This Open Letter appeared in Commonweal. Open the link to see the signatories.
Each day more signs point to a tremendous shift in American conservatism away from the prior consensus and toward the new nationalism of Donald Trump. This is evident not only in the recent National Conservatism Conference held in July in Washington, D.C., but also in the manifesto signed by a number of Christians who appear eager to embrace nationalism as compatible with Christian faith. Without impugning specific individuals, as fellow Christian intellectuals, theologians, pastors, and educators, we respond to this rapprochement with sadness, but also with a clear and firm No. We are Orthodox, Catholic, and Protestant; Republicans, Democrats, and independents. Despite our denominational and political differences, we are united by the conviction that there are certain political solidarities that are anathema to our shared Christian faith.
In the 1930s many serious Christian thinkers in Germany believed they could manage an alliance with emergent illiberal nationalism. Prominent theologians like Paul Althaus and Friedrich Gogarten believed that the National Socialist movement offered a new opportunity to strengthen social order and cohesion around Christian identity. But some Christians immediately resisted, most visibly in the Barmen Declaration of 1934, which rejected the compromises of “German” Christianity and its heinous distortions of the Gospel.
Our situation in 2019 is surely different, but American Christians now face a moment whose deadly violence has brought such analogies to mind. Again we watch as demagogues demonize vulnerable minorities as infesting vermin or invading forces who weaken the nation and must be removed. Again we watch as fellow Christians weigh whether to fuse their faith with nationalist and ethno-nationalist politics in order to strengthen their cultural footing. Again ethnic majorities confuse their political bloc with Christianity itself. In this chaotic time Christian leaders of all stripes must help the church discern the boundaries of legitimate political alliances. This is especially true in the face of a rising racism in America, where non-whites are the targets of abominable acts of violence like the mass shooting in El Paso.
To be clear, nationalism is not the same as patriotism. Nationalism forges political belonging out of religious, ethnic, and racial identities, loyalties intended to precede and supersede law. Patriotism, by contrast, is love of the laws and loyalty to them over leader or party. Such nationalism is not only politically dangerous but reflects profound theological errors that threaten the integrity of Christian faith. It damages the love of neighbor and betrays Christ.
1. We reject the pretensions of nationalism to usurp our highest loyalties. National identity has no bearing on the debts of love we owe other sons and daughters of God. Created in the image and likeness of God, all human beings are our neighbors regardless of citizenship status.
2. We reject nationalism’s tendency to homogenize and narrow the church to a single ethnos. The church cannot be itself unless filled with disciples “from all nations” (panta ta ethné, Matthew 28:19). Cities, states, and nations have borders; the church never does. If the church is not ethnically plural, it is not the church, which requires a diversity of tongues out of obedience to the Lord.
3. We reject the xenophobia and racism of many forms of ethno-nationalism, explicit and implicit, as grave sins against God the Creator. Violence done against the bodies of marginalized people is violence done against the body of Christ. Indifference to the suffering of orphans, refugees, and prisoners is indifference to Jesus Christ and his cross. White supremacist ideology is the work of the anti-Christ.
4. We reject nationalism’s claim that the stranger, refugee, and migrant are enemies of the people. Where nationalism fears the stranger as a threat to political community, the church welcomes the stranger as necessary for full communion with God. Jesus Christ identifies himself with the poor, imprisoned foreigner in need of hospitality. “For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, a stranger and you gave me no welcome, naked and you gave me no clothing, ill and in prison, and you did not care for me” (Matthew 25:41-43).
5. We reject the nationalist’s inclination to despair when unable to monopolize power and dominate opponents. When Christians change from majority to minority status in a given country, they should not contort their witness in order to stay in power. The church remains the church even as a political minority, even when unable to influence the government or when facing persecution.
In charity and in hope, we urge our fellow Christians to repudiate the temptations and the falsehoods of nationalism. The politics of xenophobia, even when dressed up in high-minded social critique, can only be pursued in contradiction of the Gospel. A true culture of life welcomes the stranger, embraces the orphan, and binds the wounds of all who are our neighbors—all who lie lifeless on the road, as the pious walk silently past.
Amen.
Never again.
Religion for many is an opioid.
Trending- house hold items emblazoned “blessed” and gold jewelry with crosses
Could the arrogance of awarding oneself “blessed” status be any less Christ-like? The most coveted religious jewelry now, inexplicably positions Christ’s cross sideways. I guess, as acts of desperation go, they rank, mild. They’re not sacrificing animals nor inflicting punishments during or after inquisitions.
Although, they did inflict Trump on the world.
Trump. Self-proclaimed nationalist. The guy who claims that as president he can do anything he wants. Mr. tough guy when attacking children or preaching to a mob. Today he tweeted out an ORDER for companies not to buy anything from China. Would be president for life who floats doing away with term limits. Mr. loyalty oaths. Mr. Rule by Executive Order. The fellow who LITERALLY wrapped himself in the flag at the annual CPAC ghoul coven meeting. He aspires to be Stalin but turns into a sniveling lackey whenever he is around one of the real dictators whom he so admires and wants to be like when he grows up.
She sold her soul to the Donald.
Just cleaning up some dust Donalds here
The Donald Wears Prada
Well, speak of the Donald!
Give the Donald his due.
Do that and there will be the Donald to pay!
He had a Donald-may-care attitude.
Oh Lord, I am having a Donald of a time here!
To play the Donald’s advocate, what if the moon was made of cheese?
That fellow is the Donald incarnate!
I’m doing it, and the Donald take the hindmost!
You didn’t deserve that, you lucky Donald you!
They were totally lost, with no good choices, somewhere between the Donald and the deep blue sea.
Thank you for your humor during our daily performance of American farce productions. Without humor where would we be? The bottom of the deep dead sea.
Humor and art will save us.
In my always humble opinion (ahem), one of the biggest problems with Christianity is the book of John. The first three books of the Gospels go on and on at length about all the things you need to do to follow Christ and not find yourself with the goats at the final reckoning: be humble, serve others, love your neighbors, your enemies, your god, help the poor/homeless/hungry/widows/orphans/etc. Then John comes along and basically says, “screw that, it’s not works that gets you into heaven, just have faith and you’ll be fine.” But it really doesn’t define what it means by “faith” or “believing” in Jesus. So Christianity then becomes more of an identity-cult – “I believe in Jesus” – than anything a person actually does or really believes in, as far as moral principles.
I’m not saying all Christians are like this by any means, but it’s certainly a strong strain among the more conservative/evangelicals. It creates a ripe culture for nationalism when we identify America as a “Christian” country. What do we mean by that? Does America love its neighbors (much less it’s enemies)? Does it help the downtrodden? Is it humble? Screw that, those are all “works” that don’t get you into heaven. We believe in God, country and football. “USA! USA! USA!”
Your reading of this is very much in line with what New Testament scholar Bart Ehrman has argued in many books and with what Ralph Waldo Emerson argued a hundred years before him. Their take: Jesus was not making a special claim for himself. He spoke of the divinity in all of us (“ye are Gods”). And he did not claim to be the Messiah but, rather, preached the imminent coming of the Messiah. And he did not point to a far-off heaven, but believed that the New Jerusalem would be established here on Earth. And he was a champion of the underclasses and of an upheaval in which, as a result, the last would be first and the first, last. And so he was almost immediately arrested when he came to Jerusalem and mocked, at his death, as “king of the Jews.”
And then came the gospel of John, the one furthest removed from the events, in time, and the one most heavily influenced by neo-Platonism
Amen, thank you, Bob.
My take on that intellectual and political history: https://bobshepherdonline.wordpress.com/poetry/history-lesson-or-on-the-hinterweltlern/
“one of the biggest problems with Christianity is the book of John. ”
IMO, that’s not really the issue. The issue is that we are supposed to listen to a single wise man. Whatever he says is the good thing. We learn to be comforted by all these eternal truths. We are taught to follow the teachings of God, Jesus—and then whoever sounds wise and credible. We crave for somebody to tell us how things are, how we should behave. Fundamentally, we become followers.
Under Communism, the wise men to listen to were Marx and Lenin and then the preacehrs of their teachings. People again learned to become followers.
Time to break with these traditions of mental and physical servitude. Thousands of years have taught us, following others, Gods, kings, presidents, CEOs lead to huge problems: we allowed people to become powerful with our unquestioning trust in their wisdom and teachings, we followed our leaders into war, accepted their expoitation, we even learned to celebrate poverty.
