Evangelicals’ bumper sticker theology summarized: “God said it, I believe it, and that settles it.”
Or in the Trump era: “God said it through his orange messiah, I believe it, and his every pronouncement is the law of the land.”
In the 1950’s when more than 90 percent of American adults identified as Christians, if a sanctimonious fool muttered this trite phrase, most people would have responded with a hearty “Amen.”
But in the secular 21st century, when a Christian exclaims, “The Bible says it, I believe it”, it sets them apart as a religious fanatic with a fascist mindset.
When a MAGA fanatic quotes Scripture it is not a theological mic drop, rather it’s an awkward faux pas that stifles debate.
Religious extremists fail to recognize that, beyond their group, the Bible is not seen as an ultimate authority. The mind-numbing catchphrase should never be uttered outside of a fundamentalist church. This shibboleth is anathema in a secular society, and evangelicals should have the humility, common sense, and sense of propriety to never utter it in public.
Whenever a fanatic prefaces his comments with this war cry, I know they are going to use the Bible to justify homophobia, misogyny, or xenophobia, or some other atrocity.
We need to resurrect the 1990’s slang phrase “Talk to the hand” and extend one’s palm toward extremists whenever they start to recite their favorite religious slogan.