tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33855769.post3122155128620571678..comments2024-03-28T08:03:32.297-07:00Comments on Holy Bullies and Headless Monsters: Trump evangelicals like to dish out moral criticisms, but can't take any.BlackTsunamihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02349560427762283170noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33855769.post-43508101118311504022018-03-13T07:15:54.093-07:002018-03-13T07:15:54.093-07:00They gave a rationale that explains their position...They gave a rationale that explains their position -- it doesn't excuse it to any normal person, but it does explain it. I found this quote from Robert Jeffress in <a href="http://thehill.com/homenews/media/377559-pro-trump-pastor-stormy-daniels-allegations-totally-irrelevant-to-evangelical" rel="nofollow">this post</a> from Digby:<br /><br /><i>The pastor, who oversees the First Baptist Church in Dallas, said evangelicals understand “the concept of sin and forgiveness.”<br /><br />“We are all sinners, we all need forgiveness, [and] that forgiveness is available through Christ for anyone who asks,” he said. “And whether the president needs that forgiveness for this particular allegation, whether he’s asked for it, is between him, his family and his god.”</i><br /><br />In their own minds, this justifies their willingness to excuse Trump's complete lack of moral foundation. The fact that their "ministries" are in actuality political machines is beside the point.Hunterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13760530671721879107noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33855769.post-74844670200638343962018-03-13T06:01:21.952-07:002018-03-13T06:01:21.952-07:00I read the very excellent article by Gerson. Havin...I read the very excellent article by Gerson. Having grown up Catholic and educated in Catholic institutions through graduate school, I have that perspective rather than an evangelical one. Gerson contrasts his background with Catholic theology of social justice, a theology that has, like liberation theology, I believe, fallen out of favor as more and more progressive Catholics have left the church. The current Catholic church looks more like an evangelical denomination...emphasizing abortion, anti-LGBT and other conservative issues and thus, I would not be surprised if more Catholics support Trump than one might expect.<br /><br />Gerson also says "Politics in a democracy is essentially anti-apocalyptic, premised on the idea that an active citizenry is capable of improving the nation. But if we’re already mere minutes from the midnight hour, then what is the point? The normal avenues of political reform are useless. No amount of negotiation or compromise is going to matter much compared with the Second Coming."<br /><br />I would go one step further...and I do that at the risk of sounding like a science fiction writer...that, from what I've observed, many of the most vocal, fundamentalist-biblically literal-evangelicals see the current administration as a literal means to bring about an apocalyptic event: from the status of Jerusalem to the possibility of nuclear war. <br /><br />The real danger that they pose is that these fanatics and fringe-christians have the ear of a president whose ego is such that he can be influenced to do their bidding (he already has to a great extent) and they may someday come bidding him to push the button. (I hit the "publish comment button" as the announcement comes that Rex Tillerson gets fired)Frankhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04058312079036935995noreply@blogger.com