is Trumpism helping or harming the position of Christianity in America?

[EmirOfShmo]

Not sure this is the best thread for this.

It reminds me of a group that used to (maybe still do?) bring meals/food to the homeless on weekends in Monroe Park in downtown RVA. 

 

 

[China]

Mike Pence Says Americans Have No Right To ‘Freedom From Religion’

 

During an appearance on Fox Business on Wednesday, former Vice President Mike Pence suggested that Americans can’t escape from having other people’s beliefs forced upon them, saying that the United States Constitution does not provide the right to “freedom from religion.”

 

The constitution states that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

 

The US constitution makes no references requiring individuals to subscribe to any particular denomination or to a supreme being. But that is not stopping Pence from trying to force his faith upon every American.

 

“The radical left believes that the freedom of religion is the freedom from religion. But it’s nothing the American founders ever thought of or generations of Americans fought to defend,” Pence told Fox Business host Larry Kudlow.

 

He added: “You know, I said today here in Houston that the source of our nation’s greatness has always been our faith in God, our freedom, and our vast natural resources. And the good news is, that after four years of the Trump-Pence administration.”

 

The former vice president also suggested that the Supreme Court’s right-wing supermajority has a duty to side with Christian nationalism.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[China]

How Much Power Do Christians Really Have?

 

After Crystal Vasquez became a Christian, she noticed that people were getting mad at her a lot more. She’d get scolded for responding to a piece of good news with “Praise God!” A friend with a transgender child stopped speaking to her out of the blue, saying that their children couldn’t play together because Vasquez, 34, is Christian. 

 

As a result, in the few short years since converting, Vasquez has come to view Christians’ place in American society very differently than she did before. She said the people around her were acting like she was trying to shove Christianity down their throats when all she wanted to do was express her beliefs and add a little more love to the world. “I think Christians are discriminated against,” Vasquez said. “We act like they have all this power, but really we’re just raising our voices and getting ignored.”

 

But the idea that Christians are an increasingly persecuted minority is far from a consensus view — even among Christians themselves. Kathy Watson, 67, is an evangelical Christian but told me she didn’t understand why so many Christians say they’re discriminated against. If anything, she said, Christians have too much power, and use it to inflict a rigid set of values on people who don’t share them. “A lot of evangelical Christians — I think they’ve confused being Christian with being Republican,” she said. “They want to have strict rules and regulations and they want everyone to be like them, and they’re using the political system — the judges they’ve appointed, the politicians they’ve elected — to impose that worldview on other people.”

 

There’s a sense, in conversations with voters like Watson and Vasquez, that the country is in the midst of a reckoning over what it means to be Christian in America.1 On one side, there are the people who see Christians as the victims of a successful campaign to infuse the country with secular values, forcing Christians — particularly conservative ones — to accept values they violently disagree with. But many Americans think Christians occupy a very different role. In their version of the country’s current drama, Christians are the villains, ensconcing their own beliefs in law and politics even as their numbers dwindle. There’s a thread of unease on both sides — as if the one thing everyone agrees on is that these two ways of thinking about Christianity in America simply can’t coexist.

 

A PerryUndem/YouGov survey of likely voters shows just how deep this fissure runs.

 

Click on the link for the full article

 

 

[China]

 

[Captain Wiggles]

If the church and the state are one then I bet the general will have no problem with the government getting involved in their business. A good starting point would be getting rid of tax exemptions for the churches.😉

[mistertim]

Never forget that the Pences, Boeberts, Flynns, MTG's, etc. of this country are the exact same people as the Taliban, they just happen to be part of a slightly different flavor of Abrahamic religion. But they want the exact same thing: a theocratic dictatorship. They WANT Sharia law, the just want good, god fearin' white Christian Sharia law, not the dirty brown people Islamic kind.

[LadySkinsFan]

Christian Nationalists are ruining the United States.

[TheGreatBuzz]

22 minutes ago, LadySkinsFan said:

Christian Nationalists are ruining the United States.

 

Christian Nationalists have been harming this country since 1776.

[Fan since a Fetus]

I had and have Christian friends. Why is there a separation between have and had? One group pushed their ideas on me while the others have respected my non-beliefeness. Yes, it’s a word I just made up. One time I had a group trying to get me to go to church and wouldn’t accept me in their house any longer until I went with them. That was a real easy decision. 
 

I think Christians are in for a rude awakening if they think people are just going to roll over and accept their religious prison. I’m sure as hell not. It’s part of the reason I am back to collecting physical media. Everything is digital nowadays and can be taken from you in a flash.
 

These Christian Nationalists don’t believe in freedom. They want servants. It’s scary how they all twist the constitution to support what ever the flavor of the moment is. The flavor doesn’t currently taste like freedom.

[TheGreatBuzz]

15 minutes ago, Fan since a Fetus said:

It’s part of the reason I am back to collecting physical media.

 

What do you mean?

