- Grace Obamanu - Patrick Oben - Oliver O'Donovan - Scott Okamata - Karen Oliveto - Roger E Olsen - Brandon Olson - Joe Oltmann - Golibe Omenaka - Bradley Onishi - Thomas Jay Oord - Fred Opalinski - David Orrison -
==grace obamanu======
When burdened beyond measure, remember that there is a God who can raise the dead; no circumstance is too hard for Him to handle. Trust in God, depend on God, rely totally on Him. He is able and willing to deliver you from the worst of circumstances. He will restore, renew and strengthen you. You will recover all. He is the God who delivered us, delivers us and continues to deliver us.….that we should not trust in ourselves but in God who raises the dead, who delivered us from so great a death, and does deliver us; in whom we trust that He will still deliver us.
--Grace Obomanu; When You Are Burdened Beyond Measure 3/1/21
--Grace Obomanu; When You Are Burdened Beyond Measure 3/1/21
==patrick oben======
Patrick Oben is a physician and Bible teacher based in Ankeny, Iowa. He works as an internal medicine physician with the MercyOne healthcare systems in the Des Moines area. On October 28th, 2017, Patrick was formally ordained into the ministry by Ps Benny Hinn in Dallas, Texas. Prior to this ordination, he had been actively involved in the ministry, teaching in Churches, conferences, and live online Bible studies. Additionally, he is the author of “The Devotional Life: A Key to a Spiritual Life with Results” and Deshen Daily devotionals.

"Lust becomes pregnant and gives birth to sin as its mother! So what is the father? Well, lust in itself is not sin in most cases except in situations such as covetousness when the desire itself is the sin. It only becomes a sin if it succeeds to get the person to do what it wants him or her to do. For example, if it is sexual lust, it might compel that person to seek to satisfy that lust by engaging in ungodly sexual encounters or watch pornography. Lust is always evil and will produce sin."
--Patrick Oben; What Is The Lust Of The Flesh?
--Patrick Oben; What Is The Lust Of The Flesh?
==Oliver o'donovan======
Book review: The Disappearance of Ethics: The Gifford Lectures by Oliver O’Donovan
AS MORAL beings, we sometimes feel that we ought to do something, or that we should carry out a particular duty. But, in this book by the distinguished ethicist Oliver O’Donovan, there are only two references to “ought” and one to “duty”. Although these concepts have a place, he argues, they make sense only in relation to a prior understanding of the good, and this has dropped out of sight, indeed disappeared, in most modern ethical thought. For Aristotle, all things reach after the good, and this starting point dominated all ethical thinking in the pre-modern era; but with Kant (1724-1804), all this changed. For him, all that matters is the naked will standing above nature as a closed system of observed regularities. O’Donovan shows how on Kant’s account we have no way of prizing what we do in fact value, such as friendship or creativity. Nor does it do justice to natural, spontaneous valuing; for, on Kant’s view, the only moral actions are ones brought about by the will. Whereas for Kant moral actions are ones done on the basis of an “ought” in relation to the impersonal order of nature, true morality means recognising what is of value and ordering it aright.
(Church Times UK 8/30/24) READ MORE>>>>>
AS MORAL beings, we sometimes feel that we ought to do something, or that we should carry out a particular duty. But, in this book by the distinguished ethicist Oliver O’Donovan, there are only two references to “ought” and one to “duty”. Although these concepts have a place, he argues, they make sense only in relation to a prior understanding of the good, and this has dropped out of sight, indeed disappeared, in most modern ethical thought. For Aristotle, all things reach after the good, and this starting point dominated all ethical thinking in the pre-modern era; but with Kant (1724-1804), all this changed. For him, all that matters is the naked will standing above nature as a closed system of observed regularities. O’Donovan shows how on Kant’s account we have no way of prizing what we do in fact value, such as friendship or creativity. Nor does it do justice to natural, spontaneous valuing; for, on Kant’s view, the only moral actions are ones brought about by the will. Whereas for Kant moral actions are ones done on the basis of an “ought” in relation to the impersonal order of nature, true morality means recognising what is of value and ordering it aright.
(Church Times UK 8/30/24) READ MORE>>>>>
Man’s chief end is not political obsession
I’m not saying to give up on politics at all. Heaven forbid, in fact. I’m saying to approach politics with proper perspective and cool headedness. In other words, to paraphrase a quote from theologian Oliver O’Donovan, Christians might be at their political best when talking about politics least. That may have a tinge of irony to it, but O’Donovan’s point is that the pronouncement of Jesus’s kingship should produce an anti-fragility and anti-frenetic spirit in how Christians conceive of worldly authority. If Jesus truly is a King (and we most certainly believe He is), earthly politics is at best secondary to our lives in this age. What should be more important is your family, your local church, and your relationships.
(Andrew Walker/World/The Stream 1/23/24) READ MORE>>>>>
I’m not saying to give up on politics at all. Heaven forbid, in fact. I’m saying to approach politics with proper perspective and cool headedness. In other words, to paraphrase a quote from theologian Oliver O’Donovan, Christians might be at their political best when talking about politics least. That may have a tinge of irony to it, but O’Donovan’s point is that the pronouncement of Jesus’s kingship should produce an anti-fragility and anti-frenetic spirit in how Christians conceive of worldly authority. If Jesus truly is a King (and we most certainly believe He is), earthly politics is at best secondary to our lives in this age. What should be more important is your family, your local church, and your relationships.
