It's about evangelism, evangelicals, and why they are so dangerous

[AverageOldGuy]

House Speaker Mike Johnson is an unabashed "evangelical Christian," a term that is applied to a lot of individuals and groups today, mainly to those who seek to force their version of Christianity on the rest of us.

And why do they do this, try to force their beliefs on us even to the point of arguing that the US is a "Christian nation" and our laws should be based on Biblical laws? Because that's what they have been "called" to do.

I know "evangelical Christians" and "evangelical Christianity" because I was born (1944) and reared in rural South Mississippi, grew up as a white supremacist Southern Baptist, became uncomfortable with what I was hearing from the pulpit, escaped to college at age 18, read some dangerous books, and have never returned -- except to march in Selma and Montgomery and Birmingham in the 1960's and continue to piss off my MAGA relatives and friends in my old age.

The word "evangelize" -- and its other forms, "evangelism," "evangelical" -- comes from the Church Latin evangelizare, "to spread or preach the Gospel," with the Greek root euangelizesthai, or "bring good news."

According to the Gospel of Mark, Christians are ordered by Jesus to go into the world and "bring good news."

Mark chapter 16 verse15, which purports to be the words of Jesus, is translated variously with the same meaning in each translation.

15 And he said unto them, "Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature."

15 And he said to them, "Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation."

15 And then he told them, “Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone.”

The writings of the Apostle Paul make up the bulk of the Christian New Testament and Paul's evangelism is held up as the example for all Christians to follow. Not only did Paul "proclaim the good news of Jesus," he CONVERTED people from whatever spiritual beliefs they held to Paulian Christianity and he encouraged them to convert others. It is from this period of Christianity that "evangelizing" went from "spreading the good news" to converting the heathen to Christianity (by any means possible, by the sword if need be, which is how we converted the "heathen Indians" in the USofA)).

Of all the world's religions, two are evangelizing faiths: Christianity and Islam. Some argue that their methods are the same.

Muslims do “evangelism.” It is a duty in Islam called da’wa. In Islamic dogma, da’wa means “to invite people to Islam.” It is the act of making an appealing message, calling people to embrace the faith proclaimed by Muhammad, as described in the Quran (Q 3:104; 3:110; 16:125; 41:33). The da’wa focuses on exclusive claims of Allah’s strict monotheism and Muhammad’s prophethood. As Islam spread from its founding in Arabia into Europe and Asia, conquered peoples were converted to Islam -- by persuasion or the sword, similar to the spread of Christianity.

This is why the likes of Mike Johnson and his "Christian nationalist" brethren -- including Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett -- are so dangerous:
-- they are CALLED BY GOD to preach their beliefs, and,
-- they are CALLED BY GOD TO CONVERT OTHERS to their beliefs, and,
-- they are CALLED BY GOD TO RULE OVER THE REST OF US, and,
-- if we don't like it, they are CALLED BY GOD to use the sword -- or the federalized National Guard.

And, no, I have not been drinking or smoking ganja and I have taken my meds today. This is serious.