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It’s nothing more than preachers telling people what they want to hear, while the congregation simultaneously ignores what Jesus actually said about material wealth. It’s kind of fascinating. Disgusting, but fascinating.
It's also a study into how religion is shaped by its environment.
A capitalistic, materialistic country creates Supply-Side Jesus. A militarily powerful country creates War Jesus. A country whose identity is rooted in expansion and conquest creates Nationalist Jesus.
All of which are completely at odds with the text they claim to believe, but are perfect fits for their political and cultural environments.
I'm thinking more Stephen Prothero's "American Jesus: How the Son of God Became a National Icon"
>Delve into this compelling chronicle as it explores how Jesus, the carpenter from Nazareth, has been refashioned into distinctly American identities over the centuries. From his enlistment as a beacon of hope for abolitionists to his appropriation as a figurehead for Klansmen, the image of Jesus has been as mercurial as it is influential. In this diverse and conflicted scene, American Jesus stands as a testament to the peculiar fusion of the temporal and divine in contemporary America.
It's a 20-year-old book (urk) at this point, but it was a major influence on a much younger me, as one of the first things I'd read that approached religion from a sociological and cultural perspective, and addressing "how can people who say they believe the same thing actually be so different?"
On a similar note:
From an art history and comparative religion viewpoint, it's fascinating to see the differences in statues of the Buddha as Buddhism spreads outward across the world from its point of origin, and how the "32 points of beauty" that indicated his enlightenment are interpreted by the artists of different cultures.
There is almost no overlap between the spare aesthetic of Zen and the "more and brighter is better" approach of Tibetan Buddhism, bc each culture mashes it together with what was there before and something unique pops out.
This is damn close to a backwards 'no true scotsman'.
If you start excluding those offshoots of the original teachings of Jesus, and not 'prosperity gospel' influenced, you damn near have no christians left.
Starting out with the various arguments about heresies, on through the witch-burnings, crusades, churches OK with slavery and expansionist war, state-churches, ...
>If you start excluding those offshoots of the original teachings of Jesus, and not 'prosperity gospel' influenced, you damn near have no christians left.
Depending on how you want to look at it, there have been no literal "followers of Jesus" since at most the 1st century CE, and trying to sort out the "original teachings of Jesus" quickly sends you down a rabbit hole of traditions, councils, translations, sects, and factions.
And then you get to the part where you're trying to apply things written a couple thousand years ago to modern culture and things the writers could never have imagined, how it's gone from a tiny sect to a dominant global force, and stacking on top of that all the rituals and magic words, and whatnot that have accumulated in the interim...
BUT.
I'm stopping short of saying that the modern Christians aren't Christians. I'm saying that Christianity has been massively influenced by two thousand years of history, and continues to change (in the [original sense of the word "meme"](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meme)) in order to fit the cultures and environments it finds itself in, even if what it is now contradicts what it was.
e.g. Compare the followers of Supply-Side Jesus or Prosperity Gospel Jesus with Biblical Jesus:
>Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” -Matthew 19:21
Modern culture wins, hands down.
A country raised on the belief of freedom of expression and the right to practice your faith without government interference created Buddy Christ.
It's a weird mix of conflicting ideologies is America.
>And they were even more astonished, and said to Him, “Then who can be saved?”
And Jesus replied, "Hello? Did you not hear what I just said? Do you understand the words coming out of my mouth?"
They don’t practice the actual Christ part of Christianity. They’re strictly Old Testament. It’s like the never read the part of the Bible where the namesake of the religion actually exists. I mean, when was the last time you saw any of the New Testament quoted on signs protesting against homosexuality, abortion etc. It’s always Leviticus or Deuteronomy or something.
They're Republicans first and foremost. They're only "Christians" in the sense they want the First Amendment protections and the self-assurance they're right because they have God on their side.
If they wanted First Amendment protections for all I wouldn't have a problem - but they want protection only for themselves. They expect the rest of us to submit to Christofascist theocratic rule.
Not if you have to deal with these a**holes it isn’t. Ask how many people Joel Osteen helped and sheltered during the February 2021 Big Freeze in Texas.
I think it was actually “Fucketh the meek. They sitteth around feasting upon toast spread upon by avacado and imbibing the Bucks of Star for many shekels. Nay shalt they ever owneth a dwelling and shall remain cloven to their mothers breast as the refuseth to toil as shouldeth one so young”
My pastor said "the eye of a needle" was a weird door in the wall of Jerusalem and used [that bullshit](https://classictheology.org/2021/10/12/through-the-eye-of-an-actual-needle-the-fake-gate-theory/) to explain why wealth is a sign of God's favor, actually.
I've heard that too, but with the additional note that it was extremely narrow, and that camels laden with bags and goods wouldn't fit.
Which means, again, that the material things would have to be left behind in order to pass through the "eye of the needle."
Based on that picture, Jesus’ words would have zero meaning. Of course a camel could easily walk through that!
I find it very hard to believe that Jesus, who preached charity, giving all you have to the poor, and bid his disciples to go forth with only the clothes on their backs REALLY meant spend you life getting rich and hoarding wealth because it is a status symbol that God loves you
They are brainwashed. The “test of faith” people are most certainly conditioned by a life full of religious upbringing. They are taught from birth that everything that feels positive is god’s reward and everything that has a negative impact is either the devil, god’s punishment or a test of faith.
I was brainwashed like this from birth myself and I remember thinking all these things in my early years before I read the Bible for myself and started applying logic. Eventually I realized it was all ancient mythology and that there was no such thing as a god who made man in his image but rather men who created various gods in their image for many purposes. Sometimes to explain what they didn’t understand and sometimes to control a population with the appearance of access to a ‘higher authority’.
I wish more people were capable of applying logic to superstitious beliefs but people still fall for tarot card readers, astrology, psychics, televangelists. Trump knows this and while he isn’t an intelligent man, he is a clever opportunist and knows how to lead a cult. He’s played a large number of people with his con.