(Andrew Walker/World/The Stream 1/23/24) READ MORE>>>>>
==scott okamata======
R. Scott Okamoto is a 4th Generation Japanese American (Yonsei) born at Fort Dix, NJ. Raised in Pasadena and Arcadia, California, attended U.C. San Diego for a B.A. in Literature/Writing and the University of San Francisco for a M.A. in writing. At some point in his early childhood, his parents attended a Bible Study Fellowship with some friends, launching the family into “born again” Christian faith. The family started attending Lake Avenue Congregation Church where most of the neuroses and hangups Scott would encounter in youth and early adulthood would be developed and nurtured. While at U.C. San Diego, Scott would become worship leader and a bible study leader in Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship. While in IVCF, Scott’s beliefs shifted in more progressive ways. The more he read the bible, the less clear the faith became. After getting married and moving to San Francisco, Scott and his wife, Geri, stopped attending church, adopting friends from all backgrounds and beliefs. After a last-ditch effort to find anything of worth to them in church by going back to Lake Ave, where it all began, they gave up and deconstructed fully into agnostics. It was during this last hurrah that Scott took a job teaching Freshman Writing at Azusa Pacific University, figuring he would do a couple of semesters there for experience and move on to other schools. Although he also taught at a few local community colleges, he became a popular professor at APU, eventually being promoted to lecturer and assistant professor. By the time he became a full-time assistant professor, he had fully deconstructed from any Christian faith.

“I was part of a group of professors who noted the contradictions in how the school advertised itself as a ‘top-notch’ academic institution and a foundation for conservative, fundamentalist, evangelical faith. We knew the two were incompatible. And when it came to its predictable clashes, the fundamentalist side usually won out".......Okamoto believes evangelicalism “is inextricably tied to capitalism and profit...When I was forced to meet with the president and vice president of the student business club because of jokes I made about the study of business, I was shocked to hear them admit that their business classes had never once brought up the contradictions of a capitalist society with the teachings of Jesus...This is simply part of the culture. Even the most ‘on-fire’ freshmen tend to come in with dreams of both serving God and making tons of money.....The president made over 400k when I was there. Starting profs made a little over 40k. Adjuncts were among the lowest paid in SoCal. Sounds like a business.....Valuing capitalism and profit also showed up through the campus bookstore selling a license plate frame that had the school’s name on it, along with a reference to Jeremiah 29:11, which says that God has “plans to prosper you.".....The divide between administration pay and faculty pay grew wider as time went on, reflecting corporate and business trends of the time. I have some bombshell stories with emails to back me, but I’m keeping them in case I need to use them..............But the gilded ivory tower, which pretends to promote academics and critical thinking, is a foundational component of evangelical culture that feeds into evangelical churches and communities.....Evangelical culture often claims to be this eternal entity, but it changes and evolves with each presidential election cycle. Probably more often. Everything changes in evangelical culture. When I was a kid, Mormonism was the greatest threat to the world. But when Mitt Romney won the GOP nomination in 2012, evangelicals universally supported him, claiming him as one of their own. During Obama, evangelicals were polled and almost universally indicated that a president’s moral character was crucial to their vote. And then during Trump, almost none of them felt that way...............What never changes in evangelical culture is the concept of in-groups and out-groups. Who is in the out-groups changes all the time...............I was lucky. My parents were fundamentalist, but they valued truth as much as their faith. So when confronted with facts that contradicted my ‘faith,’ it seemed natural to adjust the faith to the facts instead of the other way around. No ‘alternative facts’ for me. And in doing so, I felt my worldview and my heart grow to include people I had been taught to hate and fear." -Scott Okamata; The hidden battle in Christian higher education: A conversation with Scott Okamoto; Baptist News Global; 5.12.23
==karen oliveto======

Bishop Karen P. Oliveto of the Mountain Sky Conference of the United Methodist Church preached at Estes Park United Methodist Church on Sunday, Sept. 17.
Oliveto visited, in part, to honor three EPUMC donors who gave significant monetary gifts in support of a program called “A Table for All.” EPUMC members Paul and Donna Newendorp and Denise Shank contributed to the fund designed, in part, to help a number some churches recover from the recent disaffiliations of congregations in the UMC.
“While many in our world seek to divide and separate, in the Mountain Sky Conference, we are working to unify, building A Table For All of God’s children throughout rural, suburban and urban communities,” the Mountain Sky Conference website explains. “We seek to create and sustain communities of faith that embrace diversity in their midst. Our conference is full of diversity: geography, race, gender identity, sexual orientation, political, socio-economic, ability
and more. But we have one main thing in common. We all recognize the love and acceptance of Jesus for all. And we can’t keep this to ourselves! We are called to share this love and acceptance with all in the Mountain Sky Conference and the world.”
--Estes Park Trail-Gazette; Bishop visits EPUMC and honors local donors 9.19.23
Oliveto visited, in part, to honor three EPUMC donors who gave significant monetary gifts in support of a program called “A Table for All.” EPUMC members Paul and Donna Newendorp and Denise Shank contributed to the fund designed, in part, to help a number some churches recover from the recent disaffiliations of congregations in the UMC.
“While many in our world seek to divide and separate, in the Mountain Sky Conference, we are working to unify, building A Table For All of God’s children throughout rural, suburban and urban communities,” the Mountain Sky Conference website explains. “We seek to create and sustain communities of faith that embrace diversity in their midst. Our conference is full of diversity: geography, race, gender identity, sexual orientation, political, socio-economic, ability
and more. But we have one main thing in common. We all recognize the love and acceptance of Jesus for all. And we can’t keep this to ourselves! We are called to share this love and acceptance with all in the Mountain Sky Conference and the world.”
--Estes Park Trail-Gazette; Bishop visits EPUMC and honors local donors 9.19.23

In 2016, United Methodist ordained their first openly lesbian bishop, Bishop Karen Oliveto. Her ordination sparked debates about LGBTQ acceptance and inclusion within the church. This debate was also fueled with the vote to accept the “Traditional Plan,” which would narrow down LGBTQ acceptance by prohibiting bishops from ordaining openly gay individuals, and penalizing clergy members for performing same-sex marriages. Many clergy members voiced their disapproval of the plan.
While sexuality tends to be the focus issue for disaffiliation, it’s not the only one. Some members in the denomination believe that future changes in the language in the Book of Discipline could violate some of the basic tenets of Christianity and the expression of its divinity. Blair added that he believes that fears that the UMC would ditch long-held standard Christian doctrine are “unfounded.”
--Laurinburg Exchange: Methodist churches share thoughts on disaffiliation decisions 3.28.23
While sexuality tends to be the focus issue for disaffiliation, it’s not the only one. Some members in the denomination believe that future changes in the language in the Book of Discipline could violate some of the basic tenets of Christianity and the expression of its divinity. Blair added that he believes that fears that the UMC would ditch long-held standard Christian doctrine are “unfounded.”
