Marjorie Taylor Greene to GOP: "We Should be Christian Nationalists"
Phil Gorski: The Threat of White Christian Nationalism
Arkansas' Minister of Hate: Arkansas Encyclopedia
Rachel Maddow led her show off this evening with a story about Gerald Lyman Kenneth Smith. Smith passed away in 1976. He retired in the 1960's in Eureka Springs, Arkansas, purchasing and renovating a Victorian mansion, and then, on the property he owned, building a large statue of Jesus Christ, known as the "Christ of the Ozarks" on Magnetic Mountain, overlooking the town. A nearby hillside provided a place for 6,000 seats and the backdrop for the set of a seasonal Passion Play, depicting the last days in the life of Christ. The tourist attraction also features a Bible museum.
Smith was not the original white Christian nationalist, but he was a passionate advocate for it all of his life. He was a Nazi sympathizer prior to and during the Second World War, his rhetoric was virulently anti-Semitic and violently racist, referencing "mongrel" races and using many of the same sources the Nazis did for their anti-Semitic rants against the "conspiracy of international Jewry". He founded both the America First political party, and please make the connection to that name, and ran as its nominee for President in both 1944 and 1948, never earning very many votes, but gaining enough support to finance the campaigns, and the Christian Nationalist Crusade. The latter earned a citation for being anti-Semitic from the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai Brith.
Bubbling beneath the surface of Republican party politics for a long time, the intersection of far right politics with some elements of the Evangelical branch of American Christianity has brought this pseudo-Christian Fascist cult to the surface and revealed that a number of politicians adhering to this philosophy have already been elected to state legislatures, several governors and members of both the House and Senate.
White Christian Nationalism is Not Orthodox, Mainstream Christianity; It is a Pseudo-Christian Worldview and Perspective
Without going into a long doctrinal discourse, it is very clear from the gospel narratives recording the words of Christ himself, and from the apostles and other authors of the New Testament that the Christian church, which Jesus declared to be his spiritual kingdom, "not of this world," crossed the racial, ethnic, language, economic and social boundaries that existed at the time of its founding. The first organized Christian church existed in Jerusalem, and was made up mostly of Jewish converts but it crossed over to the "gentile" population, specifically Romans and Greeks, shortly after persecution broke out and many of its members were forced to flee.
The Apostle Peter had a series of encounters with people who were not Jews, but who converted to Christian faith, and he became convinced, after some strong persuasion from God and from the Apostle Paul, that the concept of a "chosen people", which he had always associated with race, was a spiritual concept related to conversion, without any connection to race or ethnicity at all.
To a multi-racial Christian church, he wrote, "But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people. Once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy." (I Peter 9-10 NRSV)
The identity of Christianity, at this point, was becoming separate from just being a "Jewish sect" because of the diversity of those who were converting. Churches were made up of people who prior to their conversion, wouldn't have associated with each other. Many Christians were slaves, while others owned property, including some who were wealthy enough to own homes large enough to hold the worship gatherings. There were Greeks, Romans, Jews, and members of every local and regional ethnic and language group that existed in each community in the local churches.
Christianity "conquered" the Roman Empire without any military, political or financial resources, in the teeth of severe persecution. By exhibiting steadfast commitment to the faith in a pagan society, following the Apostles instructions to demonstrate gentleness and respect for those they encountered, living out the values taught by Christ as a testimony to their faith, by the time Constantine became emperor and ended the persecution against Christians, the church was one of the predominant influences in the empire. Jesus never intended for his church to "conquer" in any other way.
Based on Christ's gospel, the New Testament record and the early history of the church, any idea that a particular nationality or race of people have been chosen by God to use political power and military might to "claim" territory on his behalf is pseudo-Christian in that it is using language and symbolism from the Christian church, and anti-Christian in that it completely subverts and changes the Christian gospel. That is destructive to the ministry of the church. It would also destroy American democracy, since it only recognizes the liberties of individuals who belong to the preferred racial or ideological group.
Trumpism is at the Intersection of White Supremacy, Christian Nationalism, Dominion Theology and the Prosperity Gospel
The use of terms like "America First" should be ringing alarm bells among anyone who understands the background of American Fascism and the Nazi sympathizers of the early 20th century. Gerald Smith's Christian Nationalist Crusade is also echoing among those on the far right. The racism is back, along with the Fascism, being expressed in the old "international Jewish conspiracy" phrases and in the violent opposition to racial reconciliation on terms other than those dictated by white culture.
Donald Trump is a pathological liar. He's not a Christian nor has he ever made a statement that would qualify as a testimony to a conversion experience. Yale sociologist Phil Gorski says that some Christians believe he is one of them, because some of their leaders, like Franklin Graham, support that idea.
"They see Christianity as under attack," according to Gorski, "and believe that he will stand up for it. If they are choosing between a politician who has religious faith and somebody who is prepared to fight, they prefer the person with the fight to the person with the faith."
Where, exactly, is Christianity "under attack"?
