If you want to know how hidebound the fundies are, consider that Rick Joyner, one of the more prominent leaders of the religious right, can have enough credibility to claim that marriage equality could potentially be the mark of the beast even though he finds it acceptable to laugh at victims of a natural disaster.
Joyner, for those who don't know, heads MorningStar Ministries in Fort Mill, South Carolina--only 20 minutes south of me. He is one of the biggest voices in the New Apostolic Reformation, an overtly fascist offshoot of the religious right that thinks it can bring about the Second Coming by taking over the world. Indeed, he is reckoned as a "prophet" in these circles.
Last week, he sent a special bulletin to the members of the Oak Initiative, a "grassroots" outfit that promotes taking over the "Seven Mountains" of our society--government, family, media, business, education, arts and entertainment, and the church. Joyner pointed out that Daniel referred to "the beast" as "the abomination that desolates." He warned that given how quickly homosexuality is "so quickly and profoundly desolating the moral fabric of Western civilization," it could very well be that abomination.
For those who don't know, if you don't take the "mark of the beast," you won't be able to "buy, sell or trade." That's a big reason a lot of people have thought the mark could be some kind of chip or implant, or a single worldwide currency. However, Joyner claims that if the Supremes decide in favor of marriage equality, it could have the same effect on those who "would not compromise their religious convictions in order to buy, sell or trade."
Hmmm--what if a pastor said that if businesses couldn't refuse service to people on account of their race, it would be like the mark of the beast? What Joyner is saying is no less offensive. But then again, given an episode from three years ago, it should come as no surprise that Joyner is tone deaf. If you'll remember, during a post-election "webinar" in 2012, Joyner and another "prophet," the late Bob Jones (no relation to the family that founded Bob Jones University), were discussing Hurricane Sandy. Jones said that Sandy and the nor'easter that came behind it were punishment for so many Northeastern states legalizing gay marriage. And then they laughed about it. That's right, LAUGHED. And this guy is considered a leader in this outfit? Sure says a lot about them, doesn't it?