Twice as wide as Earth, Jupiter’s Great Red Spot has captivated viewers for centuries–and with no solid surface to slow storms down, astronomers can only speculate how long the massive storm has been raging. An analysis of the Great Red Spot using @NASAHubble shows that the winds within the storm are increasing in speed to around 400 mph NASA
“The Internet is an empowering force for people who are protesting against the abuse of power.” Rebecca MacKinnon
Before I begin, I want to share a funny story showing I’ve been doing this blog too long. I called a nail salon for a pedicure. When the woman answered the phone, I said, “Can I get a pedophile?” Thankfully her English was limited, so I don’t think she got it. Next, my family and I are going to the beach for our annual family vacation. I will try to keep up with the blog during that time.
Who is Steven Crowder?
I had heard his name but knew nothing about him. According to Wikipedia:
Steven Blake Crowder (/ˈkraʊdər/ KROW-dər; born July 7, 1987) is an American-Canadian[2] political commentator and media host.
Early in his career, Crowder worked for Fox News and posted satirical videos on conservative media platforms. He then began hosting Louder with Crowder, a daily political podcast and YouTube channel with commentary and comedic content. It includes a recurring segment called “Change My Mind”, in which Crowder invites passers-by to converse. In December 2012, Crowder and members of Americans for Prosperity were involved in an altercation at a demonstration in Michigan concerning the state’s recently passed right-to-work law.[3]
Crowder’s YouTube channel has been demonetized twice, first in 2019 after repeated use of racist and homophobic slurs.[4][5][6][7] His channel was re-monetized after YouTube said Crowder addressed his behavior and content,[8] and it was demonetized again in March 2021, with uploads suspended for a week, after violating YouTube’s presidential election integrity policy for advancing false claims about the election’s integrity.[9] YouTube suspended the channel again for two weeks in October 2022 for violating its harassment, threats and cyberbullying policy.[10] The channel had 5.94 million subscribers as of January 2023.[11] On March 3, 2023, Crowder announced on Russell Brand‘s show that he would be moving his show to Rumble.[12]
I’ll admit I had never listened to Steven Crowder’s Louder with Crowder. Here is how he defines this program.
Steven Crowder is the host/creator/namesake of the of the largest conservative show on YouTube. Boasting nearly 5.5 million subscribers on this singular platform (and 1+ million followers on Instagram and Twitter, respectively), Louder with Crowder is shifting the political, cultural and news landscape. Both old media and Big Tech know it. In 2016, a Gizmodo report alleged Facebook purposefully throttled Crowder’s videos, later confirmed by a Project Veritas investigation. Crowder was even called out by YouTube’s CEO after shaking up the system known forever as the “Vox Adpocalypse.” His blend of insightful, unique commentary and comedic flare have set numerous viral benchmarks. His “Change My Mind” videos have become milestones: Complex rated “Change My Mind” one of the best memes of 2018 and “There Are Only 2 Genders, Change My Mind” has received over 40 million views on YouTube. Most recently, Louder with Crowder’s 2020 election live stream shattered records, exceeding the combined streams of legacy media staples ABC, NBC, MSNBC, and CBS.
According to Wikipedia:
Francesca Tripodi, a sociologist at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, said that Crowder is “very popular, especially among young, conservative voters”.[26] Stanford researcher Becca Lewis told Bloomberg News that while Crowder does not directly express white nationalist views, his channel “has some of the most overt racism of any of the shows I’ve looked at”.[26] Crowder’s channel faced similar criticism after he described CBS reporter Betty Yu’s face as “aggressively Asian”, with CBS and KPIX-TV condemning what they described as the “horrific, racist comments” and “demeaning Asian stereotypes” on his show.[32][33][34]“America Is Superior [To Every Other Country], Change My Mind”.
