The Christian imagery and rhetoric on view during this month’s Capitol insurrection are sparking renewed debate about the societal effects of melding Christian faith with an exclusionary breed of nationalism.
The rioters who breached the Capitol on Jan. 6, leading to federal charges against more than 130 people so far, included several people carrying signs with Christian messages, and video showed one man in a fur hat and horns leading others in a prayer inside the Senate chamber. They also included multiple current or former members of the U.S. military or law enforcement, as well as a West Virginia state lawmaker.
The rise of what’s often called Christian nationalism has long prompted pushback from leaders in multiple denominations, with the Baptist Joint Committee on Religious Liberty forming the Christians Against Christian Nationalism coalition in 2019. But in the immediate wake of the insurrection, other Christian leaders spoke out to denounce what they saw as the misuse of their faith to justify a violent attack on a seat of government.
More than 255 former and current faculty and staff at Wheaton College signed a statement condemning the attack on the Capitol and decrying the “blasphemous abuses of Christian symbols.” The statement said that the behaviors “celebrated in Jesus’ name bear absolutely no resemblance to the Christian teachings or ethics that we submit to as faculty and staff of Wheaton College.”
Similarly, Russell Moore, president of the public policy arm of the Southern Baptist Convention, said that when he saw a “Jesus Saves” sign displayed near a gallows built by rioters, “I was enraged to a degree that I haven’t been enraged in memory. This is not only dangerous and unpatriotic but also blasphemous, presenting a picture of the gospel of Jesus Christ that isn’t the gospel and is instead its exact reverse.”
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Dwight McKissic, a leading Black Southern Baptist pastor who has publicly criticized the denomination’s leaders’ handling of racial justice, urged them in a tweet to also “denounce this flagrant display of White Christian Nationalism” by insurrectionists.
To tamp down what both liberal and conservative clerics view as a misappropriation of their faith, however, they must first tackle the challenge of defining Christian nationalism for a broad audience. Christians Against Christian Nationalism describes it as an ideology that “demands Christianity be privileged by the state and implies that to be a good American, one must be Christian.”
During a virtual panel the coalition held this week, one prominent leader underscored that love of country and God can coexist without making a person a Christian nationalist.
It is “very important to understand we are not condemning being patriotic,” said the Rev. Elizabeth Eaton, who leads the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America. Christians “can still be active participants in the public square” while staying true to their faith, she added.
The Rev. Walter Kim, president of the National Association of Evangelicals, sounded a similar note in an interview, citing the corrosive effects of “a convergence of a nationalist identity and a Christian identity.”
“Certainly I love our country, and as the son of immigrant parents I am deeply grateful for the hope this nation represents,” Kim said. “But as a Christian, my highest allegiance is to Christ.”[pullquote]”Certainly I love our country, and as the son of immigrant parents I am deeply grateful for the hope this nation represents . . . But as a Christian, my highest allegiance is to Christ.”[/pullquote]
Yet some supporters of former President Donald Trump say that denunciations of Christian nationalism are a way of attacking them politically. Former Rep. Allen West, now chairman of the Texas GOP, said on a Tuesday panel with several other religious conservatives sponsored by the group My Faith Votes that the term is used against those who “don’t conform to a progressive, socialist ideological agenda.”
Another wrinkle in efforts to steer Christians away from an overtly nationalist projection of their faith is QAnon, the conspiracy theory whose believers were front and center at the Jan. 6 rally in support of Trump’s baseless claims of widespread election fraud as well as the riot that followed.
In the video shot by a New Yorker reporter during the siege, the fur-hatted Jacob Chansley — known as the “QAnon shaman” for his alignment with the conspiracy theory as well as his self-described spiritual leanings — delivered a prayer thanking God “for allowing the United States of America to be reborn.” While Chansley spoke, other rioters fell silent in apparent participation.
Robert Jones, CEO of the independent nonprofit Public Religion Research Institute, said QAnon centers on a “very apocalyptic, good-versus-evil” set of false assumptions that connect Trump’s party to godliness and Democrats to heathendom.
“The fact that we saw QAnon, white supremacy and white Christianity all carried together in a violent attack on the Capitol means that particularly white Christians have got some real soul-searching to do,” said Jones, author of two books on white Christianity in America.
Christian author Jemar Tisby said via email that the elements of Christianity present at the riot signal that “violent nationalists have developed ways to deploy such religious symbols in service of their malevolent ends.”
“Christians who want to divest of Christian Nationalism may find themselves leaving their churches because the ideology is so deeply ingrained that meaningful change is not on the horizon,” said Tisby, CEO of The Witness, a Black Christian organization.
In the meantime, Moore said he has begun speaking with pastors about quelling QAnon’s potential influence within congregations and plans to do more to provide resources to that end.
“One of the barriers to speaking to these conspiracy theories is many pastors and leaders rightly recognize this stuff as crazy, so they assume it doesn’t need to be spoken to,” he said. “But we live in a crazy time.”
Elena Schor is a national reporter for religion & politics for the Associated Press.
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75 Responses
The real problem is America’s civil religion. Not so-called “Christian Nationalism.” There are people on the political left and the political right who have bought-in to the myth of America’s civil religion.
I was enraged at the capital events as well. I was also enraged in June when I saw members of our church praying in a march in DC on the same day some people burned St. John’s church and the president had to be moved into a secure location. No one ever tied them to the events and Russell Moore wasn’t the least bit outraged.
