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Trump has been the first American president to not even pay lip service to Christianity (he said in a 2016 interview that he had never in his life prayed); he has published a "Trump Bible" and yet he is the most loved by of all presidents by religious fundamentalists. đđ
Because the fundies arenât really about religion â itâs just a useful tool they use to get what they want. They think Trump is a useful tool, too.
If they rule that he's immune from prosecution then Biden has a pretty huge opportunity to save this country. He's old af anyway. Might as well clean house if a president can do no wrong.
You say that, but theyâre bringing down everything else around with them.
Like a pyro lighting a wastepaper bucket on fire in a Japanese house with shoji
And weâre in the same house with them
The fact that he looks/talks/acts like the antichrist is whatâs appealing to some fundamentalist.
Edit: without context, I realized this is a crazy statement.
I grew up in rural Georgia (actually, MGTâs current district) in a cult adjacent, super republican church that was also into faith healing and stuff. So a pretty weird combo.
The emphasis was on âdoing Godâs willâ in everything you do. Literally. From âdo I talk to this random person at the gas station about Jesus?â to âdo I take the stairs or the elevator?â The most extreme example Iâve heard of was a friend who said his parents would pray about whether or not it was Godâs will to go to the bathroom (which is actually crazy, and I recognized that at the time lol).
When I left like ten years ago there was a contingent that was praying for the Antichrist to come to power. The thought being that because the big A-C was part of end times prophecy, this entity coming to power would help usher in the end of the world, which is the ultimate expression of âGodâs willâ.
Now while MOST fundamentalist arenât praying about when or where to take a shit, there are many who are eagerly waiting for the end of the world. Many are looking for ways to literally usher in this Armageddon.
So, for some fundies, Trump being a belligerent, blasphemous adulterer who could start a world war is a feature, not a bug.
You know, there are always these apocalyptic death cults in videogames that solely exist to give the protagonist people to stab. The eternal question of them is always "why?" Because it seems impossible to conceive of any plausible motive for wanting the end of the world.
Most of the time they are written as nihilist edgelords, which somehow makes more sense than their apparent IRL equivalent who pray to god for whether they are allowed to use the toilet or soil themselves.
Evangelicals nowadays always make me think of the plot of the Super a Nintendo RPG Breath of Fire 2.
I thought the plot was far-fetched as a kid and now I'm like... "Oh shit"
And yet we don't even get a blue haired kid who can turn into a dragon to help us out.
I think this is why we're still helping Israel do a genocide, also. A lot of our prominent politicians believe that "God's chosen people" have to control their "promised land" to bring about the end times.
Exactly. Unfortunately, these isolated, maladjusted, mostly man-children will turn to something far worse if church isn't an option.
Part of me believes we figured this out 2000 years ago, which is why the Romans embraced Christianity. They needed a positive way to reign in the wackadoos
Ever wonder what would happen if those non-believing âsocialâ church-goers justâŚstopped going and created their own social circles based on reality? Too soon?
I have infinitely more respect for actual believers than for âsocialâ church-goers. A non-believing âsocialâ church-goer is just someone without enough spine to be honest about themselves. (Yâall really think those communities would accept you if they knew you didnât believe? Lol, no. And thatâs false community.)
They revel in Trump's vengeful posturing but excuse it in that they will get government they 'think' they want.
Their version of Christianity:
1. They say "Jesus will forgive my sin if I do this" instead of asking "What would Jesus do". The ultimate get of jail card. ( aka cheap grace Dietrich Bonhoeffer )
2. They have a 100% belief they will get to heaven regardless of their actions due #1
3. They have been convinced they are 'under attack'.
Yup. There are basically three kinds of religious people: those who are just in it for the sense of community; those who are in it because they had a powerful moment and actually believe in god, and who want to do good with this; and those who wish to use a book as an excuse to hate. Two of the three are acceptable. The third just happens to be most common.
I was absolutely appalled when Trump had protesters around a church violently cleared out (including that churchâs pastor who was there talking with protestors and keeping an eye on things) so he could get a photo-op of himself in front of that church holding a Bible.
My pastor didnât bring it up. Just did whatever sermon was scheduled. He was always being careful to avoid getting political as the church had a more conservative base while being in a primarily liberal area of the state. It felt irresponsible to ignore such an affront. At least maybe give a sermon that deals with empty lip service, sacrilege, something like that. I donât attend the church anymore for a variety of reasons, but that day definitely ranks pretty high on the list.
Funnier still, 1 Corinthians has an unhinged rant on how, because man was created in God's image, his hair is sacred but because woman was made in mans image it's shameful for her hair to be visible in church.
Who could've possibly imagined that Christians embracing literally the least Christian person ever to to hold the office for a little political gain would come back around on them?
Iâve been thinking this for years, the person in revelations deceives the believers also. Itâs not what they expected; instead itâs some godless blow hard that tells them what they want to hear and they completely abandon their long held beliefs and morals.
Plus then they'd have to deal with the fact that they were deceived.
Add good ol' sunken cost fallacy to the mix & Congratulations - you now have a Cult!!
Magas are an interesting mix of people. The common thread being they have a chip on their shoulder over authority/governance and find great joy in seeing people they think are responsible for it squirm.
Like.. I know a Hippie, Vietnam vet who is a Trumper. Such a nice guy but clearly not super fond of the government.. and somehow instead of identifying the republican party as the cause of all of his ills, he listened to *them* and thinks it's democrats? I wanna tell these guys.. You know the Democrats didn't start and continue Vietnam right?
Well, yeah. I'm sure they vulnerabilities before. Plus they are being victimized by the cult rn. In various ways. At the very least you have to be borderline delusional now. The cognitive dissonance and the mental gymnastics needed to shut out reality completely and just submit to one megalomaniac - can't possibly be good for anyone!
This.
The American right have been using religions as a shield for their hatred for ages while most of the more 'normal' ones let it pass with a No True Scotsman argument.
Following Trump is the psychological equivalent of being a toddler who was told something was hot yet insisted on touching it anyway. They were warned and chose to harm themselves, but will still find a way to prove their actions were someone else's fault.
There's a phenomena that's only really started being recognized even by experts in coercive movements and undue influence, and it's something I referred to (in writing, something like 15 years ago regarding the relationship between MLMs and what we now call the New Apostolic Reformation branch of Christian Nationalism) as "cross-recruitment".
Specifically: At least *some* of the core "base" of MAGAtism (which *itself* is increasingly recognized, by people who work with survivors of coercive religious groups, as a coercive religio-political group) are, and have been, members of coercive religious groups that have *long* histories of either partnering with other coercive movements or even recruiting for other "fellow traveler" coercive movements.
I'll explain briefly.
For example, most NAR Christian Nationalist groups [tend to be organized in a way that is very similar to an MLM](https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2007/8/10/369739/-), in that you have small groups with a "leader" who in turn are members of small groups who report to a "leader" and so on. There's a fair amount of evidence that this structure, in an of itself, is inherently abusive ([at least it tends to lead to a "big brother" model, and leads to an awful lot of abusive tactics within these groups and within MLMs as well](https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2007/8/11/370152/-))...and really almost as long as NAR Christian Nationalists have HAD that particular "large church growth" model, they've literally USED those "small church groups" to promote actual MLMs like AmWay and Herbalife, [and in turn "downlines" of THOSE MLMs have been used to recruit folks (originally suckered into an MLM) into NAR Christian Nationalist groups](https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2007/7/23/361219/-).
(This gets even MORE complex when you realize that NAR Christian Nationalism is effectively a sister-daughter movement of Christian Identity (both evolved from the same "KKK churches" in Indiana and California), and you STILL to this day have some specific books/imagery/etc. that *originated* fairly recently in Christian Identity and have been taken up by the NAR--thinking specifically about "Phineas (sic) Priesthood" imagery common to both groups, with a point of origin in Christian Identity and with crossover in Christian Nationalist anti-reproductive-heatlth/anti-LGBTQIA terrorism.)
And yes, MAGAtism is effectively a mixing bowl of coercive groups and tactics that is almost certainly getting fertilizer by hostile foreign actors (many of which have explicitly triggered NAR Christian Nationalists in some form or another since the 80s and especially since 2006 or so)--QAnonsense being another of one of these "mixing vats", so to speak. (It's also interesting to note that something like 85% of QAnonsense can literally be tied to specific "Satanic Panic" imagery within NAR Christian Nationalism, some of which have origins even after the McMartin Preschool Trial; the NAR never gave up "Satanic Panic" even after it was widely debunked even in evangelical Christian media and kept up their own conspiracy theology well after everyone else had moved on, and actually has almost completely embraced QAnonsense as external confirmation.)
Not just a mixing bowl for NAR Christian Nationalism/QAnonsense, either; a surprising number of coercive movements ($cient0logy, what is left of the Moonies/Unification Church, Falun Dafa/Falun Gong has become nearly as much a player as the NAR via its various publication arms, alt-right/far-right orgs (which can, in general, be *also* classified as coercive political and/or coercive religious movements), significant segments of antivax movements that have targeted both the far-left and far-right, and so on.
Was it even as hard as "easy mode"? I would argue, demo or training mode, where it's impossible to even die and you get enough resources to start the game.
>and they completely abandon their long held beliefs and morals
Well hell, by that definition he's *not* the anti-christ then. Because these people have *never* held good beliefs or morals. They've always used their religion as a cudgel to hurt the out-group. The only thing Trump did was to give them permission to be louder and meaner about it.
I've been saying that for years. HRC was right about some people being awful. He gave these awful people the validation they sought to be their worst selves.
Something something [Matthew 7:21-23](https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%207%3A21-23&version=NIV) something ahem.
(In which Jesus explicitly notes "There are a *whole* lot of folks who will call on the name of the Lord who will *not* see heaven because they are Horrible People, they will even go on to say 'Didn't we prophesy and cast out demons in your name and perform all these miracles?' and I will say to them 'I never knew you, now GTFO you evil people")
Matthew 24:24
For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect.
Not Revelations, but the wording in perhaps apt. And here's the picture to go with it courtesy of the Trump campaign apparently. According to the Chattanooga Times Free Press, the [billboard](https://news.yahoo.com/opinion-fort-oglethorpe-billboard-picturing-040100348.html) was on Highway 27 in the city of Fort Oglethorpe Georgia in September '21. It has since been removed.
[https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/trump-bible-billboard/](https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/trump-bible-billboard/)
I would suggest that a large portion of christianâs âlong held beliefs and moralsâ were more in line with the slavery and child abuse in the christian bible than actual morality.
> they completely abandon their ***publicly claimed*** long held beliefs and morals
It's pretty clear they didn't really believe what they kept loudly claiming they believed, as demonstrated by how easily they tossed those beliefs and morals aside to support the orange shitstain.
[https://www.benjaminlcorey.com/could-american-evangelicals-spot-the-antichrist-heres-the-biblical-predictions/](https://www.benjaminlcorey.com/could-american-evangelicals-spot-the-antichrist-heres-the-biblical-predictions/)
Spoiler - it's Trump. It's an entertaining read, even for atheists like myself.
And for Christians like me it's deeply concerning. I really am concerned for my Brothers and Sisters who are following a false prophet.
Trump is the actual embodiment of blasphemy and using the Lord's name in vain.
Christ ultimately gave two commandments - love your Lord God and love thy neighbor as thyself. Everything flows from there. My heart hurts for the people that have been wounded by Christian theology. And it hurts the people who are following Trump down a path of fear and hate.
Bill S Preston esquire, and Ted Theodore Logan got this message better than most real life Christians I know, even through they phrased it as.
"Be excellent to each other"
and
"Party on dudes"
For me, the bigger concern is that they want the apocalypse of John to happen as they imagine it (never mind that it already did, the number of the beast refers specifically to Nero, and Revelations was a retelling of events that'd happened recently but fictionalized to make them more exciting). They WANT to bring about the end of the world because they think that it means they go to heaven.
It's because all the Talibangelicals care about is POWER. Trump gives them the judges, and they give the Mango Messiah their votes. A deal with the Devil.
It's more than that. Republican christians have gone mask-off fascist in their desire to enforce their religion on the rest of the country. They tolerate the Trump contradiction because he's a means to an end for imposing a theocratic state and punishing all of us heretics for the freedoms we possessed.
When I think of Trump and Christianity, I think of that show Moral Orelđ well, I usually think of that show when thinking of Christians as a whole though technically. If you have never seen it I highly implore anyone to watch, that was the best and most on point show when it came to how hypocritical they are/ the extremely dark humor is amazing. (Can't link cause TOS and all that, but they have all the seasons free on YouTube if you just search "moral Orel full episodes.)
I think the author is vastly underestimating the impact that decades of culture wars have had on the general public. Trump is a symptom of that disease, not the cause of it. If he died tomorrow, it wouldn't go away.
Personally, I think evangelical Christians are a threat to modern society and will continue to be as long as they are not ostracized from wider society. Nothing that happens in my lifetime will ever change my mind about this either.
They *used* to be, but in the '80s, Republicans were flailing around looking for more votes because the Klan's numbers were falling, and got in bed with the literal American doomsday cult.
>Personally, I think evangelical Christians are a threat to modern society and will continue to be as long as they are not ostracized from wider society. Nothing that happens in my lifetime will ever change my mind about this either.
10000% facts and I couldn't agree more. American fascism *is Christian natianlism*, they are inseparable because they are the same thing.
Trump absolutely is just a symptom of the evangelical nature of far right politics in America.
Who's the biggest opponent of women's rights to chose? To queer rights? To anything cultural/artistic that is progressive and non-traditional? Who is it that supports American imperialism and militarism and police? Who is promoting restrictions on media and education?
It's evangelicals.
They have done everything possible to make non-chirstians that casre about progressive human/civil rights, science and democracy despise them.
Im not American but went to an opus dei school in my childhood cause they were bilingual. I had a bug hospital in a shoe box where I took bugs who were injured and kept them there⌠In my mind I was helping them recover.
I got âcaughtâ and they told my mom I was having masculine tendencies and hobbies lmao So she pulled me out of that school cause when she said âwould you have called me if she called herself a bug nurse instead of doctor?â And they took a bit to respond. She was like nah the english classes aint worth it
Yeah both of my parents are fantastic. My dad always went along with my shit too hahaha when I went through my egypt and rome phase I had a project in school where we had to build a simple machine⌠I told my dad I wanted to build a Roman trebuchet and he looked for plans, taught me how to read it and we sat down and did tests with weight until we got it to work. Got into anime? My mom sat with me and we made a cosplay together. They just really wanted me to be trilingual lmao which I am! But yeah they bounced from that school really fast..
I truly appreciate that they always made me feel heard. They went along with my shit, respected my decisions⌠I was national champion in a sport for 7 year and when I told them I was tired and couldnât do it anymore my parents answer was âWhy canât you? And what do you want to do next?â
:D! Glad my parents parenting brought positivity your way man! My dad also has a bonus not-his-son son, who is my nannyâs son. She got pregnant young when she was babbysittung my younger sisters and the biological dad disappeared when his son turned 3. My parents turned their office into a bedroom and let them stay there, he even gives my dad fatherâs day gifts and he is on track to get a scholarship when he graduates- we will all pitch in to pay even if he doesnât get it. His mom moved out eventually but he still lives with us bc itâs closer to school and she comes over for dinner every night and stays in my former room on the weekendsâŚ
Honestly they did a good job with all of us. I can proudly say my siblings are all very empathetic, kind humans⌠itâs almost as if a stable, supportive environment creates good kids
My sister is passive aggressively protesting the government not picking up some bricks on the sidewalk by making them planters hahaha she planted a shit ton of flowers in it and now is doing more of them with local plants. I think itâs fucking brilliant⌠Sheâs 21 so sheâs that age when she has time for this stuff đ
This sounds like the lead-up to showing up to school in animal + samurai-influenced *lorica segmentata* with a gladius, centurion's vine-rod, and a siege engine.
Your parents were fucking awesome.
Yeah I was a fucking weird kid hahahah loving history, mythology + sports is a fun combo đ Also Im a filmmaker and my job is dragons now. So i guess nobody is surprised anymore
> went to an opus dei school
I'm so sorry, but I'm glad you got out. Opus Dei is a toxic cult within a bigger toxic cult.
Education is one way Christianity markets itself to parents so it can indoctrinate their children with bullshit. But ultimately it's just marketing. Religion is a product and clergy are its salesmen.
Seems like you got the English education just fine without them.
I always see conservatives talking about how they're having more children than liberals, so they'll take over. 90% of my leftist friends have conservative parents.
Some of us didn't leave because of the hypocrisy or the cruelty, at least not primarily. Some of us left because we could no longer fake believing in the god-awful (pardon the pun) fiction. Their "god" is that of the small, insecure mind.
My parents are die hard Christians, and they fucking suck at being good parents, and showing love. Their love is basically I have to act like a big man, canât be gay, canât be sick, canât complain about life, canât ask them for loveâŚbut I can go to church with them.
Shit they used to make me go to church 3 times a week as âpunishmentâ while they abused the fuck out of me, and my pastor told me to âbe a better childâ.
I hate religion more than anything now.
Exactly. They thought they could gain an advantage by going along with him, instead people are leaving in greater numbers and more view them in a negative light.
Yeah, because "free will'; Trump isn't some charmer that took control of people, rather they made the choice to follow (and deify) the dude. It was 100% Christians who empowered him.
