Radio Broadcast 27 November 2005
Atheist Michael Newdow: Attacks on Christianity

CW – Good afternoon and welcome to the broadcast. I
suppose most of our listeners have been very busy with
family and friends this week. Many have been eating
turkey with all the trimmings. Some of you might even
be on the road traveling and this is the first time
you have ever heard our broadcast.

Ford – I hope those tuning in for the first time will
not drive out of the range of our transmitters. If
they do they will miss one of the most unique
broadcasts on the radio today.

CW – You have been promising to talk some more about
the increasing anti-Christian movement in the United
States, and even in the world. Since we have just
celebrated the one national holiday that is both
Christian and patriotic, this would be a good time to
do so.

Ford – Right you are! I don’t think that many of the
people in America today realize that the Thanksgiving
holiday is both a Christian and patriotic holiday.

CW – Why is that?

Ford – One of the reasons is that we have a couple of
generations of people who are the victims of the
revisionist history being taught in public schools.
The other reason is because they do not see
Thanksgiving being promoted as it once was. You do not
see much promotion of genuine history related products
at Thanksgiving. Many people call the day Turkey Day
not realizing they are the ones who are being made a
“turkey” of. Why even on television they no longer
show the patriotic Thanksgiving related movies that
they once did.

CW – You need to explain what it means to be made a
“turkey.”

Ford – It is an old slang term. A person is made a
“turkey” when they are sold a lie and they blindly
believe it. When hunting turkeys you take along a
turkey caller and make a call. You can get a tom
turkey to come up with the picture of some frisky
female turkey in his brain and what he gets is a load
of shot instead. People are being made turkeys of
because of the lying traps they are blindly falling
into.

CW – You got pretty rough on the networks for what
they show around the Christmas holidays the past few
years. I remember you singled out Ted Turner for
particular attention. You are saying that the networks
are distorting Thanksgiving as they distort Christmas?

Ford – I picked on Ted Turner because he likes to
select what will be shown personally and he displays a
singular lack of perception about what constitutes
seasonally appropriate broadcasting. Actually Ted is a
poor old lost soul who got mad at God when his
believing sister died, and he has been kicking against
the pricks ever since. Actually I consider him a
pitiable figure and expect he will ultimately commit
suicide like his father. He is a person who is
anti-Christian, which is what you want to talk about
today. But I do not want to get hung up talking too
much about Ted.

CW – You believe there is a rising tide of opposition
against Christians and Christianity in the U.S.A.
today.

Ford – That is right and I am not alone in that
position. In a CNS News poll the results revealed most
Americans believe what they call “religion” is under
attack. They also believe that it is losing its
influence in American life. According to the poll,
titled “American Attitudes Toward Religion In the
Public Square,” 64 percent agreed with the statement
that "religion is under attack" in America, and 80
percent of those who identify themselves as
fundamentalist/evangelical/charismatic Christians,
were in agreement with that view. So you see there is
evidence that the majority of Christians are more
keenly aware of it that others.

CW – Some people do not want Christianity to have a
public role. But with the kind of percentage that you
have given some of these people must believe religion
is under attack.

Ford - American public opinion is divided when it
comes to the role of religion in public policy. Many
non-Christians do not want Christians having a strong
influence in the affairs of the country. There are
reasons for this, but one of the biggest reasons is
they are in rebellion against God, and they do not
want things impacting their lives that reminds them of
their separation from God. 
Anti-Defamation League national director Abraham
Foxman said “…religion is stronger in the United
States than in any other Western country,” I think he
is probably correct, but considering what we are
seeing going on in this country, that means
Christianity has a problem.”

CW – The attacks on the Ten Commandments as well as
the changes we have seen in the promotion of Christian
holidays would seem to indicate Christianity is losing
influence.



Ford – Yes, and do you know what is really
interesting? The same percentage of people who thought
religion was under attack in the poll also believed
that religious symbols like the Ten Commandments
should be displayed in public buildings such as
courthouses. Christian principles and things like the
Ten Commandments are foundational to our founding
documents and our laws. As Christianity declines we
are also seeing the eroding of American freedoms
because the two are inseparable.

CW – You mentioned public education working to
undermine the genuine history and heritage of the
United States. Lately the big discussion has been the
teaching of Intelligent Design as an alternative to
evolution. Did your polls address these issues?

Ford – As a matter of fact it did. Fifty-six percent
of those polled favored the teaching of Intelligent
Design in the public schools. The respondents
arguments went that the universe is so complex that it
must have been created by a higher being. Even more
people, 57 percent said "the Bible" was "a more likely
explanation for the origins of human life on earth"
than was Darwin’s. Of course, evil organizations like
the National Education Association would argue that
these people are just a bunch of ignoramuses and they
need enlightened people like themselves to decide what
must be taught.

CW – Wait a minute! Most people get their educations
in public schools!

Ford – That’s right, so if these respondents are
ignorant for believing "the Bible" was "a more likely
explanation for the origins of human life on earth"
instead of Darwin, I guess we can blame the
educational system for making them ignorant. I think
that a good many people after getting out in the real
world and experiencing some life figure out that a lot
of what they were taught in the public schools was a
bunch of hooey.

