I don’t know another word to describe it. Using fundamentalist religious hype centered on a divine being who commanded generosity and charity to mislead sincere believers and rip them and everyone else off of their last damn nickel, so the evildoers can feed more tax cuts and government subsidies to a tiny sliver of already filthy rich assholes. It’s just stomach churning sickening:
An emerging Christian movement that seeks to take dominion over politics, business and culture in preparation for the end times and the return of Jesus, is becoming more of a presence in American politics. The leaders are considered apostles and prophets, gifted by God for this role.
And you better believe our good fundie buddy Rick Perry is right in the thick of this ugly shit.
Nemo says
For the believers, it doesn’t even make a whole lot of sense from their own twisted perspective. If they’re so keen for the apocalypse, shouldn’t they want the antichrist to come to power? That’s what prophecy dictates, right? Not Christian dominion.
Tim DeLaney says
Nemo, it’s not about being consistent; it’s about the urge to dominate the lives of others. Some 222 years ago some very bright folks wrote the First Amendment, and these godbots are still trying to undo it.
We won’t let them.
raven says
Stupid npr article. Xian Dominionists aren’t new.
The founder was Rushdooney and he is fortunately, long dead.
They’ve been around a lot longer than I’ve been alive.
These are the same old christofascists we’ve seen for decades, aka known as fundie death cult xians or the Tea Party. And yeah, Perry is pandering to them. Perry would pander to a tree stump if there was anything in it for him.
They are worth worrying about because they definitely represent the worst of humanity, the heirs of the Spanish Inquisition, crusaders and equals to the Moslem extremists. They will destroy us or destroy US xianity. So far it is close but US xianity is dying.
Polls from CNN/CBS/NYT show that the christofascists are among the most despised of the groups in our society, right down there with the atheists and Moslems.
MollyNYC says
They’re evil? And you figure this is news?
Religion plays different roles in different people’s lives, but for predators and bunko artists, it’s basically the equivalent of those game farms (like where Cheney shot that guy in the face). The targets are plentiful, smarter and/or more dangerous specimens aren’t around, and of the ones left, the environment has made them trusting, tame and defenseless.
Seriously, if you decided one day to stop doing whatever you do for a living and go on the grift, what would be your first move?
That’s right: You would accept Jesus in the most ostentatious manner possible. Might even invite the media. You’d denounce your previous life as a nonbeliever, before you were washed in the Blood, and beg the forgiveness of teary-eyed congregation. You’d swear that from that day forward, you would walk humbly with your Redeemer. After that, a little testifying on the evils of atheism, maybe a quick semester at the DeVry School of Bible (watch out for the closet cases–Bible schools are full of them, and no, I’m not kidding) if you think ordination would be worth the investment . . .
. . . and then, having climbed into the preserve, you can commence fleecing the inhabitants. Watered securities, offers to hold people’s investments until the Rapture, telling old folks that they’ll get a better reception in Heaven if they just give some bucks to your “church”–really, you’d clean up.
Stephen "DarkSyde" Andrew says
Hey Molly, good luck on Irene, could be in for some wind and rain if you’re in NYC.
I dunno if it’s new sor not. It just bums me out.
On the second point, I’ve long thought of how much gravy I might get slopped in my direction if I could just eject this pesky respect for science and facts, and made up a bunch of crazy shit assisting whatever fundie branch of pseudo-science would pay me the most. There’s definitley some soul crushing money to be had there, but there’s also considerable competition among full blown sociopaths for every last dime. So I dunno if a hypothetical sell out would work financially or not. A big hitter like PZ or the Realclimate guys could definitely rake it in though, if they could simply and completely eject their basic sense of ethics and decency, and maybe suffer a minor debilitating stroke affecting their memory and critical thinking ability.
Reginald Selkirk says
You’re thinking of the Reconstructionists, aka the “Red Heifer” loons.