===christian Nationalism 2024===
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What Christian nationalism has in store for Jews and other religious minorities For an energetic subset of supporters, the promise of Donald Trump’s MAGA movement centers on increasing the influence of Christianity in American life and returning the country to what they see as its founding Christian ideals. Scholars say that through their devotion to Trump, these Christian nationalists have claimed a prominent, mainstream place in Republican politics — a phenomenon that has alarmed Jews and other religious minorities. And regardless of the result of the presidential election, they aren’t going away, said Julie Ingersoll, a professor of religious studies at the University of North Florida. (Jewish Telegraphic Agency 11/5/24) READMORE>>>>> In a race they cast as good vs. evil, Christian hard-liners are fired up for Trump Christian nationalist tours timed to the election showcase the power and ambition of a movement aimed at erasing the separation between church and state. An electric anticipation coursed through a church outside New Orleans where hundreds gathered on a recent night to pray for a victory they saw as just over the horizon, in a president who could bring them one step closer to their vision for a Christian homeland. Covenant Church was already in celebration mode. A light show flashed stars on the ceiling, and the pews filled with people dressed in red, white and blue. In a nod to local tradition, some carried parasols as they paraded down the aisle to a live jazz band. (Washington Post; 10/29/24) READ MORE>>>>> Why Do Christian Nationalists Like Rob McCoy Know So Little About The Constitution? One of the defining characteristics of Christian nationalist activists is a willingness to misrepresent history, as time after time they spread blatant falsehoods in defense of their right-wing ideology. Often, this is rooted in their own ignorance about the Founding Era and the creation of the Constitution, as right-wing pastor, former mayor and city councilman Rob McCoy demonstrated during a recent appearance on "The Heidi St. John Podcast." While insisting that the United States was created with "a Christian form of government," McCoy rattled off a series of completely false statements. "When they did the Constitutional Convention and they were at loggerheads in 1787 and they broke for three days of fasting and prayer—and [Benjamin] Franklin's prayer is remarkable—but they come back and they come up with a brilliant idea of a bicameral legislature," McCoy said. "And they put the Three-Fifths Clause in there because they couldn't deal with slavery at the time but they had a sunset clause all established to get rid of it, and they did the Three-Fifth's Compromise so the slaveholding states couldn't have representation in the lower house if they weren't going to give Black Americans citizenship and the right to vote. So they were working through this." (Right Wing Watch 10/22/24) READ MORE>>>>> Vance appears at event hosted by hard-right Christian nationalist Republican vice-presidential candidate JD Vance appeared Saturday at a town hall event organized by top Christian nationalist leaders who promote election denialism and portray Vice President Kamala Harris as a “demon.” The event’s host, Lance Wallnau, who emceed the live event and introduced Vance’s first town hall on the campaign trail, is a leading figure in the fast-growing New Apostolic Reformation, a movement that preaches Christian supremacy through a blend of prophecy and hard-right politics. Though a campaign official said Vance and Wallnau didn’t speak to each other, Vance’s appearance at Saturday’s event was the latest example of the Trump campaign intersecting with once-fringe figures who now have wide followings. (Washington Post 9/29/24) READ MORE>>>>> A look inside Christian nationalism — with an Idaho emphasis Moscow — a college town that skews to the left of Idaho’s political mainstream — is an unlikely vanguard in the debate over Christian nationalism. But the preacher of a fundamentalist church is determined to transform the politics of the Palouse, as part of a bigger campaign to make America an explicitly Christian nation. Schools are the centerpiece of Doug Wilson’s crusade. In National Public Radio’s “Extremely American” podcast, Boise-based journalist Heath Druzin takes an in-depth look at Christian nationalism. The series focuses largely on Wilson, his Moscow-based Christ Church and its inroads in the region’s education ecosystem. In this email interview, we ask Druzin about what he learned — and how education is at the heart of the Christian nationalism movement. (Favs 9/21/24) READ MORE>>>>> 'Threat to democracy' or media phantom? Christian nationalism debate takes violent turn What happens when "one nation under God" becomes "one God over a nation"? That's essentially the question at the heart of the controversy surrounding Christian nationalism — what it is, what it isn't, and who, exactly, stands to benefit from such a movement. Is it everyday American Christians in the pews, or is there some other agenda at work? Before the gunsmoke had barely cleared this summer in Butler, Pennsylvania, after the assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump, mainstream media outlets characterized the response of Trump's Christian supporters and the outpouring of prayers for the former and potentially next president of the United States as a form of Christian nationalism. (Christian Post 9/19/24) READ MORE>>>>> |
