4 ms·

It always bothered me how Republicans just appropriated Evangelism, as if Conservative ideology had anything in common with teachings of Jesus. Because Jesus wo

by papito 6y ago

It always bothered me how Republicans just appropriated Evangelism, as if Conservative ideology had anything in common with teachings of Jesus. Because Jesus would want the rich to pay fewer taxes, and if presented with a sick person, would go "let him die". Is that right? I always give the hypothetical of Jesus coming to Earth in secret and running for President in a Republican primary. What would happen? The answer is that he would be laughed off the stage, if we are being honest about it. This is even before we get to the whole thing of relentless commercialization and never-ending extension of the Christmas season, and the fact that most "evangelicals" never cracked open the New Testament to actually READ it. All we get are some snippets they found online or on TV - of the Old Testament, to show us how lost and vain the rest of us immoral degenerates are.

ceilingcorner 6y ago
It isn’t that complicated. In a two party system, you’re forced to pick one option or the other. With issues like abortion being important, it’s a total nonstarter for an evangelical to support pro-choice parties.
- papito 6y ago
  Abortion is a fronting issue. They care as much about it as the "endless wars" and the "deficits". It's OK if their guy does it. You mean to tell me the guy with a Ford F-150, a recreational boat, and tons of "economic anxiety" cares about abortion? People are catching on. What about "family values"? Haven't heard THAT one in a while, primarily because the last Defender of Evangelism used to shtoop and pay off porn stars.
  - deleted 6y ago
    [deleted]
  - ceilingcorner 6y ago
    Yeah not sure that your stereotype is correct. Lots of evangelicals who are otherwise apolitical are very much against abortion.
  - ed25519FUUU 6y ago
    In the new populism I’m seeing, both deficits and abortion aren’t front line issues, but stopping endless wars is very high.
2OEH8eoCRo0 6y ago
I have a very religious coworker who voted for Trump. I asked why he would vote for the least holy president in history. He said he was willing to because he was "saving" the supreme court.
- ed25519FUUU 6y ago
  I’m a religious person and I voted for Trump. AMA! My primary voting issues in 2020+ are: winding down and stopping our endless wars in the Middle East, restoring domestic manufacturing, protecting constitutional rights, in particular free speech, and curtailing the US intelligence apparatus, which I view as abusive and political.
  - sokoloff 6y ago
    Three of those points seem like a tie between the major parties and there’s maybe a half-point spread on constitutional rights.
    - ed25519FUUU 6y ago
      Between Republicans and Democrats I totally agree with you! Which is why I don’t associate with either party.
  - millipedegears 6y ago
    The fact that someone gets voted down for saying "I voted for Trump"; goes a long way to proving that politics in America is a religious belief system. Prove my point by voting it down why dont you :)
  - krapp 6y ago
    >My primary voting issues in 2020+ are: winding down and stopping our endless wars in the Middle East, restoring domestic manufacturing, protecting constitutional rights, in particular free speech, and curtailing the US intelligence apparatus, which I view as abusive and political. You got a bit of the first, and none of the rest. If Trump runs again in 2024, you should pick someone else.
jeofken 6y ago
Jesus certainly would not use armed force to get people to pay for others health care or to under threat of violence make them give to the poor. For this reason socialism is not compatible with Christianity. Thou shalt not steal, also not via the proxy or the democratic state. Jesus beat the merchants in the temple, called the Jews who refused him and later had him killed the “synagogue of Satan”, said that they who have a sword but keep it sheathed would inherit the world, so it’s not crazy to interpret him as a leader of freedom-lovers with guns who in order to please the spirit that created them must out of free will help their fellow brothers and sisters
jerrac 6y ago
These are all my own thoughts, I grew up in a Christian household, but I've spent a lot of time building my own worldview. I was taught that you are not a Christian just because your parents were. You have to choose Christ for yourself. I don't just parrot what I hear, I examine it, look at what the Bible says, and then figure out what to believe and say. Christianity is based on the concept that every individual can choose to follow Christ, or not to follow Christ. If you choose not to follow Christ, you take responsibility for your actions, even the ones that lead to hell. If you choose to follow Christ, Christ takes responsibility for your actions (via the cross), even the ones that lead to hell, and enables you to learn how to act righteously. Leftism, as far as I can see, is mainly about putting all decisions in the hands of the "elite", that makes individuals not responsible for their actions. If there is no individual responsibility, then there is no such thing as sin, and then there is no point to Christianity. Conservatism, as I know it, is very much about the individual's freedom to make their own choices. I see no room for Christ in Leftism. Where Conservatism does have room for Him. So, ideologically, I see Conservatism as more in line with what Jesus taught, than Leftism. Conservatism allows for freedom, especially of thought, Leftism does not. Politically, Christians have more freedom under Republican's than they do under Democrats. Hence why we vote Republican. It's not that we fully support everything Republican, it's that we want the freedom to practice our beliefs without government interference. To be clear, I'm not a fan of any of the political parties. I'm registered as independent. But I'll vote for freedom over tyranny any day. Even when the party I'm voting for has warts. Oh, and for Christians, traditional moral values are still very very important. Many votes for Trump were made due to the outsized effect the US Supreme Court has on those values. The Left does it's best to shove their ideology down our throats via Judicial fiat, rather than working through the process set forth in the US Constitution, so we have to keep the Supreme Court in a state where it won't join in with those overreaches of power. Hence why we often vote for very imperfect men. One final thought, there is a difference between Leftism and Liberalism. I haven't solidified my thoughts on that enough to say, but right now the Democrat party is not liberal. It is leftist. I've even heard on former leftist call modern conservatism more liberal than what the left stands for now.
equality_1138 6y ago
Hypothetical Jesus would be laughed off the stage? This is a preposterous strawman. Christianity skews toward conservative politics due to lessons of humility and understanding that man should not "play God" in the form of ever-centralized (oppressive) power structures. This is not to say that religious institutions aren't without their own corrupt tendencies or that Christians should oppose state-sponsored welfare. But the underlying theme is that progressive politics tend to preach idolatry of false prophets.
- cozuya 6y ago
  Ridiculous. Modern "conservatives" in America have __nothing in common__ with the Jesus of the bible. Lessons of humility?? What conservative leaders in America show the slightest sign of that?
  - equality_1138 6y ago
    You only have to look. Certainly you won't find them in celebrity pop culture news network, duh.
    - cozuya 6y ago
      OK, who are some modern American conservative leaders who show humility, or any of the other major tenets of the teachings of Jesus? Who shows that they love their neighbors? Does building the wall show that? Which of them love their enemies? Which doesn't judge others? Who has repented for their sins? Where do I "only have to look" to find these people? What non "celebrity pop culture news networks" should I be watching?
      - equality_1138 6y ago
        To clarify, by modern American "leaders" do you assume like CEO's and members of congress? Sounds like too much television :)
        6y ago

