Originally published at: The Feuding Little Christian Fiefdoms of the Trump Administration - TPM – Talking Points Memo
In Church, Merch, and State, Sarah Posner writes about the intersection of religion and politics in the United States. This column is part of TPM Cafe, TPM’s home for opinion and news analysis. From AI blasphemies to attacks on the papacy to prayers from the filmography of Quentin Tarantino, the Trump administration has managed to pack what feels like a…
Great photo of Dumb and Dumber.
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The thing that these folks cannot grasp is that in religious belief, there is not MORE, or BETTER. There simply IS. It’s not a contest.
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Windfall tax. Resume aid to Ukraine. Focus on the salvaging the China summit.
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Another lesson for Democrats – keep your receipts!
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“Of all bad men, religious bad men are the worst.” – C.S. Lewis
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Krazy KKKult.
Or, Bloated Care Bear and Boozy Foghorn Leghorn…
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From AI blasphemies to attacks on the papacy to prayers from the filmography of Quentin Tarantino, the Trump administration has managed to pack what feels like a year’s worth of breaking religion news into the past week.
Religion-breaking, too.
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Reacting to the Pope’s criticisms of the Iran War, Vice President JD Vance, speaking at a sparsely attended Turning Point USA event in Georgia on Tuesday, lectured that “it’s very, very important for the pope to be careful when he talks about matters of theology,” and questioned the Augustinian pope’s understanding of, well, St. Augustine. On Wednesday, at the Pentagon, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth offered a prayer for “great vengeance and furious anger” that was derived from a fictitious elaboration on Ezekiel 25:17 by Jules Winnfield, the character played by Samuel L. Jackson in Pulp Fiction.
I know Trump never studied religion but you would assume Vance, who is an adult convert to Catholicism would have at least done the adult catechism class and Pete Hegseth would at least understand the scripture holy to evangelicals, but no they are both as ignorant of their beliefs as Trump.
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This happened under W. We should expect it again between November and January 19, 2029.
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They hear what they want to hear, and dismiss the rest of the message.
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For reference. In Catholic theology there is a codified theory of ‘just war’. Any criticism of Pope Leo’s comments should take account that they are religious, not political. They distinguish the limits of ‘holy war’ (my God tells me to vanquish your God). From Google AI:
Catholic Just War Theory, rooted in the teachings of St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas, is a strictly conditioned moral framework (Catechism #2309) permitting defensive military force only when lasting, grave, and certain damage is inflicted by an aggressor, all other peaceful means have failed, and success is probable without causing greater evil.
By this reasoning, WWI and WWII were just wars. Ukraine is a just war. Defence against territorial aggression is always a just war. Trump’s war of choice in Iran is not.
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TMF has no beliefs beyond believing he is better than everyone else.
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Leo, being from Chicago, has seen some shit. Politics is not going to confuse him for one second. Even Cardinal Cupich, the Catholic Bishop of Chicago, is perfectly clear where the church’s bread is buttered. He unapologetically calls Chicago a proud immigrant town. Christian Nationalism is too small a project for the Catholic Church, and bald corruption is a known quantity for a Chicago pope. Trump and his minions can not intimidate Leo and his ecclesiastical colleagues.
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I hope that Pope Bob excommunicates JD and tells him to go back to convert-class for more instruction in Catholic theology, especially as it relates to just-war teachings and Augustinianism (on which JD claims to be more expert than the pope). Then let JD apply for reinstatement as a Catholic–preferably after standing barefoot in the snow for three days outside the papal castle in the mountains, as Emperor Henry IV had to do at Canossa, back in the eleventh century.
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Who will be the first to overthrow Jesus and take command of the Christian World?
Will the winner explain what mistakes Jesus made and why he had to be removed?
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