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JBB’s Final Thoughts Episode 41: Jesus & The Folly of Using the Bible As Prop

June 1st Trump takes a walk after protesters are forcefully removed, so that he can take a picture in front of a church and how does that or doesn’t that express his Christian Faith.

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Credits/images:

• music: Social Blindness – 22K by Smart Sound Music
• All images and screen grabs by Joe Bustillos ©2020 except where noted
• A video timeline of the crackdown on protesters before Trump’s photo op, Washington Post, 2020-06-08, https://youtu.be/JxYmILDya0A Jimmy Carter (caricature) by David Levine, https://shop.nybooks.com/collections/david-levine/us-presidents Jimmy Carter And Rosalynn Building  Home, Habitat for Humanity George W. Bush, jr., caricature by managevpants, https://www.deviantart.com/managerpants/art/George-W-Bush-caricature-408026248 Bill Clinton caricature by managevpants, https://www.deviantart.com/managerpants/art/Bill-Clinton-caricature-408026999 Tricky Dick by Nina Reid, https://flic.kr/p/dguKDM Ronald Reagan – Caricature by DonkeyHotey, https://flic.kr/p/2iE39wi George H.W. Bush caricature by managevpants, https://www.deviantart.com/managerpants/art/George-H-W-Bush-caricature-408028476 Barack Obama caricature by managevpants, https://www.deviantart.com/managerpants/art/Barack-Obama-caricature-408025985 18 of the funniest photoshops of Trump’s Bible photo op., by Orli Matlow, https://www.someecards.com/life/lifestyle/donald-trump-bible-photo-op-photoshop-edits/ President Obama sings Amazing Grace (C-Span), 2015-06-26, https://youtu.be/IN05jVNBs64

Resources:

• Jimmy Carter, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_Carter Fact check: No, Donald Trump church photo op was not the same as Bill Clinton church photo, by Eric Litke, USA Today,  https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2020/06/09/fact-check-facebook-post-wrongly-compares-donald-trump-bill-clinton-photos/5322448002/ All the Absurd Details We’ve Learned About Trump’s Church Photo Op, By Adam K. Raymond, Intelligencer, NYMag, https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/06/trumps-church-photo-op-all-the-absurd-details.html ‘He Did Not Pray’: Fallout Grows From Trump’s Photo-Op At St. John’s Church, by Bill Chappell, NPR, https://www.npr.org/2020/06/02/867705160/he-did-not-pray-fallout-grows-from-trump-s-photo-op-at-st-john-s-church American Bible Society Responds to Trump Photo Op: Scripture Is ‘More than a Symbol’, by Kate Shellnutt, Christianity Today, https://www.christianitytoday.com/news/2020/june/american-bible-society-responds-president-trump-photo-op-sy.html Surprise: No One Is Impressed by Trump’s Tough-Guy Church Photo Op, by Eric Lutz, Vanity Fair, https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2020/06/no-one-is-impressed-by-trump-tough-guy-church-photo-op Trump’s tear gas photo-op was ‘frightening’ to authoritarianism experts, who warn that his behavior will only get worse without ‘fierce opposition’, by John Haltiwanger, Business Insider, https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-teargas-photo-op-was-frightening-to-authoritarianism-experts-2020-6

Episode Notes/Script/Post:

Joe Bustillos, here…

Yes, I have a scratch on my forehead. I stood up and bumped my head on my mic. Speaking of clumsy… Trump’s recent awkward photo op, I’m not sure what message he thought he was projecting (some say that the pre-photo-op clearing of peaceful protesters by force was the real photo-op)… Anyway, as with many things, this business of public displays of “religious affiliation” is certainly not something new.

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In fact, way back in 1976, when Jimmy Carter won the presidency, my hippy-dippy born-again Christian heart was delighted that a real Christian was going to be my nation’s president. It was a far different time, long before the Moral Majority reared it’s ugly head, when only (Thompson-Chain Reference) bible-thumpers, such as my self, would even have such thoughts. I got the sense that most others were fixated on Carter’s southern drawl and toothy smile. But, I could tell, or rather, my 18-year-old self, knew that this man was devoted to the truth found in the Bible. Sadly, that didn’t seem to help his presidency and he was replaced after one term by someone who I could tell was less of a believer, and more of a Hollywood-camera-ready-Christian.