Earlier this month, National Public Radio’s (NPR) Terry Gross interviewed C. Peter Wagner of the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR). Leaders from the NAR have worked closely with politicians like Rick Perry in the past, and have big plans for American politics.
It all starts, Mr. Wagner explained, with the realization that the Christian God has selected certain believers to be apostles and prophets. That is, to receive messages from their God and relay them to the rest of us. He cites as evidence a verse from Amos, a book from the Hebrew Bible, where the god Adonai tells Amos, “Surely the Lord GOD does nothing, unless He reveals His secret to His servants the God.”
He then went on to explain how the collapse of Japan’s stock market — and many of its problems in general — arise because the Japanese Emperor had sex with a sun goddess.
“The sun goddess is a power of darkness, which is headed up by the kingdom of Satan. And so the sun goddess wants natural disasters to come to Japan,” he said. “Sometimes the hand of God, which is more powerful, will prevent them. And when he decides to prevent them and when he doesn’t is far beyond anything that we can believers.”
Self-induced starvation and prayer to an Iron-Age deity will not fix America’s problems, and this is the real threat with having politicians align with and support religious groups like the NAR. If we’re concerned about another recession and high unemployment, we need to invest in economic research and improved policy. If people are sick, medical research will give us the methods to save lives.
There is no material problem religion can address that science cannot address more completely.
We no longer need to turn to superstition for help.
 
Devin Graham is a 22-year-old economics major from Prairieville. Follow him on Twitter @TDR_DGraham.
 
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Contact Devin Graham at [email protected]