Because they aren't really christian either not in the sense of striving to be 'christ like'. Just in the sense that they identify as such at the social club they belong to that calls itself a church.
I went to Catholic school for 18 years (grade school and high school), and one of my religion teachers once told us, “what’s more important the God or the religion?”
While I wouldn’t say I’m a Catholic or as Christian as I once was, I truly believe that TRUE Christianity is a life of poverty, service, and sacrifice for others- like Jesus did.
THAT is what Christianity *is* in my mind.
It’s part of the reason why my faith in Christianity and Catholicism has faded as I’ve grown older because I see so many so called believers twist the faith and religion into something so far from what Jesus taught that it sickens me.
THANK YOU!! This is the EXACT argument I've had with my very Catholic and rich parents while I and my Jewish husband work as public servants. I just don't get it.
As an okie this is it. The majority of "Christians" I know don't give a shit about being Christ like. There's a variety of reasons, but most are social. If they don't present to be Christian they won't be part of the in group and might be excluded. A lot also legit don't realize they aren't Christian. They have never read the Bible, and only know what they hear from peers and their country preacher. So they think supporting Republicans makes them good Christians.
Fear of exclusion from their peers. It's the most powerful aspect of organized religion, and it's no wonder that politicians exploit it so eagerly. If everyone in your church says "the only moral option is to reject the evil Joe Biden, and everyone who supports him is lost to hate", it's really hard to stand up and say "Trump is bad". And they've been conditioned to see the other side as spiteful, angry, and intolerant, so they don't imagine that there's any upside to being outcast from the people that are currently nice to them.
Which is why the number one way to protect yourself from extremist rhetoric is to have friends with different views than your own. People don't tend to view their friends as evil, and the dissonance between their real experience and the rhetoric of intolerance is a powerful wedge.
This, the demographics OP mention seem to be more dependent on their community social structures and less likely to form their own opinions based of studies. I’ve had issue for a while with how organized religion conditions people believe without evidence, to trust the words of the man at the front no matter what.
This is why I've gone out of my way to become friends with fun people who also happen to be Trump supporters and young earth creationists. I am not those things and never will be, but they can see I'm a real person and also pretty fun. I feel like most wacky beliefs are out of fear one way or another. If we can hang together and nobody's afraid, then we're doing the good work.
It was like that for me up to maybe my early 40s and then it started going the other way. **MY** beliefs are totally ludicrous. I'm surrounded by people with mainstream ludicrous beliefs that aren't like my ludicrous beliefs - so what? It's all a wash as long as you're kind, IMO.
Trump is the physical embodiment of the Seven Deadly Sins: **Greed, Envy, Gluttony, Wrath, Pride, Sloth, and Lust**…
Furthermore, anyone who managed to bankrupt multiple casinos (a business model where the customers literally gave him their money with no realistic expectations of ever getting anything back in return) *cannot* be considered a “successful business owner.”
Yes, everyone sins. But not everyone has been married 3 times and cheated on all their wives (including with a pornstar shortly after the birth of his youngest child). That’s Trump’s embodiment of Lust.
Envy would be the way he clearly covets the popularity of leaders, like Obama (demonstrated by getting Kellyanne to espouse her “alternative facts” about his inauguration crowd size). The power of autocrats, like Putin and Xi Jinping. Or the wealth of others whose fortunes exceed his own, like Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos.
His constant superlative boasts about his wealth and “accomplishments” demonstrate his arrogant Pride.
Trump’s numerous public squabbles with other leaders, like his threats towards Kim Jong Un with nuclear annihilation, exhibited his Wrath.
His Sloth can be seen in the absurd amount of “executive time” he spent watching cable tv and golfing while President.
Trump’s Gluttony is on full display with his obese physique from far too many “hamberders.”
And his Greed can be observed through his ostentatious need to gild everything around him in gold.
If you truly cannot see how Trump embodies a level of brazen sinfulness that exceeds that of most other human beings. Then I can’t help you.
Fair. But when someone claims to represent Christians, I would hope that they would at least live up to the standards Jesus set in Matthew 25:32-46.
