Announcement

Collapse

Civics 101 Guidelines

Want to argue about politics? Healthcare reform? Taxes? Governments? You've come to the right place!

Try to keep it civil though. The rules still apply here.
See more
See less

False Idol — Why the Christian Right Worships Donald Trump

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • Originally posted by whag View Post
    retarded smirk
    Triggered.

    Originally posted by whag View Post
    I used to defend Obama until I realized he’s just another cult of personality.
    'Laying hands on in prayer' = worship? You got fooled (and again with Jordan Peterson), and you're projecting your own weaknesses on others.
    Remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return.

    Comment


    • Originally posted by whag View Post
      If anything short of literally praying to someone or something isn’t worship, then you can’t say anything is worship. That invalidates the OP but also MM’s counterargument. The truth is that blind loyalty to any POTUS is somewhere in between. Since I regard all the presidents since Reagan cults of personality, then I’m not among this group.
      Similar things can be said about sports teams, a series of books, TV shows etc.

      I think you cheapen the word "religion" when you expand it thusly.

      I'm always still in trouble again

      "You're by far the worst poster on TWeb" and "TWeb's biggest liar" --starlight (the guy who says Stalin was a right-winger)
      "Overall I would rate the withdrawal from Afghanistan as by far the best thing Biden's done" --Starlight
      "Of course, human life begins at fertilization that’s not the argument." --Tassman

      Comment


      • Originally posted by whag View Post
        Let’s just all agree that neither Trumpers nor Obama supporters LITERALLY worshipped either president.
        Um...



        Apparently it is yet again time to remind folks just how much adoring veneration and reverence was given to Obama by his supporters.
        • Like when Newsweek editor Evan Thomas was doing when he declared on MSNBC's "Hardball" to host Chris Matthews (who notoriously once said that he felt a “thrill up his leg” after saying "This is bigger than Kennedy. ... This is the New Testament," while covering then-Senator Barack Obama): "I mean in a way Obama’s standing above the country, above – above the world, he’s sort of God." Sort of God.

        • And when Ezra Klein gushed about Obama in The American Prospect that,

          "He is not the Word made flesh, but the triumph of word over flesh, over color, over despair. The other great leaders I’ve heard guide us towards a better politics, but Obama is, at his best, able to call us back to our highest selves, to the place where America exists as a glittering ideal, and where we, its honored inhabitants, seem capable of achieving it, and thus of sharing in its meaning and transcendence.

        • And of course there's when Mark Morford, columnist and culture critic for the San Francisco Chronicle and SFGate.com, proclaimed that Obama "isn’t really one of us" and how

          "many spiritually advanced people I know (not coweringly religious, mind you, but deeply spiritual) identify Obama as a Lightworker, that rare kind of attuned being who has the ability to lead us not merely to new foreign policies or health care plans or whatnot, but who can actually help usher in a new way of being on the planet, of relating and connecting and engaging with this bizarre earthly experiment. These kinds of people actually help us evolve. They are philosophers and peacemakers of a very high order, and they speak not just to reason or emotion, but to the soul."

        • Charlie Rangel (D-NY) would go to churches in his Congressional district in Harlem declaring that "God sent us Barack Obama."

        • In her The Gospel According to Apostle Barack, released right before the 2012 election , Florida A&M professor Barbara A. Thompson equates Barack Obama to Jesus, and proclaims that his God-given mission is to bring "heaven on earth."

        • Or how in a September, 2008 opinion essay in the Smith College Sophian titled "I Will Follow Him: Obama As My Personal Jesus," associate editor Maggie Mertens proclaimed "Obama is my Jesus." She went on to say
          While you may be overtly religious and find this to be idol-worshipping, or may be overtly politically correct and just know that everything in that sentence could be found offensive, I'm afraid it's true anyway.

          She went on to say she was in the "middle of a bleak, hopeless period of my life" but then
          Then I found my miracle. Stumbling through my hopeless world, afraid to turn to anyone with my political questions of morality, my concerns about the afterlife of the country I called home, a voice spoke to me. Barack Obama bore to me his testimony...

