Will Someone Help Me Make Sense of This?

There are Jewish Americans who are making plans to flee the country, fearing a wave of anti-Semitic persecution which they perceive is a moral danger to them and to their families.  The absolute awfulness of coming to grips with the fact that American Jews, American Jews, are facing a renewal of something that humanity should have completely wiped off the face of the earth at the end of World War 2 literally makes my stomach churn.  

As a history teacher and amateur historian with a strong interest in the Second World War, I never found it easy to get past the way that history books handled things like the National Socialist and Fascist movements in Europe, anti-Semitism and the holocaust, and the political developments leading to the strange set of alliances that led to the precipitation of war.  It was very difficult to discover that the United States used a set of frustratingly pernicious and bigoted immigration laws and policies to literally close the doors in the face of Jews fleeing persecution.  Many of those in Congress and in the cabinet either did not believe the reports of arrest, rounding up and persecution of Jews in Germany, and then the accounts of trains taking millions to gas chambers and death.  It was late in the war before the United States shook off the malaise of anti-Semitism and, because of incontrovertible evidence of a massacre beyond imagination, finally allowed itself to be a limited refuge for the few Jews who could still reach the shores.  

So we were not the place for the tired, poor, huddled masses yearning to be free if those masses were Jewish and from Europe.  And I have never been able to understand that.  

Nor can I understand the bigotry and anti-Semitism that I see which still pervades our culture.  I was raised in a small Baptist church, Southern Baptist, where the inconsistency between what the Christian gospel teaches about the nature of God and the words and actions of many of the church members never made sense.  They could read those places in the gospels and epistles of the New Testament where no distinction is made between human beings when it comes to the application of the love of God, but at the same time, voice the opinion that people who weren't white were inferior and not entitled to the same consideration, because their theology somehow excluded those people, on that basis, from themselves. 

Somehow, I came out of that with a Quaker worldview when it comes to humanity and equality, except that I have real difficulty stuffing down the angry feelings when I hear people being ignorantly racist and bigoted.  I had to walk away from a discussion about the upcoming Mayor's race in Chicago, when two people who were part of a group with whom I'd been invited to eat lunch determined that they didn't have much of a chance to get a "white" mayor, once it became known that one of the two candidates was African American.  The insinuation that African Americans aren't capable enough to run a city like Chicago was too thick for me to tolerate.  

How does any of that make any sense at all?  I don't see it.  And I won't apologize for not engaging that in conversation.   

This Isn't a Coincidence

I doubt that very many Americans make any kind of realistic distinction between Ukrainians and Russians.  But those who seem to be more sympathetic to the Russians, and who use the excuse of the cost of providing aid to Ukraine as an excuse for their position, also seem to be many of the same anti-Semitic bigots and racists when it comes to African Americans and Jews, at least, those involved in government seem to be that way.  

Maybe my circumstances are different.  I live in a neighborhood with a lot of Eastern Europeans, with Polish being the predominant nationality, but in which there are a fair number of Ukrainians, enough to have a large, and architecturally grand, Ukrainian Catholic church in the neighborhood.  The Ukrainians I know and talk to are friendly, most of them professionally employed, and very much able to distinguish themselves from Russians.  Similar, yes, but unique in many ways, and very happy with the freedom they now have, and their democracy, modelled after ours, reflecting our values as Americans.  

An American who isn't supportive of that is one who doesn't understand his or her own patriotism and who takes liberty for granted without understanding how it is secured.  So it is not a coincidence that indifference toward what Russia is doing in Ukraine, and toward persons who are of a different race or religion, is being expressed by the same people who are anti-Semitic and racist.

Republicans and other conservatives can rant about "baby killing", about abortion, about extending rights to LGBTQ persons, and about their conservative values forever, but if they're not bothered or moved by images of civilian residences, hospitals and infrastructure that provides basic human needs being blown to smithereens by Russian missiles, and by stories of Ukrainian kids murdered for being in the wrong place at the wrong time, and because they identify as Ukrainian, and not Russian, all their ranting is meaningless.  

