Apparently, Mr Trump is now complaining that the Pope is weak on crime. He doesn't seem to understand what a priest is, let alone what the Pope is.
Heh. Sounds like an encounter I had, where someone expected me (missionary) to be limiting my care to immigrants who were not in any kind of legal difficulty whatever. I'm not a cop, and I go where Christ sends me.
Absolutely. (There's an organization I just found in our city that seems to have just started up that is working with detainees, though they tell me it's almost all Spanish speaking families. I need to get to their next meeting.)
Donald duck
But I don't think he'd make a tasty dish
I know of someone who once called a clergyman whose name was Donald, Donald duck to his face.......
I'm interested in who (on earth) created the DT icon. Was it made with satitical intent? Did they believe in what they were doing? Or is it a manifestation of AI?
In fairness, I have at least once heard an elderly Christian praise someone who was helping her shovel her walk in a snowstorm with "That's Jesus out there shoveling my walk", the meaning being that the guy was behaving in a Christ-like fashion. But, yeah, there's a bit more megalomania when you say it about yourself.
I suspect that most of these offended xtian conservatives will ultimately just file this self-apotheosis under their standing "Good King Cyrus" exemption, and the more unchurched sections of per se MAGA won't even see a problem with it in the first place. Given Trump's current mishandling of the economy and foreign-policy, disillusioned swing voters might find the image particularly galling, but most of them were already pissed off at him to begin with.
I'm interested in who (on earth) created the DT icon. Was it made with satitical intent? Did they believe in what they were doing? Or is it a manifestation of AI?
If you click the photo in the Guardian article , the caption at the bottom says it was AI, yeah.
I thought Jon Stewart, with Monica Lewinsky at bottom-right.
There is a version floating about right now that literally shows Epstein as the patient, and includes the "Donald J. Trump" stamp at the top, which would give one the impression that Trump himself posted that rendition. But one of the now anti-Trump far-right subreddits I follow had someone saying that wasn't the version that Trump, in fact, posted.
God knows. What worries me is the possibility (likelihood?) that some Christians are going to look at that with minds so jaded from all his previous bullshit that they will just... ignore it? excuse it?
God knows. What worries me is the possibility (likelihood?) that some Christians are going to look at that with minds so jaded from all his previous bullshit that they will just... ignore it? excuse it?
Well, it was Pastor Denise Goulet who, in November 2016, said directly to Trump "This is my son, in whom I am well-pleased", so that sorta thing has been going on for a while now.
If he really believes that he's Jesus II, then he is truly bonkers.
"You have heard it said "You shall not commit adultery" but I say to that he who looks at a woman with lust should go ahead and grab them by the pussy."
If he really believes that he's Jesus II, then he is truly bonkers.
Based on his own public utterances, I doubt he has enough biblical knowledge to believe himself to be Jesus in any meaningful way. He likely just knows that Jesus is a revered figure among much of the public, and so figures people will respond well if he compares himself to Jesus.
In response to the Dr. Donald Jesus cartoon of the last 24 hrs, Candace Owens has posted a video attacking Trump over it, and also attempting to align herself with Leo XIII in his war of words with the POTUS, including a video of the pope's recent comments.
May or may not be the kind of ally Leo would want. For anyone familiar with the clerical fascism of Father Coughlin during the New Deal period, CO is promoting almost the exact same ideology, marketted at the millenial/Gen Z crowd, and with added focus on Israel/Palestine and the mideast generally.
Still standing by my earlier prediction that Pope Leo's role in any overall shift of public opinion against MAGA will be limited, or at least, hard to quantify.
Did I post this 60 Minute Episode of Norah O'Donnel interviewing the three Roman Catholic cardinals about Leo's impact? Well, here it is (again if I did).
I think a lot of that is well-observed. You should be able to reject Trump's self-aggrandizing sacrilege without making it the central focus of the story.
I'm guessing, though, that Pastor Schnekloth is not the kind of theologian who thinks that anyone's soul is gonna be in danger of eternal damnation simply because they're inappropriately enthusiastic about an image of DJT as Christ. As such, it's probably easier for him to shrug the whole thing off than it would be for an advocate of a more, shall we say, uncompromising soteriology. Some of the latter I've seen speaking out on this and other trumpian blasphemous do seem rather panicked about this tendency of his, but as an overall group are probably muted in their criticism for reasons of partisan loyalty.
