Trump: ‘In America We Do Not Worship Government, We Worship God’

[JA]

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Trump: ‘In America We Do Not Worship Government, We Worship God’ - The Atlantic

[Hindsight was 2020]

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=t7PM9kwFwnc

[SATW]

yes

[ProudModerate2]

In other words ....
He is asking Americans to worship the orange-haired "god."

[Ichabod]

Ok, so this is the same guy who

1. Had issues very early in his life about discriminate African Americans about housing.
2. Has a golden penthouse.
3. Has had three wives (and IIRC, the second one accused him by rape).
4. Has "curious" (a polite word) remarks about his daughter.
5. Has talked in a very despective way about women, former war prisoners, disabled people, Muslim people and basically everyone doesn't 100% agree with him.

[Dr. Arch]

In America, you worship any number of gods or none at all, period. While I acknowledge the persona he's trying to channel as a Republican president, this statement comes off as particularly hypocritical given that it's, you know, Trump.

[Green Line]

We're a Christian nation, founded on Christian ideals.  Deal with it.

[Ronnie]

We're a Christian nation, founded on Christian ideals.  Deal with it.

Just because Christians make up a majority of the U.S.'s population (for now) does not mean the U.S. is a Christian nation.  The founding documents were secular, and based on Enlightenment ideals.

Anyway, here's just another case of Trump doubling down on white Evangelicals, hoping they can once again carry him across the finish line in 2020.  They might, but the Republican Party cannot rely on that constituency forever, in an increasingly secular, diverse, and college-educated America.

[pbrower2a]

The part about not worshiping government is true. We use government to serve us, whether for defense, the meeting of emergencies, management of the money supply, or any of the other uses enumerated in the Constitution or by statute or custom. One need not worship the government to get Social Security.

Many Americans are atheists or agnostics. Many of us interpret 'God' to mean nothing more than the fundamental realities of the Universe -- and one respects those realities (I do not walk off a cliff; I do not drink sulfuric acid; I do not handle intensely-radioactive objects; I do not provoke venomous snakes or such potential man-eaters as Rottweilers*  to attack me; I do not expect any answer other than '13' to the question 'What is 8 + 5 ?' -- but that is not worship.   

I question whether President Trump recognizes that Allah is God.** In fact, the behavior of President Trump causes me to believe that he worships one of two possible gods: Mammon (for the greedy) or himself (every extreme narcissist seems to treat himself as if God).

OK -- very bad people can believe in God -- witness Warren Jeffs, Tony Alamo, or even  the murderers Jeffrey Lundgren and Paul Hill who had killed for religious pretexts. That's before I even mention the huge number of prison inmates who 'find religion'.


*I think that was the breed of the four dogs that greeted me as a Census enumerator at one house by charging the door.  Four such dogs might as well be one tiger. I was safe as long as the latch didn't break. Dogs are infamously unfussy eaters.

**Christian Arabs use the name Allah for God.

[Doimper]

We're a Christian nation, founded on Christian ideals.  Deal with it.

Not knowing the most basic facts about the country in which you live is extremely unpatriotic

[Zioneer]

Sure you can worship government!

"Praise be to the income tax, and Medicaid, may their bountous blessings guide our lives."

[ProgressiveCanadian]

We're a Christian nation, founded on Christian ideals.  Deal with it.

What an idiot.

[Pyro]

Ugh. Does this speech really merit a dedicated thread?

[Blue3]

Ugh. Does this speech really merit a dedicated thread?

The parts where he denounced critical thinking and praised crowd size deserve a mention.

[The_Doctor]

He's not wrong;  we are one nation under God. Religion has played a part in our cultural and social mores including the Civil War and civil rights movement. America and Judeo-Christianity do, to an extent, go hand in hand in terms of our national identity and past. Whether that stays the same going forward is an interesting topic.

All the same, it would be nice if he actually meant it instead of lip service to the evangelicals. The man is a live Pharisee.

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

Ideally yes.  Though the way Falwell Jr treats the head of government could suggest otherwise.

