Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Want to be Scared? Try WorldNetDaily, the Ultra-Right Christian News

Here's a "resource" for you if you want a little comedy every day. Unfortunately, these guys are serious. The WorldNetDaily web site is one of the craziest there is. Worse, they have the appearance of legitimacy, and are widely cited by other Christian news sites. Mainstream Christians should be embarrassed to be associated with such nuttery, but sadly they're not.

Today's sample is a good illustration. They tell the story of how Karl Marx was once a good Christian, but was corrupted by the evils of higher education.
"Why did Marx became a God hater who invented not only one of the worst tools of oppression to Christianity, but also to all of humanity? Why did Engels become his accomplice? The turning point in both of their lives occurred at the universities they attended when they learned of a new 'Christian doctrine'' called 'liberal theology.'
And they go on to imply that the entire Soviet Empire, China, Korea, Vietnam, Cuba and so on are all the fault of the liberal theology that was – and still is! – taught in universities.

That's pretty amazing, that a few professors could alter world history so dramatically. Never mind that there were millions of others who made their own choices, that there were two world wars and countless lesser conflicts. It was all liberal theology's fault!

It would be funny if these WorldNetDaily guys were just the lunatic fringe. But in today's world, the internet and a big web site give them a facade of legitimacy. Even the lunatic fringe can appear respectable. They've also attached themselves to the evangelical Christian right and the Tea Party, who don't seem to have the good sense to brush them off.

4 comments:

  1. Hi Craig,
    I have a dilemma on my hands. Act for America, an organization that strives to protect the US from Islamic extremism, makes a very convincing case to me (although I keep saying I hope the fears are ungrounded, but...) and they quote World Net Daily. Someone else pointed out to me that World Nut Daily is biased as you say. Does this discredit Act, and if so, to what degree? I guess the bottom line is, do I have anything to worry about?

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  2. Hi Sarah ... Well, while I support the effort to defuse all religious extremism, anyone who quotes WorldNetDaily loses a lot of credibility. WND stories range from gross exaggerations to just plain false. I haven't seen one credible news article. They even publish Birther stuff as though it's news.

    I suspect that if Act for America is quoting WorldNetDaily, then Act for America isn't really what they say they are. It sounds like they themselves may be Christian extremists working under the banner of Islamaphobia. I'd check them out more before supporting their cause.

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  3. I just can't fathom how people can actually believe the stories at that website. It truly is "faith" based news. You need to take it on faith your given the truth. Any digging at all shows at the very least the news is heavily biased and most of the time founded on misquotes, lies or disinformation. Good article.

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  4. Even if WorldNutDaily is bogus, that doesn't necessarily mean Act is, as well (but it doesn't help). I'm sure many legit sources would provide evidence for Act's mission.

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