--Laurinburg Exchange: Methodist churches share thoughts on disaffiliation decisions 3.28.23
==roger e olson======

With the advent of “the Religious Right” in the 1970s, suddenly, many Pentecostals jumped on that bandwagon and began to seek to impose their (and other conservative Christians’ moral norms) on “the world.” I never believed in that change and regretted it. As I studied the history and theology of Anabaptism I came to more than sympathize with its “outsider” mentality. Mission to the world is important and right and good, but it does not for us include imposing our moral norms on society at large. We are not called by God to attempt to practice church discipline on society at large. We are “resident aliens” in every country where we live—just as the ancient Christians were in the Roman Empire before Constantine.
-Roger E Olson; Should Christians Attempt to Legislate Christian Morality? 10/6/23
-Roger E Olson; Should Christians Attempt to Legislate Christian Morality? 10/6/23

I’m not saying here that “the way we were” was perfect or even all good. We, conservative evangelical Christians of the 1950s and 1960s, were, like everyone else, a mixture of good and bad. I’m talking here, now, about our way of life then. I’m afraid we American evangelicals have largely lost our way. Is our new way better than the way we were? I’m not sure; I actually doubt it. We have largely succumbed to the world, allowed it to press us into its own mold, contrary to Romans 12:2 (Phillips paraphrase). We do largely conform to this world (secular and pagan society around us), contrary to 2 Corinthians 6:17 that calls Christians to come out from among “them” (secular and pagan people) and be separate. --Roger E Olsen; The Way We Were; 7.8.23
==brandon olson======
Brandon Olson served as an enlisted Army paratrooper in Vicenza, Italy during Operation Atlantic Resolve 2016, working with Eastern European allies to deter Russian aggression. After being honorably discharged, he worked several odd jobs, ultimately ending up at Pepperdine. He is an English major with aspirations of becoming a professor. He currently serves as Senior Vice President of the Pepperdine Student Veteran and Military-Connected Student Organization and Veteran Council.

Dr. Fred L. Casmir grew up in a working class neighborhood during an extraordinary time of propaganda and dictatorships. Hitler came to power when Dr. Casmir turned five years old. He remembered witnessing Nazi marches, the barricades on the cobblestone roads, and policemen with rifles. Chaos and turmoil seeped into his life as a young boy, which compelled him to grow up fast. But his faith in the Lord guided him through these tough times.
Hitler wanted to restore Germany’s identity after their loss in World War I. Casmir vividly remembers, “In the beginning, the Nazi Party tried to maintain a Democratic image, but they were only a one party system.” With new art forms such as dance, drugs, and jazz circulating across the world during the Roaring 1920s, it became a perfect time for Hitler to employ his propaganda for his vision of total law and order in Europe.
Hitler’s Nazi Party continued their propaganda campaign to gain political popularity. Manipulation employed by the Nazi Party spread throughout Germany. They dressed well, and provided food and income for the poor, which enabled them to build false relations with the German people. Dr. Casmir notes, “Adults saw their lives change for the better. When there is insecurity, where a country does not have a direction, it’s dangerous. Under that guise, freedom is an abstract concept.” Dr. Casmir became looped into this abstract concept of freedom against his will. By the time he turned ten, it became mandatory for all children to join the Hitler Youth under the false Democratic Nazi Party.
Dr. Casmir eventually became a leader in the Hitler Youth . He rose in the ranks quickly and led three hundred boys. They had strict rules to not listen to BBC radio, or risk being branded a traitor, and then executed. During his time, he saw people burned to death and he survived two air raids by the time he turned fifteen years old. Threats on his life loomed everywhere. However, God’s Spirit indicated another path for him. So he “did something that was very odd. Not Nazi-like. [He] became confirmed in the Lutheran Church.”
Dr. Casmir was drafted at age 16. Berlin was the capital of Nazi Germany and was the target of heavy bombing raids by the Allies. As a result of the bombings, he “was twice buried under buildings.” He fought the Russian forces in a Luftwaffe founding unit, “during the last bloody months of the war in 1945.”
Soon, under God’s direction he escaped Germany before the Russians could capture him.
“Had I been arrested as a Hitler Youth leader in Berlin, [after fighting] the Russians East of Berlin, [I would have been sent to the] deadly Russian work camps.” But, “that was another one of God’s interventions…Through a series of miraculous interventions by God I escaped the final Russian encirclements, ending up in Northern Germany where I surrendered to British forces.”
Dr. Casmir managed to flee and surrender into the British zone of occupation. He later ended up at his uncle’s home in Frankfurt, in the American zone. After WWII ended, he continued to live with extended family in Western Germany, separated from his parents in Communist East Germany.
Dr. Casmir then met an old Catholic high school friend who introduced him to a Bible study with members of the Church of Christ. He remembers, “[we] both attended Bible classes in their home. He stopped, I kept on and was baptized. After that I was invited to go to the US, and studied to prepare for the ministry.”
--Brandon Olson; Pepperdine Beacon; Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Communication Fred Casmir Describes the Important Role of Faith in His Escape From Nazi Germany 12.3.22
Hitler wanted to restore Germany’s identity after their loss in World War I. Casmir vividly remembers, “In the beginning, the Nazi Party tried to maintain a Democratic image, but they were only a one party system.” With new art forms such as dance, drugs, and jazz circulating across the world during the Roaring 1920s, it became a perfect time for Hitler to employ his propaganda for his vision of total law and order in Europe.
Hitler’s Nazi Party continued their propaganda campaign to gain political popularity. Manipulation employed by the Nazi Party spread throughout Germany. They dressed well, and provided food and income for the poor, which enabled them to build false relations with the German people. Dr. Casmir notes, “Adults saw their lives change for the better. When there is insecurity, where a country does not have a direction, it’s dangerous. Under that guise, freedom is an abstract concept.” Dr. Casmir became looped into this abstract concept of freedom against his will. By the time he turned ten, it became mandatory for all children to join the Hitler Youth under the false Democratic Nazi Party.
