When one listens to Doug Mastriano, Republican candidate for governor in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, you will commonly hear him invoke a biblical reference or a bible verse from the Old Testament.
As Frederick Clarkson writes for Salon, an animating element of politics in the age of Trump is that some people are increasingly living out religious metaphors. These metaphors are derived from contemporary understandings of the Old Testament by new elements within Christianity. This has been central to the campaign of Mastriano.
Here are five takeaways from the story.
1. A retired Army strategist and intelligence officer who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, Mastriano has a challenging relationship between metaphor and reality when it comes to biblical narratives.He suggested to an interviewer that today’s Christians should emulate the warriors of Old Testament Israel.
2. Mastriano’s core support is a fusion of QAnon and the revivalist New Apostolic Reformation which views him as a military and political leader in advancing the biblically prophesied end times. We see this in his role in the Jericho March during the run-up to Jan. 6, and more recently when he joined members of the “Shofar Army” in a ceremony of “spiritual warfare” on the Gettysburg battlefield, and as the headliner at a conference, Patriots Arise.
3. Abby Abildness is a national religious leader, as well as a legislative lobbyist in Harrisburg. She says she meets with legislators at least once a week, praying and “bringing forth a religious freedom agenda.” She also led Jericho marches in Harrisburg. The story of the 2020 Jericho March purportedly began with God giving two different individuals the same vision, calling them to set up a march in Washington as well as in the capitals of the swing states of Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin in the days before the presidential electors were to cast their votes.
4. Last year, Mastriano denied to Eliza Griswold of the New Yorker that he was a Christian nationalist. “Is this a term you fabricated?” he asked. “What does it mean and where have I indicated that I am a Christian Nationalist?” The term was not fabricated and Mastriano may have protested too much. He has sponsored several bills based on models found in the Christian nationalist legislative playbook formerly called “Project Blitz.” These bills would have mandated teaching the Bible in public schools and made it legal for adoption agencies to discriminate against same-sex couples.
5. Salon unveiled two videos featuring Mastriano on the Gettysburg battlefield before his run for governor. He appears on July 18, 2020, just days after his prayers against antifa with Abildness, with videos that reveal his involvement with a group called the Shofar Army. In the videos, Mastriano performs a ritual act of spiritual warfare — blowing shofars with the Shofar Army and Prophet Bill Yount of Blowing the Shofar Ministries. But as later became clear, they understood the warfare as physical, not just spiritual.
Quotable: “We will win in November, and my God will make it so,” said Mastriano.
12 Responses
Ding Dong Doug is an Insurrectionist who was photographed with Rick Saccone on the US Capitol grounds on January 6th. Anyone who was there on that date was trying to subvert the smooth transfer of power… thus AN INSURRECTIONIST – who violated their Oath of Office. There is no gray area here.
Now, let’s predict what will happen if, God forbid, Ding Dong is elected Governor. First, he will begin an immediate purge of our voting rights laws and attempt to segregate any citizens who don’t rate on his scale of purity.
THEN, and here’s the BIG ONE, if he becomes Governor of Pennsylvania, he will IMMEDIATELY begin his work to ascend to the next level – the US Presidency.
The Republicans will be united in November and will likely draw the anti-Biden democrats, non-affiliated, and independent voters. The Democrats will draw the votes of the left-wing marxist democrats and ignorant, yellow-dog democrats. Mastriano might win. <3
The Democrats are terrified of Mastriano, and it shows.
The Democrats are terrified of a candidate who got 44% of the vote in the primary, which conversely means 56% of his OWN PARTY voted against him.
Makes absolute sense.
The Republicans will be united in November and will likely draw the anti-Biden democrats, non-affiliated, and independent voters. The Democrats will draw the votes of the left-wing marxist democrats and ignorant, yellow-dog democrats. Mastriano might win. <3
You really should stop watching so much Newsmax and Fox News. Dems are not all radicals and your childlike understanding of political parties suggests you need more information and better reading material.
🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣
Dung Mastriano is a dumbass cult leader for the dumbass cult followers in PA. Religion has killed more people in the world than pandemics. Con man Trump. Con man Mastriano?
BINGO 🎯🎯🎯🎯
This Salon article is a piece of BS trash. Senator Mastriano is a Christian who practices faith in his daily walk. He and most of his supporters are not QAnon. I took a tour of the Gettysburg Battlefield with him on July 21, 2020 and can attest there wasn’t any Shofar performance by anyone. The tour was very interesting and factual about the Gettysburg Battle. The MSM has done nothing but trash this man for his strong background and beliefs. They’re smelling defeat. Doug4gov.com
You have drunk the koolaid. Jim Jones loves you. Blood on your hands.
Lolololololololol
NOPE
#NeverMastriano