KNOW YOUR ENEMY’S WEAKNESSES
Liberals understand that religion is a major element of Christian Nationalism strategy. They might like to make this brand of religion a political issue during elections, but the “live and let live” attitude about religion inhibits them from doing so.  This attitude handicaps liberals from exposing The Seven Mountain Prophecy, Dominionism Doctrines and Philosophy and Their Religious Beliefs in campaign ads and speeches. Similarly, the “live and let live” attitude prevents anyone who is not a Christian Nationalist from attacking Christian Nationalist’s most vulnerable weakness: Fear.

For the most part American religions and politicians have respectfully avoided public criticism of other religions. Notable exceptions to this pattern include politely phrased differences between Protestant Catholics, universal distrust of Jews, fear of Muslims, and occasional interdenominational bickering. Even stories of sexual abuse reported in a variety of denominations carefully avoid discussion of religious beliefs that enable abuse and cover it up when it is exposed. Despite deep divisions in doctrine and religious practice, Christians do not generally speak ill about other religions — even though they believe in their hearts that the beliefs and practices of other religions are wrong.

Because Americans have historically adopted the “live and let live” approach to getting along with other religions, liberals of all religious stripes, and even non-religious politicians, discreetly avoid challenging their opponents on religious issues. Thus, for most people, it is unseemly to publicly criticize other religions — even if they think they are wrong.

Even though showing respect for other religions is generally considered to be a virtue in America, Christian Nationalists have no fear or shame when it comes to challenging the beliefs and practices of other religions. They boldly claim that their religion is the one that God approves and will soon place in authority over the seven mountains of American culture — including religion.

Christian Nationalists have effectively exchanged the “live and let live” strategy in favor of an aggressive, in-your-face strategy championed by authoritarian leaders who are willing to say and do whatever is necessary to gain an advantage and put their opponents on the run. In other words, their strategy is to use words (i.e. rhetoric) that cause fear and intimidation as offensive weapons like a lions and dogs show their teeth and growl.  Here are some examples of their strategies:

• • Arrogant bullying designed to make leaders appear strong while diminishing opponents and marginalizing groups they fear.
  • Incessant lying.
  • Name-calling.
  • Unfounded conspiracy theories that distract attention from truth.
  • Public disrespect for anyone who is not a Christian Nationalist.
  • Employ dirty tricks to win elections.
  • Cry foul when their candidates don’t win.
  • Represent outsiders (e.g. Democrats, liberals, progressives, gender diverse people, intellectuals, socialists, communists, immigrants, people of color, etc.) as threats to personal freedom, religious freedom, social stability, economic stability, and white privilege.
  • Impose oppressive, punitive, laws on people who are not white Christian Nationalists.
  • Disregard the moral, civil and legal failings of Christian Nationalists while readily pointing out the failings and shortcomings of people who are not Christian Nationalists.
  • Practice intransigent, no-compromise, partisan politics.
  • Load courts with judges who agree with Christian Nationalist ideologies.
  • Other sordid, heavy-handed, behaviors that do not fit with civil, partisan politics, healthy intra-religious relationships and Constitutional Rule of Law.

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All of these behaviors are contrary to God’s Commands About Doing Justice for Others and God’s Commands About How to Relate to Him and to One Another.

To accomplish these goals, Christian Nationalists have adopted the authoritarian leadership style which has the following negative characteristics as reported in verywellmind:

• • Allows little or no input from group members.

• • Requires leaders to make almost all of the decisions.
  • Provides leaders with the ability to dictate work methods and processes.
  • Leaves the group feeling like they aren’t trusted with decisions or important tasks.
  • Tends to create highly structured and very rigid environments.
  • Discourages creativity and out-of-the-box thinking.
  • Establishes rules and tends to be clearly outlined and communicated.

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Sadly, gullible followers of authoritarian leaders do not have the foresight to see where their leaders will take them. Only after it is too late to rein strong man leaders in do their followers realize the social/political/economic catastrophe they have created for themselves and others. Christian Nationalists in America do not see this coming reality yet, but they will soon enough because these movements will eventually self-implode.

In the meantime, the world watches in unbelief the behaviors that authoritarian leaders shamelessly display:

• • that can be paraphrased like this:

    God says our religion is right and that all other religions are wrong. Therefore, we will take dominion over all religions and convert them to our religion. And after we do that, Jesus will return and bless America because it is a Christian nation.”

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Because this kind of leadership contradicts the leadership style of compromise called for in democracy, most Americans resist adopting these kinds of tactics. Passive responses, however, look like weakness to Christian Nationalists who want strong, authoritarian, political/religious leaders. This creates a market for Christian Nationalism which targets fearful, insecure Americans who want/need/demand authoritarian leaders to fight their battles for them because they feel helpless in a culturally diverse society. It is not well known, but this attitude about strong leaders has its origins in the bible.