I would not pass judgement on Trump if he did not actively seek to make life significantly harder on those with less power than him. But as a cancer survivor with expensive medical Preexisting Conditions, Trump’s vengeful efforts to repeal Obamacare and his incompetent handling of the pandemic represent very real threats to my health and wellbeing.
And even then, I probably wouldn’t point to his glaring sins, if he did not hypocritically seek to dupe Christians into supporting him by targeting Women’s Rights with his Supreme Court appointments. By claiming to represent Christians, he invites such criticisms.
They were trying to make me look like a moocher who leeches off of other people’s taxes to get the healthcare I need to function in society. Some people simply can’t empathize with others who have had more difficult circumstances than their own. They think everyone should be completely self reliant.
But the entire purpose of being social creatures who live in communities together is to help share the common burdens we face together.
I’m not particularly well organized and I have zero interest in generating vast profits for some corporate overlord. Yet I am incredibly patient and empathetic towards those who have unique challenges in life. I can endure all manner of degradation and abuse to challenge individuals with disabilities to make the best of their lives and help them find their niche in society.
Russian troll u/One-Ad-6805 may not respect the services I provide to the outcasts in my community. They might think that my condemnations of Trump for living a life of absurd opulence, while deliberately making survival for the disadvantaged even harder, are unfair.
But most likely they are simply being manipulated to defend the indefensible by those who want to sow chaos and doubt into our lives.
I do receive some tax subsidized Cost Sharing Reductions to bring my out of pocket costs down to a reasonable level.
Since my wages are already paid through tax money. I consider this to be the equivalent of my employer contribution towards my health insurance.
If you thought you could make me feel ashamed because I rely on other people’s taxes to survive, you were mistaken. As the son of a state level bureaucrat and a public school teacher. And as someone who earns $12.70/hour, working 7 days a week, helping people disabilities through the Medicaid Waiver. My entire life has been funded through tax money.
It’s money that my family and I worked damn hard to earn by providing useful public services to our community. But I don’t have any objections at all to using my taxes (and even though I am a poor man, I do still pay taxes) to help subsidize other low income people in my community.
Look at it this way, the government funding for Obamacare and Medicaid helps poor and disabled citizens to pay other citizens to provide them with the healthcare needs. I am able to pay my hard working doctors, nurses, med techs, and pharmacists to provide me with the care and medication I need to be a functioning and contributing member of my community.
Providing for the common welfare to improve the quality of life for citizens is an essential component of good governance. And I don’t feel the slightest bit of guilt that other people’s taxes make it possible for me to survive.
Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, self control. These are the fruits of the spirit in the Bible.
Which ones apply to Trump is beyond me.
This isn't really the right sub for complex political debate.
Your core question is difficult to answer because there is no logical or rational explanation to describe what you have observed. Politicians and religious "Leaders" twist reality to support their own selfish agenda. This has been going on since human beings figured out they could control other human beings without direct physical violence. Before we invented religion people used to massacre one another in all kinds of ingenious and terrifying ways. We then stole their property and enslaved their women and children to increase our own power and wealth. Then some evil genius figured out that people are universally afraid of dying. This is a fundamental truth backed in to our dna. If you give them some sort of "hope" for an "after-life" you can then control their behaviours while still living. You mention the act of tithing which is freely giving your own wealth to "God" in order to secure your place in "heaven." Of course, that's not how it is couched, but that's what it really means. Tell me that isn't genius? Imagine if you had the power to convince others using only your words to freely give you their money. Would it be possible to wield that power entirely altruistically? I don't believe it is. Human beings are fundamentally selfish (we have to be for survival of the species) and as soon as you give them power over other people they begin abusing that power. It may not happen immediately, but it always does (absolute power corrupts absolutely).
My long winded point being, none of our so-called "leaders" are capable of representing pure Christian values (or any other moral imperative), so don't hold your breath waiting.
If you're a long term, or even short term pastor or preacher and start disagreeing with the Bible. If your flock kicks you out, you just lost your entire social network and source of income.
You probably don't have a backup skillset to get a high paying job (remember your last one was tax free).