          She continued writing about how "I came to Jesus/Obama" and concluded
          I've officially been saved, and soon, whether they like it or not, the rest of the country will be too. I will follow him, all the way to the White House, and I'll be standing there in our nation's capital in January 2009, when Barack Obama is inaugurated as the 44th president of the United States of America. In the name of Obama, Amen.

        • Or how on November 25th, 2012 at the Soul Train Awards program, televised worldwide on the BET network, Jamie Foxx whipped up the large crowd attending the event to a hand-waving, jumping-up-and-down frenzy by shouting, "First of all, give an honor to God and our Lord and Savior Barack Obama! Barack Obama!"


        • Or how Denmark's oldest largest newspaper Politiken on December 28, 2009 ran an editorial titled "Obama Greater Than Jesus: The U.S. president - the practical saviour of our times" It said, "He comes from humble beginnings and defends the weak and vulnerable, because he can identify himself with their conditions. And no we are not thinking of Jesus Christ, whose birthday has just been celebrated - but rather the President of the United States Barack Hussein Obama."

          The newspaper stated that if a comparison were to be made between Jesus and Obama, "it would, of course, inevitably be to Obama's advantage." And this: "Obama is, of course, greater than Jesus - if we have to play that absurd Christmas game."

        • Or how Nation of Islam's Louis Farrahkan proclaimed Obama was the Messiah


          "You are the instruments that God is going to use to bring about universal change, and that is why Barack has captured the youth. And he has involved young people in a political process that they didn't care anything about. That's a sign. When the Messiah speaks, the youth will hear, and the Messiah is absolutely speaking."


          00000000000000ab000-00aaam.jpg
          Notice what's attached to the podium

        • And let's not forget Barbara Walters saying how "they" thought Obama was the Messiah




        A poster that was sold at the Democratic National Convention in 2012 displayed the head of Obama, which faded into a graphic of an open Bible with the headline "Prophecy Fulfilled."



        To mark Obama’s 100th day of presidency, artist Michael D'Antuono unveiled a painting that he had crafted called "The Truth" which depicted Obama in the oval office wearing a crown of thorns and raising his arms as if on the cross.



        Depictions like this were hardly uncommon. Here is another called "The Hope can be a Cross" from noted artist and fashion designer Angelo Cruciani and displayed at Milan's trendy Galleria Voghera 11:


        And a couple covers from Newsweek:



        The fact is, the above exemplified the attitude that a substantial portion of his supporters believed. As Michelle Obama put it, "We have an amazing story to tell. This president has brought us out of the dark and into the light" (Matthew 4:16; cf. Micah 7:8)

        And of course Obama himself intoned that the earth itself was reacting positively to his merely winning the Democrat Party's nomination (that "this was the moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow and our planet began to heal.") so profound was his presence. Moreover he was fond of declaring that "a light will shine through that window, a beam of light will come down upon you, you will experience an epiphany and you will suddenly realize that you must go to the polls and vote for Obama" like he did at the Lebanon Opera House, New Hampshire in 2008.

        And speaking of lights shining down from on high and resulting in epiphanies... Jonathan Alter the self-described liberal/progressive journalist, columnist and senior editor for Newsweek magazine for nearly 30 years and a mainstay at NBC for over 20 years related the following in his 2010 book The Promise: President Obama, Year One:

        Rabbi David Saperstein, reading from Psalms in English and Hebrew, noticed from the altar that the good men and women of the congregation that day, including the Bidens and other dignitaries, had not yet stood. Finally Bishop Vashti McKenzie of the African Methodist Church asked that everyone rise. At that moment Saperstein saw something from his angle of vision: "If I had seen it in a movie I would have groaned and said, 'Give me a break. That's so trite.'" A beam of morning light shown [sic] through the stained-glass windows and illuminated the president-elect's face. Several of the clergy and choir on the altar who also saw it marveled afterward about the presence of the Divine.



