Matt Taibbi Undercover with the Christian Right

Growing up in a pretty normal Episcopalian diocese, I don't have a strong distaste for religion. I usually see it as a lifestyle choice, and for the most part it is harmless in my everyday life. This is one good thing about living near a major metropolitan area in a fairly liberal state, there are lots of churches, but they are all pretty tame. I get incensed when I hear about some of the more unconstitutional acts going on in the upper reaches of government in the name of Christianity, but for the most part is has little to no effect on my daily life.

I wonder how different things would be if I had been raised in one of the Southern MegaChurches? I have always been fascinated by the overt show of it all, and ate up this excerpt from Matt Taibbi's new book. Here's a quote, it is a fascinating read:

"Some weather we're having, with this rain," I said.

"Tell me about it!" she said, introducing herself as Maria. "It truly is an act of God that I even made it here today." She told a story about having to drive down from Austin in bad weather. God had helped her four or five steps along the way. "It just seems like God really wants me to come on this trip," she said. "Otherwise, I would never have made it."

"It looks like God is going to give us a rainstorm all the way to Tarpley," I heard a voice behind me say.

This oddly uniform style of dialogue ringing all around me made me shift in my seat. I felt nervous and unpleasantly certain that I was about to be found out. When Maria asked me why I'd come on the retreat, I bit my lip. When in Rome, I thought.

"Well," I said, "since the new year, I've just been feeling like God has been telling me that I need to get right spiritually. So here I am."

I paused, wincing inwardly. An outsider coming into this world will feel sure that the moment he coughs up one of those "God told me to put more English on my tee shot" lines, his dark game will be instantly visible to all, and he'll be made the target of one of those Invasion of the Body Snatchers-style point-and-screech mob scenes. But nothing could be further from the truth. You simply cannot go wrong praising God in this world; overdoing it is literally impossible. I would understand this better by the end of the weekend.

Maria smiled. "I feel the same way. Have you ever been to one of these Encounters?"

"No, I haven't," I said.

"Me neither," she said. "I'm really excited."

"They're wonderful," said the matronly Mexican woman in front of me, turning around. "They really change you forever."

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