Dr. Casmir eventually became a leader in the Hitler Youth . He rose in the ranks quickly and led three hundred boys. They had strict rules to not listen to BBC radio, or risk being branded a traitor, and then executed. During his time, he saw people burned to death and he survived two air raids by the time he turned fifteen years old. Threats on his life loomed everywhere. However, God’s Spirit indicated another path for him. So he “did something that was very odd. Not Nazi-like. [He] became confirmed in the Lutheran Church.”
Dr. Casmir was drafted at age 16. Berlin was the capital of Nazi Germany and was the target of heavy bombing raids by the Allies. As a result of the bombings, he “was twice buried under buildings.” He fought the Russian forces in a Luftwaffe founding unit, “during the last bloody months of the war in 1945.”
Soon, under God’s direction he escaped Germany before the Russians could capture him.
“Had I been arrested as a Hitler Youth leader in Berlin, [after fighting] the Russians East of Berlin, [I would have been sent to the] deadly Russian work camps.” But, “that was another one of God’s interventions…Through a series of miraculous interventions by God I escaped the final Russian encirclements, ending up in Northern Germany where I surrendered to British forces.”
Dr. Casmir managed to flee and surrender into the British zone of occupation. He later ended up at his uncle’s home in Frankfurt, in the American zone. After WWII ended, he continued to live with extended family in Western Germany, separated from his parents in Communist East Germany.
Dr. Casmir then met an old Catholic high school friend who introduced him to a Bible study with members of the Church of Christ. He remembers, “[we] both attended Bible classes in their home. He stopped, I kept on and was baptized. After that I was invited to go to the US, and studied to prepare for the ministry.”
--Brandon Olson; Pepperdine Beacon; Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Communication Fred Casmir Describes the Important Role of Faith in His Escape From Nazi Germany 12.3.22
==joe oltmann======
Fox News settlement raises stakes for Christian media influencers
Here’s a look at five Christians who publicly attacked Coomer but later admitted they had no evidence for doing so. Joe Oltmann Oltmann’s Nov. 9 Conservative Daily podcast wasn’t subtle: “Exposing the Treasonous Eric Coomer the ANTIFA Member and the Director of Strategy and Security at DOMINION Voting Systems.”
“Eric Coomer, you are a traitor,” he said. “We are coming for you and your s***bag company.”
Oltmann founded Colorado’s FEC United (which stands for faith, education and commerce) and leads a rightwing militia. He claimed he listened in on Dominion meetings (“…we infiltrated their conference calls, we got information about what they were planning to do next…”) and that Dominion rigged elections in Mongolia and Venezuela. Oltmann has not produced evidence. He skipped out on a scheduled deposition to attend an election fraud rally organized by Michael “My Pillow” Lindell, a Christian who is being sued by Dominion for $1.3 billion. (Steve Rabey; Metro Voice 3/27/23)
Read More>>>>
Here’s a look at five Christians who publicly attacked Coomer but later admitted they had no evidence for doing so. Joe Oltmann Oltmann’s Nov. 9 Conservative Daily podcast wasn’t subtle: “Exposing the Treasonous Eric Coomer the ANTIFA Member and the Director of Strategy and Security at DOMINION Voting Systems.”
“Eric Coomer, you are a traitor,” he said. “We are coming for you and your s***bag company.”
Oltmann founded Colorado’s FEC United (which stands for faith, education and commerce) and leads a rightwing militia. He claimed he listened in on Dominion meetings (“…we infiltrated their conference calls, we got information about what they were planning to do next…”) and that Dominion rigged elections in Mongolia and Venezuela. Oltmann has not produced evidence. He skipped out on a scheduled deposition to attend an election fraud rally organized by Michael “My Pillow” Lindell, a Christian who is being sued by Dominion for $1.3 billion. (Steve Rabey; Metro Voice 3/27/23)
Read More>>>>
==golibe omenaka======
June 18, 2019: CalMatters: How Redding, California, became an unlikely epicenter of modern Christian culture
God brought Golibé Omenaka to Northern California. The journey started in Manchester, England, when he encountered the teachings of a Redding-based megachurch called Bethel, and took off when a friend prophesied that God had called Omenaka to Bethel.
God brought Golibé Omenaka to Northern California. The journey started in Manchester, England, when he encountered the teachings of a Redding-based megachurch called Bethel, and took off when a friend prophesied that God had called Omenaka to Bethel.
==bradley onishi======
Brad Onishi received graduate degrees from UCSB, Oxford University, and L’institut catholique de Paris. As a scholar of religion, he teaches and researches Christian nationalism, the history of Evangelicalism, race and racism in American religion, gender, sex, masculinity, and secularism and secularity. He has taught at UCSB, the Graduate Theological Union at UC Berkeley, Rhodes College, Skidmore College, Central Michigan University, Cal Lutheran University, and the University of San Francisco. In 2018 he started the Straight White American Jesus podcast with his former Oxford colleague Dan Miller. SWAJ is a religion and politics podcast that focuses on Christian nationalism in the United States.
Jan 24, 2023: Religion News: How Southern California helped birth white Christian nationalism
Bradley Onishi became a Christian at age 14 when his eighth grade girlfriend invited him to a Bible study at her church in Yorba Linda, California, just south of Los Angeles. Ten years later, he would serve as its youth minister.
Over that decade, he writes in his new book, “Preparing for War: The Extremist History of White Christian Nationalism — And What Comes Next,” Onishi grew to see his faith as less about Jesus and more about perpetuating a certain myth of the United States, one that he says forms the bedrock of white Christian nationalism.
Bradley Onishi became a Christian at age 14 when his eighth grade girlfriend invited him to a Bible study at her church in Yorba Linda, California, just south of Los Angeles. Ten years later, he would serve as its youth minister.
Over that decade, he writes in his new book, “Preparing for War: The Extremist History of White Christian Nationalism — And What Comes Next,” Onishi grew to see his faith as less about Jesus and more about perpetuating a certain myth of the United States, one that he says forms the bedrock of white Christian nationalism.

