns are off the wall Left. The Vatican's looking into it in fact. Big problem is is that they run most Catholic schools in the U.S."

      freempg
      "
Yes, the liberated ones, the products of the first Women's Studies curriculum, nuns for the first time out from under the thumb of the Vatican. Some setting off with revolutionary zeal to Latin America to begin the heroic work of liberating indigenous women."

      Not only won't they speak up, but they have condemned those that do.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous4:55 AM

      @WakeUpAmerica

      Again, you need to take the advice of your screen name, something you often ignore in yourself. Ivy free is 100% correct. You always rally to defend xtianity even when Gryphen only says fair points, and every time you fail to actually call out those responsible. That makes you an enabler, and that you are. The fact is you share a belief system with these people, and when THEY get blowback YOU get all butt hurt! Maybe it hits too close to home? You never actually take the criticism as fair and offer a rebuttal, but you just complain that oh, you're not like that! So why do you complain then, if he isn't talking about you? No, deep down you know very well that your belief system has huge massive holes in it and instead of accepting it and admitting it, you whinge and whine and stamp your feet at the fact that other people see through it so easily. Either you have to accept the truth about xtianity (and there are plenty of good xtians eg nuns, who acknowledge holes in the religion) or you find the holes too big to deal with and leave your faith. You can't have your cake and eat it too. It's tantamount to a foot stompy stomp from a child.

      Delete
  12. Look on the bright side: there will be no scientists coming from this bunch. In a world on increasing technology, scientific discovery and real information they will be ignorant and left behind.

    Also in the age of all the above factors, keeping their minds in the dogma tube will be increasingly difficult. Only the weakest and most easily led will be doubt-free. And then only if kept in isolation from other influences which might lead them 'astray'. Lots of luck with that, I say. Locked in a closet or the basement might work.

    We already know young people are leaving traditional religions in droves. A bunch of know-nothing fanatics aren't going to convince them to return.

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    1. Anonymous3:35 PM

      Yea and when they end up stupid and unemployable we'll have to support them with our tax dollars!

      Delete
  13. Anonymous10:32 AM

    How can you receive federal funding to teach religion? This school should run on private funds only....

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    1. Anonymous11:52 AM

      It is all privately funded. The guy who wrote the Left Behind series of fundamentalist end times is a backer of this school.

      It also had several professor quit in 2006 over academic freedom.

      http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/18/AR2006051801995.html

      These people are scary.

      Mel68

      Delete
  14. Anonymous10:32 AM

    Um, Gryphen, I think you meant to type the descriptive adjective as "delusional" not "disillusion" in the paragraph you wrote about Scanlan.

    Don't you just hate auto-complete?

    ReplyDelete
  15. Anonymous12:12 PM

    Gryphen, I must say I'm a little surprised at you for being misinformed on the Puritan story. Why do Americans always brush over embarrassing parts of their history? Anyway, let an international tell you.

    The Puritans that sailed to US from England were different to the Puritans in England because they were far more strict and fun-hating than the majority of English puritans. They tried to pressure the English into becoming a strict theocracy under much tighter than accepted Puritan ideals. But even the normal Puritans (sour faced life haters they were) thought this group was going way too far, and the majority of the English thought the normal puritans themselves were awful enough! Already Puritans were losing favour. No one wants to live like that.

    So your puritans decided they would set sail and found a colony of super strict puritans where everything was 'perfect' in their twisted view. These were generally NOT nice people, and used and abused the native people, plundered their graves for trinkets and things of worth, sold many into slavery and much worse. Why didn't their idea spread? Simply put, their initial colony was so small and the influx of Europeans to US over the years diluted them down to a small but size able 'fun police' vibe that is still noticeable today. Thankfully, more lenient and kinder and less theocratic belief systems like the Quakers etc, took over. Within less than 200 years the prevailing religion of the white Americans went from insane theocracy to the idea of freedom of and from religion enshrined in law. Now over 200 years after THAT, it is telling that that clause would likely never pass even under democratic rule. Which is terrifically sad. You are swinging back to Puritan!

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Oh I'm not at all uninformed about the Puritans.

      I just did not want to go too far off the main point, which is that they abandoned their home due to a perceived lack of religious tolerance and here we are over 400 years later having a portion of the population welcoming that same intolerance here.