I suspect that most of these offended xtian conservatives will ultimately just file this self-apotheosis under their standing "Good King Cyrus" exemption, and the more unchurched sections of per se MAGA won't even see a problem with it in the first place. Given Trump's current mishandling of the economy and foreign-policy, disillusioned swing voters might find the image particularly galling, but most of them were already pissed off at him to begin with.
FWIW, the comments section for the right-wing Christian CBN's YouTube video on the Trump/Jesus cartoon is about 90% against, with most of them seeming to think that he made a grave error in posting it, but with a noticable faction of posters saying that it was ultimately Paula White's fault for leading him astray(*).
(*) Some of them just blame unnamed "religious advisors", but White's is the specific name that keeps coming up again and again.
On Newsmax, Father Frank Pavone(whom I may or may not have heard of before) was asked his opinion of the cartoon, and deflected by saying "Trump has implemented the policies of Jesus Christ."
Almost all the comments were in agreement that Trump is a very God man, indeed.
I think a lot of that is well-observed. You should be able to reject Trump's self-aggrandizing sacrilege without making it the central focus of the story.
I'm guessing, though, that Pastor Schnekloth is not the kind of theologian who thinks that anyone's soul is gonna be in danger of eternal damnation simply because they're inappropriately enthusiastic about an image of DJT as Christ. As such, it's probably easier for him to shrug the whole thing off than it would be for an advocate of a more, shall we say, uncompromising soteriology. Some of the latter I've seen speaking out on this and other trumpian blasphemous do seem rather panicked about this tendency of his, but as an overall group are probably muted in their criticism for reasons of partisan loyalty.
I think the distinction you’re drawing is interesting, but for me the core issue isn’t about who does or doesn’t believe someone is in spiritual danger. It’s the way religious imagery gets pulled into political identity and starts shaping people’s loyalties and moral instincts.
Some Christians respond to that with alarm, others with indifference, but the underlying pattern is the same: when political enthusiasm takes on devotional overtones, it affects how people imagine God, neighbor, and community. That’s the dynamic Schnekloth is pointing to, and it’s worth paying attention to regardless of one’s soteriology.
In response to the Dr. Donald Jesus cartoon of the last 24 hrs, Candace Owens has posted a video attacking Trump over it, and also attempting to align herself with Leo XIII...
In response to the Dr. Donald Jesus cartoon of the last 24 hrs, Candace Owens has posted a video attacking Trump over it, and also attempting to align herself with Leo XIII...
I find it weird with Trump, like calling Hitler Addy.
I find all the supposedly funny or insulting nicknames for Trump, whether something like Donny or something with a reference to orange, juvenile. It’s stooping to Trump’s level.
I guess I’m weird that way, but frankly it annoys the hell out of me.
Obviously I disagree as it was me who posted Donny. It is normal humour round were I come from. Belittling someone with humour.
This is Hell it is a place for that kind of humour
I know exactly where Nick Tamen is coming from. There is a whole cast of people on the international stage who are beyond wit and ridicule because they are so fundamentally evil and deceitful. They need to be opposed with the clearest possible evidence of the damage they can do based on what they have said and, most importantly, what they have already. We aren’t the law enforcement agencies, but we need to take that level of care to oppose them and persuade at least some of their supporters to desert them.
Did I post this 60 Minute Episode of Norah O'Donnel interviewing the three Roman Catholic cardinals about Leo's impact? Well, here it is (again if I did).
Yes, I think Pope Leo XIV is good news. Particularly on the moral imperative in favour of peace.
It’s absolutely true that pastoral concern can lead to political activism by Christians.
“I fed the poor and they called me a Saint. I asked ‘why are they starving?’ and they called me a communist.”
A quote from many years ago by a Catholic Archbishop I think.
The Protestant Jim Wallis put it this way some years later. “Christians are often very good at pulling drowning people out of the water. We’re often not so good at asking ‘who is pushing them into the water upstream?”.
I think a lot of that is well-observed. You should be able to reject Trump's self-aggrandizing sacrilege without making it the central focus of the story.
I'm guessing, though, that Pastor Schnekloth is not the kind of theologian who thinks that anyone's soul is gonna be in danger of eternal damnation simply because they're inappropriately enthusiastic about an image of DJT as Christ. As such, it's probably easier for him to shrug the whole thing off than it would be for an advocate of a more, shall we say, uncompromising soteriology. Some of the latter I've seen speaking out on this and other trumpian blasphemous do seem rather panicked about this tendency of his, but as an overall group are probably muted in their criticism for reasons of partisan loyalty.