Other than through their voting choices, Americans do not know how to deal with the self-righteous attitudes and arrogant behaviors commonly displayed by Christian Nationalist leaders. These are the kinds of leaders and governments we read about in other parts of the world but is incomprehensible that the United States of America could fall victim to such ideologies and behaviors. But here we are. What can be done, other than to adopt heavy-handed election practices employed by Christian Nationalists? Is there no other kinder, gentler way to compete with them?

Other than using traditional political strategies based on mutual respect, reason, compromise, science, and perhaps prayer, progressive liberals don’t have a clue about how to confront Christian Nationalism. Sadly, those traditional, respectful strategies do not work against Christian Nationalists because mutual respect, reason and compromise are not valued by Americans who favor authoritarian leadership styles.

As long as Christian Nationalists continue gaining ground using their arrogant, in-your-face strategies, they have no reason to change strategies that have worked for them well enough to earn political majorities in many legislative bodies. And so, they continue to refine and upgrade (i.e., downgrade) their political strategies with practices that are offensive and despicable to most Americans.

One thing both sides might agree upon is that Christians Nationalists are gaining the upper hand because they are more skillful and practiced at using bullying, lying, name-calling, conspiracies, disrespect, fear, punishment, and tribal politics than their opponents. That apparent advantage might maintain until opponents recognize Christian Nationalism’s Achilles’ Heel: Pride, Arrogance and Boasting

If there is any one thing that Christian Nationalists hate and fear, it is truth that would expose their pride. Whether consciously or unconsciously, Christian Nationalists compete with truth by bombarding Americans with lies that protect their pride. The lies that protect them are embodied in their rhetoric.

They have finely tuned their rhetoric so that any and all Christian Nationalist leaders and followers can summon up the party line rhetoric to fend off legal challenges, legislation, protests, adverse media reports, and all other kinds of attacks that might weaken or expose their candidates and policies. They have chosen and invested heavily in their leaders, and they must protect their investment. To abandon their champions when they are under attack by liberal politicians and media would be an admission that they erred in choosing their leaders. That kind of error would damage their pride horrendously.

They have many ready responses to all public challenges from anyone who disagrees with them

• • Defend their lies with nonsensical arguments.
  • Tell a new lie.
  • Accuse opponents of lying.
  • Distort facts.
  • Cite a conspiracy theory.
  • Abuse or demean the challenger of personal weakness or handicap.
  • Quote a bible verse.
  • Double down on their position
  • Never admit wrongdoing.
  • Never admit lying.
  • Never admit to losing.
  • Never admit to exaggeration or deception
  • Never compromise.
  • Never ask a question
  • Dominate the conversation.
  • Never do anything that indicates weakness.
  • Claim that America is and has always been a Christian Nation
  • Repeat the party line.
  • Deflect challenges with “whataboutism.”

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Of course, this is not a definitive list of how Christian Nationalists conduct political warfare. But one thing you will never see a Christian Nationalist do is tell the truth. They will shade it, and spin it but they will never outright accept truth at face value. To do so would require more humility than they can muster up. To do so would be equivalent to admitting that they had lied. To admit to lying is the equivalent of admitting that their policies can’t stand on merit alone. Their extreme pride is a formidable obstacle to such an admission. They don’t shrink from lying but they take offense when they are accused of lying.

The reason Christian Nationalists are so afraid of truth is that they know that when their lies are exposed by truth, the house of cards they built on lies and deceptions will come tumbling down. That would be the end of the political and religious kingdoms in which they have invested so much pride and treasure. They will not willingly do that unless their prideful heart has changed. Until that happens, they will continue to hold on to and defend their lies. Their pride will not allow them to admit that they ever told a lie or embraced a lie.

To Christian Nationalists, personal pride in politics and religion is a virtue. In God’s eyes, however, pride — especially pride in religion — is a sin. This excessive pride is their weakness.  And just like Achilles’ ankle was the weakness that made him vulnerable to death from an arrow, Christian Nationalists are vulnerable to arrows of truth.

On the surface, aggressive defenses of Christian Nationalist ideologies and doctrines appear to be motivated by sincerely held political and religious beliefs. It is hard to imagine, however, that the intelligence of so many Americans is so low that they would actually believe the lies they tell. But it is easy to believe that their pride prevents them from admitting that they have believed and propagated lies. Pride is their big problem. Pride prevents Christian Nationalists from receiving truth that has the power to allay their fears, but pride does not die easily.

To protect themselves, they do what bullies do: act out verbally and physically. Because they don’t want others to know how insecure they are, they initiate aggressive behavior designed to create the impression that they are strong when they are actually weak.  Bullying, therefore, is a defensive — not offensive — behavior designed to keep others from knowing the truth about them: they are weak and insecure.

Christian Nationalists’ aggressive talk about dominating seven mountains of American culture is the only way they know how to prevent people from knowing the truth about their fears and weaknesses. Their policies promote their goals to dominate American culture, but they are also deceptive distractions designed to represent them as strong, willful leaders who will protect their followers. Of course this characterization has strong appeal for Americans for whom fear and insecurity are overwhelming issues in their daily lives.

