Why Christian Conservatives Love Jesus-Hater Ayn Rand

[xchrom]

http://www.alternet.org/why-christian-conservatives-love-jesus-hater-ayn-rand



Earlier this week, CNN reported that American Atheists, an advocacy group for atheists and atheism, would have a booth at the 2014 Conservative Political Action Conference. The idea behind the booth was to build bridges between historically faith-motivated conservatives and their politically aligned but religiously different atheist counterparts. David Silverman, the president of American Atheists, called the booth “one of many steps” his organization would take in its “outreach effort” targeted at political conservatives.

But the Atheists’ attempt to extend an olive branch was evidently ill-received by the organizers of the CPAC, who have now disallowed the group from sponsoring its planned informational booth. Apparently most conservatives weren’t amused by Silverman’s comments to CNN concerning the Christian right: ““I am not worried about making the Christian right angry. The Christian right should be angry that we are going in to enlighten conservatives. The Christian right should be threatened by us.”

So much for American Atheists’ short-lived liberation effort, which seems to have been aimed as much at bringing to light already-existing atheist sentiments on the right as in inculcating them into current believers. But if the American Atheists’ goal is to make public quiet inklings of atheism in seemingly faith-saturated conservative circles, an incendiary conversion attempt based out of a booth at CPAC is likely the worst tack to take. After all, a much more successful war against religion on the right has been waged by none other than perpetual philosophical train wreck and failed film critic Ayn Rand.

Rand is perhaps the only virulently anti-Christian writer that Republicans nonetheless routinely feel comfortable heaping praise upon. In a charming 1964 interview with Playboy, Rand described the crucifixion of Jesus in terms of “mythology,” and submitted that she would feel “indignant” over such a “sacrifice of virtue to vice.” That Christians are called to care for the most vulnerable of God’s people was, to Rand, manifest proof that the religion has nothing constructive to add to human life: After all, in her philosophy, “superiors” have no moral obligations to those weaker or more vulnerable than they. According to Rand, the Christian moral imperative to serve the needy is a “monstrous idea.”

[cantbeserious]

1. There Is Credible Evidence That Jesus Never Existed

[LostOne4Ever]

22. I would not call Joseph Atwill credible

More like bordering on denialism if you ask me.

I see a conspiracy theory, by a fake expert, cherry picking facts, while requiring an impossible burden of proof himself.

http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Roman_Piso

Sorry but im skeptical of the claims. Just as I am of religion in General.

[cantbeserious]

24. Atwill Is Not The Only One Making Similar Claims - Other Research Is Out There

eom

[LostOne4Ever]

28. Yeah, they mention some of them in the link I gave

And then gives 3 or so links to sources disproving them.

Atwill and his cohorts are pretty much the creationists of the secular community. Especially given that almost all scholars of antiquity do not dispute the historicity of Yeshua of Nazareth and feel that claims to the contrary are effectively been refuted.

So what if he was real? Doesn't change that most of the stuff in the bible and about him have a high likelyhood of being fictional. It doesn't prove that there is a god or anything. We don't need to engage in the same anti-intellectualism as the fundamentalist and climate change deniers to be right.

Beside, in the end all we want is the truth. Whatever that turns out to be I will approach with an open, but skeptical, mind.

[cantbeserious]

29. Ignore If You Choose To Do So - Others Have A Open Mind

eom

[LostOne4Ever]

30. Skepticism is not the lack of an open mind

It is use of an open mind to determine the validity of any claims.

[cantbeserious]

31. For Some The Same Skepticism Applies To The Concept Of God And Religion In General

eom

[LostOne4Ever]

32. I am one of those types skeptics

I just don't want to fall for the same woo that the creationist are trying to shove down our throats only with a anti-religious twist on it.

We are better than that.

[cantbeserious]

33. Read The Book - Follow The Citations - Make Up Ones Own Mind

Seems to this one that the powers that be have a vested interest in keeping the Jesus myth alive.

What better way to maintain control over the masses.

[reformist2]

2. Most Christian conservatives have never read what Ayn Rand had to say about them.

They may have heard she's an atheist. What they don't know - and probably would never believe until they read it - is that Ayn Rand wasn't just an atheist who was against the Christian religion, but an atheist who hated the Christian philosophy.