CW – How does this happen?

Ford – A lot of people come out of public schools with
a bad taste in their mouth. For instance there was the
case in a kindergarten where the kids were encouraged
to make the posters expressing their thanks during the
Thanksgiving season. But this one child's poster was
removed because the child wanted to thank Jesus. Don’t
you think he will remember that and it will impact his
attitude toward the public school system as he grows
up?

CW – I remember that. It went to the Third Circuit
Court of Appeals.
 It was another outrageous example of the courts
imposing an unconstitutional secular mandate.

Ford – And, the court’s decision was an attack on the
Christian faith. Speaking of attacks on the Christian
faith, have you ever heard about a guy named Michael
Newdow?

CW – Yes I have, why don’t you tell our listeners
about him.

Ford - Atheist Michael Newdow is the man who went to
court to try to stop children from being able to say
the Pledge of Allegiance. He did this on behalf of the
9 year old daughter he does not have custody of. He
also did it in spite of the fact the girl’s mother,
who does have custody, and the girl herself does want
to say the pledge.

CW – Yes, the court ruled against him.

Ford – Did you know that back in 1977, he became an
ordained atheist minister, and has since lived his
life according to the tenets of the Universal Life
Church, which basically state: "Do what's right." In
1997, he started his second religious institution, the
First Amendmist Church of True Science (FACTS)?

CW – No, I didn’t know that.

Ford – It is important because it serves to show the
kind of distorted individuals who are attacking faith
in America.
Back in June 2002, Time magazine made him their person
of the week. We could do a whole program on the stuff
I have on Time Magazine. But I do not want to get away
from the subject.
	This guy, Michael Newdow, even tried to stop the
invocation prayer at Bush’s inaugural in 2005. As a
counselor, I have read a good deal about him and came
to the conclusion he has a mental disorder. There is
an abnormal mental condition where people crave
attention and they find some means to try to get it.
	One form of this disorder is Munschausen's Syndrome.
That is where a parent causes a child to go through
unnecessary medical procedures in order to gain
attention. I think Newdow has found his way of getting
attention through militant atheism. The really dumb
thing is there are people treating this nut as if what
he is doing and saying has some legitimacy.

CW – Fifty years ago when the phrase “under God” was
added by Congress, the vote was unanimous. It took a
lot of gall for a federal judge to rule it was
unconstitutional. That goes to show how messed up our
legal system has become.

Ford – Yes, and now I am going to demonstrate the
validity of my assertion that Newdow had mental
problems. After he lost on the pledge of allegiance
case, he turned right around and launched a case to
have the words “In God We Trust” removed from our
money. You see, his place in the spotlight was about
to be lost so he had to start some other action to
keep people’s attention on him.

CW -  That is fascinating but I do not think you spent
all this time in a program about anti-Christian
activities making a case for this man having a mental
disorder for no reason. What is your point?

Ford – Several people in anti-Christian groups like
the National Education and ACLU have claimed that
these Bible believing Christians must have a mental
disorder or they would not believe the Bible is
literally true and more than just a bunch of fairy
tales. In previous broadcasts we have shown that many
of the people who are attacking us are, to use
technical terminology, really messed up. Now we have
made a case that this person who has been in the
limelight in recent times as he has attacked faith has
some deep seated problems of his own. I think that the
people with mental problems are those who are against
the Christian faith.

CW – You are not going to win any friends among the
atheists with that statement.

Ford – That is alright. They are not going to like me
anyway. I would like to share something else with you.
You know I often quote the founding fathers to prove
my points. Today I would like to quote one of my
favorite comedians.

CW – Who is that?

Ford – Red Skelton. Red Skelton was one of the
greatest comedians I can remember. He could be funny
without being smutty. He also made some profound
statements. I would like to share with you his
commentary on the Pledge of Allegiance. The words were
meaningful many years ago when they were spoken by Mr.
Skelton. They are just as meaningful today, more than
ever. 

CW – You have me interested, go ahead.