[mistertim]

20 minutes ago, Fan since a Fetus said:

I had and have Christian friends. Why is there a separation between have and had? One group pushed their ideas on me while the others have respected my non-beliefeness. Yes, it’s a word I just made up. One time I had a group trying to get me to go to church and wouldn’t accept me in their house any longer until I went with them. That was a real easy decision. 
 

I think Christians are in for a rude awakening if they think people are just going to roll over and accept their religious prison. I’m sure as hell not. It’s part of the reason I am back to collecting physical media. Everything is digital nowadays and can be taken from you in a flash.
 

These Christian Nationalists don’t believe in freedom. They want servants. It’s scary how they all twist the constitution to support what ever the flavor of the moment is. The flavor doesn’t currently taste like freedom.

 

This is the reason that I actually have two completely different categories I generally put Christians I know into: there are Christians and then there are Christianists.

 

Christians are people who do their best to live by the teachings of Jesus, treat people well, are kind hearted, don't judge people, and don't try to push their religion on others (though they're perfectly happy to talk about it if you have questions).

 

Christianists are people who call themselves Christians but really only use it as a cudgel to push their bigotry and ideology on everyone else, impose power over others, and basically in their words and actions spit on the teachings of Jesus.

 

Unfortunately nowadays there are way way more Christianists than Christians.

[Fan since a Fetus]

22 hours ago, The Almighty Buzz said:

 

What do you mean?

I’m talking about albums mainly. I’m very focused on music. I know we are not close to losing any of our entertainment and I might just be acting silly, but there has been a ton of rhetoric lately about heading towards a theological state. 
 

i don’t listen to a lot of nice Christian approved music. The people I was talking about that wanted me to go to church also did not want me to play my own music in my own car. 
 

I’ve just been around enough Christians on the crazy side to listen and believe what they are telling you. 
 

One woman I knew was moving to Israel to convince everyone that Jesus is the savior. Not sure if she ever made it there.

22 hours ago, mistertim said:

 

This is the reason that I actually have two completely different categories I generally put Christians I know into: there are Christians and then there are Christianists.

 

Christians are people who do their best to live by the teachings of Jesus, treat people well, are kind hearted, don't judge people, and don't try to push their religion on others (though they're perfectly happy to talk about it if you have questions).

 

Christianists are people who call themselves Christians but really only use it as a cudgel to push their bigotry and ideology on everyone else, impose power over others, and basically in their words and actions spit on the teachings of Jesus.

 

Unfortunately nowadays there are way way more Christianists than Christians.

My uncle was a pastor at a church. Super nice guy and always traveled to help build things for needy families. 
 

He never preached to me about one thing. I love him and have always gotten along with him. My aunt has asked if I wanted to pray with her and I’ve respectfully declined. 
 

Those types I can live with. Believe how you want to believe, just don’t expect me to follow your book. 

Edited October 30, 2022 by Fan since a Fetus

[Larry]

14 hours ago, Fan since a Fetus said:

One woman I knew was moving to Israel to convince everyone that Jesus is the savior. Not sure if she ever made it there.

 

Pretty sure that people traveling to the Middle East for the purpose of converting the people to Christianity has been tried before.  

 

Pretty sure some of the folks still have a grudge about it.  

 

[mistertim]

4 hours ago, Larry said:

 

Pretty sure that people traveling to the Middle East for the purpose of converting the people to Christianity has been tried before.  

 

Pretty sure some of the folks still have a grudge about it.  

 

 

[China]

How Most Christians Became Godless Globalists

 

“I would rather be labeled a ‘Christian Nationalist’ than a ‘godless globalist’ any day of the week.”

 

That’s how Oklahoma pastor and failed U.S. Senate candidate Jackson Lahmeyer responded over the weekend to media reports about him and Christian Nationalism. Speaking at the latest iteration of the ReAwaken America Tour just days after he was included in the PBS Frontline documentary Michael Flynn’s Holy War, Lahmeyer quickly endorsed one of his proposed binary options.

 

“I will embrace Christian Nationalism because,” he explained, “we are at war within this country. It is a spiritual war between good and evil. And whenever you are faced with evil, you cannot purr like nice, little kittens. You know what you have to do whenever you are faced with evil? You got to roar like a mighty lion!”

 

Earlier this year, he ran against Sen. James Lankford, arguing the conservative Republican and Baptist minister shouldn’t be in office because he voted to certify President Joe Biden’s presidential win. Lankford initially announced he would vote against certification but changed his mind after being shocked by the violence at the Capitol that disrupted the certification process on Jan. 6, 2021. For Lahmeyer, that vote was an unforgivable sin. Republican voters in Oklahoma disagreed, as Lankford trounced Lahmeyer by a 68% to 26% margin in the primary.

 

After one of us (Brian) noted Lahmeyer’s comments about Biden on Twitter during the RAT event, Lahmeyer responded with his own tweet: “It’s true.” And reacting to Brian tweeting Lahmeyer’s embrace of Christian Nationalism, Lahmeyer wrote, “Christian Nationalism > godless globalism.”

