In Brazil, "Soldiers of Jesus" Are Wreaking Havoc on Non-Christian Communities

[Judi Lynn]

BY BETH STONEBURNER
DECEMBER 10, 2019

Jesus said “turn the other cheek,” but an evangelical Christian group called “Soldiers of Jesus” is taking over large swaths of Brazil, threatening religious minorities with death if they don’t convert. The Washington Post‘s Terrence McCoy has the disturbing story:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/soldiers-of-jesus-armed-neo-pentecostals-torment-brazils-religious-minorities/2019/12/08/fd74de6e-fff0-11e9-8501-2a7123a38c58_story.html

Priests have been killed. Children have been stoned. An elderly woman was seriously injured. Death threats and taunts are common. Gangs are unfurling the flag of Israel, a nation seen by some evangelicals as necessary to bringing about the return of Christ.

All of this is bolstered by a right-wing government that came into power on the backs of evangelical Christians who weren’t bothered enough by the blatant cruelty of President Jair Bolsonaro and a rise in Christian programming in the media that routinely paints non-Christians as villains. (It all sounds very familiar.)

These gangs in particular have broken into people’s homes, forcing them at gunpoint to destroy religious items that aren’t Christian. Religious leaders who practice a non-Christian faith have been forced to shut down their houses of worship or face death. So far, over 200 of these temples have been forced to close. There is no sign of this persecution stopping any time soon.

Until conservative Christians have the courage to call it out, no matter the country, it will never change. They’re too addicted to power to do the right thing.

https://friendlyatheist.patheos.com/2019/12/10/in-brazil-soldiers-of-jesus-are-wreaking-havoc-on-non-christian-communities/

(Short article, no more at link.)

[FiveGoodMen]

1. A terrorist organization if there ever was one.

[Kaiserguy]

2. Right-Wing

Christians are Christian in name only they follow not Jesus but Satan.

[BigDemVoter]

3. This is what happens when there is no separation of Church and State

and when fundies are allowed to run roughshod over everybody else, telling everybody what to believe and how to worship.

Disgusting.

[appalachiablue]

4. Big change since 1980 there, increases in many Pentecostals from Catholics,

Last edited Wed Dec 11, 2019, 10:35 PM - Edit history (1)

> "The mounting violence has horrified mainstream evangelicals. “When I see these [temples], I pray against it because there’s a demonic influence there,” said David Bledsoe, an American missionary who has spent two decades here. “But I would condemn such actions.”

The global ascent of evangelicalism and particularly Pentecostalism, its fastest-growing movement, has led to violence against indigenous and African religions from countries such as Haiti, Nigeria and Australia. But analysts say the forces fueling the prejudice here — the historic presence of religious minorities, newly emboldened evangelicalism and lax state oversight — are particularly acute."

[ThoughtCriminal]

5. Our future if we do not stop it in 2020

We need not just victory, but a huge crushing victory.

[ck4829]

6. K&R for exposure

[dalton99a]

7. 'Jesus drug dealers'

“Some of them call themselves ‘Jesus drug dealers,’ creating a unique identity,” said Gilbert Stivanello, commander of the Rio police department’s crimes of intolerance unit. “They carry weapons and sell drugs, but feel entitled to forbid African-influenced religions by stating that they are related to the devil.”

The global ascent of evangelicalism and particularly Pentecostalism, its fastest-growing movement, has led to violence against indigenous and African religions from countries such as Haiti, Nigeria and Australia. But analysts say the forces fueling the prejudice here — the historic presence of religious minorities, newly emboldened evangelicalism and lax state oversight — are particularly acute.

Rio de Janeiro, long home to a diverse collection of Afro-Brazilian religions, is also now the center of Brazilian neo-Pentecostalism, a zealous strain of evangelicalism more frequently linked to intolerance.

The mayor is a bishop in a Pentecostal church. The city is home to President Jair Bolsonaro, baptized in the River Jordan and carried to office by the Pentecostal vote. And it’s the birthplace of the powerful Universal Church of the Kingdom of God, founded by Edir Macedo, a close Bolsonaro ally who wrote a book that condemns Afro-Brazilian religions as “diabolical” and “philosophies used by demons.” The book was briefly banned by a judge who deemed it “abusive and prejudicial.”