” I was also enraged in June when I saw members of our church praying in a march in DC on the same day some people burned St. John’s church and the president had to be moved into a secure location. No one ever tied them to the events and Russell Moore wasn’t the least bit outraged.”
Nice whataboutism there. Yeah, the nation has a different standard for leftist rioting and rightist rioting… so what? We are supposed to live down to the standards of the world now?
That president who “had to be moved to a secure location” (because that’s a nicer way of putting it than he’s a coward; surely you remember the “Bunker Boy” memes) also ordered a crowd of peaceful protesters (NOT the rioting filth that tried to burn St. John’s earlier) to be tear-gassed away from the church so he could have a photo-op with a book he’s never read in his life.
And we wonder why the world mocks us and calls us hypocrites?
We don’t live down to the standards of the world – that’s why you see republicans angry about the Capital riot. Doesn’t feel hypocritical to condemn destruction of property regardless of who does it.
“Nice whataboutism there. Yeah, the nation has a different standard for leftist rioting and rightist rioting… so what? We are supposed to live down to the standards of the world now?”
Problem isn’t that the nation has different standards for riots, it’s that church leadership has different standards. Russell Moore screamed about the capital and sat quietly all summer while the country burned.
Then take it up with Russell Moore (and he may well have a blind spot for the left)–that doesn’t mean the Trump rioters were even 1% more justified than the BLM rioters.
I think everyone has taken it up. This article references him as though he is some authority of right and wrong. And if he is, then he failed for not having the same standard for the left and right.
Try to follow along, the right have been consistent in condemnation. The left and the Christian leadership have not. What is happening is a push of conservatives out of the church and a push to add liberals. It’s worked
+1 Outraged
+2 Outraged…I cant believe what the person who wrote:
“Nice whataboutism there. Yeah, the nation has a different standard for leftist rioting and rightist rioting… so what? We are supposed to live down to the standards of the world now?”
Said…
Think about it what they said “so what that there are different standards” the point is there SHOULDNT BE DIFFERENT STANDARDS PERIOD!!
What outraged said is NOT living down to the standards of the world!! In what he said it shows that Brian Patrick is the one living by the worlds standards! What does scripture say? It says that there should be NO PARTIALITY at all. So the SAME STANDARDS SHOULD APPLY TO BOTH ! I cant believe he said “so what” that different standards apply. That is anti-scriptural!!
Jim,
Count to ten and then maybe think of a constructive way to rephrase that. Being in a constant rage isn’t making your posts easy to read.
I worry about a 1-1 correlation of White Nationalism and Christian Nationalism in some of the statements in this article. BOTH are very serious issues, but we cannot paint them both together at all times. Groups like the Boogaloo Boys, according to the ADL are not white supremicists, and a group like the 3 Percenters is more “Western Chauvanist” than explicitly white christian nationalist. QAnon is not explicitly white nationalist either.
The issue of painting them all together is that it is easy to break that argument down as false, and thereby lose credibility of being heard. What is see is a very mixed bag of reasoning (lie of stolen vote, lie of deep state, lie of religious persecution, and/ or lie of whites becoming minority) that lead a large group of people to be part of the Donald Trump personality cult. Then, an extreme group of those followers, pushed and prodded by Trump and a few others, decided to try to “fight” against the “stolen” vote.
I agree with the gross reality of the overt Christian Nationalism on display at the insurrection. It was blasphemous and wicked.
Breaking in to official buildings and occupying them is a time honored, non-violent, protest strategy. Gay Rights activists often did it, chaining themselves inside. Civil Rights activists did it. In the 60’s, anti-war and civil rights protesters took over university administration buildings, sometimes conducting mock trials. A number of MLK’s peaceful protests turned violent. At Evergreen State, claiming racial justice motives, students held White professors hostage on campus who refused to leave on a “White-free” campus day. Teacher activists in Wisconsin occupied the state house for a month to protest changes in union privilege under the laws. Sen Grassley’s office was occupied by feminists opposing Justice Barret, as was the Senate Office Building.
When you have a large mass gathering, all kinds of folks, nuts and otherwise, will often join in. It’s unavoidable in public mass protests. Mass demonstrations are a blunt instrument. The major problem, as I see it, is the legacy media coverage. It’s simply unfair and biased in the extreme. Then somehow debate only takes place within the boundaries established by that coverage. Evangelicals seem to stupidly take the bait every time. In the case of the capitol hill debate, the question is continually, “How badly was White Evangelical image hurt by the ‘violence’?” The question should have been “We need to do something to insure the integrity of our elections?” Does anyone ask How badly Black Evangelical image was hurt by BLM riots and resulting anarchy? No way. The focus is on the few examples of creepy signs or symbols at the Capitol. Over 100,000 people met at the nearby Washington Memorial without any incident. The capitol wasn’t burnt down. Police weren’t firebombed. No Congressman injured. The only person directly killed was an unarmed protester, shot by a scared capitol policeman. Protesters returned the next day to help clean up!
How different the response was to 32 cities under BLM and Antifa siege for eight months. DC Mayor said that Trump calling out the guard just inflamed protesters. But for the inauguration, the same DC Mayor called for massive National Guard presence–no longer worried about inflaming protesters. All around the country Dem mayors rejected National Guard assistance from Pres Trump as murder rates soared, businesses were looted, pandemic rules waved, and property burned. Democrat Congressional leadership response: Publicly taking the knee and standing in solidarity with the rioters, setting up funds to bail out the rioters. A number of Dem Congressional leaders openly encouraged the riots.
