The scriptures are very clear about the kind of people Christians should be. This includes the types of behaviors we should demonstrate and the way we should treat others (all others).
Many “Christians” in the United States have somehow managed to subvert their religious beliefs in the service of political fascism – which includes racism, sexism, persecution of immigrants, financial corruption, voter suppression, rule by bullying rather than by law, and blind idolatrous worship of the authoritarian leader.
Since, for these people, the message of the scriptures does not seem to be clear enough, I offer the following “inverse” version of a scripture to perhaps open a few eyes.
In 1 Corinthians 13: 4-7, the Apostle Paul give his well-known “Hymn to Charity.”
Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,
Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;
Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;
Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.
Paul goes on to say that the greatest quality a Christian could have is charity – which we know to be “the pure love of Christ.” (Moroni 7:47).
And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.
So, let’s turn the “Hymn to Charity” around and see what we get.
The opposite of Christ does not suffer long, and is unkind, envieth whoever has what it wants, vaunteth itself constantly, and is notably puffed up,
Behaves unseemly, always seeking its own gain, is easily provoked, and thinks evil of anyone who opposes their ambitions and desires, or is just different
Rejoices in getting away with whatever it wants to do, and bitterly opposes any attempts to call it to account,
Will not put up with anything, believes only what it wants to hear, hopes only for personal gain and power, so that it will never have to endure anything difficult or unpleasant.
Does this “Hymn to Anti-Charity” bring any particular politician to your mind? And, since the original “Hymn to Charity” is a description of Christ, it logically follows that the inverted “Hymn to Anti-Charity” is describing an Anti-Christ.
Notes:
- In 2024, the Republican Presidential ticket won 59.39% of the Utah vote, 68.87% of the Idaho vote, and 52.22% of the vote in Arizona. What does this say about LDS voters?
- The “inverse” version of 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 used above was written by LDS scholar Kevin Christensen and used with his permission.
The Hymn to Anti-Charity is powerfully and logically conceived.