I think the distinction you’re drawing is interesting, but for me the core issue isn’t about who does or doesn’t believe someone is in spiritual danger. It’s the way religious imagery gets pulled into political identity and starts shaping people’s loyalties and moral instincts.
Some Christians respond to that with alarm, others with indifference, but the underlying pattern is the same: when political enthusiasm takes on devotional overtones, it affects how people imagine God, neighbor, and community. That’s the dynamic Schnekloth is pointing to, and it’s worth paying attention to regardless of one’s soteriology.
Fair enough. Though I don't really see Trump's self-deification as a particularly useful example to study for discerning trends. He's kind of an outlier in how direct and literal he gets with it, and I doubt future presidents will take him as a precedent for publishing their own versions of the bible or proclaiming themselves the healing Jesus.
The historical blurring of the American civic religion with Christianity is a noted phenomenon, and Trump's own version probably represents an an extreme and highly personalized version of it. Though personally, right now I'd be more worried about his campaign to mix his own persona with that of the state, eg. putting his name on public buildings and government cheques, the "Trump Visa" etc.
(*) Some of them just blame unnamed "religious advisors", but White's is the specific name that keeps coming up again and again.
Some people seem to think it a theological imperative to find a woman to blame.
In this case, though, I think they just have a psychological block against blaming Trump qua Trump for anything, and once you assume that Trump couldn't possibly be the culprit, Paula White does become a pretty logical choice.
I find it weird with Trump, like calling Hitler Addy.
I find all the supposedly funny or insulting nicknames for Trump, whether something like Donny or something with a reference to orange, juvenile. It’s stooping to Trump’s level.
I guess I’m weird that way, but frankly it annoys the hell out of me.
Obviously I disagree as it was me who posted Donny. It is normal humour round were I come from. Belittling someone with humour.
This is Hell it is a place for that kind of humour
The thing is, I see absolutely no humor at all in it. (Then again, maybe Hell is indeed the place for humor that isn’t humorous.)
But I realize I feel differently about this than many people, and I can live with that. Y’all do y’all.
I know exactly where Nick Tamen is coming from. There is a whole cast of people on the international stage who are beyond wit and ridicule because they are so fundamentally evil and deceitful. They need to be opposed with the clearest possible evidence of the damage they can do based on what they have said and, most importantly, what they have already. We aren’t the law enforcement agencies, but we need to take that level of care to oppose them and persuade at least some of their supporters to desert them.
In other news, The Israelis and Hamas appear to have agreed to the first phase of a permanent cease fire. The Israeli Cabinet still has to approve it. If they do,
The Hostages will be released, dead or alive.
Hundreds of Palestinian prisoners will be returned
The Israeli army will pull back some what
Food and other aid will be able to flow into GAZA
Do you think Trump may be nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize if this holds true?
Comments
When speaking I call him the Orange Toddler. Everybody, without exception, knows immediately who I mean.
Heh. Sounds like an encounter I had, where someone expected me (missionary) to be limiting my care to immigrants who were not in any kind of legal difficulty whatever. I'm not a cop, and I go where Christ sends me.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/apr/13/trump-ai-image-christ-like-figure-backlash
But I don't think he'd make a tasty dish
I know of someone who once called a clergyman whose name was Donald, Donald duck to his face.......
The 'patient' looks a lot like Epstein.
I suspect that most of these offended xtian conservatives will ultimately just file this self-apotheosis under their standing "Good King Cyrus" exemption, and the more unchurched sections of per se MAGA won't even see a problem with it in the first place. Given Trump's current mishandling of the economy and foreign-policy, disillusioned swing voters might find the image particularly galling, but most of them were already pissed off at him to begin with.
I thought Jon Stewart, with Monica Lewinsky at bottom-right.
If you click the photo in the Guardian article , the caption at the bottom says it was AI, yeah.
There is a version floating about right now that literally shows Epstein as the patient, and includes the "Donald J. Trump" stamp at the top, which would give one the impression that Trump himself posted that rendition. But one of the now anti-Trump far-right subreddits I follow had someone saying that wasn't the version that Trump, in fact, posted.
Yep. But that's not gonna stop anyone from circulating it with his name on top.
How has the world turned into one of Jack Chick's most bizarre tracts?
Well, it was Pastor Denise Goulet who, in November 2016, said directly to Trump "This is my son, in whom I am well-pleased", so that sorta thing has been going on for a while now.
O well. The Iranians are still able and willing to put up a fight, despite being Totally Conquered, so maybe Armageddon is still on the cards...
