Do you think that for many WEP's that their belief system is a type of massive narcissism? In my experience having grown up in the South, I believe they see themselves as God's "cool kids" and therefore not just better but divinely ordained to rule others.
In speaking with some friends about the WEP mindset, one of us said that they can never be wrong, and can only be wronged. That seems to me why they can justify being the Ordained Ones destined to rule while somehow simultaneously being victimized yet promoting the most heinous of crimes (slavery, Jim Crow, caging of children, etc.)
John, that's a fine piece of writing. I would say that the christianist "evangelical'" problem is that they mostly ignore the Biblical teachings attributed to Jesus of Nazareth. His most important teaching is that people are meant to love their neighbors (friends and enemies) as they love themselves. That is his 2nd great commandment. His first is totally related to the 2nd, vis. Love God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength. All the other commandments, in my view have to be followed only to the extent that they measure up to the 2 great ones. That would mean that if I saw somebody I intensely dislike drowning it would be my responsibility to jump in the water and pull him to safety, etc. It would NOT mean that I would have to admire him and his behavior or vote for him in an election, or believe his lies, or approve of his mistreatment of other people. I could go on with this but will spare you for now. Also Fred Pollack, I think the video you include with your comment is spot on.
There you go again, John, trying to apply facts and reason to WEPs. It didn’t work in the pre-civil war days w.r.t. slavery. It didn’t work in the post civil war era - segregation, lynching, Jim Crow laws, etc. So why would it work today w.r.t. immigration, LGBTQ rights, BLM, etc.
The WEPs think they are good Christians and, of course, say they believe in the golden rule. Being an atheist/humanist, I don’t see how they keep such contradictory views in their heads. But they do. Perhaps, the crazy conspiracy theories (the QAnon ones, for example) that many are attracted to helps them. Also, their ability to pick-and-choose parts of the bible that are consistent with their views (e.g. Jesus was fine with slavery, misogyny) helps.
But in fairness to them, I sometimes think liberal Christians have a similar relationship with the Bible, i.e. choosing the parts that are consistent with their views and ignoring the rest. Taking wisdom from any book is good, including religious texts, e.g. the Bible, Koran, Bhagavad-Gita, etc. But on balance, taking them as the word of God or Gods has resulted in extreme cruelty in the past and the present.
And, there are many good Christians that voted for Voldemort and are now calling him out on his immorality. Here is one (2min video): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CxPkQY7CjQA
Do you think that for many WEP's that their belief system is a type of massive narcissism? In my experience having grown up in the South, I believe they see themselves as God's "cool kids" and therefore not just better but divinely ordained to rule others.
In speaking with some friends about the WEP mindset, one of us said that they can never be wrong, and can only be wronged. That seems to me why they can justify being the Ordained Ones destined to rule while somehow simultaneously being victimized yet promoting the most heinous of crimes (slavery, Jim Crow, caging of children, etc.)
John, that's a fine piece of writing. I would say that the christianist "evangelical'" problem is that they mostly ignore the Biblical teachings attributed to Jesus of Nazareth. His most important teaching is that people are meant to love their neighbors (friends and enemies) as they love themselves. That is his 2nd great commandment. His first is totally related to the 2nd, vis. Love God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength. All the other commandments, in my view have to be followed only to the extent that they measure up to the 2 great ones. That would mean that if I saw somebody I intensely dislike drowning it would be my responsibility to jump in the water and pull him to safety, etc. It would NOT mean that I would have to admire him and his behavior or vote for him in an election, or believe his lies, or approve of his mistreatment of other people. I could go on with this but will spare you for now. Also Fred Pollack, I think the video you include with your comment is spot on.
There you go again, John, trying to apply facts and reason to WEPs. It didn’t work in the pre-civil war days w.r.t. slavery. It didn’t work in the post civil war era - segregation, lynching, Jim Crow laws, etc. So why would it work today w.r.t. immigration, LGBTQ rights, BLM, etc.
The WEPs think they are good Christians and, of course, say they believe in the golden rule. Being an atheist/humanist, I don’t see how they keep such contradictory views in their heads. But they do. Perhaps, the crazy conspiracy theories (the QAnon ones, for example) that many are attracted to helps them. Also, their ability to pick-and-choose parts of the bible that are consistent with their views (e.g. Jesus was fine with slavery, misogyny) helps.
But in fairness to them, I sometimes think liberal Christians have a similar relationship with the Bible, i.e. choosing the parts that are consistent with their views and ignoring the rest. Taking wisdom from any book is good, including religious texts, e.g. the Bible, Koran, Bhagavad-Gita, etc. But on balance, taking them as the word of God or Gods has resulted in extreme cruelty in the past and the present.
And, there are many good Christians that voted for Voldemort and are now calling him out on his immorality. Here is one (2min video): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CxPkQY7CjQA