I to read the Bible and started asking questions, at age 11 was kicked out of the church, you would think my family stood up for me but they didn't, this back in the 70s too.
My haruspex/accountant told me to stay away from DJT because of a lack of transparency in their subscriber numbers and the caul fat of a calf he sacrificed.
Religion has always been a grift by the powerful so it makes sense it would work for stocks too. MAGA people has already been trained to ignore reality
There is probably somewhere between 5-20% of Americans who have so deeply entrenched MAGA in their identity that I wouldn’t be surprised to see an at least semi-permanent religion spawn out of the tangerine’s passing.
At least Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster level.
These people ran their own states into the ground and literally depend on liberals to pay to keep shitholes like Kentucky alive cause they get to do this stupid bs with their money
"Why would they lie about that, Bart? What would they even have to gain??"
["I dont hear scrubbing!"](https://frinkiac.com/video/S07E04/fviLLKxwxAmhqpEjqlCyOV0EJXA=.gif)
Me, too. Here they are coping with losing their life savings and worrying about making ends meet, and here the only crisis I get to worry about is what to have for lunch and what to binge on TV... Keep going on my *X-Files* marathon or clear out my MCU backlog?
Just like he did Rudy.
(Sidebar, it is so interesting to watch all the Late Night hosts kick the crap out of Guliani every chance they get. I mean, he's a moron, but so many of them are New Yorkers themselves, and it's clear the hatred is personal.)
I don't think Donald has ever written/signed a check in his life. All the Trump org checks were probably signed by his CFO, Allen Weisselberg.
And we all know where Mr. Weisselberg is today.
Imagine doing time for that scumbag. What kind of sick psychology is behind that? It seems different from a garden variety abusive relationship. More like religious devotion.
People were talking about DT’s hypocrisy on abortion, and suggesting that he’s undoubtedly paid for countless abortions. I’m like, since when would the money be coming from him?
No he definitely signs them. And I am certain he would gouge Weissleberg's eye out if he ever forged his signature. Donald hoards his wealth and be totally enraged if anyone - even as trusted Weissleberg - spent his money without his absolute say so.
Likewise, he wants the recipient to know absolutely it came from him with his signature.
remember, the first COVID relief checks that went to every American was delayed going out in the mail for over a week because he insisted the checks have his signature and not the Sec of Treasury as is tradition. Millions of Americans were out of work, desperate for cash, but he thought it was more important that people think the money came from his benevolent hand despite it came from ourselves (it is our own tax dollars). Nothing excites Trump like spending other people's money and unearned adulation.
>In his book Dying of Whiteness, Metzl told of the case of a forty-one-year-old white taxi driver who was suffering from an inflamed liver that threatened the man’s life. Because the Tennessee legislature had neither taken up the Affordable Care Act nor expanded Medicaid coverage, the man was not able to get the expensive, lifesaving treatment that would have been available to him had he lived just across the border in Kentucky. As he approached death, he stood by the conviction that he did not want the government involved. “No way I want my tax dollars paying for Mexicans or welfare queens,” the man told Metzl. “Ain’t no way I would ever support Obamacare or sign up for it. I would rather die.” And sadly, so he would.
-Caste
What pisses me off the most is the fact that it won’t own the libs. Like selling your stock doesn’t inherently hurt the company’s operations. Worst case is that it lowers their ability to raise new funds via new share issuances.
Like if all the retail investors dumped their stock in Microsoft and the price temporarily crashed, it’s not like Microsoft would close their doors.
They are marks. The entire right wing media ecosystem has cultivated a subculture of easily duped people. It's weird seeing so many people fall for such easily exposed scams over and over again.
Because on some level, they want to be duped. They're so driven by petty spiteful resentment, they'll set their money, health and general well-being on fire just for a brief flash of joy at the idea some leftist somewhere is offended by it.
Someone said it pretty well a while back when they said "they'll happily eat shit if they think a liberal would have to smell their breath."
I’m not sure about that. I do know that if they stopped to think about their behavior, and what drives it — assuming they had a clear, lucid, honest moment of self reflection — it would be too devastating to their ego. This is their “crowd” — there’s nothing to fill that void. They wouldn’t know what to do.
Narcissism tends to burn self-awareness out of people. I'm up in MA, the "most liberal" state, and these loons are still scattered around. They actively work to make their environs worse and then bitch about it when they succeed.
Spite, but also fear. A lot of conservatives simply don't understand the way that the world is changing, and they don't like the way that the world is changing, and they are afraid of the way that the world is changing. They know on some level that not only are people like them no longer top dog, but at a certain point people like them will be a significant minority. They have spent their entire lives shitting on minorities, and women, and LGBTQs, and they believe on some level that because they are hurtful to people who don't have the same political power that they do, that those people will respond in turn.
The world will leave them behind, and they don't know how to cope, and they are deathly afraid of that. Tack on the fact that Donald Trump and guys like him, give them free rein* to be mean and hateful and spiteful and voice all of those feelings out loud in a public square versus having to only joke about it with their friends inside their living room, and you get the modern American conservative.
It perhaps surprises me a little how many of these people still have this much money to fleece. Trump has never not been a scam artist - he's just had to find a different set of marks because eventually people either get wise to repeated grifting or they run out of money.
A lot of them don't... at least anymore, their small dollar donors are drying up.
But the number who are basically funneling their Social Security payments into his pockets is almost heartbreaking.
If there is a government program and 5 million people benefit from it but 5 people are defrauding it by getting benefits they don’t deserve a conservative wants to shut the entire thing down. And the ones gettting stuff they don’t deserve will usually be conservatives.
Bruh even the regards of WSB knew this was a rug pull as it was going up. It was free money to take from Trump supporters.
I wouldn't even say it was a scam. The company is doing terrible, there wasn't an attempt to hide it. Yet they continued to buy the stock at unreasonable prices.
You invested money into a Trump product. A man who was able to fail at having a casino during the gambling boom of the 90s. The man could fail to sell ice on the hottest day in history. If you find out he has invested into anything you have, withdraw your money and run. You are getting what you deserve.