May 3, 2024: The Stream reported: Why Is ‘Christian Nationalist’ Hungary Enabling the Next Armenian Genocide? If you move in right-wing circles, you’re likely to hear lots of happy talk about governments such as Hungary’s and even Russia’s. That’s because on certain key issues they resist the most demonic Western trends, such as “gender transitioning” for children. Their leaders will make the right noises about the very real decadence of post-modern culture, and the countries have adopted some sane laws that discourage mass immigration or try to boost their birth rate. And yes, we should be happy for Hungarians and Russians that their governments aren’t dumping all the same poisons into the water supply as the Biden or Macron regimes. But are such leaders acting on deep Christian principles, or simply pursuing their country’s rational self-interests? Natural law teaches us many truths that can be applied to politics; in fact, it’s simply the instruction manual for human life, which even honest pagans can see via reason alone. So there’s no reason to start lauding some foreign leader because he doesn’t sabotage his own citizens’ lives the way our leaders do — or doesn’t surrender their sovereignty to the schemers behind the Great Reset. It just means such leaders aren’t traitors.
May 5, 2024: William Barber III wrote at Newsweek: As the intensity of this year's election season continues to grow, so, too, has the focus in the news on a movement of Americans invoking the name of God to perpetuate division in our country. Some of these Americans go to church and read the Bible. Many of them don't. But all of them understand the unmistakable power of using faith as a cultural wedge to advance a political agenda that harms millions more Americans than it helps. Followers of this political movement that misuses religion have become known as Christian Nationalists for their association with an ideology that vehemently rejects the pluralistic democracy our country aspires to be. The movement's origins are bound up with white supremacist oppression going back hundreds of years to when slavery was the norm and the Indigenous were systematically persecuted. I hesitate to even call them "Christian," because their actions do not reflect the teachings of Jesus.
November/October 2024: Russell Moore wrote at Christianity Today: The uneasy conscience of Christian nationalism pretends that our problem is the opposite of what Jesus told us: that by calling ourselves an orchard we can bring fruit from diseased trees (Matt. 7:15–20), that by controlling what is on the outside of us we can renew what is inside (Matt. 12:33–37). This message is popular in all times; prosperity gospels and fertility religions always are. An extrinsic religion enables people to claim Christianity without following Christ and enables powerless, prayerless, porn-addicted culture warriors to convince themselves that they are goose-stepping to heaven. By assuaging our guilt with our political choices, we can convince ourselves that what we find in our new Bethel is Jacob’s ladder to heaven when it is really just Jeroboam’s calf of gold (1 Kings 12:25–31). |
Christian nationalist host prays God will “motivate the American people to get out and vote” after Trump tells him “God saved me” because “he wants me to save this country”
During a FlashPoint interview that aired September 10, former President Donald Trump suggested to program host Gene Bailey that “God saved me” from an assassination attempt during a presidential campaign rally “because he wants me to save this country for you and for people that think like we do.” Bailey responded later by praying that God would “motivate the American people to get out and vote.” This was at least Trump’s seventh interview on FlashPoint or during the show's affiliated live events between September 2021 and September 2024. Bailey is a right-wing pastor at Trump ally Kenneth Copeland’s Eagle Mountain Church and is the host of Victory Channel’s FlashPoint, a right-wing program that pledges to provide “commentary on current issues from a conservative and prophetic viewpoint.” Bailey, who has called the separation of church and state “a lie,” described his political agenda for the program at a FlashPoint Live event last year, declaring: “We do have an agenda, and that is I am a Christo-fascist, Christian nationalist.” Other right-wing “prophets” and personalities on the show have pushed extreme rhetoric, including prophesying natural disasters in response to Trump’s criminal indictments, suggesting that Trump is anointed and that God will kill his opponents, and framing political developments in the context of a “demonic spin cycle.”
