Calling Out the GOP - And Know Nothing Christianism

Here's a money quote from Blogger Andrew Sullivan on the state of the National GOP.

"On most issues, I side with what used to be the center-right, but the GOP is poison to me and many others. Why? Their abandonment of limited government, their absurd spending under Bush, their contempt for civil liberties, their rigid mindset, their hostility to others, their worship of the executive branch, their contempt for judicial checks, their cluelessness with racial minorities and immigrants, their endorsement of torture as an American value, their homophobia, their know-nothing Christianism, and the sheer vileness of their leaders - from the dumb-as-a-post Steele to the brittle, money-grubbing cynic, Coulter and hollow, partisan neo-fascist Hannity."

I am, of course, far more liberal than Sullivan, so I don't side with the center right on most issues. Nevertheless, I found his description of the Modern GOP, and its cast of characters, spot on. If there is ever an institution that deserved to collapse on itself, the modern GOP is it.

However, its worth noting that, despite Sullivan's criticism of "know nothing Christianism," Sullivan is himself a Christian. In fact, Sullivan engaged in a rather interesting and spirited theism vs. atheism debate with noted atheist Sam Harris. You can read that debate here, if you're so inclined.


So, Sullivan draws a distinction between being a Christian (i.e., believing that Christianity is true and that other faiths are false) and "know nothing Christianism." If the distinction is in the "know nothing" part of the description (as in "know nothing" vs. "know something)," it would be important to ask, "know what?"

But the distinction might reside in Sullivan's understanding of "Christianism" (by which I take him to mean a fundamentalist state of Christian belief in which the believer is functionally incapable of doubt, regardless of the evidence, and feels entitled to have his Christian beliefs celebrated by the state and imposed into law).

Personally, I think it resides in both, but more in the distinction between "Christian" and "Christianism." Unfortunately, Sullivan's understanding of "Christianism" is a pretty good description of the majority of evangelicals.

Joe H.