Based on his own public utterances, I doubt he has enough biblical knowledge to believe himself to be Jesus in any meaningful way. He likely just knows that Jesus is a revered figure among much of the public, and so figures people will respond well if he compares himself to Jesus.
My horse has never had it so good.
Nice
Randy Rainbow’s “Cheeto Christ Stupid-Czar”:
https://youtu.be/gW2SEpWWqXM?si=VAVjlE1KYilG8UTQ
In response to the Dr. Donald Jesus cartoon of the last 24 hrs, Candace Owens has posted a video attacking Trump over it, and also attempting to align herself with Leo XIII in his war of words with the POTUS, including a video of the pope's recent comments.
May or may not be the kind of ally Leo would want. For anyone familiar with the clerical fascism of Father Coughlin during the New Deal period, CO is promoting almost the exact same ideology, marketted at the millenial/Gen Z crowd, and with added focus on Israel/Palestine and the mideast generally.
Still standing by my earlier prediction that Pope Leo's role in any overall shift of public opinion against MAGA will be limited, or at least, hard to quantify.
I think a lot of that is well-observed. You should be able to reject Trump's self-aggrandizing sacrilege without making it the central focus of the story.
I'm guessing, though, that Pastor Schnekloth is not the kind of theologian who thinks that anyone's soul is gonna be in danger of eternal damnation simply because they're inappropriately enthusiastic about an image of DJT as Christ. As such, it's probably easier for him to shrug the whole thing off than it would be for an advocate of a more, shall we say, uncompromising soteriology. Some of the latter I've seen speaking out on this and other trumpian blasphemous do seem rather panicked about this tendency of his, but as an overall group are probably muted in their criticism for reasons of partisan loyalty.
FWIW, the comments section for the right-wing Christian CBN's YouTube video on the Trump/Jesus cartoon is about 90% against, with most of them seeming to think that he made a grave error in posting it, but with a noticable faction of posters saying that it was ultimately Paula White's fault for leading him astray(*).
(*) Some of them just blame unnamed "religious advisors", but White's is the specific name that keeps coming up again and again.
Almost all the comments were in agreement that Trump is a very God man, indeed.
I think the distinction you’re drawing is interesting, but for me the core issue isn’t about who does or doesn’t believe someone is in spiritual danger. It’s the way religious imagery gets pulled into political identity and starts shaping people’s loyalties and moral instincts.
Some Christians respond to that with alarm, others with indifference, but the underlying pattern is the same: when political enthusiasm takes on devotional overtones, it affects how people imagine God, neighbor, and community. That’s the dynamic Schnekloth is pointing to, and it’s worth paying attention to regardless of one’s soteriology.
Some people seem to think it a theological imperative to find a woman to blame.
Sorry. XIVth.
Obviously I disagree as it was me who posted Donny. It is normal humour round were I come from. Belittling someone with humour.
This is Hell it is a place for that kind of humour
Thanks very much for that link @Gramps49 .
Yes, I think Pope Leo XIV is good news. Particularly on the moral imperative in favour of peace.
It’s absolutely true that pastoral concern can lead to political activism by Christians.
“I fed the poor and they called me a Saint. I asked ‘why are they starving?’ and they called me a communist.”
A quote from many years ago by a Catholic Archbishop I think.
The Protestant Jim Wallis put it this way some years later. “Christians are often very good at pulling drowning people out of the water. We’re often not so good at asking ‘who is pushing them into the water upstream?”.
It’s not a denominational issue
Perhaps a suggestion for a test of mental competency: is this an image of Christ, or an image of a doctor?
Fair enough. Though I don't really see Trump's self-deification as a particularly useful example to study for discerning trends. He's kind of an outlier in how direct and literal he gets with it, and I doubt future presidents will take him as a precedent for publishing their own versions of the bible or proclaiming themselves the healing Jesus.
The historical blurring of the American civic religion with Christianity is a noted phenomenon, and Trump's own version probably represents an an extreme and highly personalized version of it. Though personally, right now I'd be more worried about his campaign to mix his own persona with that of the state, eg. putting his name on public buildings and government cheques, the "Trump Visa" etc.
In this case, though, I think they just have a psychological block against blaming Trump qua Trump for anything, and once you assume that Trump couldn't possibly be the culprit, Paula White does become a pretty logical choice.
But I realize I feel differently about this than many people, and I can live with that. Y’all do y’all.
You do indeed know exactly where I’m coming from.
and stayed for years