R - PEOPLE FILES
- Chris Reed - Ralph Reed - Harry Reeder - Michael Reeves - Gretchen Rehberg - Tim Remington - Catharine Renken - Aaron Renn - Cole Richards - Rick Renner - Russell Reno - Ron Rhodes - Sarah Riccardi-Swartz -
==chris reed======
Jan 19, 2022: Charisma: Chris Reed Prophetic Vision: Joe Biden Will Not Finish His First Term as President
Chris Reed, who recently took over the mantle of leadership from Rick Joyner at MorningStar Ministries, revealed in a recent service many startling visions that the Lord has shown him for the year 2022 and beyond. One of the more shocking revelations from the Lord was that President Joe Biden would not finish his first term in office.
Chris Reed, who recently took over the mantle of leadership from Rick Joyner at MorningStar Ministries, revealed in a recent service many startling visions that the Lord has shown him for the year 2022 and beyond. One of the more shocking revelations from the Lord was that President Joe Biden would not finish his first term in office.
==ralph reed======
Christian leaders react to Trump surviving assassination attempt: 'Thank God the former president is alive'
Ralph Reed, the founder and chairman of the Faith & Freedom Coalition, a pro-family public policy organization, rebuked The Washington Post for attacking Evangelical Christians on the same day there was an assassination attempt on the former president and presumptive Republican presidential nominee. "The
@washingtonpost publishes a piece claiming evangelical Christians who support Trump are extremists prone to violence on the same day someone tries to assassinate President Trump. Really pathetic & embarrassing for WaPo." (Christian Post 7/14/24) READ MORE>>>>>
Ralph Reed, the founder and chairman of the Faith & Freedom Coalition, a pro-family public policy organization, rebuked The Washington Post for attacking Evangelical Christians on the same day there was an assassination attempt on the former president and presumptive Republican presidential nominee. "The
@washingtonpost publishes a piece claiming evangelical Christians who support Trump are extremists prone to violence on the same day someone tries to assassinate President Trump. Really pathetic & embarrassing for WaPo." (Christian Post 7/14/24) READ MORE>>>>>
10 Evangelical reactions to Trump's guilty verdict: 'A very sad day'
Ralph Reed, founder and chairman of the Evangelical conservative advocacy organization Faith & Freedom Coalition, issued a lengthy statement following the verdict. “Today’s verdict was as shameful as it was predictable. The entire process was nakedly partisan from the start, with New York’s leftist prosecutor campaigning on taking down President Trump,” he said. “The deck only continued to be stacked as the judge permitted prejudicial testimony, prohibited the defense from offering evidence to counter the prosecution’s bogus charges, especially on federal campaign law, and then instructed the jury in a way that all but guaranteed a guilty verdict,” Reed added. “No honest observer believes this trial was based on justice or fairness — it was based on hatred for Donald Trump, revenge for his successful conservative presidency, and a desperate desire to derail his campaign.” Insisting that “justice requires that this verdict be appealed,” Reed predicted that “it will ultimately be overturned” and that “millions of American voters will respond to this and other politically motivated prosecutions by voting to restore the rule of law on November 5.”
(Christian Post 6/22/23) READ MORE>>>>>
Ralph Reed, founder and chairman of the Evangelical conservative advocacy organization Faith & Freedom Coalition, issued a lengthy statement following the verdict. “Today’s verdict was as shameful as it was predictable. The entire process was nakedly partisan from the start, with New York’s leftist prosecutor campaigning on taking down President Trump,” he said. “The deck only continued to be stacked as the judge permitted prejudicial testimony, prohibited the defense from offering evidence to counter the prosecution’s bogus charges, especially on federal campaign law, and then instructed the jury in a way that all but guaranteed a guilty verdict,” Reed added. “No honest observer believes this trial was based on justice or fairness — it was based on hatred for Donald Trump, revenge for his successful conservative presidency, and a desperate desire to derail his campaign.” Insisting that “justice requires that this verdict be appealed,” Reed predicted that “it will ultimately be overturned” and that “millions of American voters will respond to this and other politically motivated prosecutions by voting to restore the rule of law on November 5.”
(Christian Post 6/22/23) READ MORE>>>>>
'A war for the essence and character of American Christianity' described in new book
American Christianity is at an inflection point. There is “a war for the essence and character of American Christianity,” writes Tim Alberta, a national political reporter for the Atlantic. The son of an evangelical pastor in Michigan, Alberta challenges conservative Christian culture from an insider’s perspective in his new book, The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism. Alberta says that for decades, American evangelicals have been taught that the United States is rightfully theirs and is being taken away from them. Figures such as Liberty University founder Jerry Falwell Sr., Ralph Reed of the Faith and Freedom Coalition and David Barton of WallBuilders and, more recently, others such as Charlie Kirk of Turning Point USA, Jerry Falwell Jr. and evangelical talk radio host Eric Metaxas have spread this message.
(Jon Ward/Yahoo 12/5/23)
READ MORE>>>>>
American Christianity is at an inflection point. There is “a war for the essence and character of American Christianity,” writes Tim Alberta, a national political reporter for the Atlantic. The son of an evangelical pastor in Michigan, Alberta challenges conservative Christian culture from an insider’s perspective in his new book, The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism. Alberta says that for decades, American evangelicals have been taught that the United States is rightfully theirs and is being taken away from them. Figures such as Liberty University founder Jerry Falwell Sr., Ralph Reed of the Faith and Freedom Coalition and David Barton of WallBuilders and, more recently, others such as Charlie Kirk of Turning Point USA, Jerry Falwell Jr. and evangelical talk radio host Eric Metaxas have spread this message.
(Jon Ward/Yahoo 12/5/23)
READ MORE>>>>>
Ralph Reed
“We are accused of worshipping the personality of the former president. But this is the truth about us, what inspires us and why we are here today and why we are involved in the civic domain. We are a cult of only one personality. There is only one person we worship and that is Jesus Christ. While we welcome them, and while we so desperately desire change in our country, we are not looking for a savior because we already have one. I want us to open this conference by praying to that Savior.”
-Ralph Reed, founder and president of Faith & Freedom
-Ralph Reed, founder and president of Faith & Freedom
Ralph Reed
"It's bigger than the African-American vote, the Hispanic vote, and the union vote combined. And that's why all these candidates are here. I think the faith community is going to step up in a big way in 2024 and turn out like never before." -Ralph Reed, Faith & Freedom Coalition Conference; 6.24.23
Prominent white evangelical leaders have been among Trump's most vocal supporters. Several, including Ralph Reed of the Faith & Freedom Coalition and Dallas-based pastor Robert Jeffress, have condemned the insurrection but remained steadfast in their support for Trump.
--Wyoming Public Media: Evangelical Leaders Condemn 'Radicalized Christian Nationalism' 1.24.21
--Wyoming Public Media: Evangelical Leaders Condemn 'Radicalized Christian Nationalism' 1.24.21
==harry reeder======
May 20, 2023: World: He was ready for heaven
But it’s not all the time that two well-known friends in ministry die within the span of 24 hours. Those outside the Presbyterian Church in America may not realize that Briarwood in Birmingham and Redeemer in Manhattan may be the two most famous churches in our denomination. How sad, yet providentially fitting, that their pastors would enter into glory on nearly the same day. Harry Reeder’s death came as a shock.
But it’s not all the time that two well-known friends in ministry die within the span of 24 hours. Those outside the Presbyterian Church in America may not realize that Briarwood in Birmingham and Redeemer in Manhattan may be the two most famous churches in our denomination. How sad, yet providentially fitting, that their pastors would enter into glory on nearly the same day. Harry Reeder’s death came as a shock.
==michael reeves======
Michael Reeves
The right fear of God is, quite explicitly, a blessing of the new covenant. Speaking of the new covenant, the Lord promised through Jeremiah: “I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear me forever, for their own good and the good of their children after them. I will make with them an everlasting covenant, that I will not turn away from doing good to them. And I will put the fear of me in their hearts, that they may not turn from me” (Jer. 32:39–40).
In Jeremiah 33, the Lord goes on to explain the nature of this new covenant fear in words so striking they overturn all our expectations. He promises: “I will cleanse them from all the guilt of their sin against me, and I will forgive all the guilt of their sin and rebellion against me. And this city shall be to me a name of joy, a praise and a glory before all the nations of the earth who shall hear of all the good that I do for them. They shall fear and tremble because of all the good and all the prosperity I provide for it” (Jer. 33:8–9, emphasis added).
This is not a fear of punishment—of what God might do if His people turn away from Him. Quite the opposite: in Jeremiah 33, the Lord reeled off a catalog of pure blessing. He would cleanse them, forgive them, and do great good for them. And they fear and tremble precisely because of all the good He does for them.
Here is not a fear that stands on the flip side of the grace and goodness of God. It is the sort of fear Hosea describes when he prophesies how “the children of Israel shall return and seek the Lord their God, and David their king, and they shall come in fear to the Lord and to his goodness in the latter days” (Hos. 3:5, emphasis added). It is a fear “to the Lord and to his goodness.”
--Michael Reeves; Ligoniers; What is the Fear of God? 9.14.23
In Jeremiah 33, the Lord goes on to explain the nature of this new covenant fear in words so striking they overturn all our expectations. He promises: “I will cleanse them from all the guilt of their sin against me, and I will forgive all the guilt of their sin and rebellion against me. And this city shall be to me a name of joy, a praise and a glory before all the nations of the earth who shall hear of all the good that I do for them. They shall fear and tremble because of all the good and all the prosperity I provide for it” (Jer. 33:8–9, emphasis added).
This is not a fear of punishment—of what God might do if His people turn away from Him. Quite the opposite: in Jeremiah 33, the Lord reeled off a catalog of pure blessing. He would cleanse them, forgive them, and do great good for them. And they fear and tremble precisely because of all the good He does for them.
Here is not a fear that stands on the flip side of the grace and goodness of God. It is the sort of fear Hosea describes when he prophesies how “the children of Israel shall return and seek the Lord their God, and David their king, and they shall come in fear to the Lord and to his goodness in the latter days” (Hos. 3:5, emphasis added). It is a fear “to the Lord and to his goodness.”
--Michael Reeves; Ligoniers; What is the Fear of God? 9.14.23
==Eligio Regalado======
February 12, 2024: Denver Gazette Reports: The web spun by a Denver pastor and his wife who allegedly conned followers out of millions of dollars in a crypto-currency scheme has widened. Colorado Securities Commissioner Tung Chan expanded her complaint against Eligio "Eli" and Kaitlyn Regalado to include a dozen more defendants including Regalado’s father, and a brother-in-law. 12 more people added as defendants in Denver church cryptocurrency scam. The additional defendants are Regalado's father, Eligio Regalado Sr,. his brother-in-law, Daniel Applegate, his former brother-in-law, Jesse Buccholz, Nathanael Enos, Eternal Realities, Erin Giles, Jesse Duplantis, Erik Skeldon, Tri Vision Global, Blacktribe, Johnny Daughtry and Sheri Erbaugh, according to the renewed complaint.
==gretchen rehberg======
March 15, 2023: Salt Lake Tribune: In north Idaho, religious and secular activists work to fight Christian nationalism
Among the broad constellation of activists, elected officials and everyday locals pushing back is Episcopal Bishop Gretchen Rehberg, whose Diocese of Spokane stretches from eastern Washington across much of north Idaho and into western Montana.
