Fox News, in its crusade (or is it jihad) to divide Americans, knows that nothing keeps hate alive better than inculcating, in its righteous viewers, a sense of being besieged by the dark forces of "the other." Despite the reality that Christianity is doing just fine, Fox has created an alternative dualistic world straight out of Revelation in which Christianity is under attack. This weird world that has been embraced by Fox personality Todd Starnes who, like his fellow Fox Christians, believes that the nefarious forces of secularism and the gay agenda are trying to eradicate Jesus in favor of a godless America which, coincidentally, is the title of his new book "Godless America." This morning, as part of his Fox book pimping tour, he joined his fellow Jesus BFF Elisabeth Hasselbeck to push his book about persecuted Christians. As usual, he was basically full of southern fried shit.
Hasselbeck's piece was part of the patented Fox & Friends "Fight for Faith" series. In employing end time battle imagery, so popular of Fox, Hasselbeck introduced Starnes: "Our next guest says that college campuses have been transformed into battlegrounds pitting left wing ideology against Christian students." She set the message in the form of a question: "Are their efforts to silence Christian voices on college campuses going to succeed?" The Cavuto marked chyron reinforced the message: "Campus or battleground? Starnes: "war on religious liberty?"
Hasselbeck immediately praised Starnes barely coherent new book "Godless America." She whined about how "when you see these Christian groups being discriminated against on college campuses [she started shouting] it just seems that it could not be happening but in fact they are." Toddles was more than happy to provide some examples of this mythical persecution. His first was 2013 case involved a Sonoma State college student who OMG was told to remove a cross necklace. (Fox & Friends provided warm support for the aggrieved student.) He claimed that she was so viciously attacked that she was forced to leave the school.
Once again, Todd Starnes is not telling the whole story because THE SCHOOL ACKNOWLEDGED ITS MISTAKE AND APOLOGIZED. And as far as attacks, after Starnes broke the story, the school received a flood of complaints.
Starnes second anecdote was about a Christian Group, the InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, which was kicked off the University of Michigan campus. Starnes claimed that the group was ordered to sign the school's anti-discrimination policy which, according to Starnes, mandated that the group couldn't require their leaders to be Christian. He explained that this means that OMG an atheist could potentially become the group's leader because otherwise "you're discriminating against atheists." (And why an atheist would want to lead a Christian group is anybody's guest but hey, when you've got propaganda to push....) Hasselbeck said "unbelievable."
Once again, Todd Starnes is not telling the whole story, according to the University of Michigan newspaper, the reason for the club's decertification is that "the student organization did not complete its annual re-registration process by the Sept. 30 deadline, a requirement of all student organizations." The group, which prohibits gay people from joining, is making the claims that Starnes articulated.
Starnes third example was from the Fox News vault of golden oldies - the 2011/12 Fox abetted "controversy" and mini-marathon of misinformation over how Vanderbilt University's non-discrimination policy which was established after gay students were kicked out of a Christian group. Starnes whined about how "a dozen student groups had to leave campus, including the Catholic organization.
His last example was a claim that Christian students at Rollins College were told to stop praying in their dorm rooms. Hasselbeck said "wow, attack on religious freedom, freedom of speech there." She repeated the name of Starnes epic tome.
Once again, Todd Starnes is not telling the whole story. In 2013, members of the InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, who were holding a bible study in the common room of a dorm, informed Starnes that they were told to disperse because they were violating school policy. The school responded that NO GROUP IS ALLOWED TO HOLD MEETINGS IN THE COMMON SPACE OF RESIDENCE HALL and that a fraternity had recently violated the policy. A check of the Rollins College "Faith Traditions" web page shows that there are a number of religious groups which have official campus status, including the Campus Crusade for Christ.
You just can't make this stuff up. Oh, right, you can if you're Todd Starnes. And you get a special Fox News pulpit from which to preach it! Jesus must be very happy....
And then there’s this from Exodus 23: “Thou shalt not raise a false report: put not thine hand with the wicked to be an unrighteous witness. Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil; neither shalt thou speak in a cause to decline after many to wrest judgment: . . . Keep thee far from a false matter; and the innocent and righteous slay thou not: for I will not justify the wicked.” (Verses 1, 2, and 7) And I’m not familiar with anywhere in the New Testament that Jesus said it was okay to break any of these laws.
Mr Starnes might need to beg a little more forgiveness when he says his prayers at beddy-bye time tonight.