Evangelicals (or people who use the moniker as a cover for ultra conservative politics) have "planted the wind and will harvest the whirlwind (Hosea 8:7). A lot of the problems in our society today have come from their voting habits as a political bloc. From voting in warhawks, supporting policies that intentionally dismantle social security/welfare programs and elevating pro big business to the status of personhood/eliminating worker safeguards that lead to decimation of the middle class and then wonder why there is civil unrest...and then play political football to elect non-democratic lawmakers or lean on military/police forces to squash the negativity that comes from minorities, women and Europeans who do not agree with the status quo. Compassionate conservatism is not what this generation wants. It taps into racism, greed and selfishness and the lack of self awareness and intentional ignorance/disregard of others is why most people will not listen to them anymore. Most people will say that lack integrity and are hypocritical. It's the total lack of character that makes people reject them and the Christian cosplay makes it even more repulsive, not just their adoration/worship of Trump as a Messiah (which is also a big part of it).
This posture/attitude is nothing new. It has been in place since the 1970s starting with the Southern Strategy. With Trump it has now come to its full fruition and the fruit is rotten. Why are we surprised? This has been a theme of the pro-Confederate states and/or individual sympathizers since the Civil War. Are all evangelicals this way? Of course not. All you have to look at is the controversy in the SBC wanting to rename the denomination to Great Commission Baptist in order to get away from the legacy of slavery and white supremacy. Matter of fact, ,members have been trying since 1965 to get the name changed and it had been rejected at least seven times while throwing out theological dissenters that have risen to prominence (Beth Moore and Russell Moore are the most recent examples). This is not a bug in our culture, it is part of the framework.
Thank you for the article. I probably will be quoting it in one that I'm working on. I think it's important to clarify an additional point that is often missed. "Evangelicals" (and I use the quotes intentionally) are today not the same as the regular church-going people sometimes with an almost encyclopedic knowledge of scripture passages, and while these evangelicals years ago often were very committed to human ministry projects such as food and clothing pantries, housing programs and so on, this was motivated by faithfulness to Jesus' instructions in his Sermon on the Mount and Matthew 25 among others. It was also seen as a way to invite seekers into a l relationship with Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and savior. Now it's become a cultural identity for many who do not attend church regularly if at all and may not have a traditional, consistent Christian religious background or a thorough Bible knowledge.
Evangelicals (or people who use the moniker as a cover for ultra conservative politics) have "planted the wind and will harvest the whirlwind (Hosea 8:7). A lot of the problems in our society today have come from their voting habits as a political bloc. From voting in warhawks, supporting policies that intentionally dismantle social security/welfare programs and elevating pro big business to the status of personhood/eliminating worker safeguards that lead to decimation of the middle class and then wonder why there is civil unrest...and then play political football to elect non-democratic lawmakers or lean on military/police forces to squash the negativity that comes from minorities, women and Europeans who do not agree with the status quo. Compassionate conservatism is not what this generation wants. It taps into racism, greed and selfishness and the lack of self awareness and intentional ignorance/disregard of others is why most people will not listen to them anymore. Most people will say that lack integrity and are hypocritical. It's the total lack of character that makes people reject them and the Christian cosplay makes it even more repulsive, not just their adoration/worship of Trump as a Messiah (which is also a big part of it).
This posture/attitude is nothing new. It has been in place since the 1970s starting with the Southern Strategy. With Trump it has now come to its full fruition and the fruit is rotten. Why are we surprised? This has been a theme of the pro-Confederate states and/or individual sympathizers since the Civil War. Are all evangelicals this way? Of course not. All you have to look at is the controversy in the SBC wanting to rename the denomination to Great Commission Baptist in order to get away from the legacy of slavery and white supremacy. Matter of fact, ,members have been trying since 1965 to get the name changed and it had been rejected at least seven times while throwing out theological dissenters that have risen to prominence (Beth Moore and Russell Moore are the most recent examples). This is not a bug in our culture, it is part of the framework.
Thank you for the article. I probably will be quoting it in one that I'm working on. I think it's important to clarify an additional point that is often missed. "Evangelicals" (and I use the quotes intentionally) are today not the same as the regular church-going people sometimes with an almost encyclopedic knowledge of scripture passages, and while these evangelicals years ago often were very committed to human ministry projects such as food and clothing pantries, housing programs and so on, this was motivated by faithfulness to Jesus' instructions in his Sermon on the Mount and Matthew 25 among others. It was also seen as a way to invite seekers into a l relationship with Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and savior. Now it's become a cultural identity for many who do not attend church regularly if at all and may not have a traditional, consistent Christian religious background or a thorough Bible knowledge.