Hope y'all enjoyed this quick little video! This is a filler episode, as I've been doing research for the continuation of "the commons" saga, which will be dropping next month and November. get hype edit: Quick response to this one particular criticism:. I am aware that Islam has a very powerful religious right. As does Hinduism and Buddhism. But I do not live in those contexts, I do not come from that background. My background is the only reason I felt comfortable enough making this video because anything even approaching the subject of religion is touchy as is. I would gladly study what Hindu critics have to say about Hindu f*scism or what progressive Muslims have to say about Wahhabism. If you're curious about those groups, I suggest you do too. The lens of analysis outlined in this video does broadly apply to these groups as well, and I didn't intend to mislead by focusing mostly on the Christian right, but this video isn't meant to be the be-all and end-all of the conversation.
Another item you could have added was that Mormons in Germany had no real problems joining the Nazi Party, indeed their genealogical researches were a boon to the ideas of racial purity. Mind you the German Jehovah's Witnesses of that time, Ernste Bibelforscher had more issues, it wasn't really until the authoritarianism of one became too much for the authoritarianism of the Nazi State. Theirs is an interesting case study in how a religious organisation which does seek to be not an enemy of the state goes to great lengths to modify its theology so as to incorporate a changing political scene, until the latter demands total obedience. The outlook differences were really about ideas of religious neutrality to 'worldly powers' and interpretation of Paul's Letter to the Romans about Christian obedience.
"Fundamentalism is when you refuse to affirm everyone's sinfuly lifestyles as being heckin' valid, Jesus only ever said to be vagely nice to each other man!" You always tend to forget the "Go and sin no more" part
“Between the Christianity of this land and the Christianity of Christ, I recognize the widest possible difference-so wide that to receive the one as good, pure, and holy, is of necessity to reject the other as bad, corrupt, and wicked. To be the friend of the one is of necessity to be the enemy of the other. I love the pure, peaceable, and impartial Christianity of Christ; I therefore hate the corrupt, slave-holding, women-whipping, cradle-plundering, partial and hypocritical Christianity of this land. Indeed, I can see no reason but the most deceitful one for calling the religion of this land Christianity…” ― Frederick Douglass
I often wonder how Christianity would've turned out if not for Paul. Jesus may have been silent on slavery, but Paul practically cosigned it. Paul, who sent the enslaved Onesimus back to his master Philemon. Paul, whose lines in Ephesians and Colossians were favoured by slaveholders in colonial America. I know those epistles are considered Deutero-pauline by theologians, but they're still accepted as authentic in the vast majority of mainline churches. History may have turned out a lot differently if his ministry didn't rise to prominence.
@@Andrewism The pro-slavery view goes all the way back to Genesis. Living west of the Nile, the blacks were children of Ham and could only hope for a good Christian master.
@@rembrandt972ify But the whole Sons of Ham thing being attributed to Black people holds no connection to the Bible. It was a design of hypocrites minds trying to assuage its cognitive dissonance and justify its cruelty.
for the ones online they tend to have been used to being called out on it and have since read the thing - with the interpretation that fits their narrative.
Yep. Just today I mentioned the gods (plural) of the bible to a christian, who said that there was only one god in the bible. I pointed out how there are several and he said he hadn't read that, but wasn't going to try and defend it. So I mentioned 1 Peter 3:15. He hadn't read that, either... I really liked him though.
@@pineapplepenumbra When you say gods. You mean it in the sense that the bible speaks of different gods we should worship. Or that it just mentioned other gods people worshiped. Or are you just talking about the trinity. Because I took a quick read of it and don't know what you say that the bible has different gods. Jesus quite clearly taught that he is the one and only.
@@justaround434 "Because I took a quick read of it and don't know what you say that the bible has different gods." Who is El? Elyon? Yahweh? Asherah? Didn't you read about El being head of the Council of Gods? Bear in mind that Yahweh was a subordinate god, one of about 70 (although tablets later dug up suggest that there could have been 200). Have you read the ORIGINAL Isaiah, which is a millennia older than the biblical version, and makes the polytheistic nature of the Canaanites and ancient Hebrews? "Jesus quite clearly taught that he is the one and only." No one has a clue what Jesus said, if anything, as no one wrote down anything about him until decades later, and none of them had ever met him. The Jesus of the bible was also ignorant and irresponsible, racist and contradictory.
Being a black and queer woman, I grew up in these evangelical spaces. For years I tried to be a good Christian and to uphold all of the strict rules. It was this struggle and seeing how my church would be silent on social issues that affected POC, LGBTQIA+, the poor. It's when I saw how these fundamentalist beliefs were hurting the people around me that's when I left. I miss the community and support I used yo have while being a part of church. Which made leaving so hard, but I couldn't be tied to a group that does so little to help the community.
" I couldn't be tied to a group that does so little to help the community." Lelz, statistically this is almost certainly false. Evangelicals literally are doing way more than your avg person (even avg person in the religion of "the left") for "the community". And that's just well known stats, easily verifiable. Which not coincidentally is part of the reason why you "miss the community". It's because they're doing more to even create a community in the first place than nearly everyone else.
A fascist cult that “helps” is still a fascist cult. I can only imagine the difficulty in learning why religions and authoritarians are bad if that is where you grew up.
It's an important distinction to make, and I say that as an agnostic. There's no sense in throwing the baby out with the bathwater, as it were, when discussing this subject.
One would actually be bold and make a point. The other is just lazily psychologizing your political opponent without upsetting any of your political allies.
@@LexYeen The baby is the entire problem. If your only problem with religion are those laws that are specifically uncomfortable for you, then you're a massive hypocrit and totally unprincipled.
That's wonderful! If you don't mind me asking, how can one be an anarchist and believe in a higher power? I'm not trying to mock you, I'm genuinely curious about how that works as, to me at least, anarchism is usually presented in a secular view
Great video ! Always baffles me how much fundamentalist people are adamant their own beliefs should affect other people and their own rules be imposed into them, no matter their differing beliefs. There's never any problem over imposing yourself rules, the authoritarianism starts when they argue their views are the only correct outlook and should be law everywhere
I used to share your sentiment. Now I’m surprised that those beliefs aren’t weaponized MORE often and to a greater extreme. Is there any length that you WOULDN’T go to in order to prevent your child being burned alive? Because that’s the plane that True Believers are operating from. On an eternal scale
@@Time_Is_Left This is why afterlife delusions are so F*ing terrible, you can literally justify the worst cruelty imaginable because...hey it ultimately doesn't matter right? No matter how much you're abused, humiliated, beaten, neglected, and suppressed by your very own parents or church 'community' you'll be rewarded with eternal paradise...just so long as you obey all the rules laid out by our weirdly particular interpretation of the bible or ELSE BE DAMMED TO HELL! (and will be abused even more if not disowned if you do not conform)
@@slimetank394 It’s why I’m proactively anti theist. I don’t need see a bear take a bite of me to realize that the bear is a threat (No offense intended, this isn’t to imply that anyone who isn’t to that point yet is blind necessarily. I have a somewhat unique vantage point)
There's a bit of nuance; not all viewpoints are equally valid. Religious faith can't really be used to honestly justify action because you fundamentally can't show the foundation of your belief to be true. and many people aren't really willing to think about what *values* they encourage and support through their behaviour. "The Holy Book says so and therefore it must be correct" only serves to hide real value judgements that you might not want to state out loud. Granted, most people's values likely will be "good" regardless of religious baggage, but it's still iffy. It's possible to have axiomatic values (such as "suffering is bad") and derive honest justifications from those, but if someone were to outright say that their values include causing suffering to outgroups, people would react *really* badly.
I can tell you as a Christian anarchist, it is EXTREMELY difficult for even us to reach our fundamentalist siblings. The fact is that progressive Christians generally reject the dogma of Biblical inerrancy, and that alone shuts the conversation down. Even if we know the Bible better than they do, and we almost always do, our presentation of scriptural arguments are rejected outright because we don't read it in the right way. I would love to find a rhetorical strategy that works even 1/100 times, but so far I have no advice except to try and reach their youth while they still might be impressionable. But even that's kind of a thing where the youth will be just as stubborn as their parents when they hear an argument, but the combination of sound argumentation and a later personal experience that calls their beliefs into question seems to be the winning formula.
They basically NEED to get out of their echo chambers or bubbles and actually meet many of the peoples they hate or are told to hate. Experiences, personal experiences with a diverse range of peoples is probably the best chance any fundamentalist has at waking up and seriously question their inconsistent beliefs.
Thanks for sharing your experience. It is unfortunate that the Bible is seen as something that has to be read in one Right Way because there really are so many angles to approach it from and lens to view it through. It doesn't have to be as rigid as they treat it.
As far as the argument, always notice the religious right quotes the old Testament and the religious left quotes the teachings of Jesus Christ in the New Testament. Always point out the source of the quotes. If they claim to follow the ultimate leftist they should have some leftist views.
The key is to argue based solely upon a literal interpretation of the scriptures, with direct quotes, in context of the chapter and book. Don't even try to argue interpretation or cultural context, because they will reject that. It especially helps if you know the Bible better than them and can quote mine the Bible on command, quoting the exact book, chapter and verse. It also helps to have a passing knowledge of Hebrew, Greek and Aramaic. By doing this I've been able to talk fundamentalists out of racism, classism and even political conservatism just by preaching to them right out of the scriptures.
i really wish more americans could understand how authoritarian they are. feels like such a big stumbling block for all the 'freedom' and 'liberty' type people to just not get how selective their interpretation is. or, if you're going to be a fascist, at least be smart enough and self aware enough to know that's what you are.
it seems like for a lot of them, "freedom" is a zero-sum game. The more freedom I have (to do whatever sinning floats my boat) reduces their freedom to disapprove. I have often wondered what the right means by "freedom". They use it as a totemic word, something that can't be questioned and something that is self-evidently good. But they never define what they mean by "freedom". I think they never define it because they know full well that their preferred version of "freedom" (which seems to mainly involve freedom of capital, freedom to own firearms, freedom to discriminate, freedom to tell marginalized groups to fuck off) seems largely at odds with what most of the rest of the world thinks of as freedom.
@Jordan Thompson That's a question with too many answers. Exactly what "fascist" means depends on the context you're talking about. And a lot of folks do just use it to mean "bad" without much specificity. "Authoritarian", and especially "authoritarian followers", tend to be more useful terms IMO. It covers the really dangerous parts of it, without getting into arguing over pretty irrelevant specifics.
@Jordan Thompson "Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultranationalist political ideology and movement, characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural social hierarchy, subordination of individual interests for the perceived good of the nation and race, and strong regimentation of society and the economy." So Christian Nationalism definitely counts as a form of fascism.
@Jordan Thompson No problem. Wikipedia isn't 100% false you know. It does not contradict leading dictionary definitions and actually explains it better than can be described in the shorthand style used for dictionaries. Do you have anything to add to contradict what I said or are you just showing off that you know how to copy and paste into google?
I think the point of fundamentalists having immense joy in practicing their faith despite the hang-ups in their dogmatism is very poignant. All the hardships they go through in life can be attributed to the persecution the face as the “chosen people”, while stripping away rights and liberties from others not sharing their views is a sign of spreading the gospel. I feel like authoritarian sentiments by design follow groups that don’t allow for much change or accountability within their communities.
20th century authoritarian movements have tended to rely upon the notion of historical inevitability or destiny, and Christian Fundamentalism is no different.
If you want to understand the mindset of modern Christian Fundamentalism, you need only a single sentance. "The world is ending any day now, and this should make you happy". If you can wrap your mind around this one concept, everything else slots into place like a hidden-image painting.
