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Let’s Put an End to Baseless Calls for “Unity”

The call has gone out for unity. Public figures are talking about the necessity of unifying a divided nation. Religious leaders lament the divisions within their fellowships. Somehow or another everyone is now supposed to find a way to come together, to put their differences aside, and to find common cause.

But the question is, What is the unifying cause?

Unity for unity’s sake is doomed to failure. Its fabric is too thin to hold. The innumerable differences that distinguish us one from another are too sharp. They will not long remain suppressed by the artificial gauze of abstract  mantras like “unity.”

Genuine unity, like authentic community, emerges as the byproduct of a common purpose, a shared mission. Why are we here? What moves us? Where are we going? How do we get there? Why is it worth the effort?

The many Trump supporters who remain convinced that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from their leader know how to answer those questions. They are already united, and they have little if any interest in compromising their political principles – however unprincipled anyone else may think them to be.

The fusion of white evangelicalism with conservative, Republican politics – especially with devotion to Donald Trump – means that millions of church goers now measure spirituality by the yardstick of fervor for a particular set of political outcomes.

Working for those outcomes, such as prayer in school, outlawing abortion, denying homosexuals the right to marry, is what unifies political conservatives and white evangelicals in their spiritual mission. They labor together for (what they believe is) a righteous cause.

No “true believer” is going to compromise their conservative commitments for unity. Unity smunity! That kind of unity is actually compromise in the world of the Religious Right.

White evangelical faith now most powerfully appropriates the immaterial realm of conspiracy theories, evidence-free assertions of election fraud, and the ipsissima verba of Donald Trump. The most important moments of  fellowship throughout the week occur as everyone sits at the feet of Fox News, Newsmax, OANN, Breitbart, and Infowars. These are the prophets and spiritual leaders of white, American evangelicalism.

I heard a sermon a few months ago calling the church to unity. “We need to come together!,” we were told. But we were never told why or how.

The New Testament, however, is very clear in addressing those issues.

Scripture tells us that the adoration, service, and glorification of Jesus Christ is the purpose for unity in the church.

A community of saved sinners collectively overwhelmed by God’s abundant grace, working to conform themselves to the example of Jesus of Nazareth, ready to suffer, to serve “the least of these,” to lift up the downtrodden, and to cultivate humility, that is the brand of unity pleasing to God.

So, when I am told to seek unity within the church, my first question is, “Which Jesus are we linking arms around?” Is he the suffering, crucified Jesus of the gospels or the gun-toting, warlord Jesus who attacks his enemies in the streets? Is it the Jesus who “came not to be served but to serve” or the macho Jesus who ridicules others with demeaning nicknames. cursing, and licentious hands that assault innocent women?

I am sorry. Genuine unity is a function of a common cause, a shared adoration. And I simply do not find that commonality with the vast majority of the white evangelical church today. We are now worshiping different God’s. We serve different Saviors. Our expectations for sanctified living have drifted eons apart.

The evangelical church has crossed a watershed in this nation’s history. The Religious Right has proven itself victorious; victorious in convincing far too many that exchanging their devotion to the kingdom of God for a bowl of secular, political pottage is the right thing to do.

No, now is not the time to call for unity.

Now is the time to call for confession and repentance.

Now is the time for real leaders to require authentic discipleship in following the real Jesus of the New Testament.

Now is the time to emphasize that neither patriotism, nationalism, militarism, nor American exceptionalism have anything to do with service in the kingdom of God. In fact, they are all enemies that work to undermine God’s kingdom, every last one of them.

I cannot be “unified” anyone who does not understand these basic theological truths. I can help them to understand, if they are willing to learn. I can teach the scriptures to them. I can pray with them as we together seek the Holy Spirit’s correction and maturity.

But shapeless, amorphous, contentless calls for abstract unity…well, that’s just a waste of time.

Michigan Republicans Show More Integrity Than National Leaders

President Trump’s attempt to pressure Michigan Republicans into complying with his desire to replace Democratic state electors with Republicans appears to have failed.

