MSNBC's Maddow Show Propels Growing DC "Christian Mafia" Scandal

In a new August 17, 2009 Maddow Show segment, Rachel Maddow and Jeff Sharlet discuss, among many new revelations, the disturbing fact that the "Christian Embassy" scandal, propelled by a complaint to the Department of Defense from the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, was investigated by a Pentagon Inspector General who is in fact a Family member.

The Family, also known as "The Fellowship", is a secretive fundamentalist Washington DC ministry which runs the National Prayer Breakfast and Bible study groups attended by numerous US Senators and Congress members, wields global influence, and celebrates the leadership lessons of Hitler, Lenin, and Mao.

Over the course of the summer of 2009, Washington's Family-run "C Street House" has become notorious as a string of sex scandals have engulfed national GOP political figures who live at, have lived at, or attended Bible study classes at the secretive former convent turned church-cum cheap-rent high end boarding house: Senator John Ensign, former Congressman Charles "Chip" Pickering, and South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford.

By far the story has been driven, first, by Jeff Sharlet, who wrote the 2008 book The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at The Heart Of American Power, which followed Sharlet's 2003 Harper's expose Jesus Plus Nothing. But MSNBC's Rachel Maddow, who has pursued breaking new aspects of the festering scandal with a long-term dedication only rarely seen in mainstream media news coverage, has played an invaluable role in giving the mafia-like "Family" widespread public exposure.

Maddow's willingness to cover the story of The Family and the C Street House in an ongoing manner, week to week over the summer, implicitly indicts much of mainstream news coverage as suffering from collective attention-deficit disorder; given the level of international, geopolitical influence The Family apparently wields, its members' penchant for describing their group as a Christian "mafia", and in light of Family head Doug Coe's zest for celebrating useful leadership lessons Coe says can be gleaned from studying Lenin's Bolsheviks, Mao's Red Guard willing to chop off their own parents' heads for the good of the revolutionary state, and Hitler's Nazis, it's nothing less than astonishing and appalling that most of mainstream news media has neglected for so long to dig further into revelations seeded in Jeff Sharlet's The Family book, which came out early in 2008.

Now, bypassing most mainstream news organizations, Christian media is getting into the act. As covered on the latest Raddow Maddow The Family/C Street House segment, a conservative Christian news magazine, World Magazine, has not only covered the Family/C Street saga but also advanced the story in important ways.

In "All In The Family," Emily Belz and Eric Lee Pitts do what is sorely lacking in much of mainstream journalism -- they investigate, dig that is, and uncover new information on the welter of Family-owned properties located in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington DC as well as on the financial dealings of The International Foundation, the Family's central nonprofit entity which finances international travel.

World Magazine quoted Chris Halverson, the son of Former US Senate Chaplain Richard Halverson, one of the earliest Family members, as stating,

They used to call themselves the Christian mafia -- and they would laugh. Meaning one family is in strong power and then other families around that family have some power....I would have been considered one of the families that have power....[Doug Coe] became the godfather...but for good, not for bad.

This story is certain to continue to generate new revelations on the influence that The Family's elitist, theocratically oriented members have managed to garner both within the Washington DC power establishment but also worldwide. As Family member David Kuo, author of Tempting Faith, has stated, "...the Family's reach into governments around the world is impossible to overstate or even grasp."

Revelations concerning The Family and other fundamentalist groups it works with, such as Campus Crusade For Christ and Youth With a Mission, will no doubt continue to break throughout the rest of August and into Fall 2009. Other angles to The Family story include its proclivity for promoting falsified American history and The Family's relationship with the global behemoth missionary group Youth With a Mission, which owns the "C Street House".

The founder of Youth With a Mission, Loren Cunningham, espouses a widely marketed program for Christian world domination called the "Seven Mountains" mandate (also known as the 7-M mandate and "Retaking the Seven Mountains") that is promoted in conferences, books, literature, and videos and has been espoused at Sarah Palin's most significant church, the Wasilla Assembly of God, during an October 2005 Palin ceremony and "anointing" Palin attended before running for the Alaska Governor's seat.

In 2000, YWAM and The Family co-founded a bipartisan Congressional junket by two US Congress members and went with their wives to Kona, Hawaii, the location of YWAM's international university. The two Congressman indicated that they went on official congressional business relating to the National Prayer Breakfast, the yearly signature public event of The Family since the institution was first established, during the Eisenhower Administration, in 1953.

[Maddow Show, C Street w/Jeff Sharlet, July 15th 2009]

[Maddow Show, C Street w/Jeff Sharlet, July 16 2009]

[Maddow Show, C Street w/Jeff Sharlet, July 20 2009]

[Maddow Show, C Street w/Jeff Sharlet, July 21 2009]

[Maddow Show, C Street w/Jeff Sharlet, July 24 2009]

[Maddow Show, C Street w/Jeff Sharlet, July 24 2009]

Comments

[jazabelz]

So glad President Obama didn't participate in the National Prayer Day at the Whitehouse this year. Hopefully next year he'll ask them to move their meeting somewhere else.

[OB08]

and they are still a non profit organization.

