"For me, Trump’s toxic relationship with white American Christianity has ironically steeled my resolve to hang on to some version of my faith, for spite if nothing else. Like a small child who newly discovers the value of his toy when another kid takes it away, I refuse to share Jesus with a schoolyard bully."

~ Holly Berkley Fletcher

#WhiteChristianNationalism #Trump #evangelicalism #theocracy
/5

https://hollyberkleyfletcher.substack.com/p/crossing-the-football-field-part-f73

Bass notes that what we're up against now in the US is "crusader Christianity." She points to Hegseth, who recites the Lord's Prayer on TikTok with pictures of bombers and people being killed by American soldiers:

"That is imperial Christianity run amuck. And it is horrible in terms of politics and foreign policy and every all those things."

#WhiteChristianNationalism #Trump #evangelicalism #theocracy
/4

Rather than scorn or ridicule these believers who are trying to point to what's essential in their religious tradition as they use their tradition to push back against authoritarianism, it makes eminent political sense to form bonds of solidarity with these people of faith who share the goal of overcoming theocratic fascism and propping fascism up with cruelty.

#WhiteChristianNationalism #Trump #evangelicalism #theocracy
/3

Because a certain kind of theocratic-authoritarian Christianity has overweening influence throughout the political sphere in the US, and even more so under MAGA and Trump, Richardson thinks it's essential for people pushing back against this authoritarianism to listen to and make solidarity with those "on the inside" of religious traditions who are critiquing the abuse of the symbols and beliefs of their religious traditions.

#WhiteChristianNationalism #Trump #evangelicalism #theocracy
/2

"The ascent of Donald Trump proved all of these journalistic myopias catastrophically wrong. The story of Christian nationalists and Trump, of feverish devotion to an authoritarian figure thought to be anointed by God, of a refusal to question that authority even in the face of mountains of evidence of abuse or lies, was there all along. It is the story of American evangelicalism, which is also, right now, the story of America."

#Trump #authoritarianism #evangelicalism #ChristianRight
/5

“Most white American evangelicals conceive of themselves as a group of warriors for God, fighting against the forces of evil ‘out there’ (look at the amount of energy spent on the culture wars). There is little room in this framework for the existence of abusers ‘in here’ and certainly not for the concept of systemic abuse, which could strike at the heart of one's faith and doctrine.”

~ Ibid., p. 212

#evangelicalism #patriarchy #abuse #SexualAbuse #narcissism #control
/7

"An overemphasis on control is just one feature of the ‘collective narcissism’ Verhaagen identifies in evangelical culture. Evangelicalism attracts individual narcissists looking for a compliant power base; it also promotes a group culture of narcissism through a belief system that tells adherents they are special, chosen, enlightened, and heroic.”

~ Ibid.

#evangelicalism #patriarchy #abuse #SexualAbuse #narcissism #control
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