Reply #17: There is an explanation out there [View All]

[quaker bill]

A recent psychological study of conservatism provides some substantial insight.

It is mostly fear of change or the unknown. This is results in the drive toward simple answers and black and white based thought patterns and moral structures. Republicans have made great hay of this.

The fundamentalist churches provide this sort of structure to life. Thus it is no coincidence that adherents to these churches vote republican. Republicans paint all things up as either "good or bad". They say "we have the good values" "they are immoral and corrupt"... I call this a form of arrested spiritual / psychological development. These churches and the repubs work hard at maintaining folks in this state.

Interestingly, as one who has studied the actual christian message fairly deeply, Christ was well to the left of even most folks who come to this site. He was a radical who proposed social reform to the extent that they killed him over it, in public, to make the strongest example.

"From each according to his measure to each according his needs"

A halmark of the early christian church was each member sharing his wealth equally among the members. A rather socialist / communist notion.. Modern fundie churches do touch this stuff, even though you have to be fairly selective to avoid it.