Gordon Allport on the Program of the Demagogue

In 1949, Leo Lowenthal and Norbert Guterman wrote a book titled Prophets of Deceit. In his 1954 book The Nature of Prejudice, personality psychologist Gordon Allport summarized Lowenthal’s and Guterman’s findings into a section he called “The Program of the Demagogue.”

If you have ever been able to get through a Donald Trump rally, you will recognize the points Allport summarized. It is as if Trump is reading from a script. Here is the excerpt from 1958 version of The Nature of Prejudice (p. 389-390).*

The Program of the Demagogue

In their volume Prophets of Deceit, Lowenthal and Guterman have analyzed a large number of similar speeches and tracts. There is a sameness of protest and hatred in all of them. What the demagogue is saying seems to boil down to the following points. 2

You’ve been cheated. Your social position is insecure because of the machinations of Jews, New Dealers, communists, and other agents of change. Sincere and plain folk like us are always dupes. We must do something.

There is widespread conspiracy against us. It is being engineered by devils — by Wall Street, Jewish bankers, internationalists, the State Department. We must do something.

The conspirators are sexually corrupt too. They “roll in wealth, bathe in liquor, surround themselves with the seduced daughters of America.” “Oriental erotics debauch youth for the purpose of wrecking gentile morale.” Aliens enjoy all the forbidden fruit.

Our present government is corrupt. The two-party system is a sham Democracy is a “trick word.” “Liberalism is anarchy.” Civil liberties are “silly liberties.” We cannot be universalistic in our ethics. We must look out for ourselves

We can’t trust the foreigners. Internationalism is a threat. But we can’t trust our own government either. Alien termites bore within. Washington is a “Bolshevik rat’s nest.”

Our enemies are low animals: reptiles, insects, germs, sub-human. Extermination is called for; we must do something.

There is no middle ground. The world is divided. Those who are not for us are against us. It is a war between haves and have-nots; between true Americans and “foreigners.” “The Talmudic philosophy of Europe- Asia-Africa and Nudeal is directly opposite that of Christian.”

There must be no polluting of blood. We must keep racially pure and elite. Vile contamination comes from dealing at all with the moral lepers of liberalism.

But with disaster around the corner what can you do? Poor, simple, sincere people need a leader. Behold I am he. It isn’t the American nation that is wrong, it is the corrupt men in office. Change the personnel. I am available. I’ll change the whole smelly mess. You’ll have a happier and safe life.

The situation is too urgent to permit the luxury of thought. Just give me your money, and I’ll tell you later what to do. Everybody is against me . I am your martyr. The press, the Jews, the stinking bureaucrats are trying to shut me up. Enemies plot against my life, but God will protect me. I’ll lead you. And I’ll ignite the public mind everywhere. And I’ll liquidate millions of bureaucrats and Jews.

Maybe we’ll march on Washington . . . 

This is the playbook of the Trump GOP. He and Fox News have convinced his base that they have been cheated and threatened by immigrants and the Democrats. Immigrants are devalued and debased. They are the problem. He will stop the invasion. The country was a disaster before he came along and we needed him to make America great again. He alone can save us. He alone can drain the swamp. We must stick together against the attacks of a liberal press, the enemy of the people. They are godless but God is on my side.

Allport said in the 1950s that the aim of this kind of demagogue is “a totalitarian revolution following the pattern of fascism.” With hopefulness, he added:

American democracy has a remarkable resiliency, for it has with stood such demagogy for decades, in fact, since before the founding of the nation. But today, the aggravating of strains, the cultural lag (i.e., the failure of social skills to keep pace with technological) have made the appeal greater than ever before. It is not a movement that is born overnight. Its seeds are always present, and its growth may be gradual and imperceptible up to a point, and then sudden and alarming. It waxes and wanes with the rise and fall of particular demagogues. But sometimes its roots gain a firm hold in congressional committees, in local and state political groups, in certain newspapers, and among certain radio commentators.

On the whole, the democratic tradition seems still in the ascendancy. Each fascistic movement generates a strong counter-current. Yet the mounting of social strain and the acceleration of social change in our day create a precarious condition. The question is whether realistic diagnoses and policies can be evolved to ameliorate domestic and international ills and to improve men’s outlook before panic and fear drive them in larger numbers to embrace demagogic nostrums.

Allport’s question haunts me. I think he has the situation diagnosed but I don’t believe our psychology or our policies have kept up with the pace of social and technological change today. Panic and fear drove a sufficient number of presidential voters to elect a spectacularly ill-equipped reality television actor and businessman of questionable success. Panic and fear appear to be driving a defense of Trump’s abuse of power based on something other than reality. Evangelical placation of everything Trump does is almost certainly driven by panic and fear. Surely they are not walking by faith.

I hope our democratic institutions will survive the panic and fear whipped up by Trump. The social strain is here, accelerated social change is here and I believe we are in a precarious condition.  Here’s hoping that our democratic tradition remains the ascendant attitude with enough of us to thwart The Program of the Demagogue.

654 thoughts on “Gordon Allport on the Program of the Demagogue”

  1. Note: The topic of this post is Gordon Allport’s views of the program of the demagogue and how these views relate to the current political situation in the U.S. Any additional off topic comments will be deleted.

    1. Why don’t you just turn off comments for this post? It seems to have spiraled so far out of control that trying to police it is futile, as evidenced by the many further off-topic comments after this warning.

