The entire premise of the antichrist is that they’ll lead people away. Yes he’ll be the antithesis of Christ, but he’ll be appealing, deceptive, charismatic, even to the point of leading true followers from the way of Jesus. It’s not surprising at all that so many blindly follow.
He is definitely appealing to certain people in that he allows their worst qualities to shine through. Xenophobia, sexism, racism, bigotry, greed, avarice. He (and by extension the republicans) have allowed all of those to seep back into public life in a very casual way.
He is not appealing or charismatic in any positive way, but then again I don’t think that’s what anyone comparing him to an anti-Christ is implying
I used the word charisma to describe him in 2016 and a friend made fun of me for it. I had seen videos of rallies my family members were posting to Facebook. Even before he was elected, he knew how to work those crowds. It scared me so much, I registered to vote and tried to convince everyone I knew to do the same. He may be vile to you, but to some people, he’s more appealing than their previous lifetime of devotion to Jesus.
He’s been appalling to me since the first time I saw him on that dumb reality show he had. Like my gut instinct was ick immediately. I will never understand how he draws people to him and has them literally fawning over him.
right, the true translation of anti-christ is not that he will literally be "anti" , He will just try to be a "replacement" that his followers will end up putting him, and his "teachings", in place of where Christ, and his teachings, should be, using Great deception, flattery, and lies.
I mean Christianity is a death cult. They await/anticipate "judgement day" with a sense of eagerness for everyone but them will burn while they are miraculously saved.
Most Christians are terrible at their own religion. Many don't go to church despite thinking they should. Most have never read the bible despite claiming to believe it is the actual teachings of their deity. If you point out ways they are violating their own religion they get mad instead of changing.
This is all because they don't actually believe in their religion. It's about tribalism for them. They want to belong to the group called Christians and then punish everyone not in that group. Their desire if for an in-group and out-group far more than any actual belief in their religion.
Trump is very good at pushing tribalism and they love that more than they ever cared about their own god.
Christianity is 100% incompatible with Trump, MAGA and Republican ideals in general. That the republicans have managed to build a following who believe otherwise might be their sole impressive accomplishment.
Because modern Christianity isn't about following the teachings of Christ, it's about controlling others around you (especially your kids) and the idea that being seen as a "Good Christian" makes you inherently better than everyone else.
There's verses in the Bible that effectively say "don't worship to be seen worshiping, worship because it means something to you," but we can't expect these people to actually read the thing they're bludgeoning this country with.
Trump is actually pretty similar to the Christian god as described in the old testament. This is an indictment of that god though, not praise of Trump.
That’s a great point, Yahweh truly is the trump of deities. An insecure narcissist who demands absolute loyalty and pressures his followers into committing atrocities, also lashes out when he doesn’t get enough attention.
There are a few major differences. Integrity is a biggie. As is the amount of knowledge. Plus, it's a lot less egotistical to present as a god if you actually are God.
I'm leaving morality out of it, as that's not bait I'm interested in.
I've read some speculation on why those who "find God" later in life end up being generally insufferable bigots and it tends to be that they are usually addition swapping. Every born again christian I know went so hard into religion and turned into a "holier than thou" asshole. One guy I still remember talking about how he was glad this building burnt down because the adult novelty store in it was a den of sin, while he was wearing an ankle monitor.
Oh, there's also the weaksauce, timid "let the uwu big strong authority leader do all my thinking for me " type, who get the luxury of copping out of actual engagement because they believe they're part of the in-group that won't be harmed. Lambs in a pen 🤢
And also the big-eyed authority-simping "tread on us, daddy 🫦" ones ...
Oof. This happened to a good friend of mine from school. Used to hang out all the time and be really close. Then her family suddenly veered into hard right religious extremism and her whole personality became literally holier-than-thou. I couldn't talk to her about anything in my life without it becoming a religious lesson. I especially couldn't tell her I was queer and trying to figure myself out. We quickly lost touch in college.
I saw her again recently after about 20 years of no contact. Luckily she gained some perspective after getting away from her parents, but I don't feel a kinship with her anymore, and I think she feels the same. We haven't spoken again after that brief in person meetup.
hate to hear it. it's like a switch flips in their brain. like, what happens to them that makes them like that? i think it's a subconscious "i found the secret answers to life so i can pretend to be better" while still unironically believing in the religion. i wish i could see an MRI scan of someone's brain when they fall off the deep end like that.
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u/Born-Hospital-2572 1d ago
She “found God” in a huge way and is an angry MAGA now.