And so is whatever faith they think they are practicing.

Letter Writer to Arizona Central Advocates Prosecuting Cochise County Supervisors for Violating Oath of Office

Cochise County Supervisors Should be Prosecuted 

From Janet Breen, Sierra Vista, AZ 

We need Arizona attorney general Kris Mayes' help in Cochise County.  

In the last election, Cochise was the only county in America that faced a serious threat of disenfranchisement.  The county's electorate was held hostage by two county supervisors, Tom Crosby (R) and Peggy Judd (R).  

Both elected officials violated their oath of office by refusing to certify the county's election results.  Were it not for the courts, the votes might not ever have been counted. 

Crosby defied the judges order and never voted to certify. 

Crosby and Judd also called for a 100% hand count of the election even though they were advised that it was illegal.  When they ordered the elections director to conduct the hand count, she said no.  

Crosby and Judd's response was to sue her.  The elections director recently resigned, citing harassment. 

Our supervisors base their decisions on whims and delusions and then carry them out by decree.  The rule of law means nothing to them. 

Their wrongdoing must be prosecuted to dissuade other rogue supervisors from following suit and restore the rule of law in Cochise County.  

Recall Effort is Underway for Tom Crosby; Judd Recall Uncertain at the Present Time

Noting that Cochise County's vote totals in the midterm election went more than 55% Republican, which is pretty typical, the fears that provoked these two supervisors to violate the public trust and their oath of office and risk being prosecuted for violating the law doesn't make a lot of sense.  They bought into fearmongering spread by gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake, Senate candidate Blake Masters and State Representative Mark Finchem who ran for Secretary of State.   All three of the candidates easily carried Cochise County but that didn't stop the conspiracy theorists from refusing to certify the totals, based on a false claim that the machine count wasn't valid, and then demanding a hand count, which the state courts had ruled illegal.  

Finchem, by the way, is also a member of the Oath Keepers militia group.  

The false information floated by these campaigns, especially Lake's unsuccessful bid for governor, was picked up by supervisors in two other Arizona counties, Yavapai and Mohave, also won by Republicans, and carried to other counties in an attempt to mess up the certification of Arizona's votes. This attempt was based on frustration over the fact that Democrats now carry Arizona's largest two counties, specifically Maricopa County, and the vote totals for Democrats from there, combined with Pima County, and a larger than usual Democratic turnout in many of the red counties, led to Democrats sweeping all but one of the statewide offices, including holding Mark Kelly's Senate seat.  Apparently, a couple of the supervisors thought that getting rural counties to hold up certification of the vote would stop it altogether, in spite of a legal requirement that mandated the supervisors certify by a certain date.  But ultimately, only these two Cochise County supervisors held things up, while the others talked about it and then complied with the law, certified the vote and dropped demands for a hand count. 

The supervisors from Yavapai and Mohave counties who tried to stir up this trouble should also face prosecution and removal from office for encouraging counties to miss certification deadlines, count votes by hand, and fail to follow through with their legal obligation to certify the vote.  Had Cochise County refused to certify, it would have given Katie Hobbs and the other Democrats a wider margin of victory, it would have led to the election of the Democrat running for state superintendent of public instruction, instead of a narrow loss, and it would have cost Republican Juan Ciscomani his congressional seat,  That would have been inexcusable incompetence on the part of the two Republican supervisors.  

Resignation of Long Time County Elections Director 

One of the casualties of Crosby and Judd's incompetence was the resignation of long time county elections director Lisa Marra.  Marra filed grievances against the two supervisors, and the court awarded her over $30,000 in legal expenses, something a small county like Cochise can ill afford. She cited harassment, threats and a hostile work environment as her reasons for leaving the post due to what were labelled intolerable working conditions, requiring Ms. Marra to resign "to protect her own health and safety."  

Marra's resignation ignited a groundswell of support for recalling the two supervisors as public awareness of how close the county's voters came to being disenfranchised by them has grown substantially.  A petition is gathering signatures to recall Crosby in his district of the county and according to organizers, has "plenty of momentum."  There are also signatures being gathered to recall Judd, though the status of that effort has not been reported in the local news media.  