  2. America ( USA )and most of its people are just as sick and demented as China, Russia, Middle East and Asia, etc. Trump is no better or worse than the demented liberal demoncrats.
    The only thing Mr.Trump has done to help the USA is putting people back to work instead of living off of welfare like the demoncrats want to so to everyone, all across the USA.

  3. Dr. Throckmorton, I saw you were interviewed by the Naples Daily News for Melanie Payne’s Nov. 1st article, “Harvest Bible Chapel Naples gets eviction notice months after Chicago megachurch scandal.” You were even given the last word. Encouraging to see more reliable, fact-based, investigative journalism.

    1. They have been lied to for nigh on to 40 years, and have bought into the lies. Republicans have been telling them, some of them, anyway, what they wanted to hear–that they’re better than certain people, that certain people are out to get them, that those people are responsible for their jobs disappearing–Republicans are playing into their biases, and it works.

  4. For Christians that voted for Trump- it really seems as if it is all about abortion. Next is making sure Americans are “protected” for homosexuality. Nothing else matters – everything else is almost unimportant. Our standing as a nation as a reliable ally , our Constitution-based slow but steady progress toward equality.
    Christians are blind today- they wear the blinkers of self-righteousness- and worse , they are blinkered and blundering in the dark.

          1. It should be the “Spelling Police” to bring this error to my attention. It should not be the “Grammar Police”. Spelling is not within their jurisdiction.

    1. U.S. White-Nationalist Evangelicals will be deeply offended when they learn that Jesus had nothing to say about abortion or homosexuality. They will be even more offended when they learn about policies in countries with the lowest abortion rates (Switzerland, as one example).

      1. Perhaps it is fundamentalists who “worship the creature more than the creator” and have a form of godliness- but deny the power thereof”. I personally feel most of them will be very uncomfortable in Heaven, because there are so many of us there they just don’t approve of.

          1. Repeating it over and over doesn’t get you any closer to understanding. Jesus also said more than once that marriage was a temporary condition for this world.

          2. But if you are a literalist- you cannot pretend to interpret this passage- with no mention of same sex marriage as an indictment or warning – or prohibition against it. You will need to find clearer scripture than this.

          3. Verse 4…. but He made them male and female.

            verse 9.. whoso puts away HIS wife and whoso marries HER. Clear as day He means one man one woman, not two men or two women.

          4. Verse 4…. but He made them male and female.

            verse 9.. whoso puts away HIS wife and whoso marries HER. Clear as day He means one man one woman, not two men or two women.

          5. Verse 4…. but He made them male and female.

            verse 9.. whoso puts away HIS wife and whoso marries HER. Clear as day He means one man one woman, not two men or two women.

          6. Lots of warnings about sexual contact out side of marriage for any type os sex. Sorry- nothing explicit against homosexuality that is not said about heterosexuality. Read it some time.

          7. Here! You read it! I’ve read it plenty of times. It’s all there. Quit denying.
            Romans 1:24-28
            24 Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:

            25 Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.

            26 For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature:

            27 And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.

            28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;

            29 Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers,

            30 Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,

            31 Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful:

            32 Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.

          8. Now you didn’t even read closely what I wrote to you. BTW- do you worship the creature more than the creator?

          9. Here! You read it! I’ve read it plenty of times. It’s all there. Quit denying.
            Romans 1:24-28
            24 Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:

            25 Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.

            26 For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature:

            27 And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.

            28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;

            29 Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers,

            30 Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,

            31 Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful:

            32 Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.

          10. Here! You read it! I’ve read it plenty of times. It’s all there. Quit denying.
            Romans 1:24-28
            24 Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:

            25 Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.

            26 For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature:

            27 And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.

            28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;

            29 Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers,

            30 Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,

            31 Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful:

            32 Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.

          11. …about Pagan IDOL worship temple practices… but nothing about loving, committed and faithful same sex couples there at all.
            Looks like you’re projecting again.

          12. In v 12 Jesus appears to accept that there are paradigms other than that set out in vv 4 and 5.

            And, as others have pointed out, homosexuality is not mentioned as such in Matt 19.

          13. Not sure what you mean by “defines male and female”. He does also talk of “eunuchs” who were “born that way”. (The words in quotes are taken from the NIV translation.)

            I think you are reading into Matt 19 things that are not there. Many people seem to do the same with the story of Sodom and Gomorrah, which does not concern homosexuality per se.

          14. Considering how the current administration feels about immigrants/strangers, bringing up the sins of Sodom is painfully absurd.

          15. Read the story carefully then think about what you’ve read. Then you might get there …

            (Try not to listen to those who scream, squawk and foam at the mouth, and call it “preaching”.)

          16. Read the story carefully then think about what you’ve read. Then you might get there …

            (Try not to listen to those who scream, squawk and foam at the mouth, and call it “preaching”.)

          17. Nothing to do with gay people.
            Everything to do with wanting to inflict violence on “foreigners”, “strangers” and “other people”.

            Gee, just like the Orange Idolizers of today…

          18. Read the story carefully then think about what you’ve read. Then you might get there …

            (Try not to listen to those who scream, squawk and foam at the mouth, and call it “preaching”.)

          19. I did read it. Homosexuality plain and simple. Lot offered his two virgin daughters to these men, but they did not want the women, they wanted the men. Plain as day.

