The devil can quote scripture (5 minute read)

 

Putin sayeth

            Putin held a big Trump type rally in Russia. Putin referenced scripture. I kid you not.

From Yahoo News:

“And this is where the words from the Scriptures come to my mind: 'There is no greater love than if someone gives his soul for his friends,'" Putin continued, paraphrasing John 15:13.

Both the Post and ABC News translate the Russian word душу (dushu) as "soul," but most English translations of the passage use "life." The verse is part of a long discourse Jesus delivered to his disciples as they traveled to the Garden of Gethsemane, where he was arrested and taken to be crucified after ordering Simon Peter not to use force to defend him.

             Here’s the < link > to the rally. You can hear the translator at 5m 30s.  (Note: you may have to click the “Browse YouTube” button after clicking on this link to get to the actual YouTube video)

            < Hannity> called the rally “His [Putin’s] best attempt to look like Donald Trump.” Since he’s with Fox Pravda he also bashes President Biden and channeling his buddy Trump pumps out some lies. Hannity must not have heard < Trump say > it isn’t good for the country to harass the President

            BTW For those that might not know, Pravda is the newspaper of the Communist Party and was founded by Lenin and Stalin. It’s the Russian word for truth. Russians aren’t seeing a lot of that these days as communications with the outside world have been cut off. End of BTW.

            Czar Putin has kept his being a member of the Russian Orthodox Church kind of quiet. His penchant for murdering people including Christians makes his being the darling of Evangelicals like Franklin Graham somewhat awkward. Speaking of Graham, he kind of made a tactical error saying that he was praying for Putin and forgot to pray for you know…for the people of Ukraine and the leaders of the free world including President Biden.

Talk about awkward!

Christian Nationalism

            Franklin Graham being prescient.

I lifted this from a Rolling Stone March 19, 2022 post:

“In February 2014, evangelist Franklin Graham offered cautious praise for Putin in an editorial for Decision Magazine, celebrating the Russian president’s decision to back a law barring dissemination of “propaganda of nontraditional sexual relations” — a statute which, activists argued, effectively banned children from accessing media that presents LGBTQ identities and relationships in a positive or normalizing light. Graham would travel to Russia the following year, where he met with both Kirill and Putin, and told local media that “millions of Americans would like (Putin) to come and run for president of the United States.”

            This may be one of the millions of people that Graham was talking about. Lauren Witzke, a Republican candidate for Senate in Delaware, who told this year’s gathering of the Conservative Political Action Conference: “Here’s the deal. Russia is a Christian nationalist nation. They’re actually Russian Orthodox. … I identify more with Putin’s Christian values than I do with Joe Biden.” Sadly, I don’t believe that she’s an outlier. What’s happening is that Putin supporters are learning that the majority of Americans think invading Ukraine is a crime against humanity not seen since Hitler started WWII. They’ll not be quite so vociferous about their pro-Putin views.

            Speaking of Hitler it is worth noting that he had support of the clergy in Germany when he set out to conquer the world for the master race. Men like < Dietrich Bonhoeffer > that I wrote about were exceptions.

            Graham did a follow up visit in < 2019 > where he met with sanctioned Russians. He said that Vice President Mike Pence whole heartedly approved his visit. Keep in mind that Pence is also very religious. He’s so religious that he believes the earth is only 10,000 years old. Not kidding here either.

Not Alone

            Evangelical Christian Nationalists (Religious Right) aren’t alone in their support of Czar Putin. White Nationalists, et al also support Putin. Putin pivoted in 2012 to being a supporter of their Christian values. Evangelicals along with people like Pat Buchanan and Rush Limbaugh talked about Putin being an example of having good moral values. Yes, Putin. Christian Putin. The Putin that has gone around authorizing killing people and waging war like is doing in Ukraine. It’s really kind of a rogue’s gallery of Republicans that have praised, supported and excused Czar Putin. Trump supporter Steve Bannon along with Roger Stone stand up for Putin to mention a couple.

            For a lot of those on the Christian right like Pat Robertson Putin is fulfilling prophesies. Robertson is seriously < trippin’ > and has been for quite some time. The religious right leans into these being the end times. It supports their apocalyptic beliefs. They are just doing their bit to help them along.

Questions, I’ve had a few

            In case anyone is wondering why Putin has so much support in this country from the right and has been called out as being such a good example of morality it’s because Russia under his leadership has supported traditional right wing family values.

            They believe Putin is a Christian Nationalist. He has persecuted the LGBTQ community. And Muslims. He’s not too fond of Muslims either. Or a free press. He throws opposition leaders in jail or poisons them. He protects Christians worldwide except for the ones he’s killing. In other words “Traditional” values.

He’s the kind of leader they want.

"The devil can quote Scripture for his purpose;

An evil soul producing holy witness is like a villain with a smiling cheek,

A goodly apple rotten at the core."

--William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice