Talk of God has been brought into and out of national politics throughout American history, with various partisan and non-partisan causes, but rarely in our history has any political group weaponized faith for political goals as comprehensively as today’s Republican Party. Although the name of God has been used as a rallying cry for Republicans for decades, the party that claims to support Christian values has developed a twisted ideology where the mere mention of God has become a license for injustice. Consequently, his name is being thrown out in vain by Republicans who seek to avoid being held responsible for their actions, even when those actions go directly against the Scripture.
The contradictory nature of devotional statements made by GOP members was put on full display in a recent scandal in Congress, when Rep. Ted Yoho, R-Florida, was forced to resign from a Christian organization’s board after publicly exhibiting a behavior profoundly opposite to the values he claimed to stand for.
Yoho’s non-apology
The sinister nature of an ideology that weaponizes faith to justify divisive and dehumanizing rhetoric left little to the imagination as Yoho laid out his non-apology speech on the House floor for calling a fellow member of Congress, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York), a “f—–g b—h” while standing in front of the Capitol building. Not only did he not acknowledge how his actions were antithetical to Christian values, he also doubled-down on denying that he ever said the words that both Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and a reporter from The Hill, who was a witness at the scene, had clearly heard. In the end of his non-apology speech, Yoho remarkably argued: “I cannot apologize for my passion or for loving my God, my family, and my country.”
As a Christian, I am disgusted that Yoho would appeal to his audience’s love of God as he simultaneously refused to recognize his actions as an assault on the very letter of scripture. The Bible says, “Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister (NIV, 1 John 4:20-21).”
I am further appalled seeing the rest of the GOP members who call themselves Christians allowing themselves to overlook such disgraceful actions and remain silent, which not only make profane the very things believers hold dear, but also appear to endorse the dangerous rhetoric of hate and division in a time when our nation is severely plagued with both. At this time we should come together, united in standing up against inflammatory speech that incites violence and division, and stay vigilant in the face of disingenuous political leaders using faith to cover up hate and claiming to support the values they don’t care to follow. Hate is not and has never been a Christian value.
[image_caption]Jordan Rynning[/image_caption]
A powerful political tool
At this time, when the soul of our nation is at stake, I encourage fellow believers to ask themselves if the divisive and hateful rhetoric we see is what Jesus would stand for; if racism and prejudice are what Jesus would stand for; if lying for political benefit is acceptable when the policies fit your narrative. At this point, it is evident that claiming to support religious values has become a powerful political tool for right-wing politicians. The Christian faith has been distorted to fit longstanding political goals, while a dire state of racial and social justice is calling for strong moral leadership.
If we want to resemble a hope for uniting and healing within our nation, we must rebuke lies, hate and division. We must rejoice in the truth.
Jordan Rynning is a U.S. Navy veteran originally from Kennedy, Minnesota. He has a professional background in military intelligence analysis and is currently studying political science at the University of Hawaii.
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These people are not real Christians. And certainly have little in common with Christ.
Somehow we need to get past “Us and Them”, and “Black and White”. Neither concept is very christian.
With less and less people affiliating themselves with any religion at all using religion as a political tool (at least Christianity) is doomed to failure as the numbers won’t add up. I’ll leave it up to God to sort out the “real Christians”.
There is no disputing the right panders to people of faith, in exactly the same manner the left panders to minorities. Wise people in both targeted demographics ignore the pandering and act on their own, thoughtful conclusions.
If by pandering to minorities you mean not supporting racist policies or using racist tactics to get elected, then the left panders. But that is very different from the active bigotry used to pander to so-called people of faith. That kind of hate and division is the furthest thing from the teachings of Christ.
Christ’s teachings?
“Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.”
“Six Things You Should Know About U.S. Senator Tina Smith”
“Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Allow me, I will cast out the mote
from thine eye; and behold, the beam is in thine eye?”
Are you distilling all of Christianity into those two lines? Because Jesus talked more about loving one another and loving your enemies than He did about coming up with rules.
I don’t have a lot of use for the “Christianity” professed by Trump supporters. The man is a walking embodiment of the Seven Deadly Sins, and he has said publicly that he “doesn’t know” if he believes in one of the central tenets of Christianity. He holds a Bible for a ridiculous photo op, looking for all the world as if he had never seen one of those before. Nonetheless, he gets their slavish support, if not adoration.
For many on the right, Christianity has been less about following the teachings of Jesus and more about having a handy way of enforcing an existing social order. So-called “fundamentalists” pick and choose what they want to enforce, ignoring the inconvenient (“You’re taking the rule against mixed fibers out of context!”) and doubling down on the parts that enforce what they want to believe.
I appreciate Mr. Rynning’s effort to represent a less toxic and sociopathic Christianity, but I have a couple observations to offer.
