General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsHere’s why people don’t take right-wing Evangelicals so seriously anymore
Back then, people associated Christianity with kindness and said things like, Thats not very Christian of him, when a person acted stingy or mean; and nobody except Evangelical Christians knew the difference between Evangelicalism and more open, inquiring forms of Christianity.
Those days are over. Islam will be forever tainted by Islamist brutalities, by images of bombings, beheadings and burkas. The collar and cassock will forever evoke the image of bishops turning their backs while priests rub themselves on altar boys. And thanks to the fact that American Evangelical leaders sold their congregations to the Republican Party in exchange for political power, Evangelical Christianity is now distinctiveand widely despised.
Another way to put this is that the Evangelical brand has gone from being an asset to a liability, and it is helpful to understand the transition in precisely those terms.
Snip
http://www.rawstory.com/2016/05/heres-why-people-dont-take-right-wing-evangelicals-so-seriously-anymore/
wryter2000
(46,136 posts)And I'm thrilled with the idea the Evangelical Christians should lose all influence in this country.
uponit7771
(90,371 posts)... that kind of talk makes me itch to no degree
RKP5637
(67,112 posts)religion. There are some good things, and all they bring to the table is hatred and evilness.
hamsterjill
(15,224 posts)I've never felt that the Evangelical Christians truly represent Christianity.
Hortensis
(58,785 posts)evangelicals, shall we? I'm surrounded by bible-thumpers, a fair number of whom are about as spiritual as our cat, but here and there are the real thing. People who understand goodness and try very hard to live it. A very few don't even have to try very hard.
KamaAina
(78,249 posts)Cats are very spiritual. During Mom's Transcendental Meditation phase, Elizabeth would come right next to us and assume the feline version of the position.
Hortensis
(58,785 posts)does have a very zen-like tranquility. I'm not sure that serenity can't be ascribed to her latest flea bath, though.
hamsterjill
(15,224 posts)My bad. But I tend to think of "evangelicals" as the nuttier version of those who claim to be Christian rather than the actual definition of evangelical.
There genuinely are some who some people who are the real thing. I know one or two...
Hortensis
(58,785 posts)to its tradition of amateur preachers (have I seen some doozies when accompanying friends to church out of curiosity!), but the influences of increasing fundamentalism, dominionism, politicalization to support the moneylenders, and just plain money-driven STOP-THE-SATANIC-LIBERALS-NO-MATTER-WHAT-ISM has definitely earned them the description of "nuttier."
I always hope that hitting bottom will knock some sense into them, but amazingly that hole they've dug seems to be bottomless and, reportedly, few have so far turned away to find new spiritual guidance. Will supporting that nuclear-grade whackadoodle Trump finally finally shock those into realizing they can go no lower?
Jackie Wilson Said
(4,176 posts)he would or SHE would be proud of you.
I am an atheist but I love Christians like you.
wryter2000
(46,136 posts)Hortensis
(58,785 posts)wryter2000
(46,136 posts)bluesbassman
(19,387 posts)However, if you are referring to the period and geographic name, it was Yeshua and the pronounciation was roughly esho (hard "e" .
Like many other languages, Hebrew and Aramiac are often difficult to translate into English.
Egnever
(21,506 posts)It is time for religion in general to eat a big heaping bag of humble pie.
I was a Christian but have not called myself one in years because of the hate spewed by many of the churches. I retain my faith but I will not give it to any church probably ever again.
I think Jesus would be appalled by most of them.
wryter2000
(46,136 posts)There are good churches out there. Lots if you live in a liberal area. (I live in Barbara Lee's district
Different Drummer
(7,681 posts)not fortunate enough to live in a liberal area.
Hortensis
(58,785 posts)longest time, even as a Fourth of July symbol, because I wouldn't have it mistaken for support of all the nastiness the far right made it associated wit. Now I can, and we went out and bought one for special occasions because, peculiarly enough, it's now rarely flown and differentiates us from them.
HughBeaumont
(24,461 posts). . . give the people free will but drown them for acting on it.
scscholar
(2,902 posts)and now drowning.
