It all goes the same way

Bad theology is the same as bad philosophy and bad ideology. They all have a predictable bent and they all end the same way — in dystopian ideas composed in destruction. Sure, there’s a handful that make it out just fine supposedly — if all goes according to plan. But most everyone else is screwed.

And these ideas are supposed to draw people in?

The popular evangelical and fundamentalist ideas around the rapture are a case in point. The premise is that God is ticked off, so when Jesus comes, he is pissed off, and unleashes an onslaught of destruction and death. But before he does, he sweeps a handful of people out so they can watch the destruction from heaven and cheer it on.

That’s not good theology. That’s destructive. It’s a theology that believes that violence, death, and destruction are what God is about. It’s a theology that essentially believes that God is not different than humanity in how God would handle evil — by fighting and killing. It’s a theology that revels in destruction of creation and people. How is that Christ-like exactly?

Conspiracy theories work in this same way. There’s a savior who will come and save the chosen ones and then unleash mass destruction on everyone else while the chosen ones get to watch and cheer it on. That’s the short description of just about every conspiracy theory that has ever existed.

Every end time prediction works the same way too.