There is simply no comparison between the $1 billion dollar Leftist riots that resulted directly resulted in 35 deaths and indirectly for hundreds more in the anarchy and the bum rush on the capitol building, resulting in one death and little damage. Evangelicals have every right to protest. If we worried about every misrepresentation of Evangelicalism, we’d be utterly paralyzed in our witness and involvement in the larger world as well. The publicity of some creepy signs and symbols pales in comparison to Hollywood movies that portray and indoctrinate the masses that Evangelicals are demonic, crazed, sexually-repressed, serial killing lunatics. The idea that the protests at the capitol were a coup or insurrection is simply a bald-faced lie.
Well said JB! and your comments saved me from writing. I concur totally. I will only add that what is happening to the conservative right, Christianity, and the new Republicanism initiated by Trump is what the CCP has done and is still doing toward the persecution of Falun Gong. Anyone that opposes or questions the Far Left doctrine is a conspiracy and the Far Left news media goes into full force to assassinate the character of such person or persons. Supporters of President Trump – cult. Front Line Doctors – quacks. Congressmen questioning the legitimacy of the elections – ostracized, no flight list, banned. Donors and voters for President Trump – not allowed to hold public office, should be blacklisted, deprogrammed. And ect. ad nauseum. Same tactics used against Falun Gong, and it is very effective. Even Elena has consciously or unconsciously accepted the Far Left doctrine in the biased language she uses. No questioning the narrative. I’ve seen several footage of the staged “storming of the bastille”. The police let them in, led them to House chambers, played the part of shouting, then motioned them to follow. Many of those arrested are Antifa and BLM members. The Trump gear and attire and the Christian symbols were all props to begin the campaign smear against conservatism and Christianity. The presence of the National Guard and now talks of a permanent wall around the WH is overkill only to convince the public of domestic terrorism of the Trump cult (i.e. middle class conservative people holding on to the traditions of our National Sovereignty. The CCP is a cult of hate, and they create and stir hate toward those they wish to eliminate. They want to eliminate you, the vast populace of the American people who love God, family, and country; those who own private property, possess guns, and think independently and have moral and religious values. You are the domestic enemy. If you don’t see this, then you are blinded by the Far Left doctrine and propaganda. You have taken the bait. Everything else to you is a conspiracy. “Do not call conspiracy everything this people calls a conspiracy; do not fear what they fear, and do not dread it.” (Is 8:12).
AMEN brother!!
Amen. Let the 3rd Great Awakening come.
I totally get that annoying feeling that I’m being “handled” by the media outlets. However, if you truly want to avoid being “brainwashed”, you need to think critically and let the facts speak for themselves. News is a commodity, and if your news source (Right or Left) doesn’t get you “fired up”, ratings suffer. The truth usually lies somewhere in the middle.
As succinct an explanation anyone has written anywhere.
Too bad the hours of video taken by the insurrectionists themselves show this was anything but a peaceful or non-violent occupation. What do you think would have happened if they had cornered Nancy Pelosi, or AOC, or even Mike Pence? (“Hang Mike Pence” was the cry.)
Some of those arrested made their intentions clear. A couple arrested today were talking about putting a bullet in Pelosi’s brain. Pipe bombs had been placed outside RNC and DNC offices, a gallows erected outside, and thugs were chasing officers through the hallways.
But the biggest difference was that those who invaded the Capitol had been incited to do so by the President of the United States, the very man who had done everything he could — including threatening state officials and attempting to appoint a compliant accomplice as head of the DOJ — to overturn an election after it had already be certified. The crowd believed Trump was with them (literally — he said he was going to march with them to the Capitol before he scurried back to the White House — and in spirit) because that’s what he told them.
So don’t give me that both sides nonsense. A significant portion of that 100,000 believed they were there to overturn the result of the election, one way or another. A lot more details are going to come out about what happened on that day as the trails get underway, and the intent of the rioters will be made very clear. This was not a peaceful occupation derailed by a few.
Tacitus we have heard all your ad nauseum on CNN, ABC, Yahoo, New York Times, etc. You are merely parroting what you hear. “Insurrectionists”? “Hang Mike Pence”? You think that is the Christian conservative Republican voice? You can’t tell the difference? Why not mention Kathy Griffin who held a decapitated head of the President of the United States? Who does that? That’s not the voice of insurrection? What about Nancy Pelosi’s comment about the BLM riots, “People will do what they do. I’m surprised there are not more uprisings”. DC Mayor Bowser inciting and supporting BLM rioters. On and on the Far Left has encouraged the mayhem of this past year. That’s not insurrection? And they didn’t put up a stink about the National Guard for the inauguration after they condemned Trump doing the same to maintain law and order when the rioters tried to storm the capital. High hypocrisy! No one was even there at the inauguration, and now they want to build a wall around the White House? It’s all show to create hate. And that is what they have done the past year. They create hate. They are hate-mongers just like the CCP (you really need to read about what the CCP did to the Chinese people. The same is being done here). If you believe that the staged Capital “storming” was the Conservative Christian Right, then you have swallowed the hate bait. I’ve seen live videos from the inside of the Capital “storming”. What a joke. How many arrested have been identified as Antifa or BLM in Trump costume? Come on man! Get your head together. You are being played.