Crowder’s show has also seen success on Apple’s podcast list, having remained on the top 100 list over the course of 2020.[35] On YouTube, the Louder with Crowder podcast has 5.94 million subscribers and his secondary channel CrowderBits has approximately 1.21 million subscribers.[36][37]
Crowder claims to be a Christian of the evangelical variety.
Again from Wikipedia:
Crowder is a Christian. He married Hilary Korzon in August 2012 and wrote about what he considers the benefits of remaining abstinent before his marriage.[52]
In July 2021, Crowder underwent a surgical operation in which titanium bars were inserted into his chest in order to counteract his congenital condition of pectus excavatum (sunken chest).[36][53] The surgery caused fluid to accumulate in his lungs, which he called “excruciatingly painful”. Several weeks later, he was rushed to the hospital due to a collapsed lung.[54] In August 2021, as Crowder was absent from his wife due to his semi-elective surgery, his wife gave birth to twins, a son and a daughter.[55]
He is loud, opinionated, and sometimes funny since he has a comedic background. Given this description of him, I can see why I didn’t seek out his programming until I heard about the infamous Ring recording.
Crowder announced his divorce, blamed his wife, and blamed the Texas divorce law.
@thenerdsloft Steven Crowder Finally Admits His Wife is Divorcing Him ( Very Sad Gets Personal ) #podcast #sad #fyp #foryou #fox #cnn #xyzbca #zyxcba ♬ Boy’s a liar Pt. 2 – PinkPantheress & Ice Spice
Try to listen to the full 5 minutes and ignore a quick comment by Candace Owens in the video. He also appears to threaten people who discuss this on social media which means we should talk about this on social media as much as possible. I hate veiled threats.
His wife’s family then released a video to demonstrate what appears to be abusive behavior on the part of Crowder caught on a Ring Camera.
They claim his wife has been subjected to abuse for years, and she tried to hide it. Here is the infamous video. The first minute or so is an introduction to what you will hear.
After that video surfaced, Crowder allegedly threatened to release his wife’s mental health records.
This makes me realize that Steven “Christian” Crowder may be only a guise to extend his audience. According to the Daily Beast: Steven Crowder Appears to Issue Veiled Threat in Response to Abuse Claims,
Crowder said he now plans to unseal documents concerning “finances, relevant medical records concerning mental health history or evaluations, depositions, and any motions or sanctions from the courts of Texas.”
His statement comes one day after he accused Candace Owens—a fellow conservative media personality—of threatening to leak information on his divorce.
Then, he has a penchant for exposing his genitals to his staff which is super weird.
The Daily Beast reported Steven Crowder Repeatedly Exposed Genitals to Employees, Ex-Staffers Claim.
According to ten former employees who spoke to the Post, Crowder regularly engaged in unhinged tirades, forced subordinates to wash his dirty laundry, and even exposed his genitals to co-workers. Six of the sources claimed they firsthand witnessed Crowder exposing himself. “He climbed over and dropped his junk on top of Jared’s shoulder,” one ex-staffer said of an incident involving ex-producer Jared Monroe, whom Crowder called “Not Gay Jared.” Another former employee noted that Crowder’s lewd behavior “was a power play,” and if “your manager at Red Lobster did this, it would be national news.”
And he is accused of being abusive in other ways towards his staff.
The Dallas Observer posted Steven Crowder’s Ex-Staffers Add More Fuel to a Flaming Dumpster Pile of Accusations.
Now several ex-employees of theLouder With Crowder online channel, including his former co-host, comedian Dave Landau, are speaking out against what they claim is an abusive and hateful atmosphere the conservative host created in the office. The New York Postpublished interviews with employees without revealing their identities because they were afraid of backlash or had nondisclosure agreements they signed with his company, according to the article.
I’m glad his narcissitic abuse against his wife had been expose.
Yay for no fault divorce. That’s how I got mine. It’s a much better way to get free from an abuser than a fault divorce.
“The Internet is an empowering force for people who are protesting against the abuse of power.” Rebecca MacKinnon
Cameras that record both audio and visual are also empowering.
