In the sanctuary of Birchman Baptist Church in Fort Worth, Texas, disgraced former Lt. General Michael Flynn on Friday (Feb. 23) opened a two-day QAnon-themed conference by insisting the U.S. is a Christian nation. His event at a prominent Southern Baptist church was just the latest stop in a tour of churches as Flynn preaches an unholy trinity of Christian Nationalism, conspiracy theories, and MAGA politics.
Describing these people as "wolves in sheep's clothing" is so accurate. I am not even sure they have even read the Bible. As far as child trafficking, yes there is child trafficking. However, groups like these tend to take the raw data of missing children as proof of the numbers who are trafficked. From reliable sources I have read, most missing children are runaways or have been abducted by noncustodial family member. Most of these are returned home. There is a small percentage of duplicate reports of missing children. Then there are those who are taken for nefarious reasons. I don't write this to downplay those children, teens and adults who are trafficked. This is a practice that needs to stopped. However, be very careful when you hear someone throwing out large numbers with no context. When someone is this careless with data and uses it merely to demonize those they hate, they are the ones who are trivializing the problem.
Describing these people as "wolves in sheep's clothing" is so accurate. I am not even sure they have even read the Bible. As far as child trafficking, yes there is child trafficking. However, groups like these tend to take the raw data of missing children as proof of the numbers who are trafficked. From reliable sources I have read, most missing children are runaways or have been abducted by noncustodial family member. Most of these are returned home. There is a small percentage of duplicate reports of missing children. Then there are those who are taken for nefarious reasons. I don't write this to downplay those children, teens and adults who are trafficked. This is a practice that needs to stopped. However, be very careful when you hear someone throwing out large numbers with no context. When someone is this careless with data and uses it merely to demonize those they hate, they are the ones who are trivializing the problem.
Brilliant work, Brian. When I first read of these things a couple years ago, I laughed. Now I cringe. scary stuff.