It occurs to me that I have friends who are followers of Christ's teachings

[The Polack MSgt]

As best they can, sincerely trying to manifest love for their fellow man.

I count around a dozen of them, and I consider myself lucky to know them.

On the other hand, I no longer have any "Christian" friends at all... The folks Juanita Jean would call "Super Deluxe Christians"

The Talibaptists, Teavangelicals, Y'all Quaeda, call them what you will. Just make no mistake, they are the engine pulling this train.

They are nothing new to America, or really to any time or place in history that I can think of - After all "No one expects the Spanish Inquisition" was a joke because, well, everyone expected the Spanish Inquisition.

And the Witch Trials.

And a year after the Holocaust ended, no one was surprised by the Kielce Pogrom either.

And now American Fundi-publican hatred has appointed an imbecile to run point for their hate.

Make no mistake - If we stand against them - We are evil in their eyes and they will hate us too.

Well, hate us even more than they already do I guess.

[bobbieinok]

1. Fred Clark in his blog slacktivist at Patheos calls them RTCs - RealTrueChristians

RTCs because they think only those who agrree 100% with their interpretation of the Bible are REALLY CHRISTIAN.

I think he came up with the term in his long running 'tear apart' of the the perverse theology underlying Tim Lahaye's Left Behind series.

[The Polack MSgt]

2. I had never read him - Until just now.

Thanks for the tip.

First article I click on, the very first paragraphs I ever read from the guy FFS - is this:

Why is it that every judge hailed by anti-abortion white evangelical voters as a godly champion of godly values winds up supporting things like Shelby County (the execrably reasoned decision gutting the Voting Rights Act) and, now, Jennings v. Rodriguez?



Jennings — decided by the very same “pro-life” and “pro-family” five-justice majority that gave us Shelby County — means that immigrants can be indefinitely detained without trial. This includes legal immigrants, green card holders, refugees, asylum-seekers — heck, possibly even tourists. The court avoided a constitutional argument, but it seems that good, godly Justice Samuel Alito believes non-citizens do not have a constitutional right to due process because they are not “persons.”

And yet white evangelicals insist that the moral imperative to install justices like Alito or like Not Garland (Alito’s much younger, dumber, and meaner new colleague) is the paramount factor that should shape every Christian’s voting at every level of government because it is the Most Important Thing That God Wants.

Read more at http://www.patheos.com/blogs/slacktivist/2018/03/01/wish-someone-hug/#vAhgu5jdvOBTORBV.99

Wow. I think that he and I may see eye to eye on this.

[bobbieinok]

8. A DU post sent me to slacktivist yrs ago. Check out his posts re antiabortion history!!

Also follow his takedown of the Left Behind series. He has a separate link to all those posts. Also an ebook with them.

I think only the link to the posts at his blog have the readers' comments. There Clark explains the often bizarre rationales of true believers. He grew up in this culture.

Also see his many posts on how Evangelicalism is based on white supremacy. Eg, his posts about a leader of The Great Awakening Whitefield (sp?) who was a slave holder and pushed to make state where he owned land into a slave state so he could make tons of money. Also his posts pointing out the the 'Sinners in the Hand of an Angry God' NE preacher Jonathan Edwards owned slaves.

[LAS14]

3. Why do you deny your friends the term "Christian" and choose to award it to the deplorables...

...you listed?????

[The Polack MSgt]

5. I used the same word they do when they self identify.

Because to do otherwise leads down the road to the No true Scotsman argument.

"Christian" is what they are to themselves - Although they leave off the quotation marks - Christian is what I'll call them.

My friends also call themselves Christians, and I won't quote mark them, but for the purpose of this OP I needed to make the distinction plain...

[LAS14]

4. I get really tired of everyone accepting the right wing's attempt to co-opt....

Christianity. Never mind the huge number of mainstream and left wing Christians. Check out this site for socially responsible evangelicals.

https://sojo.net/

[ismnotwasm]

6. My oldest daughter is a pro-immigration Catholic

She was throwing the “I’m a Republican” crap around for a couple of years, despite the fact we agree on more we disagree on. She now says she isn’t “anything” and asks “why aren’t we helping the poor and those in need?” I don’t give her the obvious answer.

She spent 8 years in the military including a tour in Afghanistan, and the military leans right.

Her Christian values are at odds with her political leanings, and she chooses to be a Christian.

[The Polack MSgt]

7. I'm glad her spiritual strength withstands the constant push...

From the right to justify hatred of the "Other" that seems to be the driving force of so many American religious leaders

More Beatitudes, less Leviticus would be nice, but I can't see it happening here

[ismnotwasm]

9. For sure

She lives in redneck bigot country—and they tend to not like Catholics. She occasionally feels ostracized but she’s so rural it doesn’t actually matter. Catholicism, for all its faults, has a rich intellectual tradition, and I see her ability to think her way out of the bigotry pitfalls that can mar any religion. She’s a good person.