Republicans Breaking the Law and Getting Away With It

This is just another egregious example of Republicans disrespecting American democracy, breaking the law when it comes to elections, to thwart the will of the people, and getting away with it.  Apparently, there will be some consequences for Crosby and Judd, beyond the anger over the expense of their legal fees and their callous disregard for the ballots of the people.  If Mayes decides to prosecute, there are consequences for pressuring a county employee to break the law.  The letter writer from Sierra Vista, Arizona is correct for asking the state attorney general to prosecute the supervisors who broke the law.  The consequence for that should be removal from office and jail time.  

Florida's Suppression of Free Speech Even Has Newt Gingrich Squealing

Gingrich Demands Withdrawal of Insane Florida Republican Bill 

When Newt Gingrich starts whining about a bill introduced by Republican legislators, it must be pretty bad.  

In yet another freedom-squelching, conscience crushing piece of dictatorial fascism, a Florida legislator introduced a bill that would require bloggers who cover political figures in Florida to register with the state and report whether they receive compensation for their posts.  It's another blatant attempt to prevent Florida voters from having access to the truth when they cast their ballots.  On top of all of the other censorship that the governor and state legislature have launched since the 2022 election, it's evidence of the direction the state is headed if any of this is allowed to stand.  

Newt Gingrich is the king of the party loyalist breed, those Republicans who hate America because it guarantees the freedom to think differently than they do.  It's a sign of just how un-American things have become in Florida that something the Republican legislature there wants to do is a bridge too far.  In a tweet about the proposal, Gingrich called it "insane."  

That's an apt description of the proposed legislation.  It is, in fact, an apt description of all of the censorship and repression of free speech and conscience that has become the trademark of Florida's state legislature, and its governor, since he won re-election last November.  Everything's been a target, from elementary, middle and high schools to colleges and universities, virtually anything funded by the state, and even one of the state's biggest money makers, Disney.  

An Ideological Blitzkreig

Clearly, this attack on freedom was lined up before the election, waiting for the signal to launch.  I don't use the word "blitzkreig" by accident here, that's exactly how it happened and what it resembles, in its approach and politics, if not actual military invasion.  One by one, the governor of Florida attacked freedom of speech and freedom of conscience in public institutions and set about making the cost of freedom for businesses who don't get on board, like Disney, among others, higher than it was before.  It caught a lot of people off guard.  

At some point, I expect a cataract of court cases will follow all of this.  There's already been defiance, and I expect more of that, along with a whole lot of lawsuits.  All of that takes time, but I expect that by the end of this year, a lot of what has been done, especially in restricting objectives in school courses, will have been undone.  It will make headlines, which is what the governor wants, to aid his Presidential aspirations without having to pay for advertising.  He can look like the aggrieved conservative, bloodied in battle by the evil left, beating him over the head with courts that want to legislate.  And all of that right wing mumbo jumbo. 

Gingrich's Remarks Bring a New Dimension to the Culture War 

If this particular proposal is so extreme that it causes Gingrich to demand its withdrawal, then I'm going to suggest that this may be something that will collapse on itself.  How popular are the current governor's acts of suppression among Florida voters?  It's only been a couple of months, but there are news sources in the state who are indicating that a lot of opposition is building, and people who are unhappy with different aspects of the Desantis culture war are uniting in opposition.  

If there are Republicans along the Gingrich lines that see this as troublesome, and want it withdrawn for the sake of their party, that 's a pretty deep cut.  The moribund Florida Democratic party needed a kick in the pants after its success in 2008 and 2012 and this may just have done it.  This specific bill got Gingrich going, but there's plenty that has happened to motivate anyone who believes in free speech and the constitutional protection of freedom of conscience.  Desantis very likely doesn't care, since his goal appears to be winning the GOP nomination, and right now, he needs to be a culture warrior to achieve that.  Or so he thinks.  

