US Christian right group wages culture war with books, cartoon and nature doc

[marmar]

(Guardian UK) The son of pastor Douglas Wilson of the controversial Christ Church in Moscow, Idaho, and a close associate have made significant inroads into mainstream culture in America with a successful streaming cartoon based on a book published by the church’s own imprint.

The Guardian has previously reported on how the church, which aims to create a theocracy in the US, has increased its power and influence in its home town, while also campaigning vociferously against efforts to curb the coronavirus pandemic. Those developments come amid a broader rise in the right wing across the US.

At the same time Christ church is seeking to use television and book publishing to enter US popular culture and promote its interests.

Wilson’s son Nathan Wilson and his manager and close associate, Aaron Rench, have simultaneously been attempting to crowdfund a creationist nature documentary starring Douglas Wilson’s brother, Gordon, and have continued to market young adult fiction through a mainstream publisher.

They have also entered into complicated financial arrangements which appear to divert money to a troubled charity associated with Christ Church and silently taken control of a number of Christ Church-associated businesses through LLCs which have limited legal and financial reporting obligations. ................(more)

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/nov/28/christ-church-us-christian-right-group-books-cartoon-nature-doc

[Wingus Dingus]

1. Nature documentaries--should be good.

Why does the hummingbird have a long skinny beak? God.
How do ducks stay warm in cold water? God.
Why do wolves have a keen sense of smell? God.

I think that about covers it.

[blm]

3. Lolol.

Funny…..

yet…..😢

[tulipsandroses]

2. More grifting

While dumbing down people, who will be too brainwashed recognize the grift

[LastDemocratInSC]

4. It's oddly appropriate that a right wing movement that seeks totalitarian goals

is based in a city named Moscow.

[haele]

5. The son in this group wrote the kids series Hello Ninja.

Which concerned me, as the five year old grand daughter watches the Network series regularly (along with Steven Universe).

I was wondering why the Fundy other side of her family gave her Hello Ninja books. From what I could tell, this series doesn't push Gawd or gospel stories, and are somewhat self-esteem positive and diverse in a cis-normal worldview (i.e gender is not an issue, but while there are "tomboys", there are no boys with more feminine presence). Also, while in the books, the kids tend to be white, the TV show has kids of different skin colors.

I think this is a case of milk before meat proselytizing to draw people into trusting and buying more of the church product and getting them sucked into the cult.
I'm of two minds; I don't want to give this group any money, but there's nothing I (as a Vet/pagan with a background in cultural anthropology) or Laz (as a long-term atheist that grew up SBC) can see that is propaganda with the books or series that can push a five year old to or from any particular religious thought.

It's difficult to say no to her without sounding like a crank, especially when the other grandparents keep trying to sneak in their particular church's suggested kid's Jesus-flavored kool-aid that would be acceptable to us. So I guess we let her watch the more secular Netflix show rather than confuse her with our more complex understanding of the situation.

Not a good place, and these theocratic a-hole scam artists know it.


Haele