Both the internet and cameras can be used, for discovery and distribution.
People who walk the talk and those who don’t are exposed for who they are.
A public life merits public disclosure and exposure.
Dee
You should collect a whole bunch of sea shells and send them to you know who..
https://baptistnews.com/article/on-steven-crowder-abuse-and-the-evangelical-definition-of-respect/
Crowder is a genuine turd in a swimming pool.
Didn’t know who this toad was before this post; not enlightened now…..don’t see any reason to have learned about him…..Seems like his public actions speak for themselves.
The least written, read or time wasted on him the better. I can’t see taking time to even try to explain to anyone who might defend him…
Enjoy your vacation and please—spare no more thoughts to these kind of space wasters!
I have heard a couple of video clips of his stuff in the past. He is very demeaning to those who don’t believe as he does, completely going against what I would term as “Christian” behavior. There is absolutely nothing I have seen from him that remotely communicates “love your neighbor”.
Crowder is, like Trump, Limbaugh, and , a reviler.
Afterburne,
Something was cut out of my comment toward the end.
Add other popular names of choice, including those with a liberal bent, to the list of the two people I did name above.
Now I am really confused. It looks like my comment didn’t post?
I have heard a couple of video clips of Crowder’s stuff in the past. He is very demeaning to those who don’t believe as he does, completely going against what I would term as “Christian” behavior. There is absolutely nothing I have seen from him that remotely communicates “love your neighbor”.
Crowder is, like Trump, Limbaugh, (insert names of others like them who publically abuse people) a reviler. Just make sure to include the ones with a liberal mindset who do the same.
claims to be a ‘Christian’
so do all those people who claim that trump is ‘anointed by God’
honestly, after a while, people start to ‘get it’ that these folks are bat-s%(t crazy
that is a LOT of crazy people but look at the ‘sources’ of information they watch and it all begins to emerge that they have been brain-washed to ‘believe’ in more than one ‘big lie’
this guy’s wife must have been terrified
DEE, IT SOUNDS LIKE YOU NEED A VACATION FROM YOUR VACATION . . . DON’T LET THESE PERVERTED CREEPS DRAG YOU DOWN
Just watched the Ring footage.
Regarding mental health records, is it any wonder that a wife who has regularly been subject to being cut off, cussed at, told “I don’t love you,” told they need “discipline,” told they need to “become a worthy wife” (with the implication they’re not currently worthy), is it any wonder that such a wife would suffer from anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress, or any number of mental health maladies? Especially when knowing that you’re also bringing innocent children into this toxicity?
Such a response would be a completely logical reaction to abuse. You’d have to be a robot to endure this kind of treatment without that kind of reaction. And if Steven Crowder wanted a robot for a wife, he should have married a robot, not a flesh-and-blood woman.
Molly245,
“Didn’t know who this toad was before this post”
+++++++++++++
toad
great word, there
The beauty of complementarity.
SCNR
When there’s something wrong with someone’s face, especially of a generic kind, put it down to the makeup.
Is there a political platform to reduce the size of big makeup? Or big studio lighting?
If you can get hold of a free copy of it, I would recommend you read Dick Dabney’s essay “God’s Own Network: The T.V. Kingdom of Pat Robertson”, published in Harper’s Magazine, August 1980, and a source document in the three-volume “American Religion: Literary Sources and Documents” from the European Settlement through to the 1980s. It gives a good insight into the roots of the latest manifestation of political fundamentalism.
The thought occurs that it might be better to pay less attention to vocational comedians (this is a general thought, not a criticism of this post). The attention may not be good for them.
For some, marriage is indentured servitude. Or bonded slavery. Or just acquiring a punching bag, verbal or otherwise.
And they get their indentured servant or bonded slave or punching bag via Bait and Switch.