by papito 6y ago

ceilingcorner 6y ago

It isn’t that complicated. In a two party system, you’re forced to pick one option or the other. With issues like abortion being important, it’s a total nonstarter for an evangelical to support pro-choice parties.

papito 6y ago
Abortion is a fronting issue. They care as much about it as the "endless wars" and the "deficits". It's OK if their guy does it. You mean to tell me the guy with a Ford F-150, a recreational boat, and tons of "economic anxiety" cares about abortion? People are catching on. What about "family values"? Haven't heard THAT one in a while, primarily because the last Defender of Evangelism used to shtoop and pay off porn stars.
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
- ceilingcorner 6y ago
  Yeah not sure that your stereotype is correct. Lots of evangelicals who are otherwise apolitical are very much against abortion.
- ed25519FUUU 6y ago
  In the new populism I’m seeing, both deficits and abortion aren’t front line issues, but stopping endless wars is very high.

2OEH8eoCRo0 6y ago

I have a very religious coworker who voted for Trump. I asked why he would vote for the least holy president in history. He said he was willing to because he was "saving" the supreme court.

ed25519FUUU 6y ago
I’m a religious person and I voted for Trump. AMA! My primary voting issues in 2020+ are: winding down and stopping our endless wars in the Middle East, restoring domestic manufacturing, protecting constitutional rights, in particular free speech, and curtailing the US intelligence apparatus, which I view as abusive and political.
- sokoloff 6y ago
  Three of those points seem like a tie between the major parties and there’s maybe a half-point spread on constitutional rights.
  - ed25519FUUU 6y ago
    Between Republicans and Democrats I totally agree with you! Which is why I don’t associate with either party.
- millipedegears 6y ago
  The fact that someone gets voted down for saying "I voted for Trump"; goes a long way to proving that politics in America is a religious belief system. Prove my point by voting it down why dont you :)
- krapp 6y ago
  >My primary voting issues in 2020+ are: winding down and stopping our endless wars in the Middle East, restoring domestic manufacturing, protecting constitutional rights, in particular free speech, and curtailing the US intelligence apparatus, which I view as abusive and political. You got a bit of the first, and none of the rest. If Trump runs again in 2024, you should pick someone else.