Among the broad constellation of activists, elected officials and everyday locals pushing back is Episcopal Bishop Gretchen Rehberg, whose Diocese of Spokane stretches from eastern Washington across much of north Idaho and into western Montana.
Text messages surface of alleged ‘POWER BOTTOM’ Bishop T.D. Jakes being flirtatious with another man
Word on the Curb…the scandal involving Bishop T.D. Jakes continues, and it seems like the bishop’s lies are starting to catch up with him very quickly. I wonder what the people who defended him will have to say about him texting another man around 2:33 in the morning on May 26, 2016. Will they start removing those social media posts defending him, or will they continue to praise the wrongdoer? We shall soon find out.
The disgraced pastor turned online vlogger, Larry Reid, has been on a mission to expose Bishop T.D. Jakes reputation just as his took a hit when Tasha K brought a young man onto her show, alleging that Reid had molested him. But despite Reid’s direct criticism of Bishop Jakes, it appears that the vlogger has posted some text messages from 2016 that allegedly shed light on Bishop T.D. Jakes sexuality.
(The NC Beat 1/24/24) READMORE>>>>>>
Word on the Curb…the scandal involving Bishop T.D. Jakes continues, and it seems like the bishop’s lies are starting to catch up with him very quickly. I wonder what the people who defended him will have to say about him texting another man around 2:33 in the morning on May 26, 2016. Will they start removing those social media posts defending him, or will they continue to praise the wrongdoer? We shall soon find out.
The disgraced pastor turned online vlogger, Larry Reid, has been on a mission to expose Bishop T.D. Jakes reputation just as his took a hit when Tasha K brought a young man onto her show, alleging that Reid had molested him. But despite Reid’s direct criticism of Bishop Jakes, it appears that the vlogger has posted some text messages from 2016 that allegedly shed light on Bishop T.D. Jakes sexuality.
(The NC Beat 1/24/24) READMORE>>>>>>
==tim remington======
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Feb 22, 2023: Religion News Service: How big Christian nationalism has come courting in North Idaho
But activist Alicia Abbott, who works with the liberal Idaho 97 Project, said the political influence of conservative churches in the region is growing. Congregations such as Pastor Tim Remington’s The Altar Church, in Coeur D’Alene, regularly host forums for right-wing candidates, and since the pandemic they increasingly, and dramatically, espouse Christian nationalist ideas. |
During one October service, Remington, who could not be reached for comment by press time, welcomed into the sanctuary a slate of 15 candidates for state and local office. Many were running unopposed, having already won their hotly contested Republican primaries in the deeply red state. But most made a point to connect their campaigns to their Christian faith, and four noted they were members of Altar Church. When they finished, Remington asked for a show of hands of those who intended to vote for “biblical values” while in office. All 15 lifted their hands. The 12 who went on to win their races include state Rep. Joe Alfieri, who told the Altar Church congregation that “drag queen shows” in parks showed that the country was moving away from “Judeo-Christian values.” Alfieri pushed a bill in early February that would limit access to absentee ballots. Another is State Sen. Ben Toews, who told Altar Church he prayed for people while knocking on doors for his campaign, and who introduced a bill this month that would prohibit any instruction involving human sexuality, sexual orientation or gender identity before the fifth grade. 2.22.23 |
==Catharine Renken====== |
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Dec 17, 2022: Frederick News-Post: Some Georgia pastors push back against spread of Christian nationalism
The Rev. Catherine Renken fielded numerous calls last year when she posted messages on the marquee at Kirkwood Presbyterian Church in Kennesaw saying “Christian Nationalism is an oxymoron” and “White Supremacy is a sin. Black Lives Matter.” “Pastors who speak out against the heresy of Christian nationalism must be prepared for backlash,” said Renken. “Love of country has become so intertwined with love of God that untangling that theological knot threatens to unravel a person’s faith. And so, there is a survival-like instinct to hold on to Christian nationalism as if you were protecting Jesus himself.” |
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==Aaron renn======
Aaron Renn is a writer and consultant in Indianapolis who is a co-founder and Senior Fellow at American Reformer. He had a first career in management and technology consulting advising major corporations as a Partner at Accenture. He then had a second career in urban policy as a Senior Fellow at the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research. Today his focus is on helping conservatives and the American church rise to the challenge of finding success in the 21st century.
