"Joy and pleasure are as real as pain and sorrow and one must learn what they have to teach. . . ." -- Sean Russell, from Gatherer of Clouds

"If you're not having fun, you're not doing it right." -- Helyn D. Goldenberg

"I love you and I'm not afraid." -- Evanescence, "My Last Breath"

“If I hear ‘not allowed’ much oftener,” said Sam, “I’m going to get angry.” -- J.R.R. Tolkien, from Lord of the Rings

Friday, November 17, 2017

Today's Must-Read: They're Not Hypocrites, They're "Christians"

I've pointed out before that today's evangelical "Christians" and their wholly-owned subsidiary, the Republican party, are not about morality, they're about power and control. Here's an incisive examination of that idea:

According to an expert in the intersection between religion and sex, the fact that evangelicals are flocking to support embattled Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore should not come as any surprise, because maintaining “power” is at the center of their world.

This is the nut:

“How did sexual politics become so central to religious discourse in the United States? Why do we have such an obsession with sexual morality?” Griffith was asked.

“The Bible has things to say about sex. But for Jesus, in the New Testament, it’s not a major thing at all,” she replied. “He’s far more concerned with feeding the poor and caring for those in need. When you look back over the last century of Christian argumentation and political concern, however, it’s had a lot more to do with sex than with caring for the poor.”

Americans are obsessed with sex, especially conservative, "religious" Americans. And as far as their devotion to Jesus goes, think about it: how many soup kitchens and homeless shelters are being run by the Family Research Council, the American Family Association, or Focus on the Family? I actually checked out some of their websites a while back, looking to see what programs they had for families. The best they could offer was links to other organizations. Considering the hundreds of millions of dollars they've spent fighting any extension of basic rights to LGBTs, that's pretty pathetic, but it gives you a good idea of their priorities.

That tied in with this article that I ran across a bit earlier:

Taken together, the speakers’ comments mirrored the disturbing public record of Moore himself: anti-reproductive choice, anti-LGBTQ, and solidly in favor of using the power of government to bring the country back to, in Moore’s words, “the One on whom it is founded.”

There's also a strong element of tribalism involved, illustrated in the NCRM article. It's striking how little regard -- or perhaps more accurately, open contempt -- these "Christians", patriots all (just ask them) have for America's foundational principles, especially separation of church and state, equality under the law, and an independent judiciary.

As I said, it's illuminating -- it's also nice to have my analysis validated.

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