What is a Christian? Conflicting views, scriptural and secular.
A Rebuttal Written by
Ralph L Myers
The following is an opinion article written by Chauncey De Vega of
Salon, a progressive, independent journalist.
“Christian fascist” caucus: Mike Johnson brings MAGA fully into
the House of Representatives.
Chauncy De Vega comments in black and rebuttal
comments in red.
Christian nationalists are key, if not indispensable,
members of Donald Trump’s MAGA movement and the larger neofascist coalition. In
Trump, they see a type of martyr and prophet who is a weapon for them and their
God to create a Christofascist theocracy and Apartheid state. Christian
Nationalists sincerely and deeply believe that they are fighting to preserve “their
way of life” and “traditional American values” in a titanic battle between “good
and evil”–where, of course, like other religious zealots, they are God’s elect
as opposed to villains and evildoers.
Rebuttal: Christians are not and
do not believe, they are fighting to preserve their way of life. As the Apostle
Paul wrote in his letter to Timothy, 2 Timothy 4:7-8 7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race; I
have kept the faith. 8 Now there is in store for me the crown of
righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on
that day—and not only to me but also to all who have longed for his appearing.
Rather, they are living a life as commanded in the Bible; they have fought to
live a life that is by God’s will, so that they may receive the
heavenly reward of a home in heaven on the day of judgment.
As public opinion and other research have repeatedly shown,
Christian nationalists (White Christian supremacists) and those allied with
them believe in and support the use of political violence as a way of achieving
their revolutionary plans for American society. Their belief also legitimated
the support for political violence and other cruelty by Christian nationalists
and other members of the Christian right that the world is in a mythological
End Times battle. Donald Trump, a masterful propagandist, has repeatedly
signaled to this through his repeated use of language such as a “final battle”
and the need to get collective “revenge” on the Democrats and other “enemies”
of so-called real America. It was predictable and by design that Christian nationalists
would play a prominent role in Trump’s Jan. 6 coup attempt and the lethal
terrorist attack on the Capitol.
Rebuttal: Jesus said in John 18:36, “36 Jesus
answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom
were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered
to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here.” As Christians, the so-called
“final battle” this article refers to is to resist the world’s sinful ways, not
seeking an act of collective revenge. New Testament scripture teaches Christians to be
prepared, not for revenge, but as a warning against false teachers. (Acts 20:28-30),
Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the
Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God, which He
purchased with His own blood. I know that after my departure, savage wolves
will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves, men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after
them. (Rebuttal continued.)
Rebuttal:
The Apostle Paul in his final charge to Timothy, after telling him to preach
the word, explained (2 Tim. 4:3-4), “For the time will
come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but wanting to
have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in
accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the
truth and will turn aside to myths.” These scriptures are a warning to faithful
Christians, not a credible argument saying Christians advocate violence, as outlined in the article in reference. “It was predictable and by design that Christian nationalists would play
a prominent role in Trump’s Jan. 6 coup attempt and the lethal terrorist attack
on the Capitol.”
To better understand the role of militant White Christianity in
America’s democracy crisis and the Age of Trump, I recently spoke with
Bradley B. Onishi, president of the Institute for Religion, Media, and Civic
Engagement and the Founder of Axis Mundi Media. In 2023 he published, “Preparing
for War: The Extremist History of White Christian Nationalism.” He is also a
faculty member in Religion and Philosophy at the University of San Francisco. In
this conversation, Onishi explains how violence is central and not peripheral
or somehow coincidental to Christian nationalism and how the events of Jan. 6
highlighted the dangers of such a movement to the country. Onishi also warns
about the type of antidemocratic and (even more) cruel America that the likes
of Speaker Mike Johnson and the other Christian nationalists are trying to impose
on the American people — and how Dictator Trump would be the vessel for that
dystopia.
Rebuttal: While not excusing, or advocating violence,
the scriptures continually warn us about people that hold the beliefs the
author of this article apparently has. Romans 16:17-18 New International
Version 17 I urge you, brothers, and sisters, to watch out for
those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to
the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them. 18 For such people are not serving our Lord
Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery, they
deceive the minds of naïve people.
