Mass Deportation and Republicanity

A loyal Republican right now is ecstatic that Trump's administration has cracked down on the illegal "invasion" or "infestation" of brown people.

A loyal Christian right now is horrified that innocent children have been emotionally destroyed (and probably scarred forever) by the Trump's administration's focus on brown individuals who were working hard, just trying to make better lives for themselves.

They. Are. NOT. The. Same.  In fact, in this instance (and possibly others), they are mutually exclusive.  One loves the law; the other loves the people.  Know the difference.

How the Right Gets Christians to Feel Good About Their Faustian Bargain

In this article titled "Joe Biden Says Christians Can't Support Trump, But He Supports Abortions Up To Birth" (found on the pro-life news website LifeNews.com), we see the numerous rhetorical fallacies with which the political right has snowed their evangelical Christian base to get them to sell their souls to Donald J. Trump.  Let us count the ways:

1. The title embraces a false equivalency right off the bat.  It equates the entirety of Trump's moral turpitude with a single political/moral issue of Biden's.  Now, I will grant that that single issue is a big one, especially for the evangelical Christian; however, to put that one issue on one side of the proverbial scales to balance it with literally everything Trump has ever said and done as both a private citizen and a political leader is simply absurd.  They are not the same and should not be treated as such.
2. Second, also in the title, the author uses an equivocating technique; that is, s/he uses the phrase "supports abortions up to birth" in order to provoke and mislead.  (By the way, nowhere in the article does the author ever broach the subject as to what that phrase legally means; in fact, s/he never comes back to it at all.)  So we all know, the standard Democratic stance on abortions is that the law should allow abortions after 24 weeks IF the mother's health is directly at risk or IF there is an "absence of fetal viability."  Moreover, no Democrat, including Joe Biden, desires "unrestricted abortion up through the normal term of pregnancy"; however, that is exactly what the title of the article wants the reader to believe.  Again, I understand that this is a touchy subject for many, but that is exactly the reason all of the facts should be given clearly, something that this article's author consciously has no intention of doing.
3. Next, starting in the title and continuing through the brief article, there is an excellent example of "whataboutism"; meaning, the author deflects the real issue at hand away from his/her candidate in order to debase another candidate. Now, I will note that the author does, ever-so-briefly (and all the way down in the 10th paragraph out of the 11-paragraph article), note that Trump is "far from perfect," but that is literally everything that is mentioned in the article about Trump's thorough immorality.  That part, which was exactly Biden's entire point, is simply ignored in order to say, "Oh yeah?  What about Biden and abortion?!"  So rather than addressing the fact that Biden is completely correct in stating that Christians "made a Faustian bargain" in supporting the spiritually corrupt Trump, the author deflects the issue away from the inarguable.  
4. Finally (but probably not finally), throughout the entirety of the article, the author uses a false dilemma.  It's either Biden or Trump; that's it.  No other political options are given, including the very real possibility of the evangelical right's throwing off their blatant hypocrisy and finding another, much more morally capable, Republican behind which to throw their powerful support.  There are most certainly other options, especially within the Republican party, yet the author is perfectly content to acknowledge quietly that Trump is "far from perfect" (an understatement, at the very least) and still imply that he's all they've got.  I will grant that this kind of "either-or" mentality works particularly well within the Christian community, since within their world-view, it is either God or Satan and there is nothing in between.  However, it is that type of strictly dichotomous thinking on which the political right is preying, even though within the political milieu, there are always shades of gray to be considered.  Maybe the evangelicals should be considering someone closer to the gray spectrum rather than Trump's moral pitch-blackness.   

All of these fallacies combine to target possibly the biggest weakness in the modern Christian Republican.  You see, Christians, in another great example of a false dilemma, are taught from the very beginning not to think; rather, they are to have faith--have faith in a 2000-year-old text, in prayer, in their spiritual leaders, and in God's will (whatever that may mean at the time).  Never is a Christian to question logically on his/her own; in fact, that would be the exact opposite of having faith and, thus, be the "instrument of the Devil."  

And that's where we find ourselves right now--in a society where critical thinking is debased if the conclusions reached do not square with that what a Christian has been told to believe.  And just so you know, those doing the telling right now are just fine with their Faustian bargain, for it is their man in charge.

Christians and the Gun Issue (2)

LOVED this brief representation of the Christian right's hypocrisy, so I wanted to post it.  You can just appreciate this, and then please read my actual thoughts on the issue in the previous post.

Christians and the Gun Issue (1)

In light of the most recent round of mass shootings in the United States (giving us a total of 251 in 216 days--shameful at best, criminal at worst), I wanted to tackle the issue of guns in this country.

Now, first, although there are numerous facts and statistics to force a very serious look into our nation's obsession with guns, I don't want to go there.  The chosen focus of this blog is how the Republican party has kidnapped Christian theology in order to use it for the party's own political ends; thus, I will remain true to that focus.  No other arguments are allowed.

Second, as a type of visual questioning, I would want the Christian Republican (or Republican Christian, maybe would be better) to look at the following two pictures:

Which one of the two pictures better represents the true character of the Jesus of the Bible?  Actually, the proper way to ask that question is this: Which one actually represents the Jesus of the Bible?  Because there is literally NOTHING in the Bible that could be interpreted as Jesus's loving and appreciating any sort of weapon at all, the first picture is a complete fabrication, a false representation of anything for which Jesus ever stood.  In fact, it's downright laughable.

