On Wednesday, 14 March 2018 11:23:39 PM AEDT Rick Moen via luv-talk wrote:
Quoting Russell Coker (russell@coker.com.au):
https://www.politicalorphans.com/the-article-removed-from-forbes-why-white -evangelicalism-is-so-cruel/
This article explains why most Americans don't read the Bible.
As a correction, the article says and implies nothing whatsoever about 'most Americans', and you cannot reasonably draw conclusions about the majority of 325 million Americans from it -- for the simple reason that it's about _evangelicals_. Who are a subculture.
People who identify as "evangelicals" are a very large subculture. Using the word "subculture" in this context seems misleading as it seems to imply that they are small and lack influence. While both Furries and Catholics could be described as "subcultures" we all know who has the most influence on how the world is run and it's definitely not Furries.
If I might meta-comment for a moment, here, Russell, you have long made a habit of this sort of sloppy extrapolation, particularly but not exclusively when you are far outside your areas of competence.
I don't think that knowledge of Christian based religions is outside my area of competence. I was raised as a Christian, attended multiple "Christian" schools, and read the entire Bible apart from Psalms before I was 9. I have had many discussions of religion with people who identify as "Christian", most of whom reject the teachings of Jesus.
And then there's the evangelicals, who are totally out of step, and make anyone familiar with the New Testiment perennially rub his or her head and say 'WTF? This isn't the least bit like Christianity.'
You get monstrosities like the so-called 'prosperity Gospel' notions, which have absolutely nothing to do with the Gospel, and everything to do with justifying shunning and condemning the poor and unfortunate, rather than living to serve and help them. As author Chris Ladd says, all of the ethical principles of Christianity get discarded and turned upside-down. Instead of a biblical mission, you see 'I got mine, Jack' Zig Zigler salesmanship of 'Pray with us and you'll get rich and be happy.' You get toxic misogyny the likes of which even Saul of Tarsus could never dream of on his worst days. The message of compassion gets totally discarded and stomped on.
If this was just Evangelicals doing their own thing it would be different. But my observations of Christians in other denominations is that they are unwilling to call out the evil of Evangelicalism. If you identify as a fan of Star Wars someone will query you about some aspect of the series to determine if you are a true SW fan (this especially applies to women). If you identify as a Christian then other Christians won't ask if you know anything about the Bible.
As author Chris Ladd says, the core of this vile thing, evangelicalism, is in the former slaveholding Confederacy states, the Old South, although there are smaller tendrils of the evangelical denominations everywhere, even here in California. If you bother to look at a map, you'll please note that the ex-Confederacy, even if you include Texas that never completely bought into that conspiracy against the USA while nonetheless joining it, is only a small chunk on the southeast side of the continent. 325 million Americans in 50 states plus American Samoa, Puerto Rico, District of Columbia, Guam, and other minor holdings constitute a much, much bigger United States, in most of which, Old South twisted thinking is considered pretty alien.
Yet the ideas of "southern Christians" have spread. We have had people on this mailing list advocating "prosperity theology" and saying that women who are raped should "accept a share of the blame". I even had a LUV member send me links to Jack Chick comics after a previous discussion about religion!
But never, Russell, never, please, and certainly never again, confuse the brokenness of the Old South and its bizarre anti-Christianity with the United States as a whole. It's really offensive, in exactly the way that only you, in your Dunning-Krueger wowzering mode, can manage.
LOL. Do you not know who won the last presidential election? Sure he didn't win the majority vote, but he got close enough that every decent American should be very embarassed.
So, don't tell us that Americans don't read the Bible, because you're simply mistaken, and moreover that isn't even a thing author Chris Ladd even said or implied. It's the evangelicals who don't. And they are out of step.
OK, I'll CC you next time I get into an email discussion with people who identify as "Christians" but not "evangelicals" who obviously haven't read the Bible. ;)
(Well, I hear that Catholics are also mildly discouraged from reading the Bible outside of the guidance of the Church, which is understandable as a power dynamic, given the schisms that happened before when people did that.)
While Catholics are world-renowned for opposing abortion I don't recall ever being in an online debate about it with them. At the moment I can't think of any example of a Catholic not knowing about some aspect of their religion and caring about it. If someone says "I don't know much about the Bible and just try to be a good persion" then that's fair enough IMHO. -- My Main Blog http://etbe.coker.com.au/ My Documents Blog http://doc.coker.com.au/