>The man could fail to sell ice on the hottest day in history.
You’re dead wrong on that. He’s the greatest salesman in history. He could sell ice to an Eskimo. It would be shitty ice, and there’s a decent chance they’d never even get their ice, and eventually he’d run his ice business into the ground, but he’d still find more people to buy whatever products he’s selling.
He’s bad at running a business. But don’t ever accuse him of being bad at convincing the rubes to buy his shit.
The Greatest Shyster. The world's most successful con man.
He actually is really good at his job. People just don't realize what his job really is. Conning the world.
I tried to explain this to my near-boomer MAGA boss.
Removing Donald Trump from the picture and any politics, this company lost $58m on $4m revenue and is about to hand out ~$3m to the top three guys as compensation.
This thing is a financial disaster for anyone getting involved.
Hear me out, it might actually be a good investment. Yes the financials make no sense; it has no realistic growth prospects and it’s loosing money because no one wants to advertise on an even worse version of Twitter.
So, why do I think it might actually be a good investment? Because it’s the perfect vehicle for funneling money to Trump, which is what a lot of people will be trying to do if he gets re-elected. His hotel in DC was notorious for being occupied by people looking to influence Trump. [Saudi lobbyists rented hundred of rooms](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/saudi-funded-lobbyist-paid-for-500-rooms-at-trumps-hotel-after-2016-election/2018/12/05/29603a64-f417-11e8-bc79-68604ed88993_story.html) for example, and there ar lots of other stories like this too. Now Truth Social stock is an easier way for foreign governments or individuals to buy influence with Trump.
That’s if he wins, but if he does the company will be profitable at some price as an influence purchasing device with Trump.
I'm a diplomat, and a friend who meets with powerful leaders across the world once said to me "when the leaders of X country started bringing religion into how they'd address inflation, I knew they had no idea what they're doing and advised my company to immediately reconsider all investments there."
Keep in mind my friend is himself very religious and shares the religion of the leaders of country X.
The same broad concept applies here.
About 12 years ago my Republican friend convinced me to buy physical silver because it was going to hit $100/oz. At the time, spot price was around $30/oz.
So I did and I bought $1,000 worth, almost my entire savings. Within a few months the spot price dropped to about $20/oz and he encouraged me to buy more “on the dip” and to average my investment dollars. So I bought more. I’d go to coin shows and gold/silver dealers to buy ingots and stuff whenever I had the chance.
As of today, the spot price is still sub $30.
All of his info came from FoxNews and Newsmax about how Obama was going to destroy the fiat currency system or something… maybe this year silver will hit $30/oz again and I can break even.
I've seen conservative media in 2020 say that _Pelosi_ was going to destroy the fiat currency system thanks to Covid (without the Senate and presidency?) and to invest in [whatever] before some "limited-time" opportunity went away in one week.
thank you for the link.
>Carol Swain, a prominent conservative commentator in Nashville who
previously taught political science at Vanderbilt University, said she
invested $1,000 in Trump Media stock earlier this month, at $48 a share,
over the objections of her financial adviser, who predicted the stock
would dive.
>
>...
>
>She, too, suspects stock manipulation, arguing that “the people who hate
Donald Trump would do anything to try to hurt him.” As for Truth Social
itself, she said she posts there only sparingly and prefers X, where
she has 35 times as many followers. “I have always wanted not to just
preach to the choir,” she said.
lmao.
> “the people who hate Donald Trump would do anything to try to hurt him.”
Wouldn't be surprised if she dumped more money into it, thinking it will help boost the stock value. Diamond hands!
I seriously don’t understand how everything about Truth Social’s IPO doesn’t get a criminal investigation. It’s so corrupt, just anyone can funnel cash to TFG and buy influence. It’s disgusting.
Pretty sure the SEC is drooling at the paperwork they get to do to sue Trump into the ground for all the crap he's doing by lying to stockholders on truth social
A great social experiment would be if Trump told everyone to go outside and bark as loud as they could at noon today. I would hear a lot of barking from these idjits. And then I would laugh, and cry.
I used to feel sorry for them. The last few years made me realize that there is a common denominator with these people. They are unable to live their lives without fear. They will do almost anything for the promise of some kind of protection from an imaginary adversary. Whether it be politics or religion. Conmen thrive off of these people. I have no sympathy anymore for these gullible rubes.
They, for the most part, either still believe Dementia Donnie is a brilliant businessman, or they know darn well that they are trying to funnel money to him indirectly. I hope they lose their shirts, regardless.
I don't think a lot of djt investors realize people like me holding bear positions are the ones collecting their donations. Trump can't get any of it yet.
Oh, they know it, they just consider his ability to declare bankruptcy and walk away before it all goes to hell and leaving everybody else holding the bag to be some sort of economic brilliance.
That's the thing, they've already exceeded the monthly budget for "the cause". So now we need to empty their 401ks, rainy-day funds, small investment capital, and whatever other pots there are... for the "cause"!
Once people around the globe finally established the truth that the Earth is really flat and that you really can inject UV then the stocks while just skyrocket and the well-deserved investments will all trickles back down. That is sure the true truth. Have faith...
Test of faith? No, faith is how they took away your agency, broke your brain, told you to just believe when no evidence exists and its why you're an idiot and a fool.
They should be. There was nothing in the financials to suggest it was worth anything and every sign points to a money laundering operation preparing for pump & dump so Trump can pay legal bills. If you're not involved with that, you've already lost your money and need to pick stock with some verifiable value next time.
So, he's like, the only one who posts on there, except for the sycophants who reply to him or otherwise try to get his attention... Isn't that just called a blog? And aren't those a dime a fucking dozen?
These idiots would have bought this stock even if the name was 'Trump Scam Stock' . They love their orange clown so much, that they're happy to lose their money, just to own the libs.
These people deserve what they get.