Parents need to raise individuals who think, ask questions all the time, teachers need to teach kids so that thewy can tell, on their own, what’s real and what’s fairy tale.
Just because something is old, written, looks authentic or official, doesn’t mean it is the truth, something we need to learn or accept or follow.
The practice of any religion involves ‘following’ a multitude of interpretations of the words of the religious leader who started the sect, be it Abraham or Moses, or Jesus, or Buddha, or Mohammed– over centuries. There is no “single wise man.” Just look at the Talmud, the Gospels, the Vedas, the multiple Asian sects derived from Buddhism when it moved East. It is all a long conversation on spiritualism, involving all mankind. It is only about ‘following’ in the sense of finding one’s spiritual path.
Marx and Lenin were political leaders who substituted themselves for spiritual leaders by forbidding religion. Those who follow spiritual gospels in mental or physical ‘servitude’ are unenlightened, but may evolve as they engage their own brains and faith. “Unquestioning trust” in the “wisdom and teaching” of “Gods, kings, presidents, CEO” does not sound like religion at all.
I do not begrudge your conception of the earthly experience as random, final, whatever. Religious faith may be a genetic quirk, who knows ( I’ve had it since birth). But the weak human tendency to ‘follow the leader’ is just that, a social adaptation– it can be manipulated to any end.
“Religious faith may be a genetic quirk, who knows ( I’ve had it since birth).”
Probably everybody has that. The question is how it evolves into a belief in Christianism, Buddhism, etc, and I think that process is rarely up to the individual’s choice, based on extensive thinking and debates.
One of my pet visions for CC based English standardized test questions (to measure close reading skills) is a little known passage from the Christian or other Bible, followed by questions about how to interpret the various statements in the quote.
“Marx and Lenin were political leaders”
Describing Marx as a political leader imo appears similar to saying that Jesus was a political leader.
This letter is penned mostly by intellectual Christians that teach in universities. Unfortunately, some right wing Christian leaders are using the Bible as justification for supporting #45. Like some religious people, they pick and choose what they want to hear and discard what they do not want to hear. Here’s a sample of what these gullible Christians are being led to believe. The rise of Trump is foretold in the Bible. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=we6LSjKjPAE&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR2DrTiWkyecPR4kimOItD3LavlUN09OmR5L59pm4SiO0I-gTPRYOj1RhPc
retired teacher : What a pile of ___________________!!! People like this make me sick. They have no idea of God or Jesus and are Fricking mad.
Personally, I belong to the “Golden Rule Church”. Basically, it’s what EVERY religion preaches. If people paused and thought about their actions and words before letting their fingers fly or their lips flap, we would be a much kinder nation of/to ALL peoples. I don’t go to church (although I relate as watered down Christian/my husband watered down Jew) and I don’t send my children to church/schul, but I have always raised them by the Golden Rule. I think they have turned out to be decent human beings. We all have differences, but why can’t we all just get along and play nice….regardless of religion, race, socio-economics?
Hear, hear.
Love yourself as much as possible and then love others a wee bit more. This would eliminate most of the problems of the world. It is so simple but almost impossible to achieve.
One of the most unholy of men died, David Koch. Democracy sends up a cheer and prays he’s joined soon by his ideological brothers.
Thank you, Linda–just looked it up–yes, David Koch, 79, died today of prostate cancer.
David Koch spent his money to steal America from its citizens. The new book, Kochland, explains the plot. He worked to repeal campaign finance laws, to abolish minimum wage, Medicare, Medicaid, corporate taxes, public pensions and the postal service. He wanted privatization of public schools.
We know Bill Gates opposed raising minimum wage. We know he doesn’t believe in democracy. We know he spoke against public pensions and has backed school privatization with $1 bil.
When does he receive the same public scorn as the Koch’s?
Charles Koch funded efforts to privatize Social Security, as happened in Chile, where many old people live in abject poverty.
David Koch married a woman his junior by 22 years. In his younger years, “He liked having a lot of women around him”. No surprise
Catholic schools appeal to the Koch network as a replacement for public schools. Religions are patriarchies.
Re: Chile’s Social Security
Christ’s pseudo followers either aid and abet or provide cover for Americans like the Koch’s and Gates as they steal the 99%’s right to self-governance and steal the bread for which they toil.
