The core of evangelism---the motivation, the driving force---is not zealous faith in a Supreme

[Atticus]

Being. It is the overwhelming suspicion that someone somewhere is having a good time.

[cloudbase]

1. They're not happy until you're not happy. n/t

[Walleye]

2. They are never happy, that's the problem

[aggiesal]

33. I have a saying ...

They're only happy when they're miserable.

[we can do it]

3. It's all about controlling others.

[Irish_Dem]

6. Yes the use of religion as a sadistic weapon to control and denigrate others.

[2naSalit]

11. By wielding fear and guilt.

It's worked for them for millennia, this is just a ramping up of their tactics as they see their grip slipping. Too many people aren't into the religion thing and the zealots are losing their shit over it.

[jaxexpat]

35. Many are turning away from all religious practices.

They're doing so in response to what is popularly termed "evangelism".

It's not a situation new to this country. Many give credit for our Thanksgiving to Puritans. Profiting politically from religious dogma-gone-rogue is steeped in our cultural heritage and has always been resented by the enlightened among us.

This time, however, we've reached a crossroads where the non religious in the general population outnumber the religious. So far, with hardly a shot fired.

[2naSalit]

36. I agree.

[multigraincracker]

4. The Preacher and the Slave.....

[MissMillie]

5. Well, for sure there are plenty of religious sects that believe

that suffering is somehow a necessary part of showing devotion.

Well, to each his/her own. But I get to have my own too.

[Botany]

7. The core of White America Evangelism is:

Racism

[we can do it]

9. ANYONE but them is going to hell. Bigotry in general.

[Botany]

10. In July of 2021 I spent some time around Woodstock, VA and saw the Christo Fascism upfront big time

Yards w/Trump Flags, Confederate Battle Flags (stars and bars), American Flags,
and the right wing Christian Flags were all over.

[paleotn]

18. America is at it's most segregated on Sunday morning.

[The Jungle 1]

20. Correct

[wnylib]

34. True for Whites. But there are Evangelical Black churches.

[Fix The Stupid]

8. hmm.. good point. I have slightly different take...

"The motivation, the driving force - is not zealous faith in a supreme being..."

Totally agree.

This is just part of the 'package'.

I think there is deep seated need/urge for people to belong to a group or have the sense they are part of a group.

Now, for many people, they/we have these groups on our lives already, ie, work, family, friends, sports, hobbies, etc, etc, etc.

To 'belong' to these 'groups' requires some sort of effort and acceptance by everyone involved - might even be some special skills, knowledge, attitude, etc. to maintain inclusiveness in these groups. IE, working/career relationships - you have to be able to produce and get along with your co-workers - a very necessary skill.

So..what skills, attitudes, personalities does it take to belong to a religious group? NOTHING.

These are social groups with absolutely ZERO requirements to join and be counted as 'one of them'.

I think that is appealing to a certain segment of the population..."I can be whatever I want, do whatever I want, be as much of a scourge to society as I can be - and I will still have my 'group' to call home and be a part of..."

There is deep seated social angles to religion that I believe cannot be discussed because it brings up issues that cannot be talked about due to 'political correctness'.

Change my mind.

[2naSalit]

12. They all...

Agree to abide by the bullshit which is, drink the koolaid, recite the script, patrol others for compliance.

Those are the requirements to belong to this group.

[LaMouffette]

22. Well put! I think humans are hardwired for tribalism and have a deep-seated primal competitiveness.

The competitiveness helped early humans survive and evolve, but apparently, lots of people quit evolving before they reached the stage of empathy, caring, compassion, and community with all humankind, not just within their in-group.

[lindysalsagal]

37. Beautifully, and simply said. Some brains are just church brains, no matter what.

[LaMouffette]

45. Exactly!

[Farmer-Rick]

23. You have a point there

Church functions here in rural TN are truely social functions. A lot of the small church attendees are related to each other. They gather every Sunday to socialize. Special holidays provide opportunities for these folks to just get together, eat and socialize. Their Christmas begins at the church then moves to different attendees houses.

Churches provide some basic charitable relief like clothes and food banks. They collect money for their favorite charities and they provide some essential counseling services.

