iPhone app iPad app Android phone app Android tablet app More

Rand Paul's 'NoZe Brotherhood' Secret Society Blasted Christianity: Report

The Huffington Post   First Posted: 10/13/10 01:22 PM ET Updated: 05/25/11 07:00 PM ET

Rand Paul College Group

Be careful what you do in college, because you never know when you'll run for Senate. It's the kind of warning that parents give their kids all the time, but one that Rand Paul may not have taken to heart, considering recent reports that the Kentucky GOP Senate candidate's college secret society was actually one that was banished from campus because of it's anti-Christian views.

Politico reports on the controversial history of the Baylor University organization:

The NoZe Brotherhood, as the group was called, was formally banned by Baylor two years before Paul arrived on the grounds of "sacrilege," the university president said at the time. "They had 'made fun of not only the Baptist religion, but Christianity and Christ,' " President Herbert Reynolds told the student newspaper, The Lariat.

According to Politico's report on the material put out by NoZe in it's publication, The Rope, most of the writing was anti-religious satire that often mocked the university's Christian roots.

Politico dug up one article, entitled "Fishy Bibles," that claimed an 83-year-old Californian man was actually the true wordsmith behind the bible. The falsely proclaimed author of the religious text, the piece claimed, was the result of that man providing the name of a friend, Mr. Jesus Gonzales.

It's not the first time that supposed college-era indiscretions have plagued Paul. In August, GQ reported that Paul had kidnapped a woman in a marijuana-induced prank and forced her to "bow down and worship" their god, "Aqua Buddha." Paul denied the charge, and the woman has since admitted that she willingly took part in the stunt.

GQ also covered NoZe at the time, which it described as a group that "especially enjoyed tweaking the school's religiosity." John Green, one of Paul's former brothers, then told GQ that the group "aspired to blasphemy."

Jesse Benton, a spokesman for the Paul campaign, responded to the latest dispatch on the candidate's college years.

"So now the Democrats are shopping stories about 30-year-old college articles that aren't even attributed to Rand?" he said, according to Politico. "They must see how badly Jack Conway's liberal agenda of Obamacare, Government bailouts and tax hikes are playing in Kentucky and are getting truly desperate."

As for the attribution part, Benton appears to be mostly correct.

Paul's former brother, John Green, who Politico got a hold of for this piece, reportedly said, "I don't remember him participating much in writing."

Yet the nature of the group is certainly not likely to mesh well with the voters of Kentucky and the platform that Paul has chosen to run on. The Tea Party-backed Rand Paul has adopted a hardline stance against abortion and same-sex marriage, and has done so while actively touting his Christian faith.

FOLLOW HUFFPOST POLITICS
Subscribe to the HuffPost Hill newsletter!
Be careful what you do in college, because you never know when you'll run for Senate. It's the kind of warning that parents give their kids all the time, but one that Rand Paul may not have taken to h...
Be careful what you do in college, because you never know when you'll run for Senate. It's the kind of warning that parents give their kids all the time, but one that Rand Paul may not have taken to h...
 
 
  • Comments
  • 835
  • Pending Comments
  • 0
  • View FAQ
Comments are closed for this entry
View All
Favorites
Highlights
Recency  | 
Popularity
Page: 1 2 3 4 5  Next ›  Last »  (24 total)
12:25 AM on 10/26/2010
There's something about an aqua buddha man.
04:25 PM on 10/18/2010
As a former Baylor student, I can attest that membership in the Noze Brotherhood is far from sinister. It's not a group that "blasted Christianity." At worst, it's a group that occasionally wrote satirical articles about Christian pop culture and hypocrisy.

During my time at Baylor, the Noze walked around campus in ridiculous outfits and Graucho Marx glasses and noses. They didn't expect to be taken seriously by anyone. They were pranksters and everybody knew it. People expected them to do outrageously silly things.

The NoZe brothers dropped 4,000 ping pong balls in university auditorium, made the water fountains pink, and occasionally lit up towers at the school pink. The group is a response to Baylor's very conservative and religious leaders. It's all meant in good fun and people know it.

The story about the "kidnapping" has been overblown. It sounds like some college guys were acting silly and she went as a willing participant to a party where there was pot.

I don't really know a thing about Rand Paul. But claiming that he's a bad guy for being in the Noze shows a severe lack of understanding. Not to mention the fact that blaming him for everything the 100 year old organization has ever done is a bit loose on logic.
photo
jeremyemilio
My micro-bio is NOT empty
03:25 PM on 10/18/2010
For an inside look at the sinister 'secret society' Rand Paul was a part of, look here:

http://www.thenoze.org/

For more info, look here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_NoZe_Brotherhood

Now stop this sillinesss.
01:50 PM on 10/17/2010
". . . because of it's anti-Christian views."