What is the role of violence in the Christian Nationalist
movement? “Militant” Christianity is far from being peaceful or benign as its
leaders and followers would (dishonestly) like to suggest.
Rebuttal: This argument raised in this article is a
prime example of a secular viewpoint of what Christians are. If their beliefs
go against the popular confines of a secularist world, ergo, they must be a
part of this perceived vast Christofascist movement. We could express this same
argument that those who want to end Christianity, and see religion abolished,
like Lenin for example, who stated that religion was the opium of the masses.
Using the writer’s coined term, Christofascist is indeed reverse fascism. Referring
again to Romans 16:17-18, the Apostle Paul, summed it up succinctly. 17 I urge you, brothers and sisters, to watch out for those
who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the
teaching you have learned. Keep away from them. 18 For such people are not serving our Lord
Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery, they
deceive the minds of naïve people.
There is a wonderful framework in Gorski and Perry’s book “The
Flag and the Cross.” They talk about how White Christian nationalists focus on
a trinity consisting of freedom, order, and violence. White Christian
nationalists only believe they can experience freedom if the social order is in
its proper form. That means that all the various constituents of American
communities must know their place in the social order and live out that role
culturally, politically, and so on. If all the constituents don’t live out
and/or accept their roles, then the social order is out of place - and thus White
Christians can’t experience the freedom they believe to have been promised. As
Gorski and Perry argue, White Christian nationalists reserve the right to use
violence in order to put the social order back in place. When they act
violently, it is as patriots, godly warriors, and real Americans. When others,
including Black folks and people of color, and immigrants, and queer people,
use protest or uprising to change the social order, they are deemed terrorists,
extremists, and threats to the American way of life.
We’ve seen how Christians used violence in the past to put
the social order back in the place they think it should be in. Scholars have
shown us the iteration of the KKK in the 1910s and 1920s was a thoroughly
Christian movement to reify the American social order in the wake of
Reconstruction. I can see Jim Crow as an extension of this movement. And
of course, there were many in the thirties and forties who joined organizations
and movements like the Christian Front and the America First movements inspired
by people such as Charles Lindbergh or Father Coughlin, who did so in the name
of faith.
All of that, when the social order feels out of place to
the white Christian nationalists, they feel as if they are not experiencing
American freedom. And then they feel as if they may use violence to
rectify that situation. January 6 is no different. And since then, we’ve only
seen the calls coming from many sources in Christian America for further
violence, for civil war, for a national divorce in order to make things, in
their minds, how they should be.
Rebuttal: In today’s society, particularly a woke one, whenever
they can’t come up with a valid argument, they always have the “Race Card,” to
play. That and blaming all the ills in society on white supremacy, or religion.
God has allowed me to be on this earth for over 80 years, and in that time, they
have attacked family and Christian values, many times destroying them. It did not
matter what color, race, or creed you were a part of.
2 Tim. 4:3-4), “For the time will come when they will not endure
sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will
accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance with their
own desires and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to
myths.” Ephesians 6:12 12 For we
do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against
the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present
darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly
places. Many of the identifications of various groups or organizations referenced
in this article are not true Christians in a scriptural sense, but a part of
those that seek to disenfranchise whomever, or whatever they are against. To
borrow a secularist argument, Christians, like persons of color or race, are
being profiled. Romans 13:1-2 says: “Obey
the government, for God, is the One who has put it there. There is no government
anywhere that God has not placed in power. So those who refuse to obey the law
of the land are refusing to obey God, and punishment will follow.” We
need to
digest and obey this verse. The only time we are to disobey a law is if it is morally wrong, not
in our opinion but in God’s sight. Otherwise, we are to be good citizens and
make the church and state work together for good. Throughout history, lawmakers
have enacted many laws that contradict the laws of God. It is these laws that
Christians, as instructed by the scriptures, are not supposed to obey.