Yeah. When I was at a fundamentalist church, I remember they would talk about the end of the world A LOT. It was comforting in a really odd (and definitely unhealthy) way. I would think about all the suffering and injustice in the world, and I would think "Jesus will come back soon and sort all of this out, and so I don't need to worry about it." It was easier than actually caring and informing myself and trying to take meaningful action to end oppression. I'm glad I'm not at that church anymore.
I made sure to watch your video on the Psychology of Authoritarianism first and I'm so happy I did because I was able to understand this a lot better. Can't wait for the continuation of the commons saga!
Hi! Christian pastor here. I nearly left the church and my faith because of fundamentalis. They hated my faith because I was queer and because I heald strongly to my universalist beliefs and passion for interfaith work. In the end, I decided I was tired of yhe religious right assuming it could speak for all Christians. Thays why I went to school and got ordained, to reclaim my religious tradition. I now work in a church where most members are 60+. But we talk about racism, economic disparities, and justice. I joke that my job is radicalized boomers. But the reality is that many of these folks really care and have been really receptive to new information. I am now trying to encourage them to speak out and engage with others in the community about what they believe and the change they want to see. For those who have the energy to do so, I have found that so many people are gungry to be seen and loved. I get frustrated when people write off older folks when they aren't engaging them. I know there is trauma in these spaces, but I have seen some so many people change their minds when spoken to kindly and compassionately. Lots of them never had certain ideas explained in a way they could understand.
I don't think they hated your faith, What I think they apposed was your claiming to be a follower of Christ well from what I can only assume ignoring scripture and foreboding any idea of homosexuality being a sin. And from my VERY limited understanding of universalism changing or conflating many non biblical idea's with scripture. Although if they showed any hatred towards you then they as well be hypocrite's in their criticism of your faith so say god to love thy neighbours and only he who has not sinned may through the first stones.
I was a theology student and church leader up to my mid 20s but left it all completely. Now I focus on teaching better thinking skills and religious debates. Definitely my expertise if anyone's interested in the topic. It can be incredibly hard to communicate or understand them, especially when their thought process is so illogical and ethereal.
Great video! Love the terms and conditions metaphor for explaining the dogmatism of fundamentalists. Your point about how successfull evangelicals have been at garnering political support in the USA is also terrifying. As you eluded to in the beginning evangelicals are also able to push their agenda on a wider scale and from what I've seen have been able to use the US's foreign policy as an easy jumping off point. Once countries are forced into economic disparity through predatory loans perpetuated by the IMF and Worldbank, Christian "charities" swoop in to take advantage and spread the word of whatever Lord they have conceived as the one true God. The US pushes countries to accept "structural adjustments" or neo-liberal policies and the church pushes countries to crack down on "sexual perversion" and the like. Super depressing honestly.
There are other means of outreach, such as shortwave radio broadcasts. It brings with it a single narriative. That your nation too could be a western power if it adopt "western values", legal, and social norms, as tempered by christian dogmatism.
Great video! I’m a christian anarchist. I’m definitely not a fundamentalist, and I personally think my political and religious views go well together. That said, the biggest frustration I face is my personal political and religious views being not welcome in the christian establishment or community, and also my personal religious views being not welcome in certain parts of the leftist community. No matter where I go, people are unwilling to accept me for what I believe whole-cloth. I have definitely seen how this is applied by the fundamentalists outwardly as well as inwardly.
Lol just don't be an anarchist, there is literally no theological reason for believing that anarchism is legitimate. Even self described christian anarchists weren't like the anarchists you'd find today. Dorothy Day would have condemned the immorality supported by modern anarchists lol.
You're either severly misinformed or completely insincere. Of course serious leftists and Christian reject your joke ideology. Aside from anarchism going totally against the order exemplified in all of the bible, the New Testament explicitly tells subjects to obey their king and that this obedience is justified in the same way and to the same degree as the obedience of believers to God. It even tells slaves to obey theur masters as if they obeyed Christ.
My mum is a big Christian and she HATES Hindus...I missed out on a lot of Hindu festivals because my mum's belief which fueled her racism. I left the church not because of anything big. I started to go to Catholic school and frankly found it to be nonsense that I do not agree with. My queerness and progressivism came later on.
My mum or my dad are not the people I can have reasonable debate on regilion nor politics. Jesus would hate someone like Cuffie (Trinidad's mega Church guy with the ugly billboards) and warned people about men like him.
I could be wrong, but I do believe a large portion of indophobic sentiment in Trinidad is born out of religious discrimination. And I too did not get an opportunity to partake in any Hindu festivals growing up. When it comes to parents, it was best for me to figure out what topics just need to be avoided entirely tbh. And agreed, the evangelical churches that have sprung up around the country have us in a rell state, importing that evangelical american culture into local churches.
@@Andrewism Driving through Freeport and Couva via the highway is soul draining. White Churches in black face... I agree with your first statement as regilious discrimination was used as a tool to keep us divided and it didn't help that my maternal grandparents were from a Caribbean island that is Afro black dominant...
I'm a Christian who actively battles against people who follow "Christianity of the Land" a.k.a Culture War and not "Christianity of Christ". It's very difficult where I'm from. Evangelicalism is on another level there. It's so insane how mind controlled people are. How you can be swayed into voting for evil due to some "christian" influencer telling them that it's the right thing to do. Conspiracies also solidify the influence here. Christian influencers love the right wing Conspiracies floating around in America because it's easy to slip Christian rhetoric into it to make it "more solid" and fill in the glaring gaps in logic.
Thank you for anything you've done to oppose christofascism, However, Being a christian gives cultural capital to christianity, and in doing so enables christofascists to harm people. If you're serious about opposing them, you should leave the religion altogether.
It is difficult because most people don't actually read and fully comprehend the Bible as it is. They don't question the ideas within it, nor truly locate them in the context from which these writings emerged. If they did, they would have to relinquish their certainty, and dogmatism, because of the inherent problems in the texts. And the most hard-core of them would substitute "divine inspiration" instead.
Fundamentalists often left me wondering "how did you read *this* gestures at bible and reach *that* conclusion? Usually it's because of some person's oppinion.
Love this! As someone who grew up as a far right conservative Christian fundamentalist who is now a leftist but still a Christian, you did a great job of covering the important theological points!
The religious right are not bound by a specific religion, right wing Islamists use much of the same arguments of right wing Christians, IE: moral decay, and decadency. Likewise although right-wing ideology is extremely incompatible with Buddhism, which strictly forbids violence in way shape or form, certain individuals have tried to use Buddhism as a vehicle for say fascist policies of minorities.
I can most effectively address the Christian religious right because that is who I am most familiar with, have lived experience with, and am affected by. It is also the religious right that most of my audience is familiar with. I do note in the video that the Religious Fundamentalism scale can apply to a lot of different religions, though in some cases the scale's questions would need to be tweaked to account for the differences between the religions.
Loved the video Andrew- I've been asking my friends and folks to watch your stuff, so hopefully some of that traffic had come your way I've been in the Christian anarchist camp for a bit, and it's critical for Christians rooted in anarchism to be vocal in opposition to the Christian right- either in a genuine, empathetic challenge for change, or to show folks like the LGBTQ2A+ community that those beliefs aren't tolerated. Thank you again for your genuineness in your work. Sending love from Canada.
For me, sin has been a nice bonus to discover after leaving the church. I left in the 10th grade because after I learned about evolution and it made total sense, I came to need a *reason* to believe the things I had been taught. I spent months secretly poring over every argument I could find from atheists and theologians alike. Towards the end I prayed a lot asking God to exist, but the atheists just made more sense. Over a decade later, I'm still rediscovering pieces of myself that I stashed away for fear of sinfulness. That mindset is so damaging, and it's a huge reason I didn't realize I was bi until 17, or trans until 24. The Family Religion expectation is real - my family is moderate compared to a lot of fundamentalists, but being an atheist among them was great practice for finding myself in the closet and coming out. Dogma and the fear of sin even alienated me from a genuine spiritual experience. The only time I felt "moved by the spirit" was after being emotionally manipulated (and physically intimidated in an "of course I'm not REALLY going to hurt you" kinda way) into believing it was My Time to be baptized. I was 10. I'm no longer an atheist because I kept my eyes open and weird shit came to me, but I can't talk to my family about my practice because they've been conditioned to only see the Evils of Paganism in anything that isn't Christian. Nowadays, the most comforting memory of my time in the church was when I actually got baptized, and the siren for the fire house across the street went off THE SECOND my head hit the water. I like to think some decidedly unholy spirit was giving the congregation a warning😈
Watching this as a muslim leftist, I can see some similarities to our own religious fundamentalists and especially when you hear that many of them don't know the religious text but rather it's about the dogma. I'd love to hear from Christian anarchists and liberation theologists. The plan of oppose and propose is a pretty good summation of what to do.
As an Israeli (who is really leaning towards Anarchism) I am really sad to report that the fundamentalist religious right is at an all-time high here too. A sad joke that is being told around here lately is that the thing the radical fascistic religious Jews learned from the holocaust is "don't be the victim of a genocide". I really believe only a small minority are actually violent, but history has shown this can spread very fast, and it is really scary. I will be here to do whatever needs to be done to combat this violent and authoritarian religious right movement, but I am genuinely scared of what will happen in the next few months.
@@MrCmon113 Unless you are well acquainted with God and are capable of understanding the nature of an omnipotent and omniscient being your opinion is utterly unjustified.
Your work ALWAYS helps. My boyfriend and my best friends dads are fundamentalists. Perhaps they would be offended by this video but perhaps something could click bc if we ALL cannot hold our own perspectives and assumptions to the highest critiques then we are not doing our due diligence. We can only thrive through communication and understanding. True compassion is few and far between so thank you for all that you do. You are doing ENOUGH even if you don’t feel that way. ^ . ^
“You left the church because you wanted to sin!” This makes me laugh. If I wanted to sin, I would’ve stayed a Christian; after all, they’re the ones whose sins are forgiven. I would’ve just committed my sins and then repented for them over and over. Christianity is basically a get out of hell free card.
That's not how repentance works! You have to actually turn your heart and your actions around along with just the sincere apology, repentance is not something you do once or twice or just over and over to get a "get out of hell free card", it's a continuous life long process. ❤☦️
Around the ten minute mark... you hit the nail on the head. Religious fundamentalists are less interested in what's actually in the Bible, and their thinking, if you want to call it that, is highly compartmentalized. Reasoning with them isn't possible. Their threat to liberal democracy has been severely underrated, because their unreason colors every aspect of their lives pervasively.
Thanks for another great video! This really resonates with me, I am a black transracial adoptee raised by white folks in the Mormon church- I left but it felt like they abandoned me first. As soon as I got old enough to understand that the constant racism (severely anti black and indigenous) was ingrained and not just by individuals, I refused to support it in any way. I live a completely different life now and I'm glad to have healed so much but the isolation and bullying from my "community" and my own family will never fully leave my mind. I would not have lasted another year :/
This is such a great video! A couple of things to help your research - #1 - Apologetics. This is a HUGE part of evangelical reasoning, and (to me) is a point-to-point demonstration of the inherent irrationality that seems to dominate their theology. Like the term "evangelism", "apologetics" has always been a part of Christianity, but has taken on a new and distinct meaning in the last century. #2 - In my experience, fundamentalists tend to be extremely well-read when it comes to scripture. It's just the way they read it that makes their understanding so so so limited, but if I had a nickel for every kid from a fundamentalist church who I've met who could recite different parts of the Bible at length and by heart, i could retire pretty soon lol. Verse memorization is a big thing in those spaces, but that's sort of all it is: memorization. No context beyond what the pastor gives you, and no possible meaning beneath the absolute bare reading (with the notable exception of *literally any verse at any point when it suits their argument*). And there is a difference between "fundamentalist" and "evangelical", although each term has followed a similar path of development in the last century. I think the distinction is most notable when considering churches that feature "contemporary" services- "evangelical" places the emphasis on spreading the word and bringing nonbelievers into the faith, while "fundamentalist" places the emphasis on maintaining the sacred beliefs as they've been traditionally understood. So an evangelical church would be cool with ditching certain aspects of traditional liturgy, for example, if it makes the worship service more inviting or engaging. They may also have more opportunities for women to take on (certain kinds of) leadership roles, and are less likely to have a highly formalized ordination process. Fundamentalists, on the other hand, tend to hold onto tradition as the "right" way, and generally see deviation from traditional beliefs and practices as a threat, regardless of the context or intention. It can get confusing lol, but also if you're digging deeper into this stuff that distinction can make a difference, depending on the specific topic. Subscribed and looking forward to watching more of your videos!
