I was part of that scene for decades and, speaking frankly and simplistically... it's little more than a death cult. They long for the end of the world and to see their "enemies" suffer for eternity. It's a quite dark and miserable place they inhabit.
I'm right there with you. Raised Southern Baptist, then spent 20 years in the Presbyterian Church of America before a series of events turned my brain back on.
My sister is still fully enmeshed in that mindset. She prays daily for the end of the world, and has no interest, much less desire, in improving conditions for Humanity in the meantime. Her lack of empathy for "non-believers" is profound. It's just terribly, terribly sad.
I've tried to explain, more than a few times, how thoroughly evil is the concept of the Christian Hell, but since she doesn't have even a hazy grasp of cosmology, she doesn't understand (refuses to understand ... she's not stupid) the reality of what Eternity means. I think the ideas scare her. (Heck, they scare me.) But Evangelicals toss around words like "forever" when they have no concept of what it means.
Their position is dangerous and must be opposed consistently.
Good article as usual, but also as usual you make a mistake by singling out "white" in your criticism. I think this is a misdiagnosis of the problem. While they are definitely a minority, there are plenty of Hispanics, blacks, and Asians in the conservative Christian theocratic movement. (Especially Hispanics, as it is my prediction that this group in particular will provide a large portion of the bodies replenishing the conservative evangelical ranks as it loses white people.) The focus on "white evangelicals" is becoming increasingly outdated in my view.
In addition, you also leave out the conservative Catholics that are utterly critical to the theocratic project. While conservative Evangelicals (again, of all races-- not just white), may be louder, more numerous, and supply the bulk of the votes, I would argue that its the Catholic fundamentalists that are the "brains" behind the operation. I don't think its a coincidence that all 6 Republican-appointed SCOTUS judges are conservative Catholics. Not to mention former VP Mike Pence, former AG Bill Barr, Federalist Society executive Leonard Leo (who was responsible for picking almost all of Trump's judges), Steve Bannon, Kellyanne Conway, and almost every leader of the most prominent anti-choice orgs. The list goes on and on and on. Its not a coincidence that this is the case. And yet, for some reason, just about every critic (including yourself) of the Christian Right limits their criticism to the "WEPs" and say next nothing to about the Catholic theocrats. That needs to change.
Excellent essay. Thank you for raising awareness of this viewpoint. I have shared this with friends. One Catholic friend said she found the comment re Catholicism to ring true to her. I wish we could light a fire under ordinary Christians, especially Christian Ministers, who find these views of some Evangelical Christians to be abhorrent and not in keeping with the Sermon on the Mount and begin to raise the consciousness of their congregations that this is becoming a problem and people should stand up and be counted.
I was part of that scene for decades and, speaking frankly and simplistically... it's little more than a death cult. They long for the end of the world and to see their "enemies" suffer for eternity. It's a quite dark and miserable place they inhabit.
I'm right there with you. Raised Southern Baptist, then spent 20 years in the Presbyterian Church of America before a series of events turned my brain back on.
My sister is still fully enmeshed in that mindset. She prays daily for the end of the world, and has no interest, much less desire, in improving conditions for Humanity in the meantime. Her lack of empathy for "non-believers" is profound. It's just terribly, terribly sad.
I've tried to explain, more than a few times, how thoroughly evil is the concept of the Christian Hell, but since she doesn't have even a hazy grasp of cosmology, she doesn't understand (refuses to understand ... she's not stupid) the reality of what Eternity means. I think the ideas scare her. (Heck, they scare me.) But Evangelicals toss around words like "forever" when they have no concept of what it means.
Their position is dangerous and must be opposed consistently.
Yes, they want the End and seem to think they can force it when trump recognized Jerusalem as Israel's capital!
Good article as usual, but also as usual you make a mistake by singling out "white" in your criticism. I think this is a misdiagnosis of the problem. While they are definitely a minority, there are plenty of Hispanics, blacks, and Asians in the conservative Christian theocratic movement. (Especially Hispanics, as it is my prediction that this group in particular will provide a large portion of the bodies replenishing the conservative evangelical ranks as it loses white people.) The focus on "white evangelicals" is becoming increasingly outdated in my view.
In addition, you also leave out the conservative Catholics that are utterly critical to the theocratic project. While conservative Evangelicals (again, of all races-- not just white), may be louder, more numerous, and supply the bulk of the votes, I would argue that its the Catholic fundamentalists that are the "brains" behind the operation. I don't think its a coincidence that all 6 Republican-appointed SCOTUS judges are conservative Catholics. Not to mention former VP Mike Pence, former AG Bill Barr, Federalist Society executive Leonard Leo (who was responsible for picking almost all of Trump's judges), Steve Bannon, Kellyanne Conway, and almost every leader of the most prominent anti-choice orgs. The list goes on and on and on. Its not a coincidence that this is the case. And yet, for some reason, just about every critic (including yourself) of the Christian Right limits their criticism to the "WEPs" and say next nothing to about the Catholic theocrats. That needs to change.
Good point re conservative Catholics.
Excellent essay. Thank you for raising awareness of this viewpoint. I have shared this with friends. One Catholic friend said she found the comment re Catholicism to ring true to her. I wish we could light a fire under ordinary Christians, especially Christian Ministers, who find these views of some Evangelical Christians to be abhorrent and not in keeping with the Sermon on the Mount and begin to raise the consciousness of their congregations that this is becoming a problem and people should stand up and be counted.