#christian fundamentalists

[contemplatingoutlander]

THOM HARTMANN: Science Explains Why Republicans Can’t Accept Trump’s Guilt (Sept. 12, 2023)

Scientists discovered a fascinating reason why Republicans can’t accept criticism of Donald Trump. Thom explains.

In the above video, Thom Hartmann refers to a Raw Story column by cognitive neuroscientist Bobby Azarian, PhD (shown below):

Here are some excerpts from Azarian's column:

In 2009, a study published in PLOS ONE challenged our understanding of belief systems. Researchers placed participants into the confines of an fMRI scanner and presented them with a mixture of factual and abstract statements. The results were illuminating. Disbelief, it turns out, is cognitively demanding. It requires more mental effort than simply accepting a statement as true. From an evolutionary perspective, this preference for easy belief makes sense; a perpetually skeptical individual questioning every piece of information would struggle to adapt in a fast-paced world. What does all this have to do with Trump supporters? Well, it’s far less cognitively demanding for them to believe anything their leader tells them. Any challenge to what Trump tells them is true takes mental work. This means there is a psychological incentive for Trump loyalists to maintain their loyalty. (I wrote about this phenomenon in a slightly different context in the Daily Beast article "Religious Fundamentalism: A Side Effect of Lazy Brains?") Molding of belief: neuroplasticity at play Now, let's consider the unique predicament faced by individuals who staunchly support Trump and want him to again become president. From the moment Trump began his political career and his social engineering career, his supporters have been exposed to narratives — Trump doesn't lie, Democrats are communists, the media is an enemy of the people — that emphasize loyalty and trust in their political idol. These narratives often steer away from critical examination and instead encourage blind faith. When coupled with the brain's inherent tendency to accept rather than question, it creates an ideal environment for unwavering allegiance. No matter that Trump, time and again, has been revealed to be a serial liar, habitually misrepresenting matters of great consequence, from elections to economics to public health. For example, in the Psychology Today article "Why Evangelicals are Wired to Believe Trump’s Falsehoods," I explain that the children of Christian fundamentalists typically begin to suppress critical thinking at an early age. This is required if one is to accept Biblical stories as literal truth, rather than metaphors for how to live life practically and with purpose. Attributing natural occurrences to mystical causes discourages youth from seeking evidence to back their beliefs. Consequently, the brain structures that support critical thinking and logical reasoning don't fully mature. This paves the way for heightened vulnerability to deceit and manipulative narratives, especially from cunning political figures. Such increased suggestibility arises from a mix of the brain's propensity to accept unverified claims and intense indoctrination. Given the brain's neuroplastic nature, which allows it to shape according to experiences, some religious followers are more predisposed to accept improbable assertions. In other words, our brains are remarkably adaptable and continuously evolving landscapes. For ardent Trump supporters, residing in an environment that prioritizes faith over empirical evidence can reshape the neural circuits within their brains. [color emphasis added]

[edited]

[spurgie-cousin]

I was doing a little extra “rot time” in the shower tonight (just standing under the hot water trying to get some muscles to relax) and I started wondering have there ever been any fundies to promote just being by yourself for a little while? Thinking about the Duggars/Bates/Rods…houses with maybe 1-2 bathrooms so long showers or self care bath nights are probably out of the question, or sharing rooms with siblings so you’re not truly alone even when everyone else is asleep. I remember a long time ago there was a post about Jana was going to walk on the Duggar property and 6-8 kids suddenly tagged along with her and it made people wonder if they were sent along to chaperone her.

Like they go from being constantly surrounded by siblings to having kids ASAP and then they’re surrounded by their kids or always with their husband or visiting spouse’s family (like how Kaylee and Jon seem to constantly be with her family). So beyond your average bathroom break during the day or time to shower, is alone time even “allowed” for their flavor of fundie or is it like “if you’re alone for longer than 2 minutes for any reason, the devil has a chance to tempt you!” Or because they grow up in big families, they don’t like being alone or don’t know what to do by themselves because that wasn’t their norm - a “you don’t miss what you never had” type of situation?

Great points/question! True fundamentalists abide by traditional cult standards and discourage alone time as a whole for the most part. I've heard an ex fundie giving a talk say that its kind of like when doctors recommend exercise for your mental health, it keeps you and your mind too busy to wander or think too deeply about things (only in a negative way that leaves you with little time to develop a sense of self, compared to exercising for mental health which is good).

The only times I can really remember any of them talking about alone time are couples trips, or that one time Jill Rodrigues said she regularly took Bible breaks in that upholstered bathroom chair lol. A lot of them talk about morning alone time too but it's never for anything besides studying the Bible or doing chores which kind of defeats the purpose of just having time to relax.