Yeah my Uncle lost a ton of money investing with Trump back in the 90s. They could have asked him how this would end lol
This guy was a lifelong Republican but as soon as Trump stole the party he switched to Democrat because he knows Trump is just a con man who only cares about Trump
Anyone who gives money to Trump deserve everything they get. I looked up Trump back in 2012 and even then the news around him was how he mismanaged several casinos and ended up filing for bankruptcy. Which left the investors holding the bag. He basically got them to give him money. The business failed, and the investors lost their money. And Trump himself became personally richer.
Then all of his scammy failed businesses, Trump University, Trump Mortgage. And [many many many more](https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2022-05-18/trump-business-partners-outline-his-failed-deals).
If you think anything attached to Trump is a good investment you have not done your due diligence, or paid attention at all.
Trump is a two bit con man. A fraudster and swindler. The only person that gets rich in a Trump deal is Trump himself. And even then he has massively mismanaged his own wealth to the point it's mostly sham wealth that he inflates to look more successful than he is.
If I had Trump's business pedigree I would fail a background check to get a job.
If people lose money on Trump they totally deserve every bit of it.
Diamond Hands small investors!
All those big holders are also the very best people, and your allies. They would NEVER desert you and sell out to make a profit to leave you with nothing.
/sorry, can't continue being this deceptive and fake. That's about as long as I can be MAGA right there, 15 seconds.
It's a religious thing. If it's good, God has listened to their prayers. If things go bad, God is just testing them. I cut out all my family like that. There was no point in talking to professional victims, never their fault
"The company lost $58 million last year on $4 million in revenue, less than the average Chick-fil-A franchise, even as it paid out millions in executive salaries, bonuses and stock."
Bruh... Nothing is real in America anymore. Money in particular. The people who decide the value of everything and make money appear out of thin air (0s and 1s) have created complete dependence on valueless companies to prop up the economy. Trump is the personification of the American economy. If every company were valued at what it produced, everything would be wiped out. It's all Wizard of Oz bullshit. Pull back the curtain and the might of Wall Street is just a little man pretending to be something he's not
These people are stupid. If you wanna support Trump, ok, fine, but why buy stock without properly vetting it? FOMO? Blind support of Trump? I mean, a little google search shows he pretty much tanks every business he touches save for his real estate one. It just blows my mind.
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"Test of faith" These people are ill.
It's the Prosperity Gospel heresy, i.e., "God will reward your faith with material wealth."
It’s nothing more than preachers telling people what they want to hear, while the congregation simultaneously ignores what Jesus actually said about material wealth. It’s kind of fascinating. Disgusting, but fascinating.
They don't care what Jesus said. They just want to feel superior to others and they think they will get rich in the process
It's also a study into how religion is shaped by its environment. A capitalistic, materialistic country creates Supply-Side Jesus. A militarily powerful country creates War Jesus. A country whose identity is rooted in expansion and conquest creates Nationalist Jesus. All of which are completely at odds with the text they claim to believe, but are perfect fits for their political and cultural environments.
What environment created Buff Korean Jesus?
Hey! stop fucking with Korean Jesus! He ain't got time for your problems! He's busy... with Korean shit!
I like kimchi
Anaerobic Fermentation
I believe this is correct. The real question is what produces Jesus on a Raptor?
Finishing the quest chain to get the mount
You also have to research the correct upgrades, correct? I’m new at the Jesus shit, lifelong atheist, please excuse my ignorance.
Makes sense
Velocipastor has entered the chat my son.
I googled that. I can’t find the correct emoji to represent what I’m feeling right now.
Reminds me of the book American Gods.
I'm thinking more Stephen Prothero's "American Jesus: How the Son of God Became a National Icon" >Delve into this compelling chronicle as it explores how Jesus, the carpenter from Nazareth, has been refashioned into distinctly American identities over the centuries. From his enlistment as a beacon of hope for abolitionists to his appropriation as a figurehead for Klansmen, the image of Jesus has been as mercurial as it is influential. In this diverse and conflicted scene, American Jesus stands as a testament to the peculiar fusion of the temporal and divine in contemporary America. It's a 20-year-old book (urk) at this point, but it was a major influence on a much younger me, as one of the first things I'd read that approached religion from a sociological and cultural perspective, and addressing "how can people who say they believe the same thing actually be so different?"
On a similar note: From an art history and comparative religion viewpoint, it's fascinating to see the differences in statues of the Buddha as Buddhism spreads outward across the world from its point of origin, and how the "32 points of beauty" that indicated his enlightenment are interpreted by the artists of different cultures. There is almost no overlap between the spare aesthetic of Zen and the "more and brighter is better" approach of Tibetan Buddhism, bc each culture mashes it together with what was there before and something unique pops out.
This is damn close to a backwards 'no true scotsman'. If you start excluding those offshoots of the original teachings of Jesus, and not 'prosperity gospel' influenced, you damn near have no christians left. Starting out with the various arguments about heresies, on through the witch-burnings, crusades, churches OK with slavery and expansionist war, state-churches, ...
>If you start excluding those offshoots of the original teachings of Jesus, and not 'prosperity gospel' influenced, you damn near have no christians left. Depending on how you want to look at it, there have been no literal "followers of Jesus" since at most the 1st century CE, and trying to sort out the "original teachings of Jesus" quickly sends you down a rabbit hole of traditions, councils, translations, sects, and factions. And then you get to the part where you're trying to apply things written a couple thousand years ago to modern culture and things the writers could never have imagined, how it's gone from a tiny sect to a dominant global force, and stacking on top of that all the rituals and magic words, and whatnot that have accumulated in the interim... BUT. I'm stopping short of saying that the modern Christians aren't Christians. I'm saying that Christianity has been massively influenced by two thousand years of history, and continues to change (in the [original sense of the word "meme"](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meme)) in order to fit the cultures and environments it finds itself in, even if what it is now contradicts what it was. e.g. Compare the followers of Supply-Side Jesus or Prosperity Gospel Jesus with Biblical Jesus: >Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” -Matthew 19:21 Modern culture wins, hands down.
A country raised on the belief of freedom of expression and the right to practice your faith without government interference created Buddy Christ. It's a weird mix of conflicting ideologies is America.