CNN reports on the meeting and its aftermath:

Earlier today I posted about the White House invitation to two Republican state officials, both heavily funded by the DeVos family, to meet with the president in Washington. Trump obviously wanted to discuss the results of the Michigan presidential election recount.

Why meet with Republican state legislators? Because Trump hoped that they might overturn the election results by picking their own Republican electors — a strategy that he discussed openly long before the election.

Despite the fact that the Michigan recount has confirmed Biden’s victory, the certification of that result had been delayed.

The Detroit Daily News has a good article explaining the ins and outs of that certification process, what is at stake, and why the two Republican members of the Wayne County Board of Canvassers have been flip-flopping on their votes to certify or decertify the vote count (they first voted no; then yes; then no again after each received a phone call from the president — and no, the president’s personal involvement is not normal).

As best as I can determine, all but one of Trump’s lawsuits have been dismissed by the courts, generally due to lack of evidence.

Although Rudy Guliani and others continue to insist that they have an

WASHINGTON, DC – NOVEMBER 19: Rudy Giuliani holds up a mail-in ballot as he speaks to the press about various lawsuits related to the 2020 election, inside the Republican National Committee headquarters on November 19, 2020 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Drew Angerer/ Getty Images)

abundance of evidence demonstrating massive, nation-wide fraud, they have not been able to produce it convincingly for the courts.

The judges presiding over these suits in federal court have been both Republican and Democratic appointees. So, these have been bipartisan dismissals, making it hard to suggest a partisan conspiracy against Trump in the judicial system.

The Georgia recount has also confirmed the original results in favor of Joe Biden. Even though Guliani, together with Trump’s other lawyers, have accused the Dominion Voting System of secretly flipping thousands of Trump votes to Biden, no evidence has yet been provided to back up this claim.

In fact, the Georgia recount constitutes a decisive debunking of the Trump- team accusations. Certainly, if thousands of Trump votes had been secretly flipped to Biden by malicious software, then the state-wide, hand recount would have exposed the computer-enabled deception.

It didn’t happen.

Guliani has repeatedly stated that Biden’s victories in Democratically controlled cities is blatant evidence of Democratic election fixing.

Really?

Let’s think about this claim. Isn’t it likely that a majority-Democrat area will vote for the Democratic candidate? So, doesn’t it make sense that Biden (a Democrat) is most likely to win in Democratically controlled areas of the country? How is this evidence of nation-wide, voter fraud?

I watch and read a good deal of conservative, Republican news. I have yet to find any of the information briefly provided in this post being covered by those news outlets. What I do find is the endless repetition of Trump’s accusations of fraud, but always without evidence or discussion of unfolding developments in real time.

Repetition is not an argument; neither is it evidence of anything other than a person’s dogged commitment to their own ideas.

I intend to write more about this dangerous problem within the church in the near future.

David Sirota: “Trump Holds Coup Meeting With DeVos-Funded Lawmakers”

As Trump’s Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos has worked very hard to dismantle public education in this country. She and her husband, Rich, have

Betsy DeVos

also been reliable, big-money donors to Republican politicians and their causes, including Trump’s presidential campaign.

This week journalist David Sirota published a report at his blog, The Daily Poster, detailing the DeVos’ substantial financial contributions to the two Michigan legislators now being pressured by Donald Trump to overturn the results of Michigan’s presidential election (Biden won).

The DeVos’ are utterly unscrupulous billionaires with a long track record of ignoring the law whenever it suits their political ambitions. They also lamentably call themselves Christians, and Betsy is a graduate of Calvin College. The place where I use to teach.

Below is an excerpt from Sirota’s article:

The Republican legislators that Donald Trump is relying on to overturn Michigan’s presidential election results have been bankrolled by the family of Trump’s current education secretary who would lose her job if Trump leaves office. 