And if something like this prompted Gingrich to call it "insane," I certainly hope it prompted Democrats in Florida, along with independents and fence sitters, and even some moderate Republicans, to see the insanity of it and decide that they won't let another ballot box opportunity slip past them without voting.  Consider the stakes, find candidates who can motivate voters and use this as an opportunity to save the state.  Otherwise, the outward migration of college students and tourists that are the inevitable outcome of this disaster will benefit the rest of us.  

This is an Independent Blog and the Author is not Compensated for His Word

The purpose of this blog is to join with other voices in promoting the American ideals of freedom and democracy, and opposing restriction and oppression.  We write independently, without endorsement or affiliation with any political party or religious group.  The writing reflects the values of the Christian gospel as we interpret it as a matter of religious liberty.  We believe it is a violation of the Constitution of the United States to require an independent voice to register with the state or be subject to any coercive attempt to use political power to either alter the message or shut it down. 

Why the Republicans Won't Win in 2024

It's early, but with a 24 hour cable news cycle and several Republicans taking a shot at becoming the nominee of their party instead of their most recent failure, there's a lot of information floating around, and a lot of reaction to it, that provides some insight into the possible outcome of the 2024 election.  I have my own sources and they have served me well.  And it's my conclusion, from observation, that Democrats will find themselves in control of both houses of Congress and the Presidency after the dust clears from the 2024 election. 

Here's why.  

Culture Wars Don't Win Elections at the National Level

Part of the problem with those who want to run on the "culture war" themes is that they have to exaggerate the effect of the problem.  Most of the claims aren't credible and there's too much content that comes from conspiracy theories.  It's hard to convince people that there's such a thing as a "Jewish space laser" and when that gets mixed in with everything else, it zaps the credibility with most voters.  Sure, there are people willing to believe anything that certain sources tell them.  But they're not a majority.  

The biggest culture war issue of all came completely unraveled in 2022 with the Dobbs decision being handed down from the Supreme Court prior to the election.  The issue of abortion rights has always come with a significant number of complications and exceptions and even some conservatives recognize that the medical ethics alone makes laws without exceptions have consequences for all women, not just those considering an abortion. 

And in a democracy where religious liberty is a constitutional guarantee that works both ways, the belief that life begins at conception is rooted in religious principle.  Can the government force women to accept consequences their own conscience wouldn't choose?  Can it establish an exclusively religious principle, that life begins at conception, as law?  Clearly, a majority of Americans do not think so.  Most conservatives raise abortion to the highest priority when they vote and it became apparent in the 2022 election, with the impact of the Dobbs decision, that just as many of those who hold the opposite view have also raised it to one of their highest priorities when choosing a candidate. 

Michael Moore picked up on this and said so, right before the midterms.  He was right.  Republicans, expecting a landslide and openly talking about more extreme agenda plans prior to the election got caught off guard, not only by the narrowness of their house win, but by the fact that they lost one additional senate seat.  That rarely happens in a midterm, and if a couple of the state branches of the Democratic party had picked up on the trend, instead of thinking in traditional terms, there might not be a Republican majority in the house, either.  

Election Denying is a Loser, Too 

Trump's most strategically placed, high profile election deniers in battleground states not only lost, but the poor quality of the candidates themselves were the cause of election losses.  Kari Lake, whose only qualifications were having read off a teleprompter during newscasts, and who wouldn't agree to an unscripted, open debate with specific rules and a neutral moderator, lost in spite of being the beneficiary of huge amounts of out of state money.  Among the cluster of similar Trump endorsed election deniers, she stands out as the biggest loser.  

Look closer at the loss.  In Arizona, where Republican voters still outnumber Democrats, though the margin is shrinking quickly, and where turnout was higher than previous midterm elections, Lake lost because a big Democratic surge paired with Republican ticket splitters to give Katie Hobbs a narrow margin.  The estimates of Republican voters who picked Democrats at the top of the ticket in Arizona, because Lake and Blake Masters, who ran against Mark Kelly for the Senate seat, only aired Trump grievances was in double digits, at 11%, compared to only 5% of Democrats who split their tickets.  

