Andrew Whitehead on how the worldview he was taught growing up in white evangelical Indiana was about "saving" the country by forcing the country to be like "us":
"Much of what I had been taught of how to be Christian in America was predicated on the intertwining of a particular expression of Christianity with American identity, and the accompanying desire to see this fusion elevated throughout our society to 'save' our country."
Mass migration, prohibition of self-defense, censorship, involvement in foreign wars - all of that is not wanted by the majority of Americans. And that is not a left/right issue, Dems vs GOP is just a red herring.
@KeineAngstVorOffenenDiskussion@piazza.today @Fanta4NordishByNature I very much disagree as someone living in the US at present. There's a stark difference between what we'll get if we elect Trump or Biden in the fall. And the rest of the world ought to be very concerned.
What is the difference? The vested powers don't really much care who is POTUS. All stays the same, the FedGov takes away more money from the citizens, gives away more money to Israel and Ukraine and whatever, lets in millions of unvetted invaders, makes censorship laws, makes anti-selfdefense laws (aka counterproductive gun control) - all same.
The federal Department of Education will not be dissolved as it should be (very counterproductive to education), and so on.
"This is the essence of Christian nationalism—a cultural framework asserting that civic life in the United States should be organized according to a particular form of conservative Christianity. In addition to the standard Christian religious and theological beliefs, Christian nationalism brings with it a host of cultural assumptions about who really matters and who should be in charge of life in the United States—primarily white, natural born Christian citizens."
"After years of examining Christian nationalism as a social scientist, and continuing my journey as a Christian, I’ve found that the practical fruit of Christian nationalism is not love. Rather, the practical fruit of Christian nationalism is power, control, domination, fear, and violence."
"Christian nationalism is not interested in a government for the people by the people, but rather for a particular people, by a particular people. Christian nationalism weakens democracy and Christianity by demanding we seek earthly, self-interested power, rather than seeking to support and serve the marginalized."
@dan131riley Yes, though I myself would maintain there's more than one expression of Christianity, some of which are authentic expressions of the Christian gospels and others of which are total betrayals of them.
@wdlindsy Absolutely did not mean to imply otherwise, there are some great authentic Christians in my family. It's only when you put the words together and apply them to something that isn't authentically Christian or authentically Nationalist...it's the lack of actual Christian values that annoys me
@wdlindsy
They have never been about faith: just about power, greed, and controlling others. They are pseudo-Christians better labelled as Talibangelists or Christofascists.
Calling them Christian helps them hide among people who actually care about their faith.
@wdlindsy Having been brought up evangelical in Oklahoma — I endorse this message.
Christian nationalism scared me away from the church. Ironically, I was also brought up to believe in liberal democracy.
@cjdaniel I hear you as someone brought up Southern Baptist in central and southern Arkansas, with stints in Louisiana and Mississippi. Those of us who have lived it know that these analyses are accurate, don't we?