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The Fellowship of the Crooked Cross: Trump’s Evangelical Hounds of Hell

Postdigital Science and Education volume 2, pages 302–329 (2020)Cite this article

Abstract

This critical rage pedagogy article explores intersections between Alt-Right movements and Christian fundamentalist prosperity theology. Starting from The Fellowship Foundation founded in the USA in the 1930s and looking at similar and interconnected developments in various countries from South America, Africa, and Europe, the article explores theological foundations of today's worldwide ascend of fascism. Using the example of Anders Behring Breivik’s famous terrorist attack in Norway, it explores theoretical background for Alt-Right attacks on political correctness and ‘cultural Marxism’. Looking into the 'end of the world' theology and its morality, the article explains deep relationships between Christian fundamentalist prosperity theology and Israel. The article connects Christianity’s forward-looking, linear view of history with ‘end of the world’ theology and capitalism. It explores the postdigital and post-truth nature of evangelical Christians’ public communications and links them to various anti-intellectualist tendencies such as the anti-vaccination movement. Using insights from Marxism, critical pedagogy, and liberation theology, the article demystifies Christian fundamentalist theology and points towards opportunites for resistance.

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Notes

  1. Donald Trump’s Twitter@realDonaldTrump, 21 August 2019, 1:34 PM.

  2. The Nebelwerfer was a series of poison gas weapons developed and used by German army in World War II.

  3. The Nebeltruppen was a branch of German army which developed and used the Nebelwerfer.

  4. See https://www.theepochtimes.com/.

  5. QAnon is a conspiracy theory about a secret plot against Donald Trump and his supporters.

  6. The Wicked Witch of the West is a negative character in The Wizard of Oz (Baum 1900).

  7. The Voynich manuscript is an early 15-century illustrated codex written in an unknown system which has never been deciphered.

  8. Ironmarch was a far-right website specialized in social networking for fascists.

  9. The Atomwaffen Division is a neo-Nazi terrorist network formed in the Southern United States in 2015.

  10. The Feuerkrieg Division is a neo-Nazi terrorist network formed in the Baltic in 2019 and modeled after the Atomwaffen Division.

  11. The Noctulian elite are members of the Order of Nine Angels based in the Noctulian temple.

  12. In Jewish mystcism, the Qliphoth are representations of evil or impure spiritual forces.

  13. Goetia is the practice of conjuration of demons.

  14. Ixaxaar Occult Publications is a publishing house specialized in occult literature in the Necrosophic-Qayinite and Qliphothic Tradition, as well as the cultivation of Spirit. See https://www.ixaxaar.com/.

  15. Martinet Press is a publishing house specialized in publishing ‘texts that reflect the darkness that is endemic to real antinomian spirituality’. See https://martinetpress.wordpress.com/author/martinetpress/.

  16. Ivanwald is the communal living house which belongs to The Fellowship Foundation.

  17. ‘Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler’, or the 1st SS Panzer Division, was a German elite army unit in World War II, responsible for guarding Adolf Hitler.

  18. The Schutzstaffel, commonly known under the abbreviation SS, was a major paramilitary organization in Nazi Germany.

  19. The 133 C Street Center is a townhouse in Washington, D.C. operated by The Fellowship.

  20. Stormfront is a neo-Nazi, Holocaust-denial website. See https://www.stormfront.org/forum/index.php.

  21. The open access book is available at https://www.nationalists.org/pdf/political_correctness_a_short_history_of_an_ideology.pdf.

  22. SMERSH was an umbrella organization, formed in 1942 and named by Joseph Stalin, for counter-intelligence agencies in the Russian Red Army.

  23. See https://www.professorwatchlist.org/.

  24. The Bruin Alumni Association is a group for consevative alumni of University of California, Los Angeles.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Chapman University, Orange, CA, USA

    Peter McLaren

  2. Northeast Normal University, Changchun, China

    Peter McLaren

  3. Zagreb University of Applied Sciences, Zagreb, Croatia

    Petar Jandrić

Authors
  1. Peter McLaren
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  2. Petar Jandrić
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Correspondence to Peter McLaren.

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McLaren, P., Jandrić, P. The Fellowship of the Crooked Cross: Trump’s Evangelical Hounds of Hell. Postdigit Sci Educ 2, 302–329 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42438-019-00074-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s42438-019-00074-7

Keywords

  • Critical pedagogy
  • Liberation theology
  • Christian fundamentalism
  • Prosperity theology
  • Alt-Right
  • Linear time
  • Marxism