Founder of Campus Crusade for Christ Dies

[Khephra]

MIAMI -- William R. "Bill" Bright, the hard-driving entrepreneur and one-time "happy pagan" who founded Campus Crusade for Christ and watched it grow into a $374 million-a-year organization, has died. He was 81.

Bright died at his home in Orlando on Saturday from complications of pulmonary fibrosis, said Steve Chapman, a spokesman for Campus Crusade.

He had been suffering from the disease for several years.

Along with his famous friend, the Rev. Billy Graham, Bright helped energize America's evangelical Protestant movement after World War II.

more................

http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/nation/wire/sns-ap-obit-bright,0,6235583.story?coll=sns-ap-nation-headlines

[ElsewheresDaughter]

1. i just don't know what to say........

[Sliverofhope]

2. I can think of several things to say

But none of them are very nice, so I'm imposing self censorship.

[ElsewheresDaughter]

3. Sliverofhope that's what i meant

:7 ty

[Sliverofhope]

5. Actually

That was my original title, even before I saw your message, but they did rather fit together nicely, didn't they? :)

I think the most appropriate and decent thing I can come up with is, "It proves that they, too, are only mortal."

[LeftHander]

37. CCC not all it seems

I had the opportunity to do some contract work at the CCC's headquarters in Orlando. Everyone in the huge sprawling complex was a volunteer. The person I worked with was volunteering so much he was losing his house and his car was a wreck. He had another job that he was leaving during the day to work at CCC. Fundraising is job one at CCC. Each "volunteer" is required to make phone calls to raise money for CCC. A large percentage of the day is spent calling. I thought is was strange that everyone I saw was not doing the work that thier title indicated but they were at thier desks with a headsets on fundraising. The more they raise the more "Jesus provides for them".

WHile I was their I was constantly escorted and noticed that the place seemed very empty for such a large place. I only saw a small area of a couple floors in one building. A small number of people were exposed to me. But three times a day I saw large numbers of poeple walking through a court yard to attend a prayer session. SOme of the "volunteers" were full time volunteers who drove new cars, had expensive jewelry and clothes...all provided by Jesus....apparently.

Weird.

[mitchum]

4. He should be happy that he's now with Jesus

[Ponderer]

6. C'mon guys. This man was religious. He wasn't political.

And it is wrong to dance on someone's grave.

[Khephra]

10. He wasn't?

Church & State Perspective

Welcome To Washington, President Bush

by Barry W. Lynn

On the Sunday before Election Day, the Christian Coalition’s Pat Robertson and Bill Bright of the Campus Crusade for Christ went to Florida to hold a "pray-in" for George W. Bush’s victory. If they had an effect on the outcome, God must have a sense of humor, or at least a desire to help the people who run 24-hour news networks like MSNBC. It took 35 days, but the Supreme Court has banged the gavel of finality on this presidential contest. George W. Bush will serve as the 43rd president of the United States.



more.................

http://www.au.org/churchstate/cs1017.htm

[Khephra]

11. MORE............

snip.............

The American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) sued the Scottsdale Unified School District in 2000 representing a Christian summer camp that tried to advertise through the school. The group that operates the camp, called “A Little Sonshine From Arizona,” argued that the school district’s policy barring overtly religious advertising on school grounds was a form of discrimination.

A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled May 22 that the school policy is unconstitutional.

“The district cannot refuse to distribute literature advertising a program with underlying religious content where it distributes quite similar literature for secular summer camps, but it can refuse to distribute literature that itself contains proselytizing language,” the 9th Circuit held.

The ACLJ’s lawsuit was funded by the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF), an umbrella group representing Religious Right interests. Several major evangelical groups founded the ADF, including James Dobson’s Focus on the Family, Bill Bright’s Campus Crusade for Christ and D. James Kennedy’s Coral Ridge Ministries.

more........

http://www.au.org/churchstate/03-07-aub.htm

[Khephra]

12. even more...............

As usual, organizations that advocate church-state separation and those that attack it are lining up to express their views about the Good News Club case. Attorneys with Americans United are working on a friend-of-the-court brief to file with allied groups on the side of the school district, but a slew of conservative and Religious Right organizations have also filed briefs on the side of the club. They include TV preacher Pat Robertson’s American Center for Law and Justice (which filed jointly with Focus on the Family and the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention), the Rev. Jerry Falwell’s Liberty Counsel, the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, the National Jewish Commission on Law and Public Affairs and "Christian nation" propagandist David Barton’s Wallbuilders. (Two smaller Religious Right outfits, the Northstar Legal Center and the Liberty Legal Institute, also filed briefs.)