You nailed it, JB–much better than my response.
I was tracking with you through most of the article, but your bias disclosed in your reference to “Trump’s baseless claims of widespread election fraud” undermines your credibility and does harm to Julie’s work on this blog. Anyone who makes such outrageous claims has not done their homework about the massive amount of fraud let alone foreign interference in our recent election.
Exactly. Roughly 70% of republicans believe there was widespread voting issues, so the baseless line is insulting to tens of millions. It’s fairly easy to solve – vote in person with an ID. Everyone should get behind that – then you won’t have 70% questioning the integrity and the “baseless” argument carries a bit more weight.
Respectfully, 86 judges (some with Republican ties) ruled the widespread election fraud claims were baseless, not to mention by the elected Secretary of States. Is truth now determined by simple politically motivated pronouncement?
I have a difficult time believing that Joe Biden, who rarely campaigned, garnered millions of more votes than Obama. Like I said, if everyone gets on board with showing up in person, showing an ID and filling out a paper ballot to vote, most of the questions go away. There is only one group that is against this. Try getting your local church to have a vote on something without showing up and proving your membership – if they don’t they must be a bunch of racists. Simple solution to erasing doubts.
In Georgia, the GOP voted in “at will” absentee ballots in 2005. In 2020, the GOP Secretary of State sent out applications for absentee ballots to all active voters because of the pandemic. Georgia voters used them in accordance with all applicable Georgia law, which meant signature match. After Trump disparaged voting by mail, 14,000 GOP voters who had voted by mail in the primary did not vote at all in the general election, causing Joe Biden to win the state. The ballots were recounted 100% by hand once and recounted mechanically once, all giving the same results for Biden.
An AMICUS brief was filed by the AG of TX and joined by many other State AGs, as well as GOP lawmakers, including both GA Senators and many GOP Congressmen to throw out the votes of all 5 million Georgia voters. In other words, they were asking for votes for POTUS to be thrown out in the same election by which some of them had won their own seats! SCOTUS rejected this effort, ruling the other states had no standing to dismiss Georgia voters and their votes.
The Georgia GOP executives proved themselves unwilling to go to jail for election fraud and resisted POTUS himself when he personally called the GA SoS and asked for enough votes to be found to overthrow the decision of Georgia voters. This move to interfere in an election is viewed by many as an impeachable act.
Having survived thus far, the Georgia vote had to endure a final challenge in the electoral college.
A plan was hatched to have a Georgia Senator and Representative challenge the voters in their own state. Senator Kelly Loeffler, who had been appointed by the Georgia Governor and never elected by Georgia voters, volunteered. On Jan 5 2021 she was defeated in her bid to keep her seat, but still held office on Jan 6 2021 when the Electoral College votes were to be certified by Congress.
We all now what happened on Jan 6 2021. What you may not know is that after surviving the attack, Kelly Loeffler decided not to contest the votes of her own State, and Georgia’s 16 Electoral College votes were certified for Joe Biden. Finally. Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue both lost their seats to Democratic challengers, turning Georgia blue. At least the outgoing Republicans had the decency to concede their races.
Now that their own laws have been used against them, the Georgia GOP legislature is hard at work writing new laws to disenfranchise as many voters as possible, especially when it comes to absentee ballots. Some things never change.
Respectfully, they are corrupt politicians. They are traitors of the nation’s interests. They are infiltrated agents of the left into the Republican Party. I come from communist Romania and the Communist Party there used the same means and tactics to impose their agenda in the country. They corrupted elements from other parties and infiltrated with their own people other parties giving them the task of publicly supporting the Communist claim that they won the election, although anyone knew they were lying about it.
Reading this article reminds me of how the Roman Empire under Constantine, the KKK, and the Nazis all used Christianity to also advance their agendas. Regardless of what it is, when someone wrongly represents the Lord it profanes His name. That is what we all should be grieved about, not about leftism or rightism, or about whether the election was stolen from Donald Trump.
“Roughly 70% of republicans believe there was widespread voting issues, so the baseless line is insulting to tens of millions.”
Roughly 70% of Americans believe in infinite abortion without restrictions. Your point being?
sorry you weren’t able to follow it. the 70% that believe it was sketchy would plummet to 5% if you mandated in-person, voter ID voting.
No it wouldn’t. If the Democrats kept winning a sizeable portion of that 70% would continue to believe the fix was in. Trump has been gaslighting Republican voters for five years. He was claiming fraud when he lost the Iowa caucus to Ted Cruz and hasn’t let up since. Even when he won in 2016 he claimed mass voter fraud robbed him of the majority of the popular vote.
It’s now a matter of faith that when Republicans lose elections in swing states, it can only be fraud.
There was no mass voter fraud in 2016 and there was none in 2020. Every conspiracy claim in Georgia was debunked by the Republican officials in charge of the election — including Governor Kemp who had done everything he could for years while Secretary of State to limit voting in Georgia some of which were struck down by the courts. He even continued to be in charge of the election where he ran for governor. Suddenly, after being unable to help deliver Georgia to the Republicans, he is a co-conspirator for mass election fraud by the Democrats — gimme a break!