On Friday, Trump is scheduled to meet with Michigan Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey and House Speaker Lee Chatfield. Michigan Republican Congressman Paul Mitchell “said he expects Trump is bringing Shirkey and Chatfield to the White House to pressure them to appoint pro-Trump electors to circumvent the popular vote as well as lean on the state’s GOP canvassers not to certify the election,” according to the Detroit Free Press. 

President-elect Joe Biden won Michigan by roughly 150,000 votes, according to data compiled by the New York Times.

The family of U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos is collectively Shirkey’s third largest career donor and Chatfield’s fourth largest career donor, according to data compiled by the nonpartisan Michigan Campaign Finance Network. Chatfield also co-chairs a caucus of the Republican State Leadership Committee (RSLC), a group bankrolled by corporate interests, nonprofits tied to Trump’s judicial adviser, and the DeVos family as well. 

Shirkey and Chatfield have previously pledged to honor the results of the popular vote. However, the Associated Press reports that “if Trump succeeds in convincing Michigan’s state board of canvassers not to certify Biden’s victory in the state, state lawmakers could be called on to select electors.”

That would put Shirkey and Chatfield in a position to boost or block a slate of Trump electors.  

Key Lawmakers Bankrolled By The DeVos Family 

During their careers, Shirkey and Chatfield have received nearly $140,000 from the DeVos family. Those donations represent only a fraction of the money the DeVos family has delivered to Michigan Republican legislators who could decide the fate of the state’s elector slate. 

In the 2020 election cycle alone, Michigan’s Republican House and Senate campaign committees received nearly $1.2 million from the DeVos family members, according to data from the Michigan Secretary of State’s office. That made the DeVos family the largest donor to Michigan’s Republican legislative committees by far — the next largest source is a family whose relatives sent $125,000.

DeVos family members also delivered a combined $100,000 to a series of committees called the Chatfield Majority Fund (1-4).

During her confirmation hearing, Betsy DeVos pledged that she and her husband would halt their campaign contributions — but the Detroit Free Press recently reported that her husband has subsequently donated more than $500,000 to campaigns and political causes. The newspaper noted that the family has donated $1 million to a super PAC backing Trump.

DeVos also publicly campaigned for Trump’s reelection in Michigan, as Trump administration officials traveled around the country openly flouting a longstanding federal law designed to deter government officials from explicitly political activities.

Caitlin Johnstone: “Biden Will Likely Be Worse than Obama”

In her own inimitable way, Caitlin Johnstone captures the impending ethos

Caitlin Johnstone

of a Biden presidency in her latest blog post, “Biden Will Likely Be Worst Than Obama. The Left Must Lead the Backlash, or the Right Will.”

I agree with her analysis. Here is an excerpt:

It looks like a safe bet that Joe Biden will be sworn in on January 20th after successfully campaigning on returning the murderous and oppressive Orwellian US empire back to its pre-Trump “normal”.

The problem with this, apart from the obvious fact that it was an embarrassingly close victory only made possible by the Covid outbreak, is that returning to the pre-Trump “normal” is returning to the exact positions which created Trump. It’s like using a time machine to prevent a train wreck, but only going back to one millisecond before the train wreck occurred.

It is clear that Trump’s election was the result of the easily exploited dissatisfaction caused by years of neoliberal austerity at home and neoconservative bloodshed abroad which Obama forcefully expanded and facilitated throughout two terms as president. . . 

And from all appearances it looks like Biden is going to be worse.

Unlike Obama, Biden did not campaign on hope and change, he campaigned on opposing the socialist inclinations of Sanders progressives and an aggressive foreign policy of planetary domination. He assured rich donors that nothing will fundamentally change under his presidency and his transition team is full of corporate sociopaths, war pigs and propagandists. Biden has been a corporatist warmongering authoritarian throughout his entire career, and as his mental capacity continues to deteriorate he will function as nothing more than an empty vessel for his establishment handlers to advance their most pernicious agendas through. The empire has not gotten less desperate since Obama was in office, it has gotten more desperate. . .