C'mon, HuffPost. "It's" = a contraction for "it is;" "its" is the possessive pronoun. :)
photo
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
csavage
11:10 AM on 10/15/2010
Tee-hee....I went to BU, apparently at the same time as this loser...The NoZe Bros. was a satirical group on an incredibly hypocritical campus.....The "it's okay to accidental have sex but to use birth control means you're planning to have sex and that's a sin" school...the highest per capita alcohol consuming school in the SWC, the highest abortion seeking student school in the SWC(this was according to the BU Health Service).....It's completely harmless, in the grand scheme of things...Rand as a brother was harmless, Rand suggesting grandma eat cat food so multimillionaires can sail their yachts with their illegal cabin help in peace is abhorent...
photo
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
capitaldysfunction
White male never voted Republican
02:08 PM on 10/20/2010
That's the best synopsis I've ever read. #131
10:36 PM on 10/14/2010
OMG - he's a wiccan!
HUFFPOST COMMUNITY MODERATOR
caseyblab
08:54 PM on 10/14/2010
Sounds like with all the Rove money floating around this is poorboy politics-

Wasnt Paul just laughing about Obama's gaffe about clinging to religions and guns stuff? Guess he was laughing about people's religion first. Funny.
photo
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Scarabus
Retired Humanities Prof.
07:27 PM on 10/14/2010
Hey, Mr. Benton et al. It isn't about whether Paul wrote the articles. It's about the fact that, having read the articles, he neither apologized nor resigned from the organization. It's not about whether the woman was coerced in the marijuana-infused "Aqua Buddha" stunt. It's about the fact that Paul was doing dope while participating in the stunt. But that's just for starters.

What it's really about is hypocrisy and refusal to accept responsibility for one's behavior. That might not make Paul unique if he gets to the Senate, but at least the voters of Kentucky know in advance that's the kind of person they're choosing whether to send to Washington. They have a choice, and if they vote for Paul they'll know what they're getting.
11:08 PM on 10/14/2010
Come on. Fight his BS positions, ridiculous anarcho libertarianism and unhealthy (for a person over 13) fixation on A.Rand. Whatever absurdist pranks he pulled in college shouldn't be held against him.

Again, i dislike the dude a lot but because of his cuckoo bananas stance. Other than maaaaaaybe the drugging of some lady friend (the aqua buddha thing) there is nothing there of note (at least if you are not white bread xtian repressed folk).

-G.
05:10 PM on 10/18/2010
What responsibility did he refuse to accept? He was a member of an iconoclastic group at a conservative university that no one took seriously. I have no dog in the hunt as far as his election is concerned. I went to Baylor and know the Noze Brothers.

I hope we've all grown up from our college days. Those who want to use this story against Paul may not have done the same.
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Gray Mouser
Former Republican
06:10 PM on 10/14/2010
IF he can't take the heat, he should step out of the race.

If this type of thing could be tied to the Dem running against him, the Republicans and 527's would be shopping it in a heartbeat.

Boo hoo....woe is me....I am the victim. Poor little Rand.
04:58 PM on 10/14/2010
Man if ugly was a sin he'd be sent below, if a crime, he'd be in jail.
This user has chosen to opt out of the Badges program
04:05 PM on 10/14/2010
Where does HP get these photos? They are always so over the top that they have become an art form unto themselves. This Rand photo is my current favorite.
photo
HUFFPOST COMMUNITY MODERATOR
General Public
Microbiologists have found my microbio contagious.
03:58 PM on 10/14/2010
What's wrong with being part of a group that mocks organized religion? I am completely against Rand Paul, but his participation in this group that mocks religion makes me view him more favorably. I'm also a member of a group that mocks organized religion, and as far as I'm concerned, his association with this "secret society" is the most positive thing I've ever heard about Rand Paul. Of course I disagree with all his right-wing policies and hope Rand Paul loses the election, but skepticism and mockery of religion should be encouraged.
photo
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Scarabus
Retired Humanities Prof.
07:34 PM on 10/14/2010
The difference is that you're being honest. When Paul is as honest as you, I'll oppose his policies as much as ever. But at least I'll respect him more as a person.
03:34 PM on 10/14/2010
We are the knights who say "Nee", if you do not obey us, we will say "Nee" to you
photo
HUFFPOST COMMUNITY MODERATOR
ManwithaParachute
Not Seeking Your Approval
02:46 PM on 10/14/2010
When Gawd was handing out integrity the Paul family forget to get in line.
photo
jeremyemilio
My micro-bio is NOT empty
03:39 PM on 10/18/2010
Rand is being unfairly attacked here (look into the NoZe a little bit and you might just find yourself agreeing), but even given that, Ron and Rand are two very different political animals. Rand Paul has had some trouble, of late, adjusting his ideals to his politics, and has oscillated on many issues because of it. Ron Paul, on the other hand, is about as principled as it gets. As a libertarian, he has come out in open and uncompromising support of things like the so called 'ground zero mosque' and the legalization of marijuana; as a fiscal conservative he has railed against bank bailouts and run away military spending; as an anti-interventionist he has decried the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan; as a constitutionalist he has spoken out against torture, rendition, and the patriot act. All of these are things stands that very few, if any, Democrats have had the courage to take in such an open, vocal manner. So as much as you may disagree with him on other issues, to suggest that Ron Paul lacks integrity is really beyond the pale.
photo
HUFFPOST COMMUNITY MODERATOR
ManwithaParachute
Not Seeking Your Approval
04:11 PM on 10/18/2010
Please explain how integrity is exemplified by being in and supporting a political party which has core planks and consistent applied actions contrary to his Libertarian principles.

He would have more integrity as an independent but, as a Libertarian he should run as a Libertarian. Running as a Republican while being Libertarian is much like an Englishman claiming he is Irish.
This user has chosen to opt out of the Badges program
photo
bobncar
for the good of all, not just the chosen few
01:16 PM on 10/14/2010
excuse me....I need to go wash my hands
photo
HUFFPOST COMMUNITY MODERATOR
General Public
Microbiologists have found my microbio contagious.
03:59 PM on 10/14/2010
Were you doing something Christine O'Donnell disapproves of?