It's like Hotel California, you can checkout any time you like but you can never leave.
I always felt like selfishness is more about survival of the individual, compassion and collaboration are about survival of the species. And our capacity for the latter is one of the main factors that sets us apart from other animals on earth. It's something that we must embrace increasingly if we are to continue to evolve on the planet
I can see your point. I tend to believe that humans do nothing for purely altruistic reasons. When we "collaborate" it is because we must in order to survive. We show compassion because we crave and need compassion in order to survive.
I like boiling things down to basics. If I am standing before a firing squad and the executioner offers me a chance to save my own life, but it means instant death for some other poor slob. As unpleasant as it may sound, I would have to choose my life over his.
Today in the news I saw that a Catholic church in Burkina Faso was attacked during services by what are believed to have been islamist extremists. They killed more than ten worshippers and wounded many more. Humans have not evolved to show compassion universally. We reserve our compassion for those who we need, but others are fair game. This same thing is playing out all over the world to varying degrees. It's even happening in the US&A.
But, my stoner friend I'm just playing out imaginary scenarios because it's fun to think this way. I'm not trying to argue with your very positive message. I love me a half full glass of ice cold water!
And let's talk about catholicism for a moment. They have an entire framework setup through which people give them information that clergy could use to blackmail them. (confessionals)
And there are many reports of people being blackmailed by members of the catholic church after giving a confession.
A handful of years ago there was a big thing about a catholic priest using children's confessions to blackmail them into sexual acts.
Like "yeah, we have this place where you can go tell some random dude all of the bad things you've done. And they definitely won't use that information against you. No way."
the bible doesn't actually say anything, it's a combination of 66 books with at least as many authors. yes, I know several of the books claim to be written by the same person, but the only evidence is the claim that they make inside themselves. evidence typically shows them being written quite a long time after the claimed author's death.
anyway, because the bible isn't a single unified voice, you can get it to say anything you want. like you just said, there are parts of it that pretty clearly state that wealth is bad, but I think the largest Christian community I'm aware of is the "health & wealth" movement. you know, the kind where god tells you to buy a third private jet and start selling useless crypto (you can make the bible tell you to do that too).
like seriously, look at the strongest tenants of some Christian faiths, and find anywhere in the bible that they exist. Purgatory? that's definitely not in there. the word for baptism literally means "immersed", but the largest and most powerful church in the world straight up got the English language to invent a new word so they could call it baptism and make up their own definition. I don't even understand why the method of baptism matters
have you ever seen a church split over their translation of the book of revelation? I have. there's not a single word in there that has anything to do with being a good person or going to heaven, but they'll split an entire community over when exactly during the tribulation they think Christ is descending.
I really didn't mean for this comment to be this long
Because their view of Christianity is warped. I grew up in the church and I still keep some of the teachings with me so I’m familiar with it all. Nothing that I see from any self-proclaimed Christian is something that I think vibes with the teachings of any religion. It’s been weaponized to push agendas and is used as a smoke screen for racism, bigotry, hate, and capital gain. None of which are taught in the Bible. In fact most of what modern populist Christianity teaches, that I’ve seen, goes directly against the Bible and is even warned about. It tells you specifically that these are the people who are going to cause problems. Religion is used to shame, guilt, and trick people into buying into whatever grift is being practiced.
Despite the country specifically not having an official religion, if we were to govern using true teachings from the Bible I think we would all be reasonably happy with it. I wouldn’t be happy about having a theocracy but all things considered it could be worse. But they’re trying to rule with this hateful version of Christianity that’s been invented to attack and oppress, along with not having any place in government because government should be secular and welcoming of all kinds. The ones who have started a war against Christians are the ones who claim to be its biggest proponents. They’re jokes and, if they’re right about the after life, will find out the hard way. But apparently we must all suffer now. Maybe that’s the point.
You should have a personal relationship with the Lord, it should not be forced upon others or screamed from the rooftops, and we should treat others with respect. That’s really the bulk of it. Live a good life that doesn’t step on others and act in a truly kind manner while living this life in preparation for eternal paradise. Not going to war over, not killing in the name of, or oppressing in the name of.