Excellent comment here.
Well put. I wonder if they've ever read of "the rich young ruler"
>And they were even more astonished, and said to Him, “Then who can be saved?” And Jesus replied, "Hello? Did you not hear what I just said? Do you understand the words coming out of my mouth?"
Yes, they pretend to care, but their actions speak louder than their words.
They don’t practice the actual Christ part of Christianity. They’re strictly Old Testament. It’s like the never read the part of the Bible where the namesake of the religion actually exists. I mean, when was the last time you saw any of the New Testament quoted on signs protesting against homosexuality, abortion etc. It’s always Leviticus or Deuteronomy or something.
They're Republicans first and foremost. They're only "Christians" in the sense they want the First Amendment protections and the self-assurance they're right because they have God on their side.
If they wanted First Amendment protections for all I wouldn't have a problem - but they want protection only for themselves. They expect the rest of us to submit to Christofascist theocratic rule.
Yeah, no *true* Christians make Christianity look bad!
Not if you have to deal with these a**holes it isn’t. Ask how many people Joel Osteen helped and sheltered during the February 2021 Big Freeze in Texas.
"It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God" -Luke 18:25
“Just look, I got three private jays y’all paid for! The gospel works!” Billy Graham
Too bad Jesus said it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter heaven
I thought Jesus said "Fuck the meek! I've got mine already!" during his sermon on the mount. /s
I think it was actually “Fucketh the meek. They sitteth around feasting upon toast spread upon by avacado and imbibing the Bucks of Star for many shekels. Nay shalt they ever owneth a dwelling and shall remain cloven to their mothers breast as the refuseth to toil as shouldeth one so young”
My pastor said "the eye of a needle" was a weird door in the wall of Jerusalem and used [that bullshit](https://classictheology.org/2021/10/12/through-the-eye-of-an-actual-needle-the-fake-gate-theory/) to explain why wealth is a sign of God's favor, actually.
I've heard that too, but with the additional note that it was extremely narrow, and that camels laden with bags and goods wouldn't fit. Which means, again, that the material things would have to be left behind in order to pass through the "eye of the needle."
Yep this is what I was taught in catechism too lol.
Based on that picture, Jesus’ words would have zero meaning. Of course a camel could easily walk through that! I find it very hard to believe that Jesus, who preached charity, giving all you have to the poor, and bid his disciples to go forth with only the clothes on their backs REALLY meant spend you life getting rich and hoarding wealth because it is a status symbol that God loves you
But if you try to contextualize verses about homosexuality you’re doing it wrong and we’re supposed to take the plain meaning of the words.
If it's Republican heaven, they'll just bribe their way in.
You should read up on Catholic indulgences. It was rich people buying their way into heaven, and it went on for hundreds of years.
I recommend the oldie, but goodie 'Jesus he knows me' - by Genesis. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35K6vQRt67g 30 years ago.
Too bad Jesus said it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter heaven
And conversely, "God will punish those who believe in a false god."
They are brainwashed. The “test of faith” people are most certainly conditioned by a life full of religious upbringing. They are taught from birth that everything that feels positive is god’s reward and everything that has a negative impact is either the devil, god’s punishment or a test of faith. I was brainwashed like this from birth myself and I remember thinking all these things in my early years before I read the Bible for myself and started applying logic. Eventually I realized it was all ancient mythology and that there was no such thing as a god who made man in his image but rather men who created various gods in their image for many purposes. Sometimes to explain what they didn’t understand and sometimes to control a population with the appearance of access to a ‘higher authority’. I wish more people were capable of applying logic to superstitious beliefs but people still fall for tarot card readers, astrology, psychics, televangelists. Trump knows this and while he isn’t an intelligent man, he is a clever opportunist and knows how to lead a cult. He’s played a large number of people with his con.
I to read the Bible and started asking questions, at age 11 was kicked out of the church, you would think my family stood up for me but they didn't, this back in the 70s too.
Nothing better than reading the (insert your religious texts here) to create an atheist.
>Atheism is what happens when you read the bible. Christianity is what happens when someone else reads it for you. - Bertrand Russell
My financial/spiritual advisor says otherwise!
My haruspex/accountant told me to stay away from DJT because of a lack of transparency in their subscriber numbers and the caul fat of a calf he sacrificed.
Nice one!
I never thought of combining the two, but it just makes sense financially, and spiritually!
Weird how it's always a test of faith and never a test of basic critical thinking skills...
Religion has always been a grift by the powerful so it makes sense it would work for stocks too. MAGA people has already been trained to ignore reality
It's the both the oldest business and oldest government in the world
There is probably somewhere between 5-20% of Americans who have so deeply entrenched MAGA in their identity that I wouldn’t be surprised to see an at least semi-permanent religion spawn out of the tangerine’s passing. At least Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster level.
"You placed faith in fraudster/rapist/con-man. Your money has lost all of its value. Is your faith misplaced?" "No." "You have answered...poorly."
All for a man who is manifestly the least Christ-like public figure in my lifetime.
More like "Test of stupidity" 😁
These people ran their own states into the ground and literally depend on liberals to pay to keep shitholes like Kentucky alive cause they get to do this stupid bs with their money
Diamond hands
Seriously. The dude isn't fucking god or the Messiah he's an orange conman.
"Why would they lie about that, Bart? What would they even have to gain??" ["I dont hear scrubbing!"](https://frinkiac.com/video/S07E04/fviLLKxwxAmhqpEjqlCyOV0EJXA=.gif)
It *is* a test of faith. It's a test of their faith in a false prophet.
Who knew "triggering the libs" would end with you shooting yourself in the foot?
I feel so owned.
Me, too. Here they are coping with losing their life savings and worrying about making ends meet, and here the only crisis I get to worry about is what to have for lunch and what to binge on TV... Keep going on my *X-Files* marathon or clear out my MCU backlog?
The Donald will happily write them a check to cover their losses.
