Trump’s wrecking-ball approach to America has a precedent: the evangelical perversion of Jesus’s message of radical love to one of hate and aggression

Trumpism’s most revealing and defining moments – not its most important, nor cruelest, nor most dangerous, nor stupidest, but perhaps its most illuminating – came earlier this autumn. In the course of a few weeks, the US president started showing everyone his plans for a gilded ballroom twice the size of the White House and then began unilaterally ripping down the East Wing to build it. Then, after nationwide protests against his rule, he posted on social media an AI video of himself wearing a crown and piloting a fighter jet labeled “King Trump”, which proceeded to bomb American cities and Americans with a graphically vivid load of human poop.

As disorienting as it is to watch the president try to upend the old idea of democracy and replace it with its polar opposite, there is one large group of Americans who should not find it completely novel. That is those of us – in older age cohorts a near majority – who were raised as mainline Protestant Christians.

We have watched over the years as rightwing evangelical churches turned the Jesus we grew up with into exactly the opposite of who we understood him to be. At its most basic, they turned a figure of love into a figure of hate who blesses precisely the cruelties that he condemned in the Gospel; we went from “the meek shall inherit the Earth” to “the meek shall die of cholera.” This has happened more slowly, over decades instead of months, but it is nonetheless unsettling in the same ways, a disorienting gut punch for many of us.

What particularly hurts is the fact that at no point did we manage to fight back, not effectively anyway. Without intending to, we surrendered control of the idea of Jesus. It is a story that may provide some insights into how to fight the attack on democracy.

  • prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone
    12·
    20 hours ago

    If you’re supposed to be the savior of mankind, you live among slaves, and you don’t even mention it (he does, by the way, and never even suggests it’s a bad thing), then you can go fuck yourself and your belief system is trash.

    The Old Testament is explicitly pro slavery, and as he said himself, Jesus didn’t come to abolish the old law, but to fulfill it. To say that, and then never suggest slavery is bad, then you are condoning it. It really shouldn’t be too much to ask for him to be like, “yeah how about you don’t treat humans as property”.

    Yahweh is an evil, genocidal maniac and his followers are in an abusive relationship with him. “I love you, but if you don’t literally worship me, you will burn for eternity”.

    Yeah, no thanks.

    • Basic Glitch@sh.itjust.works
      1·
      19 hours ago

      Well again, the Bible says a lot of shit about having tattoos and eating pork/shellfish that plenty of people who claim the identity of Christian Nationalist are cool ignoring, while also insisting that society must strictly abide by very random parts of the old testament.

      Obviously, there is no mention of Christ in the old testament, so it seems kind of odd that anyone would call themselves a.Christian while picking and choosing which random parts of the old testament you think people should obey, while also ignoring the parts of the New Testament that Christ says are most important.

      Not sure what you’re saying no thanks to because I’m not offering you anything? If you can let me know what you’re referring to regarding Jesus talking about slavery, maybe I can actually address that?

      Because again, as far as I know the only quote is this from the book of Luke (who never knew Jesus), and it sounds like an oligarch jumping on the bandwagon and trying to use religion to manipulate and control the followers of that religion.

      Luke 17: Jesus said to his disciples: “Things that cause people to stumble are bound to come, but woe to anyone through whom they come. 2 It would be better for them to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around their neck than to cause one of these little ones to stumble. 3 So watch yourselves If your brother or sister[a] sins against you, rebuke them; and if they repent, forgive them. 4 Even if they sin against you seven times in a day and seven times come back to you saying ‘I repent,’ you must forgive them.” 5 The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!” 6 He replied, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you. 7 ‘Who among you would say to your slave who has just come in from ploughing or tending sheep in the field, “Come here at once and take your place at the table”? 8 Would you not rather say to him, “Prepare supper for me, put on your apron and serve me while I eat and drink; later you may eat and drink”? 9 Do you thank the slave for doing what was commanded? 10 So you also, when you have done all that you were ordered to do, say, “We are worthless slaves; we have done only what we ought to have done!”’

      If this is what you’re referring to, I would consider the context that this was not written by somebody who actually heard Jesus speak/teach. If Peter Thiel wrote a book attributing quotes to Jesus, it would probably be full of shit just like this.

