June 10, 2021
The large portion of my life spent within the Church—and my subsequent deconstruction and deconversion—has truly turned me into a skeptical bastard.
Once I realized that the process of deconstruction need not be exclusively applied to religion but can also be applied to pretty much anything, I began deconstructing other things in my life as well.
After I put my pastors under the magnifying glass of deconstruction and determined that their authority was questionable, I then sought out other authorities in my life to see if similar conclusions could be drawn. The most obvious place to turn was to politicians working within my government (I’m from the USA). What I found was quite interesting: I was able to draw several parallels between pastors and politicians.
Here are several examples. Thank you ahead of time to “Pastor Dean” and “Politician Rich” for standing in as useful and generalized archetypes.
Evangelism
Pastor Dean needs tithe-giving people to keep his church business afloat. He tells his most ardent followers to go out into the city and “evangelize” because more people in the pews on Sunday means more tithe money.
Politician Rich needs donation-giving supporters to remain relevant during the upcoming election. He tells his most ardent followers to go out into the city and wave signs that have his name printed on them because the more people who are aware of him, the more donors he gets.
Teams
Pastor Dean was born a Methodist but later became Pentecostal. He’s now the head pastor of a Pentecostal church in the Bible Belt. In his sermons, he often criticizes Methodists and other “lukewarm” sects of Christianity.
Politician Rich was born a Republican but later became a Democrat. He now runs as a Democrat in elections. In his speeches, he often criticizes Republicans and other “conservative” political viewpoints.
Punishments
Pastor Dean runs a megachurch. Dissatisfied with his annual salary of 1.4 million, Pastor Dean decides to embezzle money from the church. He gets caught. If the Elders fire him, then the church falls apart and many other high-paid church workers will lose their jobs. Therefore, it’s in everyone’s best interest to brush the entire incident under the rug and move on, hoping no one will discover it later.
Politician Rich is a state Senator. Dissatisfied with his annual salary of $174,000, Politician Rich decides to embezzle several hundred thousand dollars of Federal grant money. He gets caught. If the crime is revealed to the public, then many high-profile accomplices and political allies will also go down. Therefore, it’s in everyone’s best interest to cover up the incident and move on, hoping no one will discover it later.
Money
Jim works five days a week, Monday through Friday. Since he’s a faithful, God-fearing Christian, he pays a huge portion of his hard-earned money to his megachurch as a tithe. That money is used to further bloat Pastor Dean’s high salary. Pastor Dean’s next sermon heavily implies that God will bless those who give financially. Despite that, Jim never sees any financial return from his tithes. He remains faithful that it’ll happen one day, though.
Bill works five days a week, Monday through Friday. Since he’s a law-abiding citizen, he pays a huge portion of his hard-earned money in taxes. That money is used to further bloat Politician Rich’s high salary. Politician Rich’s next speech heavily implies that he’ll reduce taxes so that workers keep more of what they earn. Despite that, Bill never sees any decrease in his tax rate. He remains hopeful that it’ll happen one day, though.
Scandal
Pastor Dean has a female secretary who has worked for him for a year. Over the course of that year, he makes sexually suggestive comments to her. Although uncomfortable, the secretary says nothing. She later resigns her position. Three years later, she finally opens up and tells her story about Pastor Dean’s inappropriate behavior toward her while she worked for him. Although there’s a public outcry, it isn’t enough for Pastor Dean to actually step down from his position. He gets a slap on the wrist and everyone moves on when Politician Rich’s latest scandal breaks in the news, which becomes the new thing to discuss on social media.
Politician Rich has a female intern who’s worked for him for a year. Over the course of that year, he makes sexually suggestive comments to her. Although uncomfortable, the intern says nothing. She later resigns her position. Three years later, she finally opens up and tells her story about Politician Rich’s inappropriate behavior toward her while she worked for him. Although there’s a public outcry, it isn’t enough for Politician Rich to actually step down from his position. He gets a slap on the wrist and everyone moves on when Pastor Dean’s latest scandal breaks in the news, which becomes the new thing to discuss on social media.
I guess you could call me quite cynical. But once I see a pattern, it’s hard for to unsee it.
Here’s one more to end on:
A Matter of Time
A normal dude who runs a blog is aware of Pastor Dean and his megachurch. Pastor Dean is all the rage in the Christian community and hasn’t done anything wrong yet. Despite that, the normal dude who runs a blog has seen way too many pastors rise to fame and crash hard from a moral failing that they themselves preach against. Therefore, at this point, the normal dude who runs a blog just proceeds under the assumption that Pastor Dean is already up to something naughty and he’ll be found out eventually. The normal dude who runs a blog understands that, although popular right now, there’s no reason to get all excited about Pastor Dean because it’s only a matter of time…
A normal dude who runs a blog is aware of Politician Rich and his platform. Politician Rich is all the rage in his political party and hasn’t done anything wrong yet. Despite that, the normal dude who runs a blog has seen way too many politicians rise to fame and crash hard from breaking a law that they themselves helped create. Therefore, at this point, the normal dude who runs a blog just proceeds under the assumption that Politician Rich is already up to something naughty and he’ll be found out eventually. The normal dude who runs a blog understands that, although popular right now, there’s no reason to get all excited about Politician Rich because it’s only a matter of time…