So. Let's talk about Rick Perry calling Donald Trump "the chosen one" and discuss how American evangelicals became a white identity doomsday cult that threatens our safety and the very nature of reality. 1/
To begin, I have to give a bit of context. I grew up in the evangelical church. That means I was steeped in this stuff from my youngest years, even as I didn't understand it and was unable to imagine a reality outside of it. 2/
I had no idea that white evangelicals, in the 1960's, reacted to Civil Rights leaders like MLK using scripture to base their movement on Christianity by splitting the church and dismissing the ideas of Christianity in favor of a white identity gospel based on power and wealth 3/
People like Jerry Falwell, mostly southern televangelists, transformed Christianity from a religion of service and charity and inclusion to one of wealth and power, where God's will was shown via wealth and control over the world. 4/
We now know this as the Gospel of Wealth, but it started with the 1960's and that redirection from Civil Rights. Basically it was a doctrine that sought to base white power and domination under the dominion of an all-powerful God, thus making it right and defendable. 5/
In an effort to grow evanglicals' control over politics, they welcomed Ronald Reagan, but here's the thing: Reagan's religion wasn't the same. It was occult-based, steeped in California counterculture and new age beliefs. We're talking out there stuff. 6/
Reagan inspired the myth of the Shining City that powers this current Republican movement. It's based on myths about America as the continuation of secret societies and establishing America as a sort of new age Atlantis, a base for godliness and spiritual wisdom. 7/
Strangely enough, Reagan got this from an occult leader who got that from a short story writer who happened to be Edgar Allen Poe's best friend. The myths that power this ideology are really, really, really weird, but in a political marriage, evangelicals adopted them. 8/
What happened was this idea of an America that was God's chosen country and was in constant battle with the forces of Satan. Guess what? Because it was a white identity movement? Satan in this myth was joined by minorities desperate for power. 9/
The 80's were weird. Reagan and evangelicals presided over a worldview where if you were poor you weren't in God's favor and you might be in league with Satan, particularly if you wanted to change politics or were outside the white identity worldview. 10/
I call this the Cult of the Shining City, and it's what we're dealing with now. Trump is considered a savior fighting against the Deep State, which is just a reiteration of the New World Order which is just a reiteration of the Elders of the Protocols of Zion. 11/
Personally, I was brought up in this idea and was subject to it for a large part of my life. I was convinced that politics could be explained via the myth and conspiracy theory. Many people I grew up with, people I love, are still caught in the Cult of the Shining City. 12/
Just like a cult, members are kept from people who could unwind the lies, they're kept from media that could challenge the story, and as a result they're more than willing to accept whatever nonsensical narrative is thrown their way, narratives that change by the day 13/
Not all of the members of the Cult of the Shining City believe Trump is a messiah. Some believe he's God's instrument or simply a warrior in the cause. But there are some who literally believe his hand and mission is shaped by God and that he's holy. 14/
Trump is obviously flawed, but members of the Cult of the Shining City have been prepared. Their evangelicals leaders are similarly flawed. Trump is Swaggart and Bakker and Falwell all rolled into one. They're more than willing to look past like they did their leaders. 15/
One last thing: Trump is no stranger to this stuff. He's a firm believer in the Gospel of Prosperity. Norman Vincent Peale, the founder of Positive Thinking, was his pastor. He actually officiated Trump's first marriage. Trump's non-religious, but he is prosperous-spiritual 16/
According to the Prosperity Gospel, Trump and people like him believe they enjoy God's favor based on success. There's a reason Trump is lost in these conspiracy theories. He believes them. He holds them as a faith, and so he's in a feedback loop with the heresy. 17/
If this is frightening, it should be. The Cult of the Shining City is obsessed with hastening the end of the world so they can enjoy the future prosperity of the afterlife. It's their identity. We really are dealing with a cult, and the sooner we realize that the better. 18/18