Stacey Abrams and her deluded legions of SJW zombies also believe (2 1/2 years later) that her election in GA was “stolen” from her too. In fact, belief in that is all but a litmus test to be a Southern Democrat in good standing. Should we take her seriously just because a whole lot of people back her up?
This is exactly we’re I got off the train. No one has looked at the evidence yet only dismissed it. I am growing increasingly tired of Christians attacking Christians in the name of following Christ. Tired of lies being repeated becoming “truth” and frankly, Congress acting so horrified when their house is attract but praise the year long distraction of business by ANTIFA our west!
Mark,
People DIED because the orange duck had a two-month tantrum and at the very least, enthusiastically encouraged his worshipers to make their presence felt at the Capitol. A police officer (and the right claims to be pro-cop, pro-“thin blue line” was savagely beaten to death and several of Trump’s own supporters were killed in the act of trying to carry out his wishes–in furtherance of a LIE. Hardcore Trumpists like Raffensperger and Kemp who oversaw portions of the election all came away with zero evidence of fraud and because they didn’t cook the books for Trump they have been canceled by the right. Even Bill Barr who might be the biggest Trump sycophant who’s ever lived found nothing. You really don’t think they would have given everything they had to get a pro-Trump outcome to their vote?
Good point. I might add that even if the fraud was negligible and didn’t affect the outcome of the election, it is irrelevant to the fact that tens of millions of voters perceive this to not be the case. At the moment, the case is open.
Perceptions matter in a functioning democracy. Trust is the coin of the realm. The gov’t has a trust problem with one-fourth to one-half of the nation. The statistical anomalies, large increase of mail-in ballots, lack of access to observe counting votes, suspicious vote dumps, etc. were the reasons that the U.S. publicly declared fraud in elections in the Ukraine, Mexico, Venezuela, and Egypt, and formulated foreign policy to respond to it.
But in this case, in our own country, everyone, state legislatures and the courts, took a pass. There’s been no investigation to clear the air. Yet, Amazon recently went to court to ban mail-in voting on unionization alleging the high incidence of voter intimidation, vote bundling, and fraud. Nearly all European nations ban mail-in ballots, even for overseas voting, as too open to fraud. Vote in person or don’t vote in Europe.
As the adage goes for early 1900’s Chicago mafia machine voting, “Vote early. Vote often.” Corrupt elections are also part of the legacy of America and a danger to democracy. The powers that be should be vigilant to ensure honest, clean elections. If they don’t, they undermine their own legitimacy.
There is no evidence that Trump supporters will accept as “proof.” He can spin any narrative he wants and for reasons I don’t understand, people will still be loyal to him. He probably could shoot someone on Fifth avenue and not loose any voters. I guess hatred for the left covers all sins.
You’re right – hard to accept anything as proof because it is impossible now to prove.
So you can look to ensure it never happens again – push to have all votes be in-person with an ID. You have to question the honesty of anyone that is against that and those that are against it are all on one side of the political divide.
I think most people want the election to be honest. I would also bet my house that had Trump won the election, the election fraud concern level would be zero on the right. This issue is as manufactured as the idea that the Russians put Trump in the Whitehouse in the first place.
If most people wanted the election to be honest then vote in-person with an ID wouldn’t be a problem. Makes you wonder why they don’t.
She’s with the AP!! “Baseless” is their battle cry! It’s such a joke…have a little creativity at least with your reporting. Be original. But no. Everywhere I turn…”baseless”. Drone on with the same rhetoric. Republicans bad! Christians bad! Trump supporters bad! They see what they want to see. And they are completely untrustworthy.
would “lacking credible evidence admissible to minimal court standards” suffice?
When a state changes the rules to allow votes to come in late or change verification rules, it isn’t illegal and won’t be overturned by a court. But it does raise serious concerns why they would do this. In person, voter ID. Problem solved. No one wants to have this standard.
I think most/all of us agreed those state SCOTUS decisions were dirty and illegit–but in states where Biden won by 80 to 100,000 votes or more they were irrelevant because they amounted to the low thousands of votes at most (and some went to Trump). In any event there is a vast gulf between that and rigging/falsifying an election.
Alas, that was only in one suit. In the important case in which six states sued the key swing states, the Supreme Court said they didn’t have standing. It was a weird decision because the Constitution makes the Supreme Court the court of original jurisdiction in cases between states. Thus the peititioners’ allegations got no hearing, no day in court, and no court to appeal to. It is a primary responsibility of the Supreme Court to hear cases brought by states against each other.
The PA case was particularly grievous. PA courts re-wrote legislation on the date votes could be received and counted, violating the U.S. Constitution which gives State Legislatures sole authority over voting laws. The law specifically set the date. Again, the case was not heard on appeal due to supposed “lack of standing.”
When, under the guise of pandemic, courts began to waive election laws on mail-in ballots, absentee ballots, registration, how many days after the election votes could be processed, etc., the Supreme Court punted. They said they’d hear the cases after the election. Of course, all the cases are now moot with the electoral college vote counted and Biden inaugurated. It was a complete legal dodge.
What to make of all this? (1) Official Washington has an irrational vitriolic hatred of Trump; (2) Courts were afraid of provoking BLM and Antifa civil war; (3) Courts were a great deal more fearful of corporate ostracism and Democrat political payback than they were of anything they could imagine the Republicans doing; (4) The so-called intellectual elite are more incompetent than any of us thought. (5) Perhaps the Supreme Court thought they could avoid expansion of the court by Dems by staying out of the political firestorm.
