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23528 |
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Date: February 21, 2022 at 05:36:54
From: shadow, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Christian Nationalistic misogyny -- what would Jesus say? |
URL: https://www.salon.com/2022/02/20/christian-nationalism-is-rooted-in-stupid-tough-guy-misogyny-what-would-jesus-say/ |
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"Christian nationalism is rooted in stupid tough-guy
misogyny: What would Jesus say?
I'm an evangelical minister: Christian nationalism is a
bizarre, misogynist fantasy — and totally un-Christian
During my time as a boy attending an evangelical church
and then later, when I attended an evangelical seminary,
it was hard not to notice an underlying misogyny that
seemed consistently present. As a man, I would be the
head of the household. I was like Christ to my future
wife. In fact, I once heard a sermon by prominent
evangelical minister Tony Evans where he declared that
wives must refer to their husbands as "Lord." In my
church youth groups, we were separated by sex and the
boys had bizarre discussions on the type of men we should
become. There was a strong emphasis on being what they
considered to be manly and tough, whereas young girls, of
course, were encouraged to be nurturing, submissive and,
most important, sexually pure.
When contemporary evangelical leaders push a message
around Christian nationalism, I can promise you it always
refers back to a time when the "traditional" roles of
American households held fast. Making America "great
again" is truly about bringing back a time when women
were subject to their husband's wills and whims, and the
husbands were lords of the house.
Someone recently wrote to me, in response to one of my
previous articles, wondering why so many evangelicals
chose Donald Trump, a vulgar misogynist who shows no
understanding of any element of the Christian faith, over
other candidates who were much closer to the evangelical
movement. The difficult answer is that most evangelical
men long for the days when misogyny was cool, when women
were under the thumb of their husbands and sexual
harassment was almost universally accepted. Trump
exemplified that approach — and a great many evangelicals
loved him for it. Trump remains the favorite of the
evangelicals not because any commitment to Christ or the
Christian way of life — since he has none — but because
of the widespread desire among evangelicals to take back
control over their lives, and their wives. One of the
major ways this has been expressed lately is through the
ideology known as Christian nationalism.
As I understand it, Christian nationalism is an idea now
widely accepted within the evangelical church that the
U.S. is a Christian nation founded upon Christian
principles — no matter what it may say in the
Constitution. This commitment to the Christian faith, as
a nation, is the reason God blessed the U.S. as the
greatest nation that ever existed. God will only continue
to bless this nation, however, as long as it remains a
Christian nation. As America becomes more progressive and
increasingly secular in terms of politics, culture and
faith, then in this view God will remove his blessing and
protection and great evils will befall our nation.
This remarkable theory has no connection to any of the
teachings of Jesus Christ or his followers, and is
completely irrelevant to the Christian faith. I will
certainly admit that I have a heart for American
idealism. I have officiated at numerous Veterans Day and
Memorial Day services, and I have felt the love of
country enormously, on those days and all the days in
between. None of that, however, has anything to do with
Christianity. God does not play favorites when it comes
to nations, people or cultures. That entire idea is
morally and theologically absurd.
In truth, Christian nationalism is based not in the Bible
or the teachings of Jesus Christ, but on the idea of the
traditional American family. As roles for women have
changed, as divorce becomes more common, as same-sex
marriage gains a firmer footing, and now with the
movement for transgender rights and visibility becoming
more public, the panic of the Christian nationalists
becomes ever more desperate. This is where all that rage
among evangelicals is coming from. Understand, most
people are motivated politically based on how they
perceive policy decisions affecting their day-to-day
life. Nothing affects our lives more than what is
happening to our families. When things fall apart at
home, it can feel helpful — even if it's not healthy — to
blame someone or something besides ourselves. For myself,
I know that all my personal failures are mine alone. I
can't blame MTV or Eminem or the LGBTQI population, the
evangelical church, Trump, Biden, Obama, my mom, my dad
or anyone else. The problem is in the mirror, as it is
for everyone. Any effort to pass that blame along to
others is quite human, and quite wrong.
My final point on Christian nationalism is around all the
macho tough-guy stuff that seems to be on the lips of
every right-wing leader. Being "tough" seems to be the
only thing conservative commentators and evangelical
leaders care about. Trump is supposedly the epitome of
that and his little posse loves him for it. I won't
pretend to understand it. After I graduated middle
school, being tough just didn't seem that important. But
for people like Sean Hannity, Tucker Carlson, Jerry
Falwell Jr. (before his fall) and of course Trump
himself, it's important to keep pretending that they are
a bunch of tough guys, even though they also claim to
stand with Jesus Christ, a humble, meek and homeless
teacher.
