Revelation 13:3
One of its heads seemed to have a mortal wound, but its mortal wound was healed, and the whole earth marveled as they followed the beast.
I agree, in the sense that they made up a terrible version of their god and accurately predicted that it would be really appealing to a massive number of Christians.
Yup. The Jesus of the Bible would just be absolutely aghast at all these people claiming to follow his teachings by accumulating money or other nonsense.
Right?? I'm right there with you. I was raised Catholic (it didn't take) but I'm like you guys wrote THIS EXACT GUY down, like, seriously, word for word, and nobody... seems to care??
They've spent so much time over the past several decades contouring themselves to make politicians they don't like fit into the Antichrist mold that they can't recognize the real thing when it shows up.
They spent a solid decade pitching Obama as the Antichrist on much less evidence, so some of this might just be an inability to conceive a white man as bad.
Me, 30 year lapsed Catholic: “Look I’m never gonna believe your man gooned death but he had some solid ideas. If this here institution is actually gonna do some material plane theological liberation I’m back in with the genuflecting & the holy water. Get me a saint & point me in a direction, padre.”
They're still anti-choice, anti-gay, and anti-trans, tho, and don't allow women in leadership roles. I'll absolutely take the advocacy for immigrants, but the Catholic Church is still not Good even if you ignore the supernatural nonsense. They're just doing the stopped clock thing again.
You go to the holy war with the army you have, perfect being the enemy of the good, etc etc…
The only thing that would bring me back around to Catholicism as praxis would be Liberation Theology and we now have Pope 2 related to that tradition all the other baggage aside…
Same. The only thing that has shaken my strongly held belief that there is no God is that American Christians were given a choice between Donald Trump and devout Catholic Joe Biden. Could not be a more perfect test of faith.
Religion has always been explicitly left wing economically. The wealthy will never enter heaven according to Christ, a ban on taking interest for loans and mandatory charity in Islam, langar in Sikhism. Plus the rules about not cutting hair in many religions including Islam and Sikhism.
Thats why we always had a welfare state - religion. They were supposed to be the ones to help the poor and the needy. Thats why going against their teachings was so frowned upon. They were the support system for the poor. Also why women used to be consistently more religious than men.
That only changed with the arrival of the welfare state model where the state gives welfare directly. This led to the weakening of religious institutions in public life and a shift of women against religion. It was the inventions and developments in logistics that helped the state accomplish it.
Same for me. I grew up hearing that prophecy in the church, and Trump fits the Antichrist perfectly. Which would make Elon Musk (with his plans to make X an “everything platform” including banking) The Beast and his mark.
and qanon and evangelicalism and some secret third or more thing that'll be cooked up before he dies is going to fully merge over the next two decades i think
I’m an ex Christian atheist and still, what they are doing with that faith brings up a profound rage and grief in me. Routinely I’m mumbling to myself “heretics! Blaspheeeemers! Defilers of Christ’s message!”
Vance in particular twists Catholic writings so far outside any scholarly or traditional
It was a Jewish religious scholar that introduced me to the term “post theist”! Dr. Justin Sledge. It was a conversation that he was having with another religious studies person and it just resonated so much.
interpretation that I’m surprised he hasn’t burst into flames.
I wish religious studies were taught in school. So much of the US is profoundly religiously illiterate. Happy to see people reclaiming faiths whenever they are being abused.
Comparative religion could be very useful. Unfortunately, they're putting in Christian Nationalist BS instead. This ex-Catholic current Presbyterian (Trump supposedly being one makes me GAG) spends a lot of time teeth grinding.
Like seriously! Even from a young age I never really believed in the God and/or Jesus stuff but I just wanna shout at my parents "How can you call yourselves Christians?"
The giant gold idol stuff is kind of hard to stumble into I'd think. Seems very specific. Most rich evil people don't seem to have big gold statues. It's one of those "I'd have two nickels" things except for Trump being the antichrist.
Atheist Jew and hard same. Got dragged to enough evangelical services as a teen to know what they were saying in the nineties, and, um… he’s here, guys.
That video of them speaking in tongues at the White House was triggering.
I half-seriously wonder if some inner cadre of eschatologists have decided to support Trump for the same reason they support Israel: to bring about the apocalypse. And just convinced the rest to bow down. They're not that self-aware, though.
Bringing about Armageddon and the rapture is a stated goal of many politics-focused christians.
World magazine discussed it in the 90s, Falwell did, and many others have since the Nixon administration. Even my grandfather, a pal of each Bush and promoter of US zionism, said he was "doing his part".
As a respected baptist pastor more conservative than Billy Graham, he pushed hard to get Reagan, Bush, congressmen in the 90s, and GW Bush on board with establishing Greater Israel solely to fit scripture, as he felt it was his calling to bring the end of days no matter what horrors were needed.
That's the American paradigm. The Mayflower Pilgrims Flee 'Religious Persecution' story was about the original Revelation-obsessed end-times cult. It's not a secret inner cadre, it's the heart of American evangelism. They've always loved the Antichrist; America itself is the Great Heresy.
Back during the Gulf War, I remember a family friend weeping with joy because she thought Armageddon had come. It didn't, but that moment taught me that the evangelicals' greatest desire is genocide and death.
The more you look at the actual New Testament passages that use that term (including the social/political context) the more certain that he’s exactly what it refers to.
Whatever your conception of the “antichrist” so described in the New Testament with regard to importance or greater role, Trump fits the characteristics.
Oh I’m with you on him unironically being it, 80 percent there myself. It’s a big plot hole that the Antichrist shows up and just says some shit and convinces everyone, but that’s kinda want the evil old bastard does do
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One of its heads seemed to have a mortal wound, but its mortal wound was healed, and the whole earth marveled as they followed the beast.
a two thousand year tradition doesn’t turn on a dime but it can be made to turn
The only thing that would bring me back around to Catholicism as praxis would be Liberation Theology and we now have Pope 2 related to that tradition all the other baggage aside…
[I'd also fully expect a Trump Redivivus QAnon thing after Champagne Day.]
Vance in particular twists Catholic writings so far outside any scholarly or traditional
I say atheist. Post theist is probably more accurate for myself, but no one really uses the term.
I wish religious studies were taught in school. So much of the US is profoundly religiously illiterate. Happy to see people reclaiming faiths whenever they are being abused.
That video of them speaking in tongues at the White House was triggering.
World magazine discussed it in the 90s, Falwell did, and many others have since the Nixon administration. Even my grandfather, a pal of each Bush and promoter of US zionism, said he was "doing his part".
Whatever your conception of the “antichrist” so described in the New Testament with regard to importance or greater role, Trump fits the characteristics.
With the lyric "Bringing the Light"
My evangelical upbringing alarms are blaring.
https://youtu.be/PslOp883rfI?si=WWzFNPGFhSPLFLiG