Politics: Word Slinger Files: Christian |
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Feb 16, 2023: Religion News Service: Nikki Haley says she’s Christian, but it’s complicated
In the opening seconds of Nikki Haley’s video launching her 2024 presidential bid this week, she described her upbringing in the South: “I was the proud daughter of Indian immigrants. Not Black, not white, but different.” The words are accompanied by a childhood photograph of Haley, with her mother and turban-wearing father smiling behind her. |
Religion, and her conversion to Christianity, has made Haley suspect in the eyes of both Christians and non-Christians. The first time she ran for the South Carolina Legislature, she identified both with her parents’ Sikh religion and with the Methodist faith of her husband. As she grew in political stature, however, her campaign faced more and more questions that sounded something like this: “OK, she’s talking about God, but which God?” The language on her campaign website was revised, with a reference to “almighty God” changed to make specific reference to Jesus Christ. At one point, she added a section to her website titled “Is Nikki a Christian?” The answer, of course, was yes. For many South Carolina voters who needed reassurance that their candidate would represent them, that meant praying to and believing in a Christian God. Once she was in the Legislature, her conservative colleagues’ skepticism could be cruel. According to a 2021 Politico Magazine profile, “Some of her Republican colleagues would try to provoke her with jokes about alien gods; others would force uncomfortable discussions about religion.” Jake Knotts, a veteran GOP lawmaker, said: “Everybody knew she wasn’t a real Christian. Everyone knew she converted for political purposes. Her whole career has been stair-climbing, and becoming a Methodist was just one of those stairs.”-- Khyati Y. Joshi; Religion News Service 2.26.23 |
Feb 9, 2023: The Times of Israel: Raised Jewish, Michigan GOP leadership candidate now says she’s a Messianic Jew
Lena Epstein, who previously presented herself as Jewish but faced criticism after hosting Messianic ‘rabbi,’ admits she has been baptized ‘into the Christian faith’
Lena Epstein, who previously presented herself as Jewish but faced criticism after hosting Messianic ‘rabbi,’ admits she has been baptized ‘into the Christian faith’
Jan 7, 2023: Baptist Press: McCarthy elected to lead U.S. House, ERLC leader pledges to work with him
Brent Leatherwood, president of the SBC Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC), offered congratulations to Speaker McCarthy but also raised serious concerns in comments emailed to Baptist Press.
“The selection of the Speaker of the House is an important decision that requires thoughtful consideration. Sometimes, as was the case this week, other policies are part of those deliberations. All of that is a normal part of organizing the House. But the manner in which some of the Representatives carried out their back and forth tended to be more about showmanship than statesmanship,” Leatherwood said.
Brent Leatherwood, president of the SBC Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC), offered congratulations to Speaker McCarthy but also raised serious concerns in comments emailed to Baptist Press.
“The selection of the Speaker of the House is an important decision that requires thoughtful consideration. Sometimes, as was the case this week, other policies are part of those deliberations. All of that is a normal part of organizing the House. But the manner in which some of the Representatives carried out their back and forth tended to be more about showmanship than statesmanship,” Leatherwood said.
Dec 9, 2022: Religion News: With Warnock’s win, Democrats eye faith as a pathway to victory in the South
When Sen. Raphael Warnock walked to the podium in Atlanta on Tuesday night (Dec. 6) to celebrate his election to a full term as a U.S. Senator, it was mere moments before he brought up a subject close to his heart and key to his win: God.
“Thank you from the bottom of my heart, and to God be the glory,” he declared to thousands of supporters, “for the great things God has done.”
When Sen. Raphael Warnock walked to the podium in Atlanta on Tuesday night (Dec. 6) to celebrate his election to a full term as a U.S. Senator, it was mere moments before he brought up a subject close to his heart and key to his win: God.
“Thank you from the bottom of my heart, and to God be the glory,” he declared to thousands of supporters, “for the great things God has done.”
White evangelicalism enters DeSantis season
Last week, DeSantis raised some eyebrows with a new campaign ad, an ad that seems to claim the Almighty created DeSantis especially for the good people of Florida. According to the ad, on the eighth day of creation, “God looked down on his planned paradise and said, ‘I need a protector.’ So God made a fighter.” The fighter is DeSantis, of course, who will “save their jobs, their livelihoods, their liberty, their happiness.” 11.13.22 |
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Religion News Service: Josh Shapiro and me
Pennsylvania's governor-elect bravely ran on inclusiveness against a candidate who leveraged Christian nationalism. He may have also figured his inclusiveness provided a crucial contrast with the manner in which his opponent deployed religion. State Senator Doug Mastriano used Christian nationalist symbols and paid a consultant whose website welcomes antisemitic contributors (among them the Pittsburgh synagogue shooter). Shapiro’s victory feels like a win for citizens of all faiths, rather than only Christians. 11.12.22
Pennsylvania's governor-elect bravely ran on inclusiveness against a candidate who leveraged Christian nationalism. He may have also figured his inclusiveness provided a crucial contrast with the manner in which his opponent deployed religion. State Senator Doug Mastriano used Christian nationalist symbols and paid a consultant whose website welcomes antisemitic contributors (among them the Pittsburgh synagogue shooter). Shapiro’s victory feels like a win for citizens of all faiths, rather than only Christians. 11.12.22
Goskagit: Can believers find political unity in the pews these days?
“What we are seeing is a pretty complex situation,” said Scott McConnell, executive director at Lifeway Research. While churchgoers are divided on the need for political uniformity in their pews, there are enough believers who take that stance to prove that “this is not one or two people that pastors need to talk to and try to understand. This is a GROUP of people in most of our churches and that’s something pastors have to deal with now.” 11.12.22
“What we are seeing is a pretty complex situation,” said Scott McConnell, executive director at Lifeway Research. While churchgoers are divided on the need for political uniformity in their pews, there are enough believers who take that stance to prove that “this is not one or two people that pastors need to talk to and try to understand. This is a GROUP of people in most of our churches and that’s something pastors have to deal with now.” 11.12.22
November 11, 2022:
Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America President Marjorie Dannenfelser, a national pro-life grassroots advocacy organization criticized Republican strategists for failing to make the party's position on abortion clear during the 2022 midterm elections, citing it as a potential reason for some of the party’s losses this election cycle. I have to disagree with the point. The position was pushed by most Republicans and it was a motivating factor for large Democrat turnout. In June 2022, the Supreme Court overruled Roe in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization on the grounds that the substantive right to abortion was not "deeply rooted in this Nation's history or tradition", nor considered a right when the Due Process Clause was ratified in 1868, and was unknown in U.S. law until Roe.
Actions by prolife leaders like Governor Greg Abbott of Texas signed off on legislation which would allow a person to turn in anyone who even contemplated an abortion brought the issues of safety to the attention of pro-abortion advocates.. and the women who supported a woman's right to choose made the issue important to them so they campaigned against any and all Republicans. Posted on Blog HERE
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Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America President Marjorie Dannenfelser, a national pro-life grassroots advocacy organization criticized Republican strategists for failing to make the party's position on abortion clear during the 2022 midterm elections, citing it as a potential reason for some of the party’s losses this election cycle. I have to disagree with the point. The position was pushed by most Republicans and it was a motivating factor for large Democrat turnout. In June 2022, the Supreme Court overruled Roe in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization on the grounds that the substantive right to abortion was not "deeply rooted in this Nation's history or tradition", nor considered a right when the Due Process Clause was ratified in 1868, and was unknown in U.S. law until Roe.
Actions by prolife leaders like Governor Greg Abbott of Texas signed off on legislation which would allow a person to turn in anyone who even contemplated an abortion brought the issues of safety to the attention of pro-abortion advocates.. and the women who supported a woman's right to choose made the issue important to them so they campaigned against any and all Republicans. Posted on Blog HERE
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National Catholic Reporter: JD Vance and Tim Ryan, two very different Catholics, vie for power in Ohio "We have to be united against the extremists. ... Democracy is a decision that we have to make," Ryan said during an Oct. 2 virtual rally hosted by Catholics Vote Common Good, a progressive group.
