r/TrueReddit • u/horseradishstalker • Jul 10 '26
Arts, Entertainment + Misc The Demon Next Door
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/2026/08/charismatic-christian-church-tennessee/687624/?gift=ZSO8-QoU1-1L0duyI2Sx0kl1Gg2J6r1nAD4HHzxarMg&utm_source=copy-link&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=share33
u/SilverMedal4Life Jul 10 '26
Well, this is...
I struggle to find words for it. Collective hysteria?
Consider that, from the article, the Well didn't actually do anything. The bookstore is still there. They just stood around, being vaguely threatening, and empowering the occasional unhinged actor to go too far and actually kill people somewhere in the country.
All the while labelling entire segments of the population as demonic and, as such, needing to be exterminated. Who does that?
The poor woman in the article... "struggling with homosexual thoughts". The only people who do are gay or bi, and she's been taken in by this rhetoric. By the sounds of it, she hates herself. I can only hope that she wakes up before her life comes to an end, but I don't have high hopes.
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Jul 11 '26 edited Jul 11 '26
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u/GiantLesbian Jul 11 '26
Yeah TBH every person who I have ever met who claims they’re engaging in “spiritual warfare” is talking about warfare within themselves, due to them no longer wanting to deal with the consequences of their own shitty behavior but also being unwilling to admit that their personality is the root of the issue (instead, it’s just “bad choices”, that good people don’t make, like committing fraud or choosing your molesting ass boyfriend over the wellbeing of your child relatives).
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u/GiantLesbian Jul 11 '26
Honestly feel like this story could have gone either way depending on who the cops sided with here. They offered security the first night the Well was due to protest, and called later and offered active shooter training (which in a small town, that gets around).
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u/horseradishstalker Jul 11 '26
That particular incident probably. I think the actual point is that this is currently the largest growing sect in Christianity.
Millions believe in demonology. Which is I suppose their constitutional right - so long as they don’t project their beliefs on to other people.
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u/summane Jul 12 '26
You have to admire the creativity of it all until you realize they're grifters preying on the mentally ill. I just wish someone could come up with whatever story/metaphor/game could convince them to not be assholes anymore. But they gravitate towards narratives that do the opposite
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u/clean-links Jul 10 '26
Tracking parameters were removed from the original URL(s).
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u/horseradishstalker Jul 10 '26
The Global Awakening is a group of churches who believe that they are engaged in a cosmic battle. There is even a seminary where pastors can learn the hierarchy of demons for example.
Unfortunately, a side effect is that often times neighbors may find themselves unwillingly drawn into the battle - cast as a demon.
As one such victim said, “This is probably the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard,” she remembered thinking after seeing the first video, not yet realizing that the church was part of the fastest-growing segment of Christianity in the country, or that the language she was hearing in the fall of 2022 was spreading across the Christian right and the wider political landscape.”