• ceenote@lemmy.world
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    2 days ago

    Not a Christian, but I used to be one, and I’ve never heard of anyone fitting the criteria for the antichrist better than Donald Trump

    • Zephorah@discuss.online
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      2 days ago

      Right? I had a grandparent heavy into that part of Christianity before they died. The guys fits. As does the bad weather. I’m a bit surprised the Christian following hasn’t gone there. Granted, there may not be one of any significance given how bot run the internet is these days.

      https://arxiv.org/pdf/2302.00381v1

      There’s a fun Forbes article voicing concern about wasting ad efforts on bots. If any relief occurs it will be because of this. https://www.forbes.com/sites/emmawoollacott/2024/04/16/yes-the-bots-really-are-taking-over-the-internet/

      If you ask AI they list the number at 20% not 50%.

      • grue@lemmy.world
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        2 days ago

        I’m a bit surprised the Christian following hasn’t gone there.

        Isn’t a big part of it how the Antichrist deceives people into following him who ought to know better?

      • jtrek@startrek.website
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        2 days ago

        . I’m a bit surprised the Christian following hasn’t gone there.

        Many Christians are theologically incompetent. They don’t know their scripture. They just like feeling good.

        • Holytimes@sh.itjust.works
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          12 hours ago

          My boss said it best. “My faith requires that I ignore everything I learned. I grew up believing in science but to follow my faith I must believe in the Bible.”

          This was his response to me asking him how he thought carbon dating was fake.

          Im not religious and I talk circles around him about the Bible endlessly. He’s so stubborn about it that I can basically shut him up about anything but simple quoting the Bible at him and then spinning and s twisting it to fit anything I want.

          I’ll even point out to him that I’m doing it and how it’s manipulative. But he just says if you can make the argument from the Bible then no matter what it must be true.

          He’s explained he’s so scared of going to hell he’s willing to “unlearn anything” if it means he will be saved

          Its baffling.

          • FrChazzz@lemmus.org
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            11 hours ago

            Wow. I grew up in a similar environment, but am now an Episcopal priest and I guess I just sometimes forget how much proudly willful ignorance exists in the Evangelical world.

            I was a pretty staunch Creationist until I went to a program offered by the science department at my university. I went to an Evangelical school, but the head of the science department was a pretty devout Catholic. So he and the Catholic student’s club invited Fr. Coyen (I think that’s how it’s spelled), the former director of the Vatican’s observatory in Arizona (he was still director when he came; he died some years back). He was a Jesuit, wearing his black shirt and clerical collar, and he used images taken from the observatory and the Hubble Space Telescope to basically demonstrate to all of us how we know the Big Bang is real and the age of the universe, etc. He spoke deeply of his faith while talking about all of this and it was then that I realized science and Christianity did not have to be in opposition to each other (I know that there will plenty here who will disagree).

            The irony is that my Christian faith was enriched by a science talk given by a Catholic Jesuit at an Evangelical University. Not sure the administrators at the school would have wanted that, but here we are.

          • jtrek@startrek.website
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            12 hours ago

            But he just says if you can make the argument from the Bible then no matter what it must be true.

            What about the part where the devil cites scripture to tempt Jesus? Does he think the devil was correct? Or Jesus? They can’t both be.

        • whoisearth@lemmy.ca
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          2 days ago

          But didn’t JD Vance say the pope needs to understand theology more before he starts preaching about what Trump is or isn’t doing? /s

          Fuck America is so lost.

        • Zephorah@discuss.online
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          2 days ago

          I think it’s more about community. White culture in america is trademarked by a lack of community. Unless you go to church or join a cult/hate group.

        • db2@lemmy.world
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          2 days ago

          Don’t forget there’s a fair number of evangelicals who want all this to happen and more so their imaginary friend can come back to life and they themselves can live forever. They actually believe that.

          • whoisearth@lemmy.ca
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            2 days ago

            I’m not a religious man but I am a man of faith. I’ve explained to many people the biggest of the problems to me is accepting that someone can absolve me of all my sins. If I go to hell I go to hell but I own what I’ve done. That is between me and God and no person regardless of who they are has the right to absolve me of my sins.

            It’s that fervent lack of accountability it instills in otherwise weak people that really sours me.

            Oh, and the general inconsistencies in the rules. Because everyone fails to acknowledge that God may be real but religion is a concept made and evolved by man and man is inherently flawed.

            Long story short, my relationship is with God. Not the church. Not the religion. Not Jesus. With whatever I chose to believe is above is all.

            Yes I know it’s not really responding to what you said but Jesus Christ I have met and dated real Christians and they are so not like these dollartree Christians you have in America.

            • FrChazzz@lemmus.org
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              11 hours ago

              As a priest in the Episcopal Church I can say that offering absolution for sins is not about the priest doing that work, but instead declaring that absolution has already happened. If anything, it’s a reminder. The Roman Catholic theology might be different on this, though.

              I’m the sort of person that benefits from an actual voice telling me things like “your sins are forgiven.” I grew up Baptist/Evangelical and was told I did not need a priest or minister to forgive me of my sins, that Jesus was the only one who could do that. Sure. But that was so abstract. Once I first sat in an Episcopal parish and had a priest say “Almighty God have mercy on you and forgive you all your sins through our Lord Jesus Christ…” was powerful. It took the idea of my forgiveness out of the abstract. Like, I knew it was not the priest forgiving me, but was someone openly reminding me that my sins had been forgiven.

              I’m now a universalist and I believe that everyone’s sins are already forgiven (when Jesus says “father forgive them, they know not what they do” on the cross pretty much covers it), but that we fail to accept that forgiveness and so rob ourselves of the kind of liberation that comes from that knowledge. I need the church to remind me, on a regular basis, that I’ve been forgiven because it’s easy for me to slip into a pattern of beating myself up for my failures and short-comings. But once I remember I’m forgiven by God I feel the grace that empowers me to try to be better.

    • sp3ctr4l@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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      2 days ago

      Yup yup yup, same same same.

      Its actually remarkable how many of the categories and descriptions and even events he fits into.

    • HugeNerd@lemmy.ca
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      2 days ago

      There is no god and no antichrist. Humanity has seen worse. They’ve all been human.

      • CTDummy@aussie.zone
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        2 days ago

        Given they stated they’re a former Christian not sure your remark will be a revelation to them. More pointing out the hypocrisy of the same crowd trying to use religion as the reason in every conversation (e.g. sexuality and gender) constantly forget the basics and TL:DR rules of Christianity. Like it isn’t even that far down the list, it’s rule two.

        There may have been worse, though many of them were likely not in charge of the self proclaimed “leader of the free world”, not many have exhibited overtly anti-Christ like qualities. I get what you’re saying but it comes off as almost dismissive of gestures broadly at geopolitical landscape.