[OB08]

Why are they stil tax free under the umbrella of non profit organization? Someone should look into this.

[GrumpyinAZ]

This has George W written all over it. These people think they rule by Divine Right, the laws do not apply to them. As far as I can see, the family is the greatest threat to democracy this nation has faced since the Civil War

[jazabelz]

Actually his father (George H) -- not so much George W. this is one of the best and most terrifying books I've read. All of the tactics they have used since the 40's are being employed against the health care reform! They should be investigated by the Justice Department for subverting the government and our democracy!

[mabinog]

bout fn time

[booker52]

Rachel brings to the media something that has been missing, the willingness to look deep and get the facts.

[kankankan]

I was getting a bit annoyed with Rachel's sort of obsession with C street when health care reform needed some good Rachel-sense talking about...bu­t I can see she was right to keep pluggin on this one. Now that mainstream Christian are doing some real investigating, I hope this really gets exposed because C street is so not like most Christians, even the fairly conservative, religious right ones....th­ey may empahsize sexaully morality, anti-abortion, over Christs teachings on unselfish love, anti-materialism, tolerance/­non-judgem­entalness but religious right does not think Christ wanted leaders to be like Stalin and Mao! C-street is just posing as Christians and the religous right is waking up to that. Now this is getting exposed, I realize this is much deeper than I initially thought and will likely expose much more non-relgious things.

And Rachel still made time and rallied very nicely on health care reform with her take down of dick Army and the astroturfe­rs...you go girl, you are truly a blessing, not only speaking truths not often heard in MSM but doing it in an entertaining and civil, engaging, and kind-hearted way. Watch out Stewart, Rachel may be the most trusted man in the news soon...bot­h you all are so much more sincere and reasonable than anyone on Fox or CNN

[jazabelz]

If you read the book you will see that their efforts have nothing to do with Jesus or Christianity. It is merely a front to gain global power! They believe they are God's chosen and can do anything they want to without any ramifications or responsibility to any one or any government!

[JohnnyKay]

For Rachel Maddow's sake, I hope there's a Pulitzer waiting for her.

Why wait? I nominate the magnificent Rachel Maddow.

Kudos to a classy lady.

[AndSoItGoes]

Absolutely. Rachel is great, and certainly deserves a Pulitzer.

[Legalize]

agreed!

[AndSoItGoes]

This story is huge & explains alot about the tack this government has taken especially over the last decade with the deregulation of financial institutions,etc. With the methods advocated by this "cult" such as secrecy, movement of money without accountability, meeting with foreign governments under the cover of government business, representing themselves as a non-profit organization to avoid taxes, it all explains the absurd tactics of the Bush Admin when Henry Paulson marched out with his three page TARP proposal that moved billions to these huge businesses with no accountability / transparency for how the money was to be used, and when the executives of the financial institutions were taking millions in bonuses while their companies were tanking. It seems that even though the "C" Street cult represents themselves as "christians", there is nothing in their behavior that supports good Christian religious faith. They apparently do not support a two party democracy ... what they advocate is the haves (in their view, who are divinely selected) and the have nots. The "have nots" to serve the "haves" by transferrence of wealth from the middle class to the "haves". A form of caste system that destroys the America that the rest of us hold dear.

[Bruce Wilson - Huffpost Blogger]

In theological terms this mainly comes down to predestination vs. Arminianism.

[anitaj]

I guess I was predestined to think that the C-Streeters are the worst kind of perversion of Christianity. Pretending that they adhere to a faith that values kindness, patience and personal integrity is hypocritical and just plain evil.

[thockman]

I hate to see David Gregory get ratings credit for Rachel's draw of more viewers. He needs to go and higher ratings won't help!

[Fotios]

They need to move MSNBC onto basic cable. It's on channel 120 down here in Georgia.

[Archivist1000]

This is why FOX can claim to be the most watched cable news ... it's because FOX is part of basic cable, while MSNBC is not.

FOX is dangerous; it appeals to the dumbed down segment of the population, who are unable/unwilling to educate themselves.

[Legalize]

wow i did not know that about georgia

[LREKing]

Shine some light into those dark little corners!

[MidwestModerate]

I wish people who say God said this or God intended this or that, would you please give chapter and verse or explain what your reference is from. Thanks

[Marbur]

J Sharlet deserves credit for his attention and uncovering of hypocracy by these so called Christians and Rachel deserves credit for putting it on the air when other weaklings in the MSM would not touch it.Rachel Maddow is doing this country a great service and exposing the demons behind the powers in Washington. My wish is that we had more unseflish journalists out there whose job description in their minds is "star of the day" or "I have to ask the most stupid question today,' they are so transparent, .
So thankful that honesty and intellect is winning...­.go Rachel !

[jazabelz]

In many ways "The Family" reminds me of the Mormon Church -- world domination cults-- both use Christianity as a front.

[DestinationsUnknown]

Funny- I am Hillary attended prayer meetings and am sure she prayed- but you bet she observed with eyes wide open

I just wonder about the international goal of this bogus tax deduction called C- Street

This is the type of charity Obama wants to make pay

[DestinationsUnknown]

Rachel-

you do a great job - so informative

thank you - thank you