Lake's subsequent law suits have allowed election officials in Maricopa County, where she challenged the vote totals, to lay out the evidence that it was a clean election, followed all the rules, everyone had a chance to have their ballot count, and all the normal glitches and problems did not result in a single disenfranchised voter.  She's done the election board in the county, mostly Republicans as well, a huge favor, as they have had repeated public opportunities to show just how clean and accurate election counts are in Maricopa County, with evidence.  

The same thing has happened in Michigan where Democrats won a sizeable majority as voters surged to the polls against election deniers and as a statement against armed terrorists who thrive on conspiracy theories.  Governor Gretchen Whitmer put herself into consideration in conversations about future presidential aspirations as a result of the clean sweep of objectives.  Michigan voters responded to the revelations of a kidnapping and torture attempt on her, to armed terrorists showing up in the state capitol building for intimidation purposes, and to a high profile school shooting in Oxford.  

With few exceptions, this is the trend around the country.  

The Republicans Aren't Offering Anything

Look what we got from CPAC this week.  Nothing.  They offer nothing except griping about other people's liberty.  The fact that a lot of Republicans seeking the nomination for President bypassed this forum says a lot about their perception of its effectiveness.  Frankly, most of the media attention it got, including the coverage on MSNBC, and on the Sunday morning shows, was way overblown.  Why cover something like that?  It wasn't news, they could have just replayed any of a dozen Trump speeches from the past couple of months and got the same thing.  That's not a campaign aimed at getting votes, it's one aimed at trying to keep the shrinking base from getting smaller. 

The sources I look at, which are not all election analysist, but which have a solid record of accurate predictions, which include Michael Moore, Rachel Bitecofer, and Nate Silver, also includes a scattering of politicians.  One of whom I respect tremendously, and who is always on target with predictions and also with bold moves, is Congressman Eric Swalwell.  When it becomes available, I'll post a clip of his comments made on Medhi Hassan's show on MSNBC tonight.  He has the ear of the DNC, and what he had to say really resonated with me.  He's credible on his own, but the Republicans have noticed something that has made him a particularly hated target of theirs.  

But the key piece here is that I believe Trump will be facing indictments and trials that will eventually bring him down with convictions and sentences.  I have no insider information, I just have trust that America is still America, and that our justice system will work and the will of the people will result in fair trials and convictions for all the crimes he committed.  And when he goes, it will bring down what has been propping up a lot of the hangers-on for a while.  People like Lindsay Graham, Ted Cruz, Josh Hawley, the fawning sycophants like Greene, Gaetz and Boebert, will fall into the political hell he created right along with him.  

So cheer up, my friends.  There's a silver lining in the over-coverage of the 2024 Presidential election.  The lack of unity in the GOP and the lack of any substance in what they are offering is a fountain of cheer for Democrats who seem to finally be getting complete control of the narrative, and are taking advantage of the confusion and chaos in the Republican party.  There's even some optimism over the fact that the Missouri Senate seat up for election in 2024, held by Josh Hawley, may actually be in play.  And I'm looking forward to who might be the Democratic challenger to Ted Cruz in Texas.  

And yes, I'll go ahead and say it.  From my mouth to God's ears.  Heads up!  It's all good.

Evangelicals Turned Their Backs on Jimmy Carter who was the Most Credible Evangelical Ever to Serve as President

For we are not peddlers of God's word like so many; but in Christ we speak as persons of sincerity, as persons sent from God and standing in his presence.  Paul, the Apostle in 2 Corinthians 2:17  NRSV

James Earl Carter, Jr., served as the 39th President of the United States, and as the 76th Governor of the state of Georgia.  It is interesting to note that Carter was one in a long streak of Democrats who served as governor of Georgia, the last Republican before him leaving office in 1872.  Carter was a man of deep, sincere Christian faith, a Sunday school teacher in a Baptist church, and in contrast to most of his predecessors in the governor's office, the opposite of men like Andrew Stephens, the former Vice President of the Confederacy who wrote that the cornerstone of that nation's constitution was the belief that the negro was inferior to the white man.  

