Maybe Protests Should Have A Biblical Theme?

[ProudLib72]

Just to get through to the 25% of evangelical cult followers. For instance, a sign that reads "Trump is going to hell for committing these sins..." and list all the sins he has committed.

The reason I mention this is because you cannot win them over with facts. You cannot win them over by force (and that really should not be considered). You can be as nasty as they are, but what is the point? So "reach out to" them on their own terms.

Look, I don't believe any of this religious nonsense that his followers cling to, but I do understand the consequences of completely ignoring their core beliefs. All it takes is for a perverted RWer to claim he has been touched by God, and all the idiots will believe him. The repukes figured this con job out long ago and have been playing it masterfully ever since. So give them a taste of their own medicine.

[mwooldri]

1. There is a religious left... but...

Unlike the religious right, they're generally busy doing God's work. There aren't that many left wing televangelists. So maybe that's what we need. Left wing televangelists.

[ProudLib72]

12. We don't need left wing televangelists

We do need more Christians coming forward to highlight the religious mistakes the GOP is making and the disingenuous nature of RW Christianity.

Have you noticed the recent posts about the Christian leaders coming forward to denounce the GOP? I passed over those posts as unimportant until I realized that those are exactly the kind of leaders that can strike a chord with the RW evangelicals. For a long time the Republican party has cast its lot in with Christian values, making them part of "family values" and "tradition". We need to demonstrate two things: 1. We understand Christian values 2. The GOP does not support Christian values.

[mwooldri]

14. I do absolutely agree with your sentiments.

GOP values are not Christian.

There's nothing Christian about raising rents on the poor, cutting food assistance to the poor, putting health care out of reach for more people, or separating families.

I feel though that any Christian leader that comes out has to be seen to look and feel like someone who is a right winger but actually isn't. Mainline Christianity has been segregated into left and right... Even the Roman Catholic church has been demonized by the religious right. That's why I suggested a left wing televangelist.

The problem with this approach of right wing but not really right wing is that a few right wing positions need to be taken, probably the abortion and homosexuality issues.

[ProudLib72]

15. I feel like there will always be a certain portion we just cannot reach

I was looking at the statistics done by Pew Research. 70% of Americans identify as Christian. 25% are evangelical. 20% are Catholic. The rest are some sort of protestant. So you figure that 25% evangelical are pretty much all right wing. Some Catholics are, but notice that Pelosi was saying the abortion issue was not a purity test. That's because she wanted to pull more Catholics to the left I think.

If we can half the number of evangelicals who support republicans, then we are on to a winning strategy. If we can at least make them question the RW brand of Christianity, we are on to something. And it's not just about pulling GOP supporters away. It's also about collapsing RW televangelists and all the crazy radio shows. It's about gaining control of the narrative. You and I know full well that a lot of Democratic congress people are extremely religious; however, it is also anathema to us to mix politics and religion. I think that is what we need to get over to some extent.

[Beartracks]

2. Messages must be tailored to the intended audience. Communication 101.

We should do that more.

And the same message can be tailored differently to different audiences.

If part of the audience responds to allegory and parables rather than cold, hard facts, then speak to them in allegories and parables.

============

[ProudLib72]

13. Yes, I believe this part of the reason they view us a "elitist" snobs

Someone posted a video last night with interviews of tRump supporters in Mississippi. They were living in abject poverty, but the only thing that mattered to them was having a candidate who ran on Christian values. To my mind, there is nothing wrong with couching economic justice in terms of Christian morality. In fact, such a message should carry more weight than a RW blanket espousal of all things Christian. If we argued in the terms that these people understand, they might begin to see the Republican party's true nature.

[Sgent]

3. A Place to start

In Exodus 23 , we read, “You shall not oppress a stranger, since you yourselves know the feelings of a stranger, for you also were strangers in the land of Egypt.” In Leviticus 19:33 we find, “When a stranger resides with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong. In Leviticus 19:34,we repeat this refrain, “The stranger who resides with you shall be to you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt; I am the Lord your God.”

From: https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/loving-the-stranger/

[California_Republic]

4. Well I always wonder what would happen if a football player took two knees and prayed during the nat

National anthem

[RockRaven]

5. I doubt it would make a big difference. A genuflection is 1 knee. Kaepernick was a vocal Christian.

They always revert to a few tried-and-true safe harbors: 1) the No-True-Scotsman, 2) Flat-out reality/fact denial, 3) Cognitive Dissonance

[cyclonefence]

6. I am with you

Another benefit to hitting them with scripture is you won't get any pushback, no wasting time arguing (or trying to argue) with them. And they aren't likely to deface a sign or a car with a Bible-based bumper sticker.

The Xians who follow Trump are so far from being followers of Jesus that it might shake some of them up to be confronted with the actual teachings of Jesus, not some bloviating from a money-grubbing preacher.

I would disagree with a listing of Trump's sins. Instead, put something like this on your sign:

“…I was a stranger and you welcomed me.”
Matthew 25:31-46

For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
Galatians 5:14

So Joseph got up and took the Child and His mother while it was still night, and left for Egypt.
Matthew. 2: 13-15

‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’”
Matthew 25:40

There are countless more Biblical verses. I think it's important to cite book, chapter and verse to lend authority.

[KY_EnviroGuy]

7. Good article on the subject here, from the UK...

Six Bible verses Jeff Sessions should read as he separates migrant families
If the Trump administration wants to use the Bible to defend its immigration policy, here are some other extracts to consider

Link: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/jun/15/bible-jeff-sessions-sarah-sanders-trump-administration

Good ammunition to use to verbally bludgeon a right-winger........

[Voltaire2]

8. We don't need to win them over.

We need to motivate our base and get them to vote.

[WePurrsevere]

10. Voting is 4+ months away. Those children & their parents...

need to be reunited and treated humanely ASAP and that means we need to challenge incorrect beliefs and try to change minds & motivate them to help those kids NOW.

Voting is of course extremely important for a long term fix but this can't wait. To expedite the changes that are needed ASAP we need as many voices as possible from both sides of the aisle.

I'm sure we can multitask both motivating voters and educating the misinformed.

[ProudLib72]

11. Not win them over

Rather, gain control of the narrative. At this point, they believe they have the moral high ground because the left are a bunch of heathens. If we focus protests on the religious hypocrisy, they no longer can claim the moral high ground.

[WePurrsevere]

9. Agree! I've been fighting RW fundies for decades this way...

to be truly effective even to lurkers, it's a good idea to recite chapter and verse/give a link to the Bible Gateway or other such site so they can look it up for themselves.

Although it won't stop all of them, and some will probably call you Satan, it will stop quite a few in their tracks. IME 'fighting fire with fire' definitely works!

I can't think of anything off hand that drives fundies off the cliff better than well informed atheists, agnostics, muslims, pagans, etc who out 'christian' them in actions and that know the Bible better than they do.