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March 28th, 2011
02:11 PM ET
Gingrich fears 'atheist country ... dominated by radical Islamists' Newt Gingrich at Cornerstone Church in San Antonio, Texas. By Dan Gilgoff, CNN.com Religion Editor Hours after declaring Sunday that he expects to be running for president within a month, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said he's worried the United States could be “a secular atheist country, potentially one dominated by radical Islamists,” in the foreseeable future, according to Politico. Gingrich was addressing Cornerstone Church, a megachurch in San Antonio, Texas, led by the Rev. John Hagee, an influential leader among American evangelicals. Hagee's endorsement of then-presidential candidate John McCain in 2008 was plagued by controversy. McCain ultimately rejected the endorsement over remarks Hagee had made about the Holocaust, in which he appeared to say that Adolf Hitler had been fulfilling God's will by hastening the desire of Jews to return to Israel, in accordance with biblical prophecy. "God says in Jeremiah 16: 'Behold, I will bring them the Jewish people again unto their land that I gave to their fathers. ... Behold, I will send for many fishers, and after will I send for many hunters. And they the hunters shall hunt them.' That would be the Jews,” Hagee had said in an earlier sermon. “Then God sent a hunter,” his sermon continued. “A hunter is someone who comes with a gun, and he forces you. Hitler was a hunter." McCain rejected Hagee’s endorsement of his campaign after learning about the comments in May 2008. "Obviously, I find these remarks and others deeply offensive and indefensible, and I repudiate them,” McCain said at the time. Hagee then withdrew his endorsement of the Arizona senator, which he had offered three months earlier. One irony of McCain rejecting Hagee’s endorsement over his Holocaust remarks is that the Texas evangelist leads the Christian Zionist movement. Hagee is founder and national chairman of Christians United for Israel, which features Elie Wiesel and other Holocaust survivors at its events. Here’s what Gingrich said at Cornerstone Church on Sunday evening, according to Politico:
Gingrich’s church appearance comes amid a broader campaign to court religious conservatives. On Monday, Hagee released a statement praising Gingrich's appearance at Cornerstone. “It was such a great honor to welcome Mr. Gingrich to our church, and hear him describe the centrality of faith in our nation,” he said. The statement also included praise for Hagee and his wife, Diana, from Gingrich. “It was truly an honor to be with John and Diana at Cornerstone," Gingrich said. "Their dedication to serve is inspirational.” soundoff (2,228 Responses)« Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 Next »
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The CNN Belief Blog covers the faith angles of the day's biggest stories, from breaking news to politics to entertainment, fostering a global conversation about the role of religion and belief in readers' lives. It's edited by CNN's Daniel Burke with contributions from Eric Marrapodi and CNN's worldwide news gathering team.  |
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“a secular atheist country, potentially one dominated by radical Islamists,” - um....are radical islamists atheists????? get a grip, Newt.
AHAHAHAHAHAHA! Man, I needed a good laugh. Thanks Newt.
In all seriousness though, please do whatever you can to make sure that this man does NOT make it to the White House. I'll take a secular nation over a country stuck in the dark ages any day.
If Atheists are in control, the US will run better than ever.....no BS, no religous agendas and no false prophets like Gingrich. We can develope stem cell research to its fullest, medical technology and our culture without religous stigma and constraints......and women can be truly mans equal, without religion telling them otherwise....good times indeed...
Lolwut? I mean really, Republicans. Is this all you guys have to bring to the table in 2012. Seems like they are taking the Democrat's route in 04 with Kerry. At least Kerry wasn't insane.
well, i agree with the majority of you that say that gingrich was overstating things a bit, but i also don't think that pointing out the fact that islamization of this country IS happening and IS a threat to our security can be fairly swept aside as nothing but "fear mongering". if there's something to be legitimately afraid of and someone steps up and says it...is it fear mongering? nope. but people with the courage to step up and say unpopular things get accused of lots of different things...
You would have fit right in with McCarthy... Where Islamization (not actually a word) happening? Just because Muslims live here does not mean that we are in danger of this becoming an Islamic nation. Where do you people come from? Just because someone fear mongers does not mean they are brave or right.
How do you teabaggers live with your constant paranoia? You seem to see conspiracies around every corner. A good therapist could help you. Get on some meds and stop listening to liars. INVESTIGATE AND THINK FOR YOURSELF FOR A CHANGE..GEEZ!
