Courtesy of Right Wing Watch:
We’ve written quite a bit about the Religious Right’s conviction that conservative Christians in the U.S. are facing religious persecution through things like gay rights and the expansion of contraception access.
There is another movie mentioned in the above link that is also called "Persecuted," because you know thinking up titles is hard, but I will focus on the one that has higher production values and actors whose faces you might even recognize.
The much higher-budget, star-studded production is directed by 30-year-old Daniel Lusco, whose previous films have included collaborations with End Times alarmist Joel Rosenberg and a fawning documentary about former general and current Family Research Council vice president Jerry Boykin’s anti-Muslim activism.
Lusco's "Persecuted" stars James Remar and Dean Stockwell and includes guest appearances by Fox News anchor Gretchen Carlson (in her film debut!) and former Republican presidential candidate Fred Thompson.
What? The got Fox News bimbo Gretchen Carlson? Wow, they really are pulling out all the stops on this movie!
A press release outlines the plot:
PERSECUTED tells the story of a modern-day evangelist named John Luther, played by SAG Award-nominated and Saturn Award winning actor James Remar ( X-MEN: FIRST CLASS, "Dexter", DJANGO: UNCHAINED, WHAT LIES BENEATH, RED). Luther is the last hold out for a national endorsement to make sweeping reform in freedom of speech. As the government is mandating political correctness while covertly waging a war against religious organizations, a U.S. Senator, portrayed by Oscar-nominated actor Bruce Davison (X-MEN, "Lost", "Castle"), and his political allies create a sinister plan of denial and scandal to frame John Luther for murder. Suddenly his once normal life is turned upside down as he becomes a fugitive vowing to expose those responsible. It is a mission that brings him face-to-face with the coming storm of persecution that will threaten the moral ethics and freedoms of America.
American Center for Law and Justice director Jordan Sekulow, who also has a cameo in the film, explained today to the Christian Post that he doesn’t think the premise of the movie is that far-fetched:
On the surface, "Persecuted" plays out like many government thrillers. Similar to movies based upon Tom Clancy novels, it has a hero with limited resources faced off against corrupt politicians and government officials. Central to the plot, though, is an effort by the president and his cronies to pass the "Faith and Fairness Act," which would be similar to a "fairness doctrine" for religious groups. If this law were passed, religious broadcasters would be required to present all religious points of view when presenting their own point of view.
The notion that such a law could actually be passed in the United States is not out of the realm of possibility, Jordan Sekulow, executive director of the American Center for Law and Justice, explained to The Christian Post. The law is similar to a resolution that was passed at the United Nations about the defamation of religion.
"It's backed predominantly by Islamic countries, but in the name of tolerance, so that they can criminalize defamation or defamatory speech so that you effectively become a criminal if you say Jesus is the only way, that becomes criminal. So it's real," Sekulow said.
Carlson apparently agrees. She told Charisma (Which I just learned is a Christian magazine.) in December, “There’s a Christian message here, a political message here and I think that it is very timely in regard to what some politicians might do in some cases to get things done.”
Now I know what you are thinking, only a truly paranoid person with a persecution complex would buy into this drivel.
Well you just described the Christian Right to a T.
Here is what Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal said right out loud in front of actual people in a speech:
“The American people, whether they know it or not, are mired in a silent war,” Jindal will say at the Simi Valley, Calif., event. “It threatens the fabric of our communities, the health of our public square and the endurance of our constitutional governance.”
“This war is waged in our courts and in the halls of political power,” he adds, according to the prepared remarks. “It is pursued with grim and relentless determination by a group of like-minded elites, determined to transform the country from a land sustained by faith into a land where faith is silenced, privatized and circumscribed.”
That's right folks we are mired in a "secret war" of protecting our citizens from discrimination that is based on a religious bias, keeping superstition out of our public science classrooms, and supporting freedom of religion, and freedom FROM religion, for all American citizens.
So in short these people feel that they are being persecuted by the fact that they are not allowed to persecute others whose lifestyle they disagree with or who do not believe in their god.
Yeah, how unfair.
