[linkage] Christianity vs Christian Fundamentalism, and US politics

[wispfox]

I'm going to copy dglenn's post word-for-word, because I'm lazy, and because at least some of you normally don't follow my links. :) (There are still going to be links, but they are better explained than I'm currently capable of)

And, if you're up to reading more about this topic, see twistedchick's post which includes links and commentary about the above links.

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Thanks to ysabel for pointing out this series of essays by bradhicks: "Christians in the Hand of an Angry God" -- It's long, but more than worth it.

Part 1 compares modern Christian fundamentalism and Biblical literalism, shows where they diverge, and asserts that this is a deliberate preaching of a false Gospel. Part 2 discusses the reasons for the alignment of the Religious Right and the Republican party (what was in it for the churches) and how it was accomplished. Part 3 continues with how they leveraged social movents and cultural angst to make their version look "normal", including the odd turn to a focus on selected bits of Leviticus. Part 4 covers abortion and shows that the abortion debate is really about sex, not about souls (relevant quote, "Roe v Wade grants the fetus more rights and more recognition as a person than the Bible does"). And Part 5 summarizes and then explains why a non-Christian cares so much and why everyone else should care about false preaching by Christian churches. Note that although the author is not a Christian, most of the arguments are presented from within a Christian context, which makes sense for this sort of discussion.

I think this is important reading. Even if you disagree, it raises some important points and fills in some interesting bits of history. And if you're already one of the people who sees a fundamental disconnect between the Republican agenda and Christian teachings but are mystified as to why so many Christians vote Republican anyhow, this series explains a lot.

Comments

All I can say about Brad..

[briathian.livejournal.com]

Is that he's a cool guy to hang around and have a cup of $beverage with, and used to throw really cool parties before being forced to move by progress (IIRC, his subdivision and a fair number of others were bought out for either the airport expansion or a Home Despot, can't remember which!)

I think my world is becoming strangely small!