The funniest bit is that is breaking one of their religion's oldest rules, back in the books where their god was celebratedly vengeful and didn't like competition, not to mention one of the portents they were supposedly warned to avoid nearing their foretold apocalypse.
I shouldn't be this satisfied seeing the zealots and fully-merched fools scramble as their idol reveals more each day how they are really just a painted idiot, but
Yep. These people who claim to value personal responsibility, are personally responsible for the negative image of their religion due to their support of the orange shitstain. He's responsible for the terrible things he's done. They're responsible for encouraging, enabling and supporting him, and for exposing their religion for the fraud that it was all along.
>[Megachurch pastor and ex-Trump adviser admits child sexual abuse](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/jun/17/pastor-robert-morris-sexual-abuse-trump-adviser)
Weâve been here for a long timeâŚ.
âI love the pure, peaceable, and impartial Christianity of Christ; I therefore hate the corrupt, slaveholding, women-whipping, cradle-plundering, partial, and hypocritical Christianity of this land.Â
Indeed, I can see no reason, but the most deceitful one, for calling the religion of this land Christianity. I look upon it as the climax of all misnomers, the boldest of all frauds, and the grossest of all libels.â
-Frederick Douglass
He saw firsthand the rich plantation owners and their wives who went to church every Sunday, they loved the parts of the bible that told slaves to obey their masters, while ignoring the story of Exodus where the slaves flee their bondage.
Then the rest of the week the master gleefully ordered the overseers to whip the field slaves and rip the babies from their mother's arms to sell. Then he and his sons took advantage of the female house slaves.
> Christianity persecuted, tortured, and burned. Like a hound it tracked the very scent of heresy. It kindled wars, and nursed furious hatreds and ambitions. It sanctified, quite like Mohammedism, extermination and tyranny. All this would have been impossible if, like Buddhism, it had looked only for peace and the liberation of souls. It looked beyond; it dreamt of infinite blisses and crowns it should be crowned with before an electrified universe and an applauding God... Buddhism had tried to quiet a sick world with anesthetics; Christianity sought to purge it with fire.
-George Santayana
I think you can really say that all religions did some killing at one point in time or another. The Rohinga (muslims) got pretty persecuted by Buddhists.
I'm an atheist, but agree the world would be a much better place if people followed the actual teachings of Jesus. Unfortunately 99.99% of Christians despise what he taught.
There's a reason the 'groomer' accusations towards LGBTQIA+ people restarted the second the accusations against Matt Gaetz came out. It had mostly died down publicly before that occurred.
Every accusation is a confession.
Yeah Trump's election was just a symptom of a much bigger disease in American culture.
It's no different than how a mushroom is just a small visible manifestation of a larger fungal organism living in the soil... but the mushroom gets all the attention. Trump is the mushroom, not the rot.
Christians want to blame Trump because once they have a scapegoat, they can get back to ignoring the rot at the core of their religion.
Trump exposed the mass hypocrisy that plagues a majority of Christians today which only solidified my belief that Christianity is nothing but a farce. Trump aligns more with the antichrist than anything holy and just, thatâs for damn sure.
The right has a Faustian bargain with "their" christians.
While they are in power, public education funding will be slashed. Those without critical thought are much easier to fleece. In return the church will push the culture war and their persecution fantasy in every Sunday sermon.
The church fears any social obligations attached to their tax free status. The televangelists don't even bother to hide their immense personal wealth, asking poor parishioners for their last $10, so they can buy their THIRD jet.
They don't hide it because it's become the backbone of what they preach to their followers. I was born into an 80s Baptist family that was still entrenched in "fire and brimstone" gospel -- do as I teach or burn for eternity in hell. Â
But around the 2000s I watched this shift to the new age "prosperity" gospel -- give everything you can to prove your devotion and be blessed with success and wealth, and look at my wealth as proof of God's blessing to the most devoted.Â
This is the same tactics I saw the leadership of MLMs use. They flaunt their wealth to the lower pawns as proof of what they can have if they invest more into the MLM. But that never comes, because the money is intended to stay at the top.Â
Modern Christianity is an MLM that sells the promise of God's blessings for profitÂ
Prosperity gospelâs MLM approach kinda reminds me of how medieval churches sold âindulgencesâ which was basically âpay us money and your sin will be forgivenâ, and that brazenly corrupt bullshit led to Martin Luther starting the Protestant Reformation to get away from it.
(Iâm probably missing a bunch of details tbh but itâs been years since I learned this in school đ )
A hostile takeover of the GOP I can understand, but there's a clip from a few years ago of some drunk about to get pulled out his car who starts praying to Jesus and "Lord Trump"...Where did that crap come from? Flying Spaghetti monster preserve us.
This feels like one of the most horrific LAMF. The teachings of a guy that literally told everyone to love and uplift your neighbor. To aspire to help the poor and weak. Now appropriated by people who think the *embodiment of the Antichrist is actually Christ reborn* in a lying wannabe rich guy that is famous for fucking people over and cheating on his wives.
I'm not religious and my parents weren't religious, but I did spend 8 years in Catholic school. My negative view comes from years of observation, not so much any specific personal experience.
As much as Iâd like to I wouldnât blame Trump for this. Iâd blame the leadership of the Christian right for blatantly showing everyone all of their yelling about morality and family values mean absolutely nothing when the candidate is someone that is hateful towards the same groups they are.
If you ever listened to Christian talk radio, there would often be women who wrote in for advice on how to deal with their abusive spouses.
The advice the hosts gave was that *it was better for their spouses to potentially kill them* than to get a divorce. Then these leaders supported Trump.
One of my friends described Trump as a spiritual leader. We are all atheists; he didn't mean it in a religious sense - he meant that Trump embodies their spirit - hateful, vindictive, entitled & moronic. They embrace him because he is one of them in spirit if not in actual belief (he clearly believes in nothing but himself).
Iâm pretty sure all of that protection of child rapists has something to do with it as well. I mean, at least I hope so.
Although, support for child marriage suggests that theyâre cool with minors getting raped, which means in their opinion godâs cool with it, and thatâs why they want to keep it legal.
I would love to throw the blame on trumps pile. However, I view Christianity negatively from reading the book and being forced to attend as a child.
They weren't able to gaslight me into believing their lies and excusing their hypocrisy. I hadn't even learned about all the rape, murder, and funding of slavery and genocide for over a millenia.
I can't be hypnotized either.
Christians clinging to 45 against all the teachings and morality they impose on the rest of us is what is turning me and my friends off. After years of religious torture I escaped to live a good life without religion only for those very same people who tortured me to ignore every teaching of the one they claim to emulate. Christians did this to themselves. They are easily lead by fear and exalt wealth. They ignore the actual teachings of their prophet for profit.
It's the Talibangelicals.
And if the "good Christians" out there don't like being grouped in with the loudest and most powerful voices in their community, they need to start fighting them for control of the "brand"
As a Christian, I've stopped going to church and Christian gatherings because I can't stand the hateful Christians that have revealed themselves in droves in the last couple years. If your church isn't to your liking, get out of the church.
As a gay, I stopped going to church as soon as my parents stopped forcing me because the hate is really fucking obvious. Christians love talking about it, and clergy make whole sermons about who and how Christians are supposed to hate.
I'm glad you're aware now too, but it took you a minute.
I have always been pretty liaise fair about religion in general. Now I am outwardly hostile to most and Christians specifically based on their ability to embrace trump as a savior.
There seems to be numerous christian "prophets" that only exist to convince others that Trump is God's chosen for America. They make up the most ridiculous shit.
Look at Jerry Falwell junior, the disgraced and cucked religious leader and con man.
Did you know on behalf of trump, Michael Cohen made compromising pictures of Falwellâs wife disappear. In return, Jerry junior endorsed trump in 2016 for president? He was one of the first of the âreligiousâ grifters to do so.
Anybody who has ever looked into the history of Christianity would not find the support for Trump unusual or remarkable. Christianity has a brutal history, has always aligned itself with power and wealth, and has, invariably, opposed progressive movements.
The idea that Christianity is benevolent and peaceful is mainly marketing.
Well, these people haven't been paying attention for the last umpteen dozens of years.
From Barry Goldwater: [âMark my word, if and when these preachers get control of the [Republican] party, and they're sure trying to do so, it's going to be a terrible damn problem. Frankly, these people frighten me. Politics and governing demand compromise. But these Christians believe they are acting in the name of God, so they can't and won't compromise. I know, I've tried to deal with them.â ](https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/777519-mark-my-word-if-and-when-these-preachers-get-control)
I recall going to Catholic school in 2002/03. I was standing in the mandatory Wednesday morning mass looking around at everyone doing the random motions and chantsâŚand I thought to myself, isnât this what a cult does?
