I have no doubt that the MAGA political movement is a cult. It has all the trappings of a cult, including a God-like figure at the center who can do no wrong. A strong appeal to emotions, and the walls of the cult are buttressed with lies. I’ve had conversations with old evangelical friends, who are smart and good people, say dumb and evil things because that was the groupthink of the MAGA that they are now part of. But last night, I saw cracks, if not the beginning of the end, in the MAGA cult.

The point I want to make today is that people who are in cults are mostly good, smart people, but in an odd way, are victims of their desire to be good Christians or good citizens. I know this because I was in a cult for two decades. Everyone I know who was in that cult was there for good reasons. They really wanted to know God better and to do what they thought God wanted. While I find the MAGA cult frustrating at times and cruel, I do believe that the people inside, my family and my old evangelical friends, sincerely are doing what they think is the right thing and, again, are not stupid. They were good people before joining that movement, and I know they are good people, still. I have full respect for them. If the ice is now cracking, and they are liberated, they are freed to be the good people that they are,

I listened to the author of a book a few years ago, who tells the story of her experience in a notorious cult started by two Baptist preachers. It was a slow process, like the proverbial frog in the pot of water where the heat is slowly turned up. These two charismatic preachers eventually (as happens in many cults) started having sex with the very young girls as part of their “spirituality.” This author tried to explain what it felt like when one of the pastors came to her house asking for her twelve-year-old daughter. She knew why he wanted her daughter. She tried to explain that her indoctrination was so complete, seeing these two leaders as perfect, that the feeling she had of handing over her daughter to be raped by them was a sense of honor that they had chosen her daughter. This sounds bizarre to us of a sound mind, and we would judge her as a horrible parent, but she was under the psychological spell of the preachers.

While I’m trying to defend those who believe wrong things for psychological reasons, I do not let those two pastors, the leaders of the cult I was in, or Donald Trump off the hook. No, evil exists in the world, and they are evil.

While I’m on the topic of respect, I often write here about my frustration with the traditional church, where, if I speak honestly, someone is waiting to condemn me. It is most frustrating because, while I’m staying in a Christian mindset, many who face the same condemnation do not. They not only leave the organized church, but they also leave Christianity for good. So, while the pain is real, and there is often very little we can do about the pain of sharp words, that does not exclude us from forgiving the person who said them, or even elevating them as good people … save a few poorly chosen words.

Matthew records Jesus as saying (in his chapter seven, verses 1-2): “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. ² For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

While this is the most quoted verse in the Bible Belt, my roots, it makes serious metaphysical and ethical assumptions. The point I want to make is that most of us are not disgusting worms, as some of us are taught to believe. If you have a really big God, and we are the handiwork of that God, then it is senseless to debase ourselves or others.

In competitive piety, we see it differently: a wide range of human goodness, where we are fighting to get on top. That is the impetus of hateful words, whether from the mouth of a racist, who says your race is inferior, or a church leader who tells you that your spirituality is sub-par. It is the same game, and if you use the same criteria to judge them, you must use it for yourself.

So, what I’m saying is that if MAGA is breaking up, many hurt and confused people will come out of that movement, and we must treat them with grace, kindness, and respect, and be thankful that the beast at the top has lost its power over them.

Almost twenty years ago, I started this blog in the spirit of Holden Caulfield as a catcher in the rye, to catch those who are forced out of the church and sent hurling over the cliff. It has been wonderful, save for those still in the church whose harsh words chase after those falling, and me, too. But I want to be the catcher of those coming out of MAGA, with a velvet hand, a spirit of grace, and a sense of welcome.

Respectfully,

Mike