Read her entire post here.

Study Shows White Evangelicals at the Margins

[I am indebted to John Fea and his excellent blog, The Way of Improvement Leads Home, for drawing my attention to this study. I have excerpted his post below.]

“The Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture at the University of Virginia just released its 2020 survey of American political culture. It is titled Democracy in Dark Times. James Davison Hunter and Carl Desportes Bowman are the primary investigators/authors.

“It is a very thorough study. Read it here. A few things the study tells us about White Evangelicals:

“7 out of 10 “white evangelicals” believe that most opponents of Donald Trump are “socialists.”

“9 out of 10 “white evangelicals” believe that the Democratic Party wants to transform the nation into a “socialist nation.”

“86% of African Americans believe racism is a serious threat to America and its future. 70% of Hispanics believe this. 68% of White non-evangelicals believe this. But only 36% of “White Evangelical Protestants” believe racism is a serious threat to America and its future.

“86% of African Americans believe economic inequality and poverty are serious threats to America. 68% of Hispanics believe this. 66% of White non-Evangelicals believe this. But only 37% of White Evangelicals believe inequality and poverty are serious threats to America.

“91% of Blacks believe “the police and law enforcement unfairly target racial and ethnic minorities.” 60% of Hispanics believe this. 57% of White non-Evangelicals believe this. But only 17% of White Evangelicals believe this (83% disagree).

“78% of African Americans favor some kind of “financial compensation to African Americans for their historic mistreatment of White Americans” (reparations). 41% of Hispanics favor reparations. 34% of non-Evangelical Whites favor reparation. But only 7% of White Evangelicals favor reparations.

“The authors of the report write:

“In sum, yes, there is a racial divide in America. Whites, Hispanics, and
African Americans do not share the same or even similar perspectives on
the history, experiences, and issues surrounding race, and the consequence
of this is misunderstanding, a lack of respect, and ultimately prejudice in
the everyday experience of Blacks and other minorities. But these points
of division are not equally or uniformly distributed across the population.
The deepest and most consistent racial division is found between White
Evangelicals and Blacks. Reconciliation begins with mutual understanding,
and by these lights, it is a long way off. (emphasis mine)

“. . . The authors of the study conclude that White Evangelicalism, a movement that once was at the center of American religious and cultural life, has become a “cultural other” in the United States.”

Read the entire study here.

Biden Appointee Admits He No Longer Supports the First Amendment

Ben Norton

Ben Norton has a good article at The Grayzone Project about Biden’s transition team member heading the US Agency for Global Media. His name is Richard Stengel.

Below are a few, deeply troubling excerpts:

“Richard Stengel, the top state media appointee for US President-elect Joe Biden’s transition team, has enthusiastically defended the use of

Richard Stengel

propaganda against Americans.

“‘My old job at the State Department was what people used to joke as the chief propagandist,’ Stengel said in 2018. ‘I’m not against propaganda. Every country does it, and they have to do it to their own population. And I don’t necessarily think it’s that awful.’ . . .

“Stengel has proposed ‘rethinking’ the First Amendment that guarantees the freedom of speech and press. In 2018, he stated, ‘Having once been almost a First Amendment absolutist, I have really moved my position on it, because I just think for practical reasons in society, we have to kind of rethink some of those things.’ . . .

“Stengel’s appointment appears to be the clearest signal of a coming escalation by the Biden administration of the censorship and suppression of online media that is seen to threaten US imperatives abroad. . . .”

Read the entire, disturbing article here.

What Goes Around Comes Around, Especially in Politics

Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign launch the Russia-Gate myth — a myth that lacked substance from the beginning and has been thoroughly debunked over time — intended to cripple Donald Trump’s presidency.

Now Trump has launched his own disinformation campaign in prophetically declaring the presidential election fraudulent before it even occurred.

His loyalists continue to hold to this position despite all evidence to the contrary. It is sad but not surprising.