[CJCRANE]

3. They have also never read or paid attention to most of Jesus' sayings.

The problem is that if they read Ayn Rand's writings and the Bible for themsleves, instead of just listening to their favorite pundit or pastor, they might form their own opinions!

[theHandpuppet]

4. I suspect most "Christian conservatives" have never thoroughly read the Bible...

... much less Ayn Rand. That's the only way I can explain such a bizarre philosophical alliance.

[reformist2]

10. I think most are taken by Ayn Rand's cartoonish portrayal of liberals as touchy-feely and cowardly.

I can actually see the appeal, especially to the older generation of conservatives who grew up when being "liberal" was associated with wearing tie-dye shirts and taking drugs.

[Adrahil]

13. True

Many times, I've directly quoted the Bible and the so-called Christians are utterly shocked at the quotes. I invite them to check it out themselves, and they are flabbergasted.

Most just fall back on the "God's ways are above us" bullshit.

[mountain grammy]

15. Agree.

[Skidmore]

9. Fundamentalists hate Christian philosophy.

So its all good with them.

[yardwork]

12. Most so-called Christian conservatives hate Christian philosophy.

They just don't want to admit it. Still looking for where Jesus said to hate the poor.

[Arkansas Granny]

5. My guess would be that they don't know that about her.

They probably cherry pick her writing like they do their scriptures. They only talk about things that agree with their POV.

[reformist2]

6. To be fair, even some Ayn Rand fans I know didn't know about her hatred of Christianity.

One admitted that she skipped over the 100 page diatribe that lays out the anti-Christian message to the world (also known as John Galt's speech) in Atlas Shrugged.

Basically a case of tl;dr. And I know my friend isn't alone. Ayn Rand would be turning over in her grave if she knew how many of her fans didn't actually read every page of her 1,000 page doorstops. :p

[Turbineguy]

8. They just liked the sex parts.

[reformist2]

11. LOL!

[KG]

7. coz, for the loudest mouths amongst the RW-CC - it's all about da money.

and rand is the high goddess of greed.

[The Wizard]

14. Cognitive dissonance

is their religion.

[Moostache]

16. Modern Selective Leviticans are spiritual bedmates of Ayn Rand anyway...

These hypocrites strut around with their "X-tian" label and act like saying that alone should gain them some kind of gravitas or special status and they lose their shit as soon as they are challenged on that assumption...much like Ayn herself when she tried to defend he hideous beliefs...

[LeftishBrit]

17. Because they worship the Holy Free Market. And their version of Jesus does too.

They don't consider Christianity in terms of serving the needy; they consider it in terms of a current version of the 17th-century doctrine of the Divine Right of Kings. And Rand's basic viewpoint fits in quite nicely with that.

[xchrom]

18. +1

[CBHagman]

19. Any number of times I've heard Republicans invoke 2 Thessalonians 3:10...

...which reads as follows in the American Standard Version, "For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, If any will not work, neither let him eat."

Yet I can't recall them invoking the Beatitudes (e.g., "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy&quot or the verses describing how Jesus healed the sick, fed the hungry, rebuked the rich.

And even the Thessalonians verse comes from one of Paul's epistles and appears in a particular context.

Really, the love of money and the contempt for people indeed inform the current GOP platform.

[CJCRANE]

20. IMO that verse doesn't mean what they think it means.

Basically it says that anyone who can work, should work.

That's fair enough. However, some people can't work because of disability or because they can't find work. In that case it's our moral imperative to help them.

[LeftishBrit]

21. Also, it is referring not to society as a whole, but to life in early Christian communities

In the context, it seems to be an attack on people who joined such communities as hangers-on, making a nuisance of themselves and taking advantage of the communities' hospitality, while refusing to contribute in any way. It is not about poor people in the wider society.

[MisterP]

26. metaphoric reading aside--that was the Soviet motto since the 20s

[Archae]

23. Ayn Rand threw a fit when her favorite psycho-murderer was executed.

The guy killed and cut up a little girl's body, and tried ransoming her.

Rand considered this guy to one of her "supermen."

[MisterP]

25. same reason they endorsed Santorum *after* he said Protestants weren't Christian

same reason people watch "Lgorl" and "Zeitgeist": the Anglosphere has never been that good at detecting gaping contradiction, and it's gotten worse in the US since the 1970s

[xfundy]

27. ...the Christian moral imperative to serve the needy is a “monstrous idea.”

To modern 'christians,' it certainly is.