Donald Trump - encouragement for nonreligious politicians?

[lpetrich]

An atheist in the White House? It could happen, thanks to Donald Trump | Salon.com - "Donald Trump doesn't have a single religious bone in his body. This is actually very good news"

In a saner political climate Trump would have loomed in the minds of evangelicals as the Antichrist. He doesn’t go to church. He doesn’t pretend to read the Bible and bows his head only to attack a stack of buttered pancakes. His personal life reads like a zany parody of a Christian moral life. He cares not a fig about God or of any entity purported to be greater than himself. If the Pearly Gates happen to exist, he will muscle his way through them without any need to say “I have sinned,” or more meekly “I’m sorry.”

But the Religious Right loves him and considers him a Great Leader. Some RR leaders even explain that God is willing to use believers in other religions for his purposes, believers like King Cyrus of Persia. One might expect the RR to prefer some Mitt Romney figure, even though MR himself is a Mormon, someone who believes that God was once a very good Mormon who had lived on another planet.

The authors think that this could be very good for nonreligious aspiring politicians, but I think that that is overly optimistic. What will more likely happen is that more and more politicians will become reluctant to go along with a de facto Church of God the American, as I like to call it. Especially as Godless Communism is not what it used to be.

Looking at the current Presidential race, Kamala Harris has reportedly attended both Hindu temples and Baptist churches, and Tulsi Gabbard is a committed Hindu with ties to Hindu nationalists. Pete Buttigieg is a practicing Episcopalian who has stated a Religious-Left position, and Bernie Sanders is apparently a secular Jew.

 

[ideologyhunter]

Wow. Wowwwww. I love the thought that Trump is atheist and therefore has duped the entire evangelical wing of the righties to worship a complete heathen. But I'm horrified to think that I have ANYTHING in common with that orange, fat-titted, rage-filled, juvenile idiot, other than that we breathe oxygen and our grandfathers ran whorehouses. (Oops -- mine didn't.) I rationalize the seeming synchronicity by assuming that with Trump's lazy mind, he really doesn't analyze any supernatural/materialist issues, and just doesn't give a shit. There's no extra millions in his believing or disbelieving.

 

[T.G.G. Moogly]

Wow. Wowwwww. I love the thought that Trump is atheist and therefore has duped the entire evangelical wing of the righties to worship a complete heathen. But I'm horrified to think that I have ANYTHING in common with that orange, fat-titted, rage-filled, juvenile idiot, other than that we breathe oxygen and our grandfathers ran whorehouses. (Oops -- mine didn't.) I rationalize the seeming synchronicity by assuming that with Trump's lazy mind, he really doesn't analyze any supernatural/materialist issues, and just doesn't give a shit. There's no extra millions in his believing or disbelieving.

What is that human penchant for saying something could happen, when all observations are that it has happened? What exactly about his orangeness is not atheistic? It is simply more religious pretending, the best thing religious people are able to do. Are they pretending he isn't atheistic, or are they pretending he's theistic?

Sounds like your typical religious "I can have it both ways" thinking.

 

[ZiprHead]

I doubt Bonespurs is an atheist. You cannot be an atheist if you believe yourself to be god.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

Trump seems to be a special case, a person that broke every single convention known to American Politics. I don't know whether this will continue afterwards.

In South Carolina, where Mr. Trump won a commanding victory, earning all 50 delegates, he carried evangelicals by six percentage points over Mr. Cruz and 11 percentage points over Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, according to exit polls.

Even in the primaries, he was getting the evangelical vote. But I think we learned that the "evangelical vote" means the "racist muthas" vote and has little to actually do with religion. Trump apparently was able to turn up the angst against minorities and liberals enough in the south to make up for his lack of any faith whatsoever, and promise to open factories back up in the midwest/PA where faith isn't quite as big a deal.

Whatever it was, Trump tapped into it effectively... and I don't think whatever it was... it is something we should be anything but weary about tapping into ourselves.

I doubt Bonespurs is an atheist. You cannot be an atheist if you believe yourself to be god.

You beat me to it.

 

[T.G.G. Moogly]

But I think we learned that the "evangelical vote" means the "racist muthas" vote and has little to actually do with religion.

It has everything to do with religion.

 

[lpetrich]

 Kyrsten Sinema - "During the oath of office ceremony, led by vice president Mike Pence, Sinema decided not to be sworn in on the traditional Bible, opting instead for copies of the United States Constitution and the Constitution of Arizona."

Might we be seeing more of that?

 

[KeepTalking]

But I think we learned that the "evangelical vote" means the "racist muthas" vote and has little to actually do with religion.

It has everything to do with religion.

