The Calvinist Puritans incorrectly saw a retributive justice in the Mosaic Law and thought it should be applied to the colonies. The Religious Right believes the same today. Consequently, Conservative Evangelicalism's inability to apply the ethics of Jesus to public policy leaves rank and file churchgoers vulnerable to those - like Trump - who can exploit their tribal fear of others and irrational persecution complex, which makes them want to lash out in punishment.
Conservative Evangelicalism in the U.S. has a long tradition of being racist, even if individuals may not be personally racist. It has been unable to pastorally and structurally deal with racism.
This is at least in part a result of its
flawed understanding of Old Testament being about retributive justice, rather than restorative justice.
In the 3rd Great Awakening, U.S. Evangelicals divorced evangelicalism from love of neighbor and from any serious reflections on the use of economic or political power. Dwight Moody and others divorced evangelism from discipleship.
Penal Substitutionary Atonement, a flawed theology that is a staple of Conservative Evangelicalism, reinforces individualism emotionally. It defines salvation in terms of escaping retributive justice and the wrath of God - instead of in the classical/Nicene sense of healing from the corruption of sin within ourselves.
This has the psychological and social consequence of reducing people down to souls and not also bodies, giving Conservative Evangelicalism a strongly gnostic flavor that fits with a lack of care for the bodies of others necessary for compassion and social justice.
As a result, Conservative Evangelicals promote ideas like the tough father at home, meritocracy, a workplace without unions or regulations, and a society without social safety nets. It is a paganized sect of Christianity that believes an angry God needs to be appeased through the sacrifice.
Conservative Evangelicalism's inability to apply the ethics of Jesus to public policy leaves rank and file churchgoers vulnerable to those - like Trump - who can exploit their fear of others and irrational persecution complex.
Given Conservative Evangelicalism's strong support for an ethic of retribution in public and economic life, a narcissistic bully like Trump may have been inevitable. The Calvinist Puritans incorrectly saw a retributive justice in the Mosaic Law and thought it should be applied to the colonies. The Religious Right believes the same today.
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