Battle Cry

Battle Cry, a Christian fundamentalist youth movement, is part of the evangelical organization Teen Mania Ministries in Garden Valley, Texas, which was founded in 1986 by Ron Luce.

"The leaders of BattleCry claim that their religion and values are under attack, but amid spectacular light shows, Hummers, Navy SEALs and military imagery on stage, it is BattleCry that has declared war on everyone else. Its leader, Ron Luce, insists: 'This is war. And Jesus invites us to get into the action, telling us that the violent—the 'forceful' ones—will lay hold of the kingdom'," Sunsara Taylor wrote May 11, 2006, in Truthdig.

Supporters

"Teen Mania and BattleCry are multimillion-dollar operations that send more than 5,000 missionaries to more than 34 countries each year. Their supporters and members are some of the most powerful and extreme religious lunatics in the country," Sunsara Taylor wrote.

"BattleCry’s 'partners' include Pat Robertson (who got a call from Karl Rove to discuss Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito before the nomination was made public), Charles Colson (who as President Richard Nixon’s lawyer was knee-deep in the Watergate scandal and who went to jail for obstruction of justice in the Pentagon Papers case), and Jerry Falwell (who blamed Sept. 11 on homosexuals, feminists, pagans and abortionists). BattleCry’s events have been addressed by former First Lady Barbara Bush (via video) as well as former President Gerald Ford." The May 13-14, 2006, weekend event includes Franklin Graham, "who has ministered to George W. Bush and publicly proclaimed that Islam is an 'evil religion'," Taylor wrote.

"What most of these figures have in common is their insistence that the Bible be read literally and obeyed as the inerrant word of God," Taylor said. "And, because Ron Luce leads youth to say in prayer, 'I will keep my eyes on the battle, submitting to Your code even when I don’t understand,' it would be foolish to expect that there is any part of the Bible’s literal horrors this movement would be unwilling to enforce, including stoning disobedient children and non-virgin brides (Deuteronomy 21:18-21 and 22:13-21), executing gays (Leviticus 20:13), and keeping slaves (Peter 2:18)."

"Luce's approach has been praised by conservative leaders from the Rev. Jerry Falwell to Fox News commentator Sean Hannity," Joe Garofoli wrote in the March 25, 2006, San Francisco Chronicle. "Much of the statistical backing for the horrors Luce sees on TV is provided by the Parents Television Council, which is funded by conservative foundations such as the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation."

Coalition supporters and members

The following are listed on the organization's website as "Battle Cry Partners":

• Kay Arthur, Precept Ministries International
• Tommy Barnett, Phoenix First Assembly of God
• Chuck Colson, Prison Fellowship Ministries
• Kirk Franklin, Musician
• Jack Graham, Prestowood Baptist Church
• Jack Hayford, The Church on the Way
• Greg Laurie, Harvest Christian Fellowship
• John Maxwell, The Injoy Group
• Josh McDowell, Josh McDowell Ministries
• Joyce Meyer, Joyce Meyer Ministries
• Bob Record, North American Mission Board
• Pat Robertson, Christian Broadcasting Network

Former partners

The following were previously listed as Battle Cry partners.

• Jerry Falwell, Jerry Falwell Ministries
• Ted Haggard, National Association of Evangelicals

About

The Battle Cry website states that "The Battle Cry Campaign is driven by several Christian ministries and church leaders and led by TeenMania Ministries Teen Mania's goal is to provoke a young generation to passionately pursue Jesus Christ and to take His life-giving message to the ends of the earth."

"Battle" Plan"

See "God's Army: The Battle Cry Coalition."

Contact information

Teen Mania Ministries Headquarters
P.O. Box 2000
Garden Valley, TX 75771
Phone: 800 299-TEEN
FAX: 903 324-8100
Email: BattleCry AT teenmania.org Website: http://battlecry.com/
Online Forums: http://forums.battlecry.com/

Resources and articles

Related SourceWatch articles

• religion and empire
• Religious Right
• The Bush Theocracy
• war on Christians

External articles

2005

• "Ron Luce Announces ‘The Battle Cry’," Traditional Values Coalition, May 26, 2005.
• "Teen Mania to Conclude 2005 'Battle Cry' with D.C., Philly Summits" and "Over 700 Pastors, Ministers Answer 'Battle Cry' to Rescue Youth," The Christian Post, November 21, 2005.

2006

• Ed Thomas, "Christian Teens' Rally Irks San Francisco's City Fathers," AgapePress, March 30, 2006.
• Tom Hilton, "Battle Cry Revisited," If I Ran the Zoo Blogspot, April 4, 2006.
• Elizabeth A. Castell, "Notes from the War Room. A historian of Christian martyrdom attends a Christian Right strategy session in the 'War on Christians'," The Revealer, April 5, 2006: "There to help 400 Christian conservative activists achieve this understanding was Tom DeLay along with fellow Texan Senator John Cornyn and a stageful of conservative Christian powerbrokers, among them Rod Parsley, Phyllis Schafly [sic], and Gary Bauer. Senator Sam Brownback was scheduled to speak but couldn’t make it, forcing former presidential candidate Alan Keyes to fill his time. ... Perhaps the most explicit call to arms came from Ron Luce, the president and founder of Teen Mania, a Christian revivalist youth ministry, and the author of Battle Cry for a Generation, a multimedia campaign that deploys military images and language to recruit soldiers in Christ’s army."
• Gregg Krupa, "Thousands of teens rock, rally for God. Evangelical Christian event merged revival meeting with rock 'n' roll concert," The Detroit News, April 9, 2006.
• "Message from Ron Luce on Battle Cry Protestors," IndyBay, May 10, 2006: "Ron Luce coaches his troops. Recruiting film at eleven."
• Sunsara Taylor, "Battle Cry for Theocracy," Truthdig, May 11, 2006; Online Journal, May 12, 2006.

2007

• Jeff Sharlet, "Teenage Holy War. Jesus is really, really pissed -- at Hollywood, at the media, even at most Christians. But BattleCry, the nation’s largest and most radical youth crusade, is recruiting a new generation of Christian soldiers to fight back," Rolling Stone, April 2007.
• Stuart Delony, "Battle Cry? A Mixed Messge," The Ramblings Blog, May 13, 2007.
• Pam Spaulding, "God's Warriors and the homegrown 'Battle Cry'," AMERICAblog, August 18, 2007.

External resources

• Battle Cry Campaign in the Wikipedia
• Acquire the Evidence - website "responding to Teen Mania's 'BattleCry' campaign."