One of the many threads that link together the post-evangelical left and the Christian nationalist right is a shocking indifference to arguments, ideas, and, ultimately, truth. Both movements are driven chiefly by vibes. The primary rhetorical posture of both most post-evangelicals and most Christian nationalists is the sneer. It is not marked by saying, “this argument is wrong because x, y, and z.” It’s marked, rather, by “oh, you can’t possibly believe that, can you?”
The sneer works rhetorically because it creates a kind of atmosphere in which arguments don’t need to be made because social pressure is exerted in such a way to coerce people into a position. Put another way: Those who sneer don’t actually care about ideas; they care about power.
! Commonplacing
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