The pastor and public school teacher running for Superintendent of Public Instruction has pushed Christian Nationalism and used his classroom to film campaign ads
The religious right has long been convinced they can solve all the country’s problems by forcing their particular brand of Christianity on the country they expect to passively submit to their rule. The staggering number of Christian tribes is a powerful counter-argument to that claim. If the preachers ever acquired the power they seem to think is their due, they would begin killing one another almost immediately over what they see as doctrinal errors.
Indeed. They can talk about their loving Jesus and the glorious afterlife from now on, but there is nothing the crave so much as power and control on this earthly plain. Power few groups would be more ill-equipped to exercise.
Do you think Christian Nationalists will ban even the most benign symbols in their classroom (like the Puritans!) ?? I'm asking this as a LEGIMITATE possibility because so many Christians see other people's religions as being 'pagan Gods'/ 'demons'/ etc. It's why they hate NASA!
Because, by that logic, if you were to follow the Bible to that extreme (the most fundamentalist extreme!), there would be so many symbols, cultural mythology, religions, etc that should be banned! Like I seriously wonder what kind of world they wanna enculture their kids in.....
I know this isn't exactly what you mean, but there was already a case of a teacher being forced to remove a sign saying, "Everyone is welcome here."
Their reasoning was a bit unexpected, and totally bizarre. Basically, the inclusion of the word "everyone" indicated an ideology in conflict with that of Trump, as Trump would NEVER promote inclusivity. (And BECAUSE it conflicted with Trump, not specifically due to the message, it had to come down.) There are countless ways this could be used to answer every inane request from those wishing to display their "closeness" to the regime. (or knowledge of "exactly what Gawd wants") with just a little modification. After all, who knows more about satisfying ego than those near the Oval Office?
I think there is NOTHING these monsters won't do in the name of power. If "God" is that name, then that is the name they will utilize.
And to think I once looked forward to a world where enemies were easier to spot....
(Sorry, Rose, I'm moving slow, including the thing I laughingly call a brain.)
The culture wars are truly distorting what legitimately matters for the country's future! I'm always stunned by what I read on here as where I live in is NOTHING like these schools/places! It's unfortunate that my home is the exception, NOT the rule.
What you are talking about seems to be the first step towards "soft" socio-cultural balkanization within the United States, which should be very frightening since the United States has always had a common mythology it has relied upon: the country of immigrants, the poor, the downtrodden, the oppressed from other lands.
It's funny this particular group of people (we are not including the small 'c' conservatives who value free speech and critical thinking over religion as these people still want to talk with people on the other side of the political aisle!) always talks about how immigrant groups coming to USA is causing a loss of American 'common culture'/'common mythology'.
But, if that is true, then what they are doing is no better!
Perhaps most baffling to me is the gazillionaires. They dig deep bunkers, primarily in New Zealand, the place calculated to be the first geographic location to recover from an apocalyptic event. (Of course, Zuck is in Hawaii, and the Walmart Kids are in (checks notes)....Arkansas.)
So clearly their plan is to populate the world with their genes when the blast doors open a million years from now.
But apparently they can't remember that NONE of them will escape bodily death within the same span as each of us will. In fact, NOTHING they do is likely to postpone their own 21st century death by more than a minor degree, as they continue with their "Bigger-Than-Lifesize" video game.
I've heard. There was a recent billionaire(?) who tried to become immortal but ended up becoming infected with a pretty horrible disease. I forgot his name but, he wasn't even any of the rich people in the news like Musk, Zuckerberg, and others.
I really do think these foolish rich people who do not wish to enrich society by helping the common folk with their wealth and instead themselves ( there are only a few rich people nowadays I think doing this, even though all of them are ultimately out for themselves first ). These people have been corrupted by so much greed that they have forgotten what happened to Qin Shi Huang of the Qin Dynasty in China when he tried making the real life Elixir of Immortality!
They are truly getting Hoisted by their own Petard, and leaving the rest of us to deal with the consequences of their foolish short-term actions (that will ONLY deplete Mother Earth, her resources, and ultimately the future of humanity!) in name of tribal politics.
All because of that Stupid Idiot and his rancid, racist views is completely NO reason to take down that harmless banner. There's nothing wrong with it at all! Period! Stupid Idiot can take all his fragile racist fee fees and shove it up his dirty, smelly arse!
Will Taylor include lessons on what happened to his ancestors because good white Christians decided they needed free labor to work in the fields as slaves? The ancestors who were kidnapped and brought to this country against their will? Sounds like a violation of the commandment(s) against coveting and stealing.