What role did White nationalists and other “Christian”
militants play on Jan. 6 with Trump’s coup attempt and the attack on the
Capitol?
January 6 was a religious crusade. If you look closely at the
symbols present on January 6, you will see of course American flags, but you’ll
also see Confederate flags. You’ll see Christian flags. You’ll see the
Appeal to Heaven flag. You’ll see people who are carrying icons of Mary and
statues of Christ. You will see people who are praying at almost every stage of
the insurrection, whether that is outside the building or inside the Senate
chamber.
January 6 was for many of the rioters a chance to take back
the country for God. And for the people whom God had rightly given the country to.
Rebuttal: This could also be a rhetorical question. During
any protest, there will be flags, signs, posters, etc. expressing one’s
viewpoint. That there were American flags, Christian flags, religious icons, etc.
I don’t believe those displays, and the protestors carrying them contributed to
acts of violence any more than left-wing agitators like Antifa do. So-called
White Nationalists, or Christian Militants, have the same First Amendment right
to protest as do those opposed to them. I always think back to America’s
founding fathers who advocated overthrowing a tyrannical government if
necessary. The Capitol building, and the
Halls of Congress, to me, are the people’s house, and they had every right to enter
them.
Mike Johnson is elevated to Speaker of the House and there
is all this discussion about Christian Nationalism/White Christian supremacy.
That lasts for a few days or perhaps a week or so, then it disappears. Mike
Johnson is still Speaker of the House; he has not disappeared just because the
media has stopped focusing on him. How does that feel given your years of
sounding the alarm about the danger(s) such forces represent to the country?
I understand that we live in a situation where there’s a
24-hour news cycle. For quite some time, there have been more crises to pay
attention to than most of us have the bandwidth for. I think for me, the
critical thing in my work is to continue to point out the threats that
Christian extremists pose to our democracy.
I think at the moment we are in the eye of the storm. We’re
about a year from the election. And there’s been a sense that the threat of
Trump’s reign is in the past. However, I think more folks are now coming to
realize that the 2024 election is approaching. And the elevation of
Johnson to speaker is a kind of foreshadowing of the kinds of retrograde social
order that MAGA nation and Christian nationalists want to put in place in this
country. So, for me, the task is to continue to point out how dangerous these
ideologies and approaches to government are for our society. One of the biggest
challenges in this media landscape is for people to realize that it is possible
for White Christians to be dangerous.
Rebuttal: The scriptures continually warn us of sin,
sinners, and sinful acts. In the book of Genesis, God expresses He is sorry for
creating man, and decides that He will destroy man whom I have created from the
face of the earth. He was also going to destroy the beast, creeping things, and
birds of the air. And, as I have already written about, the Apostle Paul in his
letter to Timothy warns against those in a secular society who will not endure
sound doctrine. In 2 Timothy 4:3-4, “For the time will
come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to
have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in
accordance with their own desires and will turn away their ears from the
truth and will turn aside to myths.” We are certainly in “that
time.”
Whenever a portion of society expresses a viewpoint that
goes against the secularist views, they become a threat to American Democracy. Yet
those progressive views are a much greater threat to democracy, e.g., altering the
freedom of speech through “wokeism,” or other such attempts to cancel history
or values.
What type of America and world do Mike Johnson and the
other Christian nationalists want to create?
White Christian nationalists want an American society in
which their particular interpretation of faith is privileged over all others.
This means that, as Johnson says, the church has a profound influence on the
government by way of policy, education, and law. If they had their way abortion
would be banned, no-fault divorce would be illegal, and gay marriage outlawed.
What does that equate to? It equates to a social order in which heterosexual
Christians who adhered to a patriarchal family structure are the real Americans
- and everyone else is seen as either deviant or second-class (unwilling or
unable to attain the status of the real American). This social vision is
retrograde. It prioritizes White Christian men, heterosexual families,
native-born Americans, and treats the rest of us as “other.”