Broadleaf Books (January 3, 2023)
Bardley Onishi makes the distinction between white evangelicalism and white Christian nationalism. While the terms are not the same, they are closely linked. Evangelicalism teaches that “the Bible is the errorless Word of God,” which “should be read and followed as literally as possible.” White Christian nationalism goes further, embracing the idea that America was founded as a Christian nation and, as such, is superior to all other nations, and one chosen by God to play a central role in world history. Other foundational components of Christian nationalism are nostalgia for past glory – when white men were most highly privileged – and an apocalyptic view of the nation’s future.
Onishi explains that white Christian nationalism is not so much an established ideology or a cogent theological belief system as it is a marker of cultural identity. And it doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with personal religious practice or identification with a specific denomination. This goes a long way to explaining the proliferation of Christian imagery and symbols at the Jan. 6 insurrection. Among the various religious banners on display, one of the most popular read “Jesus is My Savior – Trump is My President.”
How did things get to this point? Onishi points to the 1960s and the immense transformation of American society that decade ushered in. While many welcomed the achievements of the burgeoning civil rights movement, new freedom for women, and other sweeping changes, others did not.
For many, he writes, “the sixties were the time when numerous serpents tempted Americans away from the bedrock values of faith, family, and freedom and toward a new social order, a sexual revolution, and an abandonment of the nuclear family.”
The John Birch Society, an anticommunist organization steeped in libertarianism and informed by the idea that Christianity and American democracy are inextricably linked, was one of many organizations that flourished as a corrective to the sweeping changes of the 1960s, a counterrevolution held together by Christian identity.
In 1964, Barry Goldwater was able to tap into this reserve of white Christian nationalism and, much like Donald Trump 51 years later, became the unlikely Republican nominee for president. While his campaign against Lyndon Johnson went down in flames, his candidacy gave rise to the New Right, a grassroots coalition of American conservatives. In the late 1970s, the New Right joined forces with televangelist Jerry Falwell’s Religious Right and changed American politics by inspiring tens of millions of people of faith in the South, the Midwest, and the Sunbelt to vote for Ronald Reagan, the Republican presidential nominee, rather than Democrat Jimmy Carter. (Though Carter’s faith was without question, his politics did not fit the Religious Right’s agenda.)
By 1980, the extremism of Goldwater had become the mainstream of the GOP. Twenty-six years later, Onishi explains, when it came to voting for Donald Trump, Christian nationalists had a precedent in prioritizing politics over morals.
“[Trump] was not an imperfect candidate who somehow managed to garner the votes of White Christians. He was the prototype of the candidate White Christians had been searching for since the early 1960s,” Onishi writes.
"The January 6 Capitol riot should make evangelical Christians take a hard look in the mirror, according to this anguished history of the movement’s entanglement with political extremism. University of San Francisco religion scholar Onishi (The Birth of the World), who left evangelicalism after studying philosophy and theology at Oxford University, traces the roots of the problem to the founding of the John Birch Society in 1958 and details how vehement opposition to abortion, the “gay agenda,” the women’s rights movement, and other social justice movements—driven by belief that “the Bible is the errorless Word of God”—helped push that organization and others into “the dangerous territory of conspiracy theories.” Conservative politicians including Barry Goldwater, Richard Nixon, and Ronald Reagan leveraged evangelicals’ religious fervor into electoral power, paving the way for white Christian nationalism to become “an integrating force for Trump’s coup attempt.” Onishi provides plenty of evidence that “Christian extremists” have long been willing to “sacrifice the republic in order to save the America they wanted—a nation where White, straight Christians maintain power,” but his assertion that January 6 was the next “logical step” for the movement underplays many other factors in that event. Still, this is a rigorous and earnest grappling with the intersection between religion and politics." --Publishers Weekly
"A clear-eyed, compelling study of the road to Jan. 6 and the possible future of the politics-versus-religion battle in the U.S." --Kirkus Reviews, starred review
Bardley Onishi makes the distinction between white evangelicalism and white Christian nationalism. While the terms are not the same, they are closely linked. Evangelicalism teaches that “the Bible is the errorless Word of God,” which “should be read and followed as literally as possible.” White Christian nationalism goes further, embracing the idea that America was founded as a Christian nation and, as such, is superior to all other nations, and one chosen by God to play a central role in world history. Other foundational components of Christian nationalism are nostalgia for past glory – when white men were most highly privileged – and an apocalyptic view of the nation’s future.
Onishi explains that white Christian nationalism is not so much an established ideology or a cogent theological belief system as it is a marker of cultural identity. And it doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with personal religious practice or identification with a specific denomination. This goes a long way to explaining the proliferation of Christian imagery and symbols at the Jan. 6 insurrection. Among the various religious banners on display, one of the most popular read “Jesus is My Savior – Trump is My President.”
How did things get to this point? Onishi points to the 1960s and the immense transformation of American society that decade ushered in. While many welcomed the achievements of the burgeoning civil rights movement, new freedom for women, and other sweeping changes, others did not.
For many, he writes, “the sixties were the time when numerous serpents tempted Americans away from the bedrock values of faith, family, and freedom and toward a new social order, a sexual revolution, and an abandonment of the nuclear family.”
The John Birch Society, an anticommunist organization steeped in libertarianism and informed by the idea that Christianity and American democracy are inextricably linked, was one of many organizations that flourished as a corrective to the sweeping changes of the 1960s, a counterrevolution held together by Christian identity.
In 1964, Barry Goldwater was able to tap into this reserve of white Christian nationalism and, much like Donald Trump 51 years later, became the unlikely Republican nominee for president. While his campaign against Lyndon Johnson went down in flames, his candidacy gave rise to the New Right, a grassroots coalition of American conservatives. In the late 1970s, the New Right joined forces with televangelist Jerry Falwell’s Religious Right and changed American politics by inspiring tens of millions of people of faith in the South, the Midwest, and the Sunbelt to vote for Ronald Reagan, the Republican presidential nominee, rather than Democrat Jimmy Carter. (Though Carter’s faith was without question, his politics did not fit the Religious Right’s agenda.)