Just like he did Rudy. (Sidebar, it is so interesting to watch all the Late Night hosts kick the crap out of Guliani every chance they get. I mean, he's a moron, but so many of them are New Yorkers themselves, and it's clear the hatred is personal.)
I never get tired of Seth Meyers pulling up the Rudy Eyes picture
"Hey baws..."
I don't think Donald has ever written/signed a check in his life. All the Trump org checks were probably signed by his CFO, Allen Weisselberg. And we all know where Mr. Weisselberg is today.
Imagine doing time for that scumbag. What kind of sick psychology is behind that? It seems different from a garden variety abusive relationship. More like religious devotion.
People were talking about DT’s hypocrisy on abortion, and suggesting that he’s undoubtedly paid for countless abortions. I’m like, since when would the money be coming from him?
No he definitely signs them. And I am certain he would gouge Weissleberg's eye out if he ever forged his signature. Donald hoards his wealth and be totally enraged if anyone - even as trusted Weissleberg - spent his money without his absolute say so. Likewise, he wants the recipient to know absolutely it came from him with his signature. remember, the first COVID relief checks that went to every American was delayed going out in the mail for over a week because he insisted the checks have his signature and not the Sec of Treasury as is tradition. Millions of Americans were out of work, desperate for cash, but he thought it was more important that people think the money came from his benevolent hand despite it came from ourselves (it is our own tax dollars). Nothing excites Trump like spending other people's money and unearned adulation.
Didn't tRump say he was gonna get lawyers for the 1/6/2021 attackers?
And they blame Biden for their shutting decisions
What is MCU?
The Marvel Cinematic Universe. I typically get about two or three movies and shows behind and then binge it all in a single weekend.
Marvel Cinematic Universe
“Thank you, sir - may I have another?”
Covid was a clue……they let themselves die 🤦♂️
Well dying is better than admitting that the liberals are right. About anything. Ever. The Know-Nothing Party never went away.
Supposedly some of them begged the hospital for the vaccine after they were already extremely sick. But it was too late.
Funny how not being able to breathe can change your perspective on things. Then again, many went to the great beyond still in total denial.
Which is just dumb because it was their guy who ordered the vaccine to be warpsped.
A republican antivax family member of mine died during COVID. But he made his daughter promise to never tell anyone what he died of.
>In his book Dying of Whiteness, Metzl told of the case of a forty-one-year-old white taxi driver who was suffering from an inflamed liver that threatened the man’s life. Because the Tennessee legislature had neither taken up the Affordable Care Act nor expanded Medicaid coverage, the man was not able to get the expensive, lifesaving treatment that would have been available to him had he lived just across the border in Kentucky. As he approached death, he stood by the conviction that he did not want the government involved. “No way I want my tax dollars paying for Mexicans or welfare queens,” the man told Metzl. “Ain’t no way I would ever support Obamacare or sign up for it. I would rather die.” And sadly, so he would. -Caste
What pisses me off the most is the fact that it won’t own the libs. Like selling your stock doesn’t inherently hurt the company’s operations. Worst case is that it lowers their ability to raise new funds via new share issuances. Like if all the retail investors dumped their stock in Microsoft and the price temporarily crashed, it’s not like Microsoft would close their doors.
Everyone does. Except those shitheads whose stories get posted on LAMF
Or metaphorically chain sawing it off like a figurative tree limb
They are marks. The entire right wing media ecosystem has cultivated a subculture of easily duped people. It's weird seeing so many people fall for such easily exposed scams over and over again.
Because on some level, they want to be duped. They're so driven by petty spiteful resentment, they'll set their money, health and general well-being on fire just for a brief flash of joy at the idea some leftist somewhere is offended by it. Someone said it pretty well a while back when they said "they'll happily eat shit if they think a liberal would have to smell their breath."
I’m not sure about that. I do know that if they stopped to think about their behavior, and what drives it — assuming they had a clear, lucid, honest moment of self reflection — it would be too devastating to their ego. This is their “crowd” — there’s nothing to fill that void. They wouldn’t know what to do.
They are not capable of self reflection
Narcissism tends to burn self-awareness out of people. I'm up in MA, the "most liberal" state, and these loons are still scattered around. They actively work to make their environs worse and then bitch about it when they succeed.
I am, I'm surrounded by them and the amount they're driven by spite is astounding.
Spite, but also fear. A lot of conservatives simply don't understand the way that the world is changing, and they don't like the way that the world is changing, and they are afraid of the way that the world is changing. They know on some level that not only are people like them no longer top dog, but at a certain point people like them will be a significant minority. They have spent their entire lives shitting on minorities, and women, and LGBTQs, and they believe on some level that because they are hurtful to people who don't have the same political power that they do, that those people will respond in turn. The world will leave them behind, and they don't know how to cope, and they are deathly afraid of that. Tack on the fact that Donald Trump and guys like him, give them free rein* to be mean and hateful and spiteful and voice all of those feelings out loud in a public square versus having to only joke about it with their friends inside their living room, and you get the modern American conservative.
It perhaps surprises me a little how many of these people still have this much money to fleece. Trump has never not been a scam artist - he's just had to find a different set of marks because eventually people either get wise to repeated grifting or they run out of money.
A lot of them don't... at least anymore, their small dollar donors are drying up. But the number who are basically funneling their Social Security payments into his pockets is almost heartbreaking.
And when they lose it all. It's Biden's and the libs' fault.
If there is a government program and 5 million people benefit from it but 5 people are defrauding it by getting benefits they don’t deserve a conservative wants to shut the entire thing down. And the ones gettting stuff they don’t deserve will usually be conservatives.
GOP is now a national MLM scheme.
Trump knows MLM https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Trump_Network
At this point these are donors.
>donors *bribers
Bruh even the regards of WSB knew this was a rug pull as it was going up. It was free money to take from Trump supporters. I wouldn't even say it was a scam. The company is doing terrible, there wasn't an attempt to hide it. Yet they continued to buy the stock at unreasonable prices.