In which case, the targeted person must leave the “marriage” as this woman has done. Since this is all recorded and now public record, the next woman to sign up for this deal has been warned. So often, however, these monster men have no difficulty finding their next woman. Sickening but true. The experts can explain this for the rest of us.
Exactly! It’s DARVO all the way. Gross, but it doesn’t surprise me that a guy like this would try to play the “crazy woman” card. Sadly, this disgusting display probably won’t hurt his platform. It probably won’t even hurt his viewership with Christians. I mean, if he’s regularly making racist remarks on his channel and has been reported by multiple people to have sexually harassed coworkers, his audience already knows what he’s like. Blecch
I believe he publicly described his fault in the marriage as having “chosen poorly” in the spouse department. That is, married a woman who wasn’t willing to be a punching bag forever. Who when she had had enough, protected herself and her babies instead of “respecting” him.
“… Steven “Christian” Crowder may be only a guise to extend his audience …”
Good Lord! That should be no surprise to TWW regulars – we deal with great pretenders everyday in blog topics. There is a great multitude of imposters who use the precious name of Christ without truly knowing Him … who use cheap grace to manipulate and dominate others … you can find them from the Church House to the White House.
“It would seem to me that Crowder has lost his way.”
From the words of an old song “Lost and undone, without God or His Son.”
Genuine repentance is his only hope.
… is an ugly thing played out in the lives of a multitude of wives ensnared by the comp lie.
You are “Christian” in name only if you promote and support this guy.
Max,
I hesitate to say any particular person or group of people “isn’t really Christian.” That kind of gatekeeping is unhelpful imo. And I’m honestly just speculating about how much of an audience this guy has among professing Christians.
I would strongly agree that platforming or following a public persona who has demonstrated unrepentant bad character is contrary to Christian ethics. Sadly, it is no longer surprising to me when Christians do this. It hasn’t been since at least 2016. That’s all I’ll say since we don’t do politics around here.
CMT,
You shall know them by their fruit
Sadly, it is no longer surprising to me when Christians
CMT,
I’ll have to disagree (agreeably) with you. Not getting into the political aspect here, but many people are using a so-called “Christianity” to justify and/or condone hate, violence, and all around un-Christian behavior. People twist God’s word to justify that behavior. Steven Crowder is one of these people.
Granted, we all make mistakes, loose control, and behave in an un-Christlike manner sometimes…… but these people intentionally, unremittingly use their version of “Christianity” to justify evil.
And, yes, I know some people are fooled by some bad actors……Maybe I have been a time or two?
Molly245,
elastigirl,
I am reverting to my inner child here ~~~~~
Toad? No, no no! I like toads. (sniff, sniff) They come in our carport and eat the bugs. Sometimes I catch bugs and feed them to toads. Right now, I have a one-eyed toad and a toad with a bad leg (maybe broken once and healed badly) coming around.
Call these people snakes. I hate snakes. Snakes are evil. They bite my dogs and make me pay extra vet bills. Jack, our pitbull was bitten on the nose by a copperhead last Wed. ~ second time for Jack. Any critter that will harm such a sweet dog is evil. Any person who will intentionally harm a good person, emotionally, mentally, or physically, is a snake!
If Christians don’t stand watch over the gate, who will? Many of us have been deceived by good actors … but when obvious bad actors are at hand, we need to inform and warn others about them.
Paul warned about those “who have a form of godliness … have nothing to do with them” (2 Timothy 3) … he listed things to watch for as we keep the gate: “lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God.” Whew, I have been in church with plenty of those folks!
Max,
Exactly.
Let’s call out bad fruit, bs, toxicity, abuse, whatever you want to call it. Let’s unsubscribe, vote with our feet and our wallets. Let’s bandage up the wounded and tell the abusers where they get off. 1000%.
I just don’t think distancing ourselves from the bad actors by saying “well they aren’t really Christians anyway” helps. Maybe they are, maybe they aren’t. But they get away with hurting people under the guise of being Christians because Christians and church cultures allow them to. The call is coming from inside the house.
