Category: Jesus
-
#10: U.S. History and Two Religions for the Price of One
Students in public schools and I were essentially co-worshippers in the same religion: the religion of nationalism – one with its own saints, scriptures, sacred shrines and holy days. Christian nationalism’s only innovation was to overlay Christian tenets and pretend the two religions were one.
-
#9: In Christian Nationalism, Jesus is Underemployed
Sitting comfortably up there in a rolling chair, Jesus gives us a knowing wink as we get about the very messy business of day-to-day political wrangling, ready to give his blessing to our actions. And at the end of it all, he’s there to forgive us for the countless times we brazenly cross moral and…
-
Liturgy of Glory and Dust
:August 4-10
Not in cloud or in fire, but in tracts of village dirt, Not in a gilded temple, but in the hills of rock and wildflowers, Not in shining robes, but in rugged and tattered garments, Not in inlaid jewels, but in twisted thorns, Not in a seat upon a dais, but in the gnarled wood…
-
#5: Blessed but Stressed
The ongoing favor of God wasn’t guaranteed, though. Apparently, God was a ‘What have you done for me lately?’ kind of deity. Just like that, He could turn the tables on us.
-
#2: A Christian Nationalist Deserter
At the vertex of my turn away from Christian nationalism stood a shit-stirring seaside woodworker named Jesus.
-
The ‘Deconstruction’ Thing vs. ‘Assurance’
There was a kind of calculus in operation in the evangelical churches in which I grew up. The equations had been balanced, the variables accounted for, the formulas distilled. Questions and problems of theology had been answered and resolved, then slotted neatly into clockwork systems, with every ‘t’ crossed and every ‘i’ dotted.
-
The ‘Deconstruction’ Thing: Maybe it’s God’s Work
Are there in evangelicalism enough question marks, enough bad habits, enough dubious practices, enough blind spots, enough patches and shortcuts and hacks and rotting beams and decaying joists, that deconstruction is necessary? And if that’s the case, then could deconstruction be God’s work?
-
Enslaved to Civic Freedom
‘Freedom’ is a common and hackneyed word on the lips of so-called ‘Christian nationalists‘.1 It echoes from pulpits. It simmers on social media. It entitles a rock-star worship leader like Sean Feucht to wander the United States like a patriot missionary, preaching the good news of civic freedom to his groupies, and singing a few…
-
‘Christian Nationalism’ Isn’t Christian
When Rocky Balboa defeated the juiced Russian monster, Ivan Drago, on his home turf, my young heart was stirred. Vengeance for Apollo! And when he drew a standing ovation from the entire Politburo with his “everybody can change” speech, I shed tears. Red, white and blue tears. Take that, Soviets! Now, years later, it turns…
-
Submission to All, Allegiance to None
Submission can be painful and humbling. When Steve What’s-His-Name kicked my ass back in the fifth grade, pulling my jacket over my head hockey-style and twisting my arm behind my back until I submitted, I won’t lie and say it didn’t sting my pride. Likewise, when writers like Peter and Paul entreat their audiences to…