I can think of no prior President of the United States who was an Evangelical Christian, who was as actively engaged in his local church and who was so open about his beliefs and consistent in practice as Jimmy Carter.  Carter's Evangelical Christian faith was the primary influence in his life that shaped his character and developed his moral values.  He made no apology for its influence in his life and he relied on its cornerstones of prayer and the Bible for guidance.  To use a common and understandable expression, he never "beat people over the head with a Bible," nor did he forcefully push his beliefs on those around him.  He didn't have to separate his Christianity from his character to give high regard to constitutionally guaranteed religious liberty and separation of church and state.  

The fact that his faith was recognized and appreciated by so many people, Evangelical or not, Christian or not, is evidenced by the people who begin lining up as early as 5:30 a.m. on the sidewalk outside the Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains, Georgia for his Sunday school class.  They come from all walks of life, from all over the country and the world, many of them people he met and influenced during his Presidency, or people he influenced during his years of service with Habitat for Humanity.  There are several hundred people there every Sunday he teaches.  

Ironically, the only American Presidents directly identified with Evangelical Christianity were Democrats.  Prior to Carter, who was a Southern Baptist at the time of his election, was the first of that denomination to serve in the White House.  Harry S. Truman and Warren G. Harding, were both "Northern" Baptists, now known as American Baptists. Neither of those gave the kind of visible testimony to their faith that Carter did.  The only other Southern Baptist church member to serve in the White House was Bill Clinton.  

Falwell:  "We'll Support Reagan Even if he has the Devil Running With Him"

From my own experience of being raised in an Evangelical church and having attended one for the better part of thirty-five years, I'd say that there's probably not one church member in ten that can actually compare church doctrine and theology with Republican party positions and make a determination about their consistency or compatibility.  It may be anecdotal evidence from my perspective, but I haven't had very many conversations with someone along these lines who was able to reach into their own experience and knowledge of the Bible and come up with such a determination.  I've had a lot of these kinds of discussions, going back to my college days, and inevitably, the citations of support for their views came from some well-known Evangelical media personality, not from the Bible.  

The "National Affairs Briefing," a gathering in Dallas in August, 1980, gathered Evangelical pastors for the purpose of pulling them into a conservative, Republican-supporting political movement and a fellow by the name of Ed McAteer, of "Religious Roundtable" along with prominent Evangelical evangelist James Robison, organized the gathering.  They invited Reagan to address the gathering, which he gladly did, and where he said "I know that this is non-partisan and you can't endorse me, but I endorse you," a scripted remark which Robison suggested he make on the ride from the airport to Reunion Arena.  

Reagan's speech to the briefing endeared him to Evangelicals.  It was an intentional, and very well briefed, revivalist sermon and political campaign speech rolled into one, the irony being that his opponent, then-President Jimmy Carter, was a bona-fide, genuine, down-to-earth, theologically astute, articulate Southern Baptist Sunday school teacher. Reagan used the opportunity to ingratiate himself with several of the well known "televangelist" group in order to drive a wedge between them and Carter. Jerry Falwell's comments after Reagan's speech, that his Moral Majority would work to get conservative Christian voters to support Reagan's election "even if he has the devil running with him," has proven to be prophetic, literal and very accurate when it comes to their support for Republican candidates.  In this more recent time, they've voted for the devil when he was the one running for office. 

And that, as far as I am concerned, is where the Evangelical "Religious Right" separated themselves from Biblical Christianity and made their own gods, their own theology, and turned to politics as their only source of spiritual power.  When they openly supported Donald Trump, whose entire identity and character was built on his worldliness, completely opposite of any form of Christian expression, they showed their true colors.  

The Sale of the Evangelical Soul with Trump 

Any pretense that the Evangelical involvement in politics still holds any Christian values or dependence on a higher power has evaporated with the sell-out support for Trump, whose character and person is the exact opposite of the ideal that Evangelicals hold as standard doctrine.  They're still hanging their hat on the abortion issue, which did pay off for them, but they had to abandon everything else, including their integrity, and pick up all of the baggage that came with the orange menace, including his pathological lying, and selfish ambition leading to his organizing and carrying out an insurrection against the government, and by extension, the American people.  