[Absentee Voting Ghost of Ruin]

It's nice to see the religious right continuing to discredit itself even further.

[The_Doctor]

Alright one of my conservative expositions.

One thing we should remember, having a citizenry with a strong faith has been an effective counterweight to government at times. Under Soviet rule Christianity did a lot to subvert Marxism. Having a belief in a higher power that is beyond the reach of government is a good way to putting the state in its proper place. When we believe God is the ultimate authority, presidents and Kings look pretty small in comparison. Government becomes considered a means to an end, not the destination itself, strictly speaking. In other words government is a tool, not an ideology.

Faith is a social good -- up to a point. When we use faith to advance the liberty of all men (civil rights, the fight against Communism) faith is an extremely powerful weapon. When faith is used to subdue populations and groups then it becomes dangerous. After all kings in the Middle Ages did exactly that to cement authoritarian rule.

Atheists are not without morality, to be clear. They are pretty moral and decent humans. And having faith in a set of morals might just be as effective as faith in God.

Anyway, America has done a good job of using faith as an effective tool to grow and to remain free.

Not that the moron would be able to express any of this and someone probably gave it to him. Baby Christian my arse.

[Absentee Voting Ghost of Ruin]

Alright one of my conservative expositions.

One thing we should remember, having a citizenry with a strong faith has been an effective counterweight to government at times. Under Soviet rule Christianity did a lot to subvert Marxism. Having a belief in a higher power that is beyond the reach of government is a good way to putting the state in its proper place. When we believe God is the ultimate authority, presidents and Kings look pretty small in comparison. Government becomes considered a means to an end, not the destination itself, strictly speaking. In other words government is a tool, not an ideology.

Faith is a social good -- up to a point. When we use faith to advance the liberty of all men (civil rights, the fight against Communism) faith is an extremely powerful weapon. When faith is used to subdue populations and groups then it becomes dangerous. After all kings in the Middle Ages did exactly that to cement authoritarian rule.

Atheists are not without morality, to be clear. They are pretty moral and decent humans. And having faith in a set of morals might just be as effective as faith in God.

Anyway, America has done a good job of using faith as an effective tool to grow and to remain free.

Not that the moron would be able to express any of this and someone probably gave it to him. Baby Christian my arse.

To expand on my point above, Trump has served to prove without any room for doubt, that the (vocal and publiclicity hungry) religious right is NOT about faith or a higher anything. For the religious right, religion and God are NOTHING but excuses for indulging their worst impulses. They are hypocritical scum who make hyenas look like saints by comparison.

[Hammy]

We're a Christian nation, founded on Christian ideals.  Deal with it.

"the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion." From the Treaty of Tripoli, 1797.

[The Mikado]

Does anyone really believe that Donald Trump is a Christian by conviction and faith? I don't mean in the "he's a hypocrite who doesn't follow Jesus' teachings" sense, either. I mean in the "I don't think he accepts that there is a higher power than Donald Trump" sense.

[Inmate Trump]

I am a Christian.

I pray every day and read the Bible every day.

The majority of America's population may be Christian. But our government is supposed to be secular. We are not a Christian nation, nor are we a Muslim one, or Buddhist one, or anything else.

[I Won - Get Over It]

Trump is smart.


He knew it would trigger a (large?) share of 'left' - then Fox will show their reaction = cementing religious right.

[Shadows]

There are so many legitimate issues & atlas like the big media houses loves political gossip & meaningless threads. This is like 2016 all over again.

I hope the Democrats realize constantly filling the airwaves with all this personal Trump talk (which maybe is somewhat essential) won't win them elections. Connecting with voters on issues which change, effect their lives will.

[Hindsight was 2020]

There are so many legitimate issues & atlas like the big media houses loves political gossip & meaningless threads. This is like 2016 all over again.

I hope the Democrats realize constantly filling the airwaves with all this personal Trump talk (which maybe is somewhat essential) won't win them elections. Connecting with voters on issues which change, effect their lives will.

Now excuse me while I create a thread to rip on Hillary