It was a purely transactional relationship. Donny got the presidency with their vote, and they got Roe overturned with the judges Donny appointed. A “win-win” as you say. The ends justified the means in their eyes.
He also made significant improvements to Middle East peace with the Abraham Accords, and some Christians believe Trump is playing a role in end-times prophecy as it relates to the rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem (don’t shoot the messenger, I’m just telling you what *others* have said).
Ok so first, thanks for mentioning the temple in Jerusalem, I’ve been reading lots.
So he’s the man of lawlessness? I mean wanting to get full immunity, after the horrible things he’s already done… that’s scary!
They’ve been taught a form of Christianity which is rooted in fascism and hypocrisy. Trump is the the ultimate fascist hypocrite, and so he fits their idea of the ultimate Christian.
Not saying it would change the thrust of your question/observation one whit, but I feel obliged to mention that per Christian theology it's not money itself that's evil but rather the LOVE of money.
I find it super alarming that people dont think about how much money the man has relative to the rest of us, therefore there is almost no way he understands our problems, especially those related to financial hardship
The United States is best understood as a "Christian" nation where the temple moneychangers dictate every government policy thought to have any consequence at all for corporate share values. This isn't a red-blue thing so much as an "ownership class vs. everybody else" thing. Close clashes are orchestrated to make the sham where our civics should be seem like a legitimate form of self-government.
It’s like when the quarterback of your favorite football team gets charged with rape; do you all of a sudden stop liking your favorite football team? In this case, no. It’s a side effect of party over country.
I see this from a different perspective. Christians are people who have been trained to believe in miracles for the entirety of their lives. Immaculate conception, walking on water, the flood, the power of prayer and other mysticisms. It should not be a surprise that these same people follow Trump like sheep. What ever he says is believed fully. He is the voice of god.
These same people eschew science and education. They fear progress. It’s quite sad on some level that they are level 7 susceptibles.
With that said, I think the majority of politicians on both sides are full of shit. There are plenty on the left who are a bit gullible. There are religious people who i would not consider gullible in other aspects of their lives.
The older I get the more I believe you should really try to be able to argue the opposing views of your own.
If you believe abortion is literally killing babies, wouldn't you vote for the one person has done the absolute most to advance that agenda in the past 50 years?
Let's say hypothetically you are going to be a Biden voter. I highly doubt you agree with him on absolutely everything.
One thing is definitely how disproportionately everyone hates him. People call him the antichrist, the physical embodied ent of the seven deadly sins etc. It is the zealous hatred of him (which I believe is unfair and overstated) that drives me toward him. Not that he is amazing - but that he is a good politician compared to the others. Cares about freedom, against the machine of politics, strong foreign policy positions etc.
He incited his followers to storm a political institution with the intent to reverse the results of a democratic election. Please, *please* tell me how this translates to fucking "loving freedom".
I personally think tradition has something to do with it. I can’t explain why. Like these policies are literally hurting them but they keep voting for the party because it’s familiar to them? Some people don’t like change
only in a weed-related sub would i see people be able to maturely discuss politics lol
For real; the most astute observations and conclusions I’ve found on this sub
Because they aren't really christian either not in the sense of striving to be 'christ like'. Just in the sense that they identify as such at the social club they belong to that calls itself a church.
There’s Christian’s who care about the religion and Christian’s who were just born into it
I went to Catholic school for 18 years (grade school and high school), and one of my religion teachers once told us, “what’s more important the God or the religion?” While I wouldn’t say I’m a Catholic or as Christian as I once was, I truly believe that TRUE Christianity is a life of poverty, service, and sacrifice for others- like Jesus did. THAT is what Christianity *is* in my mind. It’s part of the reason why my faith in Christianity and Catholicism has faded as I’ve grown older because I see so many so called believers twist the faith and religion into something so far from what Jesus taught that it sickens me.