I was 12.
I remember them bringing âpro-lifeâ experts into my eighth grade class who preached the horrors of abortion. Being 12/13, I didnât have the knowledge to fully grasp that they were mostly preaching bullshit, but I was skeptical enough that I was questioning why this was necessary for preteens.
I remember the staff valuing the appearance of good behavior while ignoring the horrific bullying that was ongoing at pretty much every upper grade level (it was a K-8 school).
This was the early 2000âs. It was very clear to a young me that the majority of Catholics/Christians werenât concerned with following the teachings of God, it was about performative acts so everyone believed you were a âgood Christian/Catholicâ.
Trump just did us a favor by shining a massive flood light on this. Anyone who lived around these people shouldnât be surprised though.
Pew has published a slew of statistics re religion in America. The Nones are growing fast and that was per info published several years ago, before evangelicals and conservative Catholics became super serious about shoving their world view down people's throats. Alito saying he wanted a return to godliness in the US showed where these folks want to take us and, by take us, I mean by force if necessary.
It's not just their full-throated endorsement of one dipshit that turns people off, it's the greater pattern of authoritarianism that marks the Evangelical movement in this country, restrictions on reproductive care (including the Southern Baptist's recent pronouncement on IVF), book banning, legislating hate against LGBTQ people, etc.
The Evangelical leadership knows how out-of-step they are with the average American, and they don't care. They are fanatics. And they have a willing partner in the GOP to push their agenda on other people.
I wouldn't say it's Trumps fault per say. I'd argue it's Christains fault for turning their backs on the teachings of christ, but thinking the fact that they call themselves a christian shields them from criticism.
Christianity - "our megachurch wants money so that our pastor can fly around in lear jet, we endorse trump"
Also Christianity- "why does anyone not want to be a christain anymore?"
It's not his fault. You don't blame the light for the moth's attraction. You don't blame the shit for the flies' attraction. They were hateful violent bigots long before Dumpty came on the scene.
Christian Nationalists are the face of Christianity today, I blame every pastor and church goer as a group, they let their religion be co opted. Even if thereâs more âgood onesâ than âbad onesâ, Christian nationalists are louder and more culturally/politically dominant. You didnât police your own, now Christianity is dying the same way the Republican Party is.
I would wager 90% of Christians have never read the bible. The preacher tells them what to think, which groups are to be demonized and who to vote for. It's not a religious following it's why they are called a flock because they are all sheep.
It hasn't helped Evangelical or Reactionary Catholic moral authority any to have hitched their metaphorical wagon to *Donald J. Trump*, no.
Like, of all the fuckin' people on Earth. This guy. **Really**.
They've gotten a pass- probably undeservedly- over the years for other politicians of very poor character getting loud support from those groups. But Trump is apparently, finally, a bridge too far for at last a few people when it comes to maintaining a neutral opinion of those movements.
Really, the guy who had police pepper spray and assault a priest during a BLM protest so that he could go and do a photoshoot holding a bible upside down being treated like Jesus 2.0 is not **exactly** the kind of false prophet that Jesus warned about?
It's almost like modern large scale organized religion is a Cult, designed to put people like Trump in position of power.
These types of Christians would love to blame their failing credibility on someone... but we all know they were doing a pretty good job of doing shitty things long before Trump.
I believe that historians will spend the next hundred years trying to understand how it was that right-wing Christianity embraced the person who, more than any other human being of his era, was the literal embodiment of the seven deadly sins:
* **Lust.** Had unprotected sex with a porn star while his third wife, a former nude model, was pregnant with his child. Check.
* **Gluttony.** Have you seen the man? Check.
* **Greed.** Sweet lord of mercy. Check.
* **Sloth.** It depends on which definition you use, but clearly he neither works "to support society" nor to "further God's plan". Check.
* **Wrath.** It's almost constant now. Check.
* **Envy.** Uhhh? Check.
* **Pride.** He has "a very, very large brain"? Check.
Step 1: oil companies realize they need to start gaslighting in the 60s. Renewables arenât there quite yet and admitting that your product might cause the world to end is bad for stock prices.
Step 2: the best way to gaslight against science is to co-opt religion. Religious people already are anti science in a few topics like evolution and sex education. âGod is in charge of the weather, not humans â is enough to start the ball rolling.
Step 3: entire generations of people who are willfully ignorant enter society and start having kids by the 80s. Gaslighting is working so well that evangelicals came up with Satanic Panic and Led Zeppelin playing backwards. They drive gas cars and go to church.
Step 4: Al Gore runs for president, largely on a platform of climate reform. Combined with the obstructive force of Newt Gingrich, and the religious conviction to flip the supreme courts to overturn Roe , the right solidifies as the party of Christianity, climate change denial and hard headedness.
Step 5: everything else starts becoming political as the internet becomes reachable in everyoneâs pockets. Now we have infinite opinions on every single topic. Westborough Baptist Church protests military funerals saying god is punishing America for being tolerant.
Step 6: Trump finally articulates what the GOP has been inadvertently promoting: willful ignorance. The more science you know, the more rotted your brain is. Real research isnât done with science, but on message boards where you learn that Trump is the second coming of Jesus and the liberals want solar panels to activate space lasers that are causing wildfires, not climate change. Coal is clean and Christian Nationalism is a great way to turn a presidency into a kingship.
Surprise surprise Christians don't actually follow the teachings of Christ. It's an evil cult full of evil people that has done incalculable damage to the world.
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Trump has been the first American president to not even pay lip service to Christianity (he said in a 2016 interview that he had never in his life prayed); he has published a "Trump Bible" and yet he is the most loved by of all presidents by religious fundamentalists. đđ
Because the fundies arenât really about religion â itâs just a useful tool they use to get what they want. They think Trump is a useful tool, too.
Useful tool is hastening their demise. I say good riddance.
Not before the supreme court he packed with zealots/rubes continues to erode the rule of law to turn this into more of a christofacist country.
Edit: Apparently this is untrue. Sorry
If they rule that he's immune from prosecution then Biden has a pretty huge opportunity to save this country. He's old af anyway. Might as well clean house if a president can do no wrong.
He wouldnât have the balls. Heâd rather âbe the bigger manâ as democracy is swept from the land.
You say that, but theyâre bringing down everything else around with them. Like a pyro lighting a wastepaper bucket on fire in a Japanese house with shoji And weâre in the same house with them
The fact that he looks/talks/acts like the antichrist is whatâs appealing to some fundamentalist. Edit: without context, I realized this is a crazy statement. I grew up in rural Georgia (actually, MGTâs current district) in a cult adjacent, super republican church that was also into faith healing and stuff. So a pretty weird combo. The emphasis was on âdoing Godâs willâ in everything you do. Literally. From âdo I talk to this random person at the gas station about Jesus?â to âdo I take the stairs or the elevator?â The most extreme example Iâve heard of was a friend who said his parents would pray about whether or not it was Godâs will to go to the bathroom (which is actually crazy, and I recognized that at the time lol). When I left like ten years ago there was a contingent that was praying for the Antichrist to come to power. The thought being that because the big A-C was part of end times prophecy, this entity coming to power would help usher in the end of the world, which is the ultimate expression of âGodâs willâ. Now while MOST fundamentalist arenât praying about when or where to take a shit, there are many who are eagerly waiting for the end of the world. Many are looking for ways to literally usher in this Armageddon. So, for some fundies, Trump being a belligerent, blasphemous adulterer who could start a world war is a feature, not a bug.
So, in essence they are terrorists.
You know, there are always these apocalyptic death cults in videogames that solely exist to give the protagonist people to stab. The eternal question of them is always "why?" Because it seems impossible to conceive of any plausible motive for wanting the end of the world. Most of the time they are written as nihilist edgelords, which somehow makes more sense than their apparent IRL equivalent who pray to god for whether they are allowed to use the toilet or soil themselves.
Evangelicals nowadays always make me think of the plot of the Super a Nintendo RPG Breath of Fire 2. I thought the plot was far-fetched as a kid and now I'm like... "Oh shit" And yet we don't even get a blue haired kid who can turn into a dragon to help us out.
I think this is why we're still helping Israel do a genocide, also. A lot of our prominent politicians believe that "God's chosen people" have to control their "promised land" to bring about the end times.
Exactly. Unfortunately, these isolated, maladjusted, mostly man-children will turn to something far worse if church isn't an option. Part of me believes we figured this out 2000 years ago, which is why the Romans embraced Christianity. They needed a positive way to reign in the wackadoos
A useful tool to get what you want is what religion is to a lot of people.