Former evangelical + black gay trans woman here; idk about this. **TLDR** - As someone who's escaped evangelical thought and had time to reflect on my trauma, learn to understand the world better, and adopt anarchism as a philosophical framework since then; Christianity/Evangelicals aren't especially horrible in comparison to other religious thought. They were literally just the most powerful group at the right moment in history, and rolled really well. **TLDR** Authoritarianism, or Authoritarians believe in social hierarchy as the rightful structure of the world, and depending on the specific person/group, have differing ideas about who should be at the top of it. Religious thought places higher/divine/supreme/God like entities at the top of this hierarchy, and then whatever group holding the given beliefs comes after in some fashion. In their mind granting them authority (or holiness/sacredness) by adjacency to their concept of divinity in some way. The production of Priests/Monks/Oracles/Shamans/Onmyōji/Dalai Lama and the like, and the position of these kinds of individuals respective to power and influence in their relevant cultures are the result of this fundamentally authoritarian/religious thinking. Christianity in this respect, Evangelical or otherwise, is not uniquely fascistic or authoritarian. Even with the obnoxiously obvious inconsistencies in it's canon holy text, as I'm sure it's well understood by most how often and easily those with power in a given culture can edit and change belief systems to suit their needs in manipulating the followers of that belief system. Christianity is simply the system of belief that won the 'conquest lottery' by being adopted, and manipulated by European royalty (another explicitly authoritarian structure) to subjugate, brutalize, and conquer 80-90% of the planet. The rest have largely been made subordinate if not absorbed in some way through colonialism/imperialism. Had Taoists, Vikings, Jews, Buddhists, Egyptians, Cherokee, any Pagan groups, or Aborigines been the ones to conquer the world during earlier human civilization instead, the world we live in would not be that much different to what we have today. Aside from perhaps, if Shintoists or the Aztecs had managed to conquer the world instead, maybe climate change would not be quite as bad as it currently is; we would have a fascistic solarpunk world to inhabit instead. People would discussing Zionists, Hoteps, or followers of Ares the same way that we speak of Evangelicals today in these respective worlds; as if any of the persisting belief systems of the day were fundamentally different in a meaningful way.
"Christian fundamentalists, now known as evangelicals," Well, not quite. Modern Fundamentalism and American Evangelicalism are two distinct factions in Christianity; although they share some common origins and influence, the latter originates at least as much in the Pentecostal movement as in traditional fundamentalism. The version of evangelicalism that dominates modern American culture and politics broke off shortly after WWII, and really came into being once it incorporated Hagin's "Word of Faith" movement and its evolution into Prosperity Theology; which is considered heterodox or outright heretical by modern Fundamentalists (whom the evangelicals like to deride as "legalists"). There are also multiple factions of evangelical Christianity; with American Evangelicalism having at least as many differences as similarities to the other denominations. AE really has little in common theologically with most other denominations and factions of Christianity, increasingly less so as it continues to evolve as a social and political force.
All fundamentalists called themselves evangelical originally but some other groups also called themselves evangelical including morons so he's kinda right if he was only using it in the historical sense.
@@MarquisLeary34 I'd say that white American Evangelical "megachurch" movement is currently the most powerful and influential, due to their decades-long focus on politics and lobbying. There's a documentary series on Netflix titled _The Family_ which covers a particularly insidious American Evangelical church and its growing political power.
I find it interesting that while technically the state churches in the Nordic countries are Evangelical Lutheran, they are completely different from the Evangelical movement in the United States. While the church can be conservative, the churches in Northern Europe are still incredibly progressive and socially liberal compared to many others. For example, same-sex couples are allowed to get married, there are a lot of female priests etc. I've worked for my local parish here in Finland (as a museum guide and intern) and the church is super chill to the point you forget you're even working for the church.
one of the things that baffles me the most about them is their fervorous want for oppression/victimization. i don't know why they want to be oppressed so bad while they're oppressing others? maybe it's to rope others into sympathizing with them or to bring other fundamentalists deeper into the cult (let's call it what it is) but i think their ravenousness for being victims goes even deeper than that, it's like pathological. i'm so glad i woke up and saw that other people were treating me terribly in the church, i would be miserable today if i stayed.
I dunno, but if they approach from the expectation that they will be persecuted for their faith, it does function as a self-perpetuating force. Believing the end premise that true faith will be met with pushback or disapproval will then trigger a confirmation when it happens, like "this is that thing I knew would happen, so that must mean I'm doing it right". Even if it kinda scares them, it will reinforce it.
I’m surprised that fundamentalist beliefs aren’t weaponized MORE often and to a greater extreme. Is there any length that you WOULDN’T go to in order to prevent your child being burned alive? Because that’s the plane that True Believers are operating from. On an eternal scale
They *were* weaponized, for almost 2000 years. Crusades, Inquisitions, Colonization, Imperialism, slavery, the Wars of Religion, pogroms and more. It's just that the last 50 years or so have calmed down significantly in comparison the previous centuries. Don't get me wrong - there's still murder and genocide and bloodshed, but compared to the eras of children being impaled or women being burned at the stake, this is considered "calm".
This reminds me of the kill your heroes video. Jesus was originally a communist, but by making him heroic, his identity has become more important than the ideas he spoused, going so far as becoming a symbol opposite to the original. 2000 years from now Che may become a symbol for imperialists if we only idolize the person and not the deeds.
True. If Handmaids Tale regime is what they think heaven is like, then let God judge them and see how that goes. I personally dont believe in such world so yeah
7:30 this is a really important point for me as an Indian as this applies to the strange leftist bubble where you find islamic fundamentalists hidden among liberal people who want equal treatment of all communities. As for the last part , I too cannot understand what is the solution to this conservatism, which in India is hindu nationalism.
How can you be mainly left-leaning yet criticize only right-wing authoritarianism? Most if not all tragedies caused by authoritarianism are found in communist countries.
He does not only criticize right-wing authoritarianism, brcause he's an anarchist. He is anti-state. Anarchists and statist communists are enemies, the USSR killed them in Spain, Ucraine and Manchuria. But lets count... Left-wing authoritarian states were very violent, but there were less than 10 of them throughout history(I'm being generous). Violent right-wing authoritarian states were... Almost all of the states that ever existed since the agriculrural revolution. All monarchies are right-wing authoritarian. If I started to list all right-wing tyrants I would die of old age before I finished.
Communism was far left authoritarianism that people criticize, have you been under a rock or something? Its just in this day and age, right wing authoritarianism is the big danger here. Also WHATABOUTISM am i right
At 11:44 you mention that evangelicals read the bible more than any other denomination. Isn't that the exact opposite of the point you made before at 9:18?
it’s narcissism. it comes from being spoiled as a child alongside lack of emotional availability of a caretaker. so simultaneous over indulgence and under indulgence.
When I try to think of authoritarian mindsets I can only think of kinky shit. Then I forget that they're monsters. Then I remember they're monsters and feel embarrassed about fantasizing about dictator Daddy with a riding crop when it's a serious topic.
Totally agree. X-Jehovah's Witness here! Left mostly after noticing their hypocrisy, but also I read the bible through and realised what an awful book it really was!
Agree. I read the Bible cover to cover and realized it wasn't that much different from mythology. Except it's more violent and intolerant than other mythologies. That skeptical attitude led me to books by Steve Wells like The Skeptics Annotated Bible and Drunk With Blood: God's Killings in the Bible. Both of which I recommend reading. A History of God is also a good read.
@@NSOcarth who would you blame? The religion is structured to make their elders unaccountable! Their friends are an aloof clique! It's a horrible religion! The Bible is a horrible book regardless of whether they follow it!
I think you can boil down their psychology to 4 Bible versus: 1. "Slaves, be subject to your masters with all reverence, not only to those who are good and equitable but also to those who are perverse." 1 Peter 2:18 2 "When a man sells his daughter as a slave, she will not be freed at the end of six years as the men are. If she does not please the man who bought her, he may allow her to be bought back again." Exodus 21: 7-8 3. "Let a woman learn quietly with all submissiveness. I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet." 1 Timothy 2:11-15 4. "See, the day of the Lord is coming - a cruel day, with wrath and fierce anger. . . . I will put an end to the arrogance of the haughty. . . . Their infants will be dashed to pieces before their eyes; their houses will be looted and their wives violated." Isaiah 13:9-16
As a member of the Church of Jesus Christ (Mormon), it's hard for me to reconcile most of my fellow churchgoers' political agenda with the teachings of Jesus Christ. He's directed us to a socialist/communist example, but most of us have twisted His words to justify oppression and authoritarianism. I teach Sunday school and try my best to encourage socialist attitudes and political activism.
Bruh the LDS has never supported anarchism. They definitely had communitarian economic systems prior to americanization and non-anarchist socialism is legimiate but for the love of God don't get your information from saint andrew lmfao
There is always an elect in the versions of Calvinistic Protestantism that predominate in the Anglosphere. If you have money, it’s because you are chosen. If you don’t, it’s because you are cursed. I would argue it’s this self justifying tenant that is the central pillar of this faith. Of course it’s been well funded along the way. It went a long way to soothing the conscience of the town burger in 16th century Amsterdam who dealt in slaves all the way to the CEO of a pillow company or a company that pushes opiates in modern America. It is right and holy ordained for me to rest upon this mountain of brutal exploitation and skulls because I am chosen. I can do whatever I want to you because you are cursed. It’s also why hucksters and con artists are a feature of the religious right and how they can hold a belief in hell and do what they do in the same mind. There was and is other tendencies among Christianity. The Anabaptists believed we can all be saved and attempted to recreate the communism of the early church. They did not believe in an elect and a damned by birth. They were of course smashed by a united church and state.
Knocked it out of the park yet again @Andrewism! I have struggled with a lot of what you have outlined, although not a fundamentalist, the Greek Orthodox Church is nearly as bad and quite a few in my family are extremely infected with these lines of thought!
Have your tried telling them that non-dual experiences are possible? There are some Christians who understand that the church focuses too much on faith in God, but not enough on experience. These experiences can be life transforming of you have an epiphany at the front of the church while yelling oh my God, realize true forgiveness while experiencing complete healing, merge with all of existence such that your sense of self becomes indistinguishable from this entire experience, and much more. I learned in my dream that when your tongue is dead, that which has no opposite is revealed to you because you lose your conditioning to thinking opposites. Truth is something which transcends the duality of true and false for such a duality is a mental construction designed for our survival. I'm probably not the best person to be telling a religious fundamentalist these things because I am aware of the many corruptions caused by dogmatism. I understand that fighting these corruptions directly will not only get me demonized by such people, but it can easily turn into an identity predicated upon fighting another ideology which is not what I want out of life. That said my true objectives are to integrate the truth religions are attempting to point to while synergizing these experiences with society at large. Judging fundamentalism is a huge distraction from the most important thing in life because ideology is what clouds our minds from accessing deeper truths no matter the content of the ideology. Political and religious ideologies tend to be the most problematic, but accessing deeper truths is more important than defending an ideology predicated upon fighting the foolishness of other ideologies.