Uh-huh ... and the Russian Great Terror of the 1930s, 40s, and 50s was aimed to benefit Soviet citizens, too. It is eminently clear that Taylor means to be a scofflaw as regards both his campaign and how he runs his classroom. His behavior is plainly and simply INTOLERABLE, and at minimum, he should be removed from his position as a teacher.
As for his political activities, it's just sad to say that it's too late to put up a challenger to his BS.
So many ignorant narcissists desperate for attention and power... so many voters who keep supporting them instead of choosing people who are civic minded and will just do the best job they can.
I’m always skeptical of folks claiming the title of Dr without citing their field or degree-granting institution. His apparently received his DDiv from the Andersonville Theological Seminary in Camilla GA which is a unaccredited nondenominational school not listed as recognized by reputable organizations.
The Little Axe School District should revisit his credentials for teaching.
How, exactly, does running a church qualify one to run a state's education system? The two ate very different things. Conservative churches tend to be very autocratic, with very few rules limiting the pastor's authority, as well as mostly like minded individuals involved. A state's education system is much more diverse, much less centralized, and serves a completely different function.
On top of that, this guy's penchant for pseudohistory should be enough to disqualify him, let alone the anti-vax and the religious coercion.
He seems to be doing a good job at ensuring future American children will become even more UN-educated on world affairs, history, and politics... especially since he seems to focus purely on America's 'Judeo-Christian heritage' and therefore ONLY its history [ as well as most likely ONLY the history of Western Europe and, by extension, Israel/Palestine, unless a White Christian Identity movement decides to hijack this seemingly growing movement especially in rural areas ]. This is a shame as these children will grow up, unprepared for a multipolar world with a lack of critical thinking skills, nuance, and diverse perspectives (beyond that of Judeo-Christianity or ONLY Christianity depending on how politicians spin it on their kind of tribal politics based on 'Christianity').
If I did not already know Americans are uneducated on how the world actually works (which is especially important in a multipolar multi-civilizational world), then this is a high time to wake up.
If I discovered that my kid was in his classroom, I'd be all over him like white on rice, ESPECIALLY if he was trying to push the supposed biblical basis for the US Constitution or any claptrap associated with it.
Far as I'm concerned, the man is NOT qualified to teach.
The moment REAL, TRUE history becomes politicized (especially with all of the culture wars increasingly focusing more and more on the past, NOT on the future!) and fought in the public square, especially with statements like this (said by a Black Christian pastor no less!), that is the time one should truly wonder over where the country is going because a true country educates its populace (better known as 'the children'!).
I find it interesting that these deeply unserious candidates continue to crawl out of the woodwork. It's troubling to know these people actually believe they have a chance at winning an election with their platforms.
Once again: Judeo-Christian is merely an xtian invention. Jews look at that phrase and just laugh. The Jewish messiah (strictly human) in no way resembles the supposedly 'divine' xtian one. To Jews, any man who calls himself God is a liar.
Teach THAT inconvenient factoid, Taylor. I dare you.
A person cannot be a Christian Nationalist and a good Christian that follows the teachings of Jesus. The two are diametrically opposed. And to promote his fake Christianity in a public classroom is a violation of the Constitution which in my mind also makes him a traitor.
The religious right has long been convinced they can solve all the country’s problems by forcing their particular brand of Christianity on the country they expect to passively submit to their rule. The staggering number of Christian tribes is a powerful counter-argument to that claim. If the preachers ever acquired the power they seem to think is their due, they would begin killing one another almost immediately over what they see as doctrinal errors.
Honestly, I DON'T believe that they think Christianity will solve ANY problems at all. What it WILL do is PUT THEM IN POWER.
And that's all that they are actually interested in doing.
Indeed. They can talk about their loving Jesus and the glorious afterlife from now on, but there is nothing the crave so much as power and control on this earthly plain. Power few groups would be more ill-equipped to exercise.
What's with the apple in Taylor's logo?
Is he the snake in the Garden of Eden?
Or worse?
Do you think Christian Nationalists will ban even the most benign symbols in their classroom (like the Puritans!) ?? I'm asking this as a LEGIMITATE possibility because so many Christians see other people's religions as being 'pagan Gods'/ 'demons'/ etc. It's why they hate NASA!
Because, by that logic, if you were to follow the Bible to that extreme (the most fundamentalist extreme!), there would be so many symbols, cultural mythology, religions, etc that should be banned! Like I seriously wonder what kind of world they wanna enculture their kids in.....
Rose,
I know this isn't exactly what you mean, but there was already a case of a teacher being forced to remove a sign saying, "Everyone is welcome here."