In addition, the Christian Legal Society and the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America filed a joint brief in support of the club, as did the attorney generals for the states of Alabama, Iowa, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nebraska, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and Virginia. A third joint brief was filed by Child Evangelism Fellowship along with the Family Research Council, the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and Campus Crusade for Christ.

more..................

http://www.au.org/churchstate/cs1013.htm

[Khephra]

14. Still More................

snip............

Bright’s comments were brief, as he seemed fatigued. That is perhaps explained by the fact that Bright has been periodically engaging in 40-day fasts to spur revival in America.

Echoing other event speakers, Bright began by insisting that the country is "morally and spiritually bankrupt." He added that the nation had drifted from its founding when the framers "dedicated this nation to our Lord."

The country, asserted Bright, enjoyed God’s favor until 50 years ago when we experienced "those infamous decisions of the Supreme Court that began to change all of that. And this nation, in my opinion, is now under the discipline of God." Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia, he argued, were destroyed because they rejected God. "Unless God divinely intervenes, we will follow the example of these nations," he said. "We can’t shake our fists in the face of God and disregard his laws without feeling his discipline."

Continued Bright, "You have already been instructed in how to take precincts for Christ. I urge you to get involved in elections...and help elect godly people to office....The Supreme Court has led a great revolution to turn our country away from God, and they need to be replaced. That won’t happen unless we elect godly people from the precinct to the White House."

more.................

http://www.au.org/churchstate/cs4993.htm

[Khephra]

15. Man, this guy sure was non-political ;-)

snip.............

Robertson is not the only Religious Right figure blaming the attack on church-state separation and Americans’ alleged spiritual shortcomings. Two days after the attack, a group of fundamentalist leaders issued a joint statement making many of the same arguments. Titled "What To Do When The Towers Crumble: A Biblical Response To America’s National Emergency," the statement strongly implied that the attack was a result of the country’s sinful ways.

"Our choices have consequences," it read. "Our rebellion has results. In many ways, the results of the recent days are a reflection of the crumbling foundation of America. "

The statement asserted that it is "now easier in many schools to bring a weapon than a Bible. Commandments are out and condoms are in….Our rebellion is bringing us destruction and allowing our enemies to triumph over us. We need to pray that God will restore the walls of his protection around our nation."

Signers include Robertson; Florida TV preacher D. James Kennedy; Bill Bright of Campus Crusade for Christ; Charles W. Colson, Prison Fellowship; James Dobson of Focus on the Family; James Merritt, president of the Southern Baptist Convention and Lloyd Ogilvie, chaplain of the U.S. Senate.

more......................

http://www.au.org/churchstate/cs11015.htm

[Khephra]

16. This guy sure was a winner

snip...............

Is actor and environmental activist Leonardo DiCaprio a communist?

The Family Research Council (FRC) seems to think so. In an April 20 “CultureFacts” alert headlined “Of Leo and Lenin,” the Washington, D.C.-based Religious Right group said DiCaprio and “several other entertainment types” were descending on the nation’s capital the following weekend to “celebrate population control, economic redistribution and the environment.”

The FRC, a spinoff of Dr. James Dobson’s Focus on the Family, thought the timing of the Earth Day event was mighty suspicious. “The socialist-leaning movement known as environmentalism,” the FRC noted darkly, “is observing the 30th Annual Earth Day, which happens to coincide with communist dictator Nikolai Lenin’s birthday.”

Coincidence? The FRC apparently doesn’t think so.

Instead of DiCaprio and company, the FRC recommended that Americans look to the Interfaith Council for Environmental Stewardship, a new coalition of conservative religious leaders that will offer a “Judeo-Christian” alternative on the environment.

The Council held a press conference in Washington, D.C., April 17 to release a document called the “Cornwall Dec­laration on Environmental Steward­ship.” Endorsers include James C. Dobson of Focus on the Family, TV preacher D. James Kennedy, the Rev. Donald Wildmon of the American Family Association, Charles Colson of Prison Fellowship, Bill Bright of Campus Cru­sade for Christ, World magazine editor Marvin Olasky, Christian Recon­struc­tionist author George Grant and Richard Land of the Southern Baptist Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission.

more.................

http://www.au.org/churchstate/cs5005.htm

[Khephra]

17. Last one..........

snip............

At the national level, Congress marked the National Day of Prayer with an event on Capitol Hill that featured Christian clergy and one conservative Jewish rabbi. The event this year was again coordinated by the National Day of Prayer Task Force, a private organization run by Shirley Dobson, wife of radio counselor and Religious Right activist James C. Dobson of Focus on the Family.

Days before the event, Americans United criticized the task force for issuing materials replete with historical errors and slanted analysis of Supreme Court decisions.