          20. So you are good with a father offering his daughters to be raped. This story doesn’t give any kind of moral lecture to us today. We know that all rape is wrong.

          21. Of course it is wrong! Their father Lot was dead wrong to do this, and he paid dearly later on but we are talking about the men of the city wanting men.

          22. Learn since history. In that region and at that time, men would rape conquered goes and enemies not as consensual love, but as a violent means to humiliate and subjugate.
            Learn history!

          23. They (the ‘men of Sodom) wanted to commit rape. You are not a complete idiot (notwithstanding your best efforts to persuade us otherwise), and know perfectly well that most LGBT people, like most straight people, have no intention of raping anyone.

          24. Oh boy! Completely missed the subject didn’t you? Of course I know it was rape, but the very act of men with men is dead wrong and God calls it an abomination.

          25. God has been talking with you about it?

            But let us also consider another aspect of the Sodom and Gomorrah story … It does appear that the ‘men of Sodom’ formed a kind of mob, perhaps rather like the mob that, encouraged in part by foul-mouthed religious extremists, forced a gay friend of mine from his home in Uganda (they might well have killed him) to seek refuge in another country. I am delighted to inform you that he is now living a safe and productive life in the United States. I’ll be visiting him next week, as it happens …

          26. Rachel, I notice you have not responded to my comment, so I’m going to press you a little. Would you agree with me that the mob who threatened my friend were, in that situation, the true ‘sodomites’? If not, why not?

          27. I’m sorry. I must have missed that part about the mob who threatened your friend. Tell me again please.

          28. No worries.

            A gay Ugandan friend of mine, having been denounced, was threatened (probably with death, and possibly also with rape*) by a mob, and had to flee his home. In 2015, he was granted asylum by the United States after the UNHCR had studied his case and given him refugee status.

            My point is that mobs such as the one to which I have referred are truly composed of ‘sodomites’ – i.e. morally their behaviour is equivalent to, or worse than, that of the ‘men of Sodom’.

            * Many sexual assaults by men against gay men are committed by people who self-identify as, or give every indication of being, ‘straight’. It is generally well-understood that the propensity of someone to commit a sexual assault and his/her sexuality are not linked.

          29. Indeed – like the mob I have mentioned, they were nasty and inclined to violence.

          30. And so are all the homosexuals that are living today. Eventually they will become the same way as those in sodom and gamorrah in the next few years.

          31. I did read it. Homosexuality plain and simple. Lot offered his two virgin daughters to these men, but they did not want the women, they wanted the men. Plain as day.

          32. I did read it. Homosexuality plain and simple. Lot offered his two virgin daughters to these men, but they did not want the women, they wanted the men. Plain as day.

          33. Rachel is a typical literalist.

            She is reading between the lines. And it is the part she reads between the lines, that she takes as literal truth. The actual written words are not nearly as important to Rachel.

          34. Nope! Not at all. It plainly says in Romans chapter 1 that God gave them up to vile affections and men and women burned in their lust for one another and went against nature. How can someone read between the lines on that?

          35. Because you are incorrectly assuming homosexuality is “unnatural” and it isn’t.

            further, for a straight man to have sex with another man, would be ‘against nature’ but not for a gay man.

          36. It is unnatural and an abomination to God…
            26 For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature:27 And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.
            Romans 1:26-27

          37. homosexuality is natural as in it occurs in nature (and not just in humans).

            As for your religious quotes, I don’t care about them. while you are free to believe what you want, so am I, and I do not believe in your bible.

          38. Yes i know you do not believe the Bible.. Yes it occurs in nature just as it does in humans for Satan has corrupted and deceived man..
            Animals do not have souls so they do not have to think about where they will go when they die. But humans do have souls.

          39. “Animals do not have souls so they do not have to think about where they will go when they die.“

            Translation: Animals do not live under the threat of hell, so they can act naturally LOLOLOL!!!!!

          40. Your right animals do not go to hell but people can and do.. But Satan has corrupted people so they think evil is ok.. God will take care of the animals since He made them also

          41. Translation: God values animals more than humans because he won’t torture them lol!

          42. Oh they do it to themselves huh. What an utterly ridiculous thing to say. By choosing another supernatural claim over your own (or believing no supernatural claim at all), you believe that person is choosing to go to hell and be tortured. That God is holding someone accountable for not believing a claim that you cannot provide any evidence for. But aside from all that, an all powerful God could stop the torture anytime he wanted. No offense, but you really have maybe the worst case of cognitive dissonance as anyone I’ve ever encountered on these forums. You make God look awful, and then try to get him off the hook by lamely claiming people actually choose to endure torture because they can’t bring themselves to believe a supernatural claim where no real evidence is provided to them.

          43. They have a choice accept God’s gift of eternal salvation or be separated from God forever..
            I may have cognitive whatever, but I chose to follow God…
            Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.Hebrews 11:1

          44. You’re not really being completely truthful. Yes sinners who do not choose to serve God/Jesus do, do it to themselves. But God/Jesus does punish/torture them to the lake of fire for eternity for their choice “ NOT “ to serve God/Jesus.

          45. Yes God does punish them for they would rather continue in their lives doing whatever they are doing instead of loving the one who made it possible for them to even have a life.. But i understand some do not even believe in God, for Satan has blinded them..

          46. Think about what you are actually claiming here. If YOU were to breathe your last and then at that point find yourself in another religion’s hell, then by YOUR very own argument, that would mean that you purposely CHOSE to go to that hell for being wrong in what you believed. That’s using YOUR very own logic.