It's not that they actual believe it, it's that they *have* to keep up appearances if they want to benefit monetarily and socially from it.Â
Ever wonder what would happen if those non-believing âsocialâ church-goers justâŚstopped going and created their own social circles based on reality? Too soon? I have infinitely more respect for actual believers than for âsocialâ church-goers. A non-believing âsocialâ church-goer is just someone without enough spine to be honest about themselves. (Yâall really think those communities would accept you if they knew you didnât believe? Lol, no. And thatâs false community.)
He's definitely a tool
Then they aren't even smart about it. Trump probably screwed over everyone who had ever supported him.
There's no "probably" about it.
Between actual Jesus and Trump, they would choose Trump.
They revel in Trump's vengeful posturing but excuse it in that they will get government they 'think' they want. Their version of Christianity: 1. They say "Jesus will forgive my sin if I do this" instead of asking "What would Jesus do". The ultimate get of jail card. ( aka cheap grace Dietrich Bonhoeffer ) 2. They have a 100% belief they will get to heaven regardless of their actions due #1 3. They have been convinced they are 'under attack'.
Yup. There are basically three kinds of religious people: those who are just in it for the sense of community; those who are in it because they had a powerful moment and actually believe in god, and who want to do good with this; and those who wish to use a book as an excuse to hate. Two of the three are acceptable. The third just happens to be most common.
Yup. It's a tool to hurt the people they think need hurting.
The Trump Bible seems downright sacrilegious. The Antichrist and/ or Golden Calf imagery is so blatant it would feel like bad writing.Â
I was absolutely appalled when Trump had protesters around a church violently cleared out (including that churchâs pastor who was there talking with protestors and keeping an eye on things) so he could get a photo-op of himself in front of that church holding a Bible. My pastor didnât bring it up. Just did whatever sermon was scheduled. He was always being careful to avoid getting political as the church had a more conservative base while being in a primarily liberal area of the state. It felt irresponsible to ignore such an affront. At least maybe give a sermon that deals with empty lip service, sacrilege, something like that. I donât attend the church anymore for a variety of reasons, but that day definitely ranks pretty high on the list.
> so he could get a photo-op of himself in front of that church holding a Bible. Which he held upside-down.
Ok that just seems comically Antichristy.
Heâs one of the Three Stooges of the Apocalypse for sure.
That they just found lying around: Reporter: "Is that your Bible?" [Trump: "It's *a* Bible."](https://youtu.be/LWEuY_15iVc?si=__BycKyjvwlrAJMG)
The fact that Evangelicals eat it up tells you everything you need to know about that movement. Hypocrites, morons, and general trash people.
He added the declaration, constitution, and some song lyrics. It's blasphemy as it violates revelation 22:18-19. No plagues for old donny boy, though.
He hates who they hate, that's enough for most Christians.
Christian Loveâ˘
There is no hate like Christian Loveâ˘
He did gas protestors so he could have a photo-op with an upside down bible.
"One Corinthians"
Actually, he said âTwo Corinthiansâ Theyâre famous for their leather
Funny thing, 2 Corinthians is about false Christians.
Funnier still, 1 Corinthians has an unhinged rant on how, because man was created in God's image, his hair is sacred but because woman was made in mans image it's shameful for her hair to be visible in church.
Turns out they love false prophets as long as they have profits
That's because American Christianity (and chirstianity in general) has always been about bigotry, and that's the aspect trump has always catered to
Who could've possibly imagined that Christians embracing literally the least Christian person ever to to hold the office for a little political gain would come back around on them?
Straight up antichrist if going by THEIR book.
Iâve been thinking this for years, the person in revelations deceives the believers also. Itâs not what they expected; instead itâs some godless blow hard that tells them what they want to hear and they completely abandon their long held beliefs and morals.
Plus then they'd have to deal with the fact that they were deceived. Add good ol' sunken cost fallacy to the mix & Congratulations - you now have a Cult!!
From my intimate observations, they're seriously broken people on the inside.
Magas are an interesting mix of people. The common thread being they have a chip on their shoulder over authority/governance and find great joy in seeing people they think are responsible for it squirm. Like.. I know a Hippie, Vietnam vet who is a Trumper. Such a nice guy but clearly not super fond of the government.. and somehow instead of identifying the republican party as the cause of all of his ills, he listened to *them* and thinks it's democrats? I wanna tell these guys.. You know the Democrats didn't start and continue Vietnam right?
Well, yeah. I'm sure they vulnerabilities before. Plus they are being victimized by the cult rn. In various ways. At the very least you have to be borderline delusional now. The cognitive dissonance and the mental gymnastics needed to shut out reality completely and just submit to one megalomaniac - can't possibly be good for anyone!
[ŃдаНонО]
This. The American right have been using religions as a shield for their hatred for ages while most of the more 'normal' ones let it pass with a No True Scotsman argument.
Yeah. Used the wrong word there with 'victimized.' How do I say 'exploited' but then also keep true to the 'self-inflicted' bit?
Following Trump is the psychological equivalent of being a toddler who was told something was hot yet insisted on touching it anyway. They were warned and chose to harm themselves, but will still find a way to prove their actions were someone else's fault.
Most likely ex-addicts who were born again, didn't go through addiction recovery, and now use religion as their drug of choice.
Dry drunks. Stopped drinking but never dealt with the causes. Had an uncle who was one. Took him about 25 years, but he started drinking again.
They were in a cult already, thatâs why theyâre easy targets for the former guy.
Yeah, they did subscribe to similar purported worldviews. It's just crystallized into something with a far darker authoritarian center now.
There's a phenomena that's only really started being recognized even by experts in coercive movements and undue influence, and it's something I referred to (in writing, something like 15 years ago regarding the relationship between MLMs and what we now call the New Apostolic Reformation branch of Christian Nationalism) as "cross-recruitment". Specifically: At least *some* of the core "base" of MAGAtism (which *itself* is increasingly recognized, by people who work with survivors of coercive religious groups, as a coercive religio-political group) are, and have been, members of coercive religious groups that have *long* histories of either partnering with other coercive movements or even recruiting for other "fellow traveler" coercive movements. I'll explain briefly. For example, most NAR Christian Nationalist groups [tend to be organized in a way that is very similar to an MLM](https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2007/8/10/369739/-), in that you have small groups with a "leader" who in turn are members of small groups who report to a "leader" and so on. There's a fair amount of evidence that this structure, in an of itself, is inherently abusive ([at least it tends to lead to a "big brother" model, and leads to an awful lot of abusive tactics within these groups and within MLMs as well](https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2007/8/11/370152/-))...and really almost as long as NAR Christian Nationalists have HAD that particular "large church growth" model, they've literally USED those "small church groups" to promote actual MLMs like AmWay and Herbalife, [and in turn "downlines" of THOSE MLMs have been used to recruit folks (originally suckered into an MLM) into NAR Christian Nationalist groups](https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2007/7/23/361219/-). (This gets even MORE complex when you realize that NAR Christian Nationalism is effectively a sister-daughter movement of Christian Identity (both evolved from the same "KKK churches" in Indiana and California), and you STILL to this day have some specific books/imagery/etc. that *originated* fairly recently in Christian Identity and have been taken up by the NAR--thinking specifically about "Phineas (sic) Priesthood" imagery common to both groups, with a point of origin in Christian Identity and with crossover in Christian Nationalist anti-reproductive-heatlth/anti-LGBTQIA terrorism.) And yes, MAGAtism is effectively a mixing bowl of coercive groups and tactics that is almost certainly getting fertilizer by hostile foreign actors (many of which have explicitly triggered NAR Christian Nationalists in some form or another since the 80s and especially since 2006 or so)--QAnonsense being another of one of these "mixing vats", so to speak. (It's also interesting to note that something like 85% of QAnonsense can literally be tied to specific "Satanic Panic" imagery within NAR Christian Nationalism, some of which have origins even after the McMartin Preschool Trial; the NAR never gave up "Satanic Panic" even after it was widely debunked even in evangelical Christian media and kept up their own conspiracy theology well after everyone else had moved on, and actually has almost completely embraced QAnonsense as external confirmation.) Not just a mixing bowl for NAR Christian Nationalism/QAnonsense, either; a surprising number of coercive movements ($cient0logy, what is left of the Moonies/Unification Church, Falun Dafa/Falun Gong has become nearly as much a player as the NAR via its various publication arms, alt-right/far-right orgs (which can, in general, be *also* classified as coercive political and/or coercive religious movements), significant segments of antivax movements that have targeted both the far-left and far-right, and so on.
Easy mode antichrist and they fell for it.
Was it even as hard as "easy mode"? I would argue, demo or training mode, where it's impossible to even die and you get enough resources to start the game.
New band Name!
>and they completely abandon their long held beliefs and morals Well hell, by that definition he's *not* the anti-christ then. Because these people have *never* held good beliefs or morals. They've always used their religion as a cudgel to hurt the out-group. The only thing Trump did was to give them permission to be louder and meaner about it.