By 1980, the extremism of Goldwater had become the mainstream of the GOP. Twenty-six years later, Onishi explains, when it came to voting for Donald Trump, Christian nationalists had a precedent in prioritizing politics over morals.
“[Trump] was not an imperfect candidate who somehow managed to garner the votes of White Christians. He was the prototype of the candidate White Christians had been searching for since the early 1960s,” Onishi writes.
"The January 6 Capitol riot should make evangelical Christians take a hard look in the mirror, according to this anguished history of the movement’s entanglement with political extremism. University of San Francisco religion scholar Onishi (The Birth of the World), who left evangelicalism after studying philosophy and theology at Oxford University, traces the roots of the problem to the founding of the John Birch Society in 1958 and details how vehement opposition to abortion, the “gay agenda,” the women’s rights movement, and other social justice movements—driven by belief that “the Bible is the errorless Word of God”—helped push that organization and others into “the dangerous territory of conspiracy theories.” Conservative politicians including Barry Goldwater, Richard Nixon, and Ronald Reagan leveraged evangelicals’ religious fervor into electoral power, paving the way for white Christian nationalism to become “an integrating force for Trump’s coup attempt.” Onishi provides plenty of evidence that “Christian extremists” have long been willing to “sacrifice the republic in order to save the America they wanted—a nation where White, straight Christians maintain power,” but his assertion that January 6 was the next “logical step” for the movement underplays many other factors in that event. Still, this is a rigorous and earnest grappling with the intersection between religion and politics." --Publishers Weekly
"A clear-eyed, compelling study of the road to Jan. 6 and the possible future of the politics-versus-religion battle in the U.S." --Kirkus Reviews, starred review
==thomas Jay oord======
Thomas Jay Oord is a theologian, philosopher, and scholar of multi-disciplinary studies. He is the author or editor of more than twenty books and professor at Northwest Nazarene University, Nampa, Idaho. Oord is known for his contributions to research on love, relational theology, science and religion, Wesleyan/Holiness/Church of the Nazarene thought and Evangelical theology. Oord was raised on a farm in the small farming community of Othello, Washington. He attended Northwest Nazarene College and graduated in 1988. After four years in pastoral ministry in Walla Walla, Washington, he attended Nazarene Theological Seminary in Kansas City, Missouri. Upon graduating with a Masters of Divinity, he attended Claremont Graduate University in Southern California. He earned a Masters of Arts in Religion and a Ph.D. at Claremont.
While pursuing graduate studies, he was a part-time associate pastor in Bloomington, Ca. Oord taught philosophy at Eastern Nazarene College for three years. In 2002, he returned to the Northwest to teach at his undergraduate alma mater. He teaches undergraduate and graduate students at Northwest Nazarene today. Oord is an ordained elder in the Church of the Nazarene and attends The Table Church of the Nazarene. He serves in various consulting and administrative roles for academic institutions, scholarly projects, and research teams. He and his wife, Cheryl, have three daughters.
While pursuing graduate studies, he was a part-time associate pastor in Bloomington, Ca. Oord taught philosophy at Eastern Nazarene College for three years. In 2002, he returned to the Northwest to teach at his undergraduate alma mater. He teaches undergraduate and graduate students at Northwest Nazarene today. Oord is an ordained elder in the Church of the Nazarene and attends The Table Church of the Nazarene. He serves in various consulting and administrative roles for academic institutions, scholarly projects, and research teams. He and his wife, Cheryl, have three daughters.
Sept 26, 2023: Scott E Olson: Relational Theology Yes; Panentheism No
Most recently, American theologian Thomas Jay Oord has worked on his own version of relational theology that seems to stand somewhere between open theism and process theology.
Most recently, American theologian Thomas Jay Oord has worked on his own version of relational theology that seems to stand somewhere between open theism and process theology.

I disagree with N.T. Wright. And I don’t often do that.
In a recent Time article titled “Christianity Offers No Answers About the Coronavirus. It’s Not Supposed To,” Wright makes some statements with which I can agree. But I don’t agree with his main point.
I Agree…
Wright begins his little essay by referring to the Christian practices of Lent. He rightly calls some explanations for God’s relation to the coronavirus “silly.” He rejects the idea God is punishing us, warning us, or giving a sign by sending this pandemic.
I agree with Wright that God is not causing the pandemic for some higher purpose. We should not “explain” suffering as God orchestrated. The coronavirus isn’t part of some divine blueprint.
I also agree when Wright says our suffering grieves God. God is “in the tears of Jesus and the anguish of the Spirit,” as he puts it. “God also laments,” says Wright.
Perhaps my favorite line is this: “Some Christians like to think of God as above all that, knowing everything, in charge of everything, calm and unaffected by the troubles in his world. That’s not the picture we get in the Bible.”
I couldn’t agree more!
Lament
Instead of searching for answers to God’s will and the coronavirus (as I have offered in this essay), Wright says our response should be to lament. The essay’s final paragraph provides his central argument:
“It is no part of the Christian vocation, then, to be able to explain what’s happening and why. In fact, it is part of the Christian vocation not to be able to explain—and to lament instead. As the Spirit laments within us, so we become, even in our self-isolation, small shrines where the presence and healing love of God can dwell. And out of that there can emerge new possibilities, new acts of kindness, new scientific understanding, new hope.”
I agree lament can be a place “where the presence and healing love of God can dwell.” And from this place, I think new possibilities, acts of kindness, scientific understanding, and new hope can emerge. God can squeeze some good from lament.
But do we have to choose between lament and explanation?
I Disagree…
“Always be ready to give an account of the hope that is within you,” says the Apostle Peter (1 Pt. 3:15). I take this verse to mean we should seek explanations for what God might be doing during this pandemic. I find numerous biblical passages explaining God’s action in response to suffering.
Most of the explanations I’m encountering today for what God is doing are “silly.” I don’t think God sends the coronavirus to punish or teach us a lesson. God has not caused and is not allowing the virus to kill, harm, and cause havoc.
God is not in the evil business.