When I lost my spouse, I went looking for a grief group and counseling. The VA couldn't help me. So, I looked for it in the community and only the churches offered grief group counseling. I tried them but the religious crap and lies was just too much for me. I finally found one on one counseling without religious BS.

But the churches, especially in rural areas, are the only ones offering basic emotional support, counseling and substance abuse help. It reinforcers the superstitious nonsense they spout and encourages many to believe in god's and magic.

I have since found an atheist group and god free counseling. So, there are other ways today to be charitable, have community social interaction and counseling without the BS of gods and churches. But the social interaction that churches provide are important functions. And many people think they can't find it anywhere else.

[Botany]

44. And through out much of Appalachia especially in rural areas "their Pastors" get the people in ...

... their congregations to vote against their own best interests time after time. Even though
liberals and democrats work more for doing real Christian work i.e. feeding the hungry, taking
care of the planet, helping the sick, public education and libraries (being your brother's keeper),
and just being kind. Somehow supporting Jesus has morphed into being republican and hating
liberals and educated people.

In rural N.W. VA there is a barn with a painting of Trump & Jesus walking arm in arm with a
sun setting behind them and a screaming eagle too. The yard has American, Christian, Trump,
Fuck Joe Biden, and Rebel flags.

[EYESORE 9001]

13. They pray that god will smite their enemies

and look for any excuse to carry out the smiting themselves if god’s too busy.

[Gary 50]

14. My favorite joke about Evangelism....

Why is the evangelical religion so popular? It's the religion you practice on other people.

[keithbvadu2]

15. It's the religion you practice on other people.

[lindysalsagal]

38. Wow! I never heard that one. it's a keeper!

[NewHendoLib]

16. Fear

[paleotn]

17. Doing something their weird set of rules say you can't.

[TNNurse]

19. They have no joy or happiness in their lives,

so others must suffer to they themselves can feel superior and important.

[mountain grammy]

21. I think the actual core is the so called "prosperity doctrine"

If you're prosperous Jesus is pleased with you and will make you richer. If you're poor Jesus is frowning. You're not working hard enough..

Pretty much the exact opposite of Jesus's teachings, but hey, greed is good, right?
I get this right from my evangelical inlaws who the oil and gas industry made wealthy like my BIL who became a supervisor driving his territory.. after 20 years of "hard work" he'd gained 100 pounds and could barely get out of his truck..but boy howdy are they blessed!

[Vogon_Glory]

24. HL Mencken might not have been a progressive, but

He was the sort of insightful, clever, honest, and articulate writer that the corrupt, mendacious, lying, stinking morass that calls itself “Movement Conservatism” would fear.

EDIT: Mencken would have had fun lampooning today’s Religioud Right.

[Harker]

29. +33.

And the current booboisie would be held to account.

[The Jungle 1]

25. The religious right is a perversion of Christianity.

They are so far away from Christian teachings it is comical.
We need to call out their heresy.

[FakeNoose]

26. It's amazing, the mental backflips they do

... trying to square their love for Chump and all he entails with their foundational Christian tenets.

[paleotn]

27. Evangelical's prime directive is

to make the world evangelical by personal conversion, legislation, judicial edict or by force if necessary. That's no joke. While mainline protestants evolved to more benign forms, evangelicals are not very far from their primitive, convert or die roots. They take the "Great Commission" to it's logical end. After all, it is a "their way or the highway" religion. They don't believe in multiple paths to god. Believe what they believe or suffer eternal hell fire.

Matthew 28:18 - 20 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

If I were a literal kind of person, to me that means if others are hesitant to convert, I can use whatever means are necessary to fulfill my orders. After all, Jesus didn't say make disciples of the willing. It's pretty explicit.

[Lars39]

41. Good explanation!

That “Great Commission” is the root cause of a lot of obnoxious behavior and persecution of non-, and other-believers.

[Warpy]

28. That's Puritanism. Evangelism is the delusion that one has all the answers

to every question ever asked and the way to create a more perfect world is to bully everybody else into doing what you say, not what you do, while giving lip service to your superior wisdom.

Scratch a fundagelical, find a middle school bully.