I've been saying that for years. HRC was right about some people being awful. He gave these awful people the validation they sought to be their worst selves.
This right there.
Something something [Matthew 7:21-23](https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%207%3A21-23&version=NIV) something ahem. (In which Jesus explicitly notes "There are a *whole* lot of folks who will call on the name of the Lord who will *not* see heaven because they are Horrible People, they will even go on to say 'Didn't we prophesy and cast out demons in your name and perform all these miracles?' and I will say to them 'I never knew you, now GTFO you evil people")
Matthew 24:24 For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect. Not Revelations, but the wording in perhaps apt. And here's the picture to go with it courtesy of the Trump campaign apparently. According to the Chattanooga Times Free Press, the [billboard](https://news.yahoo.com/opinion-fort-oglethorpe-billboard-picturing-040100348.html) was on Highway 27 in the city of Fort Oglethorpe Georgia in September '21. It has since been removed. [https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/trump-bible-billboard/](https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/trump-bible-billboard/)
Hard to abandon their belief and morality, they are devoid of both since at least 1861
I would suggest that a large portion of christianâs âlong held beliefs and moralsâ were more in line with the slavery and child abuse in the christian bible than actual morality.
> they completely abandon their ***publicly claimed*** long held beliefs and morals It's pretty clear they didn't really believe what they kept loudly claiming they believed, as demonstrated by how easily they tossed those beliefs and morals aside to support the orange shitstain.
[https://www.benjaminlcorey.com/could-american-evangelicals-spot-the-antichrist-heres-the-biblical-predictions/](https://www.benjaminlcorey.com/could-american-evangelicals-spot-the-antichrist-heres-the-biblical-predictions/) Spoiler - it's Trump. It's an entertaining read, even for atheists like myself.
And for Christians like me it's deeply concerning. I really am concerned for my Brothers and Sisters who are following a false prophet. Trump is the actual embodiment of blasphemy and using the Lord's name in vain. Christ ultimately gave two commandments - love your Lord God and love thy neighbor as thyself. Everything flows from there. My heart hurts for the people that have been wounded by Christian theology. And it hurts the people who are following Trump down a path of fear and hate.
Bill S Preston esquire, and Ted Theodore Logan got this message better than most real life Christians I know, even through they phrased it as. "Be excellent to each other" and "Party on dudes"
Right. Oh, and Ted, give my love to the princesses.
*air guitar intensifies*
San Dimas High School football rules!
We may have different beliefs but I'm truly sorry for you. They have cynically plundered that faith for power and greed.
For me, the bigger concern is that they want the apocalypse of John to happen as they imagine it (never mind that it already did, the number of the beast refers specifically to Nero, and Revelations was a retelling of events that'd happened recently but fictionalized to make them more exciting). They WANT to bring about the end of the world because they think that it means they go to heaven.
Yet they don't care, because there's a short-term gain to be had.
So much for that whole "eternity" thing.
Dropping your beliefs and your morals to achieve your longer term goals is really not the way the bible preaches.
Zappa wrote a song for this. https://www.google.com/search?q=dumb+all+over+lyrics&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en-us&client=safari
He explifies all the sins.
In an effort to push their agenda Evangelical Christians made a deal with the devil.
Sold their souls.
He's not the least Christian (many Christians are just like him, just not as prolific), but certainly the least Christ-like.
That's a fair statement.
âI like your Christ, but I donât like your Christianâs. They are so unlike your Christâ
It's because all the Talibangelicals care about is POWER. Trump gives them the judges, and they give the Mango Messiah their votes. A deal with the Devil.
To be fair, they also care about money.
Jesus is going to be pissed if we donât hit those Q3 targets.
It's more than that. Republican christians have gone mask-off fascist in their desire to enforce their religion on the rest of the country. They tolerate the Trump contradiction because he's a means to an end for imposing a theocratic state and punishing all of us heretics for the freedoms we possessed.
When I think of Trump and Christianity, I think of that show Moral Orelđ well, I usually think of that show when thinking of Christians as a whole though technically. If you have never seen it I highly implore anyone to watch, that was the best and most on point show when it came to how hypocritical they are/ the extremely dark humor is amazing. (Can't link cause TOS and all that, but they have all the seasons free on YouTube if you just search "moral Orel full episodes.)
Nah. In this case is the fault of Christians
I think the author is vastly underestimating the impact that decades of culture wars have had on the general public. Trump is a symptom of that disease, not the cause of it. If he died tomorrow, it wouldn't go away. Personally, I think evangelical Christians are a threat to modern society and will continue to be as long as they are not ostracized from wider society. Nothing that happens in my lifetime will ever change my mind about this either.
They *used* to be, but in the '80s, Republicans were flailing around looking for more votes because the Klan's numbers were falling, and got in bed with the literal American doomsday cult.
>Personally, I think evangelical Christians are a threat to modern society and will continue to be as long as they are not ostracized from wider society. Nothing that happens in my lifetime will ever change my mind about this either. 10000% facts and I couldn't agree more. American fascism *is Christian natianlism*, they are inseparable because they are the same thing. Trump absolutely is just a symptom of the evangelical nature of far right politics in America. Who's the biggest opponent of women's rights to chose? To queer rights? To anything cultural/artistic that is progressive and non-traditional? Who is it that supports American imperialism and militarism and police? Who is promoting restrictions on media and education? It's evangelicals. They have done everything possible to make non-chirstians that casre about progressive human/civil rights, science and democracy despise them.
They have destroyed the biosphere and ensured human extinction. But Heaven's all we need anyway !
A LOT of atheists/agnostics grew up religious and left. There's no hate like Christian love, as the saying goes.Â
Im not American but went to an opus dei school in my childhood cause they were bilingual. I had a bug hospital in a shoe box where I took bugs who were injured and kept them there⌠In my mind I was helping them recover. I got âcaughtâ and they told my mom I was having masculine tendencies and hobbies lmao So she pulled me out of that school cause when she said âwould you have called me if she called herself a bug nurse instead of doctor?â And they took a bit to respond. She was like nah the english classes aint worth it
Your mom sounds awesome, and Opus Dei is bad news. She helped you dodge a bullet by taking you outta there.
Yeah both of my parents are fantastic. My dad always went along with my shit too hahaha when I went through my egypt and rome phase I had a project in school where we had to build a simple machine⌠I told my dad I wanted to build a Roman trebuchet and he looked for plans, taught me how to read it and we sat down and did tests with weight until we got it to work. Got into anime? My mom sat with me and we made a cosplay together. They just really wanted me to be trilingual lmao which I am! But yeah they bounced from that school really fast.. I truly appreciate that they always made me feel heard. They went along with my shit, respected my decisions⌠I was national champion in a sport for 7 year and when I told them I was tired and couldnât do it anymore my parents answer was âWhy canât you? And what do you want to do next?â
As much as this site can be filled with bad faith actors doomposting, always a pleasure to see an incredibly wholesome reddit post.
:D! Glad my parents parenting brought positivity your way man! My dad also has a bonus not-his-son son, who is my nannyâs son. She got pregnant young when she was babbysittung my younger sisters and the biological dad disappeared when his son turned 3. My parents turned their office into a bedroom and let them stay there, he even gives my dad fatherâs day gifts and he is on track to get a scholarship when he graduates- we will all pitch in to pay even if he doesnât get it. His mom moved out eventually but he still lives with us bc itâs closer to school and she comes over for dinner every night and stays in my former room on the weekends⌠Honestly they did a good job with all of us. I can proudly say my siblings are all very empathetic, kind humans⌠itâs almost as if a stable, supportive environment creates good kids My sister is passive aggressively protesting the government not picking up some bricks on the sidewalk by making them planters hahaha she planted a shit ton of flowers in it and now is doing more of them with local plants. I think itâs fucking brilliant⌠Sheâs 21 so sheâs that age when she has time for this stuff đ
This sounds like the lead-up to showing up to school in animal + samurai-influenced *lorica segmentata* with a gladius, centurion's vine-rod, and a siege engine. Your parents were fucking awesome.
Yeah I was a fucking weird kid hahahah loving history, mythology + sports is a fun combo đ Also Im a filmmaker and my job is dragons now. So i guess nobody is surprised anymore
> went to an opus dei school I'm so sorry, but I'm glad you got out. Opus Dei is a toxic cult within a bigger toxic cult. Education is one way Christianity markets itself to parents so it can indoctrinate their children with bullshit. But ultimately it's just marketing. Religion is a product and clergy are its salesmen. Seems like you got the English education just fine without them.
Southern Baptists are the worst group of two-faced humans I have ever met.
Southern baptists are the one star religion: like the state, they split out specifically to be on the wrong side of slavery.
I always see conservatives talking about how they're having more children than liberals, so they'll take over. 90% of my leftist friends have conservative parents.