The actors must be desperate for a job. This sounds like a low rent, low distribution, D-list movie.
ReplyDeleteIrony alert: James Remar, who is playing the lead in this movie also portrayed the oversexed billionaire Richard Wright, the on-again off-again tycoon boyfriend of Kim Cattrall's character Samantha in the series "Sex and the City".
DeleteHe was also the only male SATC actor filmed in full frontal nudity: Season 4, Episode 13 - "The Good Fight".
That might give those religious prigs a pregnant pause: http://www.tv.com/shows/sex-and-the-city/the-good-fight-110265/trivia/
Bonus! James Remar also portrayed the dear old dad that taught Showtime's serial killer "Dexter" everything he knew about proper conduct for killing bad people.
His casting in this film is HILARIOUS.
These are people who cannot live their religion quietly, and must have martyrdom. If they succeeded in turning the USA into a theocracy, they would soon fight amongst themselves like Shiites and Sunnis. It’s a type of personality that craves the excitement of conflict, and claiming victimhood when they lose. They are never the most intelligent.
ReplyDeleteI have no use for any religious person who use bible verse to shame people into submission. That's all they do when it comes to their abortion, gay rights.. you name it. Want to feel guilt abortion seeker, we'll force you to undergo a vaginal probe, hear the heartbeat etc. Screw you, bible thumpers!
ReplyDeleteDon't they know there is already a John Luther?
ReplyDeletehttp://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00vk2lp/characters/luther
I was much more worried about American freedoms under the Rethuglican reich. Remember when the mother whose only child, a soldier, was killed in Iraq? She wore a t-shirt with the number of dead American troops--no words, just a number, and that huwwwt the tender fee-fee's of pResident Bush so much that she was arrested, her collarbone broken, and tossed in jail.
ReplyDeleteCompare that to now, when wingnut after wingnut open threatens to kill President Obama and that's applauded by Fux Noize and the other right-wing talking-point generators.
A lot of people openly threatened to kill President Obama in 2008. I reported every one I saw on the internet to the Secret Service. I voted McCain/Palin. I know. Shoot me, please.
DeleteBut reporting the threats was not my idea.
My son and his classmates, who were too young to vote at the time, were vigilantly monitoring Team Sarah, SP's FB page, and C4P and reporting every death threat to the SS.
Man, I can tell you, it was an eye opening epiphany big time.
I absolutely love this generation.
It fills me with hope, and....
Peace of mind.
You voted for McCain? And you still have a working brain..there is hope!
DeleteDean Stockwell from Quantum Leap?!?! He must really need the money.
ReplyDeleteHe was also in Blue Velvet. See that one and try to wrap your head around him being in this POS. He must need the cash BADLY.
DeleteDon't be so quick to dismiss the Christian Rights movement, Gryphen (which I must point out to any new visitors to this defunct blog, is - according my exhaustive research - very likely NOT the real name of its host.)
ReplyDeleteSome people say that if Germany had had brave culture warriors like this in the 30s, they could have prevented the calamitous persecution of the gentle peace-loving Nazi's by the belligerent and well-funded Jews which took a world war to stop.
If we act now, there is still time to stop Obama's plan to put all christians in concentration camps!!!
THE GOVERNMENT IS OUT TO GET US!!!!
WATCH THIS MOVIE!!!
SOYLENT GREEN IS PEOPLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!
You're not a Christian. You're a poser. I know real Christians. They live the life of Jesus. They judge no one. It is not their place to judge. That will be God's work.
DeleteDo you believe in the End of Times? Then, why are you trying to fight it, or cause it happen sooner? Even Jesus did not know when that time would come. YOUR concern should be that YOU are trying to bring more people into the fold, and not threaten them if they don't. Your concern should be that you are good at heart to be make through the End of Times.That is the only job of a Christian. Apparently, you fail.
Patti? When you say "You're not a christian. You are a poser," to whom are you speaking?
DeleteAre you speaking to Beldar? If so, you have completely missed his delightfully humorous attacking sarcasm which is his trademark.
Are you speaking of the so-called christians who are screaming about persecution when none exists? Don't bother. They are too stupid to understand and are also so wrapped up in their own gross interpretations that they may actually attack YOU.
