Frank Schaeffer first appeared on my radio show several years ago to talk about his non-fiction books about his son's experience in the US Marine Corps. It wasn't until later that I learned of his background as an evangelical who, at one point, was one of the insiders in the religious right movement. Since then, Frank has repudiated much of what he once stood for because he found himself disgusted by people like Pat Robertson and James Dobson.
Frank joined me today on KIRO/Seattle to discuss his latest book, "Crazy for God: How I Grew Up as One of the Elect, Helped Found the Religious Right, and Lived to Take All (or Almost All) of It Back." He views the recent actions by the theocratic thugs in Iran as a warning to Americans to keep an eye on the religious extremists in our own country -- those who had such influence in the Bush administration, and who are responsible for the diminishing size of the Republican party, which they now have control of.
In our discussion, he drew a straight line from his work of three decades ago to the leaders of the today's religious right and to the ugliness of their followers, who have recently murdered an abortion doctor, caused havoc at the Holocaust Museum, and continue to use fear and lies about President Obama as a motivator.
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Labels: podcasts, politics