The astonishing bigotry and hypocrisy of sick US Christian delusionals
- Dr Bruce Long
- Jan 10, 2021
- 9 min read
Updated: Jan 11, 2021
Recently, outgoing United States Secretary of State Michael Pompeo has renewed his accusation against Chinese atheists. Mr Pompeo continues to conflate the concept of reasonable freedom of religion with freedom of religious dominionism and bullying, which is clearly the kind of ‘freedom’ that he prefers:
First of all, this is simply a blatant lie. One that ignores the CCP's efforts to control a serious, and savage, militant terrorist movement, and to do so without using militaristic martial actions, full scale war, and bombing, which are the US' prefered methods.
Second of all, religious faiths are not such a great thing. They might currently be 'baked' into our societies and culture due to bad habits and worse people, but empiricist and enlightenment philosopher David Hume was always right: one cannot get an ought from an is. That is: one cannot get that things should be a certain way – which philosophers call normativity – from the fact that things are a certain way – which philosophers refer to as descriptivity. Thirdly, Pompeo is a Baptist fundamentalist, and such people are proven immense bigots by virtue of their horribly bigoted, and atavistic, doctrines. They're generally very sick people (otherwise they would not gravitate to the delusional states and bigotry of such mega cults.)
Pompeo is NOT interested in freedom of religion. Any insider or theologian versed in the theology of Baptists (both the Southern Convention and other clerical hierarchies) and Pentecostals knows that they will in fact preach against religion. This is because they associate it with Roman Catholicism, and these Protestant mega cults believe that Catholicism or Papism is of the Devil. (That's not a metaphor by the way. These sick, weirdo bigots actually think the character Satan from the biblical fictions is a real being, and they also believe in his demons and in angels.) If you are interested in the particular Bible verses that get interpreted for their purpose when rejecting the worldly and general concept of religion, there are a number of them:
1 Corinthians 13:1
New International Version
If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.
New Living Translation
If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.
English Standard Version
If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.
Berean Study Bible
If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a ringing gong or a clanging cymbal.
Berean Literal Bible
If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become a sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.
King James Bible
Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.
New King James Version
Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.
New American Standard Bible
If I speak with the tongues of mankind and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.
NASB 1995
If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.
If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person's religion is worthless. Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.
See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?
Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
There is certainly no hard science, and no real, useful information here (except, perhaps, for information about how delusional and weird theistic religions have been since their origins). There is a just a lot of the usual fiction, and fiction admixed with possible information (i.e. misinformation). Religion is a ‘make it up as one goes along’ proposition, so it is all handwaving platitudes, combined with delusional nonsense and bigotry, all the way. Moreover, just because most Protestant mega cultists do not think of themselves as religious does not mean that they are not religious according to any normal, not-nutty, unconvoluted conception everyone else endorses or thinks coherent.
There are a lot of statements about love (note also that there is a reference in 1 Corinthians to the Biblical basis of charismatic Pentecostalism). What is that exactly? Well, philosophers have no idea if it love is even real, and that is, in fact, important. You might think that you believe in it or know what it is. (Note that the KJV translates ‘love’ as charity, which is probably somewhat closer to the Catholic concept.)
However, let me make this easy. According to Pentecostal, Episcopalians/Anglicans, and Baptist mega cults: in most cases love equals their imaginary, imperial god friend. Most people have heard the faithist refrain ‘God is love’. It is largely a conceptual and – somehow – ontological identity, for such believers. Therefore, they and anyone that gets involved with them are already in trouble, given that, at that point, one is clearly into delusional territory involving sick people having friendships with imaginary god beings.
Really, evolutionary psychology is more useful than philosophy of religion in relation to these fictions and the pathologies associated with them. Cognitive science and evolutionary psychology are what is required to deal with the basis of the evolution of religion, and psychiatry and neuroscience are what is needed to explain Senator Pompeo's delusions and bigotry.
If you get into a discussion about it with a professional philosopher who knows their material, you will likely soon not be so sure what love is (nor happiness, nor meaning, nor knowledge). No one likes uncertainty much, which is one of the main selling points of fake metaphysical and epistemic certitude offered by faithistic and religious delusions. However, the frank intellectual honesty and integrity of uncertainty do not have to result in anxiety, and are a core part of general integrity and honesty. Moreover, such uncertainty offers a lot of relief from the burden of having to bash one’s own brain into the right shape to fit the insane, bigoted doctrines that so called ’sacred texts’ usually offer as a ‘solution’.
Trained philosophers (that means a PhD from a secular university and nothing less – otherwise walk away) can offer you good routes to rational clarity – if you want it. If you end up not being sure: that is not necessarily a bad thing. It is in fact extremely liberating. Of course, despite copious, delusional, and bigoted doctrinal nonsense that seems to indicate the contrary (there’s little real freedom associated with anyone’s imaginary friend, apart from freedom from mental health and stability) the last thing that insane bigots like Pompeo want is for you to be intellectually, mentally, and socially liberated. They want you to suffer the bonds of delusional idiocy like they do. If you think it is not about holding you back and bringing you down to their level: think again.
