"If there is any hope that Christianity is going to find its way to health in this country, it's only going to be by white Christian churches facing the root causes of its ill health, which includes its complicity in the idea that the entire continent was a divinely promised land for exploitation by European Christians--by white Christians."-- Robert P. Jones, Author of The Hidden Roots of White Supremacy and the Path to a Shared American Future.
One of the core doctrines of conservative, Evangelical Christianity is the belief that the Bible, the sixty-six books of the Protestant Bible sans the apocrypha, is the sole authority for doctrine, theology and practice of the Christian faith. The Old Testament is included because it is referenced so many times by the writers of the New Testament, and it is important to the context of Christianity because of that. But in Christian theology, it is the gospel of Jesus Christ, which is presented in the four gospel accounts in the New Testament record, along with his words, that becomes the interpretive criterion for all of the rest of the Bible.
Jesus not only clarified the places where the institutional religion of his time, the Judaism practiced in Palestine under Roman rule, had departed from its own scriptural principles and practices, but he completely re-interpreted faith in God, noting that the old covenant was giving way to a new covenant that he would establish. Much of what Jesus taught and preached included the phrase, "You have heard that it was said," followed by what people commonly believed, but he would add a new intepretation to the concept by saying, "But I say to you...." That got him into trouble with the religious establishment in Jerusalem, who saw him as a threat.
The gospel writer and apostle, Matthew, records Jesus as saying, "Do not think that I have come to abolish the law and the prophets: I have come not to abolish, but to fulfill." That was a remarkable statement which set the religious leaders in the Sanhedrin on their ears, and got them plotting his death. In one short sentence, Jesus is saying that he is the fulfillment of prophecy, meaning that he was declaring himself to be the Messiah, promised in the Old Testament. In fulfilling both prophecy and law, Jesus was claiming for himself the authority given to him as God in the flesh, and to the Messiah in accordance with Old Testament prophecy.
There is no Christian "Political Theocracy" Comparable to the Israel of the Old Testament
Jesus intended for Christians to be gathered into "ecclesia," or churches, declaring to the high priest and the Sanhedrin after his arrest, that his Kingdom was not an earthly one, but a spiritual one. The Christian authors of the New Testament brought down the racial, ethnic and religious barriers that existed, opening the church up to receive converts who were not Jews. Among the first of the "gentile" converts to Christianity were the Samaritans in the village of Sychar, converted when Jesus encountered them while travelling through Samaria, instead of around it like most Jews did.
There is no instruction, no teaching, no doctrine or theology, and no prophetic word anywhere in the New Testament that remotely suggests God engaging in a covenant relationship with a country, because some of its citizens, a majority of them in our case, have either converted to Christian faith or are culturally identified by it. To interpret the Old Testament promises to Israel, which was, and which remains, the only covenant relationship God ever initiated with a nation, as being applicable to any other place, is an inaccurate and incorrect interpretation of scripture. The "kingdom" or "nation" that is the fulfillment of the Abrahamic Covenant in the Old Testament, through Jesus, is the universal Christian church.
Christian Nationalism Rests on a Faulty Interpretation of the Bible
Jones says that white supremacy, and the idea that Christians were the "chosen people" originated with the Vatican and the 15th century "Doctrine of Discovery." This was the church's attempt to "evangelize" the rest of the world, and gave its moral and religious authority to support of colonial domination of people in areas all around the world by western European powers. In America, combined with frontier revivalism and the lack of trained clergy to pastor churches, it developed into a theology known as "Anglo-Israelism," equating white people with the Israelites, and extending the Old Testament's Abrahamic Covenant to justify the subjugation of native Americans and the enslavement of Africans, both of whom were considered inferior people, and savages, in the same way the Old Testament described the Israelite subjugation of the Cananite people in Palestine following their exodus from Egypt.
The problem with this perspective, which has morphed into several variations of white, Christian nationalism that seem to be experiencing revival today, is that it rests entirely on a flawed, distorted, erroneous interpretation of the Bible. And it is dangerous, because when people think they are God's chosen, they believe they are agents of God's judgment against those he has deemed to be "inferior" people. American history is full of such brutality, according to Jones, and he lists as examples the murder of Emmett Till, the mistreatment, disenfranchisement and murder of native Americans in events like the Trail of Tears, the Tulsa Race Riot, the lynchings and burnings of Jim Crow. All of this is tied to the influence of the Doctrine of Discovery. These are things that were done by white Christians who have distorted and twisted the meaning of their only source of faith and practice, the Bible.
Nowhere in the gospel of Jesus Christ, which is the interpretive criterion for the rest of the Bible, is anything like this justified or endorsed by God. The Christian gospel broke down the religious, racial and ethnic exclusion practiced under the Old Covenant, and reached out to people of all races from the very beginning. Jesus made it crystal clear that Christians are to love their enemies, and pray for those who oppose them, not wipe them out, burn their homes and exile them a thousand miles away. He taught his followers to turn the other cheek when confronted with violence, to love their neighbor as themselves, to forgive without being asked, up to 490 times, if necessary.
In defining the Christian gospel as the new covenant, in addition to his use of the phrase "You have heard that it was said, but I say to you," there is a lot of direct instruction and symbolic acts which took place to show the passing of the old covenant and its replacement by the new. Jesus brought outcasts, like lepers, and in at least one case, a prostitute, back into society. Forgiveness of sin and conversion was changed from the sacrifice rituals of the temple to a personal act of conviction, repentance, and an individual faith of conscience. Jesus identified the churches which were forming as the Kingdom of God, language previously reserved for Israel under the Abrahamic covenant. He linked the existence of the church to specific prophecies from the Old Testament that had been previously interpreted as applying to some future political re-establishment of Israel, something his Messiahship permitted him to do. The worship of God moved from a Temple ritual to the local church.