Nancy2(aka Kevlar),
I said it didn’t surprise me anymore, not that it was ok. I don’t mean for a second that I’m ok with sitting in a pew with somebody like Crowder on a Sunday morning. I just think we don’t need to decide how God regards somebody’s soul to see their behavior is dangerous and respond accordingly.
CMT,
My point being that when someone who presents himself to be a Christian provides evidence that they are not, we don’t need to keep acting like they are. Reaching and ministering to the lost in Jesus’ name is one thing, but accepting those who obviously remain in that condition and counting them as our own is a totally different thing. This has led to confusion in the church, a mixture in the camp which is unhealthy, and a message going out to the world that we don’t have our act together.
“In my previous letter I said, “Don’t mix with the immoral.” I didn’t mean, of course, that you were to have no contact at all with the immoral of this world, nor with any cheats or thieves or idolaters — for that would mean going out of the world altogether! But in this letter I tell you not to associate with any professing Christian who is known to be an impure man or a swindler, an idolater, a man with a foul tongue, a drunkard or a thief. My instruction is: “Don’t even eat with such a man.” Those outside the church it is not my business to judge, but surely it is your business to judge those who are inside the church — God alone can judge those who are outside. It is your plain duty to ‘put away from yourselves that wicked person’.” (1 Corinthians 5:12 Phillips)
Nancy2(aka Kevlar),
A lady in our neighborhood had to call pest control to remove a 7-foot diamond back rattlesnake that had coiled up in one of her dwarf tree tubs.
I am so happy she left this guy (I too didn’t have any idea who he was – was just glad it was not Crowder the musician) because if they have 2 kids who are toddlers, it is better that they not grow up with this dad. Good for her for sparing them that type of childhood.
Max,
Yes. This is a minor point and I think in a practical sense we would be advocating for the same response to a dangerous person.
Another commenter above linked a Baptist News piece connecting the logic of abusers like Stephen Crowder to that of the wildly popular evangelical book “Love and Respect.” The writer of that piece, Sheila Grégoire, has been arguing for several years that American evangelical Christian culture promotes beliefs about gender, marriage, and sexuality that enable misogyny and abuse of women.
I think she’s right. In this context, calling any individual bad actor, or their supporters, “not real Christians,” kind of misses the point. It allows us “real Christians” to imagine that we aren’t part of the problem. Get the wolf out of the sheepfold, by all means, but then let’s start asking some hard questions and figure out why it takes us so long to notice the critter eating the flock aint a sheep.
Crowder interviewed Mark Driscoll, 2 years ago. It was an “Ash Wednesday” interview where Steven lobbed softball questions at Driscoll while they smoked big cigars. On Youtube.
Dee retweeted an item about Mike Pilavachi a few days ago(7th May) and thought she might want to read this article about him in a national newspaper over here 10 days ago. (I’m not on Twitter). Further allegations have since been made.
“ Rev Canon Mike Pilavachi, 65, founded the Soul Survivor church in Watford, Hertfordshire, as well as the Soul Survivor summer festivals which ran from 1993 to 2019 and had an average attendance of 30,000 teenagers from around the world.
On Monday, The Telegraph revealed how his alleged victims as well as former staff members had come forward to claim that the Christian youth festival founder ran a cult in which young men were encouraged to receive full-body oil massages on his bed and engage in wrestling matches.
The whistleblowers also claimed that his bullying, spiritual abuse, “toxic behaviour” and “horrible cruelty and obsession” with certain young men was an “open secret” within the organisation, and that nothing was done.”
CMT,
the remnant is getting smaller by the day
She tells her abusive husband, “I love you,” repeatedly, as recorded on the video while her husband repeatedly berates and threatens her.
Woman, love yourself. Please. Our hearts go out to you.
Jesus said, “Love your neighbor AS YOURSELF.”
Thank God she left him. Right move.
