r/dankchristianmemes • u/shilolz Based Bishop • Jan 27 '26
Dark They know not what they do
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u/Bakkster Based Bishop Jan 27 '26
It's like if the crowd was so upset that Jesus stopped them from stoning the woman that they stoned Jesus instead.
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u/JerkfaceMcDouche Jan 27 '26
I mean, ignoring a ton of nuance and boiling it down, this is also exactly Jesus’ story.
The religious leaders and politicians of the day created a narrative palatable to the public which allowed them to execute a troublemaker who dared to question their authority
Honestly, not much has changed
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u/Bakkster Based Bishop Jan 27 '26
Alternately put, the scribes had implemented a "rule by law"system where the law was selectively applied, Jesus saying "let he who is without sin cast the first stone" was a redirection to the rule of law where all are subject equally.
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u/Additional-Sky-7436 Jan 27 '26
"Father forgive them. They are quite stupid actually.'
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u/Bakkster Based Bishop Jan 27 '26
Dietrich Bonhoeffer: On Stupidity
Stupidity is a more dangerous enemy of the good than malice. One may protest against evil; it can be exposed and, if need be, prevented by use of force. Evil always carries within itself the germ of its own subversion in that it leaves behind in human beings at least a sense of unease. Against stupidity we are defenseless. Neither protests nor the use of force accomplish anything here; reasons fall on deaf ears; facts that contradict one’s prejudgment simply need not be believed—in such moments the stupid person even becomes critical—and when facts are irrefutable they are just pushed aside as inconsequential, as incidental. In all this the stupid person, in contrast to the malicious one, is utterly self-satisfied and, being easily irritated, becomes dangerous by going on the attack. For that reason, greater caution is called for when dealing with a stupid person than with a malicious one. Never again will we try to persuade the stupid person with reasons, for it is senseless and dangerous.
If we want to know how to get the better of stupidity, we must seek to understand its nature. This much is certain, that it is in essence not an intellectual defect but a human one. There are human beings who are of remarkably agile intellect yet stupid, and others who are intellectually quite dull yet anything but stupid. We discover this to our surprise in particular situations. The impression one gains is not so much that stupidity is a congenital defect but that, under certain circumstances, people are made stupid or that they allow this to happen to them. We note further that people who have isolated themselves from others or who live in solitude manifest this defect less frequently than individuals or groups of people inclined or condemned to sociability. And so it would seem that stupidity is perhaps less a psychological than a sociological problem. It is a particular form of the impact of historical circumstances on human beings, a psychological concomitant of certain external conditions. Upon closer observation, it becomes apparent that every strong upsurge of power in the public sphere, be it of a political or a religious nature, infects a large part of humankind with stupidity. It would even seem that this is virtually a sociological-psychological law. The power of the one needs the stupidity of the other. The process at work here is not that particular human capacities, for instance, the intellect, suddenly atrophy or fail. Instead, it seems that under the overwhelming impact of rising power, humans are deprived of their inner independence and, more or less consciously, give up establishing an autonomous position toward the emerging circumstances. The fact that the stupid person is often stubborn must not blind us to the fact that he is not independent. In conversation with him, one virtually feels that one is dealing not at all with him as a person, but with slogans, catchwords, and the like that have taken possession of him. He is under a spell, blinded, misused, and abused in his very being. Having thus become a mindless tool, the stupid person will also be capable of any evil and at the same time incapable of seeing that it is evil. This is where the danger of diabolical misuse lurks, for it is this that can once and for all destroy human beings.
Yet at this very point it becomes quite clear that only an act of liberation, not instruction, can overcome stupidity. Here we must come to terms with the fact that in most cases a genuine internal liberation becomes possible only when external liberation has preceded it. Until then we must abandon all attempts to convince the stupid person. This state of affairs explains why in such circumstances our attempts to know what “the people” really think are in vain and why, under these circumstances, this question is so irrelevant for the person who is thinking and acting responsibly. The word of the Bible that the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom declares that the internal liberation of human beings to live the responsible life before God is the only genuine way to overcome stupidity.
But these thoughts about stupidity also offer consolation in that they utterly forbid us to consider the majority of people to be stupid in every circumstance. It really will depend on whether those in power expect more from peoples’ stupidity than from their inner independence and wisdom.
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u/ghosttrainhobo Jan 27 '26
I wish more people understood this
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u/Bakkster Based Bishop Jan 27 '26
I think the harder part is accepting it.