[azureblue]

30. the core is ignoring Jesus' teachings

and yet smugly calling themselves Christians. Do unto other. Judge not. and Matthew 25: 31 - 46. Quote this one to them and what them tap dance around it

41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’

44 “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’

45 “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’

46 “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”

[Phoenix61]

31. I explain it as , If you're grinning your sinning. nt

[Martin68]

32. "...the overwhelming suspicion that someone somewhere is having a good time." The Puritan

streak runs deep in the American psyche, and is by no means restricted to New England.

[Ford_Prefect]

39. A key motivation seems to be FEAR. IMO that is what leads to the obsession with control.

In a review of John Fea's book Believe Me: The evangelical road to Donald Trump:

Why is Fear an Evangelical Habit of Mind?
By Kristin Kobes Du Mez November 4, 2018

White evangelicals, in particular, seem to be living in fear. They are more likely than any other religious demographic to believe that immigrants threaten traditional American values. Over half of white evangelicals fear that Muslims want to limit their freedom. Yet, white evangelicals believe that they are the ones being persecuted. Against substantial empirical evidence, white evangelicals are the only Christian group who believe that Christians face more discrimination than Muslims.

White Christians are also more likely than other demographics to discount the fears of African Americans. Whereas around 80% of black Christians believe police-involved killings are part of a larger pattern, 70% of white Christians believe the opposite—that they are isolated incidents. This compares to 65% of whites more generally. In other words, white Christians are less likely to believe the experiences of black Americans than whites who aren’t Christian.

***************************************

Conservative evangelicals pride themselves on their “biblicism”—on upholding the authority of the Scriptures, and living their lives accordingly. Yet there are countless Bible passages about fear that have gotten surprisingly little air time in evangelical circles of late. “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you….Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid” (John 14:27). “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go” (Joshua 1 ). “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me” (Psalm 23:4).

Encouraging Christians to trust God and fear no evil, however, is not conducive to building religious empires or filling empty coffers. If Christians are placing their hope in Christ, there’s not much need for an earthly strongman. Sticking close to the Scriptures doesn’t make much business sense. Nor does it mesh well with the egos of celebrity preachers and power-hungry religious leaders.

https://kristindumez.com/resources/why-is-fear-an-evangelical-habit-of-mind/

[lindysalsagal]

46. "fear -habit-of-mind" is really the addiction point. Releasing this addiction

feels to them as if they're losing themselves. They'll defend their right to this addiction to the death, or to losing loved ones.

[Ford_Prefect]

48. Yes. It is a classic addiction model right down to the denial. Their willingness to sacrifice

anyone, no matter how close, or anything, no matter how dear, to fulfill it is terrifying.

They cannot see the hypocrisy of their words and acts in contrast to their claims of Christian faith. The degree of their absolutism speaks loudly of the depth of their fear.

The anger they express delivers the dopamine they crave.

[Grammy23]

40. If there is one thing we humans don't like,

It is uncertainty or ambiguity. Having a faith that fills in the blanks for you — answers the big questions — solves that issue. And it works nicely as long as you don’t ask too many questions or Look at inconsistencies. But once you start to really think and challenge the core beliefs, it gets harder and harder to just go on blind faith.

If you want “answers” and are willing to accept what you are taught, without question, religion is for you. If you have a working, rational brain, things might not go too smoothly. Just sayin’……from the perspective of one born and raised in a Protestant, Christian home (with one questioner, my dad.) Now a confirmed backslider who gave up my blind faith years ago. Probably the final separation came after several college classes, namely comparative religions and some sociology & anthropology classes. Damn that education stuff! It’ll get us every time. 😂😂😂

[lindysalsagal]

47. Glad to know you made it out. Now, your decisions are really yours. Bravo!

[True Blue American]

42. And money! Do not forget the Collection and the tithe guilt!

[modrepub]

43. I Always Found It Funny

that hard core Evangelicals think that if everyone acted according to God then nothing bad would happen to humanity. It's always someone did something wrong and that's why everyone is punished with bad things. Not withstanding that my limited Catholic teaching taught me no one was sin free, so how could everyone do right by God so we all don't suffer his wrath?

That said, I like you how you phrase it better. Just points out the misery these people seem to suffer and how focused they are to make everyone else feel the same way.