C Street: Secretive D.C. Christian Group Helped Sanford Confront Affair

U.S. News and World Report:

Mark Sanford's news conference today was unusual for lot of reasons, but here's a less obvious one: The South Carolina governor referred to "C Street," a Washington dormitory for lawmakers funded by a highly secretive Christian organization called the Fellowship. (The Fellowship is the group behind the National Prayer Breakfast, where President Obama rolled out his Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships earlier this year.)

Read the whole story: U.S. News and World Report

Comments

[PaiaGirl]

Read Jeffrey Sharlott's book, The Family. He has a long article here: http://www.harpers.org/archive/2003/03/0079525 which shows clearly the cult-like brainwashing that the C Street Foundation members go through.

These people have been working behind the scenes in secret to get their followers in positions of power in U.S. government, the film industry, business, education and world leadership.

[PaiaGirl]

Another of their houses is "The Cedars" which, according to Sharlet: (sorry, I misspelled his name above)

"Family bought in 1978 with $1.5 million donated by, among others, Tom Phillips, then the C.E.O. of arms manufacturer Raytheon, and Ken Olsen, the founder and president of Digital Equipment Corporation. "

“You guys,” David said, “are here to learn how to rule the world.” (David Coe, Leader Doug Coe's son and presumptive heir to the organization)

"If you're a person known to be around Jesus, you can go and do anything. " David Coe, explaining that Jesus chooses his leaders regardless of the evil deeds they do or have done.

[ChristinaMarlowe]

These amazingly hypocritical people will stop at nothing at all to force on all of us their very rigid
and very rabid beliefs, all in the name of GOD; they are dangerously fixated on
and obsessed with their very narrowly confined, fundamentally ferocious, and
undeniably delusional and lunatic beliefs. The mere presence of ANY religion
co-mingled with the legislation of law in our country, is an outright sacrilege;
The entire religious diatribe of these right-wing Christian fundamentalists, or
"neo-conse­rvatives," as they are wont to call themselves, does nothing but spew
hatred and venom and does nothing but cause bitter divisiveness amongst the very
"brothers" and "neighbors" whom they are supposed to love, treat as they
themselves would like to be treated, etc., etc., etc.

[PaiaGirl]

They are not hypocrites at all. They ascribe to the view that Jesus has chosen them to be the powerful elite and that Jesus doesn't care whether his leaders do evil things...only that they rule in his name.

As with all cults, they start with a grain of truth and goodness and somehow twist it around to justify actions that are completely contradictory.

So in their minds they are not hypocrites at all. They are anointed and controlled by Jesus and by definition nothing they do is wrong.

[CherokeeGirl]

"in their mind"? they are still hypocrites, doesn't matter what's "in their mind"

[ratface]

Religion should not be involved in our government, thus the reason I hate these bible thumping Rethugs. Religion keeps the ignorant in line.........they step right up to that !

[Osusuki]

What actually scares me, having read the article, is that the C Street dorm rats are such a bipartisan group. Like you, I have come to expect this from Republicans. But how did Bart Stupak and Mike Doyle come to live in this den of holier-than-thou? Is this faux-religious cancer really rooted so deep in our government that there is no hope of a cure through ordinary partisan politics?

[CherokeeGirl]

the dems in this group need to be exposed too

[CherokeeGirl]

This story needs to be re-elevated. To me, this is BIG BIG BIG! Rachel Maddow interviewed the author of the book "The Family" last night and blew my mind into the stratosphere with this C Street group.

Here's the description of the book from Amazon, I can't wait to read it. These people are scary!

"Checking in on a friend's brother at Ivenwald, a Washington-based fundamentalist group living communally in Arlington, Va., religion and journalism scholar Sharlet finds a sect whose members refer to Manhattan's Ground Zero as "the ruins of secularism"; intrigued, Sharlet accepts on a whim an invitation to stay at Ivenwald.

