(Image transcription/ A tweet from Bradley Onishi saying “we’ve been analysing the toxicity of White Evangelicalism for decades and they just tweeted it out” with a picture below seeming from the account “desiringGod” (their account title spells this as “Desiring God, in the full image from this tweet you can see a section saying "article by Joe Rigney, May 31st 2019”). The image focused on large text saying “The Enticing Sin of Empathy: How Satan Corrupts Through Compassion”/ end transcription).
In addition, after having researched this a little, you guys should read these articles:
The original article. These articles. Make my blood boil. I cannot fucking fathom that there are people out there that believe this shit.
Reading this, it’s literally all mental acrobatics so they can justify clinging to their hatreds while dressing it up in a costume of righteousness
for my health, i don’t think i can read these, but the concept is too wild not to pass on
Abrahamic religions and their “sins”…
This is not “Abrahamic religions,” this is Christianity. Empathy and feeling the pain and experiences of others is a central tenet in Judaism, especially with regard to the Passover seder. Leave us the fuck out of this.
Same goes for Islam, which is built off compassion and the understanding of one another. Our prophet stresses a mercy for all creatures. Leave us out of this too thanks.
“This is also specifically Evangelical Christianity, too which is a branch of Christianity that evolved to legitimize white supremacy and black slavery. Not that other branches of Christianity are innocent, but Evangelical Christianity is the closest thing to a full fledged Religion Of Evil you’ll find in real life.”
Edgy atheists really need to stop equating evangelical Christianity to “Abrahamic religions” as if that’s remotely the same thing.
Dude I’m a follower of Jesus and this makes my blood boil (I don’t identify with White Evangelical Christianity in any way shape or form). Like literally, Compassion and Empathy are what Jesus was all about. Anyone claiming otherwise has lost the plot concerning what they are really worshiping.
Something I’ve noticed though…American Evangelical Christianity has become much less about the things Jesus actually stood for and much more about personal freedom (for themselves) and intolerance for others’ freedoms. One place I read someone actually commented “I can do whatever I want [regarding Covid, masks and vaccines] because Jesus means freedom.” Where’s that “freedom” when it comes to lgbtq+ love and womens’ rights, huh? Honey, I think you’ve forgotten to read your bible recently… That’s not what Jesus was about.
So I have this thought, and that is: in the Bible, usually the “repent and turn from your wicked ways” was directed at people who were claiming to follow God already but were really not in their hearts, while the “good news” was proclaimed to the rest of the world. And I think today Christians get it wrong because they go all “repent and turn from your wicked ways” on people outside Christianity, when they really should be going “hey I have some really good news for you” and I think that’s at least partially why Christians have such a bad reputation in the world. Because people outside Christianity don’t need to be told “you’re evil and my religion is the only cure”, they need to be told good news like “hey you feel hopeless here’s some hope!”
Plenty of people have outlined what’s fucked up about that “white male atheism is fundamentally different from Marginalized Atheism” post, but I just hit on the main reason it bothers me:
It positions religion as the human default, from which you are excused only if you’re sufficiently damaged. Like “I guess it’s okay if you’re shipping to cope” – if it’s just a consolation prize for being broken and pitiable, it’s not really okay at all. It’s okay if you can’t be religious because of trauma, but always remember that this is a personal flaw, a result of your damage, and that *healthy people* are religious.
Under this schematic, atheism isn’t simply another way to be human and think human thoughts. It’s a deviation from the “natural”, i.e. religious, state, and you’d better have a damn good reason for going against the grain. You think you can defect from normal society just because you *want* to? That’s just your white male privilege talking. Marginalized people have suffered enough to earn the right to defect, but you’re gonna shut up and praise God like a normal person.
So god in his infinite wisdom created all the creatures in the garden of eden, male and female, but when it came to creating man he forgot to make a female? So Adam was waking up each morning with a hardon, while watching all the beasts in the garden copulate, but had no female companion? God slaps his forehead and says oy vey I forgot to make a female human! And now we know why women are treated the way they are, Eve and all women are the cause of sin. BULL SHIT!
