How Do "Christians" Not See That Trump Is A Fascist? Because They Have Their Eyes Closed
An Addendum-- How Do "Christians" Not See That Trump Is A Fascist? Because They Have Their Eyes Closed--
This is a reply from me (edited and with additions for clarity) in response to a comment from a friend, who is a bit incredulous at the hypocrisy and blindness of people that follow Trump and still reconcile that with being "Christian". In particular, their relationship to money. "How do they not see it"? was his question.
Here is what I wrote.. It may seem offensive to some. If not, I'll simply have to try harder next time. 😉
["_____, (name) Yes, it is greed, sexism, and racism, all of it, the full package. It's rooted in their belief in predestination and ancestry, which all combines into a toxic stew sometimes called radical "Calvinism" or "Prosperity Theology". Clinically, it is a form of self-hatred projected outward in the form of rage. They are conditioned to adopt a perverse notion of personal liberty and freedom which is "libertine," absent any social responsibilty to others. "Us vs Them" is their cultural matrix.
They have been brainwashed with a nihilistic and twisted interpretation of the Bible, specifically the Book of Revelations as "prophecy" which they accept on faith as foretelling the end of the world, the final world war of armageddon and Jesus' "Second Coming". It is a doomsday cult at it's worst, a perversion of the Gospels, and is very much at the core of their outlook.
Life in this world, which they believe is ruled by the Devil, is not under their control, and for them everything is pre-ordained by God's will. (The guide posts for which of course are proclaimed by their ministers, who have a direct line upstairs) Which means that everything they do, including bad things, is part of God's plan, not their free will. Therefore because they are absolved and abjured of personal responsibility, they conflate "liberty" with license. They can pretty much rationalize any kind of behavior, in effect channeling Flip Wilson's famous TV character Geraldine, saying "The Devil made me do it".
It is permissible to routinely break some of the Ten Commandments, because God will forgive them. As long as they go to confession and ante up ten percent on Sunday, that buys a little dispensation according to their "contract" with the Creator. Getting the best reserved seating in Heaven devolves into a point system, if they give enough to their church and add up enough occasional good deeds for the minister to put in a good word upstairs. (Pat Robertson, pictured above, deep in prayer for God knows what, famously even pioneered a 1-800 prayer line as an innovation on the 700 Club, for example. He would say a prayer on TV for your stock portfolio if you asked. No joke)
And because Jesus is going to "separate the wheat from the chaff" at the end when he comes back, some people are part of "The Elect", and some will be cast into eternal fire. Those who will burn include all those, especially Jews, who don't convert and accept Jesus as their savior. So, as a matter of faith, they are essentially told that five billion of God's non-Christian children are condemned to burn in Hell forever. The kicker is, that nothing we do in this world, good or bad can change "God's Plan." And those who are condemned are mostly people of color.
So, life in their "house of mirrors" world is a Hobbesian, Darwinian struggle for the limited seats in Heaven, a great big competition in an apocalyptic game of musical chairs. Anyone whose beliefs differ or is otherwise a rival is "out to take their seat" and deny them their destiny, and are therefore both a mortal and eternal enemy. They see other people as "them", and will recognize them because they look different than themselves. Many fundamentalist cults insist on uniform clothing to distinguish themselves from outsiders for this reason.
They hate the idea of equality because it conflicts with the religious beliefs they were raised with, because they believe they are part of an "elect" and favored by God over others. And when the "End Times" come, they know they will be picked. How does one know if you are of the elect? Lots of money in the bank or property is seen as a sign that you are in His favor, especially if you have the right bloodlines. Success in business is a surefire way of knowing your tickets to Heaven are on hold for pickup at the box office.
These churches and their Pastors accumulate vast amounts of tax-free wealth, and tell their flocks it is for doing "good works". Except that in Prosperity Theology, accumulating wealth is itself "good works". And of course, it follows that Megachurch leaders need Mega-Mansions, correct? Praise Jesus! And that is how they sell the idea of churches as banks. Some churches architecture even makes them look like banks.
They don't "see it" because they are raised with this toxic theology, which isn't even Christian. These are actual heresies launched against Christianity in its early stages, such as the Manicheans which St. Augustine attacked, along with others.
How then do we know what being Christian is, or if any religion is worthy of human beings? I would assert that any real, valid religion will serve first to deliver people from varieties of slavery, and overturn systems which deny them the realization of their individual creative potential. It is our creativity which is made in God's image, and the fostering of it brings us closer to the Creator. Christianity is only Christian when it it is revolutionary, and universal for all people. Revolutionary not just in a political sense, like Liberation Theology, but revolutionary in the sciences, and the arts, in overturning obsolete and defunct cultural paradigms when necessary for the advancement and well being of society as a whole. Yes, the young rabbi from Nazareth Yeshua was a non-violent revolutionary.
If religion is nothing more than a set of relics, rituals, holy places and traditions which must be preserved, and tolerates or thrives upon the continuation of an unjust social/economic system of slavery and disparity, then that religion is therefore threatened by social change and modernization. In their insular and paranoid little world, they actually feel threatened by the increased freedom of others, and is therefore by definition a cult. It sees progress, the outside world, science, diversity and change as a mortal danger. It sees art as idolatry, science and technology as man's wicked hubris, and any break with tradition as an attack.
Religious fundamentalism, and it's belief that an "Elect" is favored by God overlaps perfectly with the doctrines of free market capitalism and social darwinism, which sees the unfettered free marketplace as a kind of Mixed Martial Arts Octogon for their personal financial battles, an economic armageddon, "God's Battlefield" where is staged the great "sorting out" which allows those considered to be most "fit" to survive, and then rise to the top of God's corporate pyramid.
Money becomes their "Stairway To Heaven". And that is it. This is how it is possible for people to believe they are Christian, and still love Donald Trump. He embodies almost the entirety of anti-Christian heresies which they have been brainwashed to believe are Christian.
They are not blind. They are him.