The Trump Organization has gone so far as to attempt to change the Christian gospel, being critical of core teachings of Jesus himself, because exhibiting those values and characteristics "don't get you anywhere in this world."  How much farther from the Christian gospel and teachings of Christ and the apostles do extremist right wing politics have to go before some of the mindless, power hungry, self-proclaimed "leaders" of evangelical Christianity realize how deep into apostasy they are, and the image they are now projecting, with extremist movements like Christian Nationalism gaining support and making a place for themselves at the ideological table.  

Jimmy Carter Will Always Stand in Contrast to Religious Extremism in Politics

The faith that Jimmy Carter held on to and used to guide him through what was a difficult presidency destroys what is now the political agenda of an extremist, racist, right wing mix of Evangelicalism, Christian nationalism and Republicanism.  Carter's faith is one of action that backs up his words and his convictions.  His initiative bringing about the Camp David peace accords, between Israel and Egypt, still stand as the greatest foundational piece for peace in the Middle East and is an achievement rooted in his own personal convictions.  

Carter was criticized among those in the religious, Evangelical right for his position on women's rights, which included abortion rights.  Carter was personally opposed to abortion as a means of birth control, but also was opposed to the government being the decision-making authority when it came to women's health.  His initiatives actually helped alleviate many of the circumstances like poverty, lack of education, access to birth control, and a host of other things, which Republicans are loathe to do, and brought the abortion numbers down.  

It's a core principle of Christianity that conversion leads to actions, not just a lot of words.  Whenever there is conversation or news about Jimmy Carter, its about something he's done that is for the benefit of others.  He embodies the words of the Apostle Paul, to the Christians in the church at Philippi: 

Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.  Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interest of others.  Philippians 2:3-4

When I think about President Jimmy Carter, that's what I think.  He will go down in history as one of the greatest men ever to serve as President of the United States.  

Looks Like a Weekend of College Basketball and Good Movies for Me

The few news programs I watch, usually pretty good on the weekend, are all focused on CPAC and the question, "Will he get the nomination or won't he?" as if he's not a corrupt criminal who will never get back to the White House, but who deserves to go to the Big House.  Why cover any aspect of the Trump candidacy, knowing that if he's indicted, it's over?  

Lots of people are avoiding CPAC this time around, so it has become a gathering of crazies, conspiracy theorists and paranoid psychotics.  Why cover that mess?  It's laughable how seriously these people take themselves, and even more so that anyone who isn't one of them can even stand to look at the mess.

So it looks like I will be spending some time catching up on college basketball, and finding some good movies to watch.  I just got some old television series uploads of some favorites I haven't seen in a long time, so I guess that's what I'll do this weekend.  

And I'll keep waiting for the failed, former President 45 to be indicted.  

The Theology That Drives White Christian Nationalism

 Why Aren't We Talking About the Theology That Drives White Christian Nationalism

The link will take you to an excellent article by Rick Pidcock, in Baptist News Global.  My own view is that white, Christian Nationalism, along with other forms of Christian nationalism, and other expressions of white supremacy, all have their roots in the same culture that allowed the church to be co-opted and controlled by the state, going back to at least the time of Constantine, and the various interpretations of Christianity that developed and pushed the church away from the gospel that Jesus preached and taught.  

The statement that caught my eye in the article was this one, by Diane Butler Bass, an American historian of Christianity and author, who said, 

"I'm in near despair that the critical narratives of white, Christian nationalism (which is primarily a problem of white evangelicalism) are largely being controlled by the writers and scholars who are themselves evangelicals." she tweeted. 

She is specifically referencing a February 8 webinar held by the Brookings Institution about how white, Christian nationalism is threatening American democracy.  

