(CNN) - South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint - whose profile has risen considerably among conservative activists over the past year - says the Tea Party movement is ushering in a spiritual revival akin to the religious fervor that preceded the American Revolution.
"Tea Party crowds [have] a spiritual component. I think it's very akin to the Great Awakening before the American Revolution," DeMint told David Brody of the Christian Broadcast Network in an interview airing Thursday. "A lot of our founders believed the American Revolution was won before we ever got into a fight with the British. It was a spiritual renewal."
The National Humanities Center describes the Great Awakening as a reaffirmation of the view that "being truly religious meant trusting the heart rather than the head, prizing feeling more than thinking, and relying on biblical revelation rather than human reason."
"'I'm 'praying for you' comes up more than anything else in these crowds so I know there's a spiritual component out there," DeMint also said. "I think as this thing (the Tea Party movement) continues to roll you're going to see a parallel spiritual revival that goes along with it."
The first term senator has become a favorite among conservatives and Tea Party activists over the past year after endorsing several dark-horse candidates in key Senate primaries - sometimes against the wishes of the Republican Party.
He first broke with some of his Senate colleagues last year to endorse Marco Rubio for Senate in Florida, long before the former state House speaker emerged as the favorite to win the GOP nomination over Gov. Charlie Crist, and again broke ranks Wednesday by backing Marlin Stutzman in Indiana who is challenging party-favorite and former GOP senator Dan Coats.
DeMint has also backed Ken Buck in Colorado, Pat Toomey in Pennsylvania and Chuck DeVore in California.
Pressed on how he expects a spiritual revival to play out, DeMint said he predicts Americans, frustrated with government, will instead turn to God.
"People are seeing this massive government growing and they're realizing that it's the government that's hurting us and I think they're turning back to God in effect is our salvation and government is not our salvation and in fact more and more people see government as the problem and so I think some have been drawn in over the years to a dependency relationship with government and as the Bible says you can't have two masters and I think as people pull back from that they look more to God."
From CNN Politics
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Sen. DeMint, I really do not remember reading anything about spiritual revivals in history books. Please quote your source
Followers following fables...
There's no point for democracy when ignorance is celebrated.. ~NOFX
Oh no....here we go again...! What ever happened to witchdoctor Muthee? He exercised demons from Pailin on stage a few years ago. Why don't folks talk about that anymore.
Come on let’s hear it, Jim Demint is inciting revolution and he is guilty of sedition
Even though I consider myself religious, this phrase scares me...
The National Humanities Center describes the Great Awakening as a reaffirmation of the view that "being truly religious meant trusting the heart rather than the head, prizing feeling more than thinking, and relying on biblical revelation rather than human reason."
Could easily describe the fanatics of many religions and political entities.
"Tea Party crowds [have] a spiritual component. I think it's very akin to the Great Awakening before the American Revolution,"
Oh yeah. Nothing says spirituality and "christianity" more than hate speech and vitriolic – borderline racist – chants and signage and unpatriotic claims against our president.
Seems we have a different notion of what spirituality truly is.
We are not a theocracy mr. demint, never have been, never will be.
WHICH of our founding fathers thought the revolution was one before it began????? If it were not for the French we would STILL be British subjects!!!!
Religious beliefs should not be mixed with government, but the republicans are trying to do it any way, because they think they have the right to do so. Actually they are hiding behind the religious curtain to do their dirty work. Just plain hypocrites.
DeMint, you fool! Don't you realize that the Republican Party is getting smaller because their entire existence seems to be based on the social conservatism thing!!! People besides the LCD's or base of the party ONLY vote Republcian because of the fiscal responsibility thing and low taxes!!! And now Republicans are seemingly against reform of the banking industry!! And now he's talking about a spiritual revival!!! Looks like it may be another decade before I vote Republican again.
Spiritual Revivals are about peace and love, not hate. As Baptist, I do not find anything appealing or spiritual about the Tea Party Movement...God & Jesus tell me to love my fellow person (man/woman) and don't throw stones at glass houses.
Wow, more news out of the US that terrifies the crap out of me.
Was he actually implying that it was a good thing to "rely on biblical revelation rather than human reason" and "prizing feeling more than thinking". ?!?!
Are you serious??
Honestly, some of the crap coming out of the US lately is frightening, to say the least. Keeping my fingers crossed that the voices of reason in the US stand up and contain this religious nutbaggery before it's too late.
"as the Bible says you can't have two masters"
And... "Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's and render unto God the things that are God's".
The issue of "two masters" was asked and answered centuries ago with a wonderfully simple solution that side steps the conflict presumed by the original question.
DeMint you are nuts!!! The tea party stirs up hatred and lies! SARAH PALIN is the bigggest phoney this side of heaven. You don't have a clue what a spiritual revival is. The tea party certainly don't represent one!
I think I am going to start my own party - the "They don't speak for me!" party - cause the Tea Party sure as heck doesn't speak for me!!!
Just the kind of crap i expect from a moron
Great. Muslim terrorists have religous fervor, too. By the way, how can anyone take a group who thinks Sarah Palin would make a good president, seriously.
Like Chomski said, the Tea Party seems a lot like the Weimar regime that preceded Nazi Germany. Some of the Tea Party members are clearly out of their minds and completely misinformed about most of the major issues. The YouTube video at a Palin Rally showed that. DeMint is one of these crazy people. The disconnect that our society suffers from is caused by lack of education and political superstition. Separation of church and state! Not more melting of the logical process into the plastic world of Jesus and what we think he stands for.
Iran has a religious government. Good for them.
-Frank Zappa
Have a nice day!
This is scary if a dude like this in a position of power...
What's next, Jimmy, are you going to start talking in tongues on the Senate floor. They really need to check the water in South Carolina – -clearly there is something in it.
Oh yeah! Every time the tea partyers open their mouths they say saintly things. Jim Deminted who are you trying to fool? Yourself?
Still trying to get the religions and all their nut cases to follow along.
There are 2 kinds of Spirit, Good and Bad. My guess is that the tea party is Bad Spirited. God is with Pres Obama. Why are they so mad now, when they were ruling forever they were not mad. The government has been spending money before now and everything is ruled by government one way or another. The problem is that Obama is President, thats why they are so mad..
I will give you four trillion reasons to have a coming to Jesus meeting.
To think that we fought a Civil War to keep these nutcakes in the Union!!
Southerners also preached at that time that slavery was ordained
by the Bible to justify their cause