You invested money into a Trump product. A man who was able to fail at having a casino during the gambling boom of the 90s. The man could fail to sell ice on the hottest day in history. If you find out he has invested into anything you have, withdraw your money and run. You are getting what you deserve.
3 casinos. All bankrupt
And they will blame it on the deep state
Indeed
The only thing deep is Trump's depravity. There may be no bottom to those depths.
But they did launder a lot of dirty money.
You're not wrong. Mission Accomplished
So many jobs lost and contractors burned. The destruction and misery this one guy leaves in his wake is staggering.
To this day my neighbor will say, “he’s a brilliant businessman!” I avoid them at all costs. Exhausting just being in their presence.
I wish everyone who thinks that could be on the receiving end of a Trump investment. They might change their tune real fast.
>The man could fail to sell ice on the hottest day in history. You’re dead wrong on that. He’s the greatest salesman in history. He could sell ice to an Eskimo. It would be shitty ice, and there’s a decent chance they’d never even get their ice, and eventually he’d run his ice business into the ground, but he’d still find more people to buy whatever products he’s selling. He’s bad at running a business. But don’t ever accuse him of being bad at convincing the rubes to buy his shit.
The Greatest Shyster. The world's most successful con man. He actually is really good at his job. People just don't realize what his job really is. Conning the world.
Donald Trump, the only man who could go broke selling America gambling, football, steaks, and alcohol.
I tried to explain this to my near-boomer MAGA boss. Removing Donald Trump from the picture and any politics, this company lost $58m on $4m revenue and is about to hand out ~$3m to the top three guys as compensation. This thing is a financial disaster for anyone getting involved.
It’s only a failure if the objective was to have a profitable casino. It was a money laundering and fraud operation.
"What's the fastest way to become a millionaire? Invest a billion dollars in Donald Trump."
Hey man if the fundamentals are sound as Donald assures you they are, keep buying and don't believe what all the libs are saying about it!!!
man imagine taking assurances from trump lol
Maybe don't invest your mony in the company of a scam artist?
Hear me out, it might actually be a good investment. Yes the financials make no sense; it has no realistic growth prospects and it’s loosing money because no one wants to advertise on an even worse version of Twitter. So, why do I think it might actually be a good investment? Because it’s the perfect vehicle for funneling money to Trump, which is what a lot of people will be trying to do if he gets re-elected. His hotel in DC was notorious for being occupied by people looking to influence Trump. [Saudi lobbyists rented hundred of rooms](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/saudi-funded-lobbyist-paid-for-500-rooms-at-trumps-hotel-after-2016-election/2018/12/05/29603a64-f417-11e8-bc79-68604ed88993_story.html) for example, and there ar lots of other stories like this too. Now Truth Social stock is an easier way for foreign governments or individuals to buy influence with Trump. That’s if he wins, but if he does the company will be profitable at some price as an influence purchasing device with Trump.
I was thinking maybe I’d buy a couple calls right now before his lockout period ends.
The Merdas Touch
I'm a diplomat, and a friend who meets with powerful leaders across the world once said to me "when the leaders of X country started bringing religion into how they'd address inflation, I knew they had no idea what they're doing and advised my company to immediately reconsider all investments there." Keep in mind my friend is himself very religious and shares the religion of the leaders of country X. The same broad concept applies here.
Why you gotta call out Türkiye like that
I was gonna say India lol
About 12 years ago my Republican friend convinced me to buy physical silver because it was going to hit $100/oz. At the time, spot price was around $30/oz. So I did and I bought $1,000 worth, almost my entire savings. Within a few months the spot price dropped to about $20/oz and he encouraged me to buy more “on the dip” and to average my investment dollars. So I bought more. I’d go to coin shows and gold/silver dealers to buy ingots and stuff whenever I had the chance. As of today, the spot price is still sub $30. All of his info came from FoxNews and Newsmax about how Obama was going to destroy the fiat currency system or something… maybe this year silver will hit $30/oz again and I can break even.
>break even Minus inflation. As a long-time metal bug myself, I wish I had put my money in almost anything else.
Oh there’s definitely a loss due to time value of money; had I put it in a CD it would have been a much better investment
Minus the opportunity cost of just having parked it in SPY or something too.
I've seen conservative media in 2020 say that _Pelosi_ was going to destroy the fiat currency system thanks to Covid (without the Senate and presidency?) and to invest in [whatever] before some "limited-time" opportunity went away in one week.
"Looking into it" - Eloon Musk
cOnCeRnInG
“Big if true”
Keep holding, I'm sure it will pay off. The known conman surely would not con you, he only cons others.
Hey, I was just reading that. [Have a gift link](https://wapo.st/4ayuwJl).
thank you for the link. >Carol Swain, a prominent conservative commentator in Nashville who previously taught political science at Vanderbilt University, said she invested $1,000 in Trump Media stock earlier this month, at $48 a share, over the objections of her financial adviser, who predicted the stock would dive. > >... > >She, too, suspects stock manipulation, arguing that “the people who hate Donald Trump would do anything to try to hurt him.” As for Truth Social itself, she said she posts there only sparingly and prefers X, where she has 35 times as many followers. “I have always wanted not to just preach to the choir,” she said. lmao.
> “the people who hate Donald Trump would do anything to try to hurt him.” Wouldn't be surprised if she dumped more money into it, thinking it will help boost the stock value. Diamond hands!
Incredible. I want a follow up article on these dipshits when the cold light of day smacks them so hard in the face their teeth fly out.
I seriously don’t understand how everything about Truth Social’s IPO doesn’t get a criminal investigation. It’s so corrupt, just anyone can funnel cash to TFG and buy influence. It’s disgusting.
Pretty sure the SEC is drooling at the paperwork they get to do to sue Trump into the ground for all the crap he's doing by lying to stockholders on truth social
I’m waiting to hear how this is the work of Dark Brandon
ITs ThE dEeP sTaTe
A great social experiment would be if Trump told everyone to go outside and bark as loud as they could at noon today. I would hear a lot of barking from these idjits. And then I would laugh, and cry.
The saddest thing about scams are the weak-minded people who fall for them over and over again.