Brazil, a country of similar size and population, counts all the votes in national elections in one day.
https://geopolitic.org/2020/11/06/greenwald-americas-inability-to-count-votes-is-a-national-disgrace-and-dangerous/
The author is a longtime highly honored, politically liberal journalist..
yeah. I get that vibe too from the AP, especially when they say “baseless”. It takes critical thinking, discernment and prayer to see the truth…
For those disagree with fellow Christians here, would you be willing intercede together with them for America and the nations?
I’m fully confident God can expose any fraud and power games hurting our land. And expose darkness.
Even if we don’t agree with this article or our takes on the events, we can agree in prayer for God to restore the nation and heal people, which I believe He wants to do on a big level.
This is how the devil works: control both sides of the debate. He is the prince of the world, after all.
The baby-murdering stormtrooper progressive culture warriors ultimately loyal to the PRC are obviously demonically controlled and so are the worshipers of the narcissistic, bullying, misogynistic, dementia-addled orange duck who casually let 400,000 Americans die (and at least indirectly sent several of his own supporters to their deaths) for nothing.
I don’t know if these deluded QAnon cultists who claim Jesus were ever saved to begin with, but the most core doctrine of our faith is that you don’t go to heaven if you worship a false messiah if indeed they do that.
You can be equally against abortion/forced transgenderism AND doing nothing about COVID/coddling brutal dictators. This shouldn’t be rocket science but apparently it is, judging from no small fraction of the commenters here.
The complaints of this symposium seem to be a little hysteria of evangelical elites who want to virtue signal. Are there white Christian nationalists–undeniably? How big are their numbers? I suggest they are very small. Maybe they come from a particular section of the country. I don’t know. What I do know is that the vast majority of conservative (politically and theologically) members of our churches eschew violence just as much as the elite virtue signalers. On top of it, I’m extremely alarmed by the elites who have jumped on the social justice agenda. They will kill the church a lot faster than the “Christian white nationalists!”
I hope you’re right, Dave. If the texts and emails I receive are any indication, though, white nationalism has moved from the fringe to at least some measure of acceptance within mainstream evangelicalism. I was stunned when I mentioned to an old friend that the Proud Boys presence at the riots was disconcerting. My friend replied, “What’s wrong with the Proud Boys?” I was speechless.
Julie, I hope I’m right too. I think the church I attend and serve is a fairly typical suburban church, and I don’t know a single person who approves violence in their dissent from the Biden administration. I know a fair number of people who are still as mad as can be that the illegal changes in voting options were never seriously challenged in the courts. I agree with that concern. It’s clear to me that unless we change the “vote by mail” procedures and go back to previous legal ways of voting, we will have doubts about the outcomes of our elections. And BTW, I can’t believe you were really speechless with your friend! Maybe for a second or two, and then you must have set them straight! Ha. I love your truth to power courage and your truth to anyone. I believe your truth to anyone is smothered in love and grace.
PastorDaveJ,
I see “elite virtue signalers” and (to use a crude vernacular) butthurt snowflakes on the right as much as I do the left. Just look at the comment sections of Julie’s articles every time a Calvinist or someone on the right gets called out. The fact that the latter have infinitely more power and influence in our society than the former is irrelevant–last time I checked, wrong is wrong. We’re called to rise above the bad behavior of the world, not stoop to its level. We wonder why radical progressivism is completely taking over and replacing the faith, and winning over once-conservative, evangelical young people and middle-aged adults in Texas, Nebraska, Georgia, and everywhere else? This “whataboutism” on the right (and the church’s disgusting idolatry for Trump) is one of the reasons for that.
Why are Christians supporting an amoral untruthful divisive Trump? This is the roadblock question every evangelist or apologist needs now to be prepared to answer.
Your guess is as good as mine. His behavior and fruits (not necessarily all his policies) have been worse than that of any Democrat since Bill Clinton. His effectiveness and impact have been profoundly lacking as well, unless you count increasing support for the left as “impact”. The idolatry with him is something I have no explanation for.
So glad Joe Biden loves Jesus and will truly unite our country finally.
I’ve never voted for a Democrat for POTUS in my life. The burden’s on you to show where I advocated for Biden.
Excellent. You’re one of those that either didn’t vote or voted third party. I’ve found most of those that do that don’t have demanding, high paying jobs where you have to make difficult decisions. Does that sum it up?
???
Not him or any man.
Only God can do that.
HALLELUJAH.
Outraged,
“Excellent. You’re one of those that either didn’t vote or voted third party. I’ve found most of those that do that don’t have demanding, high paying jobs where you have to make difficult decisions. Does that sum it up?”
That’s one of the dumbest comebacks I’ve seen in quite a while. I don’t need to throw out Scripture or Christianese to know that if your job requires you to make deals with the devil, it’s time to look for some other line of work.
Maybe if you’d spend less time being “outraged” and more time being a Berean, you’d have something constructive to contribute in these dark times.
So I’ll take that as you chose not to vote or you voted third party. Thanks for the confirmation. Well done. Courage to stand.
That’s not actually a response you know, but okay.
Disappointed, in the past 4 years of the Trump presidency, where are you in disagreement (and be specific). What has he accomplished or not accomplished in International diplomacy, our national economics and employment, military strengthening, the abortion issue, religious freedom, Bill of Rights, Education, etc.
