I thought that sounded too coherent to be MTG.
4th of July and Religion
- Thread starter The Thriller
- Start date
Yeah but it's a little unnerving how well it fit.
Red
Well-Known Member
Trump threw open the doors to Christian nationalism….
View: https://www.cnn.com/videos/media/2022/07/31/katherine-stewart-christian-nationalism-donald-trump-rs-vpx.cnn
View: https://www.cnn.com/videos/media/2022/07/31/katherine-stewart-christian-nationalism-donald-trump-rs-vpx.cnn
The Thriller
Well-Known Member
Good find and I’m glad this is getting more attention. But too often the media downplays this extremist movement as being “small.” So it gives voters an easy out, “I’m not voting for Ted Cruz, Lauren Boebert, MTG, I’m voting for my trusty Mitt Romney who isn’t a cheaitian nationalist.” Very few voters are consciously voting to end democracy, multiculturalism, etc. they’re voting how they’ve always voted. Or they’re voting against the “status quo.”
In reality, by empowering the same party that is being pulled by its extremes, you’re voting to empower the extremes.
If voters continue to vote R this fall, they’re voting for Christian Nationalism.
The Thriller
Well-Known Member
I’m curious why you think it’s taken the media so long to recognize the danger this movement poses for American democracy? It’s not like it’s new. Mike Huckabee’s campaign in 2008 was far more explicit with his embrace with Christian nationalism than Trumps (perhaps that’s why Trump won and Huckabee and Santorum didn’t?)
Santorum:
Huckabee Elevates Ten Commandments Above Secular Laws
If everyone obeyed the Ten Commandments and New Testament, there would be less need for laws to be enforced by the government, Republican presidential
goodfaithmedia.org
The Conservative Crusade For Christian Sharia Law
It’s not just the fringe anymore. Mainstream conservatives are trying to bring America’s laws into agreement with ‘God’s law.’
www.thedailybeast.com
It’s not like they’re screaming into the void. This should horrify most people on this website:
Half of Americans say Bible should influence U.S. laws, including 28% who favor it over the will of the people
About half of Americans say the Bible should have at least “some” influence on U.S. laws; 23% say it should have “a great deal” of influence.
www.pewresearch.org
Red
Well-Known Member
Christianity, as it developed in the United States, and affected our identity, I think it’s a unique thing, and worthy of study on so many levels.I’m curious why you think it’s taken the media so long to recognize the danger this movement poses for American democracy? It’s not like it’s new. Mike Huckabee’s campaign in 2008 was far more explicit with his embrace with Christian nationalism than Trumps (perhaps that’s why Trump won and Huckabee and Santorum didn’t?)
Santorum:
Huckabee Elevates Ten Commandments Above Secular Laws
If everyone obeyed the Ten Commandments and New Testament, there would be less need for laws to be enforced by the government, Republican presidential
The Conservative Crusade For Christian Sharia Law
It’s not just the fringe anymore. Mainstream conservatives are trying to bring America’s laws into agreement with ‘God’s law.’www.thedailybeast.com
It’s not like they’re screaming into the void. This should horrify most people on this website:
Half of Americans say Bible should influence U.S. laws, including 28% who favor it over the will of the people
About half of Americans say the Bible should have at least “some” influence on U.S. laws; 23% say it should have “a great deal” of influence.
Christian nationalism could never be my cup of tea. But it’s not hard to see it as a potent motivating myth. I think it carry’s a degree of potential danger, if it’s foundation is built on a myth, and spits out nuts like this:
The Rapture and the Real World: Mike Pompeo Blends Beliefs and Policy (Published 2019)
America’s top diplomat stands out in the Trump administration for brazenly inserting his evangelical Christian beliefs into discussions of foreign policy.
I saved this three part series, from early in Trump’s term. Any lessons extend beyond Trump, since this merger of faith and nation is endemic here.