Populist, authoritarian leaders are Christ-like messiahs for people who live in fear. Sadly, followers of strong-men are uniquely unable to see how authoritarian leadership plays out in history. Sooner or later, all leaders and their supporters end badly. In the meantime, everyone else within their sphere of influence also experiences oppression and sometimes death.

That this is a scenario repeated often in history is little comfort to Americans who fret about the current threat to democracy posed by authoritarian leaders who identify with Christian Nationalism. Knowing that the stories always end in self-inflicted disaster does not inform activists about how to avert the disaster in which democratic institutions and all Americans become collateral damage.

Because the threats of undemocratic, authoritarian leadership are always revealed in policies that punish marginalized communities, liberal opponents focus their offensive efforts on political strategies designed to protect those who cannot defend themselves. This is not an unreasonable strategy, of course, but it does not always work, and even when it does work, there is no guarantee that future  authoritarian politicians will not emerge to reverse sound legislation.

There will always be a pool of fearful, insecure voters ready to follow new authoritarian leaders. Lack of basic trust in democratic institutions and hopeless xenophobic fears predict that there will always be a few people looking for an authoritarian, messianic strongman to save them. Anyone who knows American history understands this historical trend. What are needed, therefore, are political strategies and legislative policies that take a long-term view of the reasons why lack of trust in democratic institutions and xenophobic fears persist among some sectors of the population. These reasons will always be rooted in fear based on lies.

The short answer to this question is truth that exposes the lies on which Christian Nationalism is founded:

• • Christian Nationalism Doctrines and Philosophy: Lies and Truth
  • Seven Mountains Doctrines and Philosophy: Lies and Truth
  • Dominionism Doctrines and Philosophy: Lies and Truth
  • Early American Religious History.
  • God’s Commands About How to Relate to Him and to One Another
  • God’s Commands About Doing Justice for Others
  • Understanding the US Constitution

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These are the arrows of truth that will disable Christian Nationalists’ vulnerable heel of pride. They are also truths that all Americans need to know to fill the knowledge gaps that created the vacuum that enabled Christian Nationalism to prosper.

Christian nationalists fear the loss of their perceived privileged position in American society, the decline of Christianity, and the increasing diversity of the population. They are concerned about the erosion of what they see as traditional Christian values and the influence of Christianity in governance and laws. This fear has led to advocacy for policies such as reinstating prayer in public schools, changing school curriculum to include Biblical education, and pushing for anti-immigrant policies. Christian nationalism is seen as a threat to religious freedom and democracy, as it seeks to establish an explicitly Christian identity for the nation, rejecting religious pluralism and the constitutional ideal that belonging in American society is not predicated on any particular faith. Related links: 1 2 3 4 5 6

militate against those things that they fear, we know that they have never experienced Godly love. Their “Christian” label does not insulate the from fear. Fear, therefore, is their Achilles Heal. Another way to say this is that lack of Godly love is their weakness — and they know unconsciously know that to be true. They will never admit that to others and barely admit it to themselves, but fear and uncertainty hangs over them constantly like a dark cloud that could burst forth in a storm at any moment. Rather than discover the cause of the fear, they adapt to it with attitudes and behaviors that (in their minds) cover up their weaknesses. Instead of presenting weakness, fear and insecurity, to others they work hard at present an image of confidence, security and strength. As their fears and insecurities grow, they amp up their public image to convince themselves and others that they are strong and fear nothing.

Like all weak, insecure, unloved people, Christian Nationalists compensate for their fears (i.e. lack of love, insecurity) through aggressive, bullying behaviors which they direct at people who lack resources to fight back. The other thing they do to offset their fears is surround themselves with other weak, insecure, fearful people believing that there is power in numbers. There can be power in numbers but their mental/emotion condition does not change. They are still weak, insecure and fearful. **

When we are angry, our emotional brain goes into overdrive, and we act first rather than think first.
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https://theconversation.com/the-psychology-of-fear-and-hate-and-what-each-of-us-can-do-to-stop-it-113710

https://www.perplexity.ai/search/cc89ba0a-bbac-47f4-b6f7-a593c0ae9cd2?s=u

https://www.sparknotes.com/philosophy/leviathan/section10/

How Fear and Anger Impact Democracy

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/fear

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https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2020/10/election-stress

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https://www.newamerica.org/political-reform/reports/politics-policymaking/the-only-thing-we-have-to-fear-is-fear-based-politics/

Inevitably, The Politics Of Terror: Fear Has Become Part Of Washington’s Power Struggle

https://theconversation.com/the-politics-of-fear-how-fear-goes-tribal-allowing-us-to-be-manipulated-109626

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https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/09/donald-trump-and-the-politics-of-fear/498116/

Inevitably, The Politics Of Terror: Fear Has Become Part Of Washington’s Power Struggle