• viva_la_juche [they/them, any]@hexbear.net
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    4 months ago

    In Texas, Christianity is when you lock the doors of your mega church (a ginormous concert hall you bought) to the public during one of the worst natural disasters in recent memory

    • LGOrcStreetSamurai [he/him]@hexbear.net
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      4 months ago

      The MEGACHURCH that basically convention centers being closed during emergencies (and in general, Church could be a great “commons” and could serve so many people in so many ways if they weren’t only open on Sunday service) should be a direct ticket to Turbo Hell. Like the Deluxe, Members Only, Black Card level of Hell.

  • AcidSmiley [she/her]@hexbear.net
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    4 months ago

    The bible is full of stories about refugees, from the Israelites making their way out of Egypt to Jesus himself. There’s a lot of very valid criticisms to be made about Christianity in general and Catholicism in particular, but helping refugees is literally hardwired into the faith and an obligation to any practicing Christian and it’s sign of how fascist immigration policies are completely normalized that the time-honored tradition of using churches as shelters for those seeking asylum is under attack all across the imperial core. This isn’t just a thing in Texas, i know several stories from Germany about refugees using church asylum as a last resort to avoid deportation, with examples including an Afghan family or a lesbian woman from Morocco who had already been on trial for her sexual orientation.

    • SuperNovaCouchGuy2 [any]@hexbear.net
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      4 months ago

      indeed, since according to his holiness st bhagavan shree matt christman (sallalhu alayhi wasallam), the type of twisted pro-capitalist christianity practiced in america at large can be categorized as worship of satan, an inverted mockery of the religions original teleology

      large-adult-son

      • Frank [he/him, he/him]@hexbear.net
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        4 months ago

        I concure, I did the math and independently arrived at this conclusion; Christian Fascism is the worship of Satan as understood by mainline Christsians.

        Personally I argue that Christian Fascism should be studied as a neo-religion that, like Mormonism, has very limited relation to any mainline form of Christianity. Even it’s shared common origins are sketchy as much of its core beliefs were developed in America by people who explicitly said you didn’t have to be able to read the bible to “understand” it and basically made up their own thing using the bible as a prop. Trying to treat Catholicism, mainline Protestantism, Orothodox Christianity, and Christian Fascism as if they all share core beliefs and practices confuses far more than it enlightens. Christian Fascism is best studied in contrast to preceding and contemporary Christian Religions.

  • TillieNeuen [she/her]@hexbear.net
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    4 months ago

    I can’t put into words how much of a mindfuck it was to grow up and realize that the church in America tends to not actually do/believe in all the kind, generous, forbearing things I’d been taught as a child. It really spun my head around, and did the same for my childhood friends I’m still close to. I was so incredibly lucky to have people to go on that journey with, I know for others it’s very lonely.

  • grandepequeno [he/him]@hexbear.net
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    4 months ago

    I remember a Matt Christman point (I think) that in most of the western world, especially europe, the largest religion is not christianity but islam, because it really cannot be said that religion or spirituality plays a role in the life and decisions of most european christians rather than capitalism, like at all.

    But most muslims, even if increasingly less, do get influenced to do this or don’t do that by what islam teaches them, and due to increasing muslim migration to european countries it probably means there are more of these people that “real christians” at this point.

    Can confirm that here in Portugal, a lot of christians (catholics of course) are utter sex pests but still go to church or whatever because that’s how they were raised and that’s the community they are in.

    • Frank [he/him, he/him]@hexbear.net
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      4 months ago

      Gonna disagree with Matt on what might be a technicality, but Protestantism is to a large extent a religious expression of capitalism in the 20th century. Or, like, Capitalism is secular protestantism. Europeans are still fanatical “Christians” but the nature of the religion as practiced is wildly different from teh way people conceptualize the religion. When Protestants, and Christians more generally, behave violently towards poor people and refugees their actions are consistent with the Capitalist Protestant beliefs regarding deserving and undeserving poor, etc. f

    • PKMKII [none/use name]@hexbear.net
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      4 months ago

      Worry about what dead female relatives would think of you for not going through the motions is a main driving factor in keeping Catholicism alive.

    • Rania 🇩🇿
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      4 months ago

      Westerner christians doing the biggest form of cultural appropriation

    • PolandIsAStateOfMind
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      4 months ago

      I don’t think we should no true scotsman christianity. Sure they ignore their theory but everything else except theory is consistent, real christianity is precisely that one we see.

      • grandepequeno [he/him]@hexbear.net
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        4 months ago

        They ignore their theory AND their practice, and do things that would be anathema to older christians. They’re still christians my point is that christianity now isn’t as actually influenced by belief in god and spirituality than islam is.

            • PolandIsAStateOfMind
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              4 months ago

              Only if you assume that practice is only practice if it’s in accordance with theory. In theory they should practice charity and forgiveness while in real practice they embezzle the money and rile up the bigots (not in the OP case apparently but mostly).

  • Schwim Dandy@lemm.ee
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    4 months ago

    Silver lining, if the republicans get their way, a fewer number of vulnerable little boys will be brought into the grooming station of the Catholic church.

  • mayo_cider [he/him]@hexbear.net
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    4 months ago

    When was the last time a major christian denomination followed even half the empathy and love Jesus preached and they teach?

    My fundamentalist protestant upbringing made me a socialist with their teachings and an atheist with their actions

  • RyanGosling [none/use name]@hexbear.net
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    4 months ago

    The catholic churches I attend constantly promote and asks the congregation to volunteer to help feed migrants nearby and donate unneeded clothes. I don’t know how successful they are, but I do know that family members who are also catholic despise the migrants for “taking jobs” and “committing voter fraud” and “getting biden checks while the rest of us break our backs”

    • PolandIsAStateOfMind
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      4 months ago

      Idk about USA but in Poland catholic charity is unbelivably massive fraud and money laundering scheme, and it’s happening on every level, mainly thanks to the Caritas having hands in organizing most of things.

        • PolandIsAStateOfMind
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          4 months ago

          Then it might be better, depending on structure. In Poland it would only change the pocket being lined since it’s hierarchical mafia-like structure and only poor and shitty parishes can sometimes see a parish priest that isn’t scum or buisnessman in cassock, because the the competition for better parishes is fierce so one must earn the bishop nomination. And while parish priests can sometimes be still decent, bishops and above are scum with zero exceptions.

            • PolandIsAStateOfMind
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              4 months ago

              Other christian denominations are tiny minorities in Poland, i can think of two other catholic ones out the top of my head, Polish-catholic and Greco-catholic but those are just like tiny local gangs compared to central mafia. Maybe even worse since Greco-catholic is use as wedge against Ukraine and Russia by the pope, and Polish-catholics are wacko sect which only beef with r-c they had is that for them r-c is way too progressive.