Wednesday, July 13, 2011

TRUTH STRANGER THAN FICTION

A page-turning mystery seems to require a particular set of ingredients: secrecy, back-room deals, power invested in the lives of the elite, cover-up, illegal transfer and use of funds, and sex...lots of sex, especially of the promiscuous, perverted, and abusive type. Such can make for a great "beach" read. But that is all escapist reading, isn't it? A good way to take a break from the stresses of our life and lose ourselves between the covers of a book.

But it is a bit disconcerting when we find out that such things really take place and more than we can possibly imagine. The dis-ease is only made more profound when we discover that one of the most fertile contexts for such activities and behaviors is the religious.

Two books have been authored that turn over the rocks and reveal
an unbelieveable ugliness in both our own country and around the world. Even though exposed by these writings and other media endeavors, the culprits continue to move right along as though entitled. And they see themselves as ambassadors for God.

The first book is THE FAMILY by Jeff Sharlet. Without giving too much away, just suffice to say that this effort is located in our own Washington, DC with tentacles that stretch around the world. This group has been in place for years and presents a good front, i.e. the National Prayer Breakfast each year which comes under their sponsorship. You have recently heard about the "House" on C Street in Washington, where politicians reside and, and as of late, has been in the news as the place where politicians engaged in sordid extra-marital affairs stay and pray. You have to read the book to see what a massive secret cult this has become with participants from both major political parties. Their key idea is to turn our government into a theocracy that can only be described as the child of right-wing fundamentalism. (Sharlet has just written a follow-up book entitled C STREET: A FUNDAMENTALIST THREAT TO AMERICAN DEMOCRACY. It's just hot off the press).

The other book is THE POPE'S WAR by Matthew Fox. I still find it unbelieveable even though the accusations have been duly documented. One of the major thrusts is the extensive cover-up related to the pedophilia crisis among the leadership in the Catholic Church. But there is more.......so very much more.

Truth really can be stranger than fiction.....and a lot scarier.

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