          47. Which is what other religions would say about you. And using YOUR very own logic, you would have purposely chosen to be in hell because you mistakenly believed the wrong thing.

          48. Sure it’s your logic. You’re missing your own point. You claim folks from other religions purposely choose hell for mistakenly believing the wrong things about God. And this same principle would not exclude you in the event they may be right instead of you. Your own logic means that you purposely chose hell for innocently being mistaken in the event they are the ones who are correct.

          49. Forgven is either a troll or a religious zealot. In either case attempting a discussion with him is a waste of bandwidth.

          50. Yeah I’ve had several. I waiver on whether or not she’s a troll. Either way it’s difficult to have a rational discussion.

          51. Ken by what I read by both you and Ron. Is both of you are zealots.
            Neither one of you can see the Forrest for the trees

          52. Um, you do realize that Christian Arabs have no other word for “God” than “Allah” right? Oh wait, no, I doubt you do lol.

          53. God/Jesus and Allah are not the same God and never has been.

            Even Christian Arabs are smart enough to know that.

            But it’s obvious that you Ron,doesn’t
            And ‘ NO ‘ it’s not a laughing matter.

          54. Um, that’s the word for God in Arabic. You just called these Christians fools for speaking their native language.

          55. A true Christian would ‘ NOT ‘ refer to God/Jesus as’ …allah…that would be blasphemy for a true Christian.
            Allah doesn’t have son.

          56. So DMS thinks Arabic Christians are not true Christians unless they learn another language ?

            Things we read on the Internet. You really can’t make this stuff up

          57. You see Ron. I don’t know even one Arab Christian.
            But I do know what scripture teaches us Christians.
            Do you?
            Btw is that Arab Christian still an Arab?

          58. You are confused. Just as an English speaker uses the word “god” to refer to the Christian god, or any other god in any other religion, a Christian Arab refers to God as Allah, as that is the word for god in their language. They would use it for the god of Islam as well as the god of the Bible. What the respective speakers mean by that term is another matter. Why are you being so obtuse about such a simple thing? The word “god” is not sacred, it’s an English word with a history of derivation, like all of our language.

          59. But Allah doesn’t have a Son.
            God the Father of the Bible does have a Son.
            Two totally different Gods.

          60. The term “god” is not a proper name. You mean the god of the bible when you say it, but others don’t. The same is true of the term Allah in another language. Are you being intentionally obtuse?

          61. God is God/Jesus/HolySpirit Only.
            Allah is god only. Allah does not have a son and it’s blaphemy in the quran to state that allah has a son.
            No Christian anywhere would refer to God/Jesus/HolySpirit as allah.
            If they do they’re only doing it because they’ve been taught wrong about God/Jesus in the first place.

            The world would love to make a ONE WORLD RELIGION and that’s exactly what’s being tried here.

            You people want Christ Jesus and Allah to be the same God.
            Us true Christians will ‘ NOT ‘ allow this blasphemy to happen, ever.

          62. I could care less that some English grammar professionals don’t consider ‘ GOD ‘ a proper name.
            God/Jesus is GOD.
            Whether the world likes it or not.

          63. You present yourself like a member of a cult – not a very effective witness. Denying the reality of your argument isn’t going to do anything but turn others away and make you look deluded.

          64. I have been banned from Breaking Fake News & False Religion,” Forgven. But I read a comment you posted up there just a few minutes ago, and I wanted to leave you a couple of verse…

            “If You, O Lord, should mark iniquities,
            O Lord, who could stand?
            But with You there is forgiveness,
            that You may be feared” Psalm 130:3, 4.

            “The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost” I Timothy 1:15.

            Blessings to You, Dear Sister 🙂

          65. I am sorry to hear you have been banned, they do not like hearing about God or what the Bible says about sin.. I am surprised more Christians have not been banned from there.. Thank you for the verses, i do appreciate any verses you care to share.. Blessings to you also dear Friend

          66. Thank You, Sister. Yes, they do suffer from a very bad allergy to the truth of God. But I am glad that there are still some Christians there to keep shining in the light of God’s word. May the Lord be pleased to bless your witness.

            “I notice that when souls are saved, it is by our texts rather than by our sermons. God the Holy Spirit loves to use His own sword. It is God’s Word, not man’s comment on God’s Word that God usually blesses. Therefore, stick to the quotation of the Scripture itself and rely upon the truth. If a man could be saved by a lie, it would be a lying salvation. Truth alone can work results that are true. Therefore, keep on teaching the truth. God help you to proclaim the precious truth about the bleeding, dying, risen, exalted, coming Savior and God will bless it.” ~ C. H. Spurgeon (1834–1892)

            Blessings to You Dear Sister 🙂

          67. Yes if God kept a record of our sins, we would all be condemned, but God forgives us our sins never to be brought up again… Jesus is coming back we need to be watching and be ready

          68. Yes. By what God/Jesus scripture states, billions of people will go to the lake of fire for eternity. All by their own choices.
            The same as all the people that died just before the Ark set sail.

          69. You believe God will forever torture people for being mistaken in their beliefs, which means that if you’re the one mistaken and end up in another religion’s hell, then according to your own logic, you actually made the choice to be there. It’s absurd.