I will admit that he accomplished divisiveness. Division will exist where there are opposing ideologies that cannot coexist. Trump sharpened those ideologies when he addressed the World Economic Forum and declared US Sovereignty before the globalists. Our Constitution and Republic opposes Socialism, Marxism, Communism; influences that have been gaining dominance in our American culture. The Far Left (deep state if you will) ideology is anti-Constitutionalism, anti-Christian, anti-capitalism, anti-Republic. When you hear them use the term “Democracy” they are using it in a Socialistic worldview. A sharper divide has occurred between the Far Left that is becoming more fascist in their controlling and censoring, and that of the conservative ideology that still holds to the Constitutional Liberties guaranteed to them, liberties now threatened. We are divided and rightfully so. These ideologies cannot co-exist, especially as one seeks to cancel the other. The Far Left does not want to co-exist with conservativism and Christianity. It wants to characterize them as “extremist”, “white supremacists”, “systemically racist”, “privileged”, “domestic terrorists”. Never since the Civil War has the American people fallen sharply either on one side or the other.
Who are you supporting? Biden and Harris?
When Biden talks about the problem of white supremacy, he was talking about actual white supremacists, a bunch of whom invaded the Capitol along with a bunch of actual Nazis. If people like you and Tucker Carlson are believe that he was referring to all conservative Republican voters, then that’s your problem, not his, and should give you pause for thought.
If you truly believe socialism, Marxism and communism are gaining dominance in America, then you really have lost the plot. There are no Marxists or communists in Washington, and to believe Biden or Harris are any kind of leftist radical is laughably ridiculous.
Of course, I know you do this to excuse your own hyper partisanship and nationalism. You have not been radicalized in reaction to the left, you have been radicalized by a lie, one that Trump used to get himself elected in 2016 and almost did again in 2020.
VERY well said, Tacitus.
This fearmongering about the “threat of socialism and communism” was also big during Obama’s candidacy – conservative Christians going on and on about how Obama was going to usher in socialism and Marxism and the like.
And what happened? Two terms of Obama and we aren’t a socialist nation. Yet here we are, falling for this narrative AGAIN, all to avoid facing the sin that has reared its ugly head among conservative Christian circles. “Whatabout abortion!” “Whatabout BLM!” “Whatabout Antifa!” “Whatabout socialism!” “Whatabout (insert another talking point of hyper partisanship or fearmongering here)!”
ANYTHING to avoid answering “Whatabout the plank in our own eye?”
Until we are ready to talk about the sin manifesting in our midst, so what we can repent of it, we will not be healed as a church – and we will continue to be little more than a punchline to the world we are supposed to be saving.
Personally, I would prefer living under a government hostile to Christianity than one that corrupts it. I don’t expect the world to love Christ (If the world hates Me, it will hate you also- Jesus). I find it far more troubling that so much of the church associates itself with a man who is completely anti-Christ in character. I am more concerned about the church’s righteousness than it’s rights.
Looks like you’re going to get your preference. You should probably consult those from other nations that live under regimes hostile to Christianity to get their opinion. My guess is they might not agree.
I get your point, but hopefully we can in fairness agree that 4 years of Biden will leave us looking more like Canada or Western Europe than North Korea.
outraged, I have worked for the past 30 years with the church in a country that self identifies as communist. The believers there have made more disciples, started more new churches, and live more authentic Christian lives than anything I have seen in the US in my lifetime.
Part of the reason is they do not identify following Jesus as having anything to do with politics or nationalism. When people there come to Christ they do so for one reason only and that is for eternal relationship with the Almighty.They expect to be persecuted and they endure. They do not expect special treatment from the government, nor do they have some idea that they need to influence the government to be more favorable to them. They look directly to the Lord Jesus to give them favor to live godly lives. In all my years of serving there, both I and the believers have been able to love Jesus, serve him, and talk about him to anybody.
Jail? Yes. Martyrdoms- a few yes. Losses of houses or jobs, sometimes. But we’ve been told in the New Testament to expect such things. It is a dangerous idea that Christians in America have that somehow our ability to follow Jesus is in any way tied to who is in government. Is the God of all creation really that powerless in the face of any government?
This article raises the issue that people connected the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus with breaking and entering, violence, and a particular political agenda. And it’s quite telling that the discussion gets distracted with arguments over whether there were problems with voting, double standards regarding other protests, etc. The real question is, why are we linking the name of Jesus to a political candidate or political party? Those candidates and those political parties are not the kingdom of God. The outcome of linking Jesus and these things together will not be good.
Fisher-I agree that those in persecution have a different level of faith. My question was what is their opinion – would they choose to live in a free nation with a government and church with issues or a Communist one which kills and persecuted them? I really have a tough time believing they wouldn’t want to leave the persecution.
It’s hard to argue with anything Fisher wrote. I might not want to face it, and I don’t, but Scripture is pretty clear, if I really belong to Christ I WILL be persecuted no matter where I live.
And, I have news for everybody, persecution is happening right now, right here, in America and has been for decades. That healthy-as-a-horse young mother who mysteriously gets metastatic lung cancer? That amazingly gifted pastor who dies in a fluke accident because the wheel fell off of his van in 80 mph traffic on the interstate? The missionary whose house burns down after delivering a fiery message against demonic strongholds in the country they serve in? How do you explain all of that? I take Scripture’s account of what the devil was allowed to do to Job and his family as normative for believers for the ages, not a one-time situation.