Mike Johnson’s political vision is representative of many
white Christian nationalists in the country. And what it represents is a
demand that their particular interpretation of faith and values be implemented
in our laws and policies. For them, if that vision is not implemented, then
America is off course and they, as people of faith and as American citizens,
are being persecuted. I’ve said it many times, but for those who are
accustomed to privilege, equality in the public square feels like persecution.
And so for Johnson and his cohorts the representation of other faiths, the
legal protection of family structures that they see as deviant, the inclusion
of trans people, of immigrants, of those who are not like them, in our society
is not taken as an expansion of our Union, but as a kind of backsliding from
the way America should be.
Unfortunately, for many Christian nationalists, there is a
sense that democracy is not the answer, but the problem. They want power at any
cost, and so if you don’t have the majority; if you are not those who hold over
51% of the vote; if your opinion is increasingly in the minority; you will turn
increasingly to non-democratic approaches to getting what you want.
We see this in the way that many on the American Christian
Right totemize Vladimir Putin and Viktor Orban. They see these men as leaders
of countries who do so in God’s name - who do so without apology and in a way
that honors what they take to be the nuclear family values, traditional
religious ethics, and so on and so forth. In their minds, the fact that
Orban and Putin are at best illiberal leaders and at worst autocrats doesn’t
matter. And in fact, that’s a benefit because they don’t have to rely on Congress,
the State Department the Department of Justice or anyone else to implement
their vision for society. They don’t have to go through the very slow and
complex churnings of a democratic republic that relies on norms and processes
to make sure things are fair.
The end result is an increasing recognition that if
democracy doesn’t get what you want then perhaps you should put it aside. And
that’s one of the scariest aspects of this movement.
Rebuttal: Wow, where do I start? True Christians, not those
that the writer of this article has classified as White Christian Nationalists if they are following the word of God and Jesus Christ, are interpreting their
faith that this is what God commands, is not privileged, it is scriptural.
People of all races, and colors that are true Christians only consider their
faith as privileged, because it comes from Him, not secularists or their viewpoints.
Here’s what the scriptures tell us about what God and Christ think about man’s
teachings. Matthew 16:23 But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You
are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God’s
interests, but man’s.” Matthew 15:9 ‘But in vain do they worship Me, Teaching
as doctrines the precepts of men. Galatians 1:11-12 For I would have you know,
brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man. For
I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through
a revelation of Jesus Christ. 1 Thessalonians 2:13 For this reason we also
constantly thank God that when you received the word of God which you heard
from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but for what it really is, the
word of God, which also performs its work in you who believe. Acts 5:38 So in
the present case, I say to you, stay away from these men and let them alone,
for if this plan or action is of men, it will be overthrown. 1 Thessalonians
4:8 So, he who rejects this is not rejecting man but the God who gives His Holy
Spirit to you. Acts 5:29 But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God
rather than men.
Speaker Johnson is on par with the scriptures many times,
not just political. Nor is it White Christian Nationalists. I view it as
scripturally aligned or influenced. As a Christian, I do not agree with
everything the congressional representative says, regarding Christianity, as I
feel that even his remarks are sometimes in conflict with scriptural teachings.
What we, as Christians, do is believe, and trust in the Word of God, and Jesus
Christ, not the teachings or the creeds of men. Acts 5:29 But Peter and the
apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men.
Faithful Christians do not believe that homosexuals,
adulterers, fornicators, etc. are second-class citizens. No, they are, as the
scriptures classify them, sinners. 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not
inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral,
nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves,
nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the
kingdom of God.
What is the “Christian ethic” that guides the likes of Mike
Johnson and the other Christofascists? What of the harm they are doing and will
do even more to entire groups of people here in the United States and around
the world? How do they reconcile that with their “Christian faith”?
From an outside perspective, it’s often jarring to see
people like Mike Johnson advocating for policies that are hurtful to other
human beings and doing so in the name of Jesus Christ or in the name of
Christianity. People like Mike Johnson will say that abortion should be
banned in almost every case, despite the fact that it might lead to health
complications for the mother, or even death. Or simply a loss of bodily
autonomy and choice.