He's shocked to find himself in the stronghold of a widespread "invisible" network, organized into cells much like Ivenwald, and populated by elite, politically ambitious fundamentalists;

Sharlet is present when a leader tells a dozen men living there, "You guys are here to learn how to rule the world." As it turns out, the Family was established in 1935 to oppose FDR's New Deal and the spread of trade unions; since then, it has organized well-attended weekly prayer meetings for members of Congress and annual National Prayer Breakfasts attended by every president since Eisenhower." (that's why that yellow church across from the Whitehouse has a weird vibe to me)

to be continued in next post....

[CherokeeGirl]

hmmm, two were originally posted, and now there's just one. Gotta love the moderators.

[KCRoger]

The fellowship (often called "the Family") is a chilling clandestine organization. They're not Christians in the normal way that you think of Christianity. Their guiding principle is more about divine right. Basically, they believe that God chose the powerful, and whether the powerful do good or bad is essentially unimportant, because either way, it's God's will. The most frightening thing is that they are highly influential and few people have ever heard of them. There's an interesting book here: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=106115324
I haven't read it yet myself, but the story seems very compelling.

[helonias]

But they didn't stone him?

Luke 16:18
Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery, and the man who marries a divorced woman commits adultery. (So Says Jesus)

Lev 20:10
And the man that committeth adultery with [another] man's wife, [even he] that committeth adultery with his neighbor's wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death.

[CherokeeGirl]

They teach them that the rules don't apply to them because they've been chosen by God! OMG!

[Osusuki]

Somewhere way back in the last century I was exposed to a popular Southern church which believes in "predestination", the theory that God chose "the elect" who would go to heaven at the beginning of time, and nothing you do with your life on earth will change that. I stopped hearing about the cult of predestination when I moved from the South years later. I thought (hoped) it was because the belief had died out, but now I see I've just been living among those north of the Mason-Dixon line and west of the Mississippi River who don't mention their shared delusions among strangers unless it's Saturday morning and they come fortified with pamphlets and cheap suits. What a shock to find that, not only is this insanity still alive and well, but also it has such a stranglehold on the government of a nation supposedly committed to the separation of church and state. God help us each and every one!

[GreyWolfSC]

There needs to be a new law passed. "C Street" and ilk like it should be off-limits to elected officials.

[lm945]

They're in luxury low-rent housing, subsidized by a church.

I wonder if they're declaring these "donations" on their taxes?

[Stephanie Lynn]

Isn't this why we have elections? Their elitist, anti-democratic beliefs should be covered by media in their home districts and pursued by saner political opponents.

[RobinSeattle]

Considering that Sam Brownback is one of the bigger members of this group of wackjobs, he probably has the dirt on Sanford. Reporters might want to hit ol' Sam up about this and the extent of infidelity in the GOP in general.

[outnow]

The poor man was leading a double life: by day, he was a very straight guy, standing for all that was good and moral, i.e., family values, and Christian values. By night, he was lustful and dishonest. In other words he was a typical Republican hypocrite.

Many are called into the Kingdom of Heaven, but few are chosen. Those who get caught are no longer even called. Ha!

If I couldn't laugh at Republican hypocrisy about morals and family values, I'd be forced to turn on the television to some soap opera. Brothers, I have lied (again and again and again - still).

I am glad that the church can "help" this man confront his own lies and conduct. Now if they would just help themselves, we'd all be better off.

[averygard]

Helped him "confront the affair"? What exactly does that mean? A high-five all around?

[DeBartolo]

When a federal investigation into Sanfords 3 trips, on S.C. tax payers dollars, on an ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT MISSION resulted in time with his international mistress...he might need a good christian lawyer!

[ohmetoo]

Opus Dei of the GOP?

[llisa]

This "secret" Christian group that influences US leaders scares the hell out of me.

[DeBartolo]

Its a code name for southern baptist lobbist

[tm22]

Oh, Lordy, Lordy...this is Chuckie Colson's group! Oye Vey!

Read Jeff Shaffer's book (I have the last name wrong, sorry) called, "The Family"; that house is only one of several in the area that they use as "safe houses" where a lot of secret meetings go on. It is also where they "groom" the future leadership of the "Christian Nation"...very, very scary read! A must read to unravel a number of cover ups.