Tucker: Tip of the Demonic Iceberg

Witch-Hunting is making a comeback.

If you thought Tucker Carslon's ridiculous assertion that he'd been attacked in his sleep by demons was a one-off, I have news for you: At the Atlantic is a disturbing read about a particularly irrational Christian movement to wage what they call "spiritual warfare."

The piece focuses on a campaign of harassment by a couple, Andrea and Mike Brewer, who deem themselves such warriors, against the owner of a bookstore:

They went abroad as missionaries to India and Haiti, which only confirmed their emerging understanding of a universe with three distinct realms -- the heavenly, the earthly, and the underworld, with the Earth being the realm of spiritual warfare. On one side, the Holy Spirit, angels, and believers comprised an army of God. On the other were the forces of Satan -- legions of demons with names, ranks, and personalities that could inhabit people, geographical regions, and entire nations. In India, the Brewers claimed to have battled Shiva, Brahma, and Kali. In Haiti, Python and Mami Wata. There was Marduk, Osiris, Ra, Horus, Diana, Artemis, Shesha Naga, and so on -- a whole pantheon of demons that represented ancient religions and civilizations, and whose earthly expressions were essential to understanding current events.

By the time the Brewers returned to Maryville, they saw themselves as hardened spiritual warriors. They founded the Well [their charismatic church --ed] to continue the battle, joining an international network of churches and ministries called Global Awakening, which also had a seminary, where Andrea began studying demon history and hierarchies. When Mike asked God for their exact assignment, he told me when I visited in March, "the Lord spoke so clearly. He said, 'I'm giving you and the Well a mandate for the full eradication of witchcraft and demonic activity in the region.'" [bold added]

It should come as no surprise that the couple would eventually threaten the owner of a bookstore across the street from their church over drag shows she sometimes hosted for fundraisers:

[Bookstore owner Lisa Misosky's] recollection is that she called Mike, and that he talked about doing spiritual warfare against voodoo chiefs in Haiti, and that she said, "That's great, Mike. Why don't you have a cup of coffee with me?"

Mike's recollection is that he called Misosky. "I said, 'I'm not calling to resolve differences. We're not going to do that. I am calling to request that you go 18 and older for events,'" he said. " 'If you're marketing to children of this area, we're going to do everything within the law and the spirit to stop you. We will never harm you physically.' I said, 'I'm calling out of respect.'"

And that was the last time they spoke.

Soon after, Misosky got a call from the Anti-Defamation League. There had been some chatter about a protest at Southland [Books and Cafe] on neo-Nazi forums that the group monitored. At the time, all kinds of LGBTQ events around the country were being targeted by extremist groups. A gunman had just killed five people and injured 19 at an LGBTQ nightclub in Colorado. Misosky called the police. She called some local pastors she knew and asked that they show up at the fundraiser wearing their collars. She posted on Facebook that "MAGA fascists" were threatening the toy drive. [bold added]

Misosky is completely correct in her assessment that the Well targeted her bookstore and gave "moral cover" to the violent elements that would eventually get wind of this "spiritual battle" and show up.

That phone call was the moral equivalent of a mullah "inviting" infidels to convert or die, knowing that terrorists will feel justified in doing the dirty work if the implied threat doesn't get results.

The article is well worth reading in full, but with the following caveat: It is written from a leftist point of view, and as such, it is by an enemy of liberty about enemies of liberty. The author states in plain English which side she would assume advocates of capitalism are on:

Their version of the Kingdom mapped neatly onto the political goals of social conservatives, libertarians, and, more recently, the MAGA movement. The Kingdom would have limited government, free markets, two genders, one kind of marriage, and one kind of God. The "right now" part, meanwhile, offered an urgent paradigm for mobilizing grassroots believers out of the Church and into electoral politics, government, education, and all other realms of life where they were to assert God's dominion. The new apostles and prophets of the NAR spread these ideas through decentralized networks of churches, international prayer ministries, schools, revivals, and prayer rallies, attracting followers who could find a sense of power and purpose in building the Kingdom. Leaders spoke of believers as "warriors" or "God's army" or even "special forces," and churches as "military bases," and certain apostles as "generals." They believed that being a Christian meant being in a constant state of spiritual warfare. [bold added]

Ronald Reagan's deal with the devil of the religious right has been the gift that keeps on giving to the wrong people, left and right. Any reader of Ayn Rand's Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal will know to the contrary, for example, that capitalism is incompatible with religious tyranny, that religion cannot provide intellectual support for freedom of any kind, and that personal freedom is incompatible with economic tyranny.

-- CAV