Christians Are Not Being Persecuted in America - But That Doesn't Mean All Is Well
Per the article, some people have called this persecution: Ashton Pittman, editor of the Mississippi Free Press, said Avell's story was a rare example in the U.S. of "actual religious persecution of a Christian by the state." I beg to differ. The city may be heartless here, but this is the sort of zoning dispute people of all stripes run into all the time in cities. It’s not unusual for even those who have followed all the rules to end up in kafkaesque situations. (Also, it’s not clear if his case, which is in a municipal court, is actually a criminal one).
(Aaron Renn 1/25/24) READ MORE>>>>>
Per the article, some people have called this persecution: Ashton Pittman, editor of the Mississippi Free Press, said Avell's story was a rare example in the U.S. of "actual religious persecution of a Christian by the state." I beg to differ. The city may be heartless here, but this is the sort of zoning dispute people of all stripes run into all the time in cities. It’s not unusual for even those who have followed all the rules to end up in kafkaesque situations. (Also, it’s not clear if his case, which is in a municipal court, is actually a criminal one).
(Aaron Renn 1/25/24) READ MORE>>>>>
==rick renner======
Rick Renner is the author of more than 30 books, including the bestsellers Dressed To Kill and Sparkling Gems From the Greek 1 and 2. His understanding of the Greek language and biblical history opens the Scriptures to enable readers to gain fresh insight from God's Word. Rick is founder and president of RENNER Ministries, based in Tulsa, and host to his TV program aired around the world in multiple languages.
Rick Renner
Romans 8:26 begins, “Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought….” That word “helpeth” is extremely important because it conveys the idea of real partnership and cooperation and paints the picture of two individuals working together to get the job done. The Greek word translated “helpeth” is actually a compound of three Greek words. The first word is sun, meaning to do something in conjunction with someone else. The second word is anti, which means against. The third word is lambano, which means to take or to receive. When these three words are joined, the new word, sunantilambano, means to take hold of something with someone else, gripping it together as tightly as possible, and throwing your combined weight against it to move it out of the way.
For instance, suppose you walk out of your front door one morning and discover that someone has placed a huge boulder in the middle of your driveway during the night. You walk over and push on that boulder to move it out of your way, but it’s too heavy and you can’t budge it. Then you try to move it from the other direction, but no matter how much you tug and pull, you can’t get the job done by yourself. So what do you do? You call a friend and ask him for help. He comes over, grabs hold of that boulder with you, and together the two of you press against it with all your strength until you have moved the boulder out of the way.
This Greek word sunantilambano, translated “helpeth,” powerfully conveys this same idea of partnership and cooperation to remove an obstacle. It tells us that the Holy Spirit literally becomes one with us in the task of removing every obstacle. In the midst of our weaknesses when we are inadequate to get the job done, the Holy Spirit says, “Let me grab hold of that hindrance with you, and you and I will push against it together until it is moved completely out of your way.”
In this way, prayer becomes a twofold partnership between you and the Holy Spirit. When that really becomes a revelation to your heart — when you realize that your prayers are not something you’re responsible for alone — it will forever change your prayer life.
Verse 26 goes on to say, “Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities….” It is the Greek word asthenia, which would better be translated “weaknesses.” It is used to describe people who are sickly or ailing in their bodies, minds, or emotions. Frequently it is also used to describe people who are spiritually weak.
