you're goin' down!
Conservative Christians have no morals. They only follow rules, and their rules prescribe one set of treatments for devotees, and another for normal people. Conservative Christians lack a moral compass, because all behaviors are linked to sets of rewards and punishments meted out by their sadomaschochistic gods. This is brought into striking relief by a Pew study investigating who supports torture. Not surprisingly, 64% of sectarian Protestants support torture, compared to 40% of the unaffiliated. Jesus, the Christian god of torture, whipped up on some poor people trying to make a living at the God factory (beat them with a whip!), and of course, he got a little torture himself. So, evil doers must be punished, and torture is good medicine!
It is an embarrassment that any American voices support for torture (notably, Pew did the right thing and called it torture in their question wording). Moral, sane, rational individuals understand that torture is wrong, for both moral and practical reasons. Unlike the closeted, draft dodging, warmongering, torture loving Christians, Jesse “the Body” Ventura hates torture. You see, Jesse didn’t dodge the draft. He experienced torture as a Navy Seal in the SERE program that was the basis for the Christian “torture some Moslems” pogrom. Jesse, being a moral individual, believes that the full weight of the law (which, ah, forbids torture of prisoners) should be levied against those who tortured and who ordered torture. I sure wish we could get that Jesus asshole to come back and jump in the ring with Jesse! Or, better yet some of those Christian torture apologists.
May 23, 2009 at 6:26 am |
1. If Pew reports it, do you believe it? I can’t even find mention of the response rate for this survey on their site.
2. White mainliners were most likely to say torture can never be justified.
May 25, 2009 at 2:09 am |
1. Yeah, I’m sure this is an underestimate of the difference between religious nutjobs and normal humans.
2. Liberal Protestant NE sectarian Protestant. For liberals, Jesus doesn’t even really need to have existed, much less be divine. And, if he did exist, he certainly didn’t beat people with a whip. Or if he did, it’s evidence of his human failings. Like I’ve said before, America’s prisons aren’t full of Presbyterians and Episcopalians….They’re full of former fundies.
May 25, 2009 at 3:34 am |
1. Although theology may inform how some Americans think about torture, I doubt it influences most people’s views one way or another (i.e., regardless of religious affiliation and conclusion regarding torture). The Pew report notes that political party is a much better predictor than religion.
2. I suppose there are special prisons for liberal Protestants like Ken Lay (United Methodist). Speaking of liberal Protestants and torture, consider these affiliations – Bush/Cheney (Methodist), Powell (Episcopalian), and Rice (Presbyterian).
May 26, 2009 at 1:56 am |
1. I disagree on the theological issue. It matters, a lot. Independent of party affiliation or political identifications, and religion structures those ties and commitments (not the other way around).
2. You got me here, Conrad!! Even worse, I don’t think Bush or Cheney have any religious attachments. They give heathens a bad name. Neither has stepped foot in a religious service except to get votes, and I hate to admit that I think Cheney is probably one of those libertarian-fascist atheists.
May 26, 2009 at 2:47 am |
I agree about the interrelationship of religion and politics. And I think that many people have had opportunity to reflect theologically about major issues in American public life like abortion, war, and homosexuality (or at least observe someone else’s theological reflections on these topics). Beyond that, I think most people do not stop very often to think about how their theology should influence what they do/believe. Sure, devout believers, sociologists of religion, and atheists all tend to have strong feelings about how religious identity ought to be connected coherently to beliefs and actions. But, many people are too ignorant of the basics of their belief system to theologically reflect upon an issue like torture, even if they were so inclined. Others could think theologically about an issue but instead just follow thought-templates provided by the media, friends, etc.
Yes, conservative Protestants lean Republican and apparently favor torture, in some circumstances. But I am not so sure that this is the result of theological reflection.