        Finally, there is the 2002 song "American Prayer" written by Bono of U2 and Dave Stewart of the Eurythmics that the latter did a version dedicated to Obama featuring a slew of celebutards like Forest Whitaker, Jason Alexander, Whoopi Goldberg, Margaret Cho and Joan Baez.




        No. We don't agree.
        Last edited by rogue06; 12-10-2019, 02:24 AM.

        I'm always still in trouble again

        "You're by far the worst poster on TWeb" and "TWeb's biggest liar" --starlight (the guy who says Stalin was a right-winger)
        "Overall I would rate the withdrawal from Afghanistan as by far the best thing Biden's done" --Starlight
        "Of course, human life begins at fertilization that’s not the argument." --Tassman

        Comment


        • Originally posted by rogue06 View Post
          Um...



          Apparently it is yet again time to remind folks just how much adoring veneration and reverence was given to Obama by his supporters.
          • Like when Newsweek editor Evan Thomas was doing when he declared on MSNBC's "Hardball" to host Chris Matthews (who notoriously once said that he felt a “thrill up his leg” after saying "This is bigger than Kennedy. ... This is the New Testament," while covering then-Senator Barack Obama): "I mean in a way Obama’s standing above the country, above – above the world, he’s sort of God." Sort of God.

          • And when Ezra Klein gushed about Obama in The American Prospect that,

            "He is not the Word made flesh, but the triumph of word over flesh, over color, over despair. The other great leaders I’ve heard guide us towards a better politics, but Obama is, at his best, able to call us back to our highest selves, to the place where America exists as a glittering ideal, and where we, its honored inhabitants, seem capable of achieving it, and thus of sharing in its meaning and transcendence.

          • And of course there's when Mark Morford, columnist and culture critic for the San Francisco Chronicle and SFGate.com, proclaimed that Obama "isn’t really one of us" and how

            "many spiritually advanced people I know (not coweringly religious, mind you, but deeply spiritual) identify Obama as a Lightworker, that rare kind of attuned being who has the ability to lead us not merely to new foreign policies or health care plans or whatnot, but who can actually help usher in a new way of being on the planet, of relating and connecting and engaging with this bizarre earthly experiment. These kinds of people actually help us evolve. They are philosophers and peacemakers of a very high order, and they speak not just to reason or emotion, but to the soul."

          • Charlie Rangel (D-NY) would go to churches in his Congressional district in Harlem declaring that "God sent us Barack Obama."

          • In her The Gospel According to Apostle Barack, released right before the 2012 election , Florida A&M professor Barbara A. Thompson equates Barack Obama to Jesus, and proclaims that his God-given mission is to bring "heaven on earth."

          • Or how in a September, 2008 opinion essay in the Smith College Sophian titled "I Will Follow Him: Obama As My Personal Jesus," associate editor Maggie Mertens proclaimed "Obama is my Jesus." She went on to say
            While you may be overtly religious and find this to be idol-worshipping, or may be overtly politically correct and just know that everything in that sentence could be found offensive, I'm afraid it's true anyway.

            She went on to say she was in the "middle of a bleak, hopeless period of my life" but then
            Then I found my miracle. Stumbling through my hopeless world, afraid to turn to anyone with my political questions of morality, my concerns about the afterlife of the country I called home, a voice spoke to me. Barack Obama bore to me his testimony...

            She continued writing about how "I came to Jesus/Obama" and concluded
            I've officially been saved, and soon, whether they like it or not, the rest of the country will be too. I will follow him, all the way to the White House, and I'll be standing there in our nation's capital in January 2009, when Barack Obama is inaugurated as the 44th president of the United States of America. In the name of Obama, Amen.

          • Or how on November 25th, 2012 at the Soul Train Awards program, televised worldwide on the BET network, Jamie Foxx whipped up the large crowd attending the event to a hand-waving, jumping-up-and-down frenzy by shouting, "First of all, give an honor to God and our Lord and Savior Barack Obama! Barack Obama!"