I think what many also need to know is that there’s no true Scotsman of a Christian church because they all follow the same generic culture and standards. I have lately converted from LDS(Mormonism) to Christian anarchism. Although I haven’t fully left the church, My faith in it has decreased over time. What disappoints me is that it was a religion that was founded on critical thinking but result in nationalism instead. I was eagerly drawn to the idea that Joseph Smith started to question and challenge denominations. But despite a handful of distinguished standards, his background of puritan culture shaped it to be just as mundane and common as the typical denomination.
These are some of the most embarrassing comments I have read I a while. People are about as clueless as the creator. The masses will never understand, but it does make me smile. The Indoctrination in America is sooo good, they have absolutely not a clue. It is almost impressive.
I am so glad to be out from under the religious fundamentalism I was raised in. This was a great broader perspective that I could connect personal experience to.
If only more religious schools insisted that children -- and their elders -- spend some time reading great religious intellectual achievers, such as Therese de Lisieux and Martin Luther King. Parents should watch out for the temptations to demand that their children check their minds at the church entrance.
@@EiderDuck-Coot No, they don't, although Scruton deserves some credit for careful thinking. But he's a tribalist; the great saints tried to put everyone in God's circle of concern.
Yeah, I came up as a liberation theology jesuit in the Sobrino vein and it was always super weird to me how American politics manifest and mutate these conceits in the way they do and still call themselves Christian and IIRC it was Fr Knolly Clarke who pointed out for me to see the documentary Marjoe, and that how it's a mindset that has little with the actual beliefs but more exploitiastion of human detritus.
Nobody seems to be aware that there are two different YHWH's and two different Old Testaments and it's weird... The Kuntillet ‘Ajrud inscriptions mention blessings by the names of YHWH of Samaria (Yehowah) and YHWH of Teman (Yahweh). Like all ancient Near Eastern gods, these two regional gods must have had central temples. This article examines their possible locations and suggests that the combination of the Kuntillet ‘Ajrud inscriptions with the eighth-century prophecies of Amos and Hosea holds the key for identifying these. In light of a detailed analysis of Hosea’s and Amos’ prophecies, it is further suggested that YHWH of Samaria was the name of the major God of the Kingdom of Israel and his main temple was located at Bethel, and that YHWH of Teman was the name of the God of the southern desert regions and his temple was located at Beer-sheba. Israelite traders who traveled southward probably visited the latter god’s temple, offered him sacrifices, made vows to repay him if they succeed in the expedition, and thus turned him to be their patron god during their travel in the desert region. This suggested identification explains why the Judahite cult place of Beer-sheba appears in Amos’ prophecy alongside the Israelite sanctuaries of Bethel, Gilgal, and Dan. What do Samaritans believe in terms of the Bible? Samaritans believe that the Jewish Torah, and Judaism, have been corrupted by time and no longer serve the duties that God mandated to the Israelites on Mount Sinai. The holiest site for Samaritans in their faith is Mount Gerizim near Nablus, while Jews view the Temple Mount in Jerusalem as their most sacred location. The Samaritan religion: Their principal canonical text and main norm of religious observance is the Samaritan Pentateuch. The Samaritan Pentateuch contains the basic text of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, yet there are about 6,000 differences between it and the masoretic Jewish version. Why did the Judahites not like the Samaritans? The Jews called them "half-breeds" and sent them home. The Samaritans built their own temple which the Jews considered pagan. The feud grew, and by the time of Christ, the Jews hated the Samaritans so much they crossed the Jordan river rather than travel through Samaria....
It was not evangelical but my grandfather's strict Catholic authoritarianism backfired immensely for me and actually made me hate all organized religion for the longest time. I have gotten better about this now but I am still somewhat wary among more outward religious people. Really shows the damage a bad authoritarian system can do to someone
THE WORLD RULER TRIES TO KILL ME And then a voice of the world ruler came to the angels: “I am god and there is no other god but me.” But I laughed joyfully when I examined his conceit. But he went on to say, “Who is the human?” And the entire host of his angels who had seen Adam and his dwelling were laughing at his smallness. And thus did their thought come to be removed outside the majesty of the heavens, away from the human of truth, whose name they saw, since he is in a small dwelling place. They are foolish and senseless in their empty thought, namely, their laughter, and it was contagion for them. The whole greatness of the fatherhood of the spirit was at rest in its places. And I was with him, since I have a thought of a single emanation from the eternal ones and the unknowable ones, undefiled and immeasurable. I placed the small thought in the world, having disturbed them and frightened the whole multitude of the angels and their ruler. And I was visiting them all with fire and flame because of my thought. And everything pertaining to them was brought about because of me. And there came about a disturbance and a fight around the seraphim and cherubim, since their glory will fade, and there was confusion around Adonaios on both sides and around their dwelling, up to the world ruler and the one who said, “Let us seize him.” Others again said, “The plan will certainly not materialize.” For Adonaios knows me because of hope. And I was in the mouths of lions. And as for the plan that they devised about me to release their error and their senselessness, I did not succumb to them as they had planned. And I was not afflicted at all. Those who were there punished me, yet I did not die in reality but in appearance, in order that I not be put to shame by them because these are my kinsfolk. I removed the shame from me, and I did not become fainthearted in the face of what happened to me at their hands. I was about to succumb to fear, and I suffered merely according to their sight and thought so that no word might ever be found to speak about them. For my death, which they think happened, happened to them in their error and blindness, since they nailed their man unto their death. Their thoughts did not see me, for they were deaf and blind. But in doing these things, they condemn themselves. Yes, they saw me; they punished me. It was another, their father, who drank the gall and the vinegar; it was not I. They struck me with the reed; it was another, Simon, who bore the cross on his shoulder. It was another upon whom they placed the crown of thorns. But I was rejoicing in the height over all the wealth of the rulers and the offspring of their error, of their empty glory. And I was laughing at their ignorance.
Very well done comrade. I know a few of these lunatics. I dated a fundy in my twenties, she was not a bad person but absolutely bizarre and had perfected cognitive dissonance from childhood. She was absolutely wild in bed however…
@@duckmcluck6911 no not cool at all. She was what I would call emotionally abused, probably from an early age. Sadly she had children and they were likely going down that same path.
It's strange to me that you lump in fundamentalist evangelicals and Catholics, and then at 7:33 show an icon of St. Francis, a major Catholic Saint, kindly embracing the Islamic Sultan of Egypt, of whom he is said to have preached to.
always said a Taliban and Christian fundamentalist would be best of friends if they could get over their hatred! I'm glad they hate each other so much that way they don't team up :)
"Fundamentalists would say that apostates just want to sin. However, I left the church because I questioned the Bible." Yeah, I agree, but they would say that that's a sin. Bite the bullet. They aren't worth the rational argument.
I didn't heard a single Bible verse ... I agree with you in some points but all of your arguments and justifications is just because "said church did this" or "certain Christian did that" never once you mentioned a single Bible verse while you think are in a position to point out that the "fundamentalists" didn't read the Bible front to back, you didn't show us why your argument of the "Christian right" is wrong with any Bible verses...
It's getting difficult to be on good terms with Christianity. I maintain that, even though we have extremely different views of Satan and the like, there is no beef between the ordinary Christian and myself, and yet these loud voices of the evangelical movement continue to paint this image of the faith as one of brutal conquest and malignant narcissism as it was in days gone by. Mercifully, I've met enough decent ones who were distinguished in their faith that I would call genuinely good people, such that I maintain dialog with them.
I've grappled with this question for years, but rather than finding adequate answers I've only become more and more convinced that Christianity is incompatible with the foundations of the United States. One cannot have a government built upon the cornerstone of Freedom of Religion yet harbor a religion that zealously seeks to govern others by any means necessary. And so we see it time and time again that a politician's religion or religiosity is made a key ingredient to campaign and political platforms, something that should be a strict taboo but is handwaved away because there is no incentive to enforce against because those who hold the power are those who became wealthy on Christian Nationalism. There could be organization of secular peoples against such behavior, but the advocacy of passivity has always been much more quiet than the fervor of religious conquest.
The RF scale should been called the AAF scale. The first "A" would stand for "Abrahamic". I'll let you fill in the rest. EDIT: I like the "oppose and propose" angle. Too many people and movements focus on one at the expense of t'other.
Hope y'all enjoyed this quick little video! This is a filler episode, as I've been doing research for the continuation of "the commons" saga, which will be dropping next month and November. get hype
edit:
Quick response to this one particular criticism:. I am aware that Islam has a very powerful religious right. As does Hinduism and Buddhism. But I do not live in those contexts, I do not come from that background. My background is the only reason I felt comfortable enough making this video because anything even approaching the subject of religion is touchy as is. I would gladly study what Hindu critics have to say about Hindu f*scism or what progressive Muslims have to say about Wahhabism. If you're curious about those groups, I suggest you do too. The lens of analysis outlined in this video does broadly apply to these groups as well, and I didn't intend to mislead by focusing mostly on the Christian right, but this video isn't meant to be the be-all and end-all of the conversation.
Filler episode, still pleasant to watch and had informative value ^^ thanks for sharing!
Hey, man. I love your videos. I actually sent you an email so I can chat with you about some things. Is there a way I can reach out to you?
Another item you could have added was that Mormons in Germany had no real problems joining the Nazi Party, indeed their genealogical researches were a boon to the ideas of racial purity. Mind you the German Jehovah's Witnesses of that time, Ernste Bibelforscher had more issues, it wasn't really until the authoritarianism of one became too much for the authoritarianism of the Nazi State. Theirs is an interesting case study in how a religious organisation which does seek to be not an enemy of the state goes to great lengths to modify its theology so as to incorporate a changing political scene, until the latter demands total obedience. The outlook differences were really about ideas of religious neutrality to 'worldly powers' and interpretation of Paul's Letter to the Romans about Christian obedience.
I grew up fundie and "tea-party" conservative. Just a baby leftist, overeducated in theology to the point i became a heretic lol.
"Fundamentalism is when you refuse to affirm everyone's sinfuly lifestyles as being heckin' valid, Jesus only ever said to be vagely nice to each other man!"
You always tend to forget the "Go and sin no more" part
“Between the Christianity of this land and the Christianity of Christ, I recognize the widest possible difference-so wide that to receive the one as good, pure, and holy, is of necessity to reject the other as bad, corrupt, and wicked. To be the friend of the one is of necessity to be the enemy of the other. I love the pure, peaceable, and impartial Christianity of Christ; I therefore hate the corrupt, slave-holding, women-whipping, cradle-plundering, partial and hypocritical Christianity of this land. Indeed, I can see no reason but the most deceitful one for calling the religion of this land Christianity…”
― Frederick Douglass
💯
I often wonder how Christianity would've turned out if not for Paul. Jesus may have been silent on slavery, but Paul practically cosigned it. Paul, who sent the enslaved Onesimus back to his master Philemon. Paul, whose lines in Ephesians and Colossians were favoured by slaveholders in colonial America. I know those epistles are considered Deutero-pauline by theologians, but they're still accepted as authentic in the vast majority of mainline churches. History may have turned out a lot differently if his ministry didn't rise to prominence.
I love that quote!
@@Andrewism The pro-slavery view goes all the way back to Genesis. Living west of the Nile, the blacks were children of Ham and could only hope for a good Christian master.