            But aside from that, it’s almost humorous how you repeatedly slander me by falsely accusing that I’m following Satan, yet you do not have the ethical, moral, or especially the spiritual courage to do so using your real name. It’s a cowardly and deceptive tactic that plainly reveals that you don’t genuinely believe strongly enough in your God to openly stand behind your beliefs and assertions with transparency and moral conviction. You fashion yourself as standing up for God’s truth, when in reality you do nothing more than revel in the thought that those who believe differently than you will be tortured. And you do it while deceptively hiding behind a computer on the internet. It’s interesting how Satan is described in the Bible as the great deceiver. Think on that for awhile.

          70. Yes I do.
            That’s just another way that your master Satan tries to get people to back away from their true belief of God/Jesus from scripture.
            Pedal your lies elsewhere.
            TS and Bones will believe your lies Ron, go talk your lies to them.

          71. “Yes I do.”

            Wow, after posting that you repeatedly slander me by falsely accusing me of following Satan, that you do not have the ethical, moral, or especially the spiritual courage to do so using your real name, that your tactics are cowardly and deceptive that plainly reveals that you don’t genuinely believe strongly enough in your God to openly stand behind your beliefs and assertions with transparency and moral conviction, that you revel in the thought that those who believe differently than you will be tortured, and that you do it all while hiding deceptively behind a computer on the internet, your response is…..”Yes I do.”

            Well at least you apparently admit it then. Not sure I can add anything more to that.

          72. Yes I do, believe that all that don’t follow God/Jesus.
            Will spend an eternity in the lake of fire, by their own choices.
            Just like you Ron, while you serve your master Satan.

          73. Ron McPherson is so engulfed with his master Satan. That he doesn’t have a clue who Christ Jesus actually is, anymore.
            Ron has made up his own likable version of Christ Jesus.
            Ron doesn’t want to believe that God/Jesus of the Old Testament is the same God/Jesus of the New Testament.

          74. Whether homosexuality is natural or not. It is still condemned as a sin by God/Jesus.
            If you don’t want to live by that belief that fine with me.
            But I do. And so do millions of other Christians.
            But you and your kind want force us Christians to accept your beliefs.
            We refuse.

          75. Because you are incorrectly assuming homosexuality is “unnatural” and it isn’t.

            further, for a straight man to have sex with another man, would be ‘against nature’ but not for a gay man.

          76. Wow! Just wow! People will say anything so as not to be unaccountable. You are not born gay and there is no gay gene.

          77. What I said was homosexuality is not “unnatural”. You seem to have (mis)read a lot more into that statement than what was there.

            Never said anything about a “gay gene” although there is evidence there are genetic factors to sexual orientation. As to whether you are born with a particular orientation, that is still up for debate.

          78. I’m not interested in your particular interpretation, of your particular version, of your particular religious text.

            I prefer facts.

          79. you mean the christian bible, of which there are many versions and even more interpretations. As I said, not interested.

            I prefer facts.

          80. No, stories are in the bible (different ones for different versions).

            Facts are things that can be verified.

          81. Remember scripture He gave them over to their depraved mind.
            Obviously some have a mental illness. God/Jesus states that some do.

          82. But I don’t have a mental illness and I discovered I was gay at puberty, when you, probably, discovered you were heterosexual.

          83. I knew I was a heterosexual at the age of 4 years old that’s when I started kissing girls and I’ve always liked kissing girls.

          84. What a randy little thing you were.

            Well, I’ve always wanted to kiss boys, but I did not dare do so until I was 26.

          85. You have a mental illness if you want have sexual relationships with boys/Men these days in 2019.

          86. Did I put them in the same sentence?
            I made 2 seperate statements.
            Your reading comprehension isn’t very good is it?

          87. Lol… you knew what I was referring to. It doesn’t matter to me how it is spelled. The grammar police show up in the strangest places.
            And they actually believe ( lol ) that our spelling means anything to us, it doesn’t. Half the words that college pukes ( yous ) did you like that word ( lol ), I like it better than ( use ). We in the real world have to google the words that they ‘ yous ‘ to find out what they actually mean.

          88. “The grammar police show up in the strangest places.”

            Spelling is different from grammar.

          89. Not in my world it isn’t. I didn’t care for English in school and I still don’t. I don’t care one bit about spelling, verbs, nouns, periods, it didn’t do me any good in my life’s work on a construction site for 40 years and it still doesn’t. All it does it make college pukes like you make fun and laugh at people like me without an edumakasion.

          90. No, I have never stated that I chose to be gay.

            You have just uttered a falsehood.

            I never chose to be gay, any more than you chose to find females sexually attracted.

          91. I have uttered no falsehood, under God/Jesus description of homosexuality.
            Scripture states that all of us choose our sins.
            You chose to be a sinfilled homosexual.

          92. Don’t be silly. I did not choose to be homosexual, any more than you chose to be heterosexual. (Was it like the menu cards one sometimes gets in hospital, and the options were there –(a) hetero, (b) homo, (c) a sexual, (d) paedo, (e) animals, and you ticked box (a) and lo! you started to fancy girls?)

            I did choose to live according to my homosexual nature, and that was because I saw that there was nothing wrong with living so.

          93. No it’s the morality claws that were all created with.
            I like that spelling better than clause, don’t you?

          94. Not from what I believe we are all born with the same conscience of knowing what is good and evil.

          95. What you believe is at odds with reality. Different people often differ significantly in matters of conscience.

          96. Are you stating that you’re not a homosexual?
            Are you stating that God/Jesus doesn’t condemn homosexual sexual relationships?