          • Or how Denmark's oldest largest newspaper Politiken on December 28, 2009 ran an editorial titled "Obama Greater Than Jesus: The U.S. president - the practical saviour of our times" It said, "He comes from humble beginnings and defends the weak and vulnerable, because he can identify himself with their conditions. And no we are not thinking of Jesus Christ, whose birthday has just been celebrated - but rather the President of the United States Barack Hussein Obama."

            The newspaper stated that if a comparison were to be made between Jesus and Obama, "it would, of course, inevitably be to Obama's advantage." And this: "Obama is, of course, greater than Jesus - if we have to play that absurd Christmas game."

          • Or how Nation of Islam's Louis Farrahkan proclaimed Obama was the Messiah


            "You are the instruments that God is going to use to bring about universal change, and that is why Barack has captured the youth. And he has involved young people in a political process that they didn't care anything about. That's a sign. When the Messiah speaks, the youth will hear, and the Messiah is absolutely speaking."


            [ATTACH=CONFIG]41294[/ATTACH]
            Notice what's attached to the podium

          • And let's not forget Barbara Walters saying how "they" thought Obama was the Messiah




          A poster that was sold at the Democratic National Convention in 2012 displayed the head of Obama, which faded into a graphic of an open Bible with the headline "Prophecy Fulfilled."

          [ATTACH=CONFIG]41295[/ATTACH]


          To mark Obama’s 100th day of presidency, artist Michael D'Antuono unveiled a painting that he had crafted called "The Truth" which depicted Obama in the oval office wearing a crown of thorns and raising his arms as if on the cross.

          [ATTACH=CONFIG]41296[/ATTACH]


          Depictions like this were hardly uncommon. Here is another called "The Hope can be a Cross" from noted artist and fashion designer Angelo Cruciani and displayed at Milan's trendy Galleria Voghera 11:

          [ATTACH=CONFIG]41297[/ATTACH]]

          And a couple covers from Newsweek:

          [ATTACH=CONFIG]41298[/ATTACH]
          God of all things

          [ATTACH=CONFIG]41299[/ATTACH]
          Second Coming


          The fact is, the above exemplified the attitude that a substantial portion of his supporters believed. As Michelle Obama put it, "We have an amazing story to tell. This president has brought us out of the dark and into the light" (Matthew 4:16; cf. Micah 7:8)

          And of course Obama himself intoned that the earth itself was reacting positively to his merely winning the Democrat Party's nomination (that "this was the moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow and our planet began to heal.") so profound was his presence. Moreover he was fond of declaring that "a light will shine through that window, a beam of light will come down upon you, you will experience an epiphany and you will suddenly realize that you must go to the polls and vote for Obama" like he did at the Lebanon Opera House, New Hampshire in 2008.

          And speaking of lights shining down from on high and resulting in epiphanies... Jonathan Alter the self-described liberal/progressive journalist, columnist and senior editor for Newsweek magazine for nearly 30 years and a mainstay at NBC for over 20 years related the following in his 2010 book The Promise: President Obama, Year One:

          Rabbi David Saperstein, reading from Psalms in English and Hebrew, noticed from the altar that the good men and women of the congregation that day, including the Bidens and other dignitaries, had not yet stood. Finally Bishop Vashti McKenzie of the African Methodist Church asked that everyone rise. At that moment Saperstein saw something from his angle of vision: "If I had seen it in a movie I would have groaned and said, 'Give me a break. That's so trite.'" A beam of morning light shown [sic] through the stained-glass windows and illuminated the president-elect's face. Several of the clergy and choir on the altar who also saw it marveled afterward about the presence of the Divine.



          Finally, there is the 2002 song "American Prayer" written by Bono of U2 and Dave Stewart of the Eurythmics that the latter did a version dedicated to Obama featuring a slew of celebutards like Forest Whitaker, Jason Alexander, Whoopi Goldberg, Margaret Cho and Joan Baez.




          No. We don't agree.
          Wow, you put a lot of work into that. Thanks for proving no one literally worshipped Obama and that black people (and many liberal whites) had the tendency to be exultant at having an African American in the WH—something most of the population literally thought was impossible given the history of America.

