How Trump Became a Prophet and the Fossil Fuel Industry Got “Religion”, Part 1
How climate change-caused apocalypse substitutes for the biblical “apocalypse” the Book of Revelations predicted.
I grew up in a fundamentalist household. My dad was pretty “meh” about religion and preferred to stay home and make sumptuous breakfasts on Sunday. I much preferred hanging with him than attending my mom’s wacky church where people “prayed in tongues” (more like PREYED in tongues), and guest poachers, er, I mean preachers like Jim and Tammy Fae Bakker would make occasional appearances to sing and pass the collection plate (that we later found out they were using to pay for gold faucets and hush money to Jim’s mistresses.)
I fully believe growing up with apocalyptic religious indoctrination drummed into my head as a child left me with a lifelong anxiety disorder that I’ve worked years to overcome. (I talk about it in a previous article.) While religion gave me a disorder, I believe my mother was attracted to it because she already had one.
I think my mom suffered from crippling depression (she would lock herself in her bedroom and cry) and possible schizophrenia (she thought “God” actually spoke to her). I got the impression from my childhood experiences that dogmatic religion appeals to those who should be getting mental health treatment instead of…