Climate change deniers, Right to Life protesters, Gays in the Military Homophobes, Muslim haters; all of these positions don’t make sense to liberals, whom Karl Rove called "the reality-based community". But objective reality is but one point of view. If you look at events from a different perspective, then things make sense in a different way. If you start from a different premise, then the same events that might lead you to one conclusion, can lead someone else to a vastly different conclusion.
First, a disclaimer. While I am going to talk a lot about religion, I don’t want to imply that all religion is bad. The teachings of Christ, Buddha and yes, Muhammad, have brought comfort to billions of people and inspired great acts of compassion, charity and courage. What I don’t like are those who pervert their religion and use it to justify what liberals might call “evil.
While religion has many aspects that can be used for good or evil, one belief in particular has been troubling. That is the concept of “Rapture”. This is the wide spread belief that the second coming of Jesus will herald a massive battle between good and evil, the world will be destroyed and the faithful will be called to heaven. There will then be 3 ½ to 7 years of Tribulations after which Satan will be imprisoned for 1000 years and the Earth will be a Paradise ruled by Jesus himself. After 1000 years, Satan will escape and the final battle will occur leading to Judgement Day. How wide spread is this belief? Well in 2011 Pew did a study that found 40% of Americans believe in the Rapture and that number rises in the south and among evangelicals. In other words, among conservatives. It wouldn’t a problem except that many believers think that the Rapture is imminent; that we are living in the end times. This means that events that mean one thing to non believers, take on a different context to believers.
And speaking of believers, not all Christians believe in the Rapture. The Catholic church, for instance, views the Second Coming as a single moment at the end of time when all sinners are judged. No battle, no tribulations, no paradise on earth, nada. Even those who believe in it are split into various camps such as pre, mid and post tribulations.
If you are a believer, there are at least three possible viewpoints:
1) Let what happens, happen. God works in mysterious ways, it is not ours to understand. His will be done.
2) Prepare for the end. God has given warning to those who are blessed. Do not discard this gift. This view describes a lot of preppers, militia etc. Store food and weapons. Try to convert as many heathens as possible.
3) Hasten the arrival of Christ. The day of salvation is coming. Anything we can do to bring it about faster is doing God’s will. This means supporting Israel since it is necessary for Israel to be destroyed by the Anti-Christ. It means building up the army and intervening in the Middle East. Even if the battles fought (Iraq, Afghanistan) didn’t turn out to be the big one, the experience is useful and destabilizing the region will make Armageddon possible.
The variety of views, some of which are held simultaneously, can lead to odd results. For instance, Michelle Bachmann recently thanked AND condemned Obama for bring on the Apocalypse.
With the end of the world at hand, many causes lose priority. Global warming? Doesn’t matter. Besides, climate change may well be part of the Tribulations so it is destiny. Universal Health care? That’s focusing on the body when it should be on the soul. Education? Again, unnecessary.
What is important is preparing for the coming apocalypse. That means making the army strong so it can fight and win Armageddon and that means spending on the military, at the expense of social programs, and making it “pure” by getting rid of gays in uniform. It’s a holy war after all so the army has to be as Christian as possible.
The army they meet in battle will be by definition, non Christian. So since Islam is the largest religion on earth, it must be them. Indeed, ISIS has a similar outlook; they also believe there will be a end of times battle but of course they believe they are the “good guys” and are destined to win.
So Muslims will be the enemy at Armageddon. That means a ban on all of them is probably a good thing. Even if it contradicts the Constitution, it should be done because at the End of Days, all laws of man, including the Constitution, shall be void.
In order to win, America must be a Christian nation with Christian morals. That means no abortion. Look at it this way, when a fetus is aborted, either it has a soul or it doesn’t. If it does, then abortion is murder. If it doesn’t then that is a loss of a potential soul. With the Rapture upon us, that soul will never see paradise and that is worse than murder. Of course once the child is born, no resources need be expended on child care since it will see paradise soon enough.
The strangest thing about all of this is how recently this all came about. For over 1500 years, Rapture theory was unknown. It was first proposed in England in 1744 by Morgan Edwards but it went almost unnoticed. Later, in 1830 it was independently developed by John Nelson Darby. This time, it caught hold.
The 1800s was a turbulent time. It was the beginning of the Industrial Revolution in America which upset older patterns of economics and it included the Civil War, which also upended life, especially in the South. When times are tough, Rapture theory has grown. The discord and strife may be seen as harbingers of the Second Coming, when true believers will ascend to heaven. It gives hope that the troubles are ordained by God for a higher purpose. That it’s not your fault. That your tribulations have meaning.
We are currently living in another turbulent time. Computer automation has upended older patterns of economics and the world is in an almost constant state of war. Despite advances, most conservatives believe we are worse off now than before. In some ways, they are right. While the rest of the world has had gradually decreasing mortality rates, the US rate is not as good. In particular, the mortality rate among non-hispanic whites, ages 45-54 has INCREASED since 1998. When you look at causes of death, normal causes like diabetes or lung cancer are stable or dropping but stress related causes, like liver failure and suicides have increased. In particular, poisonings(!) have skyrocketed. Poisonings refers to overdoses of alcohol or drugs so again, it seems stress related. In comparison, mortality rates among non whites has dropped over the same time span.
These are stressful times for whites of that age group. They are angry and afraid. Their fears and resentments are being fanned by Fox News, conservative politicians, grifters and their church. It is natural for them to turn to Rapture theory, but the logical outcomes from that have led to the conservative positions we so much deplore.
The only way to fix this is to make the country economically healthy again. Fix the economy, reduce income disparity, give the people a stake in the country with health care and hope. That way you reduce despair. You reduce the allure of Rapture theory and in doing so, prevent the Apocalypse.