"There's an audience for the story...largely the result of Senator John Ensign's libido..."
July 22, 2009 1:42 PM Subscribe
Jesus Plus Nothing, Minus Somalia: How the Christian fundamentalism of The Family (also known as the C Street Fellowship) turned Somalia into the next staging ground for Islamic radicalism.
Coe refers to Doug Coe, the evangelist who runs the C Street Fellowship that included Sen. Ensign and Governor Sanford as members.
posted by jonp72 at 1:52 PM on July 22, 2009
posted by jonp72 at 1:52 PM on July 22, 2009
Previous "The Family" (aka "The Fellowship") on MeFi -- 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5.
posted by ericb at 1:53 PM on July 22, 2009
posted by ericb at 1:53 PM on July 22, 2009
Is it just me or is there a chunk missing from that article. Who is Coe?
The article is an excerpt from a book.
posted by srboisvert at 1:53 PM on July 22, 2009
The article is an excerpt from a book.
posted by srboisvert at 1:53 PM on July 22, 2009
I'm in a rotten mood, so I'm not going to mince words here.
I really, really wish that monotheists would stop fucking everything up.
posted by Faint of Butt at 1:54 PM on July 22, 2009 [6 favorites]
I really, really wish that monotheists would stop fucking everything up.
posted by Faint of Butt at 1:54 PM on July 22, 2009 [6 favorites]
Also -- Jeff Sharet's Jesus Plus Nothing as subject of this previous FPP: Laying it out on the table.
posted by ericb at 1:59 PM on July 22, 2009
posted by ericb at 1:59 PM on July 22, 2009
ericb, Your link # 5 is about a different "Family" religious group.
But yes, the C Street Fellowship has been much covered here.
posted by Cookiebastard at 2:06 PM on July 22, 2009
But yes, the C Street Fellowship has been much covered here.
posted by Cookiebastard at 2:06 PM on July 22, 2009
(Meaning the elites, of course. I'm sure there are plenty of normal people who live in the city, but in general DC's elites are just plain weird)
posted by delmoi at 2:09 PM on July 22, 2009
posted by delmoi at 2:09 PM on July 22, 2009
Damn! A fascinating FPP right before I have to leave for work! I'll RTFAs in nine hours.
... stupid no-computer havin' workplace ... rassumfrassum ...
posted by EatTheWeek at 2:11 PM on July 22, 2009
... stupid no-computer havin' workplace ... rassumfrassum ...
posted by EatTheWeek at 2:11 PM on July 22, 2009
ericb, Your link # 5 is about a different "Family" religious group.
Actually, no it's not.
It's the same group -- and even Hillary, as mentioned in that FPP (#5) and the one I once posted (#3), is a member.
posted by ericb at 2:12 PM on July 22, 2009
Actually, no it's not.
It's the same group -- and even Hillary, as mentioned in that FPP (#5) and the one I once posted (#3), is a member.
posted by ericb at 2:12 PM on July 22, 2009
As a matter of fact the author of the MotherJones article which is the subject of the #5 FPP was co-written by Jeff Sharet, the author of Jesus Plus Nothing which is the subject of this FPP and that of the previous FPP " Laying it out on the table" mentioned above.
posted by ericb at 2:15 PM on July 22, 2009
posted by ericb at 2:15 PM on July 22, 2009
ericb, I am quite wrong then! I apparently did not read enough. Nevermind me! Carry On!
posted by Cookiebastard at 2:19 PM on July 22, 2009
posted by Cookiebastard at 2:19 PM on July 22, 2009
The subject of my #4 is indeed a different group. I mis-linked. There are other "The Family/The Fellowship" FPPs. No problem. Each new one seems to offer more infromation on this group. The C-Street house which seems to serve as a residence for D.C.-based conservative Republicans "sinners," these revelations about Somalia, etc. Jeff Sharet continues to expose these folks.
posted by ericb at 2:22 PM on July 22, 2009
posted by ericb at 2:22 PM on July 22, 2009
ericb, I am quite wrong then! I apparently did not read enough. Nevermind me! Carry On!
No ... you just misattributed my error to the wrong number! No problem.
posted by ericb at 2:23 PM on July 22, 2009
No ... you just misattributed my error to the wrong number! No problem.
posted by ericb at 2:23 PM on July 22, 2009
Heh. And here I am looking for the connection between the River Phoenix cult and the Hillary Clinton cult.
...Kevin Bacon?
posted by Cookiebastard at 2:26 PM on July 22, 2009
...Kevin Bacon?
posted by Cookiebastard at 2:26 PM on July 22, 2009
Huh. When did Killing the Buddha come back?
posted by roll truck roll at 2:27 PM on July 22, 2009
posted by roll truck roll at 2:27 PM on July 22, 2009
They must not be far from E Street. I wonder if Bruce and the boys ever play at the Family gatherings.
posted by battleshipkropotkin at 2:31 PM on July 22, 2009
posted by battleshipkropotkin at 2:31 PM on July 22, 2009
Yeah, why they hate on monotheism and not, well, theism? People who believe in lots of gods are just as whacko as those who believe in only one.
posted by billysumday at 2:39 PM on July 22, 2009 [2 favorites]
posted by billysumday at 2:39 PM on July 22, 2009 [2 favorites]
> People who believe in lots of gods are just as whacko as those who believe in only one.