They want no one who isn't screaming at the top of their lungs helping them to bring their version of that religion into becoming the NATION'S religion and consider anyone who isn't WITH them to be AGAINST them.
Despite the clear concept of separation of church and state. Despite the fact this is a legally recognized SECULAR country and not christian. (And before you even THINK about trying to argue that point, there is a MAJOR difference between the COUNTRY being christian and the POPULATION being christian, a difference they refuse to understand.
And if you are speaking of those points of view proposed in the movie, that is a complete waste of time.
Whew, Beldar! You gave me whiplash! See you caught another newbie on this defunct blog, AND predicted it in your comment!
DeleteDamn, you're good.
Any suggestions for Powerball Lotto Numbers?
I so dislike the pushiness of the Christians in our country. Most of them don't live the teachings of their faith. Most are Republicans and we've seen the 'faithful' politicians who are mostly fat, white, older guys that have had multiple affairs and divorces (proven!). We view the likes of supposed Christians, Sarah and Todd Palin, who have been proven to be liars and frauds.
ReplyDeleteReligion does not belong in government or in public schools. Prayers do not need to be said before business meetings or in Legislatures throughout our country.
Many Christians show great distain to other faiths, many are anti Jews, anti gays and fight the rights of women! And, they assuredly don't like seeing the rising numbers of atheist and agnostic folks. They know their numbers are dropping and it frightens them. It's all about control!!!
This makes me sick. I hate to pull a Nooge but I wish I could leave this country. If this is the way the country is headed, I want out.
ReplyDeleteTexasMel
We are becoming a third world country. Religion vs non believers and the religions they don't agree with, racism, anti women, anti Jews, rich against the poor, 1% in control, unemployed, food and water shortages, increases in the prices of food and utilities, etc.
DeletePlus, we have nothing but obstruction within our do noting Congress.
"Wretchin'" Gretchen Carlson? Geez, landing a faux-Christian like her was a real score! I mean really, how rare is it to find others of her twisted celebrity lending their name to the righteous cause for a buck nowadays?
ReplyDelete/snark
Did Sarah audition for this flick? And if not, why not? Seems perfect. And why is Toad not a featured actor too? I mean, he's got "Stars Earn Stripes" acting experience, and he can hold a gun and run. Shoot...how much experience does one need to play the persecuted Christian? Sarah's been doing it for hears.
DeleteJindal's on a tear about this stuff. Here's his latest victim rant:
ReplyDeleteLouisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) delivered a scathing attack on the Obama administration at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Library Thursday night, saying an “onslaught of lawsuits based on anti-discrimination” laws amount to a “silent war on religious liberty.”
“These days we think this diversity of belief is tolerated under our law and Constitution," Jindal said. "But that’s wrong. This diversity of belief is the foundation of our law and Constitution. America does not sustain and create faith. Faith created and sustains America.”
Jindal, a practicing Catholic raised by Hindu parents, accused President Barack Obama and "a group of like-minded elites" of eroding the rights of religious Americans by burdening devout businesses with anti-discriminatory same-sex marriage laws and federally mandated health insurance coverage.
Citing a lawsuit filed by the Christian owner of crafts retailer Hobby Lobby challenging the Affordable Care Act’s employee contraception mandate, Jindal argued that "the instant you start a business, you lose" your First Amendment rights.
“Hobby Lobby is nothing less than an all-American success story … They’ve committed to honor the Lord by being generous employers,” Jindal argued. “None of this matters to the Obama administration. … The Obama administration’s argument ignores these beliefs and treats them as little more than an inconvenience to its ever-expanding regulatory state.”
Jindal, vice chairman of the Republican Governors Association, criticized Illinois' new law legalizing same-sex marriage. He said the law bans religious institutions from discriminating against same-sex ceremonies and called it the “next stage of the assault.”
“This law and others like it would require believers to essentially choose to break with their deeply held theological beliefs, or give up their daily activity of evangelism, retreat from public life, and sacrifice their property rights,” Jindal said. “Churches that do not host same sex unions would essentially be barred from participating fully in civil society.”