          97. I am homosexual but I am not sexually interested in boys, so don’t put out nasty insinuations that I am.

            Your god has a very muddled outlook, creating people gay and then aiming to punish acting as he has made them to act. A peculiar kind of sadist, I think.

          98. God/Jesus created everyone heterosexual.
            That’s why God/Jesus scripture states that all homosexuals are given over to a debased mind. You have a mental illness as far as God/Jesus and true Christians are concerned.
            But the ‘ world ‘ outside of God/Jesus/Christian.
            Believes the way that you do.
            Which means the ‘world ‘ outside of God/Jesus/Christian, have debased minds ( mental illness )as much as you do.

          99. “God/Jesus created everyone heterosexual.”

            False. I have never, ever, felt a twinge of sexual attraction towards women.

            “That’s why God/Jesus scripture states that all homosexuals are given over to a debased mind.”

            Actually, it doesn’t.

            “You have a mental illness as far as God/Jesus and true Christians are concerned.”

            I see. So your good god creates people with a mental illness.

            You are out of touch with the reality of homosexual people. Being out of touch with reality is a standard hallmark of being mentally ill.

          100. It doesn’t matter. If you have or haven’t.
            We’re created to serve Christ Jesus.
            Not our sexual whims.
            You can be gay and Christian.
            You’re not allowed to be a sexually active gay and a Christian.
            As I’m not allowed to be a sexually active heterosexual and a Christian at the same time. Unless I’m married to another heterosexual. But even then both of us are committed to God/Jesus in our lives to serve Him.
            We’re not serve our sexual desires.

          101. It does indeed matter, whether I have ever felt sexual attraction towards females.

            I do not serve my sexual desires.

            They serve me to achieve a wondrous fulfilment.

          102. Your fulfillment will be a wonderous eternity in Hell.
            If you don’t repent of the sins of homosexual sex depravity.

          103. Golly, what a horrible set of persons your god is.

            Morally, he is no different from the street thug who goes beating up gay people. And you worship that!

            Golly.

          104. Oooh!

            The queerbashing god you worship sounds pretty evil. Or do you think beating up gays in the street, which is morally on a par with the attitude of your god, is OK?

          105. I have let this go on too long. All of these comments about sexuality and morality are off topic and offensive. I am going to delete some of them and if they persist, I will ban those who make them.

          106. I was going by what is stated in the 6th paragraph of this article.
            It doesn’t matter now. I’ve made my point, to people who don’t want to change.

            You’re spot on in paragraph 7.
            Yes our republic is corrupt on almost all sides.
            But nothing that we do ourselves will change this world that we live in.
            You’ve probably gathered from my conversations before addressing you.
            That I believe in God/Jesus.
            And God/Jesus is the only way out of the corruption that this entire world is in.
            But until this world accepts God/Jesus as the only way out of the mess that this world is in.

            Nothing is going to change.
            Even people with the best intentions will turn to there own form of greed before it changes.
            Then we’re right back to more corruption.

          107. So you confirm that you worship a god who is morally appalling; who is morally no better than–worse, even–than the thug who says, “I hate queers,” and goes out to murder some.

          108. You’re a very funny person.
            None of us humans would even have clue what morality actually is without God/Jesus/Holy Spirit in the first place.
            God/Jesus is the only way into the kingdom of heaven.

            But I can tell that you have made up your own version of a god. That your god allows you to do all the atrocities ( sins ) that you like to do to anyone, everywhere.

          109. “None of us humans would even have clue what morality actually is without God/Jesus/Holy Spirit in the first place.”

            Utterly false. There has been high moral conduct from many who never heard of your trio.

            “But I can tell that you have made up your own version of a god.”

            No, YOU’VE done that, projecting your own nastiness into the heart of the universe.

          110. You’ve got a vulgar comedy act you should go on Saturday night live.

            God/Jesus/Holy Spirit started time as we humans know it.
            So God/Jesus/Holy Spirit are first in everything.
            My ( our ) God/Jesus/Holy Spirit can be read about in any NASB, KJV, ESV, and NKJV Bibles.

          111. Actually, your god is pretty immoral in some ways. If you think otherwise, you must have lost your conscience somewhere along the way.

          112. Not at all.
            God/Jesus ask all people to turn away from their sinfilled lives and repent of their sins and ask for forgiveness of their sins.
            And turn from their old lifestyle and live a born again lifestyle to serve God/Jesus.

          113. Yes, but if he’s going to send to hill those who don’t do as he says, he’s just like the gaybasher in the street who decides to go out an beat up gays.

          114. It’s quite obvious that you know nothing of scripture about the real
            God/Jesus/ Holy Spirit.
            It would be best for me to move on and just pray for your salvation.
            Goodbye..

          115. How impertinent of you to pray for my salvation.

            You need praying for, because it is obvious you venerate someone with the mind of a street thug who goes out to beat up or murder gay people.

          116. You know nothing about scripture. We Christians will be morning
            ( weeping ) for all of the lost from this world.
            I don’t know what Christians you conversed with before me. But they don’t sound like any Christians that I know about from scripture.

          117. That’s exactly what God/Jesus has taught us true Christians, what the outside world believes about God/Jesus/Christians
            …. 1 John 2:15-17.

