I know a story about a man who was born to a woman who had never had sex. He traveled around the countryside with a group of people performing amazing feats – and they were not magic tricks. God had blessed him. He’s even said to have brought people back from the dead. There are no objective, living witnesses to challenge or confirm the story.

One day, he ran afoul of local authorities and that eventually led to his execution. According to the story, he died, as one will after being executed, but only stayed dead for three days, essentially avoiding the consequences of his actions. Then, he got up and went for a walk.

According to the story, he never did die again. He promised he would come back for a visit before that generation perished from the Earth. To this day – and, coincidentally, many, many generations later, people are still waiting. But his followers will tell you: promises made, promises kept.

It’s not a story I’ve ever been able to accept, as presented. It goes against everything I know about where babies come from and the permanence of death. But there are plenty of people who DO believe that story, exactly as written, or, more accurately, exactly as presented today.

It’s a very old story. I suspect through the years, it has been corrected, adjusted, and embellished. Even the protagonist’s name changed through the years, from ‘Joshua’ to ‘Jesus.’ First editions often need later edits. The fact that there’s not a shred of evidence to support the story doesn’t shake the beliefs of those who DO believe. By and large, they believe because they’ve been conditioned to believe.

Someone told them their special friend would protect them and they believe they’re being protected, despite that fact that successes and setbacks visit them at about the same rate as those who don’t believe. In faith, facts are problems to be overcome, not reasons to reconsider.

Because the story was written for a simpler audience, one can easily find conflicts and contradictions. I could spend hours talking to a believer – and have done – pointing out the problems with the tale and never shake their faith – because it IS a matter of faith. But THIS faith, at least, is faith rooted in morality, if one follows the actual teachings of Joshua/Jesus…

I know another story about a man born to vast wealth but who managed to pull himself up by his bootstraps, anyway, and become super-de-duper rich and it did NOT have anything to do with crime. God had blessed him, too. He is said to be a brilliant businessman and negotiator. There are no objective, living witnesses able to confirm the story. One day, he ran afoul of local authorities and was prosecuted. He, too, managed to avoid the consequences of his actions. Then he got up and ran – for public office.

So far, his actions have not been in keeping with his words. He has made many promises but has failed to keep most of them. In fairness, he DOES seem to be all in on the cruelest of them. Where he promised salvation, he has delivered only distress. He has a tendency to MAKE people dead, rather than bring them back, but those are the kinds of niggling details that can be corrected in later editions. Meanwhile, his followers will tell you: promises made, promises kept.

It’s not a story I’ll ever be able to accept, as presented. It goes against everything I know about where hyper-wealth comes from or how a brilliant negotiator operates. But there are plenty of people who DO believe that story, exactly as written, or, more accurately, exactly as presented today.

See, this is a newer story, clearly in need of correction, adjustment, and embellishment. THIS story is still in it’s first edition, though the protagonist’s name has already changed. The fact that there’s not a shred of evidence to support the story doesn’t shake the beliefs of those who DO believe. By and large, they believe because they’ve been conditioned to believe.

Someone told them their special friend would protect them and they believe they’re being protected, despite the fact that serious harm and setbacks are being visited upon them at about the same rate as those who don’t believe. In faith, facts are problems to be overcome, not reasons to reconsider.

Because MAGA is a simple audience, one can easily find conflicts and contradictions in their story. I could spend hours talking to a believer – and have done – pointing out the problems with the tale and never shake their faith – because it IS a matter of faith.

This is WHY they can move so quickly and easily from one position to the next, as though the original position never even existed. When he said he would fix a given problem on day one, they KNEW he would fix the problem on day one. They didn’t NEED to hear the plan. Their faith told them so. When he changed his story to “This is going to take some time, so be patient,” they made an easy pivot. “Oh,” they’ll adjust, “he meant he was going to START fixing it on day one.” They KNEW he had only ever said it was going to take some time. Their faith told them so.

The MAGA faithful are currently defending his latest shift: “Christmas is probably going to suck” as the only message he has ever delivered. Any one of them will tell you, all he ever said was it was going to take months and months to fix the problems, but he’ll do it. Their faith tells them so. When he gets to his final shift, “I can’t fix this. It’s too hard,” they’ll defend that, too. Faith.

I’m not sure MAGA realizes theirs is a faith-based movement, but it helps ME to realize the fact. I watch them shift their positions with the shifting stories and find it quite mind-boggling, but I understand. They have no choice but to adjust. Faith can’t withstand evidence if the evidence is accepted. So it isn’t. HOURS of video evidence proving their story false does nothing. It never even penetrates. “Fake news,” they call it.

Personally, I prefer fact-based reality. I remember the line that went around after 9/11. “Science flies people to the moon. Faith flies people into buildings.” That’s commonly true. MAGA faith, sadly, is the worst kind of faith. It’s faith completely removed from morality. It’s very dangerous. But it perfectly explains why Uncle Jim-Bob can’t be convinced of anything based on facts. He doesn’t need or care about facts. He has his faith. And if that faith asks him to fly into a building…