During the rally, Ryan credited his 13 years of Catholic schools, the examples of his devout grandfather, other churchgoing relatives, social-justice-minded religious sisters and Pope Francis' emphasis on solidarity as being major influences in his public life.
10.5.22
During the rally, Ryan credited his 13 years of Catholic schools, the examples of his devout grandfather, other churchgoing relatives, social-justice-minded religious sisters and Pope Francis' emphasis on solidarity as being major influences in his public life.
10.5.22
October 6, 2022:
"How does the so called evangelical right still back Hershel Walker when he has been credibly accused of spousal abuse and caught in endless lies. His opponent Raphael Warnock is a long time Christian minister." -Barbra Streisand on Twitter
It's the Trump effect. Apparently the new GOP is lead by crooks and deviants.
Georgia GOP candidate Herschel Walker has a lot of demons in his closet. One of his ex-wives said Walker put a gun to her head and said to her, “I’m going to blow your fxx’ing brains out.” He also separately threatened to kill her and her new boyfriend. He lied about his success in the business world, making far far less than he bragged about publicly. He only registered to vote in Georgia a year ago. He barely votes, period. His current wife allegedly committed voting fraud by voting in a state she didn’t live in. He also happens to be one of the dumbest people in public life who admitted weeks ago, “I’m not that smart.”
And yet Walker has full support from Christian nationalists like evangelist Franklin Graham, who said of him last year even after we knew about many of these demons, “He’s an outspoken Christian, he stands up for conservative values, and he’s got a lot of common sense.”
"How does the so called evangelical right still back Hershel Walker when he has been credibly accused of spousal abuse and caught in endless lies. His opponent Raphael Warnock is a long time Christian minister." -Barbra Streisand on Twitter
It's the Trump effect. Apparently the new GOP is lead by crooks and deviants.
Georgia GOP candidate Herschel Walker has a lot of demons in his closet. One of his ex-wives said Walker put a gun to her head and said to her, “I’m going to blow your fxx’ing brains out.” He also separately threatened to kill her and her new boyfriend. He lied about his success in the business world, making far far less than he bragged about publicly. He only registered to vote in Georgia a year ago. He barely votes, period. His current wife allegedly committed voting fraud by voting in a state she didn’t live in. He also happens to be one of the dumbest people in public life who admitted weeks ago, “I’m not that smart.”
And yet Walker has full support from Christian nationalists like evangelist Franklin Graham, who said of him last year even after we knew about many of these demons, “He’s an outspoken Christian, he stands up for conservative values, and he’s got a lot of common sense.”
June 1, 2022: Daily Koz: As November approaches, the Republican Party focuses on hoaxes and sabotage
After a failed coup attempt that led to deaths inside the U.S. Capitol and, at least so far, little to no repercussions for its Republican planners, we know precisely how Republican Party operatives and lawmakers intend to "contest" the outcome of any of the November midterm elections that do not go their way. Republican statehouses have put in new laws allowing partisan operators to overrule elections officials who report vote counts in Democratic-majority counties that Republicans declare to be somehow suspicious. Conservative media outlets have been inundating Americans with thoroughly false claims of election "fraud," hoaxes used by the seditionist coup-plotters to demand that Democratic votes be tossed that are still being trotted out long after they were proven false. And in individual precincts, Republican volunteers groomed to believe every last batshit conspiracy the party throws their way will look to challenge voters who, in their minds, look like the sort of people who would be involved in such conspiracies.
It's all out in the open—you can't exactly pass legislation giving party partisans control over which votes will be counted in secret, after all—and is proceeding largely unimpeded, though few of the party operatives shepherding the effort are eager to talk to reporters about it.
