The Politics of Demonizing: A Violent Temptation

Demonizing has been ramping up this US election season. Not just in a metaphorical but a literal sense. And not just on the fringe but in the mainstream. To counter the dangerous effects of this infusion of politics with ancient mythic concretism, we need to understand the psychology at play in this disturbing trend of Christian Nationalism.

“You know what the Lord told me? He said ‘Micah,’ he said, ‘I sent those riots to Washington.’ He said, ‘What you saw yesterday was my hand at work.’” This is self-proclaimed “prophet” Micah Beckwith speaking on Jan. 7, 2021, pronouncing the violent Jan. 6 insurrection at the US Capitol the day before to be the work of “God” battling the work of the “devil” who is thought to have the Capitol in his claws (see the above image Beckwith posted just a few months ago). Now Beck…