jeofken 6y ago

Jesus certainly would not use armed force to get people to pay for others health care or to under threat of violence make them give to the poor. For this reason socialism is not compatible with Christianity. Thou shalt not steal, also not via the proxy or the democratic state. Jesus beat the merchants in the temple, called the Jews who refused him and later had him killed the “synagogue of Satan”, said that they who have a sword but keep it sheathed would inherit the world, so it’s not crazy to interpret him as a leader of freedom-lovers with guns who in order to please the spirit that created them must out of free will help their fellow brothers and sisters

jerrac 6y ago

These are all my own thoughts, I grew up in a Christian household, but I've spent a lot of time building my own worldview. I was taught that you are not a Christian just because your parents were. You have to choose Christ for yourself. I don't just parrot what I hear, I examine it, look at what the Bible says, and then figure out what to believe and say. Christianity is based on the concept that every individual can choose to follow Christ, or not to follow Christ. If you choose not to follow Christ, you take responsibility for your actions, even the ones that lead to hell. If you choose to follow Christ, Christ takes responsibility for your actions (via the cross), even the ones that lead to hell, and enables you to learn how to act righteously. Leftism, as far as I can see, is mainly about putting all decisions in the hands of the "elite", that makes individuals not responsible for their actions. If there is no individual responsibility, then there is no such thing as sin, and then there is no point to Christianity. Conservatism, as I know it, is very much about the individual's freedom to make their own choices. I see no room for Christ in Leftism. Where Conservatism does have room for Him. So, ideologically, I see Conservatism as more in line with what Jesus taught, than Leftism. Conservatism allows for freedom, especially of thought, Leftism does not. Politically, Christians have more freedom under Republican's than they do under Democrats. Hence why we vote Republican. It's not that we fully support everything Republican, it's that we want the freedom to practice our beliefs without government interference. To be clear, I'm not a fan of any of the political parties. I'm registered as independent. But I'll vote for freedom over tyranny any day. Even when the party I'm voting for has warts. Oh, and for Christians, traditional moral values are still very very important. Many votes for Trump were made due to the outsized effect the US Supreme Court has on those values. The Left does it's best to shove their ideology down our throats via Judicial fiat, rather than working through the process set forth in the US Constitution, so we have to keep the Supreme Court in a state where it won't join in with those overreaches of power. Hence why we often vote for very imperfect men. One final thought, there is a difference between Leftism and Liberalism. I haven't solidified my thoughts on that enough to say, but right now the Democrat party is not liberal. It is leftist. I've even heard on former leftist call modern conservatism more liberal than what the left stands for now.

equality_1138 6y ago

Hypothetical Jesus would be laughed off the stage? This is a preposterous strawman. Christianity skews toward conservative politics due to lessons of humility and understanding that man should not "play God" in the form of ever-centralized (oppressive) power structures. This is not to say that religious institutions aren't without their own corrupt tendencies or that Christians should oppose state-sponsored welfare. But the underlying theme is that progressive politics tend to preach idolatry of false prophets.

cozuya 6y ago
Ridiculous. Modern "conservatives" in America have __nothing in common__ with the Jesus of the bible. Lessons of humility?? What conservative leaders in America show the slightest sign of that?
- equality_1138 6y ago
  You only have to look. Certainly you won't find them in celebrity pop culture news network, duh.
  - cozuya 6y ago
    OK, who are some modern American conservative leaders who show humility, or any of the other major tenets of the teachings of Jesus? Who shows that they love their neighbors? Does building the wall show that? Which of them love their enemies? Which doesn't judge others? Who has repented for their sins? Where do I "only have to look" to find these people? What non "celebrity pop culture news networks" should I be watching?
    - equality_1138 6y ago
      To clarify, by modern American "leaders" do you assume like CEO's and members of congress? Sounds like too much television :)
      - 6y ago