First, while a less toxic Christianity is certainly welcome, one can’t help but wonder where these less toxic Christians have been for 50+ years? Toxic sociopaths have been the dominant voice of Christianity ever since Evangelical’s took up the mantle of the moral majority in the 70’s, so who’s idea was that? Mr. Rynning can be forgiven for his claim that something “new” has happened with Christians and Republicans because he appears to be a younger observer. For those of us who were around when Falwell and his brethren debated whether to use school desegregation OR Abortion as the best wedge issues, there’s nothing new about this toxic divisiveness and more than a few of us have been waiting to hear the voices of “other” Christians for decades.
The other observation I have to make about this idea that one group of Christians, or Jews, or Muslim’s, whatever; can decide who’s “real” and who isn’t, this is a dive into a rabbit hole from which no one ever emerges. You will note that after thousands of years of human experience, the number of religions and denominations within religions keeps multiplying rather than coalescing into a unified “truth” of any kind. This is because all scriptures must be interpreted, and when disputes regarding interpretation arise, there is no final arbiter that can settle matter. The only possible arbiter of scriptural disputes would be God, but no one has a God who’s talking so they just keep dividing and arguing. If we’re lucky they don’t start killing each other over this stuff, but frequently they do, despite the fact that almost every God tells followers they’re not supposed to kill each other.
Ultimately the problem with Republicans and right wing conservatives in the US isn’t their “brand” of Christianity, it’s the whole idea that religion, theirs or anyone else’s, will provide a moral and rational template or basis for governance and society. One of the truly genius moves the founding father made in the US Constitution was to build a secular government that prohibits religious domination.
So you religious people can decide what kind of Christians or Muslim’s or whatever you are, that’s your business. Just don’t get it into your heads that your religion gives you some kind of special authority over anyone else, or some kind of special access to the “truth” that we should use to make public policy.
I think there are two things going on with less toxic voices. One is that by their nature they are not as loud. Falwell and his ilk have made a point of seeking out TV and public appearances. They are seen, because they want to be seen.
Second is that too often our media sources use these loudmouths as their only go-to for statements and quotes. For example the United Methodist Church (not my denomination) is one of the largest denominations in the US, but how often do we hear from their leading voices as opposed to people like James Dobson who is a self appointed spokesperson. I know that many mainline churches have statements, media teams and spokepeople- but they simply aren’t used as reference.
Walk gently on the earth, and do unto others as you would have them do unto you. From these two precepts, all moral reasoning can follow. Beyond this, all of the apparatus of religion in human society is only to create structures of domination, and to rationalize pathology.
The republican intelligentsia knows if you are gullible enough to be a person of faith, you will be gullible enough to believe in their agenda.
The Christian Bible contains challenging words for both the right & the left.
If you read the Bible, and you don’t feel uncomfortable, you’re doing it wrong.
I don’t exactly see the equivalence here. Yoho said in his non-apology: “I cannot apologize for my passion or for loving my God, my family, and my country.” Did Sen. Smith make any such assertion about her pro-choice support? The point of the opinion piece is how Republicans continually use their supposed faith as some sort of moral high ground when their own behavior often does not match that faith. Tina Smith is not tit-for-tat with Yoho unless she has gotten up on the same soapbox in some manner of which I am unaware.
I consider myself Christian, but I certainly don’t pretend that I think only Christians (much less only evangelical Christians) should be representing us in government. Our country is home to many citizens of different faiths or no declared faith. If you believe in the tenets of the USA, you should believe that all of them are deserving of representation. Politicians should not use their faith (whatever stripe it may be) as some sort of shield against criticism. It demeans their faith and undercuts any sincerity they are espousing.
Why are you singling out Senator Smith? Does she make loud, public protestations of her faith – praying on the street corners to be seen by others, as it were?
Why do you assume that being pro-choice is antithetical to Christianity?
My bad: I misread your comment before I had my coffee.
Let’s at least be honest and view these religious MAGA disciples for what they are. They are bigots who view wealth and health as a sign of Godly approval. Part of their prosperity gospel. They are a group of misfits who will be judged by future generations in much the same manner as those who thought George Wallace or J. Edger Hoover were true patriots. A long dead group of supporters who those in the future will look at with shame and scorn.
Well, problem is these misfit don’t disappear into the dustbin of history quite so easily, they’ve been around for thousands of years. Wallace and Hoover still have their followers. One can easily describe the folks putting children in cages, banning Muslims, and tear gassing people so Trump can walk across the street and wave a Bible as descendants of the guys who hung “witches” in Salem. The more you study history the more you notice that religious fanaticism has always been with us, they don’t fade away, they’re like zombies, they keep digging themselves up again again.
“We must rejoice in the truth.” – Jordan Rynning
I am sure there is not a lot of rejoicing or truth telling in your studies of Political Science.