Their reasoning was a bit unexpected, and totally bizarre. Basically, the inclusion of the word "everyone" indicated an ideology in conflict with that of Trump, as Trump would NEVER promote inclusivity. (And BECAUSE it conflicted with Trump, not specifically due to the message, it had to come down.) There are countless ways this could be used to answer every inane request from those wishing to display their "closeness" to the regime. (or knowledge of "exactly what Gawd wants") with just a little modification. After all, who knows more about satisfying ego than those near the Oval Office?
I think there is NOTHING these monsters won't do in the name of power. If "God" is that name, then that is the name they will utilize.
And to think I once looked forward to a world where enemies were easier to spot....
(Sorry, Rose, I'm moving slow, including the thing I laughingly call a brain.)
I had no idea! Thanks for letting me know.
The culture wars are truly distorting what legitimately matters for the country's future! I'm always stunned by what I read on here as where I live in is NOTHING like these schools/places! It's unfortunate that my home is the exception, NOT the rule.
What you are talking about seems to be the first step towards "soft" socio-cultural balkanization within the United States, which should be very frightening since the United States has always had a common mythology it has relied upon: the country of immigrants, the poor, the downtrodden, the oppressed from other lands.
It's funny this particular group of people (we are not including the small 'c' conservatives who value free speech and critical thinking over religion as these people still want to talk with people on the other side of the political aisle!) always talks about how immigrant groups coming to USA is causing a loss of American 'common culture'/'common mythology'.
But, if that is true, then what they are doing is no better!
Rose,
Perhaps most baffling to me is the gazillionaires. They dig deep bunkers, primarily in New Zealand, the place calculated to be the first geographic location to recover from an apocalyptic event. (Of course, Zuck is in Hawaii, and the Walmart Kids are in (checks notes)....Arkansas.)
So clearly their plan is to populate the world with their genes when the blast doors open a million years from now.
But apparently they can't remember that NONE of them will escape bodily death within the same span as each of us will. In fact, NOTHING they do is likely to postpone their own 21st century death by more than a minor degree, as they continue with their "Bigger-Than-Lifesize" video game.
(I really need some...COFFEE!)
I've heard. There was a recent billionaire(?) who tried to become immortal but ended up becoming infected with a pretty horrible disease. I forgot his name but, he wasn't even any of the rich people in the news like Musk, Zuckerberg, and others.
I really do think these foolish rich people who do not wish to enrich society by helping the common folk with their wealth and instead themselves ( there are only a few rich people nowadays I think doing this, even though all of them are ultimately out for themselves first ). These people have been corrupted by so much greed that they have forgotten what happened to Qin Shi Huang of the Qin Dynasty in China when he tried making the real life Elixir of Immortality!
They are truly getting Hoisted by their own Petard, and leaving the rest of us to deal with the consequences of their foolish short-term actions (that will ONLY deplete Mother Earth, her resources, and ultimately the future of humanity!) in name of tribal politics.
All because of that Stupid Idiot and his rancid, racist views is completely NO reason to take down that harmless banner. There's nothing wrong with it at all! Period! Stupid Idiot can take all his fragile racist fee fees and shove it up his dirty, smelly arse!
Religion is the antithesis of education.
Will Taylor include lessons on what happened to his ancestors because good white Christians decided they needed free labor to work in the fields as slaves? The ancestors who were kidnapped and brought to this country against their will? Sounds like a violation of the commandment(s) against coveting and stealing.
Those lessons will include bagpipe music.
I don't fear hell because I survived 9 years in Oklahoma.
Less than 9 hours, and I'm scarred for life. : )
Sweet Baby James! What a moron.
ISWYDT :)
... 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑙𝑦 𝑈.𝑆. ℎ𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑦 𝑖𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑙𝑦 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑏𝑖𝑟𝑡ℎ 𝑜𝑓 𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑡𝑟𝑦, 𝑤ℎ𝑖𝑐ℎ 𝑖𝑠 𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑡𝑟𝑦’𝑠 𝐽𝑢𝑑𝑒𝑜-𝐶ℎ𝑟𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑎𝑛 ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑡𝑎𝑔𝑒.
Uh-huh ... and the Russian Great Terror of the 1930s, 40s, and 50s was aimed to benefit Soviet citizens, too. It is eminently clear that Taylor means to be a scofflaw as regards both his campaign and how he runs his classroom. His behavior is plainly and simply INTOLERABLE, and at minimum, he should be removed from his position as a teacher.
As for his political activities, it's just sad to say that it's too late to put up a challenger to his BS.
So many ignorant narcissists desperate for attention and power... so many voters who keep supporting them instead of choosing people who are civic minded and will just do the best job they can.
