If you’re familiar with the Netflix show The Family, then you’ve heard about the not-so-secret secret group that trains men in a bizarre form of “biblical warfare,” presumably to take over the United States and restore the country’s so-called biblical values… though, in reality, it resonates a lot more with the dystopian world seen in Hulu’s The Handmaid’s Tale.
While “The Family” has received plenty of deserved attention, not nearly as many people know about a group called “Team Rugged,” a different Christian organization that “strongly believes in building manly character and the capability to stand in adversity in young men,” according to its website.
Check out the insane promotional video for a group that is oh-so-biblical… except for the whole “turn the other cheek” thing.
Even when Christians do gymnastics, it’s a sadder version of the real thing…
The group has been primarily promoted by Washington State Rep. Matt Shea, a Republican who made national headlines last year when his “Biblical Basis for War” manifesto got out. That four-page document included a disturbing penalty for anyone who didn’t adhere to biblical law: “If they do not yield — kill all males.”
Earlier this year, Shea was also caught in a chat room in which he and his buddies discussed violently attacking their political enemies. And this was while Shea ran the state’s GOP.
The Guardian now reports Shea’s connection to Team Rugged:
Shea… later made videos in support of the group, and appeared alongside them at a gathering at a religious community in remote eastern Washington. He also paid the founder of the group money from his campaign fund in 2018.
…
On Team Rugged website, it is described as “a Christian organization that strongly believes in building manly character and the capability to stand in adversity in young men”.
In his email to Shea, however, [Team Rugged founder Patrick] Caughran offers a different description, saying that the group exists “to provide patriotic and biblical training on war for young men”.
In short, a powerful Republican politician is literally helping promote an extremist faith-based group that wants to train Christian men for a religious war. And it’s barely a blip in the news. (You can assume that wouldn’t be the case if Rep. Rashida Tlaib attempted anything even remotely similar…)
Christians, like everyone else, have every right to run for public office. But a Christian who wants to instigate a holy war has no business remaining in office. For the sake of the state, Shea ought to resign. Maybe he can go live in the 51st state that he wants to create.
(Screenshot via YouTube)