I don’t know. Saying, “I’m Presbyterian. That’s middle of the road. Seventh-day Adventist, I don’t know about.” is sort of implying that the religion is kind of extremist, isn’t it?
This:
and this:
Well, it is a little extremist.
They profess that the Catholic Church is the biblical antichrist, who will bring out the Mark of the Beast any day now m, and that judgement day is any day now. They are young Earth creationists and literalists of the most inflexible type- Noah built the arc, Jonah was swallows by a whale, etc. They also believe that God hangs out with space aliens.
Also, vegetarians and natural-medicine woo fanatics.
The religion is extremist. There’s no doubt about it.
- they believe in the impending return of Christ, and do not plan for long-term futures.
- their first end-of-world prediction was in 1844. They actively mourned the 150th anniversary of the church, because they really thought it would all be over before then.
- they pray daily for the end of the world to come.
- they dictate all sorts of health and diet strictures
- they believe that women must be submissive to their husbands
- they believe that heterosexual marriage is the only acceptable framework for sexual intimacy - all others must remain abstinent.
- they not only don’t ordain homosexual people, they will “disfellow” them, meaning they will not even be welcomed into the house of worship.
- they do not ordain women, even though their beliefs are based largely upon the writing of Ellen G. White.
- they believe that all recreation must be Christian in nature. They do not go to movies, dance, listen to popular music, read novels, wear jewelry, play cards, go bowling, play pool, or watch professional sports.
They are slightly more sane than some churches regarding abortion, allowing for the conscience of the mother in cases of rape, incest, known defect, or medical necessity.
Still, I can’t help but think that a man who is praying for the end of the world is unlikely to plan well for end-of-oil, or for climate change mitigation.
Wait, I’ve missed this bit. What about space aliens? :eek:
Anyone who says “LSM” has no right to laugh at anyone for anything.
There’s a belief among Seventh Day Adventists that UFO sightings are really sightings of angels or demons, and that, if we were to be visited by space aliens, they’d in reality be demons.
On a more immediate concern: the nuclear football is not something a guy like him should be handling.
Does Donald ever attend church?
And yes JAQing about it will get some reading about it and coming to that same conclusion … but no more extremist than many other of the RR that are forming Carson’s core support in Iowa, and the implication made about having those beliefs are scary as opposed to being “middle of the road” (just batshit in other ways) may not help Trump in Iowa … “a little extremist” to most of us is “middle of the road” to many who vote in the GOP Iowa caucus.
Insulting Mexicans, insulting women … really no problem. Even lightweight JAQing and trolling about fundamentalist religious beliefs? That is a riskier play in the GOP primary circuit.
There is a long tradition of Christian sects trashing each other. And SDA’s are plenty eccentric as Christians in the USA go.
Trump is playing with fire, but he’s not wrong that SDA’s are odd and have a “superstitious” aspect.
“Plenty eccentric” as Christian fundamentalists in the US (read “possibly key voting block in the Iowa GOP caucus and possibly through the complete GOP primary cycle”) go though? No.
Beliefs that the Second Coming and end times are to be hoped for and may be nigh and in Biblical inerrancy are bread and butter of Christian fundamentalism. Played up higher in Seventh Day Adventists maybe but the same message is core. The Presbyterian “rejection of idle speculation about the ‘end times’” and rejection of Biblical inerrancy OTOH is what they object to … that’s secular devil talk!
But the GOP don’t just need the “loony evangelical” vote. They need a range, including secular voters, and several different varieties of loony that don’t agree with each other. That’s why evangelical-courting is usually done in inspecific, not-so-sectarian language: “Family Values” and such. Christians don’t all believe the same thing.
Evangelicals don’t necessarily despise SDA’s. They’re like Orthodox Jews, quirky but harmless. But as President, that’s another matter.
Trump is right to get non-apocalyptic voters to think twice about voting for someone whose church teaches that the End Is Nigh. If he also gets hot-dog-and-ham Baptists to wonder about a “Christian” whose Xtianity is faux-Jewish[sup]*[/sup], that may begin to open up some much-needed reflection about the intersection of sect religious and party political–even if that reflection isn’t on the commercial networks that try to paper over that stuff to hit a “broad audience.”
- OK, all Xtianity appropriates Tanakh. I mean, faux-kosher.
I think we are talking past each other … you seem to be talking about either of these two as general election candidates … I am talking about even getting past the Iowa GOP caucus. To win that without a reasonable share of the “loony evangelical” vote is difficult.
It’s still amazing how the candidates’ campaign managers keep thinking Iowa matters and is a stepping stone to, well, anything. It’s going to be won by the fringiest evangelical-sounding guy, like Huckabee or Santorum the last couple of times, not a plausible nominee. It’s a total waste of resources for them, beyond making a few token speeches to show they’re not writing it off. But nothing can make Iowa really matter, until they dump the caucuses and go to a primary election instead.
It is a stepping stone to lot’s of free media coverage. As long as the media treats it like that there’s value it’s not entirely worthless. Free air time can also help fundraising. McCain basically wrote it off 8 years ago. Kasich is pursuing a NH first strategy too. Its not like campaign managers are unilaterally clueless about it, either.
On the GOP side they made a big move to make it matter more this year. Iowa’s delegates are required to be bound by the precinct level results. It’s no longer the traditional beauty contest to start Iowa’s process that doesn’t end with delegate selection till all the other states have voted. There are real delegates in play in Feb on the GOP side.
Alien demons is one thing, but VEGETARIANS!? Has it really come to that? Oh, how the meaty have fallen.
Actually, it seems more likely that Rubio will be the guy who benefits from their inevitable meltdowns. And I have less faith in his competence than in Bush’s, which is a really low bar.
Hey, leave the Levitating Spaghetti Monster out of this!
Ba-dump bump.