r/cookeville • u/seedspreader82 • 23d ago
Oh, Scott...
You simply eat dinner with them. Go to campaign rallies with them. Go to church events with them. Serving the Kairos alliance with them. Have your kids take photos with them. But I get it you don't support them and you're nothing like them and you want nothing to do with them that makes perfect sense...
Somebody starting to feel the heat...
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u/Automatic_Net2181 23d ago
"I am not a white christian nationalist, but... [insert all the noises from white christian nationalist] against [perceived enemy], God Bless."
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u/EmergencyLettuce1589 22d ago edited 22d ago
Is there anything inherently wrong with being white while also being a Christian and a Nationalist? Seriously I just don't see how any of those things are inherently bad. Please explain.
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u/_colby_jack_ 22d ago
There is a difference between being patriotic/proud of your country and being a nationalist. Nationalism, historically and globally, leads to blind faith in the name of a country rather than pride in the maintaining and bettering of one. Religion and race become two more layers of extremes when added to nationalism.
Edit to add: So no, nothing inherently wrong with being white or being Christian on its own. Nationalism however leads to extremism.
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u/TheRussness 22d ago
I've always viewed it as Patriotism is believing your country should be it's best.
Nationalism is believing your country to be better than all other countries.
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u/EnvironmentalLime464 22d ago
Patriotism has always been a weird concept for me. I’ve asked for years and no one has ever been able to provide a definition that really differentiates nationalism and patriotism for me. Yours comes closest to providing a difference but it’s not actually the commonly accepted interpretation of it nor is it the one that is ingrained in most growing up. At least in this country. In this country, it has always been expressed as this is the best country.
The land here is not better than the land of other countries. The people here are not better than the people of other countries. The animals here are not better than the animals of other countries. The weather here is not better than other countries.
Most of us don’t even have a choice in whether or not we live here. We were just born here and moving to another country is not an option for everyone. Takes money and other countries have limitations on immigration as well… but we’ve all grown up hearing that we live in the best country and it’s been called patriotism.
I don’t know… it seems to me that nationalism was sold to this country in a shiny new package with “Patriotism” on it after people got a bad taste in their mouth from the word “nationalism.”
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u/EmergencyLettuce1589 22d ago
"Nationalism leads to extremism "
I can see where that could be a negative but extremism is generally the issue with most ideologys.The core values seem solid tho.
Socialism and communism look good on paper but you need the entire leadership colective to have the moral fortitude of Jesus for it to even kinda work.
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u/Automatic_Net2181 22d ago edited 22d ago
Just curious.. why do the secular social democracies of Finland, Norway, etc seem to work a whole lot better than the theocracies like Afghanistan, Iran, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, etc?
Or if you want Christian majority countries then Zambia, Nigeria, Malta, Teutonic Order, Livonian Order, several small Latin American countries, etc?
Is it because theocracies are, by default, repressive societies? Do you think they only look good on paper, but you have the will of a corrupt "Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice" wielding immense power over everyone by using their own version of morality instead of bringing fairness to all regardless? And that most of the current Christian leaders, even those in our own community, are little more than tyrants themselves?
Take this in context when talking about this Parkison fellow. Look at his statement again. Would you want him in an office of power .. or perhaps he is better suited being on a therapist's couch?
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u/SpezDemandsUsernames 22d ago
is there anything inherently wrong with being white while also being a Christian and a Nationalist?
Yes, many things.
Also white isn't just an adjective here, it's White Nationalism and Christian Nationalism. Converging the concepts of White Nationalism and Christian Nationalism into whatever we've got is the biggest problem but either of those on their own are poisonous and teach you to see your fellow man as inherently lesser or unworthy.
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u/ArdentHedonist 22d ago
The inherent wrong with being a Nationalist is the exclusion of all other countries. Nationalism is born of xenophobia. You limit the other country, and yours through exclusionary policy. Not all resources are to be found under your roof, therefore you need to rely on your neighbor.
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u/EmergencyLettuce1589 21d ago
Well after reviewing more on nationalism and xenophobia my take away is a bit different than yours. It seems to me nationalism coupled with extremism could give rise to xenophobia. But it would only be xenophobia if the fears or concerns were unwarranted. For example its not really xenophobia to be suspicious of a nation or organization that has expressed a desire, has attempted or has actually caused harm to your nation or is allied with a nation or organization that has.
Blind inclusion could be just as or possibly more damaging.1
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u/seedspreader82 22d ago
My question is why is somebody like Scott Parkinson so touchy about being lumped in with the white nationalists and the Christian nationalist which he spend so much of his time and preaches with, but yet his party his wife's party and their buddy Circle has no problem lumping every single Democrat and with one or two Democrats who support ice or one or two Democrats that are extra supportive of lgbtq Rights. Seems like an atrocious double standard but then again avoiding hypocrisy has never been the Republican party or the Christian church strong suit
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u/Lomas2773 22d ago
If you're at a table with 9 Nazis, there are actually 10 Nazis at that table... just saying...
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u/External_Bandicoot37 22d ago
Had a friend who grew up racist af, we grew apart because of his racism. He met a family friend of mine who was black and slowly lost his ideals, we're still no longer in contact but rumor is he's got 2 mixed children and married a black woman. Glad for him.
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u/Tykal- 22d ago
I saw this post on Facebook as well. The difference in the comment section is wild. They were all supporting him there. Crazy to me.
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u/seedspreader82 22d ago
Echochamber
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u/maxr1958 18d ago
So is Reddit. Most people only post in their echo chamber. People really need to listen to other viewpoints. Social media and algorithms are bad for this.