          118. Well, you *think* God/Jesus [What about the Holy Spirit, too? Have you demoted the Holy Spirit) has taught you that and you *think* you’re true Christians.

          119. The Holy Spirit is there whether I name Him or not. We can’t ever get God/Jesus without the Holy Spirit also. I always put down God/Jesus so people know the God I’m stating about.
            Many years ago I used to just say God. The world plays games with people who just state God only.
            So I always state God/Jesus.
            But I see you like to play games too.

          120. Still, I expect the Holy Spirit feels a bit miffed about being left out by you. Honour them equally! The HS isn’t a mere afterthought.

          121. There is only one kind of Christian.
            And all of them serve God/Jesus in some kind of biblical service.

          122. No, there are lots of kinds.

            And you, with your violent queerbashing heart that you have the audacity to project onto the divine, are one of the worst kinds.

          123. How about just naming the top 10 on your list.
            That will give me an idea what I’m dealing with.
            Thank you.

          124. What sorts of things do you want to know?

            I am not going to tell you about sex acts with my husband, because that would just feed your prurience.

          125. I’m not talking about things like that.
            Which I don’t want to know.
            You know like abortion, deceit, occult, etc.
            Btw: I’m glad I don’t know what prurience means.

          126. “I’m glad I don’t know what prurience means.”

            Dirty-mindedness.

            “You know like abortion, deceit, occult, etc.”

            I don’t do deceit. I did a wineglass seance about 40 years ago, but otherwise I’ve never done occult. I’ve never had or tried to get someone to have an abortion. I find it hard to see why my conscience on such a matter should over-ride that of the pregnant woman.

          127. I said nothing about what you think.
            I asked you what your so called christianity believes.
            In our God/Jesus scriptural bible:
            Immorality was first taught by God/Jesus.
            God/Jesus created everyone, every animal, bird, fish, insect, ocean, sea, earth, star, and planet; etc.
            Women who have an abortion are committing murder.
            Anything that has to do with the occult is a sin.
            Anyone who is deceitful to anyone is committing a sin.
            That’s what I was referring to.

          128. “Immorality was first taught by God/Jesus.”

            One would hope he wouldn’t.

            “Women who have an abortion are committing murder.”

            Oh that’s just your conscience, not theirs.

          129. That’s from scripture sir. It’s called taking a innocent life.
            It would be no different than if you went out into your neighborhood and killed a 2,3,or 4 year old child as far as God/Jesus is concerned it’s the same thing, murder.

          130. You are awfully kind you know the mind of this being that you venerate. It is by no means the same thing as killing a 2-, 3- or 4-year-old child.

          131. Well, your god is a pretty nasty piece of work, if he creates people gay and then tortures them for acting on it.

          132. “gay homosexuals ”

            You don’t need both words.

            There is no immorality in my sexual relationship with my husband.

            It may get up your nose and it may get up the nose of God/Jesus/Holy Spirit, but that doesn’t mean it’s immoral. It might get up the nose of the street gaybasher, but that doesn’t make it immoral.

          133. To God/Jesus there is a lot of immorality. God/Jesus doesn’t recognize you even having a husband.

          134. Yes you do.
            I’ve read on this forum that you condemn God/Jesus for telling all homosexuals that they have a depraved mind.
            So what if you discovered you were gay at puberty. That does not mean that you’re allowed by God/Jesus to engage in sexual relation of a homosexual nature for the rest of your life.
            I told you that I knew I was heterosexual by the time I was 4 years old. That does not mean that I’m allowed any sexual relations of any kind unless I’m married.

          135. It “plainly says” in Romans 1 that they were participating in Pagan Temple IDOL Worship… NOT a condemnation against all gay people! Try reading the ENTIRE CHAPTER for once.

          136. Oh I don’t know, maybe read the other 15 chapters and 30 verses in Romans and learn the context of those two favorites of yours.

          137. I don’t care about the word ‘caricature ‘ either.
            You’re the exaggerated imitation of a person here.

          138. Only morons would think that God/Jesus would destroy to evil cities and millions of people for being inhospitable

          139. Hello darling

            Might I respectfully suggest that you read Matthew 10 : 14, 15 ?!

            Lots of love

            Richard

          140. Remember He said the land.
            Jesus didn’t say one word about the people.
            It still had nothing to do with it.

          141. You’re in denial, Richard.
            Sodom and Gamorrah is all about how disgusting Homosexuals truly are and God/Jesus states so when He states that He gave all of them
            ( homosexuals ) over to a ‘ Depraved ‘ mind.
            Just because you don’t believe that you think the same way as all of your brethren from Sodom and Gomorrah today. Doesn’t mean that you won’t in the very near future.
            As secular society becomes more accepting of Homosexual debauchery.

          142. All violent mobs (regardless orientation of those in them) that threaten others are in a sense “depraved” – be they in Sodom those thousands of years ago or wherever in our day (like that homophobic mob in Uganda).

        1. You haven’t the faintest idea who God/Jesus truly is do you?
          God/Jesus doesn’t make mistakes on who goes to heaven. Every Christian that is in heaven will be happy with every Christian that is there in heaven.

          I read a few years ago that Ted Bundy became a Christian before he died. I think that’s fantastic that he will be in heaven with all of us Saints also.

        2. Your last sentence will not happen in heaven. Because only the righteous will be there in heaven.
          Chosen by God/Jesus.