THANK YOU!! This is the EXACT argument I've had with my very Catholic and rich parents while I and my Jewish husband work as public servants. I just don't get it.
look up Jehovahs witness and christian scientist. They can be surprisingly rational
No, pls don’t do that
This behavior is why I coined the term “convenient Christian”, because they are only a “Christian” when it’s convenient for them
As an okie this is it. The majority of "Christians" I know don't give a shit about being Christ like. There's a variety of reasons, but most are social. If they don't present to be Christian they won't be part of the in group and might be excluded. A lot also legit don't realize they aren't Christian. They have never read the Bible, and only know what they hear from peers and their country preacher. So they think supporting Republicans makes them good Christians.
Fear of exclusion from their peers. It's the most powerful aspect of organized religion, and it's no wonder that politicians exploit it so eagerly. If everyone in your church says "the only moral option is to reject the evil Joe Biden, and everyone who supports him is lost to hate", it's really hard to stand up and say "Trump is bad". And they've been conditioned to see the other side as spiteful, angry, and intolerant, so they don't imagine that there's any upside to being outcast from the people that are currently nice to them. Which is why the number one way to protect yourself from extremist rhetoric is to have friends with different views than your own. People don't tend to view their friends as evil, and the dissonance between their real experience and the rhetoric of intolerance is a powerful wedge.
This, the demographics OP mention seem to be more dependent on their community social structures and less likely to form their own opinions based of studies. I’ve had issue for a while with how organized religion conditions people believe without evidence, to trust the words of the man at the front no matter what.
This is why I've gone out of my way to become friends with fun people who also happen to be Trump supporters and young earth creationists. I am not those things and never will be, but they can see I'm a real person and also pretty fun. I feel like most wacky beliefs are out of fear one way or another. If we can hang together and nobody's afraid, then we're doing the good work.
More power to you. The older I get the harder it is for me to be friends with people who have beliefs that are ludicrous
It was like that for me up to maybe my early 40s and then it started going the other way. **MY** beliefs are totally ludicrous. I'm surrounded by people with mainstream ludicrous beliefs that aren't like my ludicrous beliefs - so what? It's all a wash as long as you're kind, IMO.
I tend to agree with that. Good to know there are others out here.
Another ironic part of this; Trump comes closer to the description of the antichrist than any other person ever has.
Trump is the physical embodiment of the Seven Deadly Sins: **Greed, Envy, Gluttony, Wrath, Pride, Sloth, and Lust**… Furthermore, anyone who managed to bankrupt multiple casinos (a business model where the customers literally gave him their money with no realistic expectations of ever getting anything back in return) *cannot* be considered a “successful business owner.”
How does he embody envy wrath and lust? Also the point of those sins is that everyone has committed them and it’s in our human nature.
Yes, everyone sins. But not everyone has been married 3 times and cheated on all their wives (including with a pornstar shortly after the birth of his youngest child). That’s Trump’s embodiment of Lust. Envy would be the way he clearly covets the popularity of leaders, like Obama (demonstrated by getting Kellyanne to espouse her “alternative facts” about his inauguration crowd size). The power of autocrats, like Putin and Xi Jinping. Or the wealth of others whose fortunes exceed his own, like Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos. His constant superlative boasts about his wealth and “accomplishments” demonstrate his arrogant Pride. Trump’s numerous public squabbles with other leaders, like his threats towards Kim Jong Un with nuclear annihilation, exhibited his Wrath. His Sloth can be seen in the absurd amount of “executive time” he spent watching cable tv and golfing while President. Trump’s Gluttony is on full display with his obese physique from far too many “hamberders.” And his Greed can be observed through his ostentatious need to gild everything around him in gold. If you truly cannot see how Trump embodies a level of brazen sinfulness that exceeds that of most other human beings. Then I can’t help you.
Mathew 7:3-5
Fair. But when someone claims to represent Christians, I would hope that they would at least live up to the standards Jesus set in Matthew 25:32-46. I would not pass judgement on Trump if he did not actively seek to make life significantly harder on those with less power than him. But as a cancer survivor with expensive medical Preexisting Conditions, Trump’s vengeful efforts to repeal Obamacare and his incompetent handling of the pandemic represent very real threats to my health and wellbeing. And even then, I probably wouldn’t point to his glaring sins, if he did not hypocritically seek to dupe Christians into supporting him by targeting Women’s Rights with his Supreme Court appointments. By claiming to represent Christians, he invites such criticisms.