(Media Matters 9/13/24) READ MORE>>>>>
During a FlashPoint interview that aired September 10, former President Donald Trump suggested to program host Gene Bailey that “God saved me” from an assassination attempt during a presidential campaign rally “because he wants me to save this country for you and for people that think like we do.” Bailey responded later by praying that God would “motivate the American people to get out and vote.” This was at least Trump’s seventh interview on FlashPoint or during the show's affiliated live events between September 2021 and September 2024. Bailey is a right-wing pastor at Trump ally Kenneth Copeland’s Eagle Mountain Church and is the host of Victory Channel’s FlashPoint, a right-wing program that pledges to provide “commentary on current issues from a conservative and prophetic viewpoint.” Bailey, who has called the separation of church and state “a lie,” described his political agenda for the program at a FlashPoint Live event last year, declaring: “We do have an agenda, and that is I am a Christo-fascist, Christian nationalist.” Other right-wing “prophets” and personalities on the show have pushed extreme rhetoric, including prophesying natural disasters in response to Trump’s criminal indictments, suggesting that Trump is anointed and that God will kill his opponents, and framing political developments in the context of a “demonic spin cycle.”
(Media Matters 9/13/24) READ MORE>>>>>
Matthew Taylor
NAR prophets still declaring Trump is God’s man, scholar warns
“We’re talking about a particular form of Christian spirituality that is interested in recapturing the supernatural dimensions of early Christianity. And we’re particularly talking here about what we as scholars call the independent charismatic sector. So this is the nondenominational part of the Pentecostal charismatic world, and within that world, which is its own kind of subculture with evangelicalism, the New Apostolic Reformation are a set of thought leaders. They’re a network of celebrities....Wagner, who was an expert in church growth, became obsessed with this independent charismatic world and with some of the leaders who were there and with this idea that had been percolating in that world for quite a while of the renewed leadership roles of apostles and prophets,” he explained. Part of the challenge with talking about groups like this is they don’t look and don’t function institutionally the way we tend to think about Christianity functioning. And so there’s not a hierarchy, there’s not a statement of faith, there’s not a database that you can point to and say, ‘Oh, this person is NAR or this person’s not.’ So in this NAR conception, apostles primarily govern the church. They become in some ways sort of spiritual oligarchs who work in tandem, and then the prophets kind of advise, and they truly believe these people are prophets.” Some of these apostolic and prophetic movements “rival the size of denominations, but you’ve never heard of them because they fly under the radar. They’re subterranean often and within this world, there’s a very strong emphasis on what is called spiritual warfare, a very aggressive vision of spiritual warfare that gets mapped onto societies and onto politics. And so in their world, the apostles and prophets are generals of spiritual warfare who have authority to cast out high-level demons, but who also are empowered to mobilize mass campaigns of spiritual warfare to get hundreds of thousands or millions of Christians praying and concentrating on the same cause. And part of what I’m arguing in my book is that one of the major factors that fed into January 6 was a mass spiritual warfare campaign organized by the New Apostolic Reformation. And so by the time of the 2020 election cycle, you had hundreds of charismatic prophets all prophesying in unison, in harmony, saying each of us received revelations from God that God intends for Donald Trump to have a second term. When Trump refused to concede the election, almost all of those prophets said, ‘We aren’t recanting our prophecies. God is going to have to intervene supernaturally to put Donald Trump back in office.’ And they begin mobilizing a mass spiritual warfare campaign that culminates on January 6, and a number of these leaders from Wagner’s inner circle with the president there, especially Lance Wallnau, who has been making more national news more recently because of his efforts in this election......Once again, all these prophecies are there around Donald Trump. Those prophecies have not gone away. In fact, many of the prophets have said, ‘Well, I was told two terms. I didn’t say two consecutive terms.’ So those prophecies are still there. In fact, the assassination attempt on Trump has thrown all those prophecies into overdrive because many of the prophets are saying, ‘See, this is a sign that God’s hand and anointing is on Donald Trump.’” --Matthew Taylor; Baptist News Global: NAR Prophets Still Declaring Trump is God's man, scholar warns (9/13/24)