Americans United also charged that the event has been taken over by Religious Right forces, who use it to promote a faulty "Christian nation" view of the United States. Defending the Christian character of the day, Bill Bright of Campus Crusade for Christ told Religion News Service, "It would dilute the meaning of this meeting if we just made this a religious gathering instead of a Christian gathering. It’s not being selfish. It’s not being prejudiced. It’s simply being faithful to our heritage."

more........................

http://www.au.org/churchstate/cs6005.htm

[UpInArms]

19. and he thought war on Iraq was right

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/4362924.htm

LETTER OF SUPPORT

To counter this criticism, several conservative Christian leaders have backed a congressional resolution authorizing him to wage war against Iraq.

Richard B. Land, president of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, drafted a letter to Bush saying ``we believe that your stated policies concerning Saddam Hussein . . . are prudent and fall well within the time- honored criteria of just war theory . . .''

The letter was signed by Bill Bright, founder and chairman of Campus Crusade for Christ International; Charles Colson, chairman of Prison Fellowship Ministries; Carl Herbster, president of American Association of Christian Schools; and the Rev. James Kennedy, president of Coral Ridge Ministries Media.

[Khephra]

26. He's also a Theocrat

Bill Bright set his goal on nothing short of evangelizing the entire world. Bright wants to bring all nations to Christ, he is committed to the proposition that the the United States is a Christian nation and that it has a special place in God's scheme to redeem a sinful world. According to Frederick Clarkson, author of Eternal Hostility: The Struggle Between Theocracy and Democracy (Common Courage Press, 1997), "Bright insists Christians must 'become actively involved in restoring every facet of society, including government, to the biblical values of our Founding Fathers.' Bright would turn the nation over 'to God from the top down, where our laws are made' in order to enact 'permanent change.'" Bright's various campaigns to evangelize the nation are clearly forerunners to and provided inspiration for recent lay-directed evangelistic campaigns. One example is Bill McCarthy's "Promise Keepers" which organized a "million-man march" on Washington, D.C. in the late 1990s (Clarkson).

more..............

http://religiousmovements.lib.virginia.edu/nrms/ccc.html

[BiggJawn]

27. "...“Judeo-Christian” alternative on the environment...."

Simply stated: "Crunch all you want, Jesus will make more, in a new place far from here, and upwind, too..."

No joke, that's the Fundy's "Enviromental Policy". Foul it all up, rape the Earth, make as much money as you can, because these are the END DAYS and you'll be "Home with Jesus" before there's nothing left to drink or breath.

Hope Bill took plenty of citrus coolers with him...

[foo_bar]

20. lose the outrage pardner

you already know what you're dealing with. You catch more flies with grisly yet slightly less grisly delight in others' misfortune.

For instance, we now know for certain that Rev. Moon can't control life or death. That's a bit of a relief.

[Sliverofhope]

23. If the man was truly religious and apolitical

most likely he would be tragically ignored by the media. I shall try to be less venomous in my later responses, but I don't truly take too much joy in anyone's death. I am rather more relieved no more damage can be done by him to people and to Christianity.

[leesa]

24. I'm sure he was. Just like Bush is.

They are con men and he and Graham are two of the best

[TankLV]

25. Nope. Just desserts. The world is worse off for him and his ilk having

been born.

May he rot in the Hell he so richly deserves.

A lot of them are kicking the buckett lately. Couldn't be happier.

[Liberator_Rev]

35. Who's "dancing on his grave"?

They had reason not to like what Bright represents, and they are letting off some steam.

[UpInArms]

7. need to dig out my ruby red shoes

but first - here's this:

http://www.angelfire.com/tn/bizarrotom/

excerpt:

Politics make strange bedfellows.This proves it! In 1961, after a military coup of a democratic government in South Korea that brought Park to power,KCIA decided to organize and utilize a church called Unification Church, as a political tool of the right wing military government. They wanted to export this church ti US. They asked Rev. Bill Bright to help organize it and chose a leader of it. Bill Bright choose Rev. Sun Myung Moon to head it. Moon had been a friend of Bright for a long time.Numerious Moonies served as aids to various Congresspersons since then.

In 1977,Richard Viguerie got a contract for "Children's Relief Fund", sponsored by the Moonies' Korean Culture and Freedom Foundation. Less than 6.3% of the donations went to the needy, the rest went to Viguerie's pockets and the Moonies.The biggest chunk went to Viguerie.

In 1986, Moonies paid Viguerie to handle the distribution of their magazine Insight.

In 1975,Christian Freedom Foundation founded by Bill Bright, Richard Viguerie, Richard Devos, Arthur DeMoss,Rep. John Conlan, Ed McAteer. The money came from Moonies.