        1. Lying doesn’t work here. You are either lying, or you don’t know what’s actually in Matthew 19: teachings on divorce, selling all your possessions, and giving to the poor. Ironically, Matthew 19 is about the very things White-Nationalist Evangelicals want nothing to do with.

          Spreading lies and disinformation is not acceptable behavior, Rachel.

        2. Lying doesn’t work here. You are either lying, or you don’t know what’s actually in Matthew 19: teachings on divorce, selling all your possessions, and giving to the poor. Ironically, Matthew 19 is about the very things White-Nationalist Evangelicals want nothing to do with.

          Spreading lies and disinformation is not acceptable behavior, Rachel.

          1. But he said nothing of homosexuality per se. You can see that as well as the rest of the us.

          2. You can deny all you want but it is clear in these verses.
            Matthew 19:4…And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female.

            Matthew 19:9….And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away HIS wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth HER which is put away doth commit adultery.

          3. Well, if she’s only reading the KJV, she hasn’t seen the word homosexuality in it, since the KJV predates it by a couple hundred years.

          4. You can deny all you want but it is clear in these verses.
            Matthew 19:4…And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female.

            Matthew 19:9….And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away HIS wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth HER which is put away doth commit adultery.

          5. You can deny all you want but it is clear in these verses.
            Matthew 19:4…And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female.

            Matthew 19:9….And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away HIS wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth HER which is put away doth commit adultery.

      2. LIAR !!!
        Jesus is and always has been GOD.
        God has stated plenty throughout scripture against abortion and homosexuality.

    2. it really seems as if it is all about abortion

      Except it’s not. They might say it is, but every poll and survey merely confirms that they love everything about him. They believe he’s masterminded the greatest economic recovery of all time, and that he an international diplomat without peer, is bringing an end to America’s role as the world’s policeman, has turned back the brown barbarian hordes invading America, is rooting out the enemies of American from within the government deep state, is America’s greatest truth teller, and is the only leader who will protect America from its demise at the hands of the socialism and the New World Order.

      …and I am not even exaggerating.

      1. AKA “HE IS LOOOOOOOORD! BEND THE KNEE AND TAKE THE MARK!”

        What gets me is that these guys act just like Beast-Worshippers in any Christian Apocalyptic novel or movie; the instant the 666 tat goes on, they become fanatically loyal unto Death and beyond.

    3. For Christians that voted for Trump- it really seems as if it is all about abortion. Next is making sure Americans are “protected” for homosexuality. Nothing else matters
      The term is “Pelvic Issues”.

    4. Blundering in the dark?
      When we Christians do try to present to the world God/Jesus.
      What we get are people who have been brainwashed over the past 50+ years, by our many administrators on both sides with equality, their own rights, and mostly nothing about God/Jesus.

  5. Here’s hoping that our democratic tradition remains the ascendant attitude with enough of us to thwart The Program of the Demagogue.

    I can hope, but because I believe the Republican party and their backers behind the curtain, wish to destroy the Democratic Republic, I am not optimistic.

    1. A more accurate description of U.S. White-Nationalist Evangelicals: Authoritarian Theocrats. They clearly have no interest in Jesus, but we can at least help them better understand their hate-filled, fear-driven idolatry.

        1. True. Jesus taught his followers to “Seek,” yet White-Nationalist Evangelicals are devoted to the polar opposite of this foundational teaching. The firm denial of Jesus is part of their self-serving mission.

      1. And after a generation or two of their Godly Christian Nation, the name “Jesus Christ” will have acquired the exact same baggage as the name “Adolf Hitler”.

  6. Here’s hoping that our democratic tradition remains the ascendant attitude with enough of us to thwart The Program of the Demagogue.

    I remain optimistic. I feel much of the future depends on the willingness of the newest members of the voting public (the young) to care enough to cast a vote in order to counter balance / outweigh the much older voters who are more easily influenced by the fear-mongering of The Program of the Demagogue. I realize a large swath of younger voters chose not to participate in the last presidential election, yet I’m hoping those non-voters (as well as newer first-time participants) now realize the importance of showing up at the ballot box. THEIR future depends upon it.

  7. Do you not hear the same patterns in many of the politicians opposed to Trump? A few days ago – Jerry Brown saying that republicans have blood on their hands because of climate inaction? Demagogic speech has become very bipartisan.

    1. Jerry Brown’s solution isn’t to trust Jerry Brown and turn on a scapegoated group. His rhetoric is over the top but he doesn’t tick off all or nearly all of Allport’s point as Trump does.

    2. Trying to claim other politicians’ rhetoric makes them the same as Trump is like trying to say that the woman who clutches her purse to her on the bus when a black man sits near her is the same as the KKK member who burns crosses on a black families lawn. While both may be cases of racism, they are no where near the same thing.

      1. The term is “Sin-Levelling”.
        And you find that card played every time some Christian corruption comes under scrutiny.

        1. Not sure if that is the case for Trump supporters, because that would require admitting what Trump is doing is a sin.

        1. That was so… half a century ago…before the realignment following the Civil Rights movement.

          We are talking about now, in the 21st Century.

        2. where are you getting that they were “all democrat”? In the early part of the 20th century they may have been predominately (not sure though, never really looked into party affiliation), but I doubt they were “all democrat”. Nor to I think the claim that they are “predominately democrat” would hold true today either. Although, I don’t really see why that is relevant to my comment.

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