Okay, now Newt, listen to Hunter. I'll speak slowly. It can't be a secular atheist country if it's dominated by Islamists. Think about it. Think about it. Come on Newt, you can do this. Thiiiiiiinkkk.
God also said....thou shall not commit adultery.
The more secular a nation is, the higher it ranks in standard of living, quality of life, health, literacy, etc. A secular nation is exactly what America needs to become in order to progress into the future.
I am an atheist. While I don't find his comments insulting, I do find them ignorant and, as for his "atheist radical Islamist" comment, contradictory. You can't have a secular radical Islamist country.
And the irony? He wants America to become exactly what he says he's against – a nation of anti-science, anti-intellectual extremists. Sad.
Someone needs to beat some common sense into this man. Seriously, secular atheist Muslims? Why not throw "Marxist" in there too, since we're throwing around "scary" words? Not to mention he oxymoron that is "secular atheist Muslims." Think about it: How many Muslims that you know who are atheists?
I can't believe you conservatives buy his drivel.
The United States an atheist country? Who said that Gingrich? Oh well, we should not pay attention.
I could see it. Atheists are largely indifferent, while radicals are the polar opposite. The stronger group will take charge. People will laugh at Gingrich as a way of denial, but I can see the possibility of Gingrich's prediction coming true. Thankfully, I will likely be dead before it gets that bad.
What B.S. Newt is banking on there being no Old Testament madman in Heaven who will cast him down into eternal fire and torment for his repeated adulteries. Hypocrite – thy name is Republican.
I know a phrase, "A sucker is born every minute." Any person that thinks the Democrats are any different from the Republicans is just another sucker.
That is every right wingers answer to every criticism... Democrats are the same blah blah blah... but they are not... not really. I think the overall goals of the Democrats are completely different to Republicans... and lately the insanity level is far lower. Also, it will have to be one or the other... either Atheist or a radical Islamic state... actually there is another option... it could be a Radical Christian state. Fortunately, most people still seem to prefer the secular state that does not get involved in religion (sort of anyway) and is largely not forcing any religion down our throats. Lastly, I do not need to be told how to live a moral life by Newt... he is hardly a credible voice on the subject.
JWG: you couldn't be more wrong. For one thing, we tend to think for ourselves. Do you think I believe everything a democratic politician tells me...of course not! But, that seems to be your course. Also, democrats don't seem to hate everyone like your party does. They don't want to legislate specifically to hurt some group they don't agree with. We are not in the pockets of big business who basically paid for the teaparty fascists to get elected to do their bidding. And, I don't necessarily think that all republicans are like you and Gingrich...there is something inherently wrong about painting a whole group with one brush. Didn't your mother ever teach you that? My democratic mother did.
Having a native american heritage as part of my lineage, I am always amused when religious zealots claim that this nation was founded on "Christian values." For the most part, this nation was founded on deceit, lies, theft and outright genocide.
As for Atheism running the country, if, as he says, radical Islamists will dominate the country in th future, then he has nothing to worry about. It will still be a religious nation.....just not the religion he envisioned.
Personally, I'd be glad if religion died out, then mankind could really advance.
And how exactly does this radical Islam atheist country come about?
“...a secular atheist country, potentially one dominated by radical Islamist,”
HaHa! I love how he's trying to associate us Atheists with a radical extremist group.
It makes perfect sense, when you're not required to think for yourselves, and just take what you're told on "blind faith"...
Ummm...Newt, if it's a country dominated by radical Islamists, then it wouldn't be an atheist country. It'd just be run by a different group of religious fanatics than the one you were addressing.
Someone should uncork the miserable gasbag so that we can watch him fly around the room. FFFFFFFFTTTTTTTTTTTTTT........
He's been full of hot air for a long time. Gotta release some of that pressure.
Please please anyone reading this, please campain against this man. His hope is to turn america into an army of mindless workers, beholden to corporations and religion to push through anything he sees fit. American can lead the world still in the modern age of technology, we cannot go back to medival times after coming so far. Hagee and Gingrich are dangerous people, don't let them get control of the most powerful military in the world. Only suffering will come from their maddness.
Translation: By combining christian fears of losing control to atheists and also to any other religion (Islam is current boogyman), Gingrich hopes to collect christian support for his presidency.
Wouldn't an aethist country dominated by radical islamists be somewhat contradictory? Noooo? Oh, i'm sorry Newt, i'll stop with the logic...i know that's never been your strong point.
Gingrish is an IDIOT, opportunist thief. He will never get ellected.
I was thinking the exact same thing