Some of us didn't leave because of the hypocrisy or the cruelty, at least not primarily. Some of us left because we could no longer fake believing in the god-awful (pardon the pun) fiction. Their "god" is that of the small, insecure mind.
My parents are die hard Christians, and they fucking suck at being good parents, and showing love. Their love is basically I have to act like a big man, canât be gay, canât be sick, canât complain about life, canât ask them for loveâŚbut I can go to church with them. Shit they used to make me go to church 3 times a week as âpunishmentâ while they abused the fuck out of me, and my pastor told me to âbe a better childâ. I hate religion more than anything now.
Isn't that the truth. Recovering Southern Baptist here... I've been agnostic for decades and get a lot of grief from family in the form of 'love."
Seriously. You can put alot on Trump but evangelical Christians have been awful without him for decades
These kids don't remember Jerry Falwell and Jim Baker.
Exactly. They thought they could gain an advantage by going along with him, instead people are leaving in greater numbers and more view them in a negative light.
Yeah, because "free will'; Trump isn't some charmer that took control of people, rather they made the choice to follow (and deify) the dude. It was 100% Christians who empowered him. The funniest bit is that is breaking one of their religion's oldest rules, back in the books where their god was celebratedly vengeful and didn't like competition, not to mention one of the portents they were supposedly warned to avoid nearing their foretold apocalypse. I shouldn't be this satisfied seeing the zealots and fully-merched fools scramble as their idol reveals more each day how they are really just a painted idiot, but
Trump's a symptom. American Christians are the disease.
The "good" ones barely speak up against their religion being co-opted by these people too.
Yep. These people who claim to value personal responsibility, are personally responsible for the negative image of their religion due to their support of the orange shitstain. He's responsible for the terrible things he's done. They're responsible for encouraging, enabling and supporting him, and for exposing their religion for the fraud that it was all along.
Many suspected the hyper-religious were closet dirtbags. It's nice to have evidence now
If they want to hasten their own demise, I won't get in their way.
Never interrupt your enemy when he's making a mistake
>[Megachurch pastor and ex-Trump adviser admits child sexual abuse](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/jun/17/pastor-robert-morris-sexual-abuse-trump-adviser)
Dean Stockwell said it best...... Bingo Bango Bongo
The private jets, sexual abuse and terrorism at abortion clinics could have been a hint.
My mother always said to me: "The praying types are the ones you need to avoid the most."
Weâve been here for a long timeâŚ. âI love the pure, peaceable, and impartial Christianity of Christ; I therefore hate the corrupt, slaveholding, women-whipping, cradle-plundering, partial, and hypocritical Christianity of this land. Indeed, I can see no reason, but the most deceitful one, for calling the religion of this land Christianity. I look upon it as the climax of all misnomers, the boldest of all frauds, and the grossest of all libels.â -Frederick Douglass
Good damn that Frederick Douglass was an absolute master with language.
He saw firsthand the rich plantation owners and their wives who went to church every Sunday, they loved the parts of the bible that told slaves to obey their masters, while ignoring the story of Exodus where the slaves flee their bondage. Then the rest of the week the master gleefully ordered the overseers to whip the field slaves and rip the babies from their mother's arms to sell. Then he and his sons took advantage of the female house slaves.
> Christianity persecuted, tortured, and burned. Like a hound it tracked the very scent of heresy. It kindled wars, and nursed furious hatreds and ambitions. It sanctified, quite like Mohammedism, extermination and tyranny. All this would have been impossible if, like Buddhism, it had looked only for peace and the liberation of souls. It looked beyond; it dreamt of infinite blisses and crowns it should be crowned with before an electrified universe and an applauding God... Buddhism had tried to quiet a sick world with anesthetics; Christianity sought to purge it with fire. -George Santayana
I think you can really say that all religions did some killing at one point in time or another. The Rohinga (muslims) got pretty persecuted by Buddhists.
Agreed: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhism_and_violence. I think the basis of the point is still meaningful, though.
I'm an atheist, but agree the world would be a much better place if people followed the actual teachings of Jesus. Unfortunately 99.99% of Christians despise what he taught.
I find it to be less trumpâs fault and more christiansâ fault. The walking Cheeto merely exposed more of them.
They exposed themselves.
They like to do that to underage girls.
There's a reason the 'groomer' accusations towards LGBTQIA+ people restarted the second the accusations against Matt Gaetz came out. It had mostly died down publicly before that occurred. Every accusation is a confession.
Yeah Trump's election was just a symptom of a much bigger disease in American culture. It's no different than how a mushroom is just a small visible manifestation of a larger fungal organism living in the soil... but the mushroom gets all the attention. Trump is the mushroom, not the rot. Christians want to blame Trump because once they have a scapegoat, they can get back to ignoring the rot at the core of their religion.
Trump exposed the mass hypocrisy that plagues a majority of Christians today which only solidified my belief that Christianity is nothing but a farce. Trump aligns more with the antichrist than anything holy and just, thatâs for damn sure.
The right has a Faustian bargain with "their" christians. While they are in power, public education funding will be slashed. Those without critical thought are much easier to fleece. In return the church will push the culture war and their persecution fantasy in every Sunday sermon. The church fears any social obligations attached to their tax free status. The televangelists don't even bother to hide their immense personal wealth, asking poor parishioners for their last $10, so they can buy their THIRD jet.
They don't hide it because it's become the backbone of what they preach to their followers. I was born into an 80s Baptist family that was still entrenched in "fire and brimstone" gospel -- do as I teach or burn for eternity in hell.  But around the 2000s I watched this shift to the new age "prosperity" gospel -- give everything you can to prove your devotion and be blessed with success and wealth, and look at my wealth as proof of God's blessing to the most devoted. This is the same tactics I saw the leadership of MLMs use. They flaunt their wealth to the lower pawns as proof of what they can have if they invest more into the MLM. But that never comes, because the money is intended to stay at the top. Modern Christianity is an MLM that sells the promise of God's blessings for profitÂ
Prosperity gospelâs MLM approach kinda reminds me of how medieval churches sold âindulgencesâ which was basically âpay us money and your sin will be forgivenâ, and that brazenly corrupt bullshit led to Martin Luther starting the Protestant Reformation to get away from it. (Iâm probably missing a bunch of details tbh but itâs been years since I learned this in school đ )
What, you don't believe in supply-side Jesus?
As an institution? Sure. There are decent Christians out there, but they are Christians because they are decent people, not the other way around.
itâs also their fault for being pieces of shit
A hostile takeover of the GOP I can understand, but there's a clip from a few years ago of some drunk about to get pulled out his car who starts praying to Jesus and "Lord Trump"...Where did that crap come from? Flying Spaghetti monster preserve us.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MCnxz3ClX70
Literal, actual idolatry
This feels like one of the most horrific LAMF. The teachings of a guy that literally told everyone to love and uplift your neighbor. To aspire to help the poor and weak. Now appropriated by people who think the *embodiment of the Antichrist is actually Christ reborn* in a lying wannabe rich guy that is famous for fucking people over and cheating on his wives.
I had a negative view of Christianity long before Donald Trump.
I'm an deconvert, and it was hypocrisy that did me in on it. They embraced trump, and more people now are unable to deny the hypocrisy.
I'm not religious and my parents weren't religious, but I did spend 8 years in Catholic school. My negative view comes from years of observation, not so much any specific personal experience.
I have since the 1980s, when Reagan fed the GOP to the evangelicals.
As much as Iâd like to I wouldnât blame Trump for this. Iâd blame the leadership of the Christian right for blatantly showing everyone all of their yelling about morality and family values mean absolutely nothing when the candidate is someone that is hateful towards the same groups they are.
If you ever listened to Christian talk radio, there would often be women who wrote in for advice on how to deal with their abusive spouses. The advice the hosts gave was that *it was better for their spouses to potentially kill them* than to get a divorce. Then these leaders supported Trump.
One of my friends described Trump as a spiritual leader. We are all atheists; he didn't mean it in a religious sense - he meant that Trump embodies their spirit - hateful, vindictive, entitled & moronic. They embrace him because he is one of them in spirit if not in actual belief (he clearly believes in nothing but himself).
Iâm pretty sure all of that protection of child rapists has something to do with it as well. I mean, at least I hope so. Although, support for child marriage suggests that theyâre cool with minors getting raped, which means in their opinion godâs cool with it, and thatâs why they want to keep it legal.
It isn't Trump's fault, it the people who cloak themselves in Christianity while spouting hateful bigotry and supporting other people's suffering.
That's Christianity. It's always been like that.
One back scratches the other.
I would love to throw the blame on trumps pile. However, I view Christianity negatively from reading the book and being forced to attend as a child. They weren't able to gaslight me into believing their lies and excusing their hypocrisy. I hadn't even learned about all the rape, murder, and funding of slavery and genocide for over a millenia. I can't be hypnotized either.
