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From: au138@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (John S. Kennedy)
Newsgroups: alt.atheism
Subject: Christian Reconstructionism
Message-ID: <1991Sep1.051919.22918@usenet.ins.cwru.edu>
Date: 1 Sep 91 05:19:19 GMT
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     I finally have some substantive information on the subject of
"Christian Reconstruction".  All of you who love freedom,
independence, to feel, to question, to resist oppression, you
better make notes here and fight this movement with every fibre of
your being.
     These are excerpts from an article called "The Proposed
Killing of Freethinkers" by Michael Hakeem and it appeared in the
August, 1991 issue of "Freethought Today", published by the Freedom
From Religion Foundation, P.O. Box 750, Madison, WI 53701.

     Should blasphemy be punishable by death?  An influential and
increasing number of Christians have launched a movement --
"Christian Reconstructionism" -- to make it so.  [The topmost
leader of the movement is Rousas J. Rushdoony and his views are
explained in a book called "The Institute of Biblical Law".]
     Blasphemy is only one of the Old Testament offenses for which
Reconstructionist propose the mandatory death penalty.  The list
also: murder, gross negligence resulting in the death of another,
adultery, unchastity, sodomy, bestiality, homosexuality, rape,
incest, incorrigibility in children, breaking of the sabbath,
kidnapping, apostasy, idolatry, witchcraft, sorcery, false
pretention to prophecy, offering human sacrifice, propagating false
doctrines, sacrificing to false gods, rejecting a decision of a
court, and failing to restore bail.  Rushdoony recommends public
executions and proposes that minors, the insane, and the mentally
deficient not be exempt from the penalty.  Some Reconstructionists
would allow modern methods of execution, but there is also talk of
stoning ...
     ... Reconstructionist unabashedly talk about the need to make
America a "Christian nation."
     ... With so much of the public and so many government
officials sharing the unreasoning of the clergy, freethinkers would
be foolish to be complaisant about Christian Reconstructionism.
--
Because if a machine can       |  John S. Kennedy (513) 541-3078
learn the value of human life, |  usr0956a@tso.uc.edu
maybe we can, too.             |  au138@cleveland.freenet.edu
  -- James Cameron             |  72217.416@compuserve.com