Ultimately, as the Jewish religious rulers grew more and more angry over Roman rule, and over frustration that no Messiah had appeared, in their mind and vision, to overthrow their polirical rule, they decided to rebel against Roman rule. The result was that in 70 AD, the last remaining symbol of the old covenant, and the last piece of the Israelite theocracy, was destroyed. It hasn't been rebuilt..
Christian Nationalism Exists Because of Ignorance
Several years ago, I attended a doctrine and theology conference sponsored at a church in Texas. A local minister's alliance of mostly African American pastors did this annually to help people get a better grip on interpreting the Bible, and understanding the context and meaning of a text they claimed to be without error, infallible, and the "sole authority for faith and practice." "If that's the case," this pastor once said, "then why do so many people believe so many things that are not found in the Bible, and leave out believing in so many things that are?"
One of the breakouts focused on all of the scriptures, misinterpreted and taken out of context, that had been used to justify not only the enslavement of Africans, but also the subjugation of native Americans and there were references to sermons preached, articles written and even books published justifying war, including what was passed off as a "Christian" defense of the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. I knew that stuff existed, but still, I was stunned to see the evidence of its having been preached from pulpits of churches in Sunday services.
Why It's So Hard to Eradicate This Ideology
There's a method of repression of freedom of conscience and expression that exists inside most conservative churches and denominations, not just in the United States, but around the world, that makes dissent a very costly and traumatic experience for those who dare to undertake it. It's a mechanism that traps people inside a closed community and makes them dependent on it for their livlihood, and in some cases, to protect their family and keep them together.
In waging their culture war, Christian values get tossed out the window. I've seen people lose their jobs because someone used their position, or a friendship, or gossip and innuendo, to attack a dissenter. I've seen divorce happen because a false accusation became a weapon against dissent. I've seen groups of people in churches organize boycotts of the offering plate to force leadership to dismiss a pastor or minister because he doesn't get on their political bandwagon. Roots and relationships go deep, and when you have people who believe they are engaged in a righteous cause for God, and he is holding their coat-tails and cheering them on, they will stop at nothing to prevent the truth from being told.
Recently, a friend of mine was asked to pray at the beginning of a church potluck on the fourth of July. I know him well, he has a master's degree, working on a doctorate, has a clear understanding of politics and history and is the superintendent of a school district. He referenced "Christian America" and "a nation founded on Christian principles" in his prayer. I was concerned enough to ask him when I had a chance to say something and his response was, "job security." And I get that.
When all the conspiracy theories about Critical Race Theory popped up a few years ago, they had an angry group of parents show up at one of their board meetings, complaining about it and threatening action if they didn't stop teaching it "right now!" Pointing out that there were no objectives related to CRT in their district curriculum was not enough. Finally, the board chair asked the parent leading the group to cite a specific example of CRT that they could point out and where, how and by whom was it being taught. They didn't have one. Nor could they find a single example in either the state curriculum objectives, or the districts curriculum maps when they were asked to produce one. That did not stop the threats.
"It's Like Living With Cancer and Thinking That's Normal"
"Christianity in this country, particularly white Christianity, is in a crisis moment and has been for some time. The symptoms of it are undeniable," says Jones. "It's like living with cancer and thinking cancer is normal, while in fact the disease is destroying your body."
The irony of this is that Christianity in America has enjoyed unprecedented growth, experienced revivals and has prospered in a way that the church hasn't experienced throughout its history because of the constitutional guarantee of religious liberty and freedom of conscience. And yet, within its ranks is an aberrant, false doctrine, based on error produced by ignorance, that threatens the very democracy which allows it to exist in freedom. There's no instance in world history where the church, linked to a civil government, has prospered, or has not been corrupted by the influences of politics. We're already seeing the effects of that now.
According to recent research, the decline in attendance and membership among Evangelical churches and denominations which began in the early part of the 21st century has steadily increased. Major denominations, like the Southern Baptist Convention and the Assemblies of God, are reporting membership losses and attendance declines in excess of 3% per year. Southern Baptist membership has dropped by just over 3 million since 2006, almost 2 million of that coming since 2015. Polling data from Gallup and information from the 2010 and 2020 census show that the number of people self-identifying as Evangelicals, or who attend a church that identifies as Evangelical has dropped 16% in a decade. Since 2020, the decline has reached 7%.
This isn't going to go away. But it is being challenged, and it can be prevented from destroying democracy and shredding the constitutional right to religious liberty and freedom of conscience. According to Jones, awareness of the danger and the error, and active efforts to challenge deep rooted white supremacy and Christian nationalism are all effective ways to make sure that error is exposed and freedom is preserved. Some Evangelicals have noticed the not-so-subtle effort to distort, or dismiss, parts of the Christian gospel that don't fit the political agenda of the far right.
The Signal Press writes about these topics to create awareness and provide perspective, especially for readers who do not have a background in Christian faith, or understand all of the nuances and cultural points of Evangelicalism. We support the Constitution, the democratic principles on which this country was founded, and the religious liberty and freedom of conscience that it provides. We have seen the damage done in the past when bigotry and ignorance have power and control. If we don't pay attention and be diligent, we give this evil an opportunity.
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