      In other words, we seem to have learned nothing, and this time there is nowhere to run.

      Delete
  16. Anonymous12:30 PM

    Oh yeah, these guys. I've had an eye on that place for years, and Liberty University too.

    This is what brought it to my attention back around 2006-7.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jfdFZG8lYJE

    The link is Part 1 of a 6 part British TV series on the school.

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  17. Sharon1:09 PM

    This is what true democracy looks like...free speech and freedom of religion, no matter how crazy. I believe this last election said alot about the morons and the bible thumpers....NO THANKS!!! I am hopeful that the next generation rejects the bullshit more and more, and the next after that still more. Freedom, civil rights, technology, progress in healthcare is hard to fight when you have the majority wanting them. I still believe love will always triumph over hate.

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    1. ibwilliamsi2:50 PM

      I'm with you most of the way, but I'd like to know how much government assistance they get before I agree that this might be "Free Speech".

      Delete
  18. ibwilliamsi2:10 PM

    Patrick Henry would shit a golden brick...

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  19. Anonymous2:29 PM

    Mother Theresa is too good for the likes of these people. If MT were invited to speak to these students, they'd end up booing her off the stage the way conservatives booed gay soldiers or cheered at executions and letting those uninsured die.

    And Sarah Palin can't home school to save her life, she is too lazy and self-absorbed. Couldn't even be bothered to make rill dinners for her kids, instead locked herself in her room after four hour work days eating crunch wrap supremes while the kids fasted (on her request for her latest wants) or burned mac 'n cheese.

    Satan is real? The rest of us are going to burn in hell conscious? Whatever.

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  20. Anonymous5:33 PM

    I'm just wondering when talking about our freedom turned into talking about our freedoms. and why

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  21. Anonymous6:27 PM

    I do agree overall about home-schooling, but ... wanted to mention that not all who home-school are being dumb-downed. My daughter and her husband home-school their daughter to give her opportunities that public school doesn't offer. At eight years old, she has learned calligraphy, Kanji, her reading is scored at higher grade levels, she practices her English skills by writing letters to me and her great grandma, computer literate, music lessons, and her parents enroll her in activities like dance, gymnastics, etc. Her parents are progressive, eco-friendly, liberal "types" who support gay marriage, etc. She gets to hang-out with adults who are critical thinkers.

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    1. Anonymous5:06 AM

      In theory it sounds reasonable, but I try and think of it from the child's view as I remember being a child like it was yesterday. I think it is very dangerous socially to do that to them. Part of growing up is that awful 'thrown in at the deep end' of the first day of school where you firm friendships and enemies and you learn invaluable things from doing so. I think it's tantamount to child abuse to keep your child from normal sociological development. What about the past you ask? Well people used to have enormous families where siblings and cousins etc acted as the class of children and performed the sociological upbringing. What these well meaning people end up creating is a very lonely very sad child that has no ability to relate to those their own age. They might be painfully shy or the total opposite and think private behaviour is perfectly acceptable public behaviour. I just feel so terribly for these children as I know how miserable it must be, and how frustrating it is to have NO control to change it for the better. You just have to accept your parents decision and some parents truly don't put their childs best interests first. Straight A's are great, but I doubt the child will care one bit in ten years when they have a glittering academic record and hardly any friends!

      Delete
  22. Anita Winecooler6:29 PM

    I'm not shocked that this went on, but surprised how much it's been allowed to infiltrate our government and government buildings. GWBush loved to push the "faith based coalition" movement, a signal to the fundies that he was ok with it.
    Remember early on, when the statues were covered in a government building because they were naked? Remember the brouhaha when some state had to remove a statue of the ten commandments from a government building? We have Shrub to thank for that.

    The comparison between Mother Theresa and Sarah Palin is beyond sick. The fundies had their panties in knots because Mother Teresa DARED question her role, question what God wanted of her.
    comparing Sarah Palin to this woman is just mental illness. When did Sarah sacrifice anything to help the poor?

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  23. Anonymous4:56 AM

    The time is ripe for books on Palin, exposing everything about her. I think they will be coming soon. Americans are getting ready and most will be open to the fraud being exposed.

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  24. Anonymous1:28 AM

    If you think these people are in the minority, just look at the House Science Committee.

    http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2012/08/house-committee-science/

    ReplyDelete

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