There are no depths the insane will not go

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

New Apostolic Reformation evangelicals see Trump as God’s warrior in their battle to win America from satanic forces and Christianize it

President-elect Donald Trump, joined by Melania Trump and Barron Trump, on Nov. 6, 2024, in West Palm Beach, Fla. AP Photo/Alex Brandon

Art Jipson, University of Dayton

A growing movement believes President-elect Donald Trump is fighting a spiritual war against demonic forces within the United States. Trump himself stated in his acceptance speech on Nov. 6, 2024, that the reason that “God spared my life” was to “restore America to greatness.”

I have studied various religious movements that seek to shape and control American society. One of these is the New Apostolic Reformation, or NAR, whose followers believe that they are waging a spiritual battle for control of the United States. NAR is an offshoot of Protestant Christian evangelicalism.

NAR advocates claim they receive divine guidance in reconstructing modern society based on Christian spiritual beliefs. In 2015, an estimated 3 million adult Americans attended churches that were openly part of NAR. Some scholars estimate that the number of active NAR adherents may be larger, as the movement may include members of Protestant Christian churches that are not directly aligned with the NAR movement.

The beginning of the movement

NAR emerged in the late 1990s when theologian C. Peter Wagner popularized the term “New Apostolic Reformation.” Wagner argued that God was creating modern-day apostles and prophets who would lead Christianity in remaking American society.

The roots of the New Apostolic Reformation can be traced to the broader charismatic movement that sees spiritual forces as an active part of everyday life.

This view does not separate sacred experience from regular everyday life. For the much larger network of charismatic Christians and Pentecostal movements that emphasize a personal relationship with God, the world is full of the active presence of the Holy Spirit, spiritual gifts and direct divine experiences.

Core beliefs

Central to NAR is the belief that Christian religious leaders should be the main source of cultural and political authority in America.

NAR proponents argue that select leaders receive direct revelation from God, guiding the direction of churches and fighting spiritual warfare against demonic influences, which they believe corrupt the behavior of individuals and nations.

NAR advocates for a hierarchical structure in which religious leaders and their political allies hold authority in society.

They believe in “The Seven Mountains Mandate,” a way to represent Christian control of society through a strategy that Christians should infiltrate, influence and eventually control seven key areas in society – business, government, media, arts and entertainment, education, family and religion – to bring about cultural transformation.

By doing so, NAR proponents believe they can establish a pure and true form of what they believe is a society ruled by divine guidance and strict adherence to biblical ideas.

Lance Wallnau, a prominent Christian author, speaker, social media influencer and consultant associated with NAR, has promoted the idea that such engagement where NAR Christian leaders hold authority through a government tied to divine will is essential for advancing societal transformation.

Wallnau has been a vocal supporter of Trump, viewing him as a significant figure in NAR’s vision.

Spiritual warfare

Followers of the NAR believe that they must engage in spiritual warfare, which includes prayers and actions aimed at combating perceived demonic influences in society.

Evangelist Lance Wallnau speaks during a September 2022 rally for Republican gubernatorial candidate Doug Mastriano in Chambersburg, Pa. Doug Kapustin/For The Washington Post via Getty Images

This practice often involves identifying “strongholds” of evil, around cultural issues, such as gay marriage, transgender rights and LGBTQ+ activism, and working to dismantle them. An example of this is a recent series of religious-based political rallies led by NAR leaders known as “The Courage Tour” that advocated directly for Trump’s second election.

The NAR emphasizes that Christians should expect to see miraculous signs, where extraordinary events, such as Trump’s survival of an assassination attempt, are interpreted to be explained only by divine or spiritual intervention.

The movement’s adherents also believe in faith-based healing and supernatural experiences, such as prophetic utterances and speech.

Trump as divinely ordained

Many NAR leaders and followers support Trump, viewing him as a divinely appointed figure who would facilitate NAR’s goals for societal reconstruction, believing he was chosen by God to fulfill a prophetic destiny.

They position Trump as a warrior against a so-called demonically controlled – and therefore corrupted – “deep state,” aligning with NAR’s emphasis on spiritual warfare and cultural dominion as outlined in the “Seven Mountains” mandate. NAR leaders followed Trump’s understanding of a corrupt government.

The NAR led a “Million Women” worship rally on Oct. 12, 2024, to Washington, D.C., in which the organizers sought to encourage 1 million women NAR adherents to come to pray, protest and support Trump’s campaign. The event was promoted as a “last stand moment” to save the nation by helping Trump win the election as a champion against dark, satanic forces.

Several prominent politicians, legislators and members of the judiciary, such as House Speaker Mike Johnson and Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, have flown the NAR-based “Appeal to Heaven” flag.

For NAR evangelicals, the presidential election is interpreted through a Christian apocalyptic rhetoric. In this rhetoric one candidate is a force for good, a warrior for God – Trump – and the other is led by demonic forces such as Harris. Trump’s 2024 win is seen as a critical moment of spiritual warfare where the forces of God defeat the forces of evil.

Criticism from many Christian denominations

Despite its growing popularity, NAR faces substantial criticism. Many mainstream Christian churches argue that the movement’s teachings deviate from traditional Christian orthodoxy.

Critics highlight abuse of authority by people who claim God is directing their actions and the potential for abuse of authority by those claiming apostolic roles. The embrace of Trump raises concerns about blending evangelical faith and political ambition.

Critics argue that the NAR’s support for Trump compromised the integrity of the gospel, prioritizing political power over spiritual integrity. The events surrounding the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol further complicated this relationship, exposing the potential dangers of conflating religious beliefs with partisan politics.

Moreover, the NAR’s emphasis on spiritual warfare and the idea of taking control over society has raised other Christian groups’ concerns about its potential to foster an “us versus them” mentality, leading to increased polarization within society.

