Such is no surprise they would pick someone with such biased perspectives to be the committee chair. Just wait to see who the committee members will be.

If anyone thought they would get a fair hearing on the Israel divestment issue in the PCUSA kangaroo court, they should dissuade themselves of such an idea forthwith.

Given our experiences in the PC(USA) over the last 2 years on issues related to the Middle East, I really shouldn't be surprised. I mean, I have pretty low expectations these days.

And this still surprises me. I find myself wondering just how low the bureaucratic elements of the PC(USA) will stoop to be able to hold on to their ill-advised and immoral divestment program.

Thanks for the heads-up. This appointment insures that the committee will have no credibility with much of the church that disagreed with the divestment policy and is seeking to set it aside
( like my presbytery). What a disgrace!

I'm grateful that you've been keeping this issue on the frontburner. I'm not a Presbyterian, or even a Christian, but I was enrolled at uber-liberal Union Seminary in NYC during and after 9/11. I'd say as many as a third of the M.Div candidates there are members of the PCUSA. (The rest come from the other "mainline" denominations: Episcopalians, Methodists, Lutherans, UCC'rs, etc.)

I can't begin to describe how hellish a place Union is. The students are indoctrinated with "Liberation Theology" until they can spout its Marxist-inspired inanities in their sleep. They are taught to dismiss and deride all traditional theologies and forms of worship. In essence, what I found is that liberal/left Christianity, for all of its worthy innovations (gay rights, feminism, etc.) is little more than socialism wrapped in a religious veneer. Just as fundamentalist Christians tend to equate piety with hard right social and economic policies, leftist Christians place more weight on political ideologies than on any spiritual insight. Those who don't toe the (radical) party line are held in contempt as unenlightened and, in extreme cases, evil. (Of course, I'm painting in broad strokes here, but you get the picture.)

The students who come out of "elite" seminaries like Union--students who tend to blame 9/11 on Western imperialism; Zionism for all the ills of the Middle East; and who support or belong to beyond-the-pale groups like ANSWER, PSM, and The Christian Peacemakers--become the leaders of their denominations.

I probably don't need to say that these people, wrapped up in their own righteousness and purity, feel empowered to steer their churches towards extreme positions. If and when the rank and file complain, they are dismissed as being less knowledgable and in need of guidance. What's ironic here is that the upper echelons of denominations like the PCUSA often set themselves up as the arbiters of morality and ideology. They attempt to dictate from the top down. That this sort of condescending elitism is, shall we say, antithetical to everything the Protestant ethos holds dear is an irony evidently lost on them. They are a coterie of sheltered, unworldly radicals who feel the (literally) God-given right to enforce their, in this case, anti-semitic "social justice" policies on the people whom they are supposed to be serving.

Jonathan -- your estimation is pretty much accurate (I say this as a Presbyterian in the PC(USA)). For some inexpicable reason the type of person you describe tends to gravitate toward positions of power in the denomination. Theirs is a remarkably elitist . . . in fact nauseating position. That they delude themselves into thinking these positions (such as divestment, support for Sabeel, etc.) come directly from God is demonstrated by their use of the word prophetic to describe them. This is an even more extreme stance than that held by anyone on the far right, ultra-fundamentalist camp -- at least they claim the Bible as a source material -- not a direct line from God. If a person could demonstrate from the Bible that their position wasn't right (i.e. not consistent with the Bible), those who identify as fundamentalists would generally change their minds. On the other hand, the social justice, prophetic crowd cannot ever be shown counter-evidence. I mean, what could trump personal, prophetic revelation from God?

This is just another glaring example of the modern Christian Liberal mindset of self-loathing and self-hate. The American Christian Liberal (aka 'progressive') hates America, hates Judeo-Christian morality, hates capitalism and all the rest that comes with those things. Further, as they themselves are products of the above, they hate themselves.

Why else would secular liberals make excuses for the killers who would think nothing of beheading them and blowing up their children? Do they think that Bin LAden and Zarqawi would welcome their pro-homosexual and radical feminist agenda?

This alliance of Taliban with American Christian Liberal seems baffling to the rest of sane Western society, but I think it all is a form of irrational self-loathing.

Aren't you glad that these are the leaders of our mainline protestant denominations?

Will Spotts:

There's no surprise in it at all. There's nothing like agenda-driven idealogues when it comes to finding the drive and time to take over positions of power/influence.

You think Pres USA has a problem! You should see the controversey in her own church about the politics and many other issues. At least 18 elders (non-ruling) have asked for a resignation and will continue to insist on one until we are successful. We are embarassed. Our church is in serious conflict and in iminent danger of failure with this leadership. The ministry is a failure and not redemable.