“We’re talking about a particular form of Christian spirituality that is interested in recapturing the supernatural dimensions of early Christianity. And we’re particularly talking here about what we as scholars call the independent charismatic sector. So this is the nondenominational part of the Pentecostal charismatic world, and within that world, which is its own kind of subculture with evangelicalism, the New Apostolic Reformation are a set of thought leaders. They’re a network of celebrities....Wagner, who was an expert in church growth, became obsessed with this independent charismatic world and with some of the leaders who were there and with this idea that had been percolating in that world for quite a while of the renewed leadership roles of apostles and prophets,” he explained. Part of the challenge with talking about groups like this is they don’t look and don’t function institutionally the way we tend to think about Christianity functioning. And so there’s not a hierarchy, there’s not a statement of faith, there’s not a database that you can point to and say, ‘Oh, this person is NAR or this person’s not.’ So in this NAR conception, apostles primarily govern the church. They become in some ways sort of spiritual oligarchs who work in tandem, and then the prophets kind of advise, and they truly believe these people are prophets.” Some of these apostolic and prophetic movements “rival the size of denominations, but you’ve never heard of them because they fly under the radar. They’re subterranean often and within this world, there’s a very strong emphasis on what is called spiritual warfare, a very aggressive vision of spiritual warfare that gets mapped onto societies and onto politics. And so in their world, the apostles and prophets are generals of spiritual warfare who have authority to cast out high-level demons, but who also are empowered to mobilize mass campaigns of spiritual warfare to get hundreds of thousands or millions of Christians praying and concentrating on the same cause. And part of what I’m arguing in my book is that one of the major factors that fed into January 6 was a mass spiritual warfare campaign organized by the New Apostolic Reformation. And so by the time of the 2020 election cycle, you had hundreds of charismatic prophets all prophesying in unison, in harmony, saying each of us received revelations from God that God intends for Donald Trump to have a second term. When Trump refused to concede the election, almost all of those prophets said, ‘We aren’t recanting our prophecies. God is going to have to intervene supernaturally to put Donald Trump back in office.’ And they begin mobilizing a mass spiritual warfare campaign that culminates on January 6, and a number of these leaders from Wagner’s inner circle with the president there, especially Lance Wallnau, who has been making more national news more recently because of his efforts in this election......Once again, all these prophecies are there around Donald Trump. Those prophecies have not gone away. In fact, many of the prophets have said, ‘Well, I was told two terms. I didn’t say two consecutive terms.’ So those prophecies are still there. In fact, the assassination attempt on Trump has thrown all those prophecies into overdrive because many of the prophets are saying, ‘See, this is a sign that God’s hand and anointing is on Donald Trump.’” --Matthew Taylor; Baptist News Global: NAR Prophets Still Declaring Trump is God's man, scholar warns (9/13/24)
The Christians Who Hate Jesus
I never once see a Jesus brandishing a "Don't Tread On Me" bravado in the face of dire need. I don't see him lecturing the poor and the afflicted to "pull themselves up by their bootstraps." I can't find him inviting war or celebrating bloodshed or reveling in loss of life for any reason. I don't encounter him trolling those who express sadness or worry or struggle. I don't see Jesus tossing off a defiant middle-finger contempt for those who came seeking refuge in him. I see no arrogance that inflates his worth at the expense of someone else's. Which is why I simply can't fathom Christians who are cruel and yet I see so many of them right now.
(The Beautiful Mess; John Pavlovitz 7/18/24) READ MORE>>>>>
I never once see a Jesus brandishing a "Don't Tread On Me" bravado in the face of dire need. I don't see him lecturing the poor and the afflicted to "pull themselves up by their bootstraps." I can't find him inviting war or celebrating bloodshed or reveling in loss of life for any reason. I don't encounter him trolling those who express sadness or worry or struggle. I don't see Jesus tossing off a defiant middle-finger contempt for those who came seeking refuge in him. I see no arrogance that inflates his worth at the expense of someone else's. Which is why I simply can't fathom Christians who are cruel and yet I see so many of them right now.
(The Beautiful Mess; John Pavlovitz 7/18/24) READ MORE>>>>>
Missouri Baptist pastor: US founders wanted religious liberty, not a Christian nation | Opinion
White Christian nationalists argue that because the signers of our nation’s founding documents were all white European Protestant men, that the United States should be declared a “Christian nation,” allowing Protestant Christianity a privileged role in America. As a Baptist pastor, you might think that I would be enthusiastic about giving my faith a leg up over other faiths. But there are too many errors in the thinking of white Christian nationalists to support their argument. I agree that our nation’s founders were white European men — however, they were not all Christians. A fair number were deists, and Thomas Jefferson believed that Jesus was a teacher, but he took scissors to the Gospels to create his “Jefferson Bible,” removing the miracles and resurrection of Jesus. For argument’s sake, let’s give white Christian nationalists a pass that our founders were Christians. A majority were. What was incredible was their courageous innovation. The only model of government they knew, and still predominant in many global societies, was to wed church and state. The state churches of Europe were the predominant model from which American colonists fled.