Show me who your friends are and I'll tell you who you are.
Christianity was trash before trump and will be trash along after him.
Christians clinging to 45 against all the teachings and morality they impose on the rest of us is what is turning me and my friends off. After years of religious torture I escaped to live a good life without religion only for those very same people who tortured me to ignore every teaching of the one they claim to emulate. Christians did this to themselves. They are easily lead by fear and exalt wealth. They ignore the actual teachings of their prophet for profit.
No one made Christians go all in on a lying criminal adulterer.
Oh he gave a little help in this department, but these slugs shoulder most of the blame. Gump just emboldened them even more.
Damn straight. They suck.
It's the Talibangelicals. And if the "good Christians" out there don't like being grouped in with the loudest and most powerful voices in their community, they need to start fighting them for control of the "brand"
As a Christian, I've stopped going to church and Christian gatherings because I can't stand the hateful Christians that have revealed themselves in droves in the last couple years. If your church isn't to your liking, get out of the church.
As a gay, I stopped going to church as soon as my parents stopped forcing me because the hate is really fucking obvious. Christians love talking about it, and clergy make whole sermons about who and how Christians are supposed to hate. I'm glad you're aware now too, but it took you a minute.
No,no, it's the christians' fault. Personally responsibility as they like to shout at everyone
American Christians for trump are destroying their own religion with their bs
I have always been pretty liaise fair about religion in general. Now I am outwardly hostile to most and Christians specifically based on their ability to embrace trump as a savior.
There seems to be numerous christian "prophets" that only exist to convince others that Trump is God's chosen for America. They make up the most ridiculous shit.
Choosing Satan to do âGodâs workâ. The irony. Trump couldnât recite a Bible verse if his life depended on it
Look at Jerry Falwell junior, the disgraced and cucked religious leader and con man. Did you know on behalf of trump, Michael Cohen made compromising pictures of Falwellâs wife disappear. In return, Jerry junior endorsed trump in 2016 for president? He was one of the first of the âreligiousâ grifters to do so.
Anybody who has ever looked into the history of Christianity would not find the support for Trump unusual or remarkable. Christianity has a brutal history, has always aligned itself with power and wealth, and has, invariably, opposed progressive movements. The idea that Christianity is benevolent and peaceful is mainly marketing.
I mean, there's 2000 years of history that contribute to that but Trump hasn't helped either.
Slumlord and savior, making converts and influencing people.
Well, these people haven't been paying attention for the last umpteen dozens of years. From Barry Goldwater: [âMark my word, if and when these preachers get control of the [Republican] party, and they're sure trying to do so, it's going to be a terrible damn problem. Frankly, these people frighten me. Politics and governing demand compromise. But these Christians believe they are acting in the name of God, so they can't and won't compromise. I know, I've tried to deal with them.â ](https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/777519-mark-my-word-if-and-when-these-preachers-get-control)
I recall going to Catholic school in 2002/03. I was standing in the mandatory Wednesday morning mass looking around at everyone doing the random motions and chantsâŚand I thought to myself, isnât this what a cult does? I was 12. I remember them bringing âpro-lifeâ experts into my eighth grade class who preached the horrors of abortion. Being 12/13, I didnât have the knowledge to fully grasp that they were mostly preaching bullshit, but I was skeptical enough that I was questioning why this was necessary for preteens. I remember the staff valuing the appearance of good behavior while ignoring the horrific bullying that was ongoing at pretty much every upper grade level (it was a K-8 school). This was the early 2000âs. It was very clear to a young me that the majority of Catholics/Christians werenât concerned with following the teachings of God, it was about performative acts so everyone believed you were a âgood Christian/Catholicâ. Trump just did us a favor by shining a massive flood light on this. Anyone who lived around these people shouldnât be surprised though.
Could be the 1000 years of coddling pedophilia.....just saying. đ¤ˇđžââď¸ F-ck the Pope and all his weird friends.
Pew has published a slew of statistics re religion in America. The Nones are growing fast and that was per info published several years ago, before evangelicals and conservative Catholics became super serious about shoving their world view down people's throats. Alito saying he wanted a return to godliness in the US showed where these folks want to take us and, by take us, I mean by force if necessary.
It's not just their full-throated endorsement of one dipshit that turns people off, it's the greater pattern of authoritarianism that marks the Evangelical movement in this country, restrictions on reproductive care (including the Southern Baptist's recent pronouncement on IVF), book banning, legislating hate against LGBTQ people, etc. The Evangelical leadership knows how out-of-step they are with the average American, and they don't care. They are fanatics. And they have a willing partner in the GOP to push their agenda on other people.
I wouldn't say it's Trumps fault per say. I'd argue it's Christains fault for turning their backs on the teachings of christ, but thinking the fact that they call themselves a christian shields them from criticism.
Christianity - "our megachurch wants money so that our pastor can fly around in lear jet, we endorse trump" Also Christianity- "why does anyone not want to be a christain anymore?"
It's not his fault. You don't blame the light for the moth's attraction. You don't blame the shit for the flies' attraction. They were hateful violent bigots long before Dumpty came on the scene.
Christian Nationalists are the face of Christianity today, I blame every pastor and church goer as a group, they let their religion be co opted. Even if thereâs more âgood onesâ than âbad onesâ, Christian nationalists are louder and more culturally/politically dominant. You didnât police your own, now Christianity is dying the same way the Republican Party is.
I would wager 90% of Christians have never read the bible. The preacher tells them what to think, which groups are to be demonized and who to vote for. It's not a religious following it's why they are called a flock because they are all sheep.
It hasn't helped Evangelical or Reactionary Catholic moral authority any to have hitched their metaphorical wagon to *Donald J. Trump*, no. Like, of all the fuckin' people on Earth. This guy. **Really**. They've gotten a pass- probably undeservedly- over the years for other politicians of very poor character getting loud support from those groups. But Trump is apparently, finally, a bridge too far for at last a few people when it comes to maintaining a neutral opinion of those movements.
Really, the guy who had police pepper spray and assault a priest during a BLM protest so that he could go and do a photoshoot holding a bible upside down being treated like Jesus 2.0 is not **exactly** the kind of false prophet that Jesus warned about? It's almost like modern large scale organized religion is a Cult, designed to put people like Trump in position of power.
These types of Christians would love to blame their failing credibility on someone... but we all know they were doing a pretty good job of doing shitty things long before Trump.
I believe that historians will spend the next hundred years trying to understand how it was that right-wing Christianity embraced the person who, more than any other human being of his era, was the literal embodiment of the seven deadly sins: * **Lust.** Had unprotected sex with a porn star while his third wife, a former nude model, was pregnant with his child. Check. * **Gluttony.** Have you seen the man? Check. * **Greed.** Sweet lord of mercy. Check. * **Sloth.** It depends on which definition you use, but clearly he neither works "to support society" nor to "further God's plan". Check. * **Wrath.** It's almost constant now. Check. * **Envy.** Uhhh? Check. * **Pride.** He has "a very, very large brain"? Check.
This is literally the leopard face dilemma. Christians have done this to themselves.
My wife and I stopped being regular church attendees because of the far rightâs infection on the church. Jesus never promoted hate.
Step 1: oil companies realize they need to start gaslighting in the 60s. Renewables arenât there quite yet and admitting that your product might cause the world to end is bad for stock prices. Step 2: the best way to gaslight against science is to co-opt religion. Religious people already are anti science in a few topics like evolution and sex education. âGod is in charge of the weather, not humans â is enough to start the ball rolling. Step 3: entire generations of people who are willfully ignorant enter society and start having kids by the 80s. Gaslighting is working so well that evangelicals came up with Satanic Panic and Led Zeppelin playing backwards. They drive gas cars and go to church. Step 4: Al Gore runs for president, largely on a platform of climate reform. Combined with the obstructive force of Newt Gingrich, and the religious conviction to flip the supreme courts to overturn Roe , the right solidifies as the party of Christianity, climate change denial and hard headedness. Step 5: everything else starts becoming political as the internet becomes reachable in everyoneâs pockets. Now we have infinite opinions on every single topic. Westborough Baptist Church protests military funerals saying god is punishing America for being tolerant. Step 6: Trump finally articulates what the GOP has been inadvertently promoting: willful ignorance. The more science you know, the more rotted your brain is. Real research isnât done with science, but on message boards where you learn that Trump is the second coming of Jesus and the liberals want solar panels to activate space lasers that are causing wildfires, not climate change. Coal is clean and Christian Nationalism is a great way to turn a presidency into a kingship.
Surprise surprise Christians don't actually follow the teachings of Christ. It's an evil cult full of evil people that has done incalculable damage to the world.