Tuesday, May 21, 2024

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Nobody voiced concern about Trump’s past conduct or his present indictments on criminal charges, including allegations that he tried to hide hush money payments to a porn actor during his 2016 campaign. Supporters saw Trump as representing a religion of second chances.
The "religion of second chances" is not Christianity, but American ideology. Christianity is about forgiveness, but that’s an activity of actually forgiving others which, among other things, actually requires a relationship with them. Reinventing yourself by “second chances” means you get a clean slate and a “Get out of jail free “ card. Paul actually cursed his church in Galatia for this foolishness. It’s not Christianity, and it’s not even religion. As Derrida pointed out, “Religion is responsibility, or it is nothing at all.”

What these people are talking about is not responsibility; or taking responsibility. It’s not religion. It’s literally nothing at all.

By the same token:
Trump posted a cult-like, unhinged video in which everyone dies and is forgotten, and if we are to find any meaning in this life, it derives from Trump himself. How some religious people still don't find Trump to be completely blasphemous is beyond me.
The people who don’t regard Trump as blasphemous are not religious. 

“By their fruits you will know them.” “Religious” is a stupid label, anyway. Actions still and always speak louder than words.
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1 comment:

  1. rustypickup3:54 PM

    I think this is close as I am going to get to a post about god for a while. So to give an update. I started evening classes last week at the United Seminary of the Twin Cities. They are a United Church of Christ affiliated seminary and have a robust remote learning program, which were the two most important things for me. They run on a trimester system which I like, with four children, a professional job and aging parents, it's likely that in the next 4-5 years I will need to take time off. I can take a semester but not lose half a year. The costs were manageable (financial aid, spread out tuition by class, family help). They also have the arts as a running theme through their classes, which is interesting. Most importantly, every time I interacted with the school, they were responsive, helpful and kind. For someone going back to school after 30+ years, that really mattered.

    Mostly I just want to say thank you. I'm grateful for here (and for the Thought Criminal), for making a space to think and talk about god and religion in a way that doesn't exist on most of the web. I've learned and grown here, and that is part of the process that has led me to this point. I will need to be a lawyer for maybe even another decade, but I am now moving in a direction that feels meaningful. I can feel some of those old academic muscles stretching, and already I've encountered views and ideas that are new. The point of seminary is to learn, but more importantly to transform. In my late 50's, a time when most of my contemporaries are looking at retirement and settled with themselves on who they are, I am instead moving in a new direction. It may be madness, but I also feel deeply drawn to this path. If you can spare a prayer for an old dog learning something new, I would be grateful. I'll keep you updated. My first classes are An Invitation to Theology, Truth, Beauty and Goodness, and Introduction to Religious Texts. They seem like a good place to start. The class composition is radically different I am guessing from your seminary experience, but that can wait until later.

    With thanks, RC

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