Also like you mentioned, I think once you're used to just constantly being around a ton people, being alone can turn into something that's anxiety-inducing. I know that was definitely the case for a few people I knew from huge Christian families, they would talk about "hating" going anywhere on their own or being home alone and never went anywhere without at least 2 or 3 people. And a few of the fundie girls we follow have mentioned having anxiety around living with just their spouse for the first time (who was it that cried a lot bc they felt so alone??). Definitely like you said, it's hard for them to miss privacy or alone time when it's literally something most of them have never had since birth.

[mbrainspaz]

I think I can pinpoint the exact moment I stepped off the path of religious fundamentalism. It was a seemingly inconsequential moment with a virtual stranger over a decade ago but it changed the course of my life.

I was in the back of a (christian) college friend's mini cooper. In the front passenger seat was this random girl who had the same name as me. She'd just appeared on campus in a magical puff of glitter dust a few days prior and suddenly all my friends were obsessed with her. She was one of those people who draws people in like that. She was pretty, she was fun, she had charisma for days. So naturally I low key disliked her. I've known too many charismatic people to fall for a bubbly celebrity persona. Give me grumpy people who lurk any day.

Anyway, I knew she wasn't staying long so I just hung back and ignored the way everyone was fawning over her. That day in the mini coop while we were dropping her off at the dorms we got in to a religious talk. I don't remember if she was a christian or not, but I suspect not. I know I took the fundie angle and said something about ~Absolute Truth~.

This chick (whomst bear in mind I'd pretty much avoided getting to know) looked back at me with a smile that could flash-fry a frozen turkey and sincerely said, "That's what I admire about you. Your certainty."

She walked off. I never saw her again.

Left me staggering. I think I had .002 seconds of pride at what sounded like a compliment and then I went "well shoot. Guess I have to change my whole worldview now."

TL;DR no need to tell people they're wrong when you can just hold up a mirror and let them run smack into it looney toons style until they hurt so bad they will self-destruct

[lookninjas]

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Oklahoma’s top education official ordered public schools Thursday to incorporate the Bible into lessons for grades 5 through 12, the latest effort by conservatives to incorporate religion into classrooms.

The directive drew immediate condemnation from civil rights groups and supporters of the separation of church and state, with some calling it an abuse of power and a violation of the U.S. Constitution.

The order sent to districts across the state by Republican State Superintendent Ryan Walters says adherence to the mandate is compulsory and “immediate and strict compliance is expected.”

“The Bible is an indispensable historical and cultural touchstone,” Walters said in a statement. “Without basic knowledge of it, Oklahoma students are unable to properly contextualize the foundation of our nation which is why Oklahoma educational standards provide for its instruction.”

[...]

The directive is the latest salvo in an effort by conservative-led states to target public schools: Louisiana has required them to post the Ten Commandments in classrooms, while others are under pressure to teach the Bible and ban books and lessons about race, sexual orientation and gender identity. Earlier this week the Oklahoma Supreme Court blocked an attempt by the state to have the first publicly funded religious charter school in the country.

A former public school teacher who was elected to his post in 2022, Walters ran on a platform of fighting “woke ideology,” banning books from school libraries and getting rid of “radical leftists” who he claims are indoctrinating children in classrooms.

He has clashed with leaders in both parties for his focus on culture-war issues including transgender rights and banning books, and in January he faced criticism for appointing a right-wing social media influencer from New York to a state library committee.

[tasso1972]

[skellybonesandtrees]

Moms For Liberty should own up to it and rename themselves Moms For Mom's Liberties

[woodsfae]

Debi and Michael Pearl's disgusting child abuse manual has been responsible for multiple children being tortured to death, and countless cases of PTSD (*raises hand* hi. my parents loved their fucking books)

Skagit, WA death. graphic & horrible.

The above death and two others reported on here.

To Train Up A Child has sold more than 670,000 copies.

[alienbycomics]

Content Warning: religion and transphobia⚠️

Happy Trans Day of Visibility 🏳️‍⚧️ I made a comic reflecting on my church upbringing as an eXvangelical trans person. The Jesus conservative Christians claim to represent looked lot more like many of the LGBTQ+ friends I know and love. Just some food for thought 💖

Here’s a link to a supplementary post: Jesus and Gender Non-Conformity in Christian Art

[portuguesedisaster]

Fundamentalists freak me out wtf

[tomorrowusa]

Once upon a time Republicans were the "party of law and order". With each passing day that seems increasingly like a surreal fantasy.

The Republican Party has evolved into an extended crime family with the Great Orange Putz as a third-rate Mafia boss at its head.

