Right-wing watch reports that, unsurprisingly, many religious-right leaders wants judges who will support their march to theocracy — oh, sorry, a Biblical worldview. Which is the first lie covered in today’s post — the belief that there’s a single Biblical worldview and that it conforms to the worldview of white, homophobic, misogynist religious conservatives.
In fairness, this was one of the founding propositions of Protestant Christianity: The Bible’s truth is so plain and clear that there’s no need for a church to explain what it means. The Civil War put paid to that idea: half of white america fought slavery and fought for slavery, both claiming the Bible supported them. If we get something that big wrong — and obviously, a lot of people did (just as obviously, it was the slaveowners) — there’s no reason to assume that our “biblical worldview” represents the divine worldview. As Fred Clark put it once at slacktivist (I don’t have the specific link) even if the Bible is infallible, our interpretation is not.
Christian feminist Beth Allison Barr, for instance, believes her opposition to Christian misogyny represents a Biblical worldview; a lot of Christian misogynists firmly believe otherwise. I doubt religious conservatives are going to respect her worldview as legitimate; many of them don’t think any liberal or Democrat has a Biblical worldview. It’s the same logic by which people who call for a Christian nation don’t want a Christian nation, they want a specifically sectarian version of Christianity to be on top. This never ends well; that’s one reason we have a First Amendment.
My second piece of bullshit is Ron DeStalinist’s proclamation that “The Left may say they oppose the establishment of religion, but they are the ones trying to establish a religion … the religion of leftism. If there is a conflict between the Left’s agenda and your faith, they want you to bend the knee. We will not.”
Leftism is not, however, a religion, it’s a political stance. Some leftists are motivated to support equality and oppose discrimination because they believe it’s god’s will; others do so for secular reasons. Right-wingers have been arguing since the 1970s that liberalism is some sort of religion because then schools adopting liberal principles like tolerance for gays are then religious and the First Amendment says no.
But in DeSantis’ case, facts don’t matter as much as appealing to the Republican whiny vote, the conservative Christians convinced they’re the persecuted and wretched of the Earth. Christian conservatives are martyrs, just like the oppressed Christians of the New Testament; that our faith is now closer to the Roman Empire in its secular power goes ignored. Having to coexist with Americans who don’t share their worldview — married gays, independent women — feels like oppression because they’re not getting the country they want. How can that be just? DeSantis has realized how easy it is to exploit that: “the only lies you’ll ever have to tell them are the lies they were already telling themselves.”
And given many conservative Christians scoff at Jesus’ calls for mercy and forgiveness as weakness, I don’t think they have the stomach for real martyrdom. Much better to fantasize you’re being martyred, then lash back at the imagined oppressor.
Third, we have nitwit pundit Charlie Kirk declaring we should cut Social Security because “I don’t think retirement is biblical.” People shouldn’t be sitting on their ass in retirement, they should be helping with their grandkids! Lots of people take part-time jobs! We’re taking money from struggling kids in their twenties and thirties and giving it to well-off seniors!
While Kirk has embraced Christian nationalism, I notice he doesn’t offer any specifics why retirement goes against the Bible. It’s another conservative Christian bit of bullshit: just declare your preferred policy position is godly, don’t worry about the details, like some conservative Christians declaring that the Bible’s rules for slaves require employees obey employers absolutely.
Of course nothing about receiving Social Security stops people doing any of the things Kirk recommended. Age, however, can stop them: some retirees, as I observed a decade ago, are not in shape for any of that. Kirk, spending his days sitting behind a microphone and babbling bullshit (as I’ve mentioned before, he doesn’t live up to the image of manliness he says America needs), may be in great shape when he hits retirement age; retail workers, miners, dock workers may not be so lucky.
And if Kirk gets his wish, Republicans will not be funneling that money back to young Americans in need. It’ll go to where all their money goes: corporate welfare and tax cuts for the rich. And Kirk will be fine with that.