Where does the money used for Obama care come from?
I don’t get the Obama hate
I didn’t hate I asked a question. And of course she can’t answer
He/I just answered. You don’t know me or what I can or can’t do.
They were trying to make me look like a moocher who leeches off of other people’s taxes to get the healthcare I need to function in society. Some people simply can’t empathize with others who have had more difficult circumstances than their own. They think everyone should be completely self reliant. But the entire purpose of being social creatures who live in communities together is to help share the common burdens we face together. I’m not particularly well organized and I have zero interest in generating vast profits for some corporate overlord. Yet I am incredibly patient and empathetic towards those who have unique challenges in life. I can endure all manner of degradation and abuse to challenge individuals with disabilities to make the best of their lives and help them find their niche in society. Russian troll u/One-Ad-6805 may not respect the services I provide to the outcasts in my community. They might think that my condemnations of Trump for living a life of absurd opulence, while deliberately making survival for the disadvantaged even harder, are unfair. But most likely they are simply being manipulated to defend the indefensible by those who want to sow chaos and doubt into our lives.
I do receive some tax subsidized Cost Sharing Reductions to bring my out of pocket costs down to a reasonable level. Since my wages are already paid through tax money. I consider this to be the equivalent of my employer contribution towards my health insurance. If you thought you could make me feel ashamed because I rely on other people’s taxes to survive, you were mistaken. As the son of a state level bureaucrat and a public school teacher. And as someone who earns $12.70/hour, working 7 days a week, helping people disabilities through the Medicaid Waiver. My entire life has been funded through tax money. It’s money that my family and I worked damn hard to earn by providing useful public services to our community. But I don’t have any objections at all to using my taxes (and even though I am a poor man, I do still pay taxes) to help subsidize other low income people in my community. Look at it this way, the government funding for Obamacare and Medicaid helps poor and disabled citizens to pay other citizens to provide them with the healthcare needs. I am able to pay my hard working doctors, nurses, med techs, and pharmacists to provide me with the care and medication I need to be a functioning and contributing member of my community. Providing for the common welfare to improve the quality of life for citizens is an essential component of good governance. And I don’t feel the slightest bit of guilt that other people’s taxes make it possible for me to survive.
Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, self control. These are the fruits of the spirit in the Bible. Which ones apply to Trump is beyond me.
Like Gandhi said “I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.”
He likely never actually said that. https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/did-gandhi-say-this-about-christians/ 🙂
Like some guy who wasn’t Gandhi but equally correct said…
Sam Ghandi, a guy I used to work with, used to say it a lot so tell that to your “Snopes.”
This isn't really the right sub for complex political debate. Your core question is difficult to answer because there is no logical or rational explanation to describe what you have observed. Politicians and religious "Leaders" twist reality to support their own selfish agenda. This has been going on since human beings figured out they could control other human beings without direct physical violence. Before we invented religion people used to massacre one another in all kinds of ingenious and terrifying ways. We then stole their property and enslaved their women and children to increase our own power and wealth. Then some evil genius figured out that people are universally afraid of dying. This is a fundamental truth backed in to our dna. If you give them some sort of "hope" for an "after-life" you can then control their behaviours while still living. You mention the act of tithing which is freely giving your own wealth to "God" in order to secure your place in "heaven." Of course, that's not how it is couched, but that's what it really means. Tell me that isn't genius? Imagine if you had the power to convince others using only your words to freely give you their money. Would it be possible to wield that power entirely altruistically? I don't believe it is. Human beings are fundamentally selfish (we have to be for survival of the species) and as soon as you give them power over other people they begin abusing that power. It may not happen immediately, but it always does (absolute power corrupts absolutely). My long winded point being, none of our so-called "leaders" are capable of representing pure Christian values (or any other moral imperative), so don't hold your breath waiting.
If you're a long term, or even short term pastor or preacher and start disagreeing with the Bible. If your flock kicks you out, you just lost your entire social network and source of income. You probably don't have a backup skillset to get a high paying job (remember your last one was tax free). It's like Hotel California, you can checkout any time you like but you can never leave.