          Obama turned out to be just another snake like Clinton and Bush 2, and now Trump to an enormous degree (who debased the national discourse like no one before him) but I don’t blame African Americans for being excited about Obama’s election even to the point of comic apotheosis.

          Comment


          • Originally posted by whag View Post
            Wow, you put a lot of work into that. Thanks for proving no one literally worshipped Obama and that black people (and many liberal whites) had the tendency to be exultant at having an African American in the WH—something most of the population literally thought was impossible given the history of America.

            .
            It's just another one of rogue's zillion paragraphs of cherry-picked quotes, which he thinks makes for an unbeatable argument. It's endearing really.
            “He felt that his whole life was a kind of dream and he sometimes wondered whose it was and whether they were enjoying it.” - Douglas Adams.

            Comment


            • Originally posted by Tassman View Post
              It's just another one of rogue's zillion paragraphs of cherry-picked quotes, which he thinks makes for an unbeatable argument. It's endearing really.
              So, rogue is wrong when he argues that Obama supporters embraced messianic imagery? I would say that the imagery used was pretty strong and overtly religious.

              Comment


              • Originally posted by simplicio View Post
                So, rogue is wrong when he argues that Obama supporters embraced messianic imagery? I would say that the imagery used was pretty strong and overtly religious.
                It as overtly religious, but it didn’t constitute literal worship of Obama. If fawning/bootlicking is tantamount to “worship,” then it’s easy to argue MM and the type of people who attend Trump rallies “worship” Trump.

                Comment


                • Like Jesus calming the storm...

                  The journey will be difficult. The road will be long. I face this challenge with profound humility, and knowledge of my own limitations. But I also face it with limitless faith in the capacity of the American people. Because if we are willing to work for it, and fight for it, and believe in it, then I am absolutely certain that generations from now, we will be able to look back and tell our children that this was the moment when we began to provide care for the sick and good jobs to the jobless; this was the moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow and our planet began to heal; this was the moment when we ended a war and secured our nation and restored our image as the last, best hope on Earth. This was the moment - this was the time - when we came together to remake this great nation so that it may always reflect our very best selves, and our highest ideals. Thank you, God Bless you, and may God Bless the United States of America.

                  Obama's Nomination Victory Speech In St. Paul June 3, 2008.
                  Atheism is the cult of death, the death of hope. The universe is doomed, you are doomed, the only thing that remains is to await your execution...

                  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jbnueb2OI4o&t=3s

                  Comment


                  • Originally posted by whag View Post
                    It as overtly religious, but it didn’t constitute literal worship of Obama. If fawning/bootlicking is tantamount to “worship,” then it’s easy to argue MM and the type of people who attend Trump rallies “worship” Trump.
                    Overtly religious adulation promoting veneration and adoration is a type of worship, if not the precise form used by Christians with respect to Jesus. The use of strong religious imagery is recognized as a form of worship. It places the person in an exalted place and role. The quotes given certainly frame the discussion, placing critics into the role of heretic, the object in the role of Savior, not merely a type of Jesus figure as is common in literature.

                    Curiously, the religious language fell away after the first few years of the administration, it was absent for the final years.

                    Added in edit: What does What literal worship look like.

                    Curiously, some Christians have made the argument that idolatry includes behavior and attitudes similar to the what we see now!
                    Last edited by simplicio; 12-10-2019, 05:37 AM.

                    Comment


                    • Originally posted by whag View Post
                      It as overtly religious, but it didn’t constitute literal worship of Obama. If fawning/bootlicking is tantamount to “worship,” then it’s easy to argue MM and the type of people who attend Trump rallies “worship” Trump.
                      What rogue pointed out is far closer to actual worship (using literal religious terms) than anything the OP described.

