According to a 7-2 ruling by the Alabama Supreme Court, embryos are now legally “children.” Terrifyingly, the ruling mentions “god” no less than 41 times. Some are eager to dismiss this as the dying gasps of religion. But to the evangelicals, it’s a Holy War.
I’ll let FFRF sum it up:
It is hard to think of a more un-American ruling than the concurrence by Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Tom Parker. In his theology-drenched concurring opinion, Parker openly cites religion and the bible: “The theologically based view of the sanctity of life adopted by the People of Alabama encompasses the following: God made every person in His image; each person therefore has a value that far exceeds the ability of human beings to calculate; and human life cannot be wrongfully destroyed without incurring the wrath of a holy God, who views the destruction of His image as an affront to Himself.”
Freedom From Religion Foundation, 20 Feb 2024
What can be learned from this? Very little that we didn’t already know. The most important, I think, is to realize that when these Christian nationalist theocrats tell you that they aren’t coming for birth control next, that gay marriage is settled law, or that they respect literally anyone – they are lying.
… no preference shall be given by law to any religious sect, society, denomination, or mode of worship …
Alabama State Constitution, Section 3
They will stop at nothing, and they will feel justified the entire time, because to them this is a Holy War. God matters more to them than their Country, more than laws, more than any principles they claim to have, more than any concept of individual rights.
The same day as this ruling, Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Tom Parker appeared on a QAnon podcast to push the “Seven Mountain Mandate” which “asserts that Christians must impose fundamentalist values on American society by conquering the “seven mountains” of cultural influence in U.S. life: government, education, media, religion, family, business, and entertainment.” (Media Matters)
We can clearly see their efforts to conquer government. Good News Clubs and the deceptively named “Moms For Liberty” are openly assaulting our schools, as well as voucher programs that threaten to redirect public school funding to religious organizations. They have left behind media platforms like Fox News and Twitter that carried water for them, in favor of more extremist versions. The Christian Educational Media Foundation is taking over our airways, replacing diverse music with a bland, regressive, and discriminatory selection of religious “rock” across the nation.
Frankly, these people frighten me. Politics and governing demand compromise. But these Christians believe they are acting in the name of God, so they can’t and won’t compromise. I know, I’ve tried to deal with them.
Barry Goldwater
It’s no wonder that Satanism is on the rise in this country. To many people today, Christianity is a symbol of authoritarianism, misogyny, lying, theft, hypocrisy, egregious displays of wealth, protection of child r*pists, and all manner of evil behavior.
If that is what the Church stands for today, then it should be no surprise that people will find inspiration in the image of The Adversary, the Great Rebel who defied god himself in defense of the freedom of humankind.
Hail Satan. 🤘