Despite America’s sordid history of colonization wherein settlers from Europe enacted genocide against Indigenous People in the name of Religion; there have since been certain values and constitutional rights that have been instilled within US society. Before the constitution was finalized, religious zealots brutalized anyone who was suspected of having a different belief system. It took centuries of societal struggle to fully establish religious tolerance; it was only after the American Revolution and the signing of the Declaration of Independence that the People’s religious freedoms were guaranteed protection.
Even though the US Constitution and the Bill of Rights has very clear verbiage regarding the religious protections that the Nation has ensured upon the People; it hasn’t stopped a current state Representative from attempting to completely destroy these liberties by pushing his extreme Christian views and his desire to establish “Christian Law” across the Nation. As well as the desire to completely eradicate other forms of spirituality.
Matt Shea, a representative from Spokane Washington has published his personal manifesto titled “A Biblical Basis for War.” In this manifesto, Matt Shea outlines the requirements and “rules” for his religious Christian War. Aside from the fact that the manifesto makes bold statements about same sex marriage and abortion, the content completely outlines the structural ideas of how this Christian War should be fought. Some of the more extreme points that are outlined within “A Biblical Basis for War” are the ideas for establish an army, complete with ranking militant leaders.Other scary aspects of this manifesto include the discussion of enacting murder against those who do not accept the religious extremism, this quote can be found within the “rules” section of his manifesto: “If they do not yield-kill all males.”
A PDF of Matt Shea’s extremist views can easily be found on several blogger websites and MSM outlets. The following are screenshots from within Shea’s manifesto:
After the manifesto was made public, several concerned citizens contacted local law enforcement. The issue was eventually sent off to the FBI for a full investigation. As the manifesto came under scrutiny,, Shea attempted to downplay the situation by saying this manifesto was merely a summary of religious church sermons.
Shea continues to defend his manifesto in the following video he uploaded to youtube; which ultimately exposes the very dangerous religious extremism that still exists within our society today.
Just because the Bill of Rights ensures the People that religious freedom is a human right; it will never stop religious zealots from attempting to co-opt the government in order to push their own extremist ideas. It is the duty of the American People to not only hold their state representatives accountable; but it is also the duty of the People to ensure that the freedoms guaranteed within the Constitution and Bill of Rights are not altered by intolerant ideologies. While many may have forgiven the past transgressions of religious extremism, it doesn’t change what history has shown us. Religious Wars have killed millions of people and it ultimately led to the genocide of Indigenous Native Americans.
The investigation against Shea appears to be ongoing. As the law makers and law enforcement officers continue to mull over the details of the contents of the manifesto; brave bloggers and social commentators have started to discuss the very real dangers of having religious zealots holding office. As the midterm elections are coming up, it will be interesting to see how Shea’s very public and extreme ideologies influence his seat within the government.
“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” George Santayana