However, the second picture, the one of Jesus's healing the sick, is an exceptional representation of Jesus.  There are numerous stories of his freely and openly helping those who were ill, lame, deaf, dumb, etc.  When he saw human beings who were suffering in this life and who, therefore, were desperate for any chance at relief from that suffering, he helped.  Full stop.  There were no strings attached; there were no background questions; there were no preconditions to be met.  He … simply … helped.

Now, taking these last two strictly Bible-based paragraphs into account, my questions of the evangelical Republican right now are these: Why are guns (i.e., weapons specifically designed to kill) a "right" whereas health care (i.e., a system specifically designed to help) is not?  Why does the Republican party (i.e., the party of Christianity) fight so hard against stronger gun legislation while also fighting so hard against universal health care?

And finally: WWJD? Support guns?  Support health care?  Again, the answers to both are obvious.

The Perfect Example of Republicanity ... in Meme Form!

So, here's how the political right sucks in the evangelicals to make them one in the same:

1. Rather than make a talking point, a discussion point, or something that we can argue about logically, create a prayer for the President.  And while doing so, have a beautiful patriotic drawing of said President, complete with flag and White House.  Thus, patriotism and prayer have now been equated with one another; politics and spirituality are now the same.
2. Bring in Biblical allusions to associate with the President.  And, just to make it perfect, bring in 3 Biblical allusions, since 3 is a holy, perfect number within Judeo-Christian ideology.  Again, the mathematical equals sign (=) is practically staring us in the face as politics and spirituality become clones of one another.  (As a brief aside, the final allusion is pretty moronic.  Samson was known for his physical strength, not necessarily for any strength of character.  The Old Testament character of Job would have been a much better choice for the meaning of this meme; however, I believe that fact displays, more than anything, that a political influencer with the power of Google on his side created this meme, not a sincere Christian who truly knows the content of his/her sacred scripture.)
3. Finally, as the coup de grace against anyone who would dare oppose this meme, make sure to associate the other side with "wickedness," truly a Biblical term to describe those who place themselves in direct opposition with God Himself.   So, by association, anyone who questions this man's morality, his motives, or his policies is contributing to a "wicked onslaught" against him and is, therefore, sinning directly against the most Holy.  No reason to hold this man accountable with any sense of divine moral compass, for he and God are directly and inexorably connected, much like the old Divine Right of Kings.  The equation is now complete: Trump equals Christianity.

This type of rhetorical bullshit is so incredibly transparent to any critical thinker, yet it is working so incredibly well with the simple-minded, uneducated, evangelical Christians who have been taught never to question when their faith is involved.  The political right has honed in on that unquestioning spirit and is taking full advantage, all while deflecting the evangelical's thoughts away from this man's thorough and inarguable moral villainy.   

The Best Witness On the World Stage?

Are Christians really this petty? Or, are there verses in the Bible that specifically teach Christians how they are to treat other human beings, even the ones who seem to be against them? Hmmm, let's see …

• "But to you who are listening I [Jesus] say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.  If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also." (Luke 6:27-29)
• "In everything, therefore, treat people the same way you want them to treat you." (Matthew 7:12)  
• "Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. … Never pay back evil for evil to anyone." (Romans 12:14, 17)
• "Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God." (1 John 4:7)
• "Let all that you do be done in love." (1 Corinthians 16:14)

This tweet (and there are sooooooooo many others like it) actually goes far beyond a juvenile pettiness that is far beneath the dignity of the office of the President of the United States; it actually showcases a spiteful penchant for personal vengeance hurled towards anyone who disagrees with him. Moreover, it specifically lacks any semblance of the Christian virtues of grace, compassion, and empathy.

It is beyond time for Christians to call this man out publicly for his decidedly unchristian behavior. 

Current Republican Hypocrisy

So, take a gander at the tweet that Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) sent out to cyberworld on Thursday, July 31, 2019.

Was this a reply to The Miami Herald's publicly denouncing him for his "pathetic response" to Trump's "latest racist outrages"?  Was this a general condemnation of the "socialist" Democrats that the Republican party has been trashing lately?  Or was it his finally turning against the amoral monster who is our President and that carries an 'R' next to his name?  I mean, the shoe fits pretty snugly, as they say.

(BTW, for the record, I don't believe it's the last one there; I'm pretty sure it would be one of the first two possibilities.)

However, that's not really my point because, let's face it, the 'R' side could say that the 'D' side's politicians do the same thing.  Sure, Trump seems to be a pathological expert at several of those 7, but, yes, to a large extent, all politicians (at least the ones that have made it a lengthy career) are particularly adept at many on that list.  Sad.

So, really, my point is that here is another pathetic, transparent example of the political right's weaponizing the Bible to attack political enemies, making them out to be spiritual enemies to all good Christians.  Rubio doesn't give context; he doesn't give specific examples; he doesn't even give a clear picture as to his target.  In fact, I would argue that his purposeful vagueness on a social media platform works in his favor.  He, self-sanctimoniously, quotes the Christian sacred text, thereby allowing his Twitter followers--mostly evangelical right Republicans--to interpret wildly as they will, all while shaking their holier-than-thou fists at whoever would dare assail them, for any opposition would certainly come from the Devil himself.  Within the current political milieu, if you can simply quote scripture, then you automatically have Biblical authority, which is automatically godly authority, which should never be questioned or opposed.

And, once again, the typical American Christian is led blindly and easily down a dark path by self-serving, amoral politicians.

Allow me, then, to give a Bible verse in response to Rubio's scripture choice:

Matthew 7:5--"You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye."