A rabbi’s warning to America about Idaho’s Christian nationalism
I urge all Americans to stand up for true freedom and reject Christian nationalism.
Religious reactionaries have emerged to lead a far-reaching movement to cement power in the hands of a theocratic minority. Their goal is clear: Replace democratic governance with fundamentalist rule.
Idaho’s reactionary right-wingers are hell-bent on creating a Christian nationalist dystopia, and residents are suffering. Far-right extremists and militia members — often heavily armed with assault weapons and hiding their faces with masks — regularly occupy public spaces. They’ve normalized intimidation and exclusion in the name of faith. Their fear tactics are working, especially in our statehouse, where the lopsided Republican Legislature has unleashed a torrent of laws to undermine Idahoans’ fundamental freedoms.
Idaho now has one of the nation’s most extreme abortion bans, which has driven OB-GYNs and young families out of the state in record numbers. The ban has put the health and lives of women who remain in Idaho at profound risk.
Christian nationalist lawmakers have slashed Medicaid and pushed an out-of-state-billionaire-backed school voucher bill that undermines public education and funnels taxpayer dollars to religious institutions — in clear violation of Idaho’s state constitution.
Far-right out-of-state groups fund this nightmare, bankrolling reactionary candidates against moderate Republicans who once joined with Democrats to support public schools and defend personal liberties.
https://amp.idahostatesman.com/opinion/r...11178.html
I urge all Americans to stand up for true freedom and reject Christian nationalism.
Religious reactionaries have emerged to lead a far-reaching movement to cement power in the hands of a theocratic minority. Their goal is clear: Replace democratic governance with fundamentalist rule.
Idaho’s reactionary right-wingers are hell-bent on creating a Christian nationalist dystopia, and residents are suffering. Far-right extremists and militia members — often heavily armed with assault weapons and hiding their faces with masks — regularly occupy public spaces. They’ve normalized intimidation and exclusion in the name of faith. Their fear tactics are working, especially in our statehouse, where the lopsided Republican Legislature has unleashed a torrent of laws to undermine Idahoans’ fundamental freedoms.
Idaho now has one of the nation’s most extreme abortion bans, which has driven OB-GYNs and young families out of the state in record numbers. The ban has put the health and lives of women who remain in Idaho at profound risk.
Christian nationalist lawmakers have slashed Medicaid and pushed an out-of-state-billionaire-backed school voucher bill that undermines public education and funnels taxpayer dollars to religious institutions — in clear violation of Idaho’s state constitution.
Far-right out-of-state groups fund this nightmare, bankrolling reactionary candidates against moderate Republicans who once joined with Democrats to support public schools and defend personal liberties.
https://amp.idahostatesman.com/opinion/r...11178.html
teachings of the Bible are so muddled and self-contradictory that it was possible for Christians to happily burn heretics alive for five long centuries. It was even possible for the most venerated patriarchs of the Church, like St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas, to conclude that heretics should be tortured (Augustine) or killed outright (Aquinas). Martin Luther and John Calvin advocated the wholesale murder of heretics, apostates, Jews, and witches. - Sam Harris, "Letter To A Christian Nation"