The Democrats should have known. Those who sow the wind will reap the whirlwind. Conservative America is now prepared to undermine a Biden presidency as vehemently as Democrats worked to undermine Trump.

In politics, wild dogs always come back to bite those who released them. Pelosi, Shumer, and the rest should have known.

Though I often disagree with him, Fareed Zakaria puts it well:

Identifying the Dangers of “Both Sides-ism”

Most people belief that the earth is round, but we can’t be certain because the Flat Earth Society insists it is flat.

 Most scientists think that global warming is accelerated by CO2 emissions, but we can’t know for sure because others say it is not.

The preceding two sentences are examples of a logical fallacy known as a false equivalency, sometimes called the “both sides” argument. (See the definition and explanation below as well as here and here).

The logical fallacy known as a false equivalency presents two different positions, or different sides of an argument, as if they were equally valid when, in fact, they are not. This highly illogical way of looking at the world has become increasingly common in both news and social media.

Sometimes it appears innocently when a person, such as a reporter, is unclear about the facts of a case and wants their presentation to appear unbiased. In this instance, an honest reporter will admit his ignorance as he gives both sides of a possible explanation.

More often, however, false equivalencies are intentionally used to mislead and to misinform. It is a common rhetorical trick deployed in political propaganda.

I recently heard an outrageous example of false equivalency on the radio while I was listening to a conservative call-in program (driving cross-country looking to trap a little falcon called a merlin).

A Trump-voter had called the program and was deriding Joe Biden and Kamala Harris (NOTE: I am NOT a fan of either!!!) while insisting that the recent presidential election was fraudulent.

(Heads up on another false equivalency: many say Biden won the election, but many Trump supporters say the election way rigged. Therefore, we can’t know the actually winner).

The pro-Trump caller noted that while Democrats applauded Kamala Harris because she and Biden intended TO UNIFY the country, he knew that both were avid communists intent on destroying America.

How did he know this?

Well, he cited a specific page from Karl Marx’s work, The Communist Manifesto.  Marx urges his fellow revolutionaries “TO UNIFY” the proletariat (that is, the workers) in their pursuit of radical, political transformation.

In other words — according to this caller’s logic — whereas some people thought the Democratic presidential ticket was hoping to heal the nation (Ahem: if you really believe that, I’ve got a good deal on a piece of swamp land in Florida to sell you), he knew that the Democrats were really closet Communists planning a socialist revolution to destroy America.

How did he know this?

Well, both Harris and Marx talked about uniting the common people.

Of course, the host of the call-in program did not point out this whopping, outrageous instance false equivalency. In fact, he thanked the caller for his historical insight and let the comparison stand, thereby giving it his official, radio stamp of approval!

That is how propaganda works. And I hope my readers can see for themselves how very malicious such false equivalencies can be.

But false equivalencies are also used by people like politicians and church pastors who are afraid of losing part of their audience.

Rather than taking a position on a controversial issue; rather than calling out falsehoods and misinformation; rather than explaining why one position is clearly illegitimate while another is the ethical position required by good citizenship or Christian faith, these “leaders” will describe a variety of positions as all equally legitimate possibilities.

For instance, the Black Lives Matters movement sparked a deluge of bogus false equivalency arguments from conservative church leaders, though I don’t have space to describe them all here.

We see that the question boils down to a matter of discernment. How do we know the truth of a matter? Of all people in this world, Christians ought to have an especially deep allegiance to knowing the truth.

