Inside the White House Bible Study Group

[Copernicus]

See Inside the White House Bible Study group

I don't know anything about  Ralph Drollinger, but he may have some influence on public policy within the Trump Administration. An American administration has not had a Bible study group in at least a century. Mike Pence is a prominent member of his group, which is already at odds with another influential religious group in the government--The Fellowship, which Drollinger considers unfit to thump a Bible. Given the Pence could become President before Trump's term expires, Drollinger could have a strong establishing his brand of Christianity as dominant in church-state politics.

 

[Cheerful Charlie]

http://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/...t-wing-proselytizing-to-government-officials/

In September, Drollinger returned to his attacks on government social spending, which he says is rooted in the “bad theology” of theological liberalism and the social gospel, one of the major strains of Christian thought in the U.S. in the 20th century. While the social gospel gets respectful treatment at the new Museum of the Bible, Drollinger treats it with contempt, saying it is “not Christianity whatsoever! It is another religion!”
That’s not the only place where Drollinger expresses his contempt for liberal Christians. In a Bible study that claims modern archaeology has undermined “the postulations of liberal theologians,” he writes, “It is not the conservative Christian with a high view of the inspiration of Scripture who is the simpleton, who clings to his or her beliefs with blind faith, ignorant and lacking intellectual, scientific, and historical support. Rather, it is the one who espouses a liberal ‘understanding’ of God’s Word.” Drollinger has also defended calling Catholicism “one of the primary false religions in the world.”

Drollinger writes that it is important for public officials to understand why the social gospel is a “perversion, or a corruption of what the Bible actually teaches.” And if liberal political ideology comes from liberal theology, “then liberal political ideology too (specifically entitlement programs) is lacking in a basis—i.e. any basis of biblical authority.”

The Barbarians are inside the gates.

 

[BH]

Never understood people like that. The Old testament is chock full of verses about tithes going to help the poor, you could glean fields, if your master was cruel you could run away and were not to be returned back.

 

[Copernicus]

I wonder whether Pence's involvement with this man and his anti-Catholic rhetoric will come back to bite him or the Trump administration. If Pence were to try to run for President, Democrats would almost certainly use it against him. I don't think that Trump cares about religion except in terms of how he can use it to manipulate voters. And I think most of those open to being manipulated by him know this and don't care.

 

[Cheerful Charlie]

I wonder whether Pence's involvement with this man and his anti-Catholic rhetoric will come back to bite him or the Trump administration. If Pence were to try to run for President, Democrats would almost certainly use it against him. I don't think that Trump cares about religion except in terms of how he can use it to manipulate voters. And I think most of those open to being manipulated by him know this and don't care.

Yes. I wondered that also. If Drollinger is peddling anti-Catholicism to these limp brained Republicans, it could have repercussions if it becomes widely known. Apparently this has caused some contrversy already.

http://legacy.sandiegouniontribune.com/uniontrib/20040609/news_1n9bible.html

"It's the world's largest false religion," Drollinger said in an interview. He argues that Catholicism allows salvation through good works and faith, whereas his interpretation says salvation comes from faith alone.
Those kinds of comments irritated members of the Schwarzenegger administration.
"There were some people on the staff, including myself, a Protestant, who took offense to that and thought it was divisive and unnecessary," said Schwarzenegger's communications director, Rob Stutzman.
As a result, there was a mutual decision to move Capitol Ministries' weekly Bible study from the governor's offices to a legislative room.
Vargas, a Catholic who once studied to be a priest, also was offended by Drollinger's comments. "It's a terrible thing. I don't think it's right," he said.

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Googling a little shows Drollinger has not passed unnoticed among Catholics for his claims.

 

[Copernicus]

Thanks, Charlie. Drollinger is looking more and more like someone to watch. He has bragged that Trump was appointing everyone in his group to cabinet posts, and that appears to be partly or mainly due to Mike Pence's influence. If Pence were to become President, Drollinger could become an American version of Rasputin.

 

[Cheerful Charlie]

https://www.rawstory.com/2018/04/be...h-conservative-white-house-bible-study-group/

[h=1]Betsy DeVos attends White House Bible study group but isn’t allowed to teach because she’s a woman[/h]As reported by the BBC, it turns out a lot of them attend the same Wednesday night Bible study. The location of the meeting is secret but the organizer is not. The meetings are helmed by Ralph Drollinger, a seven-foot tall basketball pro turned pastor from California who holds extremely conservative fundamentalist Christian views.

​

For example, they do not allow women to teach—that includes the devout Education Secretary Betsy DeVos.

“There is a prohibition of female leadership in marriage, and female leadership in the church. And those are clear in scripture… it doesn’t mean, in an egalitarian sense, that a woman is of lesser importance. It’s just that they have different roles,” Drollinger told the BBC.

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Giggle. Snort!

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

Bible Study. So they sit in a room to discuss literary analysis of stories in order to better understand the intent of the stories...

...or do they just go a 'religious' circle jerk and take shit out of context?

Seriously, Betsy DeVos in bible study? Yeah, she has any morals or ethics in that brain of hers.

 

[Copernicus]

TBH, I do not believe that scripture has much at all to do with faith in a religious doctrine. That has more to do with a trusted source of interpretation of doctrine--a so-called spiritual guide. That is what Drollinger is. He takes Bible verses, and he uses them to justify or rationalize positions that he takes on moral strictures. Different people come to radically different interpretations of the Bible, so the Bible itself is more like a Magic 8 Ball or Ouija board. It provides ambiguous or vague answers that people can interpret flexibly, as their needs require. Hence, Drollinger calls the traditional government-affiliated "Fellowship" biblically challenged, because that group does not provide the same interpretations of scripture that he does.

 

[Malintent]

perhaps a Pence presidency where he over-reaches his god-fear would have an effect on the general religiosity of the population, just as a Trump presidency may be reducing the tolerance for dishonesty and greed in politics.

Maybe people just need to hear their tribalism said out loud before it sets in... religion is far too weak to stand political antagonism

 

[untermensche]

You have to let the morons practice their religions.

But you don't have to let any of them try to shove their religious nonsense onto everybody.