Jindal went on to outline the consequences of a government that “no longer needs a ‘moral and religious people,'” including:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/02/14/bobby-jindal-religious-liberty_n_4790639.html
Pure 2016 posturing. HE can try all he wants' but no mater what he says, he's the wrong color and ethnicity for the uber white GOPper xtians.
DeleteWorse, 9:25, is that Jindal is the cure for even the worst case of insomnia. Jindal is very intelligent and has a personal story that appeals to the conservative political faction in a big way, but is so unexciting that he cannot create the emotion needed to inspire the RW base (IMO). If anyone actually watched his rebuttal to the SOTU in 2009 (actually not really a SOTU since Pres Obama had just been inaugurated, but the POTUS addressed a joint session of Congress), you'll understand why Jindal went pffft. Jindal looks good on paper, but is not ready for prime time. This is in addition to the GOP's pandering to the racists who want someone who "looks Mericun". Jindal will be pushed to the front along with a handful of token candidates like Dr Ben Carson to "prove" that the Republican Party's diversity exists, but that dog won't hunt. Just talking point material fodder for media.
DeleteHis name is Piyush Jundal
Delete
ReplyDeleteSince there is no rational basis and no personal harm those claiming their "religious liberty" is being violated are simply trying to say "but my bigotry is not being accepted anymore! I demand special treatment like I had before!"
It is a desperate and pathetic attempt on the part of the bigots to wave a Bible in our face and pretend that it gives them some magical pass to violate the equal rights of others or to have a veto over the lives and actions of others.
Their false piety and vile rhetoric argues against the rights they pretend should only be accorded to themselves for no other reason that they say so...
Fundamentalism in religion or political ideology is a desperation in action, because it means that in these days of the 21st century, religion is optional.
ReplyDeleteIf I can't use my religion to justify my unequal treatment of others, I have lost my "religious liberty."
ReplyDeleteConservatives love to present themselves as "victims" when in fact they simply want the right to be the oppressors.
ReplyDeleteI guess I am the wrong kind of Christian because I have felt no such "persecution" that these people have been talking about. Perhaps a visit to a country where Christianity is illegal and people are put in jail for being a Christian would correct their view that they are being "persecuted."
ReplyDelete@8:59
DeleteHaving been raised among those so-called christians yelling the loudest about persecution, (I was lucky enough to have figured out all their BS!) I can say that your hope is completely unfounded.
They are incapable of recognizing other religions or even factions of their own. These are the type of people who still blame the Jews for killing Jesus even though it was preordained by their so-called god. They will loudly proclaim that to be untrue when in a public forum, but invariably then scream privately about having the need to say it.
Go to a country where christianity is illegal? Oh heavens NO! They may get their hands dirty.
Or even worse, find out that YOU are right.
There's a market for selling paranoia to Christians, but it's not a very big one unless you're selling directly from a pulpit to a captive audience. In terms of box office, I suspect this one will fall somewhere between The Christmas Sweater and whatever that thing Santorum's studio produced was called.
ReplyDeleteThe irony is that when this film flops, it will just reinforce the "truth" of it to the dwindling faction of Americans it speaks to.
I wouldn't expect to see Gretchen on the big screen again any time soon. Or ever.
8:59 It seems that they think having a blah President is persecution. Things were SO much better under W, when everyone got along. That means no obstructionists in the government. Just go along with whatever Cheney wanted. Fred Thompson? Does he need new Gucci loafers, or is his trophy wife pregnant again?
ReplyDeleteWith a name change it could do well with camp crowds.
ReplyDeleteI propose : "Morons".
I cannot imagine why Christian fundamentalists in this country think they are being persecuted. Do they even know what it means to be "persecuted"? Where I live, northwest Lower Michigan, there are lots of fundamentalist mega-churches and no one interferes with them. Some of their members tend to hassle people outside the Planned Parenthood office (which is being remodeled to add a second story) or war protesters (back during the Bush era) and they did their utmost to prevent gay equality votes (and they lost) and they pack school board meetings to object to establishing anti-bullying policies in the public schools, where many of them DO NOT send their children. So I simply do not see where these people are being persecuted; they tend to be among the ones who would happily persecute others.