So, here are a few key ingredients to help us in pursuing the truth in public debate:

  1. Do your research. What are the facts? What is the relative expertise of the supposed “experts” whose conclusions disagree? Are there reasons for either side to be biased in its conclusions? (For instance, when the work of “scientists” who minimize the dangers of global warming is funded by the fossil fuel industry, their arguments are HIGHLY suspect). Who is paying for these people to say the things they say? Are there other vested interests at stake in the argument? What is the background, education, professional history of the various people making these claims?
  2. Yes, this type of research takes time, so admit ignorance when necessary. What?  You say you don’t have that much time to spare? If that is the case, then – to put it bluntly – stop talking. If I don’t have the time to educated myself about a subject, then I shouldn’t be making pronouncements about it. That doesn’t mean I can’t discuss it, but it does mean that I must speak with hesitation and humility. Drop the pretense of self-confidence. Learn to say, “I’m not sure. I don’t know. This is only my opinion.”
  3. Grow a spine. This point is especially pertinent to people who call themselves Christians. NOT ALL POSITIONS ARE EQUALLY VALID OR ACCEPTABLE. Thus, falsehoods, misrepresentations, and immorality must be identified and condemned wherever you see them.

All politics involves moral judgment. Pastors who say they won’t allow politics into their church are deluding themselves. The real question is, What sort of politics are you encouraging your people to embrace (whether explicitly or implicitly, by promotion or silence)?

Every Christian must be committed to exemplifying Christ-like morality. And that includes politics.

It only follows, then, that many political positions/decisions must be rejected by God’s people, since not all conflicting positions can be equally ethical, true, or Christ-like.

The basis for a Christian’s political decisions must always be the life, character, and teaching of Jesus Christ. (No, Jesus may not have an opinion on every policy, but he does have an opinion on the over-arching moral effects of our politics).

Any supposed church leader who either (a) fails to apply this “Jesus test” to their politics, or (b) says that any and all political views are equally permissible within the church – in other words, there are no truly “false” equivalencies, only diverse equivalencies – is either lazy, dull-witted, or cowardly.

The gospel witness of Christ’s church can only suffer when leaders either employ or tolerate these sorts of false equivalencies. Yet, they are rampant within today’s political discourse.

Where is the church’s influence in combating this sort of propaganda?

Where is the church taking a stand for TRUTH in public discourse?

From what I can see, the church is not very different from the polarized, partisan public that draws life from the popularization of of malicious and illogical false equivalencies.

As I see it, baptizing this brand of sloppy thinking is merely the lazy person’s way of appearing tolerant.

George Floyd + Breonna Taylor = A Long Overdue Righteous Revolution

On March 13 Breonna Taylor was murdered by Louisville Metro Police officers while sleeping in her bed.

Police had obtained a “no knock” warrant to search her apartment on the basis of a lie fabricated by the police officers. Three policemen broke down Ms. Taylor’s front door with their weapons draw and entered her home.

Eleven witnesses on the scene all testify that the police never identified themselves.

Taylor’s boyfriend was awoken imagining that dangerous criminals had broken into the apartment. He was correct in this assumption. Except these criminals all wore a police badge, which apparently gives any cop the right to do whatever he/she pleases to any African American, without consequences.

Grabbing his registered handgun, Ms. Taylor’s boyfriend fired once to let the intruders know that he was armed. The police fired their weapons 20 or more times into the darkness. Five to eight (reports vary) of those bullets penetrated Breonna’s body, killing her.

Ms. Taylor was an EMT who worked as an emergency room technician. She had no criminal record. A search of her apartment revealed none of the things the police were looking for.

Today, the 3 officers responsible for Taylor’s death were all found not guilty of murder.

One officer was convicted of “wanton endangerment” because his shots penetrated into the surrounding apartments.

Since no one (fortunately) in these other apartments was injured, we are left to conclude that property damage is a more heinous crime in Louisville, Kentucky than murder. Especially when the murder victim is a young black woman.

Once again, Louisville has proven that black lives do not matter in America. But, heck, we will happily let others die, especially if they are people of color, as long as the police will protect our property.

Another obvious lesson from this injustice is the need for all second amendment, militia types to sit down and be quiet. Repeatedly, we have listened to these “patriots” warn about the imminent dangers of heavily armed government officials breaking into the homes of innocent Americans.

