Phil ZuckermanLast week, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton publicly declared his fervent desire to arrest consenting adults who engage in non-procreative sex. 

And he just may get to do so in the near future, given Supreme Court Justice Thomas’s stated intention to revisit Lawrence v. Texas, the 2003 ruling that rendered sodomy laws unconstitutional nationwide.

What do Paxton and Thomas have in common, aside from their homophobic bigotry? You guessed it: a very deep love of a particularly mean Jesus. Both men are strong, aggressive Christians, and their authoritarian faith is the most active muscle propelling their political might. 

And they are far from alone. Despite the fact that most US Christians today are loving, kind, and humane, it is their more vocal, organized, and politically-vindictive brothers and sisters who are currently at the forefront of the assault on democracy, women’s rights, our children’s safety, and the very well-being of Planet Earth.

Much like a Catholic priest directing a summer camp for disadvantaged boys, the question is: where to begin?

Let’s start with the assault on democracy. The armed insurgents that sought to overthrow the Capital, hang Mike Pence, and nullify the electoral will of the American people, were heavily Christian in membership and motivation.

Continue reading @ Only Sky.

When Bad Religion Reigns

Phil ZuckermanLast week, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton publicly declared his fervent desire to arrest consenting adults who engage in non-procreative sex. 

And he just may get to do so in the near future, given Supreme Court Justice Thomas’s stated intention to revisit Lawrence v. Texas, the 2003 ruling that rendered sodomy laws unconstitutional nationwide.

What do Paxton and Thomas have in common, aside from their homophobic bigotry? You guessed it: a very deep love of a particularly mean Jesus. Both men are strong, aggressive Christians, and their authoritarian faith is the most active muscle propelling their political might. 

And they are far from alone. Despite the fact that most US Christians today are loving, kind, and humane, it is their more vocal, organized, and politically-vindictive brothers and sisters who are currently at the forefront of the assault on democracy, women’s rights, our children’s safety, and the very well-being of Planet Earth.

Much like a Catholic priest directing a summer camp for disadvantaged boys, the question is: where to begin?

Let’s start with the assault on democracy. The armed insurgents that sought to overthrow the Capital, hang Mike Pence, and nullify the electoral will of the American people, were heavily Christian in membership and motivation.

Continue reading @ Only Sky.

8 comments:

  1. And ultimately Christian nationalism bolsters white supremacy.

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    1. And their absurd position seems reasonable to them Barry ... but as I once heard the gaffer here say "What wasn't reasoned in won't/can't be reasoned out".
      A stronger, more unreasonable force will need to be called forth to awaken them from their stupor. A Saul-like conversion rarely occurs except when precipitated by a fall from one's horse, actually happens or becomes inevitable. Sometimes, as in the case of the late David Trimble that's a falling into reality rather than an actual fall.
      Sometimes the necessary conditions for insight are painful, either conceptually or actual and physical. Profound changes rarely results from intellectual argument and persuasion alone, don't you think?

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  2. How long before they are outted as a screaming bender?

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  3. I don't disagree, Henry Joy, but those of us who are writers, scholars, commentators etc have a moral and intellectual duty to keep searching for and telling the truth using our skills.

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    1. Phil Macgiollabhain once made the point that individuals rarely change but generations do. Ideas play some role in that. Henry Joy refers to a comment originally made by Mark Twain that i often resort to about what is not reasoned in will not be reasoned out. That is fine but does not address the situation where ideas have been reasoned in. The Marxists are right when they ground ideas in material conditions but there is a whole lot in between as they so often discovered when trying to reduce ideational movement directly to the materiality of the economy. Ideas are not relative - there are ideas that are better than others.

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    2. What's happening are clashes of ideologies rather than clashes of ideas. As such they are not reasoned in. What we have are socialised and inculcated ideas underpinned by divisive identity positions. Therefore they won't be, and cannot be reasoned out.
      Whereas commentary is always welcome insofar as it clarifies and provides opportunities for reflection, any utility will only come to the fore, once those clarifications and reflections lead to collective formulations of useful strategies, strategies which are followed on with initiations of appropriate action.

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    3. What are ideologies other than systems of ideas? People frequently embrace different ideologies from those they were raised in. There is a whole swathe of Christians and former Christians who have rejected the ideologies they grew up in and who moved on to different ideas. So, they can be reasoned out. Twain while useful can't be regarded as having established an iron law on this.
      I think your second tranche has a lot going for it.

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  4. Yes, they're systems of ideas, usually packaged alongside aspirational ideals. Thankfully there are whole swathes of people who manage to overcome their socialisations and conditioning. That said though guys like Paxton and Thomas, along with their cohorts of supporters, are unlikely to be swayed by counter-positions of reason or logic.

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