Catholic and evangelical involvement in the theft of America’s most important asset, its public schools, is blasphemy. 60%-80% of “Christians” voted for Trump and, those who didn’t and are speaking out now, are small in number.
When Christians against Cristian Nationalists grows in numbers to millions, there will be witness to Christ in the U.S.
Linda, again w/ the anti-Catholics bit! Already all of our Episcopal and high-Lutheran offspring are there. Hey, now Roman Catholic women are allowed on the altar & even give out communion! We’ll get there soon, I swear! 🙂
40% of Catholics didn’t vote for Trump. Are they a collective voice stopping Leonard Leo and the Paul Weyrich trainees? Do they thwart the Koch’s when they target their universities?
Ignoring the adverse influence of a powerful demographic group on
democracy’s survival is irresponsible.
“Ignoring the adverse influence of a powerful demographic group on
democracy’s survival is irresponsible.”
I wouldn’t blame Catholics for this. Mixing religion with politics is the issue. Some influential preachers openly endorse some presidential candidates, and that almost surely determines how their followers will vote.
Linda, Here is a man who no one mourned.
His demise is a celebratory event.
What does he care? He’s dead.
A thief in the night.
cjonnson-
Bill Gates is alive forcing his oligarchy on us… a thief in daylight.
When I was a boy, the flag was not a part of worship. Now there are almost no churches which have not inserted an American flag on one side of the stage and a Christian flag on the other. We are regularly in the habit of keeping our service men and women in our prayers, though not in the Quaker habit of questioning whether our love of country has now trumped (yes, pun intended, and a cheap one at that) our religious better judgement. There are, however, many regular church goers who agree with these authors, who correctly point out that modern nationalism is neither Christian nor desirable.
No wonder so many in the modern American church today find themselves in cause with the Netanyahu view of Jewish politics, for they are behaving as the Judiazers of early Christianity, arguing that the law must be obeyed (or at least the ones they choose to accentuate) for salvation. No wonder that they find cause with those who tell them they are not the problem with our troubled world. It is easier that way. Many of us, however, find Christianity as a way to examine ourselves, and ask if we are up to the sacrifice demanded of us. Would there were more.
American flag in the sacristy is simply creepy. I associate that w/ Evangelical nationalism. You won’t find that in my Catholic church. Nor are we Popish: the American Catholic church has a long history of taking strong stands against Roman anti- democratic/ liberal/ positions, & has harbored/ supported anti-war, anti-LGBT et al discrimination in its parishes since as long as I’ve been paying attention [early ’60’s]. The only RC country more liberl than us is the Netherlands.
I understand and appreciate what you are saying, bethree5, but “taking stand” sound more like political than religious activity. Mixing politics and religion is often the root of “problems”.
Bill Gates, richest man in the world, instead of acting against the catastrophic threat of global warming, squandered money and decades of his minions’ time in the Koch lane of school privatization.
Gates’ privatization network spoons out fellowships to superintendents of Gulen linked and Catholic schools. Religious hierarchies are denied the right to control commonly-held goods and that makes them join to destroy them.
The whole shtick with the Gates funding of the Common [sic] Core [sic] and standardized testing was a business plan. He needed a single set of “standards” to key depersonalized education software to because he believed that teachers and buildings should be replaced by computers running software sold by, guess who?
If Gates gets lumped with the Koch agenda, it’s a worse PR for him.
Several years ago, the Gates Foundation gave an odd sum to ALEC, something like $340,000. I met then with Jeff Raikes, head of the foundation, and told him what a terrible organization ALEC is. Gates never contributed again. But you know where his heart is.
Without your work, Diane, success for the people fails.
It is more of a burden than one person should bear. Thank you.
Thank you, Linda. The Big One will be published on January 21, when “Slaying Goliath” appears.
America is lucky to have superb authors warning us about the billionaire takeover of democracy. You are among the selective few who walk the talk.
I can’t wait to read the book.
This thread is rich with wisdom and warning. Being a billionaire is not a credential or a badge of merit. It is a sign of greed and trickery. Billionaires out witted the system and are feeding off the rest of us for their good fortune. Billionaires are sucking the life out of our country and the world. They are not to be trusted, especially with your children.