Well, Ms. Taylor’s tragedy is the literal enactment of every gun loving, militia member’s worst nightmare. So, where are they? Why aren’t they marching through the streets of Louisville condemning government oppression with their long rifles at the ready, locked and loaded?

I’ll tell you.

They are sitting at home on their fat butts saying and doing nothing because Breonna Taylor was black. All they are truly interested in is “defending” their vision of a white America.

I fear that the majority of evangelical church leaders will also remain silent over the grotesque injustice of this entire affair. If they do eventually speak up, I predict that it will only be to chime in with Fox News propaganda to condemn the “looters,” and “rioters” who are “destroying property.”

Where have these church people been? In which hole in the ground have they buried their useless heads?

The wanton hypocrisy of such “spiritual leadership” knows no bounds.

Can anyone honestly wonder why we see African Americans – at least, those who are caught on film – running from the police or resisting arrest? The reasons are obvious. In far too many cases, the police are the enemy.

I would behave in exactly the same way if I were a black man in America today. AND SO WOULD YOU, MY DEAR READER. Admit it.

Jesus commands his people “to love your neighbor as yourself.” Love requires empathy.

Godly empathy requires carrying (or at least sharing) the other person’s burden — the burden of their oppression; the burden of unrelieved injustice measured out to them; the burden of grief, lament, and loss; the burden of struggling for righteousness, yes RIGHTEOUSNESS, on this earth.

This was the message of the Old Testament prophets. This was Jesus’ message, too.

Any so-called spiritual “leader” who does not already understand this point needs to resign now, for you do NOT understand what it means to live as a citizen of God’s kingdom.

Neither do you grasp Jesus’ ethical teaching.

I don’t know about you, but my next task is to check out the airfare to Louisville. I hope I’ll see you there, too.

It is long, long past time for God’s people to mercilessly attack the walls of American racism and injustice.

It’s long past time for a truly righteous revolution.

Remember, Jesus Was Killed by Law Enforcement

Just a few reminders for anyone calling him/herself a Christian:

Jesus of Nazareth brought the kingdom of God into this world.

Authentic Christians understand that living obediently in God’s kingdom takes priority over every other group, party, and allegiance.

Politics can never establish, empower, or extend God’s kingdom.

Jesus was not white. He was a Palestinian Jew with dark skin and (probably) kinky hair.

Jesus’ teaching and personal behavior overturned a great deal of the social and religious status quo normalized in his culture.

Jesus defied conventional legal authority  on numerous occasions and paid the ultimate price. That is what obedience to God commonly looks like.

In this way, Jesus did not “respect” authorities that disrespectfully abused their power and mistreated others.

Jesus taught his followers to show mercy and kindness to everyone without exception.

Jesus taught his followers never to cooperate with wrongdoing, no matter how “official” its proponents.

Jesus taught his followers to stand for justice and righteousness on behalf of those from whom it is withheld.

Jesus insisted that his people give practical assistance to those in need of help.

Jesus rejected violence and taught his followers always to do the same.

Anyone who imagines that a political agenda, especially an agenda that sanctions violence, will somehow help God in accomplishing his work is sorely mistaken and is NOT following Jesus.

Leaders who do not condemn injustice, whether individual or corporate, do not understand what it means to live as citizens of God’s kingdom.

Neither do they understand their responsibility as leaders.

Jesus never exalts or approves of those who commit violence. He always condemns it.

Jesus always condemns any thought, word, or action (e.g. Tweets and Facebook posts) that demeans or dehumanizes another human being.

Jesus insists that his followers always uphold the truth.

Upholding the truth requires confronting lies whenever possible, confronting lies with truth, and challenging others when they are caught spreading lies among God’s people.

[For example, John MacArthur needs to confess and repent for the lies he has repeated about the Center for Disease Control and his potentially lethal claims from the pulpit (!) that the covid pandemic is a hoax.]

Following Jesus and living in God’s kingdom requires more than faith. Jesus demands faithfulness — a Christian virtue that seems to be in increasingly short supply in the church today.