Christians, and specifically white, Protestant Christians, already have a virtually unlimited measure of freedom that is well beyond the scope of that of Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus and members of other, smaller, religious sects. They have more freedom and are extended more opportunities and privileges--and yes, I am going to use that word--than agnostics, atheists, or Latino Catholics. They are an ongoing majority in state legislatures, governorships and in Congress and the judiciary. There are no obstacles or hindrances to their free exercise and extending the same rights to others doesn't diminish their influence or interfere with their practice.
But, even those who realize Trump is not Christian at all are still willing to support him. I have never understood how a coarse talking, God-cursing, woman abusing, frequent adulterous business fraud, liar and corporate-world exploiter has attracted support from a group of people who, if they really were in charge of a Christian nationalist government, would execute those who did what he's done. He's everything the Christian right defines as "worldly," which is the exact opposite of what the Christian gospel proclaims.
One of the "intersections" that brings Trumpism into the White Christian Nationalist picture is the connection he has to his "spiritual advisor," the self-proclaimed prophetess, Paula White. White is part of the "Prosperity Gospel" movement, which associates God's blessings to people with money, a branch of the Pentecostal/Charismatic movement which is where most of the dominion theology and "Seven Mountains" dominionism exists. It's easy to see how Trump was more attracted to White and the prosperity gospel message than to Robert Jeffress, the pastor of the First Baptist Church of Dallas, Texas who still preaches repentance from sin and accountability to God, in spite of being tempted by and enamored by Trump's flattery. Trump has made it clear that he has done nothing for which he needs to ask forgiveness or to be repentant, a frustrating position requiring his prominent Evangelical supporters like Franklin Graham, along with Jeffress, to ignore, pass it over and not discuss.
As a self-proclaimed "prophetess," diviner of spirits, preacher and pastor of a large church, White would be condemned by conservative Evangelicals for her heretical doctrine which includes the belief that the Bible can be altered or changed by new "revelation," the fact that she is a woman but has usurped a male leadership role of pastor, preaches with authority over men, her "name it and claim it" approach to wealth, all of which are serious violations of their non-negotiable theological points. But she's with Trump, so many of them are forced to either include her in the "good ole boys club" with them, or to hypocritically pretend she's not really there. "Believe what we preach, except when it applies to anything Trump."
Trump is clearly as ignorant of Christian faith and practice, and anything that can be found in the Bible, as any human being on the face of the earth. His white supremacy and lust for money and the power that comes with it is his attraction to White and in turn, she is more than likely the source of his support for White Christian Nationalism. Speaking on his father's behalf at Turning Point rallies, Don Junior articulates the idea that Christians have been left out of the places of worldly power and influence because they are too hung up on turning the other cheek and loving their enemies, and other core principles that come with following Christ which get them labelled as "losers" and "suckers." The losers and suckers applaud this.
Where, exactly, is Christianity under attack? It is with this pseudo-Christian nonsense.
White Christian Nationalism is a Threat to Both Church and Democratic America
The increasing entanglement and relationship between far right politics and conservative Evangelical Christians has sparked a rapid decline in church attendance and membership, on a scale that exceeds the declines experienced by Mainline Protestants in the 60s and 70s which Evangelicals pointed to and claimed was the result of their "liberalism." And as much as Evangelical leaders are loathe to admit the decline, they are even more resistant to making the connection between the ramping up of their right wing political connections, especially with Trumpism, and the decline in membership and attendance in the churches. But it is difficult to deny, since the decline corresponds to the same time frames.
The church is Christ's spiritual kingdom. It exists on a different level than government, political institutions, business and finance, foreign relations and the temporal world. It was designed to be an influence for good, "salt and light" as Jesus said, with integrity, gentleness, restraint, good stewardship and management of resources, avoiding excesses, building relationships between people based on trust, and promoting peace in the broadest sense of the word, at every level.
The infiltration of far right politics, with its conspiracy theories, propaganda, dishonesty, self-interest, love of money and the use of worldly power has intruded on the spiritual kingdom and it demands primary loyalty, including loyalty to both God and country. More than anything else has done in American history, including the Civil War, this pseudo-Christian philosophy has disrupted the mission and purpose of Christian churches and denominations, subverting the message and using its resources for purposes that have no redeeming Christian value. (See Jude, verses 4, 8-16)
White Christian Nationalism will also destroy democracy. It will use democratic tools to get elected, and will then dismantle them, as it is already doing. Since it promotes inequality between people, those who are, in its perspective, "less equal" or subservient in some cases, are not extended any rights that permit them to participate in the government through the prescribed means, mainly the ballot box. And what we're seeing, through Trumpism and some of its promoters, is virulently anti-Semitic and violently racist, particularly against African Americans, though they also consider Latinos as "mongrels" and part of the plot to "mongrelize" America.
For those who are guided by reason and intellect, this is the result of ignorance. From a Christian perspective, the author of the Biblical book of Jude, says "These are grumblers, and malcontents; they indulge their own lusts; they are bombastic in speech, flattering people to their own advantage." (Jude, v. 16)
Here's the link to Rachel Maddow, July 25, 2022
And one more link, Interfaith Alliance, Rauschenbusch: Christian Nationalism a Threat to Democracy
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