How Conservatives Co-Opted Christianity

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If you live in the United States, odds are you've encountered the distinctly American "conservative christian." It seems that these people, despite their fierce devotion to their faith, have no idea what the Bible actually calls them to do. In this episode, we're taking a look at how christianity was adopted and perverted by the American political Right, and how it differs from the christianity of the early church.
How Conservatives Co-Opted Christianity - Second Thought
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Citations and Further Reading:
Statistics
www.pewresearch.org/politics/...
assets.pewresearch.org/wp-con...
www.pewforum.org/2015/05/12/c...
www.brookings.edu/blog/fixgov...
www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank...
www.cnn.com/election/2020/exi...
The Religious Right
www.oah.org/tah/issues/2018/n...
Bryan, William Jennings. “The Inspiration of the Bible.” Seven Questions in Dispute, New York, 1924. academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/his....
Sutton, Matthew Avery. Aimee Semple McPherson and the Resurrection of Christian America. Harvard University Press, 2007. books.google.com/books?hl=en&..., 241-244.
Williams, Daniel K. God's own party: The making of the Christian right. Oxford University Press, 2012. books.google.com/books?hl=en&...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calvini...
The Religious Left/Christian Socialism
Montero, Roman A. All Things in Common: The Economic Practices of the Early Christians. Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2017. books.google.com/books?hl=en&...
Janzen, Rod, and Max Stanton. The Hutterites in North America. JHU Press, 2010. books.google.com/books?id=lgU..., 17.
Rauschenbusch, Walter. A Theology for the Social Gospel. New York, The Macmillan company, 1917. archive.org/details/theologyfo....
“The Uncompromising Anti-Capitalism of Martin Luther King Jr.” Huffington Post, January 20th, 2014, www.huffpost.com/entry/the-un....
“History of the Religious Left,” September 28, 2020. straightwhiteamericanjesus.co....
religionandpolitics.org/2020/...
www.washingtonpost.com/nation...
• Christian Socialist, M...
• Christian Socialism? W...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christi...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christi...
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[@vishalkeerthi101]

"When I give food to the poor, they call me a saint. When I ask why they are poor, they call me a communist." - Helder Carama, Brazilian Catholic archbishop

[@byLem]

The reason I left the "Christianity" was the disparity between the teachings of Jesus and those the church actually preaches. So I left the church with Christ in my heart.

[@frieddata]

As a Christian, the more I grow in my faith the more I cannot understand how a Christian could be a Republican. The worship of Trump by most in the church makes me very sad and disturbed.

[@talos2384]

Ironically if Jesus came back today these so called Christians would denounce him

[@josephwilliams5292]

Remember when Christianity was about being generous at all costs and kind to marginalized groups? Rebelling against the religious leaders that valued traditions more than people and turned churches into places where goods were bought and sold? Those were the days.

[@fuglong]

As someone who grew up extremely religious and extremely conservative in the bible belt, I FEEL this vid. People are so brainwashed and full of hate down here it's scary sometimes

[@Master_WannaBe_]

Evangelicalism used to be a religious philosophy, now it’s a political label. My parents have stop calling themselves Evangelicals because it’s been coopted by these political fundamentalists that they want no business being associated with.

[@violetlight1548]

As a Canadian, I think it's really weird, almost alien, that the country that originated the separation of church and state now pretty much demands its politicians be religious (and overwhelmingly "Christian"). I neither know nor care what religion, if any, Trudeau is, or any other Canadian politician, as long as they do their jobs. I vote based on policy, not on what centuries-old book they claim to read.

[@zacpatproductions2052]

It’s always an interesting conversation when I tell fellow Leftists I’m Catholic, and an even stranger one when I tell fellow Catholics I’m a Leftist.

[@towardcivicliteracy]

Saying Jesus would espouse a political ideology is very strong evidence that you don’t know him. Leftist or rightist ideology, it doesn’t matter. At the heart of earthly government power is violence and conquest. At the heart of the kingdom of God is righteousness and peace. The only Being that will ever deserve the title of King is Jesus, and he conquers only through love, and our own free will choice to love Him.

[@aletheiai]

"Christianity started out in Palestine as a fellowship; it moved to Greece and became a philosophy; it moved to Italy and became an institution; it moved to Europe and became a culture; it came to America and became an enterprise." ~ Sam Pascoe

[@Seydaschu]

It warms my heart to imagine the 2nd coming of Christ, him visiting a Televangelist Mega-Church, then... flipping over all the tables!~❤️🙏✝️

[@benjaminjane93]

And what’s doubly scary is that it has now been co-opted by the incels and red pill, the latter of which has also co-opted Islam.

[@Marxism_Today]

As Jesus said “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God” - it’s hard to reconcile teachings like that with modern capitalism-imperialism

[@stacynez541]

I was raised in the Southern Baptist church in Texas, where i was born. All i know is there were so many contradictions and the Christians i have been around do not live according to the teachings if Christ. My experience there was that it was a fear and shame based religion with a lot of judgement and no love. They thought they were the only ones who knew what's right and what God wants. Everybody else was going to hell. Plus there were about a million contradictions according to what suited the situation. Then came Trump and even with everything he has done to hurt people and spread hate and chaos and how he encourages violence and is a racist a sexual predator and a life long criminal they believe he's God's warrior sent to save us. All I know is there is nothing spiritual or loving in the Christianity I was brought up in, in fact they were the most spiritually asleep people I've known and I want nothing to do with their religion.

[@fridge3489]

Spot on! I just don't get how these people can claim to be Christian, yet they're xenophobic, racist, and hate poor people so very, very much. It boggles the mind. The Americans are the biggest culprits, but we certainly have those types here in Britain too.

[@snood4743]

I was a conservative Christian until I started listening to people outside my bubble and finally opened a Bible. Now I’m floating around Social Democracy and Christian Anarchy, sliding even further left the more I read.

[@RedFlagRevival]

I love that clip of Donald Dump holding the bible, its too funny. He's all like "I don't know what to do with this, uhhh, check it out guys, I have a bible"

[@antoniabenson5165]

“When someone steals another’s clothes, we call them a thief. Should we not give the same name to one who could clothe the naked and does not? The bread in your cupboard belongs to the hungry; the coat unused in your closet belongs to the one who needs it; the shoes rotting in your closet belong to the one who has no shoes; the money which you hoard up belongs to the poor.” -St. Basil the Great

[@michaelmoore-ng7vt]

How many of those preachers went to prison, for lying, Thief, Assulting children, cheating, sleeping with other men, and anything else😢?