The New Apostolic Reformation represents a significant development, blending charismatic practices with a strong emphasis on politics and cultural transformation.

However, a large majority of Americans disagree that society should be remade based on religious theology. Thus, for now, the NAR movement’s fundamental views about religion and government are starkly at odds with most Americans.

Art Jipson, Associate Professor of Sociology, University of Dayton

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/21517567

Summary

Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson claimed he was “physically mauled” by a demon in his sleep, leaving claw marks on his body, which he says are still visible. Carlson described waking with intense pain, bleeding claw marks, and an overwhelming urge to read the Bible. He recounted the experience as confusing yet transformative, adding that while he doesn’t expect others to believe him, the incident profoundly impacted him.

"That ghoul has a sh*t filled diaper for protection," one person wrote.

I was reminded of it and told my daughter about it. For those not in the know, it was an incredibly bizarre show even by both Christian show and anime. It was about two kids and a robot plus a book/time machine who went to visit various Old Testament stories and participate in them.

They’re all on YouTube.

She immediately went to watch and reported back that the first episode was hilariously awful and she would be watching more because of it.

She is correct. It is Mystery Science Theater 3000-level hilariously bad. I remember being bored to tears by it when I was a kid.

Here’s a full playlist for anyone who wishes to feel the pain.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LxPfWVVtIRY&list=PLV4Ztn9euy7Twsn19KFiQVUHyNpJtiDL1

Some fun facts:

• It was a co-production between Tatsunoko Production Co., which had a lot of Anime experience, and the Christian Broadcasting network.

• The main character in the American version is named Chris Peeper and his father is Professor Peeper. They were not called that in the Japanese version. That was someone in America’s intentional choice.

• The lady who dubbed the main character's voice in English was also the voice of Astro Boy, Kimba the White Lion, Jimmy in Gigantor. Her final role was Eustace's mother on Courage the Cowardly Dog.

• There was another series made by the same companies at the same time called The Flying House where kids in a time-traveling and flying house went and visited Jesus and pals.

• They were both broadcast in Japan on TV Tokyo.

• The title of the first season of Superbook in Japan is translated as "Animated Parent and Child Theatre."

• The Japanese version changed it’s name in the second season. The new name is translated as "Personal Computer Travel Detective Team."

• 1.5% of Japan’s population is Christian, which may explain the two previous fun facts.

Edit: Pictured: Dog.

So, let me get this straight. Joseph notices that Mary is pregnant. Joseph confronts Mary about it. And Mary replies: err, hmm, I know, the angel of the Lord came down and impregnated me. We're going to have the child of God. And Joseph is like: okay, cool.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/20821881

Huge hat tip to @d00ery who took me to the Wikipedia page of this amazing cartoonist.

All of his anti-religion cartoons on the page are terrific.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watson_Heston

A near-death experience left the actor with a sacred knowledge sure to ruin your plans for the great beyond

They’re gathering by the thousands. They’re growing fast. They believe that Democrats are possessed by demons—and that Donald Trump must be president again at any cost.

The reasoning was simple: Each of the Christians assembled would soon feel a call to become a poll watcher or to knock on doors or to organize their church—to take part in some act that would aid the Republican presidential candidate. And that act would keep them safe, the prophet said, because God would not call them home before they had completed the task He had given them.

Refrigerator logic, or a shower thought:

According to Genesis, God forbids Adam and Eve from eating fruit of the tree of wisdom, specifically of knowledge of good and evil.

Serpent talks to Eve, calling out God's lie: God said they will die from eating the fruit (as in die quickly, as if the fruit were poisonous). They won't die from the fruit, Serpent tells them. Instead, their eyes will open and they will understand good and evil.

And Adam and Eve eat of the fruit of the tree of wisdom, learning good and evil (right and wrong, or social mores). And then God evicts them from paradise for disobedience.

But if the eating the fruit of the tree of wisdom gave Adam and Eve the knowledge of good and evil, this belies they did not know good and evil in the first place. They couldn't know what forbidden means, or that eating from the tree was wrong. They were incapable of obedience.

Adam and Eve were too unintelligent (immature? unwise?) to understand, much like telling a toddler not to eat cookies from the cookie jar on the counter.

Putting the tree unguarded and easily accessible in the Garden of Eden was totally a setup

Am I reading this right?

Anyone have any ideas on how to kill God? I was thinking a out it and I think for a lot of people "God" is just this undefined "thing" out there that they can attribute other things to.

Like imagine a caveman kid talking to their caveman parent and asking questions like "Why is there a day and a night? Why is sky blue? Why is dog died?"

And the caveman parent just makes something up.

When people don't know the cause of something, they can create a cause out of their imagination.

God will always be lurking in the imaginations of stupid people, and we will always have stupid people on this planet.

For a while this scared me because I'm a stupid person with an imagination, so I knew the idea of "God" will stay with me till I die (since I can't think about anything when I die).

So I think the only way to kill God is if everyone dies. But even then it's a gamble because there's a whole "if a tree falls in a forest?" aspect.

Anyone else have any ideas?

I find it odd that when filling out a form that asked me what my religion is one of the choices is Atheist.

What now? That is the that opposite of religion.

Since religious groups are potitioning for religious freedom maybe we should get the church of Satan involved.

Link to original study for curious folks with access to it: https://www.pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1073/pnas.2322399121

I recently discovered this guy. He's very amusing. I recommend his Mr. Birchum reviews too.

Recently we had one of the largest fires in California history called the Park Fire.

The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said Wednesday morning that 277 structures have been destroyed by the fire and 29 structures have been damaged.

On the TV they interviewed a man whose house survived. He said, "I thank god my house was spared".

So, let me get this straight. God destroyed 277 homes but saved yours? If that's god's will then god is an asshole.