The willingness of Republicans to take the debt ceiling and the federal budget hostage in order to try to extract concessions from Democrats is probably the most lasting gift that the Tea Party has granted the country. More reasonable Republican politicians fear being primaried by Tea Party candidates. A handful of wide-eyed fanatics in Congress have hijacked the party. The Tea Party base and the hard right politicians driving this entire thing seem oblivious to the consequences. It’s no wonder, since so many of them—particularly those in leadership—are fundamentalist Christians whose religions have distorted their worldview until they cannot actually see what they’re doing and what kind of damage it would cause…. It’s no surprise, under the circumstances, that a movement controlled by fundamentalist Christians would be oblivious to the very real dangers that their actions present. Fundamentalist religion is extremely good at convincing its followers to be more afraid of imaginary threats than real ones, and to engage in downright magical thinking about the possibility that their own choices could work out very badly. When you believe that forcing the government into default in an attempt to derail Obamacare is the Lord’s work, it’s very difficult for you to see that it could have very real, negative effects.
I grew up surrounded by Lutherans, and I remember enough of my Sunday School indoctrination to have a pretty good idea of what the teachings of Jesus Christ are about. If memory serves, He was all about things like peace, love, understanding, tolerance, and charity- all wonderful, laudable things that make Christianity a worthwhile belief system and philosophy of life. The problem these days is that modern Christianity is a thoroughly bastardized version of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Instead of peace, love, understanding, tolerance, and charity, modern Christianity seems to be about rage, hatred, intolerance, aggression, power, and control. It’s not about making the world a better place; it’s about making the world a better place for intolerant, judgmental Conservative White heterosexuals. I’m no theologian, but I have to think that if Jesus were walking among us today, he’d be appalled at what’s being done in His name.
I don’t want to create the impression that I’m tarring all Christians with the same brush. I know there are many- perhaps even a majority- who endeavor seriously to lead a Christ-like life. These are people who live their beliefs, don’t use their beliefs as a cudgel with which to bludgeon and subdue their adversaries (loosely defined as those who don’t believe as they do). The problem is that Christian fundamentalism, while in theory a viable belief system, in practice has nothing to do with the teachings of Jesus Christ. The truth is that the politics of the Christian right has absolutely nothing to do with Christianity. It’s about political power, control, and subjugating those whose beliefs and/or lifestyle these so-called “Christians” despise. Combine that with some seriously magical thinking and a willingness to construct their own reality, and what you have is a political party that’s been hijacked by extremists and those who refuse to recognize the validity of any belief system save their own.
America could use a viable Conservative movement, if for no other reason than to function as the Loyal Opposition. Liberals and Progressives don’t possess all of the answers, and a reasonable, thoughtful Conservative counterbalance would be a good thing. Unfortunately, “Conservative” these days too often means wild-eyed hper-religious zealots willing to burn America down if they don’t get their way…and they’ll claim to be doing the Lord’s work as they pour the gasoline and light the matches.
How thoroughly has radical Christianity hijacked the GOP and the Conservative movement? It didn’t take long to find a few examples:
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has demanded that the government be shut down before allowing Obamacare to go into effect. What Would Jesus Do? Evidently, He’d deny health care to 30 million Americans.
Those who support the Affordable Care Act have been accused of idolatry.
The Affordable Care Act has been pilloried as an egregious attack upon our liberties.
Rick Phillips hinted that Obamacare might have been predicted in Revelations.
A conspiracy theory has been floated that the full implementation of Obamacare will result in all citizens being required to have a microchip implanted.
Fundamentalists are promoting the notion that global climate change isn’t real.
In general the Rabid Christian Right has worked itself into a barely coherent frenzy, having convinced themselves that Obamacare means the end of American Christianity as we know it.
I’d love it if someone could show me where Scripture sanctions denying health care to 30 million Americans? Or how Christianity is harmed caring for our fellow humans…which is EXACTLY the sort of thing that Jesus taught. Show me where He condemns the social contract as an evil Liberal plot to replace our democracy with socialism. Show me where He prophesizes that Obamacare is a harbinger of End Times.
The truth, of course, is that you can’t show me those things in Scripture…because they aren’t there. The problem is that the Rabid Christian Right has convinced themselves that providing health care to 30 million Americans and caring about the wellbeing of those less fortunate is proof of the arrival of the antiChrist. It’s silly, it’s inaccurate, it’s inhuman, and it’s unChristian.
Those who believe these things are an embarrassment to those who try honest and sincerely to lead a Christ-like life. The politics and beliefs of the Rabid Christian Right are about the teachings of Jesus Christ in the same way Timothy McVeigh and Scott Roeder were about peace, love, and understanding.
Is it any wonder that I want nothing to do with modern Christianity?