People like Mike Johnson might argue that if you’re a gay
person, you should have no right to be married. And in fact, you should be
compared to someone who engages in bestiality, you should be seen as deviant
from God’s plan for your life. I could go on with many examples, but these are,
of course, really hurtful to those affected by these statements by these kinds
of policies. However, someone like Johnson feels as if they’re doing something
good for those human beings. By trying to correct them, by trying to
reshape them in the image of God, they believe they’re doing them a favor. And
in doing so they believe they’re creating a better society.
For Johnson, America suffers, America is punished, when we
disobey God. By calling for the repeal of gay marriage, by trying to ban
abortion, by trying to create a situation where the church has influence on the
government, even if we live in a country where there are many non-believers
atheists and so on, in Johnson’s mind that’s doing good for individuals and for
society.
This is of course an incredibly paternalistic view. It’s a
view that says, I know better for you than you know for yourself - and what’s
better for you is the vision God has given me for society and for your life. To
the outsider, it appears as if he’s being cruel, hurtful, lacking empathy. To
the insider, it is the hard work of somebody willing to take on the difficult
task of restoring America for God’s purpose.
Rebuttal: The Christian Ethic, to use the writer of this
article’s term, is really, simple. It is obeying the Gospel of Jesus Christ,
confessing that He is the Son of God, being baptized, (through immersion,) and
then being raised and walking in the newness of life as a Christian. Free from
sin. After being baptized, Christ instructs a Christian to “Go into all the world
and preach the Gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will
be saved, but he who does not believe shall be condemned.” Mark 16: 15-16. The “paternalistic
view,” stated by the writer of this article, can also apply to the views of a
world of secularists. Is it, not their view that not being a Christian or
religious person is the only way society should operate, a case in point is “wokeism?”
In the world they are trying to create, what will happen to those of us
who believe in real democracy and a pluralistic, secular, multiracial and
cosmopolitan society and set of values?
I think we already have a clear picture of what will happen
to those who don’t fit into the Christian nationalist vision for America and
the MAGA vision for America. Donald Trump has already laid out what his second
term would look like. He has signaled that Project 2025, a Heritage Foundation.
Project supported by many Christian nationalist organizations like the Family
Research Council and Hillsdale College, is something that he would seek to
implement. Project 2025 would demand that all State Department employees and
other federal employees signal their loyalty to Trump as at-will employees,
otherwise they will be removed.
This is of course an attempt to make sure that there are no
roadblocks, that there is nothing standing in the way of Trump’s vision. He has
also talked about camps for migrants, widespread large camps. This is a scary
idea for me as a Japanese American and all the memories in our community of the
camps that were set up in the wake of the bombing of Pearl Harbor. He’s also
talked about the Insurrection Act and the use of the military as a way to keep
control of the American social order. Mike Johnson is not going to stand in the
way of any of those initiatives because they serve his understanding of how
things should be in America. They represent the putting into place of the
American social order as it should be.
If we put those two together, Trump, as the authoritarian
leader, and Johnson as the representative of a white Christian nationalist
vision for the country, we see how the two go hand in hand dating back to 2016
and now in 2023 and into 2024.
We are at a place in our country where there are Christian
fascists. There are intellectuals, there are theologians, there are historians,
there are pastors who are openly calling for a post-constitutional America;
people who long for a Red Caesar that will save the country from itself. These
are people who are openly saying that it would be better if we had a Christian
Prince or another form of an autocratic leader, because that would mean a
Christian nation operating according to their Christian values. Thus, democracy
would be done away with, in the name of a godly country.
Rebuttal Footnote: This article categorically states that
Christians hate homosexuals, gay marriage, divorce, etc. instead of the sin,
which God has condemned those that do those acts for their sins, through the
scriptures. Christians who express their belief and opposition to biblical sins
are now labeled as “Christian Nationalists” or “Christofascists,” a term coined
by the article’s writer. Rlm.
Ralph L Myers
I have made no grammatical changes in the article written by the Salon writer. Only those written by me in the rebuttals I have made regarding it.
