Max Blumenthal: Obama, The Fallen Messiah and The Problem With Secular Salvation Narratives

In responding to my initial post, Sarah Posner, Todd Gitlin, and Fred Clarkson make some very important points about the appeal of the Christian right to ordinary Americans. I think their points dovetail with one another. Posner argues quite correctly that those who I described as giving up their individual freedom for the authoritarian structure of the right believe they are gaining new life in the Kingdom of God, along with a sense of community and belonging. She illustrates this trend in her excellent book on the rising trend of prosperity gospel theology in evangelical churches, God's Profits.

Clarkson adds that the salvation narrative the movement offers to trauma-wracked individuals is one of its key draws. This narrative often takes an explicitly political form, promising the replacement of a culturally decadent secular government with a theocratically-inspired authoritarian system (see Newt Gingrich's remarks at David Horowitz's Renaissance Weekend for a recent example of this appeal). Or, as Gitlin said, the salvation narrative may promise eternal life in Heaven -- after the enemies of God are slaughtered en masse in a display of pornographic violence, as portrayed in Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins' bestselling Left Behind Series.

During a time of economic decline, persistent cultural strife, deepening American involvement in far-off military conflicts, and rapid environmental deterioration, is there any wonder that some have turned to apocalyptic salvation narratives promising both a transcendent, everlasting future and violent retribution against perceived evildoers? A 2002 CNN poll found that 59% of Americans believe that the prophecies in the Book of Revelations will come true. The startling number reflected the still-fresh trauma of the 9/11 attacks, but I suspect that it has held steady, if not risen. Indeed, mainstream American culture is permeated by apocalypticism; the blockbuster movie hit 2012 is but one recent example.

I spend several chapters in my book following the Christian right's ascent to the mountain top with George W. Bush's re-election, detailing how the movement shrouded science and reason in the shadow of the cross, then observing as it swiftly imploded during the Terri Schiavo charade. Because I completed my book days after Barack Obama's inauguration, I was only able to foreshadow the right's plan to undermine the new president. Having watched the right attempt to delegitimize and literally overthrow Bill Clinton for eight years, I did not harbor any illusions about Obama transcending partisan division by becoming the "liberal Reagan who can reunite America," as many argued.

[This excerpt continues on the TPM cafe website]