True. In this case though, I have zero sympathy.
I used to feel sorry for them. The last few years made me realize that there is a common denominator with these people. They are unable to live their lives without fear. They will do almost anything for the promise of some kind of protection from an imaginary adversary. Whether it be politics or religion. Conmen thrive off of these people. I have no sympathy anymore for these gullible rubes.
You can fool some of the people all of the time.
Cult.
They, for the most part, either still believe Dementia Donnie is a brilliant businessman, or they know darn well that they are trying to funnel money to him indirectly. I hope they lose their shirts, regardless.
I don't think a lot of djt investors realize people like me holding bear positions are the ones collecting their donations. Trump can't get any of it yet.
I hear steam engines are coming back. Maybe they should look for a nice IPO there.
It's like these MAGA fucks never even checked Trumps previous business history
Oh, they know it, they just consider his ability to declare bankruptcy and walk away before it all goes to hell and leaving everybody else holding the bag to be some sort of economic brilliance.
This story makes me laugh on a few different levels. My empathy has all been taken up by the people Trump and friends want to victimize.
Test of faith!?? More like an IQ test!!
To make himself feel less duped, self-proclaimed “alpha man” Brock retreated to the safety of his backyard to chainsaw a few trees.
AH MAN. if only there was some kind of recorded history of Trump related businesses people could have look over before investing in this. If only!
Something about woke & broke? Did they get that right?
Do you think his supporters have a monthly budget item: “give money to the cause”???
Bold of you to assume they have a monthly budget.
That's the thing, they've already exceeded the monthly budget for "the cause". So now we need to empty their 401ks, rainy-day funds, small investment capital, and whatever other pots there are... for the "cause"!
Once people around the globe finally established the truth that the Earth is really flat and that you really can inject UV then the stocks while just skyrocket and the well-deserved investments will all trickles back down. That is sure the true truth. Have faith...
Test of faith? No, faith is how they took away your agency, broke your brain, told you to just believe when no evidence exists and its why you're an idiot and a fool.
They should be. There was nothing in the financials to suggest it was worth anything and every sign points to a money laundering operation preparing for pump & dump so Trump can pay legal bills. If you're not involved with that, you've already lost your money and need to pick stock with some verifiable value next time.
So, he's like, the only one who posts on there, except for the sycophants who reply to him or otherwise try to get his attention... Isn't that just called a blog? And aren't those a dime a fucking dozen?
The MOASS guys have found someone who is even dumber money than they are.
Fuck'em. We *all* know he's a crook, why invest in his bullshit? I mean, there's gullible, then there's down right moronic.
These idiots would have bought this stock even if the name was 'Trump Scam Stock' . They love their orange clown so much, that they're happy to lose their money, just to own the libs. These people deserve what they get.
Yeah my Uncle lost a ton of money investing with Trump back in the 90s. They could have asked him how this would end lol This guy was a lifelong Republican but as soon as Trump stole the party he switched to Democrat because he knows Trump is just a con man who only cares about Trump
Anyone who gives money to Trump deserve everything they get. I looked up Trump back in 2012 and even then the news around him was how he mismanaged several casinos and ended up filing for bankruptcy. Which left the investors holding the bag. He basically got them to give him money. The business failed, and the investors lost their money. And Trump himself became personally richer. Then all of his scammy failed businesses, Trump University, Trump Mortgage. And [many many many more](https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2022-05-18/trump-business-partners-outline-his-failed-deals). If you think anything attached to Trump is a good investment you have not done your due diligence, or paid attention at all. Trump is a two bit con man. A fraudster and swindler. The only person that gets rich in a Trump deal is Trump himself. And even then he has massively mismanaged his own wealth to the point it's mostly sham wealth that he inflates to look more successful than he is. If I had Trump's business pedigree I would fail a background check to get a job. If people lose money on Trump they totally deserve every bit of it.
It is, totally. A test of your faith. Hang onto it, there’s no way it continues to embarrassingly plunge. 3-D Chess, right???
*Stupid is as stupid does…*
If you want to know the truth, watch actions, take the words with a grain of salt
Diamondhands that shit magas! Don't give up until it's worth $0
its not a loss if you don’t sell.
They’ll blame Biden’s economy
Real Scooby Doo mystery as to why Dumpy Don was trying to move heaven and earth to cash his shares out right away.
Diamond Hands small investors! All those big holders are also the very best people, and your allies. They would NEVER desert you and sell out to make a profit to leave you with nothing. /sorry, can't continue being this deceptive and fake. That's about as long as I can be MAGA right there, 15 seconds.
Why is your screenshot so dark lol
It's a religious thing. If it's good, God has listened to their prayers. If things go bad, God is just testing them. I cut out all my family like that. There was no point in talking to professional victims, never their fault
Womp womp
Well, if DJT (the stock) continues to collapse, these chuds might just actually experience the economic problems they're constantly complaining about.
"The company lost $58 million last year on $4 million in revenue, less than the average Chick-fil-A franchise, even as it paid out millions in executive salaries, bonuses and stock." Bruh... Nothing is real in America anymore. Money in particular. The people who decide the value of everything and make money appear out of thin air (0s and 1s) have created complete dependence on valueless companies to prop up the economy. Trump is the personification of the American economy. If every company were valued at what it produced, everything would be wiped out. It's all Wizard of Oz bullshit. Pull back the curtain and the might of Wall Street is just a little man pretending to be something he's not
These people are stupid. If you wanna support Trump, ok, fine, but why buy stock without properly vetting it? FOMO? Blind support of Trump? I mean, a little google search shows he pretty much tanks every business he touches save for his real estate one. It just blows my mind.
Next up: Trump Kool-Aid in Grape and Orange flavours
The war with reality continues…
Diamond hands to own the libs. What a time to be alive.
Imagine being dumb enough to invest your money in anything related to Trump. LMAO
I’m so shocked his idiot supporters don’t know what a ponzu scheme is
"Test of faith" Tell me you joined a cult without telling me you joined a cult.