But it is part of the Christian tradition to offer a plausible explanation to what’s happening. It’s part of being Christian to seek believable answers to the “why” questions. It’s part of being a Christian to give an account of the hope we have.
We should lament the suffering in our world. But we can simultaneously seek answers to why God doesn’t prevent suffering in the first place!......................I agree with Tom Wright on many things. The usual answers for why God doesn’t stop the coronavirus are silly. Christians ought to embrace lament as we suffer the effects of the virus. And God suffers with us.
But unlike Wright, I think we should seek explanations for what God’s will is and what God’s doing. We ought to ask what God’s power must be like in light of God’s love.
We should admit God cannot prevent evil singlehandedly. But God is working against the coronavirus. And God calls you, me, and all creation to overcome evil with love.
-Thomas J Ord; We Should Lament and Explain COVID-19: A Response to N.T. Wright April 7, 2020
In a recent Time article titled “Christianity Offers No Answers About the Coronavirus. It’s Not Supposed To,” Wright makes some statements with which I can agree. But I don’t agree with his main point.
I Agree…
Wright begins his little essay by referring to the Christian practices of Lent. He rightly calls some explanations for God’s relation to the coronavirus “silly.” He rejects the idea God is punishing us, warning us, or giving a sign by sending this pandemic.
I agree with Wright that God is not causing the pandemic for some higher purpose. We should not “explain” suffering as God orchestrated. The coronavirus isn’t part of some divine blueprint.
I also agree when Wright says our suffering grieves God. God is “in the tears of Jesus and the anguish of the Spirit,” as he puts it. “God also laments,” says Wright.
Perhaps my favorite line is this: “Some Christians like to think of God as above all that, knowing everything, in charge of everything, calm and unaffected by the troubles in his world. That’s not the picture we get in the Bible.”
I couldn’t agree more!
Lament
Instead of searching for answers to God’s will and the coronavirus (as I have offered in this essay), Wright says our response should be to lament. The essay’s final paragraph provides his central argument:
“It is no part of the Christian vocation, then, to be able to explain what’s happening and why. In fact, it is part of the Christian vocation not to be able to explain—and to lament instead. As the Spirit laments within us, so we become, even in our self-isolation, small shrines where the presence and healing love of God can dwell. And out of that there can emerge new possibilities, new acts of kindness, new scientific understanding, new hope.”
I agree lament can be a place “where the presence and healing love of God can dwell.” And from this place, I think new possibilities, acts of kindness, scientific understanding, and new hope can emerge. God can squeeze some good from lament.
But do we have to choose between lament and explanation?
I Disagree…
“Always be ready to give an account of the hope that is within you,” says the Apostle Peter (1 Pt. 3:15). I take this verse to mean we should seek explanations for what God might be doing during this pandemic. I find numerous biblical passages explaining God’s action in response to suffering.
Most of the explanations I’m encountering today for what God is doing are “silly.” I don’t think God sends the coronavirus to punish or teach us a lesson. God has not caused and is not allowing the virus to kill, harm, and cause havoc.
God is not in the evil business.
But it is part of the Christian tradition to offer a plausible explanation to what’s happening. It’s part of being Christian to seek believable answers to the “why” questions. It’s part of being a Christian to give an account of the hope we have.
We should lament the suffering in our world. But we can simultaneously seek answers to why God doesn’t prevent suffering in the first place!......................I agree with Tom Wright on many things. The usual answers for why God doesn’t stop the coronavirus are silly. Christians ought to embrace lament as we suffer the effects of the virus. And God suffers with us.
But unlike Wright, I think we should seek explanations for what God’s will is and what God’s doing. We ought to ask what God’s power must be like in light of God’s love.
We should admit God cannot prevent evil singlehandedly. But God is working against the coronavirus. And God calls you, me, and all creation to overcome evil with love.
-Thomas J Ord; We Should Lament and Explain COVID-19: A Response to N.T. Wright April 7, 2020
Apr 15, 2015: Paperback Theology: How Do You Fire Thomas Jay Oord?
Oord is one of the highest profile, and well respected theologians in the Church of the Nazarene. He’s a brilliant and popular teacher, a prolific writer, and is well respected among his peers–including theologians of all stripes. Oord has also been dedicated to the COTN serving on all kinds of committees and boards, providing theological/philosophical defense some of their signature doctrines.
Apr 2015: Christianity Today: Pro-Evolution Tenured Professor Laid Off From Nazarene University
Theology professor Thomas Jay Oord, who has taught at Northwest Nazarene University (NNU) in Idaho, for over a decade, was laid off at the end of last month.
Oord is one of the highest profile, and well respected theologians in the Church of the Nazarene. He’s a brilliant and popular teacher, a prolific writer, and is well respected among his peers–including theologians of all stripes. Oord has also been dedicated to the COTN serving on all kinds of committees and boards, providing theological/philosophical defense some of their signature doctrines.
Apr 2015: Christianity Today: Pro-Evolution Tenured Professor Laid Off From Nazarene University
Theology professor Thomas Jay Oord, who has taught at Northwest Nazarene University (NNU) in Idaho, for over a decade, was laid off at the end of last month.
Jan 21, 2010: Reformed Nazarene: False Teaching Welcomed At NorthWest Nazarene University
Northwest Nazarene University has its own Dr. Tom Oord as a professor there. He is known for his support and advocacy of the twin heresies of Open Theism and Process Theology. At the lecture, you will see Dr. Oord later towards the end as he walks around with a microphone for questions for the audience. I had been to a lecture by Dr. Oord at Eastern Nazarene College, where he spoke as a guest speaker. I challenged him on some issues related to death and how it came into the world, and I recall that his response to me when I quoted Romans 5:12 as the reason why death came into the world, was that he disagreed with me on that answer. Dr. Oord also supports evolution and does not believe in the biblical account of creation. If I am wrong, I hope he can correct me on that. (Disclaimer: not all professors at NNU have bought into this emergent/contemplative ideology, but NNU is a hotbed of emergent and contemplative false teachings).