“Being a billionaire is not a credential or a badge of merit. It is a sign of greed and trickery. ‘
Well said.
How does one sidestep the shame of narcissism when the man possessed is the president of the United States? Trump is also declining mentally through dementia or Alzheimer’s.
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Oh, Vanny, I think God has a different plan in store for you than you think.
She, God’s daughter, is brown and grew up scared and in poverty in Guatemala. After a long, grueling walk (no camel) to a nation “blessed” by God, the “religious” tore her from the arms of her parents, Mary and Joseph.
Thank, you, Linda. That is so incredibly moving and beautiful.
If one wants to support illegal immigration or any other liberal cause, that is his or her business.
I just ask that you not drag Jesus into these positions. He died a bloody death on the cross in order to save from sin and to make His followers holy. Nowhere in the Bible are we encouraged to enable anyone’s sin.
Were you referring to Trump? Meaning no one should use the Bible to enable his sins?
I’m speaking specifically of illegal immigration. Yes, the Bible instructs Christians to help the needy. However, if you enter into this country under dishonest and unlawful pretenses, then it is only right that justice be served.
And I’m praying for salvation for our president.
vannyc: “And I’m praying for salvation for our president.”
I’m praying that he goes to prison, preferably one that doesn’t have enough money to give healthcare nor provide decent food.
Vanny,
See comment under video above.
Vanny
You’ve related Christ’s story, after his death. He was on the cross because he was judged to be a lawbreaker by the religious leaders and sentenced to die as a criminal by government leaders.
BTW- The government leader at the time was described as having a vacillating personality.
Linda, both your replies to vannyc are spot-on.
Matthew 25: 40-45
Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.
I’ll make this point and sign off:
May I suggest reading Matthew 25:31-46 so that we can understand the scripture in its proper context.
Also, please read Romans 13:1-8, 2 Corinthians 5:17-21, 1 Peter 2:13-25.
God bless you.
Vanny’s “bless you” is the pseudo Christian’s thinly veiled curse invoking God’s power on their behalf.
Vanny, respectfully:
You shall neither mistreat a stranger nor oppress him, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt. –Exod. 22:21, KJV
Therefore love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt. –Deut. 10:19
The stranger who resides with you shall be to you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt; I am the LORD your God. –Lev. 19:34
“The stranger who resides with you shall be to you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt;”
And in some instances, you are allowed to love the strangers more than your daughters.
But before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, both young and old, all the people to the last man, surrounded the house. 5 uAnd they called to Lot, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? vBring them out to us, that we wmay know them.” 6 Lot went out to the men at the entrance, shut the door after him, 7 and said, “I beg you, my brothers, do not act so wickedly. 8 xBehold, I have two daughters who have not known any man. Let me bring them out to you, and do to them as you please. Only do nothing to these men, for they have come under the shelter of my roof.”
The Bible is a strange place to learn ethics (or whatever this topic is) from.
Máté Wierdl: “I have two daughters who have not known any man. Let me bring them out to you, and do to them as you please.”
Oh dear. Don’t let Trump see this passage. He will use it to justify his raping of young girls.
There are many such peculiar stories.
“Vanny, respectfully:”
LOL. As it often happens, so I found, blindly religious people don’t know the Bible very well. They just read the passages they are told to read, and they interpret their readings the way they are told to do. Then they are told to pass down this “knowledge” to anybody they can reach.
Because of this follower mentality, present in more people than we like to think about, we only should teach truths in school. In particular, it’s difficult to argue why religious schools should be supported by the public.
Mate
They watch Fox because it tells them what to think.
Vanny, that quotation, in context, is very, very clear. We will be judged by how we treat the hungry, the poor, the imprisoned, the sick, the stranger–the least of those among us. That is quite clearly the teaching of the passage.
vannyc, the posted article is not an opinion column by political liberals supporting illegal immigration. It is an open letter to Christians from pastors and theologians, reminding them of their obligation to love and help the needy, the oppressed, the stranger.
People in Trump’s inner circle are writing books criticizing this ignoramus. They know what is happening.
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NPR: In Book, Former Defense Chief Mattis Sideswipes President Trump’s Leadership Skills
In the general’s upcoming leadership book, Call Sign Chaos, Jim Mattis implicitly criticizes President Trump; his new book goes on sale next week