 

His enthusiastic embrace of the term “Christian Nationalist” isn’t unique. We noted the emergence of this trend back in July. But at RAT over the weekend, speakers like Lahmeyer not only wore Christian Nationalism as a badge of honor, but they also attempted to create a false dichotomy as if the only two options are Christian Nationalism or atheism. This new strategy deserves greater attention, especially since it means RAT speakers are attempting to excommunicate a large swath of faithful Christians who reject Christian Nationalism.

 

“What is a Christian Nationalist? I think the opposition to a Christian Nationalist, I guess the other direction would be an atheistic globalist,” Clark said. “That’s your option: I mean if it’s Christian Nationalist or an atheistic globalist.”

 

Click on the link for the full article

 

Edited November 3, 2022 by China

[China]

‘Blasphemy’: DeSantis Slammed for ‘Heretical’ Re-Election Ode to Himself – ‘God Made a Fighter’

 

Christian nationalist Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is pulling out all the stops, sending his wife in to submit his closing argument for re-election: God endorses me. DeSantis is running to keep his seat from former Florida Governor Charlie Crist, a Democrat.

 

It’s a not uncommon endorsement Republicans are making – or rather, making up. God isn’t going to issue a statement of denial or a cease and desist order. Anyone, even embattled GOP Senate candidate Herschel Walker, can do it – and they are. Walker this week told Georgians, “I’m a warrior for God.”

 

DeSantis’ campaign is a bit more polished.

 

Many may not be old enough to remember Paul Harvey, but many Florida voters are.

 

The DeSantis campaign, via DeSantis’ wife, Casey, just released a two-minute black-and-white ad, ripping off a wonderful ode the late ABC News Radio broadcaster Paul Harvey, who died in 2009 at the age of 90, once recorded.

 

 

DeSantis’ ode to himself is less poetic, but it does enshrine his legacy as a Christian nationalist.

 

“On the eighth day, God looked down on his plant in paradise and said, ‘I need to protect her.’ So God made a fighter,” the DeSantis ad begins, clearly taking from the Paul Harvey classic.

 

 

DeSantis is getting highly criticized for this last-ditch closing argument, just four days before the November 8 election.

 

“New DeSantis ad says DeSantis was created by God on the 8th day to protect freedom,” observed Talking Points Memo founder Josh Marshall.

 

Economist and frequent political commentator David Rothschild slammed DeSantis by responding with a quote from Exodus.

 

“”You shall have no other gods beside Me. You shall not make for yourself any graven image, nor any manner of likeness, of any thing that is heaven above … You shall not bow down to them, nor serve them, for I, the Lord Your God, am a jealous God …”

 

Florida Attorney Daniel Uhlfelder, who closely tracked DeSantis’ possibly unlawful shipping of migrants to Martha’s Vineyard, was less eloquent but more specific in his response.

 

“God created this asshole on 8th day?” he asked.

 

Click on the link for the full article

 

[Larry]

1 hour ago, China said:

‘Blasphemy’: DeSantis Slammed for ‘Heretical’ Re-Election Ode to Himself – ‘God Made a Fighter’

They'll vote for him anyway. They'll twist their minds around somehow and come up with an excuse. 

[Captain Wiggles]

God's a two timing ball of light. 🤭

 

 

[China]

 

[China]

Evangelicals voting for Walker instead of an actual pastor.

 

 

[spjunkies]

Zero surprise to me. Same folks who don't mind throwing money at psychos like this guy.

 

[China]

2 minutes ago, spjunkies said:

Zero surprise to me. Same folks who don't mind throwing money at psychos like this guy.

 

 

 

[Bang]

Who knew that an entire belief system based in superstition and bull**** manipulation from charlatans could cause so much trouble?

 

I mean, God damn.

 

 

~Bang

 

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

On 10/29/2022 at 6:17 PM, mistertim said:

 

This is the reason that I actually have two completely different categories I generally put Christians I know into: there are Christians and then there are Christianists.

 

Christians are people who do their best to live by the teachings of Jesus, treat people well, are kind hearted, don't judge people, and don't try to push their religion on others (though they're perfectly happy to talk about it if you have questions).

 

Christianists are people who call themselves Christians but really only use it as a cudgel to push their bigotry and ideology on everyone else, impose power over others, and basically in their words and actions spit on the teachings of Jesus.

 

Unfortunately nowadays there are way way more Christianists than Christians.

 

There's a third category, the silent Christianists.  They'd never want to be confused for a Christianist because they don't want to be seen as a bible thumping, rabble rousing, helfire and brimstone type.  But they silently nod in agreement while the ones who use their religion as a cudgel to push bigotry and ideology on everyone else.  

[Renegade7]

No one is hurting Chrstianity as much as my fellow Christians are...no one...