@@rembrandt972ify But the whole Sons of Ham thing being attributed to Black people holds no connection to the Bible. It was a design of hypocrites minds trying to assuage its cognitive dissonance and justify its cruelty.
"For most Christian fundamentalists, the Bible is a Terms & Conditions that they scroll down to agree."
Brilliantly said
for the ones online they tend to have been used to being called out on it and have since read the thing - with the interpretation that fits their narrative.
Yep. Just today I mentioned the gods (plural) of the bible to a christian, who said that there was only one god in the bible. I pointed out how there are several and he said he hadn't read that, but wasn't going to try and defend it.
So I mentioned 1 Peter 3:15. He hadn't read that, either...
I really liked him though.
Sounds like Abrahamic religions terms of agreement in a nutshell
@@pineapplepenumbra When you say gods. You mean it in the sense that the bible speaks of different gods we should worship. Or that it just mentioned other gods people worshiped.
Or are you just talking about the trinity.
Because I took a quick read of it and don't know what you say that the bible has different gods. Jesus quite clearly taught that he is the one and only.
@@justaround434 "Because I took a quick read of it and don't know what you say that the bible has different gods."
Who is El? Elyon? Yahweh? Asherah?
Didn't you read about El being head of the Council of Gods? Bear in mind that Yahweh was a subordinate god, one of about 70 (although tablets later dug up suggest that there could have been 200).
Have you read the ORIGINAL Isaiah, which is a millennia older than the biblical version, and makes the polytheistic nature of the Canaanites and ancient Hebrews?
"Jesus quite clearly taught that he is the one and only."
No one has a clue what Jesus said, if anything, as no one wrote down anything about him until decades later, and none of them had ever met him.
The Jesus of the bible was also ignorant and irresponsible, racist and contradictory.
Being a black and queer woman, I grew up in these evangelical spaces. For years I tried to be a good Christian and to uphold all of the strict rules. It was this struggle and seeing how my church would be silent on social issues that affected POC, LGBTQIA+, the poor.
It's when I saw how these fundamentalist beliefs were hurting the people around me that's when I left.
I miss the community and support I used yo have while being a part of church. Which made leaving so hard, but I couldn't be tied to a group that does so little to help the community.
i hope you doing better now🖤
Well done for thinking for yourself!
" I couldn't be tied to a group that does so little to help the community."
Lelz, statistically this is almost certainly false. Evangelicals literally are doing way more than your avg person (even avg person in the religion of "the left") for "the community". And that's just well known stats, easily verifiable. Which not coincidentally is part of the reason why you "miss the community". It's because they're doing more to even create a community in the first place than nearly everyone else.
still safe
A fascist cult that “helps” is still a fascist cult. I can only imagine the difficulty in learning why religions and authoritarians are bad if that is where you grew up.
While it's not much I appreciate you drawing a distinction between the religious right and non conservative practitioners of religion.
It's an important distinction to make, and I say that as an agnostic. There's no sense in throwing the baby out with the bathwater, as it were, when discussing this subject.
One would actually be bold and make a point.
The other is just lazily psychologizing your political opponent without upsetting any of your political allies.
@@LexYeen
The baby is the entire problem. If your only problem with religion are those laws that are specifically uncomfortable for you, then you're a massive hypocrit and totally unprincipled.
@@MrCmon113 So you care more about getting rid of religion than encouraging moral beliefs.
Great video. I was a former fundamentalist and this really helped me out. I am just starting my Christian Anarchist journey.
Catholic myself, also trying to become a Christian anarchist. I'll say a prayer for you if you like.
@@seekingabsolution1907 Thanks. I pray for you too.
I highly recommend the Kingdom Of God Is Within You
look out for tobiah's vids!
That's wonderful! If you don't mind me asking, how can one be an anarchist and believe in a higher power? I'm not trying to mock you, I'm genuinely curious about how that works as, to me at least, anarchism is usually presented in a secular view
Great video ! Always baffles me how much fundamentalist people are adamant their own beliefs should affect other people and their own rules be imposed into them, no matter their differing beliefs. There's never any problem over imposing yourself rules, the authoritarianism starts when they argue their views are the only correct outlook and should be law everywhere
I used to share your sentiment. Now I’m surprised that those beliefs aren’t weaponized MORE often and to a greater extreme.
Is there any length that you WOULDN’T go to in order to prevent your child being burned alive?
Because that’s the plane that True Believers are operating from. On an eternal scale
@@Time_Is_Left
This is why afterlife delusions are so F*ing terrible, you can literally justify the worst cruelty imaginable because...hey it ultimately doesn't matter right? No matter how much you're abused, humiliated, beaten, neglected, and suppressed by your very own parents or church 'community' you'll be rewarded with eternal paradise...just so long as you obey all the rules laid out by our weirdly particular interpretation of the bible or ELSE BE DAMMED TO HELL! (and will be abused even more if not disowned if you do not conform)
@@Time_Is_Left if that happens i would go from religion-tolerate to anti-religion real quick
@@slimetank394 It’s why I’m proactively anti theist.
I don’t need see a bear take a bite of me to realize that the bear is a threat
(No offense intended, this isn’t to imply that anyone who isn’t to that point yet is blind necessarily. I have a somewhat unique vantage point)
There's a bit of nuance; not all viewpoints are equally valid. Religious faith can't really be used to honestly justify action because you fundamentally can't show the foundation of your belief to be true. and many people aren't really willing to think about what *values* they encourage and support through their behaviour. "The Holy Book says so and therefore it must be correct" only serves to hide real value judgements that you might not want to state out loud. Granted, most people's values likely will be "good" regardless of religious baggage, but it's still iffy.
It's possible to have axiomatic values (such as "suffering is bad") and derive honest justifications from those, but if someone were to outright say that their values include causing suffering to outgroups, people would react *really* badly.
I can tell you as a Christian anarchist, it is EXTREMELY difficult for even us to reach our fundamentalist siblings. The fact is that progressive Christians generally reject the dogma of Biblical inerrancy, and that alone shuts the conversation down. Even if we know the Bible better than they do, and we almost always do, our presentation of scriptural arguments are rejected outright because we don't read it in the right way.
I would love to find a rhetorical strategy that works even 1/100 times, but so far I have no advice except to try and reach their youth while they still might be impressionable. But even that's kind of a thing where the youth will be just as stubborn as their parents when they hear an argument, but the combination of sound argumentation and a later personal experience that calls their beliefs into question seems to be the winning formula.
They basically NEED to get out of their echo chambers or bubbles and actually meet many of the peoples they hate or are told to hate. Experiences, personal experiences with a diverse range of peoples is probably the best chance any fundamentalist has at waking up and seriously question their inconsistent beliefs.
Thanks for sharing your experience. It is unfortunate that the Bible is seen as something that has to be read in one Right Way because there really are so many angles to approach it from and lens to view it through. It doesn't have to be as rigid as they treat it.
As far as the argument, always notice the religious right quotes the old Testament and the religious left quotes the teachings of Jesus Christ in the New Testament. Always point out the source of the quotes. If they claim to follow the ultimate leftist they should have some leftist views.
The key is to argue based solely upon a literal interpretation of the scriptures, with direct quotes, in context of the chapter and book. Don't even try to argue interpretation or cultural context, because they will reject that. It especially helps if you know the Bible better than them and can quote mine the Bible on command, quoting the exact book, chapter and verse. It also helps to have a passing knowledge of Hebrew, Greek and Aramaic. By doing this I've been able to talk fundamentalists out of racism, classism and even political conservatism just by preaching to them right out of the scriptures.
We'd be best off with NO CHRISTIANITY at all. Christianity is the sole source of all the world's problems. Literally every. single. one.
i really wish more americans could understand how authoritarian they are. feels like such a big stumbling block for all the 'freedom' and 'liberty' type people to just not get how selective their interpretation is. or, if you're going to be a fascist, at least be smart enough and self aware enough to know that's what you are.
it seems like for a lot of them, "freedom" is a zero-sum game. The more freedom I have (to do whatever sinning floats my boat) reduces their freedom to disapprove. I have often wondered what the right means by "freedom". They use it as a totemic word, something that can't be questioned and something that is self-evidently good. But they never define what they mean by "freedom". I think they never define it because they know full well that their preferred version of "freedom" (which seems to mainly involve freedom of capital, freedom to own firearms, freedom to discriminate, freedom to tell marginalized groups to fuck off) seems largely at odds with what most of the rest of the world thinks of as freedom.
@Jordan Thompson That's a question with too many answers. Exactly what "fascist" means depends on the context you're talking about. And a lot of folks do just use it to mean "bad" without much specificity.
"Authoritarian", and especially "authoritarian followers", tend to be more useful terms IMO. It covers the really dangerous parts of it, without getting into arguing over pretty irrelevant specifics.
@Jordan Thompson fair enough
@Jordan Thompson "Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultranationalist political ideology and movement, characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural social hierarchy, subordination of individual interests for the perceived good of the nation and race, and strong regimentation of society and the economy."
So Christian Nationalism definitely counts as a form of fascism.
@Jordan Thompson No problem. Wikipedia isn't 100% false you know. It does not contradict leading dictionary definitions and actually explains it better than can be described in the shorthand style used for dictionaries.
Do you have anything to add to contradict what I said or are you just showing off that you know how to copy and paste into google?
I think the point of fundamentalists having immense joy in practicing their faith despite the hang-ups in their dogmatism is very poignant. All the hardships they go through in life can be attributed to the persecution the face as the “chosen people”, while stripping away rights and liberties from others not sharing their views is a sign of spreading the gospel. I feel like authoritarian sentiments by design follow groups that don’t allow for much change or accountability within their communities.
20th century authoritarian movements have tended to rely upon the notion of historical inevitability or destiny, and Christian Fundamentalism is no different.
If you want to understand the mindset of modern Christian Fundamentalism, you need only a single sentance. "The world is ending any day now, and this should make you happy". If you can wrap your mind around this one concept, everything else slots into place like a hidden-image painting.
Yeah. When I was at a fundamentalist church, I remember they would talk about the end of the world A LOT. It was comforting in a really odd (and definitely unhealthy) way. I would think about all the suffering and injustice in the world, and I would think "Jesus will come back soon and sort all of this out, and so I don't need to worry about it." It was easier than actually caring and informing myself and trying to take meaningful action to end oppression. I'm glad I'm not at that church anymore.
I made sure to watch your video on the Psychology of Authoritarianism first and I'm so happy I did because I was able to understand this a lot better. Can't wait for the continuation of the commons saga!
Hi! Christian pastor here. I nearly left the church and my faith because of fundamentalis. They hated my faith because I was queer and because I heald strongly to my universalist beliefs and passion for interfaith work. In the end, I decided I was tired of yhe religious right assuming it could speak for all Christians. Thays why I went to school and got ordained, to reclaim my religious tradition. I now work in a church where most members are 60+. But we talk about racism, economic disparities, and justice. I joke that my job is radicalized boomers.
But the reality is that many of these folks really care and have been really receptive to new information. I am now trying to encourage them to speak out and engage with others in the community about what they believe and the change they want to see. For those who have the energy to do so, I have found that so many people are gungry to be seen and loved. I get frustrated when people write off older folks when they aren't engaging them. I know there is trauma in these spaces, but I have seen some so many people change their minds when spoken to kindly and compassionately. Lots of them never had certain ideas explained in a way they could understand.
You are less Christian than the average Hindu.
I don't think they hated your faith, What I think they apposed was your claiming to be a follower of Christ well from what I can only assume ignoring scripture and foreboding any idea of homosexuality being a sin. And from my VERY limited understanding of universalism changing or conflating many non biblical idea's with scripture.
Although if they showed any hatred towards you then they as well be hypocrite's in their criticism of your faith so say god to love thy neighbours and only he who has not sinned may through the first stones.
