Al Franken podcast: John Fugelsang on his book, “Separation of Church and Hate.”

This Week on The Podcast: Donald Trump and the Republican Party have the backing of Evangelicals and fundamentalist Christians. But if you read the Bible or listen to the teachings of Jesus Christ, it would be clear that their policies are anything but Christ-like. We’re joined by comedian, radio host, and NYT bestselling author John Fugelsang to discuss his new book, “Separation of Church and Hate.”

Al Franken Podcast

Fugelsang shares his unique perspective as a Christian who was raised by a former nun and a Franciscan Brother. He shows the disconnect between what far-right Christians claim Jesus taught versus what he actually said in the Bible. Jesus promoted peace, love, compassion, and mercy… None of which are evident in today’s Republican Party.

We also break down many social issues that right-wing Christians use their faith to justify. Jesus advocated against the death penalty, provided for the poor, and never once said that homosexuality is a sin. Not to mention abortion, which was weaponized in the 1980s to consolidate power under Ronald Reagan.

We hope this interview can help you engage with right-wing Christians in a civil way by pointing to actual scripture, which might help them see the contradictions and lies that their party embraces.

Listen to the episode – Al Franken

Naomi Klein on Trump, Musk and “End Times Fascism”

An alliance between the far right and Silicon Valley oligarchs has given rise to a form of “end times fascism,” says journalist Naomi Klein, who details in a recent essay co-authored with Astra Taylor how many wealthy elites are preparing for the end of the world even as they contribute to growing inequality, political instability and the climate crisis.

Klein says that while billionaires dream of escaping to bunkered enclaves or even to space, President Donald Trump and other right-wing leaders are turning their countries into militarized fortress states to keep out immigrants from abroad and ramp up authoritarian control domestically.

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Too Little, Too Late: Evangelical Leaders Sound Alarm About Trump

By Emily Swan / Medium

Evangelicalism and MAGA culture are in a symbiotic relationship

In a new book edited by Ron Sider — author of Rich Christians In an Age of Hunger, which has sold more than 400,000 copies — a handful of evangelical leaders sound the alarm about the spiritual harm being done by the current White House occupant. In a book titled The Spiritual Danger of Donald Trump: 30 Evangelical Christians on Justice, Truth, and Moral Integrity, Sider and others lay out a case for opposing Trump’s re-election.

Too little, too late.

Trying to distance evangelicalism from Trumpism is anathema. They are in a symbiotic relationship; a person can not wash their hands of one and not the other, which is exactly what Al Mohler, the head of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, is trying to do. In his recent rambling answers to the New Yorker journalist, he said:

As a theologian and as a churchman, when I define evangelical, I’m really talking about a self-consciously orthodox classic Protestantism that is deeply connected to the church and deeply committed to the gospel of Jesus Christ. And then you have the media definition of evangelicals, which means anybody who isn’t Catholic or Jewish or something else and, especially as demographers look at the white population, identifies as some kind of conservative Protestant. They just are called evangelicals. — Al Mohler

In other words, “real” Christians aren’t the problematic MAGA people seen on the news. Trouble is, regular churchgoers are Trump’s biggest supporters. To be evangelical means you have to own the evangelical culture that has produced this “fruit,” to use churchy language.

 

 

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