This is basically the premise to a Ricky Gervais bit.

A bunch of years ago I was at my brother in laws bachelor party. It was mid summer along a river so we were drinking and enjoying the weather and a bonfire. One dude had this huge cross tattooed on his back, he was BiL’s coworker friend and I had never met him before. He was saying some pretty awful shit and then started to get into racist shit against Mexicans. I can’t remember exactly what I said but it was basically “you say these things while showing off that tattoo? Did you get it because you thought it looked cool or do you even know what the cross means?” My BiL asked me to drop it but its always reminded me of how much some of these people are complete idiots and maybe they are trying to be better but wrapping yourself in these symbols and failing to even meet a baseline of understanding is just so disgusting to me. A thousand years ago, I am sure one of us would have tried to kill each other over that moment.

Weird thing is that it started as a symbol. Believers carrying a cross, albeit a small symbolic one, was a sign of sympathy and emulation with the sacrifice Christ did, one of which was carrying his own cross, in order to save mankind from sin. But of course it was distorted and fetishized to the point of ridicule. Christians aren’t exactly the most well versed on the beliefs of their own cult.

Is it not as a reminder of Jesus’ sacrifice rather than celebration of how he died?

Supply side Jesus

Churches should be taxed though. Give unto Caesar and all that.

Dividing into camps along political lines and shouting at each other is what happens out in the world. It’s not supposed to happen at church.

Wait, I thought this was their main feature…

The comedian Emo Philips has a well-known joke about religion that may explain some of the decline in membership… "Once I saw this guy on a bridge about to jump. I said, “Don’t do it!” He said, “Nobody loves me.” I said, “God loves you. Do you believe in God?”

He said, “Yes.” I said, “Are you a Christian or a Jew?” He said, “A Christian.” I said, “Me, too! Protestant or Catholic?” He said, “Protestant.” I said, “Me, too! What franchise?” He said, “Baptist.” I said, “Me, too! Northern Baptist or Southern Baptist?” He said, “Northern Baptist.” I said, “Me, too! Northern Conservative Baptist or Northern Liberal Baptist?”

He said, “Northern Conservative Baptist.” I said, “Me, too! Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region, or Northern Conservative Baptist Eastern Region?” He said, “Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region.” I said, “Me, too!”

Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region Council of 1879, or Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region Council of 1912?" He said, “Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region Council of 1912.” I said, “Die, heretic!” And I pushed him over."

I want that on a t-shirt. ‘Jesus was a beta cuck socialist’.

No, the Republican party co-opted evangelicals to win votes. Abortion wasn’t a major issue for evals until conservatives started pumping it in the 70s (I think that’s the timeline?). Both are abhorrent, but we should be accurate about who tantalized who. Now, evals are in control of the Repubs.

Literally too. I’ve seen Facebook posts from an evangelical ex girlfriend of vertical lens flares on Tump saying that he’s gods chosen one and it’s liked by a bunch of other evangelicals. They really do think he’s chosen by god.

You have a point, however, there seems to be a difference in severity. It’s like how openly and aggressively racist some of these folks have gotten. Sure, they always probably harbored those feelings, but now they are more brazen about it, and the behavior is getting worse as a result.

Arguable. The stories have him talk about the right price and your rights with slaves, and as commonly understood “not one jot or tittle” would directly conflict with “let he who…”, unless the second is an edict (“hey, you, sinless one, go chuck a rock at them and bludgeon then go death”).

Where the bible isn’t monstrous, it’s at best inconsistent.

I recognize I’m insignificant in reality so let me just go ahead and adopt these beliefs that make me feel otherwise, that’s better, ahhh sweet hatred.

I’d just like to sit in on the closed door leadership meetings where they admit they think Paul masterfully hijacked the gospels and grew Christianity into a tool for oppression. Then watch as they divise ways to fuck over their own congregations.

Nah there will always be plenty of bigoted pastors, churches, and congregations for these people.

This may cause (another) split amongst Christians, but there’s no way they give up religion entirely. It’s far too useful to them as a tool of control and indoctrination.

I have always been surprised that the Catholic Bishops have been so willing to align, politically, with the evangelicals on this issue. They haven’t historically gotten along well. And the evangelicals were agnostic about abortion, until they realized all the money they could raise by embracing the bans.

If the end-game for this is turning the country (or even the red states) into a theocracy, Catholics are going to find themselves excluded again. Some evangelicals don’t even think they count as Christian. And nobody else is going to have sympathy for them, when the ruling class imposes their belief systems on Catholics, because it’s exactly what the Catholic Bishops have been doing to other groups through their support of extreme abortion bans.

Christ means “messiah/anointed one” these people are following, in their eyes, the new one and he ain’t called Jesus. Seriously these fucking people are literally worshipping mr Orange.