Rex
(65,616 posts)With a huge flood...gave them all free will, they got a little naughty and so he drowned one and all plus all the animals on the planet too. Because God loves you.
Bad Dog
(2,025 posts)Which is why we were more than happy to ship our religious nutters off to the New World. (Sorry for that.)
JayhawkSD
(3,163 posts)...and all of the hand wringing about what will happen if a particular candidate is elected, the subject is effectively dropped on the day after the election. Not one single actual piece of legislation has ever been brought to the floor of Congress on the subject, and not one elected President has ever actually sought such legislation.
Act_of_Reparation
(9,116 posts)State lawmakers, on the other hand, have been assaulting abortion nonstop for decades... rather successfully, actually.
JayhawkSD
(3,163 posts)Brother Buzz
(36,505 posts)Jackie Wilson Said
(4,176 posts)candidate takes office.
period
times have changed
JayhawkSD
(3,163 posts)He got all those federal laws passed outlawing women's reproductive rights.
Please. I was paying attention. He didn't even try.
Jackie Wilson Said
(4,176 posts)whatthehey
(3,660 posts)Evangelicals are shrinking sure BUT with two problems
They are far far away the largest group of Christians in the US (DU apologists who pretend most Christians are the kind gentle tea-sipping garden-party kumbaya type are either suffering from huge confirmation bias and/or confusing "mainline" with "mainstream". Evangelicals are darn close to twice the numbers of mainline denominations.)
They are shrinking way way more slowly than other Christian subsets. Even worse, the only rapidly growing religious subset, that of "unaffiliateds" is roughly equally split between wishy washy new age atheists who are scared to assert that much demonized and misused term, and evangelical fundamentalists so virulent they fall outside even the accepted norms of evangelical denominations; folks to whom the SBC are godless communist backsliders. It's quite likely the whole of wjhat normal people would call fundy Christianity is either growing slightly or staying stable.
The last thing evangelicals are doing is becoming less prominent and powerful. They are actively working to follow the Republican Party path of the last generation - to rebuild the brand, in their case Christianity, into a somewhat smaller but vastly more monolithic, committed and doctrinaire force without thought for compromise or nuance. They are more than willing to see the nation move from 83% as it was when I first started reading these polls to 71% as it is now to 60% as it will likely become Christian in self identification as long as they speak for that crystallized reactionary militant remainder. It's what they want. Just about every fundy I've ever come across will spout John 3:16 on command but lives loves and promulgates Rev 3:16 much more enthusiastically.
Populist_Prole
(5,364 posts)They are thoroughly convinced they represent the majority of what is the "real" America.
whatthehey
(3,660 posts)Both are probably similarly convinced so I have to ask.
Unfortunately Evangelicals have a solid argument that they do representt he majority of American Christianity, although the saner portion of those burgeoning unaffiliateds are - barely - keeping them from being an overall national majority so far.
Different Drummer
(7,681 posts)n/t
Demonaut
(8,938 posts)Joel is a first rate con-man
RKP5637
(67,112 posts)libodem
(19,288 posts)Cinched right wing religion for me
SCantiGOP
(13,878 posts)thanks for the post
valerief
(53,235 posts)LiberalArkie
(15,739 posts)Moostache
(9,897 posts)They are worse than genocidal madmen like Pol Pot, Hitler, Stalin and their ilk.
They are worse than mass murders like Gacy, Bundy, or Dahmer.
They are worse than racist cops, KKK and skinheads.
Why? (You may be justifiably thinking right here...)
Because all of those other cretins and boils on the ass of humanity are not viewed through a prism of respectability after it is widely KNOWN what they do.
Despots, murderers and racists do not enjoy the cover of respectability that being "religious" has conferred on the likes of Osteen, Meyer, or Hinn.
I personally believe that religion is a cancer on the human race and that to cure it, you must eradicate the cancer completely. Others are more moderate and believe that the religion can be contained and brought down to survivable levels. When I was diagnosed with renal cell carcinoma (kidney cancer) my doctors gave me the option of treatment or surgery. Treatment was seen as very viable but carry risk of return if any of the cells survived. Surgical removal of the tumor at stage 1 was seen as a 95% probability of full recovery and complete removal of the cancer forever.
