# Michael Flynn's Shining City on the Hill - For Christians Only **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [November 15, 2021, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-flynns-shining-city-on-the-hill-for-christians-only/954397 "2021-11-15T16:09:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2021, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-flynns-shining-city-on-the-hill-for-christians-only/954397/181 "2021-12-02T22:10:46Z")
Behold the Unitarian Jihad! > **[A message from the Unitarian Jihad](https://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/carroll/article/JON-CARROLL-3324002.php)** > > The vote of our God subcommittee is 10-8 in favor of one God, with two abstentions. ... ---
**Author:** ![Thing.Fish](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thing.fish/32/9168_2.png) [@Thing.Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing.Fish)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2021, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-flynns-shining-city-on-the-hill-for-christians-only/954397/182 "2021-12-02T22:14:05Z")
OMG, that’s hilarious. Seriously, people, click on that link! ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2021, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-flynns-shining-city-on-the-hill-for-christians-only/954397/183 "2021-12-02T22:43:45Z")
That’s pretty funny, it reminds me of Jack Black as Jeepers Creepers: [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/jrGwjgK2jrM/hqdefault.jpg "Mr. Show - Jeepers Creepers Semi-Star") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jrGwjgK2jrM) ---
**Author:** ![WolfpackJeep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpackjeep/32/2921_2.png) [@WolfpackJeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WolfpackJeep)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2021, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-flynns-shining-city-on-the-hill-for-christians-only/954397/184 "2021-12-02T23:28:48Z")
The Church of the Swole Jesus? Would they have consecrated protein powder as a sacrament? ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2021, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-flynns-shining-city-on-the-hill-for-christians-only/954397/185 "2021-12-03T20:10:24Z")
> [@DocCathode](#): > > Speaking of Abrahamic faiths makes sense. Judaism, Christianity and Islam all cite Abraham as their first member. Speaking of JudeoChristian things makes no sense. It is a polite fiction. I’m not sure it even is a polite fiction; though it’s true it’s sometimes thrown around by people who mean ‘we’ll let Jews into our club, or at least in as far as the cloakroom.’ “JudeoChristian” is a term used by people who either genuinely think due to their major ignorance, or want to pretend although they know better, that Jews believe all the same things as Christians except for a minor disagreement about whether Jesus of Nazareth was/is the Messiah – in the Christian sense of the word Messiah. > [@kaylasdad99](#): > > He means that he wants the USA to be a theocracy. [. . .] > > That’s the _a_ hallmark of someone who hates America. Quoted for truth. This country was founded on, among other principles, the idea that people who disagreed vehemently about religion could nevertheless live together, as part of one country, without killing each other. That is part of our bedrock; removing it would destroy the country. (Of course, another an essential part of our bedrock is ‘a person who loses an election for POTUS will acknowledge this and leave office without a fight.’) ---
**Author:** ![webwarrior](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/webwarrior/32/9529_2.png) [@webwarrior](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/webwarrior)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2021, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-flynns-shining-city-on-the-hill-for-christians-only/954397/186 "2021-12-04T01:56:09Z")
I leave you guys alone for a day and you degenerate into an echo chamber of psychobabble. I’ll have to hire a sitter. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2021, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-flynns-shining-city-on-the-hill-for-christians-only/954397/187 "2021-12-04T02:03:21Z")
Yawn. \*\* scratches nuts \*\* ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2021, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-flynns-shining-city-on-the-hill-for-christians-only/954397/188 "2021-12-04T02:06:02Z")
@webwarrior, since it took all of, what 2 minutes to absolutely destroy your “argument” we have to amuse ourselves other ways. You’re a pointless troll, so unskilled as to be barely amusing. Now please, feel free to leave. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.E](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.e/32/8932_2.png) [@Mr.E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.E)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2021, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-flynns-shining-city-on-the-hill-for-christians-only/954397/189 "2021-12-04T02:12:18Z")
> [@Buck\_Godot](#): > > > [@DocCathode](#): > > > > > I think that the eschatological motivation for supporting Israel is probably a quite small minority view among conservative Christians. Its a bit to obscure to be mainstream and if it were the primary motivation you would hear more pandering towards it. > > I agree it’s not the only reason, but I think you overly minimize it here. It would not surprise me at all if it was a majority of Republican Christians, because that groups is predominantly the exact group that has these beliefs. As someone who grew up in a evangelical household and went to an evangelical church I can confirm “Israel has to exist for Jesus to come back” is definitely a common belief among that group. IIRC, the Temple has to also be rebuilt, so someone needs to get on with evicting those troublesome muslims. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2021, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-flynns-shining-city-on-the-hill-for-christians-only/954397/190 "2021-12-04T02:58:04Z")
I had this idea for a thriller novel that starts with a conspiracy by American evangelicals to demolish the Dome of the Rock so the temple could be rebuilt. Knowing that this would pretty much trigger a massive global conflict, an Israeli soldier (or perhaps a Mossad agent, but either way, a devout Jew and supporter of Israel) has to work with his hated enemies on the Palestinian (and/or Arab) side to foil the plan. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2021, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-flynns-shining-city-on-the-hill-for-christians-only/954397/191 "2021-12-04T03:08:36Z")