Ryan Fournier, one of the founders of Students for Trump, was arrested last Tuesday on assault charges in North Carolina, according to court documents obtained by Axios. Fournier, 27, was accused of assaulting a woman identified as his girlfriend, “grabbing her right arm and striking her in the forehead” with a handgun, the outlet reported. The woman suffered a minor injury in the attack. Fournier was charged with domestic assault of a woman and assault with a deadly weapon. He was released on a $2,500 bond and is set to appear in court on Dec. 18, court records show. Fournier co-founded Students for Trump in the months before the 2016 presidential election while at Campbell University, a private Christian school in North Carolina.

Yeah, Fournier is the graduate of a "private Christian school". Far right fundamentalists line up to perform fellatio on Trump because they believe he's an instrument of God despite the fact that he's a notorious thief, liar, adulterer, and hatemonger who has not been to church in eons except maybe for weddings and funerals.

Here's a more recent photo of the co-founder of Students for Trump.

But wait, there's more!

Like Donald Trump, Fournier will quickly turn on his friends and colleagues if there's some advantage for him to do so.

From 2021...

Students for Trump Founder Ryan Fournier Ratted Out Friend To Feds

Students for Trump co-founder and pugnacious MAGA Twitter star Ryan Fournier allegedly helped his friend create a fake law firm to bilk innocent clients, only to turn against his one-time partner to help federal law enforcement, according to records and statements made Tuesday by a lawyer involved in the case. The new revelations about Fournier’s alleged involvement in the fake law firm came after a Tuesday sentencing hearing where a federal judge sentenced Fournier’s Students for Trump co-founder, 25-year-old John Lambert, to 13 months in jail for operating a fake law practice. Court records have long suggested that Fournier was the unnamed “Co-Conspirator 1” named in Lambert’s 2019 indictment. On Tuesday, Lambert’s defense attorney said that Fournier was the co-conspirator in an interview with the New York Daily News. Lambert’s attorney confirmed Fournier’s involvement in an email to The Daily Beast. Fournier didn’t respond to requests for comment. Fournier will not face prosecution himself, according to a document filed by federal prosecutors. In a federal court filing, the man now identified as Fournier is described as “providing information to the government since in or about April 2018 in the hope of not being charged for his role in the wire-fraud conspiracy.”

His (apparently former) friend John Lambert served hard time while Fournier went free – only to assault his girlfriend this year with a handgun. Hopefully the judge will take Fournier's prior criminality into consideration when sentencing him.

[danielvallejoworld]

Isn’t this use of biblical genocide to justify modern genocide why the entire religion of fundamentalists of any persuasion following brutal fantasy stories is losing the moral ground today?

[californiaroadtoad]

Book sale at the Library in Yuba City on Saturday. The woman from the Bible Baptist Church in Marysville, going on about what she thought of Muslims, Liberals, the decline of civilization, Trump...

I wouldn't have minded so much, except my wife and I really didn't want to have that conversation. But, she kept on talking, on and on, about NewsMaxx, (NOT a news organization!), and DeSantis, (should be hung by his testicles and used for gator bait.)

Just a little 411 for the Fundamentalist crowds in the Yuba Sutter area. I'm not interested.

I'm tired of the lies, the calls for an Apocalypse, the appeals to your orange false prophet, all of it. There's no war on Christmas, you're not being persecuted, you're simply being asked to behave like responsible, decent humans. It doesn't matter if we're heading to Hell, it's not your decision if we go. Based on who your deity has decided to allow into His Heaven, I'd just as soon take my chances with the Netherworld.

Considering a Bible Baptist pastor had the men of our church coming to me many years ago to demand I ask my wife to be more "submissive," (my wife wasn't going to have sex with him), I'd say there's little reason to be a believer. I'd even say we believe the same thing. I'm just honest about it.

You can believe what you like. But when I've made it clear I want to be left alone, we're done.

[gynoidgearhead]

[Image caption: reply by OP reading "@landcrowe This is how you know the Rapture is a Protestant idea bc no Catholic would ever argue that they'll go through /less/ suffering." End caption.]

Pointing out that the Rapture as a concept is a little less than two hundred years old - it's originally from the 1833 - that really buries the lede on how recent it is. Bc the modern evangelical take on the Rapture is from a book published in 1970. That predicted the Rapture would happen no later than 1988.

[tencrowns]

Cool, super super good. I know it’s nothing compared to what else is going on in the world right now, but it still gets to me.

How long before one of these wackadoos hurts someone?

[escaping-amish]

I love how he finds the words to describe the concepts that float around my head daily ❤️❤️❤️❤️ love him!