I'm no tough guy but I am happy to offer a challenge to
any of these fake tough guys. Debate me anywhere,
anytime. I am truly blue-collar, a member of the American
working class. I am a Bible-believing minister and a
flaming liberal. I believe that the Christian nationalist
message comes from the devil himself. I am trying to save
the name of the Christian faith and to stand up for
American idealism. I oppose every part of the
hypocritical, fake-populist agenda of the Christian
nationalists and their enablers. I double-dog dare any of
them, here and now, to stand up and take me on in public
debate. Odds are they never will."
***
Thank you, sir...so very well said... ;)
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Responses:
[23529] [23530] [23532] [23533] [23535] [23534] [23536] [23538] [23539] |
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23529 |
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Date: February 21, 2022 at 09:04:58
From: blindhog 6th sense, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Jesus Would Say the NEW WORLD ORDER/NAZIS Are of the Devil(NT) |
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Responses:
[23530] [23532] [23533] [23535] [23534] [23536] [23538] [23539] |
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23530 |
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Date: February 21, 2022 at 09:27:43
From: shadow, [DNS_Address]
Subject: [Insert buzzer soundbyte] Wrong! lol |
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Blindhog... Do you honestly not realize how apparent it
is, even going by what we know today as "the bible," that
if Yeshua/Christ were alive today, the essence of his
teachings would categorically define him as a liberal? ;)
And no...INHO, He would not say what's in your subject
line. ;) He would simply note that those of Hitler's ilk,
and those who support fascist idealogy or the "NWO," are
simply much, much younger incarnate souls being
influenced by some ingeniously dark fear-manipulating
energies, and have a notably long way to go, to even
begin to understand what He came to show the Way for...
;)
The roots of neocon idealogy ARE the tenets any
controlling/fascist ("nazi") mindset operate from,
whether you like it or not... And if you just can't see
it, blindhog, all's I can suggest is to maybe get some
glasses, and actually *read for content," instead of
verbally spazzing out your ill-considered partyline... ;(
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Responses:
[23532] [23533] [23535] [23534] [23536] [23538] [23539] |
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23532 |
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Date: February 21, 2022 at 09:42:36
From: blindhog 6th sense, [DNS_Address]
Subject: OMG! You Are Mad if You Think Jesus Would Approve of NAZISM!(NT) |
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Responses:
[23533] [23535] [23534] [23536] [23538] [23539] |
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23533 |
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Date: February 21, 2022 at 10:01:19
From: shadow, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: OMG! lol If you're not going to read, just say so...lol... |
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I know you don't think it costs you, to not read what
people say...to ignore responses to what you post, just
keep parroting words you imagine make sense...but I think
you're in for a sad surprise one day, hon... ;(
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Responses:
[23535] [23534] [23536] [23538] [23539] |
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23535 |
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Date: February 21, 2022 at 10:14:50
From: blindhog 6th sense, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Oh, Is That a Threat? A NAZI Member's Threat?(NT) |
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Responses:
None |
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23534 |
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Date: February 21, 2022 at 10:10:36
From: blindhog 6th sense, [DNS_Address]
Subject: OMG! Hitler was a "younger incarnate soul". Sounds Like Devil-Speak(NT) |
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Responses:
[23536] [23538] [23539] |
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23536 |
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Date: February 21, 2022 at 10:17:25
From: shadow, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Please try some slow, deep breaths........ |
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You are mindspinning in your own hysteria, sweetie, please
stop... B r e a t h e...........
Maybe I should just yell BOO, like w/someone with
intractable hiccups...?
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Responses:
[23538] [23539] |
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23538 |
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Date: February 21, 2022 at 10:35:34
From: blindhog 6th sense, [DNS_Address]
Subject: You're Right About One Thing. Like the Devil, you are Truly Scary!(NT) |
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Responses:
[23539] |
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23539 |
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Date: February 21, 2022 at 10:47:38
From: shadow, [DNS_Address]
Subject: *blushing* Oh blindhog...shucks... |
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...I don't know what to say. *eyes downcast, shuffling
feet* That's such a compliment, coming from you...
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Responses:
None |
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