Also of note in the above versus is Colossians 2:8 which gives an immediate indication of the attitude of doctrinal, delusional, mentally ill, bigots like Senator Pompeo towards worldly wisdom and knowledge (philosophy and science). Sure, there are biblical statements about seeking wisdom and knowledge, but noone ever said the incoherent patchworks of delusional religionist bigot-doctrines had to be consistent. Moreover, worldy wisdom and knowledge is still out. It's the delusional fideist's imaginary friend that consistutes the basis of their insane epistemology.
The extreme animosity of religionists and faithists to human knowledge and wisdom, free of any basis in delusions of grandeur involving personal imaginary god friends (in other words – the real stuff not associated with any imaginary, fictional characters like Zeus, Odin, Ra, Dionysus, Jesus, and God) is longstanding, and was the basis of Socrates’ demise. Psychopaths have been using religion to manipulate the weakmindedness of poverty-stricken, stupid, and mentally ill people, for power and profit, for a long time.
Multfaceted hypocritical, and dupicitous, prejudice and bigotry There's only one thing that theistic, delusional crazy people hate more than other theistic, delusional crazy people, and that's atheists. Atheist socialists: even more. However, there's plenty of prejudice, lying, and delusional bigotry to go around for anyone who does not fit Baptist and other Christian mega-cultist's strict doctrinal recipe for who is and isn't 'saved', and thus 'justified' by their imaginary power-friend.
Remember that split-from-reality Baptist-mega-cult bigot-delusionals like Pompeo also think that Pentecostalism (the religion of Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, Sarah Palin, and US White House pet-nutPaula White) is of the Devil. Seeing a pattern here? The term 'insane' is not some rude epithet. It's simply an unavoidable, technically correct way to refer to Christian mega-cultists and their beliefs.
You can knock yourself out checking my facts, but I can promise you that in addition to my training in philosophy, psychology, and cognitive science, I have adequate training in the requisite theologies (not a lot, but easily enough) and lots of experience of such people - having been (most regrettably) married to a family of them for 12 years. I really do not recommend it, but run the experiment for yourself if you must. If you are sane and not a believer, you will not last long anyway. They will spit you out of their mouth (and worse!)
Forget listening to still small voices. Just listen to your reason, and develop your critical thinking skills. This requires some effort, but not as much as one might think. Just learn what a non-sequitur is for a start. That’s an easy one, and has high value in terms of effectiveness. Relationships with people like Pompeo’s mega-cultists, who are so badly split from reality, are simply to be avoided at all cost for the sake of one’s mental health and general wellbeing.
If there is one thing that delusional mega-cult believers like Pompeo hate more than unbelief, it is intellectual unbelief. If you are an intellectual unbeliever, then you definitely have The Devil in you, and they are not kidding about that, nor being metaphorical! One does not have to be certain about what is true, nor even about what truth is and what theory of truth applies. However, steering clear of considering that kind of utter, delusional idiocy as being true is, nevertheless, a good psychological and intellectual move by any reasonable measure.
If you want to talk about offense, then keep in mind that Pompeo's cult thinks you are diabolical, that you should be regularly told so, and that in fact it's better if you are offended by it. Really, they're just mentally ill bigots with a nasty, rude, abusive, doctrine, and that's all.
The one good thing about mega-cults like that which Pompeo belongs to is that membership in them is a red flag for the wise to see and read. It is a warning to the wise and the intelligent: stay away. Far away. Such faiths are the repose, retreat, and attempted revenge of the dumb and delusional. They are what I like to call the perpetual social booby prize of the miserable. They’re the quintessential expression of tall poppy syndrome. Their life sucks, and misery loves company. In addition to which, as we have observed: they’re literally mentally ill, and, as the Western euphemism has it: as mad as hatters.
If you get involved with, and outnumbered by, such delusionals: watch out. (If you ask the patients, the craziest person in the insane asylum is the trained psychiatrist. Although if the psychiatrist is a theist religionist, they’re not really wrong.) Their use of the concepts of love, meaning, knowledge, truth, and righteousness are all essentially meaningless, being grounded in ephemeral fictions. They are mis-informational misdirections designed to exert interpersonal control (The uninitiated might not know this – but every church cult group has their own little hierarchy of elders, and something like royal families. Equality enforced by, or in the eyes of, an imaginary friend is – well – imaginary. If you are not one of the ‘royal family’, or at least a tight sycophant, then you’re really going to be miserable. Some crazy mega-cult people are still deft psychopaths, and they bubble to the top of the septic tank of the faith asylum).
So, there are at least two good reasons (and a lot more besides) why delusional bigot Pompeo is just lying through his teeth when it comes to the atheist #CCP. His problem is their unbelief: their failure to subsume themselves under his delusional bigotry. He genuinely hates them for that, and his perseverative – and quite insane – speech and behaviour demonstrates this fact clearly. However, since we do not want to be ableist, we will avoid blaming a mentally ill victim of a mega-cult, like Pompeo, for his situation. He is a dangerous lunatic, bigot, and an idiot: but this is largely because he is clearly a very sick man.
Being that Pompeo is so sick, one cannot expect much coherency or epistemic rationality out of such him. However, his cult needs to be prevented from influencing the affairs of state, and he certainly should not be in the office that he currently occupies. His grip on reality is tenuous, at best. He, like all true believers in his cult, are split from reality. These are not the kind of people to involve in affairs of state. Not when we have such pressing global issues at stake. They’re certainly not the kind of people that should be the mouthpiece of a department of foreign affairs of a major power.
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