I’m always skeptical of folks claiming the title of Dr without citing their field or degree-granting institution. His apparently received his DDiv from the Andersonville Theological Seminary in Camilla GA which is a unaccredited nondenominational school not listed as recognized by reputable organizations.
The Little Axe School District should revisit his credentials for teaching.
Dr. Demento is more of a doctor than this deluded fool is.
Dr. Pepper.
Dr. J.
The Doctor.
Dr. Suess.
Doctor Quinn, Medicine Woman.
No points. She was a real doctor. ; )
𝐻𝑒 ℎ𝑎𝑠 𝑛𝑜 𝑎𝑑𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑒𝑥𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑝𝑢𝑏𝑙𝑖𝑐 𝑠𝑐ℎ𝑜𝑜𝑙𝑠, 𝑏𝑢𝑡 ℎ𝑒 𝑐𝑙𝑎𝑖𝑚𝑠 ℎ𝑒’𝑠 𝑞𝑢𝑎𝑙𝑖𝑓𝑖𝑒𝑑 𝑎𝑛𝑦𝑤𝑎𝑦 𝑏𝑒𝑐𝑎𝑢𝑠𝑒 ℎ𝑒’𝑠 𝑟𝑢𝑛 𝑎 𝑐ℎ𝑢𝑟𝑐ℎ.
How, exactly, does running a church qualify one to run a state's education system? The two ate very different things. Conservative churches tend to be very autocratic, with very few rules limiting the pastor's authority, as well as mostly like minded individuals involved. A state's education system is much more diverse, much less centralized, and serves a completely different function.
On top of that, this guy's penchant for pseudohistory should be enough to disqualify him, let alone the anti-vax and the religious coercion.
But, it IS Oklahoma.
It has to suck being a student in classes taught by Boomer nut jobs.
I'm a Boomer. This guy is a religious simpleton.
I love my Boomers! The religious boomer nut jobs are a different generation.
So am I, as I suspect most of the regulars here know, and we have our heads screwed on right. Taylor? Not so much.
I am GenX, but just barely. My sister (who is 2 years older than me) is a boomer, but just barely.
Yeah, I'm at the tail end of the Boomers, too. I never have figured out what happened in 1964 to cause the switch.
They had to put the line somewhere...
He seems to be doing a good job at ensuring future American children will become even more UN-educated on world affairs, history, and politics... especially since he seems to focus purely on America's 'Judeo-Christian heritage' and therefore ONLY its history [ as well as most likely ONLY the history of Western Europe and, by extension, Israel/Palestine, unless a White Christian Identity movement decides to hijack this seemingly growing movement especially in rural areas ]. This is a shame as these children will grow up, unprepared for a multipolar world with a lack of critical thinking skills, nuance, and diverse perspectives (beyond that of Judeo-Christianity or ONLY Christianity depending on how politicians spin it on their kind of tribal politics based on 'Christianity').
If I did not already know Americans are uneducated on how the world actually works (which is especially important in a multipolar multi-civilizational world), then this is a high time to wake up.
So, stay safe, healthy, and educated!
If I discovered that my kid was in his classroom, I'd be all over him like white on rice, ESPECIALLY if he was trying to push the supposed biblical basis for the US Constitution or any claptrap associated with it.
Far as I'm concerned, the man is NOT qualified to teach.
As you should be!
The moment REAL, TRUE history becomes politicized (especially with all of the culture wars increasingly focusing more and more on the past, NOT on the future!) and fought in the public square, especially with statements like this (said by a Black Christian pastor no less!), that is the time one should truly wonder over where the country is going because a true country educates its populace (better known as 'the children'!).
I find it interesting that these deeply unserious candidates continue to crawl out of the woodwork. It's troubling to know these people actually believe they have a chance at winning an election with their platforms.
Let him teach his fantasies in Sunday school and private xtian schools. Stay the hell away from public education.
[𝐶]𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑛𝑜𝑛-𝐶ℎ𝑟𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑎𝑛𝑠 “𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑟𝑑-𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑙𝑑 𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑎𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑒𝑠.”
Umm, Denmark, Norway, Iceland, Japan, et al would like a word.
Once again: Judeo-Christian is merely an xtian invention. Jews look at that phrase and just laugh. The Jewish messiah (strictly human) in no way resembles the supposedly 'divine' xtian one. To Jews, any man who calls himself God is a liar.
Teach THAT inconvenient factoid, Taylor. I dare you.
A person cannot be a Christian Nationalist and a good Christian that follows the teachings of Jesus. The two are diametrically opposed. And to promote his fake Christianity in a public classroom is a violation of the Constitution which in my mind also makes him a traitor.
There are no fake Christians or fake Christianity. If they say they are Christians, then they are. They get all the toxic baggage that comes with it.
Same source, different cherries.