(Yahoo 6.9.24) READ MORE>>>>>
White Christian nationalists argue that because the signers of our nation’s founding documents were all white European Protestant men, that the United States should be declared a “Christian nation,” allowing Protestant Christianity a privileged role in America. As a Baptist pastor, you might think that I would be enthusiastic about giving my faith a leg up over other faiths. But there are too many errors in the thinking of white Christian nationalists to support their argument. I agree that our nation’s founders were white European men — however, they were not all Christians. A fair number were deists, and Thomas Jefferson believed that Jesus was a teacher, but he took scissors to the Gospels to create his “Jefferson Bible,” removing the miracles and resurrection of Jesus. For argument’s sake, let’s give white Christian nationalists a pass that our founders were Christians. A majority were. What was incredible was their courageous innovation. The only model of government they knew, and still predominant in many global societies, was to wed church and state. The state churches of Europe were the predominant model from which American colonists fled.
(Yahoo 6.9.24) READ MORE>>>>>
Misinformation has created an alternative world for some Americans
Pastors have seen members of their congregation, members of their flock who leave because their sermons weren’t political enough or weren’t directly supporting Trump as the candidate. When it comes to God in the Constitution, pastor Caleb Campbell puts it pretty well in the documentary when he says that he sits down with fellow evangelicals — he’s a theological evangelical and a lot of people assume that the Christian God is all over the Constitution and the founding documents, which is not the case at all. There’s nothing wrong with being a Christian. There’s nothing wrong with being a patriot. But what is really happening with Christian nationalism is that they are pushing a very specific type of Christianity at the expense of other people’s freedoms. (CNN 4/28/24) READ MORE>>>>>
Pastors have seen members of their congregation, members of their flock who leave because their sermons weren’t political enough or weren’t directly supporting Trump as the candidate. When it comes to God in the Constitution, pastor Caleb Campbell puts it pretty well in the documentary when he says that he sits down with fellow evangelicals — he’s a theological evangelical and a lot of people assume that the Christian God is all over the Constitution and the founding documents, which is not the case at all. There’s nothing wrong with being a Christian. There’s nothing wrong with being a patriot. But what is really happening with Christian nationalism is that they are pushing a very specific type of Christianity at the expense of other people’s freedoms. (CNN 4/28/24) READ MORE>>>>>
There’s a link between climate crisis and Christian nationalism, McLaren says
Americans must connect the dots between the earth’s climate crisis and the resurgence of Christian nationalism and white supremacy, according to activist and theologian Brian McLaren. But they must do so without falling into defeatism or complacency, he added. “The fact that the environment influences every dimension of life makes it of special concern,” McLaren explained during a recent episode of the “The State of Belief” podcast moderated by Interfaith Alliance President Paul Raushenbush. “It’s easy for climate to get off of the headlines unless Canadian wildfires bring a cloud of smoke in our direction or unless the headlines are saying we’ve just had the hottest month or the hottest year,” McLaren said. “But once the headline is gone, it is easy to forget about the environment.” (Baptist News Global; 5/21/24) READ MORE>>>>>
Americans must connect the dots between the earth’s climate crisis and the resurgence of Christian nationalism and white supremacy, according to activist and theologian Brian McLaren. But they must do so without falling into defeatism or complacency, he added. “The fact that the environment influences every dimension of life makes it of special concern,” McLaren explained during a recent episode of the “The State of Belief” podcast moderated by Interfaith Alliance President Paul Raushenbush. “It’s easy for climate to get off of the headlines unless Canadian wildfires bring a cloud of smoke in our direction or unless the headlines are saying we’ve just had the hottest month or the hottest year,” McLaren said. “But once the headline is gone, it is easy to forget about the environment.” (Baptist News Global; 5/21/24) READ MORE>>>>>
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