After a failed coup attempt that led to deaths inside the U.S. Capitol and, at least so far, little to no repercussions for its Republican planners, we know precisely how Republican Party operatives and lawmakers intend to "contest" the outcome of any of the November midterm elections that do not go their way. Republican statehouses have put in new laws allowing partisan operators to overrule elections officials who report vote counts in Democratic-majority counties that Republicans declare to be somehow suspicious. Conservative media outlets have been inundating Americans with thoroughly false claims of election "fraud," hoaxes used by the seditionist coup-plotters to demand that Democratic votes be tossed that are still being trotted out long after they were proven false. And in individual precincts, Republican volunteers groomed to believe every last batshit conspiracy the party throws their way will look to challenge voters who, in their minds, look like the sort of people who would be involved in such conspiracies.
It's all out in the open—you can't exactly pass legislation giving party partisans control over which votes will be counted in secret, after all—and is proceeding largely unimpeded, though few of the party operatives shepherding the effort are eager to talk to reporters about it.
We have a real problem here in the good ol’ U-S-of-A. Our president put the feelings and frustrations of most Americans far more succinctly than I could.
Yet there is one group of people who simply won’t acknowledge the real problem: the instrument of death itself. Foremost among them is the senator from the state of Texas, Ted Cruz. Only days after the slaughter innocent children, Cruz stood in front of the NRA and announced that the real problem was we didn’t have ENOUGH guns. Meanwhile, the governor of Texas, Gov. Greg Abbott, told us that it was all about mental health. When challenged on their positions, they chastise those who disagree with them for “politicizing” such a tragic event. Completely blind to how their politics are always at the forefront in times of tragedy like this.
--Jesus, Guns, Children, and Ted Cruz
Yet there is one group of people who simply won’t acknowledge the real problem: the instrument of death itself. Foremost among them is the senator from the state of Texas, Ted Cruz. Only days after the slaughter innocent children, Cruz stood in front of the NRA and announced that the real problem was we didn’t have ENOUGH guns. Meanwhile, the governor of Texas, Gov. Greg Abbott, told us that it was all about mental health. When challenged on their positions, they chastise those who disagree with them for “politicizing” such a tragic event. Completely blind to how their politics are always at the forefront in times of tragedy like this.
--Jesus, Guns, Children, and Ted Cruz
April 27, 2022:
Legislating morality doesnt actually change people. It just makes them look like they are changed.
As Christians we have to ask what we are really after. Do we want people to look like they are changed by Jesus or do we want people to actually be changed by Jesus? Do we want to encourage people—albeit unintentionally—to have a form of godliness but reject the power of Christ that actually transforms their lives? (2 Timothy 3:5)
2) Legislating morality is not how Jesus worked or works. (He is unchanging)
Jesus rejected political influence when He was on this earth because that is not His chosen method to further His Kingdom in this world. He explicitly said that His Kingdom is not an earthly one (John 18:36). When people tried to make Him their king, He escaped the crowds (John 6:15).
Jesus taught us to preach the gospel to every person in the power of the Holy Spirit and teach believers to obey the things He commanded. That’s how people come to faith in Christ and grow in faith in Christ, straight from the mouth of Jesus. Not through Christian morals having political influence. Not through Christianity being the dominant culture-shaping voice in society.
3) Legislating morality pushes people away from Christ.
People can’t genuinely come to know Jesus when pressured. That’s the whole reason God created us with free will. When we use political policy and influence to try to get people to live out Christian morality, it only pushes people to resent and reject Jesus.
4) Legislating morality is about preserving our own comfort, not seeing people come to Christ,.
The Constitution affords rights to all citizens of our nation of free speech, freedom of the press, freedom to practice their respective faiths or not practice any faith at all. These rights don’t only apply to Christians. By the way some Christians react to people doing and saying things that are different than their Christian beliefs, you wouldn’t know it though. People have a right to live in ways you disagree with.
That right, greater than being afforded by American law even, is afforded by God because He gives all humans free will and calls them to follow Him by choice, not force. No, He doesn’t agree with sin or rebellion against Him. Yes, there are eternal consequences for unrepentant sin against God. Yes, God wants every person to repent of their sin and be saved. Every person, however, has to respond to His call by their own choice (Acts 17:30-31).
Probably less then 4 or 5 years ago I would have disregarded everything I wrote above as being the ramblings of a left wing progressive misinterpreting the Bible to fit their own agenda. But since then I have had a heart adjustment...and understand the Christian Nationalist perspectives I was pushing without realizing, at that time, that there was such a thing as "Christian Nationalism."