People are willing to kill in the name of godlessness, for that matter. Whackos will use whatever beliefs are available for doing whatever they intend to do, and this doesn't implicate the non-whackos who happen to share those beliefs.
posted by ardgedee at 2:53 PM on July 22, 2009 [1 favorite]
People are willing to kill in the name of godlessness, for that matter. Whackos will use whatever beliefs are available for doing whatever they intend to do, and this doesn't implicate the non-whackos who happen to share those beliefs.
posted by ardgedee at 2:53 PM on July 22, 2009 [1 favorite]
jesus, having lit the candles around the tub, switches off the light and slips into the warm water. from the center of his mind he watches as his hand picks up the cold thin razor and firmly moves it through the veins in his wrist. the tub is red, the water thickening as he leans his whitened face toward the ceiling and shouts his last words...
AVANTI! RAGAZZI! CUNTS AND COCKSUCKERS!
posted by kitchenrat at 3:13 PM on July 22, 2009
AVANTI! RAGAZZI! CUNTS AND COCKSUCKERS!
posted by kitchenrat at 3:13 PM on July 22, 2009
Um, an obituary post for a dog?
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 3:14 PM on July 22, 2009
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 3:14 PM on July 22, 2009
Say what you like about the tenets of the Khmer Rouge, dude, at least it's an ethos.
posted by fleetmouse at 4:27 PM on July 22, 2009 [1 favorite]
posted by fleetmouse at 4:27 PM on July 22, 2009 [1 favorite]
Maybe more is explained in the book, but the situation outlined seems to be one that can be blamed more on the U.S. and Russian strategy in the cold war rather than strictly on The Family.
posted by Tavern at 5:01 PM on July 22, 2009
posted by Tavern at 5:01 PM on July 22, 2009
Hmm... Didn't read with great depth, but the article seemed a mash of who met who when, and lacking in much real content.
The elites, in order to convince themselves that they are elites, organize themselves into groups, and occasionally news of the existence of these groups comes out into the media. I'm not terribly convinced that 'the Family' or 'Skull and Bones' really have all that much real influence; they aren't the Illuminati, just a networking resource.
posted by kaibutsu at 6:14 PM on July 22, 2009
The elites, in order to convince themselves that they are elites, organize themselves into groups, and occasionally news of the existence of these groups comes out into the media. I'm not terribly convinced that 'the Family' or 'Skull and Bones' really have all that much real influence; they aren't the Illuminati, just a networking resource.
posted by kaibutsu at 6:14 PM on July 22, 2009
roll truck roll: Huh. When did Killing the Buddha come back?
They came back with a crappy website about 3 - 5 months ago, and finally rolled out the RSS and social networking technology very recently. I was pretty psyched too.
posted by l33tpolicywonk at 6:21 PM on July 22, 2009
They came back with a crappy website about 3 - 5 months ago, and finally rolled out the RSS and social networking technology very recently. I was pretty psyched too.
posted by l33tpolicywonk at 6:21 PM on July 22, 2009
People are willing to kill in the name of godlessness, for that matter.
Mao is as much a god as Jesus... moreso, in the sense that he actually existed.
posted by klanawa at 9:23 PM on July 22, 2009
Mao is as much a god as Jesus... moreso, in the sense that he actually existed.
posted by klanawa at 9:23 PM on July 22, 2009
The problem with playing chess for the world is that an awful lot of pawns get killed.
posted by kjs4 at 11:11 PM on July 22, 2009
posted by kjs4 at 11:11 PM on July 22, 2009
I don't think you need to bring a deity into the equation, just being a human is gets you an invite to the fuck things up club.
posted by mattoxic at 4:55 AM on July 23, 2009
posted by mattoxic at 4:55 AM on July 23, 2009
Mao is as much a god as Jesus... moreso, in the sense that he actually existed.
I think there is proof that Jesus did exits, I think the jury's out on whether he's the son of god, rose from the dead, ascended into heaven, bought others back from the dead, walked on water, turned water into wine, fed the multitudes, replaced ears, was the son of a virgin, talked real estate with satan, converted bread and wine into his flesh and blood, killed a fig tree, healed the sick, cast out demons, subdued storms, gave miraculous fishing tips, and was generally omnipresent.
posted by mattoxic at 5:06 AM on July 23, 2009
I think there is proof that Jesus did exits, I think the jury's out on whether he's the son of god, rose from the dead, ascended into heaven, bought others back from the dead, walked on water, turned water into wine, fed the multitudes, replaced ears, was the son of a virgin, talked real estate with satan, converted bread and wine into his flesh and blood, killed a fig tree, healed the sick, cast out demons, subdued storms, gave miraculous fishing tips, and was generally omnipresent.
posted by mattoxic at 5:06 AM on July 23, 2009
Wow, unintended consequences of meddling with a foreign dictator! Madness. Who could have known?
I wonder if the current, more direct/obvious model of US international intervention isn't just a backlash from the unfortunate (read bloody) repurcussions of the backroom (ie Family, etc), and covert operations (purported assassinations) of the cold war maneuverings (weapons provisos) to stabilize ('ally') nations that could, or were communist (the enemy?).
posted by LD Feral at 5:38 AM on July 23, 2009
I wonder if the current, more direct/obvious model of US international intervention isn't just a backlash from the unfortunate (read bloody) repurcussions of the backroom (ie Family, etc), and covert operations (purported assassinations) of the cold war maneuverings (weapons provisos) to stabilize ('ally') nations that could, or were communist (the enemy?).
posted by LD Feral at 5:38 AM on July 23, 2009
I think there is proof that Jesus did exits
The best one was getting out of the cave with the boulder in front.
posted by longbaugh at 6:26 AM on July 23, 2009 [2 favorites]
The best one was getting out of the cave with the boulder in front.
posted by longbaugh at 6:26 AM on July 23, 2009 [2 favorites]
I think there is proof that Jesus did exits
link, please.
posted by klanawa at 7:29 PM on August 11, 2009
link, please.
posted by klanawa at 7:29 PM on August 11, 2009
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