I saw the Crowder Ring video once. That was enough for me. He is an awful person.
On the one hand I would be happy to say that Crowder is not a believer, as a Christian would NOT treat his wife that way.
On the other hand (lest I fall into the “No True Scotsman” fallacy) the church DOES have the responsibility to discipline members who exhibit such behaviour, to call them out on it and to set up teaching & structures to ensure that this sort of activity is clearly prohibited among those who call themselves believers.
Unfortunately, too many folks claim to be Christians in a deliberate attempt to build up their audience or platform. Given the number of pew sitters who eagerly welcome back unrepentant pastors or leaders, no wonder Crowder latches on to this group.
I’m glad his wife left him. I had never heard of him, but I’ve heard of similar men who treat their wives this way. I’ve also seen Church leaders who treat their congregations this way. Simply put . . . it’s abuse disguised as godly leadership. You’ll find it everywhere. It’s taught in books, classes and from the pulpit. It’s disgusting!
Another POV, in contrast to that errant teaching: Shine for Jesus, as the star God has made you to be, including both men and women.
“Follow the star which has arisen in you… it will lead you to Jesus.” – Theresa Gerhardinger, Foundress of the School Sisters of Notre Dame, SSND.
It’s grievous that christian orthodoxy – which has total power through dominionism – has rigidly latched onto this being the inevitable model of marriage (a k a “your cross”).
This must be why informal match making has been airbrushed out of the social scene. It never had to be coercive and there must at one time have been ways of not blaming match makers when it didn’t work out. In sane societies there surely often were attempts to allow safe divorces (themselves an abused procedure often).
Disclaimer: It has reached my notice that it is necessary to clarify that I do not have “pelvic” (TM) issues. Loneliness destroys your flesh and all aspects of you welfare literally. The supplicationless blasphemers of Christ and Holy Spirit let the Freudian mental molesters loose in 1969 (before most of your time). No girl or woman would dare admit she doesn’t want what she has been told I’m “inevitably” after (the propaganda dishonours the private discretion of boys and girls alike with their families and chosen friends). Not everybody has grandparents. “Sweeping a girl / woman off her feet” tells me nothing respectful-sounding. Aren’t they supposed to have an intellect?
Wolves in sheep’s clothing? Nah … the wolves have found it more profitable to dress in shepherd’s clothing.
You will know them by their fruit
The American church ceased being fruit inspectors a long time ago … thus, we have given the mic to rotten fruit claiming to be Christian.
No True
ScotsmanChristian is not a very credible claim.Not even wolves, Max.
Feral Junkyard Dogs.
Wolves have more class than that.
Shades of Andrew Tate.
BIG Cigars (Churchills or Presidentes, like JMac of Chicago cosplaying a biker) to compensate for something of similar shape (but not size) they possess.
And (like Jack the Whipper) because there was no Tab A in Orifice B It Wasn’t Really Homosexual(TM) — LOOPHOLE! LOOPHOLE!
Sometimes the sheep forget that they already have a shepherd, and his name is Jesus. They don’t need another one, they are all equally capable of hearing and following their true shepherd’s voice.
Amen! Knowing and listening to the true Shepherd will help you discern the enemy’s voice.
“Cigar smoking can cause cancers of the lung, oral cavity, larynx and esophagus as well as cardiovascular disease. Those who smoke cigars heavily or inhale deeply also increase their risk of developing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which includes chronic bronchitis and emphysema. Smoking cigars is actually more damaging than smoking cigarettes.”
Body as temple of the Holy Spirit?
It’s heresy.
How can they (cigars) be all that bad when Arnie (Schwarzenegger) fires one up in the movie Predator?
Not a picture of health.
With the Gospel boyz, there are camps. The cigar tokin’ pot bellies throw health to the wind we’s real gun-toting men Wilsons, woman at home cooking casseroles and meat loaf. The skinny jeans work-out leathery tan old cool guy latte Lenz-types, with trophy wives. Pipes is a feathery top kiddish bloke in a class all by himself with his equally unique partner.
