Radicalization

I’m not going to say anything about this topic as I think the article says it all:

A Tale Of 2 Radicalizations

However, I do want to spotlight a comment made by one of the individuals described in the article:

[O]ne of the people who inspired him most was President Donald Trump.

Of course, as always, your reactions and comments are invited.

Christianity and QAnon

Brent Stirton/Getty Images

Some of you may have already seen this, but if not, it’s definitely worth a read:

Pastors are leaving their congregations after losing their churchgoers to QAnon

On the morning of the Capitol riot, Vern Swieringa told his wife during a walk with their dogs: “Something is going to happen today. I don’t know what, but something’s going to happen today.”

The Christian Reformed Church pastor from Michigan had been watching for months as some members of his congregation grew captivated by videos about the QAnon conspiracy theory on social media, openly discussing sex trafficking and Satan-worshipping pedophiles.

[***]

So when hundreds of President Donald Trump’s supporters stormed the Capitol hours after his premonition, Swieringa was shocked, but not surprised.

“I think some of the signs had been there all along, and it just all came to a perfect storm,” Swieringa told Insider.

Even more startling is the following from the article:

[A} survey by the conservative American Enterprise Institute found that more than a quarter of white evangelical respondents believed in QAnon and that three in five believed that President Joe Biden’s win in the 2020 election was “not legitimate.” 

Much of this smacks of Christian Nationalism, which some of you have spoken out against. Let me assure you, it is a very real movement. I won’t address it here, but urge anyone who is not familiar with their goals to do the research. Wikipedia is a good place to start. You may also want to read this article.