It's become one of the greatest illusions and frauds of our time.

[lees1975]

https://signalpress.blogspot.com/2022/10/important-distinctions-between.html

Two members of Congress, Marjorie Taylor Greene and Lauren Boebert, have promoted Christian nationalist ideology, Taylor Greene does it openly, while Boebert relies on cliches and statements in her speaking engagements to make her point. Neither of them cite support for their belief, they depend on those listening to them to be as ignorant of the Bible as they are, and to blindly accept whatever they say based on political affinity.

It's part of the political rhetoric, in that it fits with the narrative of using whatever it takes to rally the base. Trump himself, who has made it clear that he neither recognizes nor submits to any authority outside of his own, including his own god who he has invented to suit his own ego, is obviously attracted to the racism. Whether he believes this out of conviction, or that he thinks his base are the most ignorant suckers he's ever known and is just using this to his advantage, he's on board to reap the benefits of the support it gets him.

This is being called out, as organizations like the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty are helping create awareness, provide facts and give information about what congregations and individual Christians can do to help stop this evil from spreading. And there are efforts being made, not only to encourage Christians who see this fraud for what it is to vote in support of politicians who are opposed to it, but to help inform people who might not have a lot of knowledge or experience with it to cast their ballot against a system that would take away their personal freedom.

[tetedur]

1. Just once I would love to hear a "Christian nationalist" explain these passages from the New

Testament. Jesus had ascended and the apostles and the Christian community were figuring out how they would organize themselves.

Acts 2:44-45

"All who believed were together and had all things in common; they would sell their property and possessions and divide them among all according to each one's need."

and Acts 4:32,34

"The community of believers was of one heart and mind, and no one claimed that any of this possessions was his own, but they had everything in common. . . .There was no needy person among them, for those who owned property or houses would sell them, bring the proceeds of the sale, and put them at the feet of the apostles, and they were distributed to each according to his need."

This sharing of wealth sounds like church controlled socialism to me. I have never heard a preacher even discussing these passages. When one of them explains why socialism or "holding things in common" is a bad thing, please alert me.

[lees1975]

4. There are a lot of things that I don't hear discussed by right wing conservative preachers

including many of the passages in the sermon on the mount, especially about loving your enemies, the virtue of being a peacemaker or that the meek inherit the earth. That the entire book of Jude is about intruders stealing into the church with aberrant philosophies and deceiving the members. And those passages in Acts set the tone for the early church. There's plenty of evidence that this was widely practiced among Christians. In fact, in some places, even here in this country, it still is. There are Mennonite, Amish and Brethren groups who live communally and share resources and wealth.

There's nothing in there about conquering in the name of the cross, introduced by Constantine, not an apostle in a biblical text.

[Karadeniz]

5. The early Christians were very community oriented, but I think what the quotes are referencing

applies to the Jerusalem headquarters to whose maintenance other communities also contributed. Paul was to deliver a large chunk of change from his communities... was that when he was arrested?

[Seinan Sensei]

8. Exactly right

Add to this, the Year of Jubilee
Every 50th year “... It shall be a jubilee for you, when each of you shall return to his property and each of you shall return to his clan” (Leviticus 25:10)
All debts forgiven. All land returned.
Jesus thought Jubilee was so important that he used it in his first sermon (Luke 4:19)

[FakeNoose]

2. I agree they are both frauds, spouting whatever they think MAGAts want to hear

[Haggard Celine]

3. I think that stopped when Constantine converted to Christianity

and made it the state religion. Roman emperors weren't too keen on experimenting with socialism. It took a long enough time to abolish slavery. The Bible talks about how a slave should obey his master. Christianity started out as a religion for commoners, but became a tool to encourage obedience to the state.

[Marcuse]

6. "Give unto Caesar that which is Caesar's" was a pragmatic way to stay out of the Coliseum.

[Haggard Celine]

7. Yes indeed.

I don't know which would be worse, getting eaten by wild animals or being nailed to a tree for several hours. I think I would choose the Colosseum. It would be a lot quicker.