Thus, we see that the Holy Spirit comes to help us because we are asthenia. We are simply too weak — physically, mentally, spiritually — and by ourselves we don’t have what it takes to get the job done. This is why we need our Partner to help us. We simply cannot pray like we need to by ourselves. So the Holy Spirit comes to assist us in prayer, throwing His weight against our weaknesses to remove them from our lives. The truth is, according to this verse, we cannot remove anything from our lives without the Holy Spirit’s assistance. And that is why He comes to bear this responsibility for us, assisting us in removing anything in our lives that is ailing — whether it is frailty in the body, a sickly mental state, or a weakness in our spiritual walk. --Rick Renner; Renner Ministries; The Holy Spirits Role in Removing Obstacles
For instance, suppose you walk out of your front door one morning and discover that someone has placed a huge boulder in the middle of your driveway during the night. You walk over and push on that boulder to move it out of your way, but it’s too heavy and you can’t budge it. Then you try to move it from the other direction, but no matter how much you tug and pull, you can’t get the job done by yourself. So what do you do? You call a friend and ask him for help. He comes over, grabs hold of that boulder with you, and together the two of you press against it with all your strength until you have moved the boulder out of the way.
This Greek word sunantilambano, translated “helpeth,” powerfully conveys this same idea of partnership and cooperation to remove an obstacle. It tells us that the Holy Spirit literally becomes one with us in the task of removing every obstacle. In the midst of our weaknesses when we are inadequate to get the job done, the Holy Spirit says, “Let me grab hold of that hindrance with you, and you and I will push against it together until it is moved completely out of your way.”
In this way, prayer becomes a twofold partnership between you and the Holy Spirit. When that really becomes a revelation to your heart — when you realize that your prayers are not something you’re responsible for alone — it will forever change your prayer life.
Verse 26 goes on to say, “Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities….” It is the Greek word asthenia, which would better be translated “weaknesses.” It is used to describe people who are sickly or ailing in their bodies, minds, or emotions. Frequently it is also used to describe people who are spiritually weak.
Thus, we see that the Holy Spirit comes to help us because we are asthenia. We are simply too weak — physically, mentally, spiritually — and by ourselves we don’t have what it takes to get the job done. This is why we need our Partner to help us. We simply cannot pray like we need to by ourselves. So the Holy Spirit comes to assist us in prayer, throwing His weight against our weaknesses to remove them from our lives. The truth is, according to this verse, we cannot remove anything from our lives without the Holy Spirit’s assistance. And that is why He comes to bear this responsibility for us, assisting us in removing anything in our lives that is ailing — whether it is frailty in the body, a sickly mental state, or a weakness in our spiritual walk. --Rick Renner; Renner Ministries; The Holy Spirits Role in Removing Obstacles
==russell reno======
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Mar 11, 2015: Albert Mohler: The Integrity of Words and Our Confession of Faith
Theologian Russell Reno has noted that confessions of faith serve a dual purpose — to define truth and to isolate falsehood: “The impulse behind confessions of faith is doxological, the desire to speak the truth about God, to give voice to the beauty of holiness in the fullest possible sense. However, the particular forms that historical confessions take are shaped by confrontation. Their purpose is to respond to the spirit of the age by re-articulating in a pointed way the specific content of Christianity so as to face new challenges as well as new forms of old challenges. As a result, formal confessions are characterized by pointed distinctions. They are exercises in drawing boundaries where the particular force of traditional Christian claims is sharpened to heighten the contrast between true belief and false belief…. As they shape our faith, confessions structure our identities.” |
November 1959: Reno was born in Baltimore, Maryland.
September 18, 2004: Reno was received into the Catholic Church. He explained his conversion in this way: "As an Episcopalian I needed a theory to stay put, and I came to realize that a theory is a thin thread easily broken. The Catholic Church needs no theories."
April 27, 2020: Reno wrote at First Things: "Data are coming in, and their import is clear. The coronavirus pandemic is not and never was a threat to society. COVID-19 poses a danger to the elderly and the medically compromised. Otherwise, for most who present symptoms, it can be nasty and persistent, but is not life-threatening. A majority of those infected do not notice that they have the disease. Coronavirus presents us with a medical challenge, not a crisis. The crisis has been of our own making." |
==ron rhodes======
How Do Muslims View Jesus?
