Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
Editorials & Other Articles
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
Religion
Related: About this forumThe Evangelicals Calling for War on Poor People
I always understood the following passage as being a cornerstone of Christian thought: Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. - Matthew 5:3-5.
Well, in the era of facebook and twitter with Trump being seen as a holy warrior, this passage is just so old and out of touch that it is almost of biblical vintage. Welcome to the new evangelical view of Christianity.
https://newrepublic.com/article/176117/prosperity-gospel-christian-war-poor
A God who does his best work in the dark hours is integral to the story of American evangelical Christianity. The stuff of country music songs and conversions in roadside motels, Jesus tends to come to people at their lowest and loneliest. The only problem is that some of Gods most pernicious modern apostles understand this all too well. At a time when fewer and fewer believers are going to church, it is consumption, in these dark times, that illuminates a deeply antisocial shift in evangelical Christian beliefs.
Chief among the new doctrines is the idea that God rewards seedingthat is, the sowing of financial donations to churches, or favored online preacherswith a material harvest in return. The prosperity gospel might sound as old-fashionedand feel as familiaras a preacher in a three-piece suit, but a new and cynical version is making a comeback across ministries both old and new; among people who go to church and those who get their faith online.
* * *
In Matteras vision, which appears rooted as much in right-wing talking points as in theological ideas, there are clear worldview implications for Christians to consider on the topic of work and welfare. A hereditary influencer who made his name creating a whites-only scholarship while at college, he concedes that Christians should be at the tip of the spear when it comes to looking after the poor but largely for other Christians. The unfortunate, he writes, have chosen the path of poverty.
This is a worldview that seeks to wage not a war against poverty but a war against the poor insteadthose who have, in his view, shown insufficient faith. This might come as a surprise to anyone with even a passing knowledge of the teachings of Jesus, but it represents the culmination of a long strand of American Protestantism that gained hold after World War II.
InfoView thread info, including edit history
TrashPut this thread in your Trash Can (My DU » Trash Can)
BookmarkAdd this thread to your Bookmarks (My DU » Bookmarks)
3 replies, 2609 views
ShareGet links to this post and/or share on social media
AlertAlert this post for a rule violation
PowersThere are no powers you can use on this post
EditCannot edit other people's posts
ReplyReply to this post
EditCannot edit other people's posts
Rec (8)
ReplyReply to this post
3 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight:
NoneDon't highlight anything
5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
![](du4img/smicon-reply-new.gif)
The Evangelicals Calling for War on Poor People (Original Post)
TomCADem
Oct 2023
OP
hadEnuf
(2,476 posts)1. These people are no more Christians than the Nazis were Socialists.
It's simply a phony claim to cover up what the really are.
Response to hadEnuf (Reply #1)
Name removed Message auto-removed
Wonder Why
(4,162 posts)2. Easy fix. Take all the Evangelicals' money; give it to the poor; the poor are now middle income! No more poor.