So, buckle up, it’s going to be a bumpy ride, and I certainly don’t want to even consider what a Dictator Harris could do, but Jesus the Christ has us.
L. Martin, I’m troubled by your kind of response. Do you really think that Biden’s character is Christ-like and not anti-Christ like? (None of my Christian friends, even Democrats, are particularly impressed by Biden’s morality!) Do you really believe that the current censorship of the left is more Christ-like than anti-Christ like? Do you really believe that the immoral views of the left are more Christ-like than anti-Christ like? Really?
PastorDaveJ,
Does the evil of the left somehow minimize this riot, or make trying to put a Christian spin on QAnon and Trump worship in general, okay?
The last time I checked two wrongs didn’t make a right, and we are called to rise above the evil deeds of the world.
Our “answer” to Antifa and BLM is to act just like them?
Seriously.
Danny C.
Trump was divisive and abusive as president. You are asking for examples. Okay here goes…
the executive branch is responsible for Foreign Policy and Domestic Policy.
In the Foreign Policy area, the president is responsible along with the State department for maintaining our relationships with our Allies.
Over the past 4 years a number of vital state relationships have been damaged. A perfect example is Germany, where the Foreign Minister Heiko Maas stated that the U.S. relationship with Germany has been permanently damaged.
I could go on with numerous more examples. Suffice it to say that the State department is in dis-array. There was a collective sigh by many countries diplomatic corps when Biden became president.
The extensive damage left by Trump will have to be worked on by countries over the next few years. Some things will never be recovered.
I am not a Biden fan but Trump’s abusive nature caused many rifts among our allies.
Finally, there are many arguments on this board/site regarding Trump. Currently the Republican party is fractured, if it cannot recover due to Trump still leading the party, then there will be no effective opposition to the leftist Democratic Party.
Five children by three wives and cheated on all three. Cheated with a porn star soon after the third wife had given birth to the anchor baby. We knew all of this, and the “grab ’em by the kitty” remarks before the election. Why was this President held to a different moral standard to any other President in history? It was such obvious sign and a lack of character. I have never received a good answer to this question.
I think Julie missed an opportunity to caution her readers about Elena Schor’s opinion,
“…Trump’s baseless claims of widespread election fraud …” Many who follow the typical evening news as their source of information might share that opinion.
The complete, four-hour plus, Legislative Hearing held in Pennsylvania Nov 25, 2020 can be found on YouTube. Attorneys Rudy Giuliani and Jenna Ellis and several citizens (courageous enough to provide sworn affidavits) presented evidence of substantial and indisputable irregularities. Hardly “baseless claims”.
May I suggest sampling’s of the offerings of Newsmax TV, Charlie Kirk podcast, Flashpoint News (flashpoint.govictory.com), Eric Metaxas (metaxastalk.com), attorney Sydney Powell (defendingtherepublic.org), attorney Rudy Giuliani’s podcast (Rudy Giuliani’s Common Sense), Dutch Sheets (Dutch Sheets Give Him 15) prayer guidance, Steve Brannon War Room, etc., if you can find them.
Check out Prescott eNews, Dr Lyle Rapacki interviews with Arizona Senate Majority Whip Sonny Borrelli on YouTube. Last night, Dr Rapacki also did a 22:08 selfie update on the AZ Senate forensic audit which is very informative. He mentions 15 other states concerned over election integrity being attentive to proceedings in Arizona.
You cannot be serious. Are you serious? You cannot be serious.
Do we not see, do we not hear.
Eph 4:2Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.
I Corinthians 1:10 I appeal to you, brothers,by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment.
I Peter 3:8 Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind.
Phil 2:2complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind.
Colossians 3:14 And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.
II Cor. 13:11Finally, brothers, rejoice. Aim for restoration, comfort one another, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you.
Romans 12:16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight.
So many more verses speaking of the same thing, the Bride of Christ living in unity. These are not suggestions but commands. That is the danger with this type of ministry operating outside the guidance of the elders of the local church. We become keyboard warriors with no accountability.
We watch everybody throwing around Scripture like cheap grace to support their opinion, and we all fail at the two greatest commandments.
My heart grieves for the church and for the lost.
On January 15th I believe God showed me what this is a part of and where we are heading. We are headed into a full blown civil war in this country. So called “Christian” militias will be a big part in the violence. These groups already exist and will get more popular. The signs of violence is all around us. The revelation I saw contains the following:
1) The war is inevitable and no one is going to stop it. It has a course to run and yet God will bring good out of it. Not in the violence but out of changes in the character of His Church.
2) There is no way for us to change the minds of those who are committed to acts of violence. Paranoia will bring bad fruit again and only once that matures will these minds be looking for a new narrative.
3) Jesus wants and needs His Church to be politically neutral. All wars have victims and Jesus loves even those who will be actively and passively involved in the fighting. Only neutral parties will be able to minister to all in what is coming. Jesus wants His Church to do good and so stand out and apart from the violence. People who want to do that should simply leave their own political party, no matter what it is, and stop bickering with others online about the very issues that the violence is centered on. There is no solution there, only violence at this point. Lets make the gospel which is more about the next life then this one the center again! Let us make Jesus great again and not some narcissist politician(s.)