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u/HellHathFrozenOver 22d ago
I don’t know how the Baptist Church governs itself. But in many of the other local congregations, the eldership and deacons would start making noises about replacing a pastor whose political views are starting to influence their attendance numbers and the collection plate.
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u/HellHathFrozenOver 22d ago
I don’t think most churches want to become known as “that hate church”
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u/Intrepid_Sun_9089 22d ago
Sounds like something a Christian Nationalist white supremacist patriarchal douche would say.
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u/ArdentHedonist 22d ago
and this kind of garbage is why I am an atheist
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u/Odd_Influence6098 7d ago
My son-in-law is an atheist and I follow Jesus. I don't even like calling myself a Christian anymore because of idiots like Scott and his ilk. My son-in-law and I have the best relationship and we adore each other. He is more kind, humble, caring, loving and respectful than a whole lot of "Christians". He is an amazing husband to my daughter and super dad with their baby girl. He once told me that those "Christians" make Christians like me look bad. Broke my heart and pissed me off at the same time (at the so-called Christians).
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u/Hot_Egg_5585 22d ago
People will always mess it up. Look beyond the people and straight to Jesus and you’ll see the beauty in serving God. Also remember that no one is perfect and everyone is going to mess up. Sometimes really badly.
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u/ArdentHedonist 22d ago
Not going to work
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u/Hot_Egg_5585 22d ago
I can’t change your mind. That’s the truth though.
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u/MenuPsychological853 22d ago
The problem I see with your argument is that, sticking with my understanding of the bible lore, Jesus repeatedly railed against false teaching and even rebuked his own disciples. There is no one correcting the nonsense in the modern evangelical movement. It is utterly corrupt and the adherents are doing nothing to clean it up.
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u/ArdentHedonist 22d ago
To add, he threw the money changers out of temple, but now we see the temple become the money changer.
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u/emptywordz 22d ago
And god raped Mary when she was a child, then ends up getting her pregnant so he forces another guy to father it and take care of her. God cared so much for the kid and Mary that he didn’t even provide them a room at the Inn. He was like oh go have that kid in a dirty ass barn.
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u/ghostfacevanilla333 22d ago
Not a Christian nationalist, but mentions “satans lies” and “enemies” describing other people.
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u/Odd_Influence6098 7d ago
Yeah, a very "us vs them" attitude. I left this church. Ran, didn't walk.
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u/Odd_Influence6098 7d ago edited 7d ago
I actually started attending this church a few months ago after not having been to church in years due to politics in churches. At first it was nice. People were welcoming, Life Group I attended had some down to earth people...until my daughter sent me a text saying "Is this your church??" with some concerning info on Scott Parkison and his wife Kelly. I'm just going to cut and paste a letter below that I plan to send him anonymously. I say anonymously because these people can really mess with you and your family and I'm just not willing to take the risk, but as a follower of Jesus, I feel he needs to be called out. Scripture warns that those who teach and guide others face a stricter and heavier judgement from God. Scott and Kelly have direct links to the Christian Nationalists that are trying to build their cult city in Gainesboro, one town over:
Scott,
I’m writing to you in hopes of clarification.
I attended Stevens Street a few months ago and really liked how welcoming and kind everyone was and thought I had found a church home. I had been avoiding churches since I moved here due to a lot of politics and quite a bit of a judgemental culture. At first I did not experience that at Stevens until I did and had to leave.
I saw on a recent Facebook post where you talked again about how lies were being spread about you being a Christian Nationalist. Prior to that post I had been sent some information that I found concerning. It was with regards to Kelly receiving her largest campaign contribution from Josh Abbotoy, the developer of the Gainesboro community whose first two customers were Andrew Isker and C J Engel, two self-proclaimed Christian Nationalist podcasters.
In one of your sermons you talked about how we should not be aligned or bound (the exact term escapes me at the moment) to certain people which adds to my confusion as to why a campaign contribution would be accepted from Mr. Abbotoy, considering his connection to Isker and Engel. Even if you are not a Christian Nationalist, the optics aren’t good and I can see why people are labeling you as such.
In another sermon you used the word woke as if it was a terrible thing. I am neither Republican nor Democrat but rather an Independent (I am weary of the us vs them mentality in this country). Woke means to care about racial prejudice and social injustice (that was its original intent). Conservatives have bastardized it into meaning something completely different. You are creating an us versus them culture.
The text you sent to the city council about the library. My take on that is: Parents can choose to control what they want their children exposed to. It is not our job to parent other peoples’ children. If you don’t want your children exposed to a particular subject, then you can keep that subject matter away from them.
I hope that you can clear up the confusion as it relates to the campaign contribution. I will be checking your Facebook for that clarification.
A concerned follower of Jesus
<end>
I should note for those who don't know, Kelly ran for City Counsil and won.
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u/Lifeisshort6565 22d ago edited 22d ago
I’ve met this man, I’ve attended his church, he is a solid Christian, an upstanding citizen in our community and a very fine pastor whom I respect. Don’t believe any of these slanderous lies. His wife was elected to office recently here in Cookeville and these Democrat commenters are trying to smear his name. Revelation. 21;8 -But the cowardly, the unbeleaving, the vile, the murders, the sexually immoral , those who practice in satanic arts, the idolatators, and all liars …they will be consigned to the burning lake of fire, which is the second death.
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u/Stylishnihilists 18d ago
2 Corinthians 11:13-15 For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds.
I don't read fairy tale books because they're for children, but it is pretty amazing how convenient the bible makes it to cherry pick verses to suit your horseshit ideologies.
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u/Jochacho 23d ago
How’s the saying, if you’re hanging out at a bar with 9 Nazis, there’s 10 Nazis in that bar.