Muslims consider Jesus to be one of Allah’s greatest prophets. He was a sinless man sent by God to bring truth to his time. In the Muslim view, He was neither God in the flesh nor the Son of God. He was not a partner with God, for that would be blasphemy against Allah. Jesus is spoken of with great honor, but no more honor than is due to any other prophet of Allah. Jesus allegedly said in the Quran: “Lo! I am the slave of Allah. He hath given me the Scripture and hath appointed me a Prophet” (Sura 19:30). He is considered a lesser prophet than Muhammad.
(Ron Rhodes; John Ankerberg Show/6/17/24) READ MORE>>>>
Muslims consider Jesus to be one of Allah’s greatest prophets. He was a sinless man sent by God to bring truth to his time. In the Muslim view, He was neither God in the flesh nor the Son of God. He was not a partner with God, for that would be blasphemy against Allah. Jesus is spoken of with great honor, but no more honor than is due to any other prophet of Allah. Jesus allegedly said in the Quran: “Lo! I am the slave of Allah. He hath given me the Scripture and hath appointed me a Prophet” (Sura 19:30). He is considered a lesser prophet than Muhammad.
(Ron Rhodes; John Ankerberg Show/6/17/24) READ MORE>>>>
==jill richard======
Jill Richard
So what are we – the handiwork – supposed to do? How will people be able to tell that we are God’s creation, His masterpiece? The product of His handiwork, us, is to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. He has a purpose for your life. He has a plan. You are more than a work of art for people to look at up on the wall, you’re a living exhibit. You’re an interactive display of Christ on earth. As a Christian, each and every action/reaction we have is a reflection on our Lord. He may still be chiseling away, working on us, but we too should try to be cooperative mediums from which He can create. May we be pliable to the changes the Lord has in store so that we may live as a good reflection of the Artist who created us – God.
--Jill Richard; God Is; My God is…My Maker Ephesians 2:10 11.20.13
--Jill Richard; God Is; My God is…My Maker Ephesians 2:10 11.20.13
==Sarah Riccardi-Swartz======
Dr. Sarah Riccardi-Swartz is an assistant professor of religion and anthropology at Northeastern University, where she is also an affiliate faculty member in the women's, gender, and sexuality studies program. Before joining Northeastern University she was a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Recovering Truth: Religion, Journalism, and Democracy in a Post-Truth Era project at the Center for the Study of Religion and Conflict (Arizona State University). She has a Ph.D. in Sociocultural Anthropology from New York University. After completing an honors B.A. and M.A. in Religious Studies (American religions) at Missouri State University, she attended NYU to study and research religion and politics in the United States from an anthropological perspective. Along the way, she obtained a graduate certificate in Culture and Media (ethnographic filmmaking) and an M.Phil in Anthropology from NYU. Her research focuses on conservative politics, race, media worlds, exevangelicals, and Orthodox Christianity.
“Even if Christian nationalists are ambivalent to Russia as a geopolitical construct or if they view it as a threat, they are still favorable towards Putin as a political figure,” Riccardi-Swartz says. “This seems to suggest that Americans who subscribe to Christian nationalist ideology are attracted to Putin as a strong man and ethno-nationalist leader just as they were with Trump.” |
Christian nationalists are enamored with Putin, even if they oppose Russia, new research from Northeastern professor says
Russian President Vladimir Putin has found support in an unlikely place: the U.S. Specifically, Christian nationalists, a subsection of America’s religious right, have flocked to the country’s autocratic leader, according to new research from a team of social scientists, including Sarah Riccardi-Swartz, an assistant professor of religion and anthropology at Northeastern University. (Cody Mello-Klein/Northeastern Global News/34/8/23) READ MORE>>>>> |
Sarah Riccardi-Swartz
In April 2022, Georgia gubernatorial candidate Kandiss Taylor, who ran on a “Jesus, Guns, and Babies” platform, and who would eventually lose her bid the May primary but refused concede, held a rally in which she proclaimed, “We are the church! We run this state.” A few weeks later, failed 2020 GOP congressional candidate for the state of Delaware, Lauren Witzke, in an interview with The American Journal, part of the Infowars streaming family, noted that, “The Church makes up Russia. It’s kinda like their state religion,” before going on to proclaim that “he [meaning Putin] is the greatest ally for Christians.” (Witzke, by the way, worked informally for Taylor’s fading campaign.) Two women: both Americans; both desiring the unification of church and state; both pledging support to different political projects to meet their ideological goals; both nationalists; both Christians.
