Why is Trump so Popular?

[T.G.G. Moogly]

I saw something on MSNBC yesterday about how some evangelical Trump supporters are cherry picking the better parts of the NT, saying that those things don't apply in today's world. They were talking about the things that most decent people support like helping the poor etc. I never thought our less than perfect country would become this fucked up.

I think that many of these people were raised with the idea that life is hard, and meant by God to be be hard, so the only comfort anyone will be able to find in life lies in Jesus. So they want to make life tough for most people, because that is they way they think it should be. I also think that a little bit of the Calvinistic idea that God blesses those He considers virtuous by making them wealthy and good looking also fits into their beliefs, so they think being poor, unhealthy, and suffering is what most people deserve. It's a mean way of looking at life. Mother Teresea, for example, thought human suffering was good for the soul, some say.

Sounds like a bunch of rationalization based on the perception of circumstances beyond one's control. Do these people also embrace free will? Maybe they do but only when it's convenient? In any case they ultimately believe that people are substantially ghosts that are going to somehow unite with ghost rulers. Pretty quirky stuff. Given such strange foundational beliefs whatever produces as behavior shouldn't come as a surprise.