I was a theology student and church leader up to my mid 20s but left it all completely. Now I focus on teaching better thinking skills and religious debates.
Definitely my expertise if anyone's interested in the topic. It can be incredibly hard to communicate or understand them, especially when their thought process is so illogical and ethereal.
Their minds are compartmentalized to such a degree that it never seems to dawn on them that *"hey...I have conflicting beliefs!"*
Do most protestants actually walk around believing the world is gonna end soon? I’ve heard that claim for years but it’s hard to imagine it’s true.
Great video! Love the terms and conditions metaphor for explaining the dogmatism of fundamentalists. Your point about how successfull evangelicals have been at garnering political support in the USA is also terrifying. As you eluded to in the beginning evangelicals are also able to push their agenda on a wider scale and from what I've seen have been able to use the US's foreign policy as an easy jumping off point. Once countries are forced into economic disparity through predatory loans perpetuated by the IMF and Worldbank, Christian "charities" swoop in to take advantage and spread the word of whatever Lord they have conceived as the one true God. The US pushes countries to accept "structural adjustments" or neo-liberal policies and the church pushes countries to crack down on "sexual perversion" and the like. Super depressing honestly.
Their role in colonialism is indeed depressing.
There are other means of outreach, such as shortwave radio broadcasts. It brings with it a single narriative. That your nation too could be a western power if it adopt "western values", legal, and social norms, as tempered by christian dogmatism.
Great video! I’m a christian anarchist. I’m definitely not a fundamentalist, and I personally think my political and religious views go well together. That said, the biggest frustration I face is my personal political and religious views being not welcome in the christian establishment or community, and also my personal religious views being not welcome in certain parts of the leftist community. No matter where I go, people are unwilling to accept me for what I believe whole-cloth. I have definitely seen how this is applied by the fundamentalists outwardly as well as inwardly.
let's open up a dialogue, my man. which leftist spaces do you feel like your religion isn't welcome in? why do you feel like this?
Lol just don't be an anarchist, there is literally no theological reason for believing that anarchism is legitimate. Even self described christian anarchists weren't like the anarchists you'd find today. Dorothy Day would have condemned the immorality supported by modern anarchists lol.
I've felt the same way for years
@@robertfenimorebaxter5333 There are many theological reasons, but even if there weren't, it wouldn't be an argument against anarchism necessarily.
You're either severly misinformed or completely insincere. Of course serious leftists and Christian reject your joke ideology.
Aside from anarchism going totally against the order exemplified in all of the bible, the New Testament explicitly tells subjects to obey their king and that this obedience is justified in the same way and to the same degree as the obedience of believers to God.
It even tells slaves to obey theur masters as if they obeyed Christ.
My mum is a big Christian and she HATES Hindus...I missed out on a lot of Hindu festivals because my mum's belief which fueled her racism.
I left the church not because of anything big. I started to go to Catholic school and frankly found it to be nonsense that I do not agree with. My queerness and progressivism came later on.
My mum or my dad are not the people I can have reasonable debate on regilion nor politics.
Jesus would hate someone like Cuffie (Trinidad's mega Church guy with the ugly billboards) and warned people about men like him.
I could be wrong, but I do believe a large portion of indophobic sentiment in Trinidad is born out of religious discrimination. And I too did not get an opportunity to partake in any Hindu festivals growing up.
When it comes to parents, it was best for me to figure out what topics just need to be avoided entirely tbh.
And agreed, the evangelical churches that have sprung up around the country have us in a rell state, importing that evangelical american culture into local churches.
@@Andrewism Driving through Freeport and Couva via the highway is soul draining. White Churches in black face...
I agree with your first statement as regilious discrimination was used as a tool to keep us divided and it didn't help that my maternal grandparents were from a Caribbean island that is Afro black dominant...
Tell her christianty stole a lot from the hindu.
I thought it was a weapon to push racism
I'm a Christian who actively battles against people who follow "Christianity of the Land" a.k.a Culture War and not "Christianity of Christ".
It's very difficult where I'm from. Evangelicalism is on another level there. It's so insane how mind controlled people are. How you can be swayed into voting for evil due to some "christian" influencer telling them that it's the right thing to do. Conspiracies also solidify the influence here. Christian influencers love the right wing Conspiracies floating around in America because it's easy to slip Christian rhetoric into it to make it "more solid" and fill in the glaring gaps in logic.
Thank you for anything you've done to oppose christofascism,
However,
Being a christian gives cultural capital to christianity, and in doing so enables christofascists to harm people. If you're serious about opposing them, you should leave the religion altogether.
It is difficult because most people don't actually read and fully comprehend the Bible as it is. They don't question the ideas within it, nor truly locate them in the context from which these writings emerged. If they did, they would have to relinquish their certainty, and dogmatism, because of the inherent problems in the texts. And the most hard-core of them would substitute "divine inspiration" instead.
Fundamentalists often left me wondering "how did you read *this* gestures at bible and reach *that* conclusion? Usually it's because of some person's oppinion.
9:59 "For most Christian fundamentalists, the Bible is a Terms & Conditions, that they scroll down to the bottom to agree" 💯 Well Put!!! 💜
Love this! As someone who grew up as a far right conservative Christian fundamentalist who is now a leftist but still a Christian, you did a great job of covering the important theological points!
The religious right are not bound by a specific religion, right wing Islamists use much of the same arguments of right wing Christians, IE: moral decay, and decadency. Likewise although right-wing ideology is extremely incompatible with Buddhism, which strictly forbids violence in way shape or form, certain individuals have tried to use Buddhism as a vehicle for say fascist policies of minorities.
I can most effectively address the Christian religious right because that is who I am most familiar with, have lived experience with, and am affected by. It is also the religious right that most of my audience is familiar with. I do note in the video that the Religious Fundamentalism scale can apply to a lot of different religions, though in some cases the scale's questions would need to be tweaked to account for the differences between the religions.
Oh my god... a Trinidadian commentary channel. I can die happy now
Loved the video Andrew- I've been asking my friends and folks to watch your stuff, so hopefully some of that traffic had come your way
I've been in the Christian anarchist camp for a bit, and it's critical for Christians rooted in anarchism to be vocal in opposition to the Christian right- either in a genuine, empathetic challenge for change, or to show folks like the LGBTQ2A+ community that those beliefs aren't tolerated.
Thank you again for your genuineness in your work. Sending love from Canada.
You never miss
For me, sin has been a nice bonus to discover after leaving the church. I left in the 10th grade because after I learned about evolution and it made total sense, I came to need a *reason* to believe the things I had been taught. I spent months secretly poring over every argument I could find from atheists and theologians alike. Towards the end I prayed a lot asking God to exist, but the atheists just made more sense. Over a decade later, I'm still rediscovering pieces of myself that I stashed away for fear of sinfulness. That mindset is so damaging, and it's a huge reason I didn't realize I was bi until 17, or trans until 24. The Family Religion expectation is real - my family is moderate compared to a lot of fundamentalists, but being an atheist among them was great practice for finding myself in the closet and coming out.
Dogma and the fear of sin even alienated me from a genuine spiritual experience. The only time I felt "moved by the spirit" was after being emotionally manipulated (and physically intimidated in an "of course I'm not REALLY going to hurt you" kinda way) into believing it was My Time to be baptized. I was 10. I'm no longer an atheist because I kept my eyes open and weird shit came to me, but I can't talk to my family about my practice because they've been conditioned to only see the Evils of Paganism in anything that isn't Christian. Nowadays, the most comforting memory of my time in the church was when I actually got baptized, and the siren for the fire house across the street went off THE SECOND my head hit the water. I like to think some decidedly unholy spirit was giving the congregation a warning😈
There's religion, Goddess and Gods outside of the Bible. You can talk with them
Criminally underrated channel man keep up the good work
Watching this as a muslim leftist, I can see some similarities to our own religious fundamentalists and especially when you hear that many of them don't know the religious text but rather it's about the dogma. I'd love to hear from Christian anarchists and liberation theologists. The plan of oppose and propose is a pretty good summation of what to do.
As an Israeli (who is really leaning towards Anarchism) I am really sad to report that the fundamentalist religious right is at an all-time high here too.
A sad joke that is being told around here lately is that the thing the radical fascistic religious Jews learned from the holocaust is "don't be the victim of a genocide".
I really believe only a small minority are actually violent, but history has shown this can spread very fast, and it is really scary. I will be here to do whatever needs to be done to combat this violent and authoritarian religious right movement, but I am genuinely scared of what will happen in the next few months.
"Conservative Christianity" is a euphemistic description for a cult centered around sadism. "Conservative Christianity" is an oxymoron.
and masochism
@@melelconquistador they got the whole psychological S&M thing going on even deeper than most people who do S&M
@@biggestastiest I know they do, look no further than historical examples of Spanish catholicism, Calvinism, etc.
Christianity is sadistic to the core. The Christian god is a sadistic monster that actively has to check its apoetite for human misery.
@@MrCmon113 Unless you are well acquainted with God and are capable of understanding the nature of an omnipotent and omniscient being your opinion is utterly unjustified.
Your work ALWAYS helps. My boyfriend and my best friends dads are fundamentalists. Perhaps they would be offended by this video but perhaps something could click bc if we ALL cannot hold our own perspectives and assumptions to the highest critiques then we are not doing our due diligence. We can only thrive through communication and understanding. True compassion is few and far between so thank you for all that you do. You are doing ENOUGH even if you don’t feel that way. ^ . ^
@@NSOcarth I’m not too sure why your favourite past time is leaving rude comments but you should reread what I said and kindly delete yours (:
@@NSOcarthTheir boyfriend is the one believing in evil ideas. Stupid and harmful ideas should not and will not be tolerated.
“You left the church because you wanted to sin!”
This makes me laugh. If I wanted to sin, I would’ve stayed a Christian; after all, they’re the ones whose sins are forgiven. I would’ve just committed my sins and then repented for them over and over. Christianity is basically a get out of hell free card.
I completely reject the whole concept of ""sin"", it is literally just emotional blackmail.
Exactly
That good.
Which is hilarious because Paul's letters specifically called out that very behavior as nothing short of blasphemy.
That's not how repentance works! You have to actually turn your heart and your actions around along with just the sincere apology, repentance is not something you do once or twice or just over and over to get a "get out of hell free card", it's a continuous life long process. ❤☦️
Another banger Andrew! 👍
Around the ten minute mark... you hit the nail on the head. Religious fundamentalists are less interested in what's actually in the Bible, and their thinking, if you want to call it that, is highly compartmentalized. Reasoning with them isn't possible. Their threat to liberal democracy has been severely underrated, because their unreason colors every aspect of their lives pervasively.
Democracy... You have been miseducated.
Thanks for another great video! This really resonates with me, I am a black transracial adoptee raised by white folks in the Mormon church- I left but it felt like they abandoned me first. As soon as I got old enough to understand that the constant racism (severely anti black and indigenous) was ingrained and not just by individuals, I refused to support it in any way. I live a completely different life now and I'm glad to have healed so much but the isolation and bullying from my "community" and my own family will never fully leave my mind. I would not have lasted another year :/
This is such a great video! A couple of things to help your research -
#1 - Apologetics. This is a HUGE part of evangelical reasoning, and (to me) is a point-to-point demonstration of the inherent irrationality that seems to dominate their theology. Like the term "evangelism", "apologetics" has always been a part of Christianity, but has taken on a new and distinct meaning in the last century.