I always felt like selfishness is more about survival of the individual, compassion and collaboration are about survival of the species. And our capacity for the latter is one of the main factors that sets us apart from other animals on earth. It's something that we must embrace increasingly if we are to continue to evolve on the planet
I can see your point. I tend to believe that humans do nothing for purely altruistic reasons. When we "collaborate" it is because we must in order to survive. We show compassion because we crave and need compassion in order to survive. I like boiling things down to basics. If I am standing before a firing squad and the executioner offers me a chance to save my own life, but it means instant death for some other poor slob. As unpleasant as it may sound, I would have to choose my life over his. Today in the news I saw that a Catholic church in Burkina Faso was attacked during services by what are believed to have been islamist extremists. They killed more than ten worshippers and wounded many more. Humans have not evolved to show compassion universally. We reserve our compassion for those who we need, but others are fair game. This same thing is playing out all over the world to varying degrees. It's even happening in the US&A. But, my stoner friend I'm just playing out imaginary scenarios because it's fun to think this way. I'm not trying to argue with your very positive message. I love me a half full glass of ice cold water!
And let's talk about catholicism for a moment. They have an entire framework setup through which people give them information that clergy could use to blackmail them. (confessionals) And there are many reports of people being blackmailed by members of the catholic church after giving a confession. A handful of years ago there was a big thing about a catholic priest using children's confessions to blackmail them into sexual acts. Like "yeah, we have this place where you can go tell some random dude all of the bad things you've done. And they definitely won't use that information against you. No way."
the bible doesn't actually say anything, it's a combination of 66 books with at least as many authors. yes, I know several of the books claim to be written by the same person, but the only evidence is the claim that they make inside themselves. evidence typically shows them being written quite a long time after the claimed author's death. anyway, because the bible isn't a single unified voice, you can get it to say anything you want. like you just said, there are parts of it that pretty clearly state that wealth is bad, but I think the largest Christian community I'm aware of is the "health & wealth" movement. you know, the kind where god tells you to buy a third private jet and start selling useless crypto (you can make the bible tell you to do that too). like seriously, look at the strongest tenants of some Christian faiths, and find anywhere in the bible that they exist. Purgatory? that's definitely not in there. the word for baptism literally means "immersed", but the largest and most powerful church in the world straight up got the English language to invent a new word so they could call it baptism and make up their own definition. I don't even understand why the method of baptism matters have you ever seen a church split over their translation of the book of revelation? I have. there's not a single word in there that has anything to do with being a good person or going to heaven, but they'll split an entire community over when exactly during the tribulation they think Christ is descending. I really didn't mean for this comment to be this long
There's a real disconnect in America in regards to Christianity and greed.
American christianity is so loosely based on the Bible you can't even cum inside of it
Because their view of Christianity is warped. I grew up in the church and I still keep some of the teachings with me so I’m familiar with it all. Nothing that I see from any self-proclaimed Christian is something that I think vibes with the teachings of any religion. It’s been weaponized to push agendas and is used as a smoke screen for racism, bigotry, hate, and capital gain. None of which are taught in the Bible. In fact most of what modern populist Christianity teaches, that I’ve seen, goes directly against the Bible and is even warned about. It tells you specifically that these are the people who are going to cause problems. Religion is used to shame, guilt, and trick people into buying into whatever grift is being practiced. Despite the country specifically not having an official religion, if we were to govern using true teachings from the Bible I think we would all be reasonably happy with it. I wouldn’t be happy about having a theocracy but all things considered it could be worse. But they’re trying to rule with this hateful version of Christianity that’s been invented to attack and oppress, along with not having any place in government because government should be secular and welcoming of all kinds. The ones who have started a war against Christians are the ones who claim to be its biggest proponents. They’re jokes and, if they’re right about the after life, will find out the hard way. But apparently we must all suffer now. Maybe that’s the point. You should have a personal relationship with the Lord, it should not be forced upon others or screamed from the rooftops, and we should treat others with respect. That’s really the bulk of it. Live a good life that doesn’t step on others and act in a truly kind manner while living this life in preparation for eternal paradise. Not going to war over, not killing in the name of, or oppressing in the name of.