Northwest Nazarene University has its own Dr. Tom Oord as a professor there. He is known for his support and advocacy of the twin heresies of Open Theism and Process Theology. At the lecture, you will see Dr. Oord later towards the end as he walks around with a microphone for questions for the audience. I had been to a lecture by Dr. Oord at Eastern Nazarene College, where he spoke as a guest speaker. I challenged him on some issues related to death and how it came into the world, and I recall that his response to me when I quoted Romans 5:12 as the reason why death came into the world, was that he disagreed with me on that answer. Dr. Oord also supports evolution and does not believe in the biblical account of creation. If I am wrong, I hope he can correct me on that. (Disclaimer: not all professors at NNU have bought into this emergent/contemplative ideology, but NNU is a hotbed of emergent and contemplative false teachings).
==fred opalinski======

A recently broadcast comment by an Iowa voter chilled me to the bone. When asked about former President Donald Trump’s indictments, she responded, “My savior Jesus Christ was also convicted, but he was innocent and died for my sins.”
I find this comparison to be theologically bewildering and politically dangerous. She is evidence of a rising wave of Christian nationalism, which I consider horrifying.
Our nation’s founders realized the danger of mixing religious fervor with political power. Europe was filled with bloody examples: the Crusades, the Inquisition, colonial oppression and forced conversions, trials and executions, and gory more.
There is a reason that the words “Jesus,” “Christian” or “church” appear nowhere in our founding documents. Seeing any political figure as savior or redeemer elevates him/her to a status only God can occupy. Devotion to such a figure is a perversion of faith and a threat to anyone who disagrees with it.
If this becomes a dominant movement in our country, it threatens to destroy the freedom of religion that has been a pillar of our greatness. God help us. --Rev. Fred Opalinski; Reading Eagle; Christian nationalism defies nation’s creed 1/15/24
I find this comparison to be theologically bewildering and politically dangerous. She is evidence of a rising wave of Christian nationalism, which I consider horrifying.
Our nation’s founders realized the danger of mixing religious fervor with political power. Europe was filled with bloody examples: the Crusades, the Inquisition, colonial oppression and forced conversions, trials and executions, and gory more.
There is a reason that the words “Jesus,” “Christian” or “church” appear nowhere in our founding documents. Seeing any political figure as savior or redeemer elevates him/her to a status only God can occupy. Devotion to such a figure is a perversion of faith and a threat to anyone who disagrees with it.
If this becomes a dominant movement in our country, it threatens to destroy the freedom of religion that has been a pillar of our greatness. God help us. --Rev. Fred Opalinski; Reading Eagle; Christian nationalism defies nation’s creed 1/15/24
==david orrison======
David Orrison is Pastor of the Chapel in Drake, Colorado, a small congregation that worships in the beauty of the Big Thompson Canyon. Drake is a small mountain community located on Hwy 34 between Loveland and Estes Park. The Chapel is not affiliated with a denomination. He has been a pastor for over 30 years and is now the Executive Director of “Grace for the Heart.” Grace for the Heart is an online teaching and counseling ministry bringing the message of freedom and love for those burdened by religious legalism and performance standards. We are available for speaking at groups and/or churches. He was Pastor at Garner United Presbyterian Church Dec 1977 - Nov 1984. He was Pastor ay Loveland Evangelical Free Church Dec 1984 - Jul 2004.
Bemidji State University: Bachelor’s Degree, German and Philosophy Bachelor’s Degree, German and Philosophy1972 - 1975
Dubuque Theological Seminary: Master’s Degree, Pastoral Studies/CounselingMaster’s Degree, Pastoral Studies/Counseling 1975 - 1977
Bemidji State University: Bachelor’s Degree, German and Philosophy Bachelor’s Degree, German and Philosophy1972 - 1975
Dubuque Theological Seminary: Master’s Degree, Pastoral Studies/CounselingMaster’s Degree, Pastoral Studies/Counseling 1975 - 1977

The darkness is such a normal part of life that those who walk in darkness not only know nothing else, but prefer the darkness over the exposure of the light. The life apart from the Lord, rationalized and practiced for so long, is an investment in the darkness. The sadness and oppression became familiar, and “men loved the darkness rather than the light.” But the sadness was just covered, not taken away. The fear, the loneliness, the shame—all were still there. The light was too much for some, but the darkness was not good.
Some walk in darkness because of ignorance. All they know is that the light is foreign, strange. They fear the light until someone shows them the truth.
Some walk in darkness because of pride. They think they can cope with the darkness. They have managed to survive day by day, pushing away discouragement and fear. When the light comes, they say they don’t need it.
Some walk in darkness because of shame. The light exposes too much. It reveals weakness and guilt. They may not know that their shame can be washed away. They may not believe it possible. Yet, they hide from the light that offers freedom. To walk in darkness is to hide from the truth. --David Orrison; Grace For My Heart; 5.30.22
Some walk in darkness because of ignorance. All they know is that the light is foreign, strange. They fear the light until someone shows them the truth.
Some walk in darkness because of pride. They think they can cope with the darkness. They have managed to survive day by day, pushing away discouragement and fear. When the light comes, they say they don’t need it.
Some walk in darkness because of shame. The light exposes too much. It reveals weakness and guilt. They may not know that their shame can be washed away. They may not believe it possible. Yet, they hide from the light that offers freedom. To walk in darkness is to hide from the truth. --David Orrison; Grace For My Heart; 5.30.22

Grief is the normally painful process of defining ourselves in the light of our loss. Nearly any loss can produce feelings of grief. We talk about grief with the loss of a loved one, but there are many losses suffered throughout life. A move usually involves the loss of friends, a job, familiar surroundings, favorite places, and settled routines. Broken relationships reveal loss. Health changes usually involve loss. All change, even a change of thinking, is intertwined with loss.
--David Orrison; Recovering Grace: The Question of Grief: “Who am I now?” 2.28.14
--David Orrison; Recovering Grace: The Question of Grief: “Who am I now?” 2.28.14
“The house built on the sand may oftentimes be built higher, have more fair parapets and battlements, windows and ornaments, than that which is built upon the rock; yet all gifts and privileges equal not one grace.” -John Owen