> [@Mr.E](#): > > As someone who grew up in a evangelical household and went to an evangelical church I can confirm “Israel has to exist for Jesus to come back” is definitely a common belief among that group. IIRC, the Temple has to also be rebuilt, so someone needs to get on with evicting those troublesome muslims I heard the same from both a Church Of The Nazarene preacher and a Presbyterian preacher when I grew up. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2021, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-flynns-shining-city-on-the-hill-for-christians-only/954397/192 "2021-12-04T03:10:47Z")
> [@Thing.Fish](#): > > OMG, that’s hilarious. Seriously, people, click on that link! I love Jon Carroll. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2021, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-flynns-shining-city-on-the-hill-for-christians-only/954397/193 "2021-12-04T04:55:58Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > I had this idea for a thriller novel that starts with a conspiracy by American evangelicals to demolish the Dome of the Rock so the temple could be rebuilt. Knowing that this would pretty much trigger a massive global conflict, an Israeli soldier (or perhaps a Mossad agent, but either way, a devout Jew and supporter of Israel) has to work with his hated enemies on the Palestinian (and/or Arab) side to foil the plan. I’d read that! ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2021, 7:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-flynns-shining-city-on-the-hill-for-christians-only/954397/194 "2021-12-04T07:24:17Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#): > > > [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > > > l had this idea for a thriller novel that starts with a conspiracy by American evangelicals to demolish the Dome of the Rock so the temple could be rebuilt. Knowing that this would pretty much trigger a massive global conflict, an Israeli soldier (or perhaps a Mossad agent, but either way, a devout Jew and supporter of Israel) has to work with his hated enemies on the Palestinian (and/or Arab) side to foil the plan. > > I’d read that! Then read Tom Robbins’s 1990 novel _Skinny Legs and All_, in which that exact scenario being attempted is a major subplot. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2021, 9:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-flynns-shining-city-on-the-hill-for-christians-only/954397/195 "2021-12-04T09:14:37Z")
> [@webwarrior](#): > > I leave you guys alone for a day and you degenerate into an echo chamber of psychobabble. I’ll have to hire a sitter. I’m sorry you’re having trouble with the big words. Should we type more slowly? Use crayon? ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2021, 9:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-flynns-shining-city-on-the-hill-for-christians-only/954397/196 "2021-12-04T09:17:10Z")
> [@Mr.E](#): > > As someone who grew up in a evangelical household and went to an evangelical church I can confirm “Israel has to exist for Jesus to come back” is definitely a common belief among that group. IIRC, the Temple has to also be rebuilt, so someone needs to get on with evicting those troublesome muslims. I have this notion that some of that lot think they can just sweep the Dome of the Rock away, build a temple inspired by Disney, and then the Jews will come flocking to it. Totally ignoring all the actual requirements to get a Third Temple up and running. ---
**Author:** ![OldOlds](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a3d4f5/32.png) [@OldOlds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldOlds)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2021, 11:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-flynns-shining-city-on-the-hill-for-christians-only/954397/197 "2021-12-04T11:31:37Z")
I generally avoid posting in the pit, as I’m not a fan of the personal attacks and pile-ons. (piles-on? Burritos Supreme?) But initially I had hopes that WebWarrior would be someone of a different persuasion who would bring something to the Dope. We do need more diversity of thought. Sadly, that looks not to be the case WebWarrior, this isn’t The Hill or OAN where the comments are forever locked in adolescent yes you are/no you aren’t arguing. This place prides itself on rules of engagement, intended to create a genuine debate and discussion (the Pit excepted, of course). Around here, bring cites. And “I’m not doing your research for you” is generally accepted as an admission of lying. I’m disappointed in you, WebWarrior. I think you can do better. ---
**Author:** ![OldOlds](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a3d4f5/32.png) [@OldOlds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldOlds)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2021, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-flynns-shining-city-on-the-hill-for-christians-only/954397/198 "2021-12-04T11:34:21Z")
For those who aren’t sure if supporting Israel to bring about the Rapture is really a common thing, this article in the Washington Post from 2018 claims more than half of Evangelicals hold this view. And Evangelicals are a large enough group that I’d say that makes it a common view > **[Analysis | Half of evangelicals support Israel because they believe it is...](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/politics/wp/2018/05/14/half-of-evangelicals-support-israel-because-they-believe-it-is-important-for-fulfilling-end-times-prophecy/)** > > A tenth say it's the most important reason they do so. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2021, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-flynns-shining-city-on-the-hill-for-christians-only/954397/199 "2021-12-04T14:58:40Z")
Amusingly, Christians have been using the word “Allah” as the word for God since the very beginning of the Christian church. On Pentecost, when the Apostles spoke and everyone there heard the Apostles in their own language, Arabs were there - and they would have heard references to Jehovah as the word Allah. No English folks were there at the Pentecost, so the word “God” (the word that descends from the word that the Germanic folks used to refer to their own pagan gods, like Thor and Odin) was not heard. If you want to follow the Apostles, use of the word “Allah” is more legitimate than saying “God.” ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2021, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-flynns-shining-city-on-the-hill-for-christians-only/954397/200 "2021-12-04T15:16:27Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > I had this idea for a thriller novel that starts with a conspiracy by American evangelicals to demolish the Dome of the Rock so the temple could be rebuilt. Knowing that this would pretty much trigger a massive global conflict, an Israeli soldier (or perhaps a Mossad agent, but either way, a devout Jew and supporter of Israel) has to work with his hated enemies on the Palestinian (and/or Arab) side to foil the plan. Should I get Dan Brown and Tom Hanks on the phone? It sounds like a Robert Langdon novel. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-flynns-shining-city-on-the-hill-for-christians-only/954397.md?page=9) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-flynns-shining-city-on-the-hill-for-christians-only/954397.md?page=11)