At the end of Glenn Beck's opening segment tonight -- which featured a truly incoherent rant which blamed the banning of mandatory prayer in public schools for falling SAT scores, increased pre-marital sex, and violent crime -- Beck promised to provide “a look at today's news” through the “prism” of “preachers and pastors” who have been “standing up.”
When he came back from a commercial break, Beck introduced a panel of nine guests. Unsurprisingly, they were not a diverse group. Every panelist was male. All six of the “preachers and pastors” Beck introduced were evangelical Christians. Of those, five head a “megachurch” of more than 2,000 attendees; the sixth, Stephan Broden, senior pastor at Fairpark Bible Fellowship, is also a Republican congressional candidate (and was the only non-white panelist).
The last three panelists all head right-wing “pro-family” organizations. Two are evangelicals, while the last, Robert George, is Catholic. Beck himself is a Mormon.
Unsurprisingly, Beck's hand-picked religious panel basically agreed with his statements and furthered his attacks on social justice and churches that promote it.
Beck either couldn't find, or didn't bother to look for, any ministers from mainline Protestant denominations to discuss the role of faith in public life. He didn't select a Catholic priest or a rabbi or an imam. He wants his audience looking at “today's news” through the “prism” of right-wing Christianity.
Beck's panel:
Jim Garlow, senior pastor of Skyline Wesleyan Church and chairman of Newt Gingrich's Renewing American Leadership
Richard Lee, senior pastor of First Redeemer Church SBC
Dave Stone, senior minister at Southeast Christian Church
Tom Mullins, senior pastor and founder of Christ Fellowship Church
John Hagee, founder and senior pastor of Cornerstone Church
Stephan Broden, senior pastor at Fairpark Bible Fellowship
David Barton, founder and president of the “pro-family organization” Wallbuilders
Ralph Reed, chairman of the Faith & Freedom Coalition, former chairman of the Christian Coalition
Robert George, Princeton University professor and founder of the conservative American Principles Project