"No Jews on this panel talking about white, Christian nationalism?  No liberal Protestants without the conservative presuppositions of evangelicalism?  Someone who is actually NOT religious? "  

To be honest, I never really gave that much thought.  I'm not a Christian nationalist, and not sympathetic to it, though I have an evangelical theological background, I can see exactly how white, Christian nationalism is an aberrant theology, even with a conservative interpretation of the Christian gospel.  Or, perhaps, I am not as evangelical as I thought, since I also see that this is something which is as much a danger to the Christian church as it is to American democracy.  

"These alternative narratives (liberal Protestants, Jews, those who are not religious) have intellectual tools to speak to analysis of white, Christian nationalism.  I realize that part of the problem is that Anthea Butler isn't there today.  But honestly, white Evangelicals are mostly controlling the critique of the problem that that their own theology has largely created.  And so many of these 'analyses' wind up sounding like evangelism to the right form of Christianity or apologetics," said Bass.  

A Defining Statement

Chrissy Stroop, self-defined as an ex-evangelical and co-author of the book Empty the Pews: Stories of Leaving the Church, helps me put some definition to white, Christian nationalism by claiming that a core principle is the implementation of a theocratic political agenda, because evangelical Christians apply the Bible and their interpretation of Christian faith to every aspect of their lives, so they must apply it to their politics as well because they believe that this is the way for our nation to be "blessed" because of its obedience to God's authority.  Those who stand in the way, because they hold different beliefs and don't connect politics to their belief in God, then become obstacles or enemies to the nation, in their view.  

This is why Christian nationalism, and the racism that goes with it, is so dangerous to democracy.  Democracy allows divergent views, different religious perspectives and non-religious practice, which, in the minds of those who believe the nation can only be blessed by adherence to Christian practice, prevents it from receiving the blessing.  

There is absolutely no evidence, either in the Bible, in Christian history and tradition or in world history in general, to support this belief.  It is not Biblical theology, it is a theology that has been influenced and developed by a Christian faith and practice that is part of an internally structured culture.  That more or less nullifies the "no true Scotsman" argument that some critics of Christianity itself make when confronted with what is a real difference in Christian practice.  

A Matter of Identity

I stopped calling myself, or considering myself an evangelical a couple of decades ago.  Through the evangelical educational institutions where I received my higher education, amazingly, professors did not go this direction, though many of those individuals would very likely not be allowed to teach in those schools now.  Christianity loses its essence and identity when its values and moral principles are enforced as the law of the land.  In my opinion, that subrogates conversion as an intellectual and spiritual transformation and abandons spiritual conviction.  The definition of "blessing" in this context is always, always material prosperity for the nation, or military and political dominance of the world, something that the Bible itself never says.  

If you look closely at the American politicians who push this perspective, it appears that they are simply using the Christian name, there's no real conviction, no evidence that their Christian experience is anything more for them than a means to identify with a segment of the population that can produce enough votes to keep them in office.  It's hard to advocate for national obedience to Christian principles when the one doing the advocacy is divorced, or has cheated in business or on their taxes, or supports rebellion and insurrection against the "God established" government.  

Peter Wehner, a former Presidential speech writer, a contributing writer for the New York Times and vice-president at the Ethics and Public Policy Center says ,"It would be hard to find a figure in human history less likely to be a Christian nationalist than Jesus.  I just think the cognitive dissonance of that is extremely powerful."  

I think Jesus would be horrified to see what has happened to Christian churches through the centuries that became nothing more than political tools of the state, institutions rather than the "ecclesia" kinds of fellowships that those who believed in him formed in the first and second centuries of church history.  With his words in response to a question intended to trap him, when Jesus said, "Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's and unto God the things that are God's," he became the originator of the principle of separation of church and state.  When he refused to give in to the temptation to allow Satan to give him rule of the earth in exchange for bowing down and worshipping him, he rejected the idea that Christian faith had a political identity but that the church would function as a "body of Christ," or a group of his followers doing something to help others in his name, which is the essence of Christianity, not white supremacy or nationalism.  

Top Recommended Reading 

I highly recommend reading through Pidcock's piece.  It is informative of a subject with which people need to be familiar in order to be able to cast ballots for politicians who see that white Christian nationalism is part of a bad past, not the near future.