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   Eaton (eaton@phire.place)'s status on Thursday, 08-Feb-2024 14:15:10 JST Eaton

   This piece in the Atlantic is a eyebrow-raiser; a defense of James Dobson, an earnest insistence that "despite its flaws" Evangelicalism has helped many people live better lives, etc…

   I'll say this, at least: The public defense of Evangelical culture is no longer able to rest on the assumption of moral superiority. "But it helped them be nicer, doesn't that count for something?" is... a hilarious fallback for fundamentalism.

   https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2024/02/evangelicals-christianity-james-dobson/677362/

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     Eaton (eaton@phire.place)'s status on Thursday, 08-Feb-2024 14:18:32 JST Eaton

     in reply to

     Rather than articulating an ideal, it asks us to grade folks like Dobson on the curve: Sure, sure, he literally and explicitly taught a generation of Christian parents to "break their childrens' wills," but he was so much better than his own absentee father!

     Being better than your parents is something we should all strive for. But when you build a tremendously influential religious teaching empire and sell it as both "righteousness" and "sound psychology”, then parlay it into political power…

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     Eaton (eaton@phire.place)'s status on Thursday, 08-Feb-2024 16:20:48 JST Eaton

     in reply to

     • Katrina Katrinka :donor:

     @katrinakatrinka oh, yeah, I know… it takes a Robert Evans level of dedication to catalog it all.

   • Embed this notice
     Katrina Katrinka :donor: (katrinakatrinka@infosec.exchange)'s status on Thursday, 08-Feb-2024 16:20:49 JST Katrina Katrinka :donor:

     in reply to

     @eaton
     Not just wills. He advocated physically hitting your baby/toddler/child. It's abuse.

     #BehindTheBastards did a good overall portrait of Dobson and Focus on the Family with part 1 here:
     https://www.iheart.com/podcast/105-behind-the-bastards-29236323/episode/part-one-focus-on-the-family-72039112/