Category Archives: Religious Right

Anxiety, Arrogance, Blindness, Christians in America, Nationalism, Religious Right

Many Will Come . . .

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These are funny times. Pundits are magnanimous in their talk about how divided these United States are. The divisions are many and strident. At I write these words, the election is just over and the political alienation is palpable.
From the right, many are claiming protection for their righteous values while from the left the push for women’s reproductive rights and the LGBTQ+ front continue their own advocacy efforts.

The Reverend Jerry Falwell was instrumental in the formation of a platform for Christians to unite politically forming a voting bloc for politicians to solicit. The Moral Majority (some said was neither) was a conservative group built in the way the Tea Party was built to create a voting bloc. Today’s bloc is simply called the Evangelical Right with many “leaders”.

In the lead up to the 2024 election, a persistent narrative emerged that Donald J. Trump was specifically chosen by God for the mission of being the president of the United States. Books have been written and illustrators have been busy embellishing this tale of predestined favor with T-shirts and hats. In a book titled “Why God Chose Donald Trump for President” Muhammad Kanafsky shares this delightful prose: “Donald Trump is one of those who loves to work and improve life in this World. That is why God chose him to be President of the United States of America.” I can only assume this was self-published.

What has been startling is how his pursuit of the evangelical vote fed into the self-serving non-Biblical movement called Christian Nationalism. A movement promoting the idea that these United States were established by God to be a Christian nation. Christians from across the nation have condemned this fiction. [Editor’s note: Please see my post https://www.the6p.net/2022/12/01/why-christian-nationalism-is-both-non-scriptural-and-heretical/

This yarn about Trump’s designation as a chosen leader is one of the most misbegotten pails of hamster vomit the world has ever seen. In the words of Christ from Matthew 24:4-8 as rendered in The Message:

“Watch out for doomsday deceivers. Many leaders are going to show up with forged identities, claiming, ‘I am Christ, the Messiah.’ They will deceive a lot of people. When reports come in of wars and rumored wars, keep your head and don’t panic. This is routine history; this is no sign of the end. Nation will fight nation and ruler fight ruler, over and over. Famines and earthquakes will occur in various places. This is nothing compared to what is coming.”

Nationalism, Religious Right

Why Christian Nationalism is Both Heretical and Non-Scriptural

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The so-called Christian Nationalist movement has no actual foundation for existence short of embodying the metaphorical “wolf in sheep’s clothing”. This movement only seems to be embraced by a small number of followers, but that number could be increasing.

According to the Washington Post, Christian Nationalism is an ideology that says Christianity is the foundation of the United States and that government should protect that foundation.

Strangely enough, many of the participants in the movement are those identifiable as far right extremists whose attachment to the Kingdom seems tangential at most if not superficial.

A foundational truth that the promoters of this clique seem to miss is that we are not to be encumbered or tied down by politics or earthbound country. Those who consider themselves true citizens of the Kingdom, also considers themselves “strangers and pilgrims on earth” [Hebrews 11:13], but they are “not of this world” as Jesus said.  [John 17:14]
Since the days of the Apostle Paul, we have heard it reiterated, these are the last days before the triumphant return of our coming King. How can we become so enamored of a country that is temporary and soon to fade away? How could the
concept of a Christian Nationalist not be an oxymoron?

It was Paul who reminded us that we are to be ambassadors for the Kingdom. Dictionary.com defines an ambassador as: a diplomatic official of the highest rank, sent by one sovereign or state to another as its resident representative. The ambassador does not get involved in the affairs of the country in which s/he is stationed. How then, do we justify commitment and investment to the country where we’re stationed? And to what end?

Love of God, Religious Right, Zoe Love

The Man in the Voting Line [I wanna know what love is pt. 3]

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My wife was skeptical from the first minute since the man was not wearing a mask.  I checked the crowd to see who was missing a mask.  No one was.  Then I decided to ask if this guy had a mask to wear.  I sincerely wanted to convey good will as a first impression to the mysterious stranger.   He pulled out a mask saying he didn’t want to wear the mask while we were outside, but would when we entered the building.

He talked about how things are so bad now and how people are missing the point.  Okay, this anonymous guy seems to want to go on and on, but my wife and I are both observant enough to know that this conversation won’t be comfortable or polite.  I’m ready to clam up and ride it out as the line is moving pretty well and he’s stopped making comments.