                      Comment


                      • Originally posted by seer View Post
                        Like Jesus calming the storm...
                        All that phrase means is his administration recognizes and will work to combat global warming. To put that up as a claim to messiahship is so overtly ridiculous as to say more about those thinking it's a claim to deity than obama

                        That said, it is ridiculously optimistic given the political realities of our country.
                        Last edited by oxmixmudd; 12-10-2019, 06:02 AM.
                        My brethren, do not hold your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ with an attitude of personal favoritism. James 2:1

                        If anyone thinks himself to be religious, and yet does not  bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this man’s religion is worthless James 1:26

                        This you know, my beloved brethren. But everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger; James 1:19

                        Comment


                        • Originally posted by wag View Post
                          It as overtly religious, but it didn’t constitute literal worship of Obama. If fawning/bootlicking is tantamount to “worship,” then it’s easy to argue MM and the type of people who attend Trump rallies “worship” Trump.
                          The veneration of Obama went far beyond what you laughably call "fawning" and "bootlicking". People getting excited at a Trump rally (which I've never attended), or pushing back against the endless false accusations (which I have done) is not even in the same league as Democrats describing Obama using Messianic language.
                          Some may call me foolish, and some may call me odd
                          But I'd rather be a fool in the eyes of man
                          Than a fool in the eyes of God


                          From "Fools Gold" by Petra

                          Comment


                          • Originally posted by oxmixmudd View Post
                            All that phrase means is his administration recognizes and will work to combat global warming. To put that up as a claim to messiahship is so overtly ridiculous as to say more about those thinking it's a claim to deity than obama

                            That said, it is ridiculously optimistic given the political realities of our country.
                            No Jim, he believed his own hype, he was after all the ONE...
                            Atheism is the cult of death, the death of hope. The universe is doomed, you are doomed, the only thing that remains is to await your execution...

                            https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jbnueb2OI4o&t=3s

                            Comment


                            • Originally posted by whag View Post
                              Let’s just all agree that neither Trumpers nor Obama supporters LITERALLY worshipped either president. OP is a veiled troll and MM is just being a mini version of POTUS himself. All Presidents have their bootlicking supporters who see no wrong in what their POTUS does politically. MM appears to be that kind of Trump defender—more like a Kelley Anne Conway than an Anne Coulter. I’ve seen nothing in MM’s defenses of Trump that suggest anything otherwise. He has completely bought his bill of goods. That’s serious delusion, even if he doesn’t “worship” the dude.
                              There are those who do think Trump can do no wrong and fawn over him. Not sure if that includes MM, but Demi for sure. And there are those who literally hate Trump and think everything he does is evil. And yes, the OP was a troll. Chuck pretty much does nothing but troll and try to instigate fights.

                              Comment


                              • Originally posted by Sparko View Post
                                There are those who do think Trump can do no wrong and fawn over him. Not sure if that includes MM...
                                I've never once said or implied that Trump can do no wrong. He can do wrong. He just hasn't done the wrongs he is frequently accused of by the hysterical left, but pointing this out is apparently enough to get me branded as a Trump sycophant by the anti-Trump crazies.
                                Some may call me foolish, and some may call me odd
                                But I'd rather be a fool in the eyes of man
                                Than a fool in the eyes of God


                                From "Fools Gold" by Petra

                                Comment

                                Related Threads

                                Collapse

                                Topics Statistics Last Post
                                Started by little_monkey, Yesterday, 04:19 PM
                                16 responses
                                132 views
                                0 likes
                                Last Post One Bad Pig  
                                Started by whag, 03-26-2024, 04:38 PM
                                53 responses
                                353 views
                                0 likes
                                Last Post Mountain Man  
                                Started by rogue06, 03-26-2024, 11:45 AM
                                25 responses
                                112 views
                                0 likes
                                Last Post rogue06
                                by rogue06
                                 
                                Started by Hypatia_Alexandria, 03-26-2024, 09:21 AM
                                33 responses
                                197 views
                                0 likes
                                Last Post Roy
                                by Roy
                                 
                                Started by Hypatia_Alexandria, 03-26-2024, 08:34 AM
                                84 responses
                                361 views
                                0 likes
                                Last Post JimL
                                by JimL
                                 
                                Working...
                                X