I chose surgical removal of my tumor and I proscribe surgical removal of the veneer of respectability for religion. I don't care if people masterbate in private....but if they do it in public places it is usually a crime. Until we begin to societally treat religion the same way - maintain everyone's right to private practice of it, but strictly prohibit its use in public (or to justify public bigotry as a 'sincerely held belief'), we are in for a accelerating decline of society.
If you believe that your religion must proselytize to survive, then its time for it to die off. Freedom from religion is more important to a secular world than free of religion. You can believe anything you want in the comfort of your home or mosque or church or temple or sacred moss berm...but once you return to the public square and partake of public commerce, your rights end and the societal rights supercede, period.
Osteen and his ilk are simply reincarnated carnival barkers and snake oil salesmen, nothing more and frequently much, much less
elljay
(1,178 posts)that the miracle water I saw advertised on tv by Peter Popoff is fake? I so wanted to get some so I would start getting $5000 checks in the mail every week like the people promoting it. Darn.
perdita9
(1,144 posts)...because some of them are truly scary.
Different Drummer
(7,681 posts)"I view Jesus the way I view Elvis - I love the guy, but lots of the fan clubs scare me."
cleanhippie
(19,705 posts)packman
(16,296 posts)with their PTL Christian Network ( which they secretly called P ass T he L oot) . He got caught up in a sex scandal and the house of cards fell with disclosures of air-conditioned dog houses, gold plated bathroom fixtures, sex parties, etc.
The one I like was one of those Christian groups selling little pebbles of rock enclosed in a glass trinket - the rock was from the hill where Jesus was supposedly crucified.
GOLGO 13
(1,681 posts)The Bakers & the Osteen gangs were A+ hustlers. I can respect that kind of game. That Pass The Loot shit is just hilarious. That is pure LAUGHFO!
liberaltrucker
(9,130 posts)that PTL stood for Pay The Lady.
TexasBushwhacker
(20,256 posts)He got out of prison, got remarried and got back to the preachin' gig. He sells a lot of survivalist stuff on his website too.
https://jimbakkershow.com
Jackie Wilson Said
(4,176 posts)lindysalsagal
(20,795 posts)Arugula Latte
(50,566 posts)Believers deny basic scientific truth and yet believe cockamamie tall tales from primitive people. There's really no way to say well, Mohammad riding a winged horse to Heaven is a false, but the Jesus resurrection story is totally true. It's all fiction and so obviously mythology.
More and more people are willing to express negative thoughts about religion, and not just the evangelical kind. The Internet is helping people compare notes on the emperor's lack of clothing.
It's more than past time for the harmful veneration of idiotic "faith" to stop in this country.
lindysalsagal
(20,795 posts)What if we put our health care and educational systems in the hands of the Tooth Fairy..?
Surya Gayatri
(15,445 posts)by hawking their historical identity to the unholy GOP ogre.
randome
(34,845 posts)It's all related.
[hr][font color="blue"][center]Stop looking for heroes. BE one.[/center][/font][hr]
Eleanors38
(18,318 posts)The expression implies a legitimate, treatable and forgivable ailment (and on the sly, suggests the poor fellow is a veritable Sultan of Squirt).
Arugula Latte
(50,566 posts)Your family and neighbors all believe the nonsensical bullshit, so, hey, why wouldn't you?
The Internet is changing that. Luckily.
Rex
(65,616 posts)csziggy
(34,140 posts)Evangelicals were the same sex obsessed, mean, arrogant, fearful, bigoted, lying, greedy, ignorant sacks of shit when I was a kid in the 50s and 60s as they are now. There are no real changes in who they are. They were toxic then and they still are now.
The only major change in the last fifty years is that the Republican Party took them in and adopted their toxic brand of evil as the party platform.
lindysalsagal
(20,795 posts)Xtian politics are killing the air, the water, the glaciers, and filling the planet with garbage.
Religion allows fools to avoid responsibility for their actions.
We must choose humanity.