ReplyDeleteOkay, I watched that trailer THREE TIMES. My speakers are just fine. The majority of those actors mumble so badly, I could barely understand what any of them were saying. Good luck getting the geriatric wing of the GOP to hear the dialog.
ReplyDeleteAlso, the premise is stupid. "Wah, wah, wah... I can't force my personal/religious beliefs on everyone else, so I'm a victim now..."
The only ones being persecuted are atheists. That's a movie I would pay to see.
ReplyDeleteAnyone know, is the score performed by an orchestra comprised solely of the world's tiniest violins? If not, I am so out.
ReplyDeleteWhen fundamentalist Christians are rounded up and sent off to concentration camps or fed to the lions, then they can complain about persecution.
ReplyDeleteLet's drag out the old Webster dictionary and look up the word Persecute. The definition is "To treat (someone) cruelly or unfairly especially because of race or religious or political beliefs".
ReplyDeleteThis movie is the ultimate in projection. Yes, the Charlatans who call themselves Christians have been guilty of persecuting the rest of us for far too many years. They hate, they discriminate and they tell us we (and the Country because we are living in it) are all going to hell in a handbasket. Not too long ago, these same folks were lynching those "uppity negroes". And most recently, innocent people who happen to be gay have lost their lives at their hands. Let's not even talk about how young black men in Florida now have to fear being shot under the guise of "stand your ground".
These folks are absolutely freaking out because the Country is not tolerating their bigotry and their hatred any longer. Poke a fork in all of us because we are done. Freedom means freedom for all, not just some.
Gee, that brings us back full circle to Orwell's Animal Farm and I wasn't even trying to go there.
WHISPER
ReplyDeleteMormons Are Using An Anonymous Confessions App To Doubt Their Faith (And Talk About Sex)
By any measure, it's a lonely cry into the void: On the mobile app Whisper, one user has posted this:
I have a child on a Mormon mission and I stopped believing while she was away. if I knew then what I know now, I would have never sent her. it's going to break her heart.
Part of the Mormon faith requires young people to embark on a two-year-long "mission" to a far-away place, to spread the word of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. It may be a year or more before this parent will have to confess to the daughter that they believe the mission was a waste of time.
And traditionally, Mormons have excommunicated anyone who strays from the faith. Families never speak to their relatives again over issues like this.
For one girl and her parent, huge trouble likely lies ahead.
Dark and shameful, but evocative and moving, too.
Whisper is the app for anonymous confessions. Users make up a screen name, and then type in whatever dark, often shameful, secret they have for others to read. The app allows you to add a random stock-photo image or upload your own as a background to your message. When done well, a good Whisper can be evocative and moving.
And you can sort Whispers — as the anonymous confessions are called — by geography and by topic, so you can see who is Whispering in your neighborhood, or who is talking about certain specific topics.
A lot of users seem to be teenagers. But regardless of the apparent age of the user, a huge portion of Whisper is about love, sex and dating. (And because you can message and respond to individual users, it should not be surprising that people are trawling Whisper for hookups.)
A live news feed of what Mormons are worrying about right now.
But if you search and click on the "Mormon" tag, you get a view into a world that few non-Mormons will ever get: a live, real-time, constantly updated news feed on what Mormons are actually thinking right now, but dare not say aloud.
Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/mormons-using-whisper-app-2014-2#ixzz2tRp2sbpW
More on Mormon Whisper
ReplyDeletehttp://whisper.sh/topics/a7898930-4b21-11e3-a57e-22000afe43fe/mormon-church
I'd LOVE to watch it on Sarah Silverman's couch with Jesus and Popcorn! But since that ain't happening ever, I'll pass.
ReplyDeleteSelf Flagellation and "Why ME" can't carry a movie. And Gretchen Carlson, what can I say?
Rural Alaska might be setting an example that we're all doomed to follow.
ReplyDeleteRead more: http://www.businessinsider.com/rural-alaska-data-caps-2014-2#ixzz2tRy8ai92