Legislating morality doesnt actually change people. It just makes them look like they are changed.
As Christians we have to ask what we are really after. Do we want people to look like they are changed by Jesus or do we want people to actually be changed by Jesus? Do we want to encourage people—albeit unintentionally—to have a form of godliness but reject the power of Christ that actually transforms their lives? (2 Timothy 3:5)
2) Legislating morality is not how Jesus worked or works. (He is unchanging)
Jesus rejected political influence when He was on this earth because that is not His chosen method to further His Kingdom in this world. He explicitly said that His Kingdom is not an earthly one (John 18:36). When people tried to make Him their king, He escaped the crowds (John 6:15).
Jesus taught us to preach the gospel to every person in the power of the Holy Spirit and teach believers to obey the things He commanded. That’s how people come to faith in Christ and grow in faith in Christ, straight from the mouth of Jesus. Not through Christian morals having political influence. Not through Christianity being the dominant culture-shaping voice in society.
3) Legislating morality pushes people away from Christ.
People can’t genuinely come to know Jesus when pressured. That’s the whole reason God created us with free will. When we use political policy and influence to try to get people to live out Christian morality, it only pushes people to resent and reject Jesus.
4) Legislating morality is about preserving our own comfort, not seeing people come to Christ,.
The Constitution affords rights to all citizens of our nation of free speech, freedom of the press, freedom to practice their respective faiths or not practice any faith at all. These rights don’t only apply to Christians. By the way some Christians react to people doing and saying things that are different than their Christian beliefs, you wouldn’t know it though. People have a right to live in ways you disagree with.
That right, greater than being afforded by American law even, is afforded by God because He gives all humans free will and calls them to follow Him by choice, not force. No, He doesn’t agree with sin or rebellion against Him. Yes, there are eternal consequences for unrepentant sin against God. Yes, God wants every person to repent of their sin and be saved. Every person, however, has to respond to His call by their own choice (Acts 17:30-31).
Probably less then 4 or 5 years ago I would have disregarded everything I wrote above as being the ramblings of a left wing progressive misinterpreting the Bible to fit their own agenda. But since then I have had a heart adjustment...and understand the Christian Nationalist perspectives I was pushing without realizing, at that time, that there was such a thing as "Christian Nationalism."
Rick Joyner, a dominionist leader and hard-right political activist, is urging his followers to support the congressional candidacy of anti-abortion activist Janet Porter, who is running in a crowded Republican primary in Ohio’s 13th Congressional District. The primary election is tomorrow, May 3.
Porter is best known for her campaigns to criminalize abortion, but as Right Wing Watch has reported, she is also a longtime opponent of LGBTQ equality and a promoter of extreme conspiracy theories about liberals’ supposed plans to “criminalize Christianity” and lock up conservatives in concentration camps -Right Wing Watch
Porter is best known for her campaigns to criminalize abortion, but as Right Wing Watch has reported, she is also a longtime opponent of LGBTQ equality and a promoter of extreme conspiracy theories about liberals’ supposed plans to “criminalize Christianity” and lock up conservatives in concentration camps -Right Wing Watch
Last Thursday, on the eve of testifying in a lawsuit that seeks to prevent her from running for re-election, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, the legendary or notorious Georgia Republican, granted an hourlong interview in her home to an unlikely outlet: the far-right Catholic news organization Church Militant, which for years has positioned itself as one of the noisiest and most outlandish partisans in the Roman Catholic Church's ongoing fight with itself. Greene is an evangelical Protestant, not a Catholic, but Church Militant is making the most of this opportunity, and has featured segments of the interview all week, starting with its opening video on Monday, entitled "Marjorie for Pope."