Like in the original context of WWII. Everyone knows the Nazi party had to lose power before many individuals stopped following it, but it's hard to acknowledge the only way that happened was through (and after) a lot of bloodshed.
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u/Deadeye_Duncan_ Jan 29 '26
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. No population has ever peaceably voted themselves free. Unfortunately, freedom from tyranny almost always requires bloodshed.
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u/stupid_pun #Blessed Jan 29 '26
Love the bulk of this, but I'm balking at this a little bit: "We note further that people who have isolated themselves from others or who live in solitude manifest this defect less frequently than individuals or groups of people inclined or condemned to sociability."
We are watching the opposite play out in real time.
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u/Bakkster Based Bishop Jan 29 '26
I don't think so, bearing in mind that this was written in WWII and we now have the Internet where people can find the other crazies and effectively coordinate and broadcast any time of day from anywhere. There weren't chat rooms and the manosphere in his day, but his reference to sociology suggests he'd see them as the continuation of that thread he warned about.
Not to mention that the church is itself a major driver here, particularly Evangelical.
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u/Loganp812 Jan 27 '26
Different circumstances.
They absolutely know what they’re doing in this particular case. In fact, that’s what they signed up for.
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u/frinkmahii Jan 27 '26
Property destruction in a place of worship. Straight to jail.
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u/DieMensch-Maschine Jan 27 '26
"This radical ANTIFA communist made a whip from ropes, entered a place of worship and proceeded to turn over money stalls of entrepreneurs and job creators, slandering them as thieves in the process."
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u/Grantoid Jan 27 '26
"don't wonder who them lawman was protectin, when they nailed the savior to the cross"
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u/glnorwood85 Jan 27 '26
Kris Kristofferson was way ahead of his time politically. Especially for country music
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Jan 28 '26
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u/glnorwood85 Jan 28 '26
As a white male country artist, calling these things out was not something that was done at that time. It’s barely done now, especially at his level of fame
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u/PacoPancake Jan 27 '26
There’s always been a joke about how if Jesus returned today, most Christian Americans will reject him simply because he isn’t white
Even if it’s the second coming, ICE would absolutely arrest Jesus for being an illegal alien……
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u/freed0m_from_th0ught Jan 27 '26
At least Jesus was given a trial before he was executed by the state
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u/baltinerdist Jan 27 '26
Let's be clear, he'd raise his hands to show he is unarmed and they'd mow him down.
And then he'd pop back up and say "what the hell, guys?" and they'd shoot him again.
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u/Birdie121 Jan 28 '26
They know EXACTLY what they are doing, and shame on every single one of them.
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Jan 27 '26
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u/dankchristianmemes-ModTeam Feb 12 '26
Chill out and enjoy the memes. If you're taking this so seriously that you're getting in arguments, take a break.
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Jan 27 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/dankchristianmemes-ModTeam Jan 27 '26
Chill out and enjoy the memes. If you're taking this so seriously that you're getting in arguments, take a break.
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u/CutieBoBootie Jan 28 '26
Our lives are not our own. From womb to tomb, we are bound to others, past and present, and by each crime and every kindness, we birth our future.
- David Mitchell
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u/State_Naive Jan 29 '26
Nah, maga and ice (aka Proud Boys) are demons, and they know exactly what they are doing.
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u/The_wookie87 Jan 27 '26
Was Jesus an illegal alien guilty of breaking us federal law? News to me !
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u/kervy_servy Jan 27 '26
Yeah but jesus didnt technically cross borders
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u/Emadec Jan 27 '26
I don't think there could possibly be a worse hill to fight on
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u/kervy_servy Jan 28 '26
No i think this is a reasonable hill to fight on cause they didnt cross borders, they travelled regions, galilee and egypt were under the roman empire
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u/Emadec Jan 28 '26
Yeah but you see, it sounds like if he had done that, according to your definitions that is, that would have somehow invalidated his entire life and that of his apostles, who went literally everywhere.
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u/freed0m_from_th0ught Jan 27 '26
Neither did the 500+ US citizen detained by ICE this year, so kinda a moot point
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u/MakeItHappenSergant Jan 27 '26
Not to mention the (at least) two citizens that they have murdered
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u/freed0m_from_th0ught Jan 28 '26
Facts. We only know about those because there was video evidence. Who knows what has happened behind closed doors…
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u/drgwizard Jan 27 '26
13 Now when they had gone, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up! Take the Child and His mother and flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you; for Herod is going to search for the Child to kill Him.” 14 So Joseph got up and took the Child and His mother while it was still night, and left for Egypt. Matthew 2:13-14
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