All of a sudden, he has tuned his phone to a recorded sermon from some preacher but the sermon was not based on the gospel.  The preacher was talking about the great accomplishments of President 45.  I have nothing against preachers but this was too much and after about 15 minutes, I had heard enough.

We were about to enter the building and I asked “could you turn that off please?”

“Oh this is the best, I need it every day.  It’s the word of God!”

I exhaled. “I am a man of the Word also and this is what I read today:  Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels and have not love, I am become as sounding brass . . . ” [1 Cor. 13:1 NKJV].    “Sir, the Love of God is stronger than the divisions between us.”

“Yeah, but the liberals are killing babies . . . ”

“Yeah, but Black people are being killed in the streets” I replied.

“Love is the greatest force in the universe; Love conquers all.  We need love to stop all the petty squabbles so that we can evangelize the world”

His eyes darted as he opened his mind to possibilities.  “We could do a lot more if  we stopped pointing fingers at each other” he said.

He was quiet for the remaining time we were in the queue.  I never asked his name.  I did wonder if he thought his efforts were enough to change my mind.  I’m sure he voted his heart, but fervently hope he caught a glimpse of the world from my shoes.

radicals, Religious Right, terrorism, tradition

The Religious Right is Scared

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The writer of their article published by the Daily Beast unknowingly got it half right for reasons the writer couldn’t have known.  In order to sell magazines and papers the American press has leaned in the direction of sensationalism.  An article reporting on the decline in church attendance in America is not news. An editor seeking to catch reader’s attention adds a partisan slant to the headline.
Read the rest of the article to understand the writer’s point of view. These issues are not new but the article did inspire this writer to submit an apologist response based in spiritual reality.  
The American church has changed radically over time. Long gone are Aunt Bea and Andy singing in the church choir (e.g. The Andy Griffith Show) .   Small town churches where traditional and cultural ties help bind members into normative behavior and in the best circumstances, worship.   Traditional churches inside cities are closing as second and third generation parishioners move farther into the suburbs.  Congregations that sing four verses of hymns and recite litanies predominately are older and certainly have begun to hemorrhage younger couples and teens.  Most importantly, as it appears [in a purely anecdotal way], the charismatic (spirit-filled) congregations that learn to adapt to a browner America and adhere to a living Word  are flourishing and attracting young families and youth.
The Religious Right, traditionalists and posers  who are in Christ’s words, “whited sepulchers” without sincerity or integrity will not survive the shaking spoken of in Hebrews 12:25-27.  Already we have seen difficulties and losses from those who wouldn’t take persecution.  Who is willing to be hated for the sake of Christ and the Kingdom?
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The Religious Church i.e. the churchers who work to propel themselves in an attempt to engender God’s affection is getting smaller and losing momentum. This is a subset of Christ’s church who sincerely believe that they are doing what they are supposed to do while inadvertently slowing or blocking sincere seekers.  These are they who by virtue of tradition and habit find themselves doing church work week after week, month after month but their sense of conscious contact [worship] is missing. Jesus said 
          [7]  Their worship is a farce,  for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God.’
and again,
          [13]  And so you cancel the word of God in order to hand down your own tradition. And this is only one example among many others.”  (Mark 7: 7, 13 NLT)
Religion in its many forms is causing severe damage to civilization by people who have been radicalized or who have convinced themselves that their own thoughts and/or desires have been transmitted from the very throne room of God. In many places authority is in place that keeps error in check, but not everywhere.  Hence radicals, terrorists and zealots have many more people and non-believers cringing in fear and bewilderment. 
The actual word wicked comes from the root wicca  from which also comes the word wicker meaning twisted  i.e. not straight (like the truth).  This is the insidious part of any lie, within it is some form of truth but it has been twisted in some way and as a result becomes a stumbling block.  We could discuss abortion, for example.  It is wrong to kill an unborn fetus. Period.  But it is just as wrong [if not worse] to terrorize and threaten innocent bystanders and health workers with destructive weapons and violence. Religious thinking [and in this case wicked thinking] promotes this type of behavior.  Wars, genocide and atrocities have begun this way.
The Bible says: “If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.” (Romans 12:18) That statement alone denounces so many acts of people who consider themselves religious but act with impunity in ways that disgrace and dishonor the god(s) they say they serve.  This should not be.

photo: trinitychurchboston.org