Ford – He told this on his television program years
ago. On the program he related the story of his
teacher, Mr. Laswell, who felt his students had come
to think of the Pledge of Allegiance as merely
something to recite in class each day. He said Mr.
Laswell had said:
"I've been listening to you boys and girls recite the
Pledge of Allegiance all semester and it seems as
though it is becoming monotonous to you. If I may, may
I recite it and try to explain to you the meaning of
each word?" 
I -- me, an individual, a committee of one.
PLEDGE -- dedicate all of my worldly goods to give
without self pity.
ALLEGIANCE -- my love and my devotion. 
TO THE FLAG -- our standard, Old Glory, a symbol of
freedom. Wherever she waves, there's respect because
your loyalty has given her a dignity that shouts
freedom is everybody's job!
UNITED -- that means that we have all come together. 
STATES -- individual communities that have united into
48 great states. Forty-eight individual communities
with pride and dignity and purpose; all divided with
imaginary boundaries, yet united to a common purpose,
and that's love for country. 
AND TO THE REPUBLIC -- a state in which sovereign
power is invested in representatives chosen by the
people to govern. And government is the people and
it's from the people to the leaders, not from the
leaders to the people. 
FOR WHICH IT STANDS, ONE NATION -- one nation, meaning
"so blessed by God" 
INDIVISIBLE -- incapable of being divided. 
WITH LIBERTY -- which is freedom -- the right of power
to live one's own life without threats, fear or some
sort of retaliation. 
AND JUSTICE -- the principle or quality of dealing
fairly with others. 
FOR ALL -- which means, boys and girls, it's as much
your country as it is mine. 
And now, boys and girls, he said, let me hear you
recite the Pledge of Allegiance: (I would like to
invite everyone listening to this broadcast to join
me)
"I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States
of America, and to the Republic, for which it stands;
one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for
all." 
Red Skelton said since I was a small boy, two states
have been added to our country and two words have been
added to the Pledge of Allegiance... UNDER GOD.
Wouldn't it be a pity if someone said that is a prayer
and that would be eliminated from schools too? 

CW – Michael Newdow tried to argue before the Supreme
Court that the pledge was a prayer. 

Ford – That’s right. Almost makes Red Skelton seem
like a prophet.
By the way: Any of you atheists out there who are
really offended by the words “In God We Trust” on the
money, and just object to using it, I would like to
invite you to go ahead and bundle it up and send it to
me. I will use it to serve the God you don’t believe
in.

CW – Why don’t atheists get upset about references to
pagan deities?

Ford – You know, that is a good question. Nobody has
ever picketed Ford for building the Mercury. Mercury
is the pagan god of speed and messengers.
Taurus is the bull, a sign of the occult zodiac. 
Maybe the reason is that those things are of their
father the devil.

CW – We are starting to run out of time and I want to
get some more in about anti-Christian attitudes.

Ford – Let’s go overseas a moment and tell people
something they probably never heard on the news.

CW – What is that?

Ford – Well, almost everyone has heard about the riots
in France. But what you may not have heard is that
most of the rioters were Muslims, and one of there
biggest targets for looting and fire bombing was
churches and synagogues. 
The riots were not just about anarchy and
destabilizing the French government. It was about
Islam attacking Christians and Jews.

CW – A large portion of the French Jewish population
has migrated in recent years.

Ford – That’s right. Christians are also a minority in
France as well.
	But there are some things happening that is almost
humorous:
Down under, that’s Australia folks, a member of the
Australian parliament said that they need to check a
person’s religion before allowing them to migrate into
the country. Surprisingly, that was not an
anti-Christian statement. He told one of their papers
"We've got to tighten up on the way all people that
come into this country - particularly those people
coming from a country with a history  of
anti-Christian behavior -- apply for citizenship." It
seems they are starting to realize down there that
people who come from anti-Christian societies are a
problem for all of a country whether they are
Christian or not.

CW – Well, the Bible says there is no law against the
fruits of the Spirit.

Ford – That’s right. In spite of the liberal media
trying to equate fundamentalist Christians like myself
with the Taliban, you never see our people flying
planes into buildings or blowing people up with bombs.
CW – That is another thing we need to spend some time
on. We need to make people aware of the propaganda
against Christians that is being put out.

Ford – We also need to talk about why Christians are
not respected quite apart from media efforts to
discredit us. We have only touched a little of what
needs to be brought out. For instance, why aren’t
these big companies concerned about how Christians
would feel about the substitution of Happy Holidays
for Merry Christmas? Why isn’t Target concerned that
Christians might not shop their stores after they
kicked the Salvation Army bell ringers out from in
front of their stores?

CW – You know the answer?

Ford – Yes, and so do you. When we come back and tell
the people the answer it is going to be so obviously
true, people are going to know we are right. 
	But it is going to be scant comfort. In the past week
or so there have been Molotov cocktails thrown through
the windows of homes in Brooklyn and a whole lot of
other things happening that say we have increasing
anarchy in this country. As the country turns away
from Christianity, even begins to discriminate against
Christians, knowing the reason why will offer small
comfort. But Christians need to know the truth and act
on it all the same.
	One of the fundamental things that God wants us to
understand is that no matter what others do, we are
responsible for our own service and witness in this
world. 
I look forward to sharing these truths in the weeks to
come.

CW – Closing remarks…
additional remarks
In closing I would like to share with you a poem
written by Reed Irvine for his family and friends at
the close of his life. At this time of year, and with
all we have to face, this seems particularly
appropriate

THOUGHTS AT LIFE'S END

I didn't lust for fleeting fame
Or dream of ill-gotten booty,
I valued more my unstained name
And devotion to my duty.

Cursed are those whose god is gold
Amassed at any cost,
And so are those whose road to fame
Is strewn with loved ones lost.

May I be blessed with love sincere
>From those whose love I cherish.
And may my progeny revere
My example when I perish.

And when there tolls the final bell
And life winds to its end,
I pray that those who knew me well
Will proudly call me friend.