With Jesus, we don’t get any of these visuals. Jesus and His disciples were not on stage, not putting in appearances, and never all about them. They stood out because they loved God all in, and then loved their neighbor as themselves. They were all about godly love relationships instead of self-promotion caricatures.
Remember REVEREND James MacDonald from Chicago?
Harvest Bible Chapel until Mancow played those hot mike tapes on the air?
Got in the news recently for putting another driver in the hospital during a Road Rage incident?
“Old MacDonald had a CULT,
E-I-E-I-O!”
— Mancow
Well, here’s what he looks like these days, courtesy of his Facebook uploads last January:
https://wonderingeagle.files.wordpress.com/2023/01/screenshot_20230121-164207_facebook.jpg
HOW LOVING…
This guy is a walking dumpster fire.
But then, showing off your sexual prowess is part of Biblical Manhood(TM).
“TOUCH NOT MINE ANOINTED!”
Muff Potter,
well, we’ll keep the espresso.
Was that the spat on Coronado Isle?
Mighty rich diggins in that area if he can pull it off.
I wonder whether there may be a problem, in the West, of “generational forgetting” or “learned helplessness”.
The thought has often occurred to me that “by the time one has become wise enough to raise children, one is too old to beget or gestate them.” Multigenerational households can help to solve this problem, with the grandparents, who are presumptively a bit wiser than their children, helping with child-rearing; unfortunately, the way the labor market works in the US (perhaps in much of the wider West), this is a lot harder to do than it was anciently.
But the problem must be even worse in terms of “selection of life partners”; are young people today learning “what to value in the character of a candidate for ‘spouse'” through a process of elimination — marrying jerks and learning to avoid them through painful experience?
“A cult of personality, or a cult of the leader, is the result of an effort which is made to create an idealized and heroic image of a leader by an institution or government, often through unquestioning flattery and praise. Historically, it has developed through techniques of mass media, propaganda, spectacle, the arts, patriotism, and government-organized demonstrations and rallies. A cult of personality is similar to apotheosis***, except that it is established by modern social engineering techniques, usually by the state or the party in one-party states and dominant-party states. A cult of personality often accompanies the leader of totalitarian or authoritarian entities or countries. It can also be seen in some monarchies, theocracies, failed democracies and even in liberal democracies.”
*** “Apotheosis, also called divinization or deification is the glorification of a subject to divine levels and, commonly, the treatment of a human being, any other living thing, or an abstract idea in the likeness of a deity. The term has meanings in theology, where it refers to a belief. In theology, apotheosis refers to the idea that an individual has been raised to godlike stature.”
Authoritarianism begins at home.
I was young and now am old. Seems to me that there are more jerks per capita these days than when I first started out. You can find them in every compartment of life.
Max,
But will there be enough belief, at churches, to nurture anyone balanced and open to relate?
Easy-believism has spawned a counterfeit church … it’s increasingly difficult to find the real-deal, the needle in a haystack, the rare & endangered species, the treasure buried in a field.
I’m not sticking up for Steven. However, those who are in the middle of a divorce often take mental health assessments, especially when abuse is alleged against them. The release of mental health records *could* be for Steven, not Hilary.
Megan,
Maybe? But a court-ordered psych eval is a fairly thorough process, and I can’t imagine anyone wanting the world to have that much detail. Perhaps this was meant as bluster or an empty threat.
Friend,
The general consensus is that it was a threat and given his recorded behavior, entirely in keeping with his disgusting behavior.
dee,
Thank you for clarifying.
Thanks to GBTC, who alerted me to a comment I approved which was a demeaning and unproven lie about a political figure. I apologize to all who read it and will try to do better.
Once again, do not go the political route in your comments. This blog does not want such statements. There are plenty of other blogs out there that do.