#2 - In my experience, fundamentalists tend to be extremely well-read when it comes to scripture. It's just the way they read it that makes their understanding so so so limited, but if I had a nickel for every kid from a fundamentalist church who I've met who could recite different parts of the Bible at length and by heart, i could retire pretty soon lol. Verse memorization is a big thing in those spaces, but that's sort of all it is: memorization. No context beyond what the pastor gives you, and no possible meaning beneath the absolute bare reading (with the notable exception of *literally any verse at any point when it suits their argument*).
And there is a difference between "fundamentalist" and "evangelical", although each term has followed a similar path of development in the last century. I think the distinction is most notable when considering churches that feature "contemporary" services- "evangelical" places the emphasis on spreading the word and bringing nonbelievers into the faith, while "fundamentalist" places the emphasis on maintaining the sacred beliefs as they've been traditionally understood. So an evangelical church would be cool with ditching certain aspects of traditional liturgy, for example, if it makes the worship service more inviting or engaging. They may also have more opportunities for women to take on (certain kinds of) leadership roles, and are less likely to have a highly formalized ordination process. Fundamentalists, on the other hand, tend to hold onto tradition as the "right" way, and generally see deviation from traditional beliefs and practices as a threat, regardless of the context or intention.
It can get confusing lol, but also if you're digging deeper into this stuff that distinction can make a difference, depending on the specific topic. Subscribed and looking forward to watching more of your videos!
Hey dude, I feel more sane after listening to what you have to say. Thank you
Former evangelical + black gay trans woman here; idk about this.
**TLDR**
- As someone who's escaped evangelical thought and had time to reflect on my trauma, learn to understand the world better, and adopt anarchism as a philosophical framework since then; Christianity/Evangelicals aren't especially horrible in comparison to other religious thought. They were literally just the most powerful group at the right moment in history, and rolled really well.
**TLDR**
Authoritarianism, or Authoritarians believe in social hierarchy as the rightful structure of the world, and depending on the specific person/group, have differing ideas about who should be at the top of it.
Religious thought places higher/divine/supreme/God like entities at the top of this hierarchy, and then whatever group holding the given beliefs comes after in some fashion. In their mind granting them authority (or holiness/sacredness) by adjacency to their concept of divinity in some way. The production of Priests/Monks/Oracles/Shamans/Onmyōji/Dalai Lama and the like, and the position of these kinds of individuals respective to power and influence in their relevant cultures are the result of this fundamentally authoritarian/religious thinking.
Christianity in this respect, Evangelical or otherwise, is not uniquely fascistic or authoritarian. Even with the obnoxiously obvious inconsistencies in it's canon holy text, as I'm sure it's well understood by most how often and easily those with power in a given culture can edit and change belief systems to suit their needs in manipulating the followers of that belief system. Christianity is simply the system of belief that won the 'conquest lottery' by being adopted, and manipulated by European royalty (another explicitly authoritarian structure) to subjugate, brutalize, and conquer 80-90% of the planet. The rest have largely been made subordinate if not absorbed in some way through colonialism/imperialism.
Had Taoists, Vikings, Jews, Buddhists, Egyptians, Cherokee, any Pagan groups, or Aborigines been the ones to conquer the world during earlier human civilization instead, the world we live in would not be that much different to what we have today. Aside from perhaps, if Shintoists or the Aztecs had managed to conquer the world instead, maybe climate change would not be quite as bad as it currently is; we would have a fascistic solarpunk world to inhabit instead.
People would discussing Zionists, Hoteps, or followers of Ares the same way that we speak of Evangelicals today in these respective worlds; as if any of the persisting belief systems of the day were fundamentally different in a meaningful way.
"Christian fundamentalists, now known as evangelicals," Well, not quite. Modern Fundamentalism and American Evangelicalism are two distinct factions in Christianity; although they share some common origins and influence, the latter originates at least as much in the Pentecostal movement as in traditional fundamentalism. The version of evangelicalism that dominates modern American culture and politics broke off shortly after WWII, and really came into being once it incorporated Hagin's "Word of Faith" movement and its evolution into Prosperity Theology; which is considered heterodox or outright heretical by modern Fundamentalists (whom the evangelicals like to deride as "legalists").
There are also multiple factions of evangelical Christianity; with American Evangelicalism having at least as many differences as similarities to the other denominations. AE really has little in common theologically with most other denominations and factions of Christianity, increasingly less so as it continues to evolve as a social and political force.
All fundamentalists called themselves evangelical originally but some other groups also called themselves evangelical including morons so he's kinda right if he was only using it in the historical sense.
Which faction would you say are the ones being the loudest and more intrusive currently?
@@MarquisLeary34 I'd say that white American Evangelical "megachurch" movement is currently the most powerful and influential, due to their decades-long focus on politics and lobbying. There's a documentary series on Netflix titled _The Family_ which covers a particularly insidious American Evangelical church and its growing political power.
I find it interesting that while technically the state churches in the Nordic countries are Evangelical Lutheran, they are completely different from the Evangelical movement in the United States. While the church can be conservative, the churches in Northern Europe are still incredibly progressive and socially liberal compared to many others. For example, same-sex couples are allowed to get married, there are a lot of female priests etc. I've worked for my local parish here in Finland (as a museum guide and intern) and the church is super chill to the point you forget you're even working for the church.
one of the things that baffles me the most about them is their fervorous want for oppression/victimization. i don't know why they want to be oppressed so bad while they're oppressing others? maybe it's to rope others into sympathizing with them or to bring other fundamentalists deeper into the cult (let's call it what it is) but i think their ravenousness for being victims goes even deeper than that, it's like pathological. i'm so glad i woke up and saw that other people were treating me terribly in the church, i would be miserable today if i stayed.
Narcissism basically.
I dunno, but if they approach from the expectation that they will be persecuted for their faith, it does function as a self-perpetuating force. Believing the end premise that true faith will be met with pushback or disapproval will then trigger a confirmation when it happens, like "this is that thing I knew would happen, so that must mean I'm doing it right". Even if it kinda scares them, it will reinforce it.
Yaay , waited for this cuz it's so late in GMT time
Thanks for this video. It’s amazing how my politics have become more progressive as I’ve read the teaching of Jesus more carefully.
I’m surprised that fundamentalist beliefs aren’t weaponized MORE often and to a greater extreme.
Is there any length that you WOULDN’T go to in order to prevent your child being burned alive?
Because that’s the plane that True Believers are operating from. On an eternal scale
They *were* weaponized, for almost 2000 years. Crusades, Inquisitions, Colonization, Imperialism, slavery, the Wars of Religion, pogroms and more. It's just that the last 50 years or so have calmed down significantly in comparison the previous centuries. Don't get me wrong - there's still murder and genocide and bloodshed, but compared to the eras of children being impaled or women being burned at the stake, this is considered "calm".
@@christopherlee7334 Thanks for that, I guess. The video and my comment relate to how the modern world is affected, but you did good too, kiddo 👌
This reminds me of the kill your heroes video. Jesus was originally a communist, but by making him heroic, his identity has become more important than the ideas he spoused, going so far as becoming a symbol opposite to the original. 2000 years from now Che may become a symbol for imperialists if we only idolize the person and not the deeds.
Jesus was God incarnate
How do you deal with the religious right? You send them all to heaven! Let God deal with them!
Martyrdom is the most esteemed death
True. If Handmaids Tale regime is what they think heaven is like, then let God judge them and see how that goes. I personally dont believe in such world so yeah
Great video. I’m consistently appalled at evangelicals Olympic level mental gymnastics. Love the sentiment of oppose and propose.
Another brilliant video, thank you!
7:30 this is a really important point for me as an Indian as this applies to the strange leftist bubble where you find islamic fundamentalists hidden among liberal people who want equal treatment of all communities.
As for the last part , I too cannot understand what is the solution to this conservatism, which in India is hindu nationalism.
the answer is probably building a scientific temper among people.
How can you be mainly left-leaning yet criticize only right-wing authoritarianism?
Most if not all tragedies caused by authoritarianism are found in communist countries.
He does not only criticize right-wing authoritarianism, brcause he's an anarchist. He is anti-state. Anarchists and statist communists are enemies, the USSR killed them in Spain, Ucraine and Manchuria.
But lets count...
Left-wing authoritarian states were very violent, but there were less than 10 of them throughout history(I'm being generous).
Violent right-wing authoritarian states were...
Almost all of the states that ever existed since the agriculrural revolution.
All monarchies are right-wing authoritarian. If I started to list all right-wing tyrants I would die of old age before I finished.
Communism was far left authoritarianism that people criticize, have you been under a rock or something? Its just in this day and age, right wing authoritarianism is the big danger here. Also WHATABOUTISM am i right
I have only recently found your channel, but I love it.
If you need video suggestion ideas, one I think would be good is Prison Abolition.
At 11:44 you mention that evangelicals read the bible more than any other denomination. Isn't that the exact opposite of the point you made before at 9:18?
it’s narcissism. it comes from being spoiled as a child alongside lack of emotional availability of a caretaker. so simultaneous over indulgence and under indulgence.
Woo, new Andrew!
"for most Christian fundamentalists, the Bible is a terms and conditions they scroll down to agree"
Great analogy
When I try to think of authoritarian mindsets I can only think of kinky shit. Then I forget that they're monsters. Then I remember they're monsters and feel embarrassed about fantasizing about dictator Daddy with a riding crop when it's a serious topic.
Wats a authoritarian
This is a subject I want to study, more specifically the evolution of how the Christian Religion evolved into what it is today.
Like yo, this religion began as a religion of forgiveness, how tf did we end up here?
A lot of syncretism and adaption by authorities such as Constantine.
Totally agree. X-Jehovah's Witness here! Left mostly after noticing their hypocrisy, but also I read the bible through and realised what an awful book it really was!
Agree. I read the Bible cover to cover and realized it wasn't that much different from mythology. Except it's more violent and intolerant than other mythologies.
That skeptical attitude led me to books by Steve Wells like The Skeptics Annotated Bible and Drunk With Blood: God's Killings in the Bible. Both of which I recommend reading.
A History of God is also a good read.
@@NSOcarth who would you blame? The religion is structured to make their elders unaccountable! Their friends are an aloof clique! It's a horrible religion! The Bible is a horrible book regardless of whether they follow it!
I think you can boil down their psychology to 4 Bible versus:
1. "Slaves, be subject to your masters with all reverence, not only to those who are good and equitable but also to those who are perverse."
1 Peter 2:18
2 "When a man sells his daughter as a slave, she will not be freed at the end of six years as the men are. If she does not please the man who bought her, he may allow her to be bought back again."
Exodus 21: 7-8
3. "Let a woman learn quietly with all submissiveness. I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet."
1 Timothy 2:11-15
4. "See, the day of the Lord is coming - a cruel day, with wrath and fierce anger. . . . I will put an end to the arrogance of the haughty. . . . Their infants will be dashed to pieces before their eyes; their houses will be looted and their wives violated."
Isaiah 13:9-16
Based
This was an awesome video, and helps me add some books to the reading list
Thank you for the voice of reason.
Cheers Jeff
As a member of the Church of Jesus Christ (Mormon), it's hard for me to reconcile most of my fellow churchgoers' political agenda with the teachings of Jesus Christ. He's directed us to a socialist/communist example, but most of us have twisted His words to justify oppression and authoritarianism. I teach Sunday school and try my best to encourage socialist attitudes and political activism.
Bruh the LDS has never supported anarchism. They definitely had communitarian economic systems prior to americanization and non-anarchist socialism is legimiate but for the love of God don't get your information from saint andrew lmfao
This is disgusting.