In the interview, Greene rehashed old beefs, described herself as a victim of Jan. 6, said the United States is so sinful she doesn't understand "why God hasn't destroyed us" and — most exciting for Church Militant — suggested that Satan is controlling the Catholic Church. -Kathryn Joyce: Salon
In the interview, Greene rehashed old beefs, described herself as a victim of Jan. 6, said the United States is so sinful she doesn't understand "why God hasn't destroyed us" and — most exciting for Church Militant — suggested that Satan is controlling the Catholic Church. -Kathryn Joyce: Salon
"In my fiction novel, Liars Truth, I use a metaphor of vampires and demons to represent those that pile up on people and suck the life out of them, dragging them down to the depths of despair and hopelessness. They turn their victims’ focus to everything negative such as all their failures and fears. We can live and die in this state, ungrateful to the end.
It’s a highly effect strategy for trapping and controlling people. Politicians and others who want to control people use this strategy."
--Dorian Scott Cole; New Generations Explore Faith; 1.20.22.
It’s a highly effect strategy for trapping and controlling people. Politicians and others who want to control people use this strategy."
--Dorian Scott Cole; New Generations Explore Faith; 1.20.22.
.....when you hear a politician who identifies as a Christian or identifies as a conservative and they’ve whipped the crowd up into a frenzy and you yourself get kind of carried away. When your conscience tells you, “Boy, I wish he hadn’t said, or she hadn’t said that,” or, “I think I see what they’re doing there. They just led me down a path where I started to hate the political opponent instead of just disagreeing with them,” that’s when you probably… that little ping of your conscience should indicate that that is probably not a candidate who you should be supporting.
Secondly, I think that you have an obligation to call out in a gentle way, in a text, in a phone call, in an email, say, “I heard you speak in front of that church, in front of that audience. And I heard you refer to your opponent as a,” fill in the blank. “Do you think next time you could avoid saying that term, because I think your point would be much more well-received if you just left it out.”
But thirdly, when you pray for political candidates, don’t just pray for their victory. I hear people saying, “I manifest this victory on your behalf,” or, “I pray against the others that they would be defeated and that you would win.” Let God make the determination on who wins and loses. You can pray for victory and then resign the consequences to Him. But also, pray for people to come to know Christ and the peace that defies understanding. When you begin to pray for your political opponents to come to know the peace of Christ, you’re not going to call them a name. You’re not going to call them… belittle them or mock them. -Jeff Coleman
Secondly, I think that you have an obligation to call out in a gentle way, in a text, in a phone call, in an email, say, “I heard you speak in front of that church, in front of that audience. And I heard you refer to your opponent as a,” fill in the blank. “Do you think next time you could avoid saying that term, because I think your point would be much more well-received if you just left it out.”
But thirdly, when you pray for political candidates, don’t just pray for their victory. I hear people saying, “I manifest this victory on your behalf,” or, “I pray against the others that they would be defeated and that you would win.” Let God make the determination on who wins and loses. You can pray for victory and then resign the consequences to Him. But also, pray for people to come to know Christ and the peace that defies understanding. When you begin to pray for your political opponents to come to know the peace of Christ, you’re not going to call them a name. You’re not going to call them… belittle them or mock them. -Jeff Coleman
The principal aim of political order is not to produce justice but to restrain injustice; not to cultivate the spirit of the law but to enforce the rule of law; not to create love but to set limits to self-interest; not to bring peace but to constrain the inevitable tendencies of the human heart towards violence and war. Politics cannot bring Christ to earth. It is enough if it succeeds in holding Antichrist at bay. But while the rationale for politics is original sin, the measure of politics is eschatology. The perfect eschatological society stands as a criterion and criticism of every social order, stripping it of its pretensions to transcendence and thereby freeing it to be simply what it is: a tragic necessity for a fallen world. --Faith and Theology 9.5.14
Jan 24, 2022: Religious Liberty TV: A Concept in Common: Are Sunday Blue Laws Making a Comeback?
On Monday, January 24, 2022, the Virginia state senate voted 29 to 11 (SB8) to allow people to hunt on Sundays on public or private land, so long as it takes place more than 200 yards from a place of worship.
On Monday, January 24, 2022, the Virginia state senate voted 29 to 11 (SB8) to allow people to hunt on Sundays on public or private land, so long as it takes place more than 200 yards from a place of worship.