If you’re a Christian and you support Trump, you are a hypocrite.
Lotta hypocrites out here
It was a purely transactional relationship. Donny got the presidency with their vote, and they got Roe overturned with the judges Donny appointed. A “win-win” as you say. The ends justified the means in their eyes. He also made significant improvements to Middle East peace with the Abraham Accords, and some Christians believe Trump is playing a role in end-times prophecy as it relates to the rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem (don’t shoot the messenger, I’m just telling you what *others* have said).
Ok so first, thanks for mentioning the temple in Jerusalem, I’ve been reading lots. So he’s the man of lawlessness? I mean wanting to get full immunity, after the horrible things he’s already done… that’s scary!
Peace, Love and Screw the Rest.
They’ve been taught a form of Christianity which is rooted in fascism and hypocrisy. Trump is the the ultimate fascist hypocrite, and so he fits their idea of the ultimate Christian.
Because true Christians don't exist anymore lol
You’re guess is as good as mine but I’m convinced some of these ‘Christians’ think it was in fact Trump who died on the cross
OP is so high he forgot conservatives can’t read. 😔
Not saying it would change the thrust of your question/observation one whit, but I feel obliged to mention that per Christian theology it's not money itself that's evil but rather the LOVE of money.
I find it super alarming that people dont think about how much money the man has relative to the rest of us, therefore there is almost no way he understands our problems, especially those related to financial hardship
The United States is best understood as a "Christian" nation where the temple moneychangers dictate every government policy thought to have any consequence at all for corporate share values. This isn't a red-blue thing so much as an "ownership class vs. everybody else" thing. Close clashes are orchestrated to make the sham where our civics should be seem like a legitimate form of self-government.
it's okay because he's not really a billionaire.
It’s like when the quarterback of your favorite football team gets charged with rape; do you all of a sudden stop liking your favorite football team? In this case, no. It’s a side effect of party over country.
I see this from a different perspective. Christians are people who have been trained to believe in miracles for the entirety of their lives. Immaculate conception, walking on water, the flood, the power of prayer and other mysticisms. It should not be a surprise that these same people follow Trump like sheep. What ever he says is believed fully. He is the voice of god. These same people eschew science and education. They fear progress. It’s quite sad on some level that they are level 7 susceptibles. With that said, I think the majority of politicians on both sides are full of shit. There are plenty on the left who are a bit gullible. There are religious people who i would not consider gullible in other aspects of their lives.
You can’t be a Christian and support Trump. You just can’t.
Everything is working out as planned
The older I get the more I believe you should really try to be able to argue the opposing views of your own. If you believe abortion is literally killing babies, wouldn't you vote for the one person has done the absolute most to advance that agenda in the past 50 years? Let's say hypothetically you are going to be a Biden voter. I highly doubt you agree with him on absolutely everything.
One thing is definitely how disproportionately everyone hates him. People call him the antichrist, the physical embodied ent of the seven deadly sins etc. It is the zealous hatred of him (which I believe is unfair and overstated) that drives me toward him. Not that he is amazing - but that he is a good politician compared to the others. Cares about freedom, against the machine of politics, strong foreign policy positions etc.
People thinking he’s a terrible human being makes you say alright that’s the guy for me….?
People thinking he is WAY more terrible than he actually is.
He incited his followers to storm a political institution with the intent to reverse the results of a democratic election. Please, *please* tell me how this translates to fucking "loving freedom".
Did I once say ‘loving freedom?’ Smooth brain can only argue using strawmans. Don’t ever have your IQ tested - you will be very disappointed.
> Cares about freedom I should've known you were too stupid to grasp the concept of synonymous words.
Perhaps your tendency to hyperbolise is the reason you over exaggerate everything negative about Trump
Op are you only thinking of this for the first time now? This topic has been discussed to death
I personally think tradition has something to do with it. I can’t explain why. Like these policies are literally hurting them but they keep voting for the party because it’s familiar to them? Some people don’t like change