      Basically “don’t worry about uprising against all evil shit I’m doing. Jesus says you have to forgive me no matter how many times I do it. Just look at Luke 17.”

      It would be better for them to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around their neck than to cause one of these little ones to stumble.

      Specifically, Jesus seems to warn almost word for word about this exact bullshit in Matthew 23:

      2 “The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. 3 So you must be careful to do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. 4 They tie up heavy, cumbersome loads and put them on other people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.

      The oligarchs use religion as a tool to gain their seat of power and control. You may be stuck living in a society controlled by their unjust laws, but don’t be like them. Never forget the claims of their own holiness are merely an illusion and part of the tool they use to keep the “little ones” oppressed under the weight of their man made laws.

      • prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone
        11·
        20 hours ago

        Did you even read my comment? I don’t know if I could have been any more clear, yet it seems you didn’t read anything I wrote.

        You don’t get to just ignore parts of the old testament that you do not like. That’s your holy book, and if you’re going to live your life by it (and in many cases, push it on everyone else), then you’re going to have to stand behind everything in it. That includes the parts about how bad you can beat your gentile slaves.

        I’m saying no thanks to Christianity. Seemed pretty clear to me in context.

        • Basic Glitch@sh.itjust.works
          1·
          16 hours ago

          You don’t get to just ignore parts of the old testament that you do not like.

          Ooohhhh but my sweet baby boy. That’s exactly what Christianity gets to do LMAO, don’t be basic. Although, I have to admit this is perhaps the funniest attempt to mansplain reality (a stranger who allegedly finds my religion abhorrent, incorrectly breaking down my own religion for me) that I’ve ever had the privilege of experiencing.

          That includes the parts about how bad you can beat your gentile slaves.

          I’m not sure what part of the book you’re referring to, but as an aside I also really need to hear who you believe the gentiles are in the book you’re referring to.

          That’s your holy book.

          I think you’re confusing your Abrahamic religions. Telling a Christian the old testament is their “holy book” makes about as much sense as telling a Muslim the old testament is their “holy book.”

          The Torah contains the first 5 books of the old testament. I don’t know very much about Judaism other than the Torah is their holy book, and some sects are more or less strict with how closely they follow it.

          The Bible contains the same first 5 books as the Torah in the old testament, but Christians are followers of Christ and abide by the new testament. That doesn’t mean they don’t see value in the history of their religion, but that whole divide between old and new testament is kind of a big deal.

          Matthew 5:17: Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.

          I don’t know much about Islam either except that Muslims are followers of the prophet Mohammed and abide by the Quran.

          I do know that all 3 religions share the same origin, and I do know that these similarities and especially the differences that you seem to be ignoring or unaware of, are at the heart of what has led to more than a few hairy misunderstandings historically, and continues to drive conflicts and wars to this day.

          You have ultra conservative fundamentalist Jews who often hate anyone who isn’t like them, (including other Jews, Muslims and to perhaps to a lesser extent in modern times depending on the circumstances/if it will benefit them, Christians), then you have ultra conservative fundamentalist “Christians” who hate everyone who isn’t like them (including other Christians, Muslims, and Jews. You sometimes have Christians who hold antisemitic views while simultaneously worshiping a resurrected Jewish carpenter, and in modern times will side with Israel when it benefits them). Then you have ultra conservative fundamentalist Muslims who hate anyone who isn’t like them (including other Muslims, Christians and Jews).

          All three share Abrahamic ideology, and similar geographic origins. All three are really supposed to be religions that provide guidance to bring people together in unity for a greater good, but thanks to fundamentalist conservative assholes, all 3 are often used to justify acts of evil. Shits fucking weird.

          I wonder what possible connection between all 3 might possibly explain all the chaotic conflict and violence? It definitely couldn’t be the self serving conservative fundamentalist assholes in each religion who take it upon themselves to play God, manipulate followers of the religion for their own benefit, and convince nations to go to war in the name of a shared God.

          So, I guess if it’s not assholes that are the problem, the only other possible explanation is that religion in general is the problem. Makes sense.

          Lucky for the rest of the secular world, controlling and power hungry assholes don’t exist outside of religion. /s