The Family

I first looked into the Wikipedia entry for this group, and it looked like a standard religious cause for awhile, but matters got more interesting when it is mentioned that it was originally set up in opposition to The New Deal. I don’t quite see the religious zeal in opposition to such a thing, which is meant to help the poor generally. “Journalist Jeff Sharlet did intensive research in the Fellowship's archives, before they were closed to the public. He also spent a month in 2002 living in a Fellowship house near Washington, and wrote a magazine article describing his experiences. In his 2008 book about the Family, he criticized their theology as an "elite fundamentalism" that fetishizes political power and wealth, consistently opposes labor movements in the U.S. and abroad, and teaches that laissez-faire economic policy is "God's will." He criticized their theology of instant forgiveness for powerful men as providing a convenient excuse for elites who commit misdeeds or crimes, allowing them to avoid accepting responsibility or accountability for their actions.” This quote in particular was so superb at summing up theology of the group I couldn’t attempt to paraphrase it better. What is also disheartening is that it mentions that tons of current and past members of congress are members of these breakfast clubs. It is alarming to say the least.

The Family has indoctrinated the members with a firm belief that Jesus is here-and-now and is a “man’s man”. These beliefs have carried over into the realities for this group, and have also come up during the National Prayer Breakfast. The Family started this tradition in 1953 and every U.S. President has attended since its creation. The National Prayer Breakfast is the groups only publicized event, and it is believed that backroom deals take place while the chosen people who attend get to meet key members of Congress and potentially the President.

The extramarital affairs information on Wikipedia wasn’t that extensive or that exciting because I am frankly not surprised that people with power are cheating on their wives. This seems to be a relatively common theme for most elite, and it always puts a smile on my face when someone who is holier-than-thou is caught doing something one would think is not quite so holy. Of a more interesting note the tax exemption and legality of it seems common for front groups posing as religious. The fact that other churches are speaking out against C Street shows something about how they are perceived. The other key piece was the death for gays bill in Uganda. I am again not surprised that the same group that allows known murders or those who support the practice would be intolerant to the minorities. The gays don’t have power and the torturing generals do, power is their game, go figure.