The Soapbox

Fuzzy Dunlop

Joined: 06/21/2015 Posts: 5130
Likes: 6186


And a more targeted look at Trump's evangelical supporters


Lots of salient points here from a former GW Bush aide.

"The moral convictions of many evangelical leaders have become a function of their partisan identification. This is not mere gullibility; it is utter corruption. Blinded by political tribalism and hatred for their political opponents, these leaders can’t see how they are undermining the causes to which they once dedicated their lives. Little remains of a distinctly Christian public witness."

"Evangelicals also have a consistent problem with their public voice, which can be off-puttingly apocalyptic. “We are on the verge of losing” America, proclaims the evangelical writer and radio host Eric Metaxas, “as we could have lost it in the Civil War.” Franklin Graham declares, a little too vividly, that the country “has taken a nosedive off of the moral diving board into the cesspool of humanity.” Such hyperbole may be only a rhetorical strategy, employing the apocalypse for emphasis. But the attribution of depravity and decline to America also reflects a consistent and (so far) disappointed belief that the Second Coming may be just around history’s corner."

"The difficulty with this approach to public life—other than its insanely pessimistic depiction of our flawed but wonderful country—is that it trivializes and undercuts the entire political enterprise. Politics in a democracy is essentially anti-apocalyptic, premised on the idea that an active citizenry is capable of improving the nation. But if we’re already mere minutes from the midnight hour, then what is the point? The normal avenues of political reform are useless. No amount of negotiation or compromise is going to matter much compared with the Second Coming."

(In response to this post by Fuzzy Dunlop)

Link: https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2018/04/the-last-temptation/554066/


Posted: 03/12/2018 at 12:31PM



+0

Insert a Link

Enter the title of the link here:


Enter the full web address of the link here -- include the "http://" part:


Current Thread:
 
  
What happened to American conservatism? -- Fuzzy Dunlop 03/12/2018 12:28PM
  Left wants to shut down ICE -- ConnHoo 03/13/2018 08:24AM
  In the graveyard, next to democracy. RIP ** -- Hfbyrd 03/12/2018 10:34PM
  Never let your opponents define you. ** -- ConnHoo 03/12/2018 10:03PM
  Looks like someone completely missed the point. -- WahooRQ 03/12/2018 2:38PM
  No, not entirely.. -- hoolstoptheheels 03/12/2018 3:23PM
  LOL! -- Hoodafan 03/12/2018 1:34PM
  It died in the 90s I believe. ** -- graycalhoo 03/12/2018 1:03PM
  ...as did bi-partisanship** -- Tuckahokie 03/12/2018 1:29PM
  Sarcasm? On this forum? I'm shocked!!! ** -- Tuckahokie 03/12/2018 1:49PM
  Good old concern trolling ** -- HokieDan95 03/12/2018 12:44PM
  Yeah -- Boca, Hool, Stimp, a few others.... -- WahooRQ 03/12/2018 12:57PM
  Don't know about Buckley, but yeah, these guys -- Shenhoo 03/12/2018 12:54PM
  And a more targeted look at Trump's evangelical supporters -- Fuzzy Dunlop 03/12/2018 12:31PM

Notice: Trying to get property 'queue' of non-object in /data/www/sportswar.com/wp-includes/script-loader.php on line 2781

Warning: Invalid argument supplied for foreach() in /data/www/sportswar.com/wp-includes/script-loader.php on line 2781
vm307