In a rousing call to arms, Rabbi Daniel Lapin cites the failure to heed warnings about the rise of Hitler, Communism, and Islamic terrorism in warning of “a serious war” that “is being waged against a group of Americans” – a war against “Christian conservatives,” or perhaps just “Christians.” “I am certain that if we lose this war, the consequences for American civilization will be dire,” he writes.
Phase one of this war I describe is a propaganda blitzkrieg that is eerily reminiscent of how effectively the Goebbels propaganda machine softened up the German people for what was to come.
There is no better term than propaganda blitzkrieg to describe what has been unleashed against Christian conservatives recently.
Consider the long list of anti-Christian books that have been published in recent months.
Lapin lists six books critical of the Religious Right (and one critical of religion in general). “Fervent zealots of secularism are flinging themselves into this anti-Christian war with enormous fanaticism,” he writes of this “proliferation of anti-Christian print propaganda.”
If they succeed, Christianity will be driven underground, and its benign influence on the character of America will be lost. In its place we shall see a sinister secularism that menaces Bible believers of all faiths. Once the voice of the Bible has been silenced, the war on Western Civilization can begin and we shall see a long night of barbarism descend on the West.
Lapin, president of a group called Toward Tradition, is adopting the “persecuted majority syndrome” championed by the right-wing activists who brought you “Justice Sunday: Stopping the Filibuster against People of Faith” in 2005 and the “War on Christians” conference in 2006. (Lapin was a featured speaker at “Justice Sunday.”) In this tactic, political disagreements with the Religious Right in particular are neatly translated into attacks on Christianity in general.
Called the “Republicans’ Rabbi-in-Arms” in a Washington Post profile, Lapin has carved out a particular niche among D.C.-based right-wing activists and the leadership of the GOP. It was reportedly Lapin who introduced Jack Abramoff to former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, and Toward Tradition has been implicated in allegedly funneling bribes from a gambling company to a DeLay aide.
With Abramoff now in prison and DeLay out of office (and under indictment), Lapin’s influence on the Right may be less certain. Perhaps his embrace of the mythical “war on Christians” theme represents an attempt to reestablish his right-wing credentials.
