Probably because I was raised evangelical and kept at it into adulthood, and all my family and closest friends are Christians, too. Specifically thinking about climate change, Christians really only have 3 responses that don't involve outright denial or depending on us to "innovate" our way out of the problem (neither of which are real responses):
1.) Recognize climate change is real and it's us Americans that bear a lot of that responsibility. Then, act accordingly by supporting efforts like the GND to mitigate the problem as much as possible. Also, will probably need to do a little bit of #2, too.
2.) Recognize climate change is real, just say we either can't or won't do anything about it, so they commit to a program of accepting refugees (and it's gonna be a lot of refugees) from parts of the world that impacted by climate change. Throw the door open.
3.) Recognize climate change is real and it's going to displace tens and probably hundreds of millions of poor and desperate people all over the world, while the US will, at least for a while, be ok. And instead of doing something to stop it or accepting climate refugees, just say fuck it, let them die. Let millions and millions die because we love our Escalades and can't give them up for electric cars because that would be gommunism. Oh and if you try and get in here we'll just shoot you dead.
So of course, outside of a few Catholics and liberal protestants, the overwhelming majority of Americans Christians are gonna go with option #3. Despite being the "salt of the earth", having this belief that their religion is correct and calls for them to be compassionate, and that God cares about every single human soul on earth.
I get that the hypocrisy isn't really surprising to most folks here, but for me it's very personal. I remember some friends and family crying when they found out I deconverted. A couple tried to get me come back. They couldn't understand, they couldn't see the holes that I see. In their heart of hearts, they believe their religion is good and beautiful. They think it truly reflects the nature of God. And I know they care a lot about "winning souls". And yet, these same people can't see how absolutely ugly and awful the results of their beliefs are. It just pisses me off, is all.
You clearly didn't grow up Pentecostal. Climate Change isn't real. All the bad effects are because God is coming back soon, and we need to take dominion over the earth to prepare his throne. To do this we need to send all the Palestinians to hell. Set up an ultra-orthodox government in Israel that does cattle sacrifices in the Dome of the Rock. After that provoke Russia and Iran into war with Israel. The theology splits here, with some groups believing this is when they get raptured. Others believe they don't get raptured. The theology rejoins here. 7 years of apocalypse follows this where everything in Revelations happens. Then Christ comes back to enact bloody revenge (he's done with forgiveness, if you don't repent before this you're done forever). Jesus then serves as God-king over the earth for 1000 years and then there's a second final battle where Christ gets ultimate revenge (remember, he's done with forgiveness). After that I guess everyone goes to heaven or something. Doesn't matter, what matters is Christ got revenge.
This is more or less what our vice president believes.
This is why I own guns.
I remember spending time in a private Christian elementary school, the teachers would have discussions with us about the myriad of ways the Antichrist might torture us to get us to renounce our faith if it turns out we don't all get teleported to Heaven during the rapture. They also went into great detail about the eternal torment that would befall on any non-believing family members. This shit was traumatizing as a child.
You're seriously not alone. I grew up vaguely Catholic but studied a lot of religion as part of my history studies, 1st century and early Christianity stuff, and the cognitive dissonance between 1st century Christianity and what Americans actually do is a constant gnawing at the back of my head. The religion just isn't that complicated, the values are clearly laid out, the expectations for how you're supposed to relate to other people and to Empire are pretty straight forward, yet "Christians" in America, the Evangelical Right wing, might as well be shock troopers for Rome. I don't understand that culture at all, how it could claim "Christianity" yet be so ruthlessly authoritarian, imperialist, and just wall to wall violent.
SMH, yo. SMH.
I still say the worst thing to happen to Christianity was being made into the state religion of Rome. After that it lost all of it's radical compassion and love and became just another tool of control for the ruling class.
Nah, every few decades there would be a schism, someone would try to do the radical compassion and love thing, and the mainline groups would mobilize to kill all the peace and love people. And, really, jokes aside, it's very complicated. Two thousand years, dozens of cultures, wild variations in theology and beliefs. There are cool christians like the Catholic Workers and some of the Unitarians, there are woke nuns, there's all sorts of weird protestant groups that try to do good things.
But the big right wing mass of American protestantism is pretty damn fash.
That's what happens when your county's growth is largely built on the genocide of indigenous peoples. Your popular religion or values system has to accommodate that
Most Americans take the Paulian "render unto Caesar" outlook
In your immediate personal life be 'Christlike,' anything beyond you really doesn't matter
And that's the thing, they think that they can just let millions die because being "Christlike" in their personal lives is all that matters... then they act all shocked and hurt that anyone would leave the religion and think it's bullshit in part because of that.
I've never understood the "personal" aspect of American protestantism. Like stfu dude Jesus is some Jewish dude who died two thousand years ago he doesn't care about your highschool football game or whatever inane shit you're bothering him about.
Americans are selfish and conceited. Not to mention for the overwhelming majority of evangelicals, Christianity is just their cargo cult to help them get through life. "Jesus" just replaced the little household idol you might pray to for a better harvest or whatever. Also the focus on the personal necessarily avoids addressing communal and structural issues.
A hyperindividualist, atomized culture produces hyperindividualist, atomized religion.
God is a creation of man. He is a reflection of man. When people see the world around them, they create a God that would create that world for them. In the brutal times of the Hebrews, God demanded man be subservient because man was subservient. In the time of the early Christian slave, god promised eternal salvation in the face of great suffering. In the modern US, God offers eternal prosperity on Earth and in heaven.
We can institute the God who cares for the Earth and the people. We can institute a God who punishes those wicked people who harm His creations. We just need to create the conditions that that God would make and remove anyone who might commit heresy. His followers will see His way and follow. Whether God or communists actually make those conditions is semantics.
like i actually have a weird thought for you, think apocalypse, they could just accept say that it was in the book get even more deep in the fundamentalism right? double down and believe that this is what god meant for this earth you know death cult style
The pastor of my church claimed Katrina was an example of the coming end times of Revelations and God was punishing sinners, so yeah I can easily see what you're saying happening on a larger scale as things pop off.
Also, like OP I left and no one in the church could understand why I seemed to hate them lol
Obviously the rapture will come and save all the goid people things get unsustainable
Yeah I grew up being told that everything would continue getting worse and worse, but never uninhabitable, because it was all leading up to the End Times, which is actually good, but basically, Climate Change couldn't be worried about because converting as many people before the Rapture was seen as a much more pragmatic effort to assist people. 😬
well yeah, that's why Xi needs to make an actual bioweapon (not this pussy shit that came from bats and/or the US government)
