Local right-wing Christian host has play banned at Summerstage

“Vic Eliason raised a stink. Eliason is an evangelical clergyman in Milwaukee who runs the VCY (Voices of Christian Youth) America Radio Network. He has a show, “Cross Currents,” in Milwaukee, and on August 9, he dedicated his hour-long program to condemning the play as “blasphemous” and “diabolical.” He urged his listeners to contact the board members of SummerStage, and he gave out their numbers. He also urged listeners to call the businesses where some of the board members worked and ask them, “How can you have someone on the board who will literally spit in the face of the Bible?”

"Eliason also gave out the phone numbers of the DNR’s top two officials and told listeners to ask them why the state was allowing this play to go on, and why it was profiting from it. (The agreement with SummerStage and the Lapham Peak State Park is that 5 percent of ticket sales go to the park, Eliason said.)”

So reported the magazine, The Progressive about this local Christian right-wing talk show host. I have talked with Mr. Eliason, on air, and can report he truly is sincere in his beliefs in making the U.S. to becoming closer to a Christian theocracy, runned based on the bible. It is no surprise he would use his pull to ban plays he doesn't like. It is after quite common for Christian right-wingers to target atheist billboards for vandalism or censorship.

Mr. Eliason if he lived 500 years ago might have burned these individuals at the stake. 100 years ago he might have gotten the government to lock them up. Today, he still can get people fired and a change of vanue for the play. The power of the religious rightwing is declining but they still have power to run our lives and control what we read and think. Many of them even want magazines such as Playboy banned. Maybe even Maxim. The question is, do we allow them?