...more...

http://images.google.com/images?q=tbn:Tnl0WgppmIsC:goldstein.che.umn.edu/pictures/red-shoes.jpg

[ElsewheresDaughter]

8. holy crapola!!!!....UpInArms thank you

:7

[UpInArms]

9. glad to enlighten

:)

[Gloria]

13. My little experience with the Campus Crusade for Christ occurred

back around 1969 when it was time for the mad shuffle to get dorm rooms for the next academic year. A girl knocked on my door to look at my room and we chatted. All very pleasant....Then she said she had a "gift" for me because I had been so nice....

She was a member of the CC for Christ and for months afterwards, she hounded me by calling me. It got to the point where if I thought I saw her in the distance I would run in the opposite direction.

It was really a pain in the ass for awhile until she got the message that I wanted no part of it....

[stevedeshazer]

30. mine was 1972

I was shooting some hoops on campus with a friend. Three of them swarmed us, started making friendly talk, then wouldn't leave us alone for wanting to talk about Jeezus Christ and what were we gonna do with our lives and our souls. They followed us around for days. They even followed us to a dance, I guess to make sure we stayed pure or something.

[TheReligiousLeft]

31. CCC

Man, the CCC are crazy folk. I found them doing a "Bible" study in our dorm study rooms so I tried to study with them. They used text books that were fill in the blank. They were talking about how Satan tries to tempt them(man they are so sexually repressed) and they talked about a few plucked verses from the book. I busted out the book of Job, they got really angry, I don't think they had actually read it before.
I think the CCC have religated God to the stature of a folkway or invisible policeman. It is sick, all of a sudden Jesus was only about morals.
Since I couldn't find any real alternitive to CCC on campus I'm going to go to the Presbyterians, the Catholics etc. and create a "cohilition of the willing" to take them out. Basicly they have a crusade to religate God to a policeman we respond with a Jihad to protect God as simply I AM; God is a being so beyond our comprehension that trying to box God in is weak and stinks of lessening God. I guess I feel everyone is saved, faith/being a Christian is simply a response to that salvation. Then again I believe in the whole Lutheran "already not yet" stuff...
Sorry about that short rant. I'm really unhappy with the CCC, and next year I'm going to get the non-fundementalist Christians together to do a passion play (in the vein of Jesus Christ Super Star). I guess I like a complex Christ.

[w4rma]

33. Awesome, TheReligiousLeft!

An alternative to the CCC would go a long way, I think! :)

[TheReligiousLeft]

39. Lutheran Jihad

I think it will. I hope so anyway.

[sendero]

18. well...

... everybody wants to go to heaven, nobody wants to die

[Maddy McCall]

21. I beg to differ...it is inherently political...a tool of the relig. right

The book, "Power for Living," is an evangelical Christian text that opposes smoking, homosexuality and abortion. Written nearly 20 years ago, it provides a primer for individual conversion, based on such principles as "God loves you," "Mankind is sinful," and "Everyone must accept Christ personally." Bible-reading is encouraged. The campaign is sponsored by the Arthur S. DeMoss Foundation of West Palm Beach, Florida. Mr. DeMoss, who died in 1979, made his money from the mail-order life insurance business. His wife, Nancy, has carried on the work of the foundation. Last year, the foundation had assets of about $563 million. It has helped to finance the Campus Crusades for Christ and Jerry Falwell's Liberty University and helped support projects of Pat Robertson, another American evangelist.

http://www.ntskeptics.org/news/news2002-01-22.htm

[Maddy McCall]

22. misplaced post--meant to place it under political discussion

the assertion that CCC is NOT political is wrong. That is what I am saying. :-)

[twilight]

28. another 'happy pagan' bites the dust

*sigh*

RIP anyway ...

[R Hickey]

29. 81 is old enough. Glad he didn't live to be 100 like Strom Thurmond

Death is the natural end to life, but all too often medical science enables these old right-wingers to live so long that for their last few decades they inadvertantly advance auguments for euthanasia rather than their original favorite bigoted causes.

It's too bad I'm not gullible enough to believe in an afterlife, because with all the loot this guy made, I bet a cammel would more easily pass thru the eye of a needle than would he get into Heaven.

[madmax]

32. I wonder what would Jesus do with a

$374 million-a-year organization.

[Liberator_Rev]

36. So do I.

.

[bobthedrummer]

34. There were many outreach programs in 1969 that were aimed at

the politically progressive but were penetrated by "all the resources available to the U.S. federal government", 1969 also saw headlines about the Charles Manson "family", 1969 was a pivotal year after Nixon gave authorization to what is known about the Huston plan.

So much of this seems related to the family jewels that allowed J. Edgar Hoover to blackmail so many progressive movements, the deepest secrets of all, and many people today recall that time period quite vividly.

[Bridget Burke]

38. I always preferred the Other Group

Namely, the Campus Crusade for Cthulhu:

www.locksley.com/cthulhu/

Click if you dare!