Who are these people who can incarcerate and traumatize children, debase our society, and claim it the proper interpretation of the law? That it is God's law that gives them authority?
It's important to note that Trump and his sociopaths are deliberately and self-consciously using religion to justify their behaviors. Sessions and Sanders cite the Bible, Kelly Anne Conway declares herself a Catholic in defense of this shameless evil, and they _mean_ it. They are not merely "using" religion, they are _being religious_. This is not (NOT) some "misuse" of religion, as if there were such a thing as "good" or "real" religion. This is their religion. And this one of the most important things religion does for people: it allows them not only to justify their behavior but to claim that it is divine, incontrovertibly authorized, beyond any criticism.
That these people are evil is a real facet of their use of their religion. They are not hypocrites, these are _pious religious people_ for whom religion is their preferred instrument of mendacity, cruelty, and self-superiority. Religion isn't about goodness: it's to whatever purpose people decide and so authorize and claim their power. We should detest their religion, not make excuses for those who claim they are poor representatives. If there are those who claim Christianity as their religion and find _this_ Christianity repulsive I am happy to listen. But let us not fool ourselves: religion can be just as much an instrument of evil as it can be an invitation to goodness.
It's important to note that Trump and his sociopaths are deliberately and self-consciously using religion to justify their behaviors. Sessions and Sanders cite the Bible, Kelly Anne Conway declares herself a Catholic in defense of this shameless evil, and they _mean_ it. They are not merely "using" religion, they are _being religious_. This is not (NOT) some "misuse" of religion, as if there were such a thing as "good" or "real" religion. This is their religion. And this one of the most important things religion does for people: it allows them not only to justify their behavior but to claim that it is divine, incontrovertibly authorized, beyond any criticism.
That these people are evil is a real facet of their use of their religion. They are not hypocrites, these are _pious religious people_ for whom religion is their preferred instrument of mendacity, cruelty, and self-superiority. Religion isn't about goodness: it's to whatever purpose people decide and so authorize and claim their power. We should detest their religion, not make excuses for those who claim they are poor representatives. If there are those who claim Christianity as their religion and find _this_ Christianity repulsive I am happy to listen. But let us not fool ourselves: religion can be just as much an instrument of evil as it can be an invitation to goodness.
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