Christian nationalism is often seen as part of the American project, linked intimately to white nationalism, racism, and history of Christian domination and American exceptionalism. The examples of this in action are endless, as Andrew Whitehead, Samuel Perry, Philip Gorski, Anthea Butler, and so many other scholars have pointed out. However, Christian nationalism is not constrained by borders or geography. In considering the global formations of religio-racial or ethnic nationalism, I want to think about the connections between white Christian nationalism in the United States and Russia. I suggest we can better understand the transformations occurring in global politics and religion by examining the networks of ideology that link Christian nationalism in the United States with current forms of Russian nationalism that we see expressed by Putin and the Russian Orthodox Church.
In February of 2022, when Vladimir Putin announced a military operation in Ukraine, he proclaimed that “Since time immemorial, the people living in the southwest of what has historically been Russian land have called themselves Russians and Orthodox Christians.” This comment followed the Russian president’s declaration that Ukraine was not just a neighbor state, it was and is, according to him, “an inalienable part of our own history, culture and spiritual space.” In that one speech, Putin justified Russian nationalism and decried Ukrainian nationalism, using religious language. Religio-nationalism is a driving ideological force in Russia’s justification of state violence. While Putin has already laid bare how post-Soviet Russian Nationalism is tied to ideas about Holy Rus’ and the geopolitical project of Russkii Mir, I also see it as a form of Christian nationalism with a similar impulse towards purity, patriarchy, and propaganda that we see in the United States among white Christian nationalists.
--Sarah Riccardi-Swartz; Seventh Biennial Conference on Religion and American Culture; June 2022
Christian nationalism is often seen as part of the American project, linked intimately to white nationalism, racism, and history of Christian domination and American exceptionalism. The examples of this in action are endless, as Andrew Whitehead, Samuel Perry, Philip Gorski, Anthea Butler, and so many other scholars have pointed out. However, Christian nationalism is not constrained by borders or geography. In considering the global formations of religio-racial or ethnic nationalism, I want to think about the connections between white Christian nationalism in the United States and Russia. I suggest we can better understand the transformations occurring in global politics and religion by examining the networks of ideology that link Christian nationalism in the United States with current forms of Russian nationalism that we see expressed by Putin and the Russian Orthodox Church.
In February of 2022, when Vladimir Putin announced a military operation in Ukraine, he proclaimed that “Since time immemorial, the people living in the southwest of what has historically been Russian land have called themselves Russians and Orthodox Christians.” This comment followed the Russian president’s declaration that Ukraine was not just a neighbor state, it was and is, according to him, “an inalienable part of our own history, culture and spiritual space.” In that one speech, Putin justified Russian nationalism and decried Ukrainian nationalism, using religious language. Religio-nationalism is a driving ideological force in Russia’s justification of state violence. While Putin has already laid bare how post-Soviet Russian Nationalism is tied to ideas about Holy Rus’ and the geopolitical project of Russkii Mir, I also see it as a form of Christian nationalism with a similar impulse towards purity, patriarchy, and propaganda that we see in the United States among white Christian nationalists.
--Sarah Riccardi-Swartz; Seventh Biennial Conference on Religion and American Culture; June 2022