From my experience it has everything to do with abortion. My father is one of the evangelical voters, and has betrayed everything he once stood for by voting for Trump simply because Trump is a Republican, and therefor a forced birther. He and the others in his church-going generation are single issue voters, and no matter how long they payed lip service to "family values", they are voting solely to overturn Roe v Wade.

 

[Jolly_Penguin]

Whatever it was, Trump tapped into it effectively... and I don't think whatever it was... it is something we should be anything but weary about tapping into ourselves.

I disagree. The two (imagined) things that got him elected are his only two positive traits (actually they are imagined traits): That he is against phony politics as usual (the biggest reason he got elected) and that he is business minded. His brash manner was a form of breaking the establishment. Its also a big reason why Bernie Sanders was so popular, as he wanted to break the system in another way.

 

[T.G.G. Moogly]

But I think we learned that the "evangelical vote" means the "racist muthas" vote and has little to actually do with religion.

It has everything to do with religion.

From my experience it has everything to do with abortion. My father is one of the evangelical voters, and has betrayed everything he once stood for by voting for Trump simply because Trump is a Republican, and therefor a forced birther. He and the others in his church-going generation are single issue voters, and no matter how long they payed lip service to "family values", they are voting solely to overturn Roe v Wade.

I would accept that as a reason if all the self-proclaimed "pro-lifers" were also pro healthcare.

 

[Tammuz]

they are voting solely to overturn Roe v Wade.

Why is that single issue considered so important to them? It's a little perplexing to me.

 

[abaddon]

they are voting solely to overturn Roe v Wade.

Why is that single issue considered so important to them? It's a little perplexing to me.

Evangelicals think a holocaust of babies is happening. To them, since 1970 there's been 50,000,000 human lives deliberately snuffed out, and more every year. They think no other problem compares in horribleness. I guess to them that seems as anti-God as anything gets, God wants those little souls to have a chance to know Jesus and be saved and evil secularists are murdering them against God's will.

 

[T.G.G. Moogly]

they are voting solely to overturn Roe v Wade.

Why is that single issue considered so important to them? It's a little perplexing to me.

Evangelicals think a holocaust of babies is happening. To them, since 1970 there's been 50,000,000 human lives deliberately snuffed out, and more every year. They think no other problem compares in horribleness. I guess to them that seems as anti-God as anything gets, God wants those little souls to have a chance to know Jesus and be saved and evil secularists are murdering them against God's will.

Aren't they all with Jesus right now?

 

[lpetrich]

 Pete Stark, a Democratic US Representative from Oakland, California from 1973 to 2013, was the first to come out. From Stark's atheist views break political taboo - SFGate

"[I am] a Unitarian who does not believe in a Supreme Being. I look forward to working with the Secular Coalition to stop the promotion of narrow religious beliefs in science, marriage contracts, the military and the provision of social service."

Statement from Stark, January 2007

 

[abaddon]

Evangelicals think a holocaust of babies is happening. To them, since 1970 there's been 50,000,000 human lives deliberately snuffed out, and more every year. They think no other problem compares in horribleness. I guess to them that seems as anti-God as anything gets, God wants those little souls to have a chance to know Jesus and be saved and evil secularists are murdering them against God's will.

Aren't they all with Jesus right now?

There's been a sighting of fetuses hugging Jesus heaven.

 

[T.G.G. Moogly]

I'm now led to believe that heaven is replete with sperms and eggs, all those little things that wanted to be people but didn't make it. No ovulation or ejaculation ever goes unrewarded. Swim, my children!

Hallelujah!

 

[Derec]

I'm now led to believe that heaven is replete with sperms and eggs, all those little things that wanted to be people but didn't make it. No ovulation or ejaculation ever goes unrewarded. Swim, my children!

Hallelujah!

 

[ideologyhunter]

Just to be on firm theological ground: do the spirits of the babies and rugrats that God personally killed or had killed (Gen 7, Exo. 11, 12, Joshua passim) end up in heaven along with the ones killed by those pesky abortionists? Seems to me if God kills ya, he doesn't want you hanging around with your childlike accusing eyes.

 

[T.G.G. Moogly]

Just to be on firm theological ground: do the spirits of the babies and rugrats that God personally killed or had killed (Gen 7, Exo. 11, 12, Joshua passim) end up in heaven along with the ones killed by those pesky abortionists? Seems to me if God kills ya, he doesn't want you hanging around with your childlike accusing eyes.

I think the innocent victims of god's genocide are there too, but they're all wearing rainbows to distinguish their unique status.

It's important to realize - forget understand - that you can pull whatever you need out of your religious hat anytime you need something. The fact that fundegelicals support Trumpo is all the proof anyone will ever need.

 

[Tammuz]

According to Jerry Falwell Jr. Donald Trump is the "dream president" for evangelicals.