Why Evangelicals willingly sold out their principles for power. (very, very long article)

[DetlefK]

https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2018/04/the-last-temptation/554066/

As the prominent evangelical pastor Tim Keller—who is not a Trump loyalist—recently wrote in The New Yorker, “?‘Evangelical’ used to denote people who claimed the high moral ground; now, in popular usage, the word is nearly synonymous with ‘hypocrite.’?”

...

Fundamentalism embraced traditional religious views, but it did not propose a return to an older evangelicalism. Instead it responded to modernity in ways that cut it off from its own past. In reacting against higher criticism, it became simplistic and overliteral in its reading of scripture. In reacting against evolution, it became anti-scientific in its general orientation. In reacting against the Social Gospel, it came to regard the whole concept of social justice as a dangerous liberal idea.

...

As a result, the primary evangelical political narrative is adversarial, an angry tale about the aggression of evangelicalism’s cultural rivals. In a remarkably free country, many evangelicals view their rights as fragile, their institutions as threatened, and their dignity as assailed. The single largest religious demographic in the United States—representing about half the Republican political coalition—sees itself as a besieged and disrespected minority.

...

This attitude was happily exploited by the modern GOP. Evangelicals who were alienated by the pro-choice secularism of Democratic presidential nominees were effectively courted to join the Reagan coalition.

...

Lacking an equivalent to Catholic social thought, many evangelicals seem to find their theory merely by following the contours of the political movement that is currently defending, and exploiting, them. The voter guides of religious conservatives have often been suspiciously similar to the political priorities of movement conservatism. Fox News and talk radio are vastly greater influences on evangelicals’ political identity than formal statements by religious denominations or from the National Association of Evangelicals. In this Christian political movement, Christian theology is emphatically not the primary motivating factor.

...

Their justification is often bluntly utilitarian: All of Trump’s flaws are worth his conservative judicial appointments and more-favorable treatment of Christians by the government. But they have gone much further than grudging, prudential calculation. They have basked in access to power and provided character references in the midst of scandal.

...

For a package of political benefits, these evangelical leaders have associated the Christian faith with racism and nativism. They have associated the Christian faith with misogyny and the mocking of the disabled. They have associated the Christian faith with lawlessness, corruption, and routine deception. They have associated the Christian faith with moral confusion about the surpassing evils of white supremacy and neo-Nazism. The world is full of tragic choices and compromises. But for this man? For this cause?

[smirkymonkey]

1. Kicking for later reading!

[Moostache]

2. It is actually very simple...

They sell out their "beliefs" because like Trump they have long ago bought into the idea that if you simply deny reality long enough and loud enough that you can create your own "reality" and then whatever you WANT to be true IS true...and if you WANT it badly enough, its REAL.

"Fake news" is not a slogan or a saying, it is a way of life and belief system ingrained in religious thinking and borrowed by the Orange Shit Gibbon to quell the masses.

To EVER admit that they are wrong or have erred is to raise doubt about their entire world view and reality....white people are the 'true' owners of the American Dream, they are NOT racists for believing that, there is no such thing as "government help" and the leaders of their movement are PERFECT exemplars of humanity and what all should strive for...Lather. Rinse. Repeat. BeLIEve.

[hlthe2b]

4. Which brings to question, do they actually believe in ANYTHING?

I tend to think most of them have never read the bible and are content to merely discuss it in terms that their like-minded "cult" appreciate. It is their club membership and that is why they never question and will do anything necessary to make everything they have supported meld with it.

[dalton99a]

3. It is a well-written article

[Va Lefty]

5. Excellent article.

Thanks for posting

[Martin Eden]

6. Bookmarked, thanks!