Basically a Christianist, according to Mark, is one who resists elevating a uniquely liberal narrative and political agenda to holy dogma, while reducing intrinsic evils and sins that cry out to heaven for vengeance to mere opinions over which we can lovingly agree to disagree. Note there is nothing at all about a person who would support abortion or gay sex or someone who would destroy an innocent man for political gain (or in order to maintain abortion) or someone who would reject key dogmas about the Faith yet call himself a Christian or Catholic.
Nope. A Christianist is a term Mark reserves for anyone who stands on the historical Christian Faith and disagrees with Mark on any one of a hundred topics regarding the Church's obvious slide toward acquiescing to the modern Left. It's Mark essentially saying how Christianists are the stereotypes of non-liberals as explained by Left wing media outlets, and whose motives are obviously evil, and whose hearts and minds are obviously full of sin.
In typical Mark form, anyone and everyone he chooses can be thrown under that label as the need arises. More than once, Mark has accused someone of being a 'Christianist', only to have that person object that they support the Church on almost everything he's said, but simply questioned a single issue. Which, for Mark, is good enough for the accusation of 'Christianist!'.
In short, it's the type of thing a stereotypical fundamentalist would do to cut off debate and insist that his way and God's way are obviously the same, so no sense engaging. Anyone who disagrees clearly 'doesn't believe the Bible is the Word of God.' An excellent conversation stopper in Protestant circles.
Again, I'm through with Mark, but figured this was a nice reminder why. You might as well go to a radical atheist site that explains an evil freak religious zealot is anyone who isn't an atheist. No sense wasting time. Unless it's something earth shattering, don't bother sending me anymore things from his pages. And if you must know why, you can't do much better than the link above.
UPDATE: to illustrate the point of Christianist being Markspeak for anyone Mark doesn't like who disagrees with Mark (sent by a kind soul who did the dirty work of linking to his site and copying the banality so I didn't have to):
I notice that in Mark's latest hagiographical piece about Paul VI, he extols that pope for giving aid to Communists fleeing the Nazis and for later adopting a non-confrontational approach to the Communist bloc -- yet refers to the murderers of Aldo Moro in blandly generic terms as "terrorists".
ReplyDeleteI don't know enough of the details to comment, but Mark has taught me to be suspicious of almost anything he writes or any take he accepts. I do know from talking to Orthodox Christians that being too soft or open to Communist is as popular among them as telling Jewish people that someone was open or willing to negotiate with the Nazis.
DeleteTo be clear, I wasn't implying it was wrong to help communists fleeing fascist persecution or to take a non-confrontational approach to a communist regime. Doubtless there are situations where it's the prudent and Christian thing to do. I just thought it telling that, having cited this in Paul VI's favour, Mark should then discreetly refrain from mentioning that the terrorists who murdered the pope's dear friend were militant communists.
ReplyDelete(That said, I can't help wondering if Mark would ever think it acceptable to help fascists fleeing communist persecution or to take a non-confrontational approach to a fascist regime - not least because it's clear he regards Donald Trump's administration as a fascist regime.)