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Nationalism seems to run so afoul of real biblical Christianity as to be a parody of it. How in the ****ing hell can they say that they will force this on everyone while also loving their neighbor as themselves. Condemn everyone to hell, but forgive them for they know not what they do. The way Christianity has been bastardized and commercialized and every other -ized is just sickening in so many ways. Jesus would in no way recognize any of this as any kind of religion he espoused. I am sure he would liken this kind of thing far more to the money-lenders in the temple than the widow and her mite. Just disgusting how they use this all for political and financial gain, and for NO OTHER REASON. It is like we are heading into the crusades all over again. How long until the inquisition? What a joke, a blasphemous and sacrilegious joke.Christianity, as it developed in the United States, and affected our identity, I think it’s a unique thing, and worthy of study on so many levels.
Christian nationalism could never be my cup of tea. But it’s not hard to see it as a potent motivating myth. I think it carry’s a degree of potential danger, if it’s foundation is built on a myth, and spits out nuts like this:
The Rapture and the Real World: Mike Pompeo Blends Beliefs and Policy (Published 2019)
America’s top diplomat stands out in the Trump administration for brazenly inserting his evangelical Christian beliefs into discussions of foreign policy.www.nytimes.com
I saved this three part series, from early in Trump’s term. Any lessons extend beyond Trump, since this merger of faith and nation is endemic here.
The Thriller
Well-Known Member
I think we have to look at it through a different lens. Cuz you’re right, what these “Christians” want to do is antithetical to what most could consider to be mainstream Christian beliefs. There certainly are nutcakes who think the forcing everyone to be Christian to quicken the rapture would be good. But I don’t think most are into that.
The lens you have to look through are hierarchies. These folks sense the cultural and demographic ground shifting beneath their feet. They see black people demanding equality and white police being held to account, gay people parading around and feeling confident enough to come out of the closet, and Moooslem sounding names becoming president. So their fear isn’t so much that America is becoming unchristian and that’ll make the world less moral, it’s that their sense of power and structure is losing.
Deep down, they fear that they’ll be treated as minorities the same way they’ve treated minorities for decades.
Red
Well-Known Member
Americanized Christianity seems more like a disease than a meaningful and fulfilling faith to me. Talk about leading astray. It’s an illness. And it bears watching.
To be honest it is starting to take on divisions similar to Islam, imo. There is the majority view, that is a peaceful religion that brings a lot of people happiness, preaches doing good to your fellow man, and guides them as a moral compass. Then there is the small minority militant aspect where the religion is used as a weapon. Christianity in America is starting down a similar path. I think the majority of Christians in American are of the live and let live and love your fellow man variety, while there is a growing portion that is more militant and about using their influence to gain and maintain their power. That is why I threw out the rhetorical, how long until we see crusades and inquisitions? That is a frightening thought, tbh.
The thing is the bible does have influence on US politics, if only because politicians cannot separate themselves from who the are and many of them believe in the Bible. It's where all the anti-abortion stuff is coming from. The anti-contraception stuff too, for some stupid ****ing reason. It's the foundation of the MAGA belief system, as in it's the best thing to hold up to show people you believe what they believe as part of your brainwashing program.I’m curious why you think it’s taken the media so long to recognize the danger this movement poses for American democracy? It’s not like it’s new. Mike Huckabee’s campaign in 2008 was far more explicit with his embrace with Christian nationalism than Trumps (perhaps that’s why Trump won and Huckabee and Santorum didn’t?)
Santorum:
Huckabee Elevates Ten Commandments Above Secular Laws
If everyone obeyed the Ten Commandments and New Testament, there would be less need for laws to be enforced by the government, Republican presidential
The Conservative Crusade For Christian Sharia Law
It’s not just the fringe anymore. Mainstream conservatives are trying to bring America’s laws into agreement with ‘God’s law.’www.thedailybeast.com
It’s not like they’re screaming into the void. This should horrify most people on this website:
Half of Americans say Bible should influence U.S. laws, including 28% who favor it over the will of the people
About half of Americans say the Bible should have at least “some” influence on U.S. laws; 23% say it should have “a great deal” of influence.
The Thriller
Well-Known Member
Good pts.
So why is this happening now?
Demographic change?
Church leaders becoming desperate because the pews are emptying so they’re firing up the inflammatory rhetoric?
There’s a global authoritarian movement that seems to be overtaking western democracies?
People are bored without a secular communist to combat?
Like what is it?
And why are we blaming gays and abortion as solutions to problems with late stage capitalism? You could burn every gay person and abortion Dr at the town square and those coal mine and car manufacturing jobs aren’t coming back.