There is always an elect in the versions of Calvinistic Protestantism that predominate in the Anglosphere. If you have money, it’s because you are chosen. If you don’t, it’s because you are cursed. I would argue it’s this self justifying tenant that is the central pillar of this faith. Of course it’s been well funded along the way. It went a long way to soothing the conscience of the town burger in 16th century Amsterdam who dealt in slaves all the way to the CEO of a pillow company or a company that pushes opiates in modern America. It is right and holy ordained for me to rest upon this mountain of brutal exploitation and skulls because I am chosen. I can do whatever I want to you because you are cursed. It’s also why hucksters and con artists are a feature of the religious right and how they can hold a belief in hell and do what they do in the same mind. There was and is other tendencies among Christianity. The Anabaptists believed we can all be saved and attempted to recreate the communism of the early church. They did not believe in an elect and a damned by birth. They were of course smashed by a united church and state.
This is great content. Very good take, very informative
Knocked it out of the park yet again @Andrewism! I have struggled with a lot of what you have outlined, although not a fundamentalist, the Greek Orthodox Church is nearly as bad and quite a few in my family are extremely infected with these lines of thought!
Great video. Accurate and insightful.
As for why I left - it was pretty much a combination of almost all the things you mentioned.
Have your tried telling them that non-dual experiences are possible?
There are some Christians who understand that the church focuses too much on faith in God, but not enough on experience. These experiences can be life transforming of you have an epiphany at the front of the church while yelling oh my God, realize true forgiveness while experiencing complete healing, merge with all of existence such that your sense of self becomes indistinguishable from this entire experience, and much more.
I learned in my dream that when your tongue is dead, that which has no opposite is revealed to you because you lose your conditioning to thinking opposites. Truth is something which transcends the duality of true and false for such a duality is a mental construction designed for our survival.
I'm probably not the best person to be telling a religious fundamentalist these things because I am aware of the many corruptions caused by dogmatism. I understand that fighting these corruptions directly will not only get me demonized by such people, but it can easily turn into an identity predicated upon fighting another ideology which is not what I want out of life.
That said my true objectives are to integrate the truth religions are attempting to point to while synergizing these experiences with society at large. Judging fundamentalism is a huge distraction from the most important thing in life because ideology is what clouds our minds from accessing deeper truths no matter the content of the ideology. Political and religious ideologies tend to be the most problematic, but accessing deeper truths is more important than defending an ideology predicated upon fighting the foolishness of other ideologies.
I think what many also need to know is that there’s no true Scotsman of a Christian church because they all follow the same generic culture and standards.
I have lately converted from LDS(Mormonism) to Christian anarchism. Although I haven’t fully left the church, My faith in it has decreased over time.
What disappoints me is that it was a religion that was founded on critical thinking but result in nationalism instead. I was eagerly drawn to the idea that Joseph Smith started to question and challenge denominations. But despite a handful of distinguished standards, his background of puritan culture shaped it to be just as mundane and common as the typical denomination.
These are some of the most embarrassing comments I have read I a while. People are about as clueless as the creator. The masses will never understand, but it does make me smile. The Indoctrination in America is sooo good, they have absolutely not a clue. It is almost impressive.
I am so glad to be out from under the religious fundamentalism I was raised in. This was a great broader perspective that I could connect personal experience to.
Ure just so gosh darn good! Love ur vids!👊🏻😉❤️
If only more religious schools insisted that children -- and their elders -- spend some time reading great religious intellectual achievers, such as Therese de Lisieux and Martin Luther King. Parents should watch out for the temptations to demand that their children check their minds at the church entrance.
What about Roger Scruton? Peter Hitchens? Jordan Peterson? Do they qualify too?
@@EiderDuck-Coot No, they don't, although Scruton deserves some credit for careful thinking. But he's a tribalist; the great saints tried to put everyone in God's circle of concern.
@@donegalandnehoiden5672 Scruton opposed racism.
Afellow Basquiat fan I see
So applicable for the right wing authoritarians in India holding power today
Yeah, I came up as a liberation theology jesuit in the Sobrino vein and it was always super weird to me how American politics manifest and mutate these conceits in the way they do and still call themselves Christian and IIRC it was Fr Knolly Clarke who pointed out for me to see the documentary Marjoe, and that how it's a mindset that has little with the actual beliefs but more exploitiastion of human detritus.
excellent video, good arguments, don't feel i have anything to add atm, just commenting for the algorithm
Your argument ends 4.30 in. Who during covid blindly followed authority? The more I listen to the more ridiculous you get.
Comment for the algorithm. Big up everyone here ❤
Yo yo time for a humble algorythim sacrifice
Good break down, all tracks.
Wishing you all the best on your journey!! :)
Nobody seems to be aware that there are two different YHWH's and two different Old Testaments and it's weird...
The Kuntillet ‘Ajrud inscriptions mention blessings by the names of YHWH of Samaria (Yehowah) and YHWH of Teman (Yahweh).
Like all ancient Near Eastern gods, these two regional gods must have had central temples.
This article examines their possible locations and suggests that the combination of the Kuntillet ‘Ajrud inscriptions with the eighth-century prophecies of Amos and Hosea holds the key for identifying these.
In light of a detailed analysis of Hosea’s and Amos’ prophecies, it is further suggested that YHWH of Samaria was the name of the major God of the Kingdom of Israel and his main temple was located at Bethel, and that YHWH of Teman was the name of the God of the southern desert regions and his temple was located at Beer-sheba.
Israelite traders who traveled southward probably visited the latter god’s temple, offered him sacrifices, made vows to repay him if they succeed in the expedition, and thus turned him to be their patron god during their travel in the desert region.
This suggested identification explains why the Judahite cult place of Beer-sheba appears in Amos’ prophecy alongside the Israelite sanctuaries of Bethel, Gilgal, and Dan.
What do Samaritans believe in terms of the Bible?
Samaritans believe that the Jewish Torah, and Judaism, have been corrupted by time and no longer serve the duties that God mandated to the Israelites on Mount Sinai. The holiest site for Samaritans in their faith is Mount Gerizim near Nablus, while Jews view the Temple Mount in Jerusalem as their most sacred location.
The Samaritan religion:
Their principal canonical text and main norm of religious observance is the Samaritan Pentateuch. The Samaritan Pentateuch contains the basic text of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, yet there are about 6,000 differences between it and the masoretic Jewish version.
Why did the Judahites not like the Samaritans?
The Jews called them "half-breeds" and sent them home. The Samaritans built their own temple which the Jews considered pagan. The feud grew, and by the time of Christ, the Jews hated the Samaritans so much they crossed the Jordan river rather than travel through Samaria....
Kierkegaard's comments on christendom is interesting further reading.
It was not evangelical but my grandfather's strict Catholic authoritarianism backfired immensely for me and actually made me hate all organized religion for the longest time. I have gotten better about this now but I am still somewhat wary among more outward religious people. Really shows the damage a bad authoritarian system can do to someone
Great analysis
My score on the RF scale is 25. I'm assuming that means I'm not terribly religious.
Excellent video
THE WORLD RULER TRIES TO KILL ME
And then a voice of the world ruler came to the angels: “I am god and there is no other god but me.” But I laughed joyfully when I examined his conceit. But he went on to say, “Who is the human?”
And the entire host of his angels who had seen Adam and his dwelling were laughing at his smallness. And thus did their thought come to be removed outside the majesty of the heavens, away from the human of truth, whose name they saw, since he is in a small dwelling place. They are foolish and senseless in their empty thought, namely, their laughter, and it was contagion for them.
The whole greatness of the fatherhood of the spirit was at rest in its places. And I was with him, since I have a thought of a single emanation from the eternal ones and the unknowable ones, undefiled and immeasurable. I placed the small thought in the world, having disturbed them and frightened the whole multitude of the angels and their ruler. And I was visiting them all with fire and flame because of my thought.
And everything pertaining to them was brought about because of me. And there came about a disturbance and a fight around the seraphim and cherubim, since their glory will fade, and there was confusion around Adonaios on both sides and around their dwelling, up to the world ruler and the one who said, “Let us seize him.” Others again said, “The plan will certainly not materialize.” For Adonaios knows me because of hope. And I was in the mouths of lions. And as for the plan that they devised about me to release their error and their senselessness, I did not succumb to them as they had planned. And I was not afflicted at all.
Those who were there punished me, yet I did not die in reality but in appearance, in order that I not be put to shame by them because these are my kinsfolk. I removed the shame from me, and I did not become fainthearted in the face of what happened to me at their hands. I was about to succumb to fear, and I suffered merely according to their sight and thought so that no word might ever be found to speak about them.
For my death, which they think happened, happened to them in their error and blindness, since they nailed their man unto their death. Their thoughts did not see me, for they were deaf and blind. But in doing these things, they condemn themselves. Yes, they saw me; they punished me.
It was another, their father, who drank the gall and the vinegar; it was not I. They struck me with the reed; it was another, Simon, who bore the cross on his shoulder. It was another upon whom they placed the crown of thorns. But I was rejoicing in the height over all the wealth of the rulers and the offspring of their error, of their empty glory. And I was laughing at their ignorance.
Great video👍
Very well done comrade. I know a few of these lunatics. I dated a fundy in my twenties, she was not a bad person but absolutely bizarre and had perfected cognitive dissonance from childhood. She was absolutely wild in bed however…
Usually are, I think it's because they don't look after that area properly, so you're stuck with their sexual frustration/energy.
Was she a cool person?
@@duckmcluck6911 no not cool at all. She was what I would call emotionally abused, probably from an early age. Sadly she had children and they were likely going down that same path.
@@boathemian7694 Damn,I was hoping for things to take a more positive turn,either way thank you for your input!
_Spread the bread, comrade!_
It's strange to me that you lump in fundamentalist evangelicals and Catholics, and then at 7:33 show an icon of St. Francis, a major Catholic Saint, kindly embracing the Islamic Sultan of Egypt, of whom he is said to have preached to.
always said a Taliban and Christian fundamentalist would be best of friends if they could get over their hatred! I'm glad they hate each other so much that way they don't team up :)
"Fundamentalists would say that apostates just want to sin. However, I left the church because I questioned the Bible."
Yeah, I agree, but they would say that that's a sin. Bite the bullet. They aren't worth the rational argument.
I didn't heard a single Bible verse ... I agree with you in some points but all of your arguments and justifications is just because "said church did this" or "certain Christian did that" never once you mentioned a single Bible verse while you think are in a position to point out that the "fundamentalists" didn't read the Bible front to back, you didn't show us why your argument of the "Christian right" is wrong with any Bible verses...
It's getting difficult to be on good terms with Christianity. I maintain that, even though we have extremely different views of Satan and the like, there is no beef between the ordinary Christian and myself, and yet these loud voices of the evangelical movement continue to paint this image of the faith as one of brutal conquest and malignant narcissism as it was in days gone by. Mercifully, I've met enough decent ones who were distinguished in their faith that I would call genuinely good people, such that I maintain dialog with them.
It's funny how we still gotta say "not all Christians" when in reality it's more of them then we'd like to admit.
I've grappled with this question for years, but rather than finding adequate answers I've only become more and more convinced that Christianity is incompatible with the foundations of the United States. One cannot have a government built upon the cornerstone of Freedom of Religion yet harbor a religion that zealously seeks to govern others by any means necessary. And so we see it time and time again that a politician's religion or religiosity is made a key ingredient to campaign and political platforms, something that should be a strict taboo but is handwaved away because there is no incentive to enforce against because those who hold the power are those who became wealthy on Christian Nationalism.
There could be organization of secular peoples against such behavior, but the advocacy of passivity has always been much more quiet than the fervor of religious conquest.
nice video
The RF scale should been called the AAF scale. The first "A" would stand for "Abrahamic". I'll let you fill in the rest.
EDIT: I like the "oppose and propose" angle. Too many people and movements focus on one at the expense of t'other.
Comment for the algorithm