I wonder how many truly believe and how many don’t actually believe but they still push the narrative just so they don’t have to acknowledge that they lost
Why aren't some of the evangelical pastors speaking the truth? Why aren't they guiding those who stray off into conspiracy theories back to reality and Jesus's lessons? They should at least know better. What is their motivation to play along? Is it a control thing?
Some are (such as the pastor I linked to) but the awful ones are getting more attention. As for why they play along, why would any charlatan seek to lead the fake parade? Money. Power. But mostly money.
It's too bad there is no way to hold these people accountable for the harm caused, unless they break some finance or tax law (it seems). Shame doesn't work on these people either.
Religion gone wrong (not just related to christain nationalism) is pretty much always about control, power, dominance. It’s one thing to have your beliefs inform your values. The power of love, good works, speak the truth regardless the cost, etc. It’s another thing to see it as your leverage over others. It’s an invention of the patriarchy, a human conceit. There’s a lot of “good books” out there that will help you live a good, decent life. But wrap all that in stories of a humanoid (usually white) savior then start looking out for those people (usually white men) who say they’re followers but down deep think they’d be a pretty good savior. If only people did what they said.
That sounds rhetorical but just in case; Probably because the answer lies somewhere in between "close reading" and "wasn't white", even among the so-called learned. Most people don't even listen to understand, let alone reading.
A mutual friend of ours in journalism put me in touch with an unaffiliated group of evangelicals seeking to reach out to fellow Christians regarding this issues leading up to the last election, and she let me know afterwards that it had been highly effective, especially in the Rust & Bible Belts and the Deep South; I’d love to hear your thoughts: https://wevotevalues.org/videos
I'll spend a little time with this. I belong to a Christian evangelical feminist group that has been a life-saver (for me). I'm happy to throw in with these folks.
I wonder how many truly believe and how many don’t actually believe but they still push the narrative just so they don’t have to acknowledge that they lost
That’s an excellent question. How many of them are lying?
I suspect a lot
And what does that say about their willingness to follow false prophets like Franklin Graham and golden idols like Donald Trump?
Why aren't some of the evangelical pastors speaking the truth? Why aren't they guiding those who stray off into conspiracy theories back to reality and Jesus's lessons? They should at least know better. What is their motivation to play along? Is it a control thing?
Some are (such as the pastor I linked to) but the awful ones are getting more attention. As for why they play along, why would any charlatan seek to lead the fake parade? Money. Power. But mostly money.
It's too bad there is no way to hold these people accountable for the harm caused, unless they break some finance or tax law (it seems). Shame doesn't work on these people either.
I wish there would be some significant tax reform in regard to faith groups.
How would you envision it?
Tax them. Levy a tax on faith groups, or at least tax the ones that have wandered far into politics.
That's a tricky one when social justice, and antiracism / anti-bigotry actions have become so political.
Religion gone wrong (not just related to christain nationalism) is pretty much always about control, power, dominance. It’s one thing to have your beliefs inform your values. The power of love, good works, speak the truth regardless the cost, etc. It’s another thing to see it as your leverage over others. It’s an invention of the patriarchy, a human conceit. There’s a lot of “good books” out there that will help you live a good, decent life. But wrap all that in stories of a humanoid (usually white) savior then start looking out for those people (usually white men) who say they’re followers but down deep think they’d be a pretty good savior. If only people did what they said.
But it doesn't take a close reading of the Scriptures to see that the savior wasn't white. Why is that so hard to embrace?
That sounds rhetorical but just in case; Probably because the answer lies somewhere in between "close reading" and "wasn't white", even among the so-called learned. Most people don't even listen to understand, let alone reading.
That's just sad, really. The world opens up when we read.
A mutual friend of ours in journalism put me in touch with an unaffiliated group of evangelicals seeking to reach out to fellow Christians regarding this issues leading up to the last election, and she let me know afterwards that it had been highly effective, especially in the Rust & Bible Belts and the Deep South; I’d love to hear your thoughts: https://wevotevalues.org/videos
I'll spend a little time with this. I belong to a Christian evangelical feminist group that has been a life-saver (for me). I'm happy to throw in with these folks.