I don’t follow Jesus, so the capture of Christianity by Trumpism is a mild annoyance but not a personal crisis. But evangelical churches’ embrace of an irreligious moral relativist as their earthly savior can shake the worldview of honest Christians.
From Christian author and history professor John Fea, I learn of Elizabeth Baker, who feels “manipulated, deceived and abused” by the evangelical church that raised her in the sheltering conformity of whiteness and wealth. She now sees her church sacrificing principle for earthly power:
…Trump’s campaign and election was a breaking point for me and many other American evangelicals. This was when we realized that everything we had been told was non-negotiable didn’t matter when there was power on the line. The election was like a floodlight on the underbelly of the evangelical church, and this is when the church started gaslighting me.
Gaslighting is psychological manipulation that leads one to question one’s own feelings and perceptions of reality. For more than two years now, I have watched, shocked, as 81 percent of the religious leaders and peers of my youth and early adulthood have embraced a man and a political ideology contrary to the teachings of Jesus. They have thrown out the foundational values of Christianity in exchange for tax cuts, Supreme Court nominees and political power. Today, those Christians are calling me a heretic and a godless woman because now I reject their Republican rhetoric and because my personal Christian values (that they drilled into me for decades) more closely align with the Democratic Party’s platform [Elizabeth Baker, “My Evangelical Church Is Gaslighting Me, But I refuse to Fall for It Anymore,” Huffington Post, 2018.11.28].
Realizing that honest Christianity aligns better with Hillary Clinton and the Democratic Party on protecting “the rights of the marginalized and voiceless,” on the sanctity of life, on caring for the poor, and on rejecting fear and racism has shaken Baker’s worldview and her social circle:
The boldness of the church’s hypocrisy is causing me to question the very foundation of my spiritual beliefs. It’s disorienting. Every biblical principle I hold sacred has been disregarded by many other Christians, and I often feel like I’m losing my sanity while the entire house of cards that is my evangelical upbringing collapses around me.
…I stopped attending church regularly almost two years ago, but I am more invested in my spiritual life than ever before. Although I’ve lost the majority of my local Christian community, save for a few precious friends, I still cling to the true teachings and example of Jesus to inform my politics and moral code. I now understand that Scripture pays more attention to serving the needs of the oppressed than to regulating their lifestyle. Sin is not as much about my behavior as it is about my inability to love people well [Baker, 2018.11.28].
…but Baker is still able to survive this philosophical upheaval, hold to the core of what Jesus told us, and piece together a more honestly Christian view and practice.
Trumpism and Christianity are not compatible. I know that. So do honest Christians like Elizabeth Baker.
She joined this bus a little too late. This has been a wingnut/fauxknee kristian collaboration since at least Saint Ronnie Raygun’s reign of terror.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZ2L-R8NgrA
[Daniel’s link to the GOP Jesus video deserves a full embed:]
I went through a similar enlightenment back in the 1960s. When my Lutheran church didn’t react against the evil of what was going on in Vietnam, and my government lied repeatedly about that war, I lost faith in both. When our church invited a military leader to speak in the church, I got up and walked out for good.
I still appreciated Jesus and the life he asked us to live, and I didn’t think killing was part of that. Even though there was quite a lot of killing in the Old Testament, I thought Jesus had a better way. My church, apparently, didn’t. And so we parted ways.
Nowadays I’m an atheist, but I still think Jesus had the right idea. It’s the damn Christians that are the problem.
Mike, I’d like to believe it’s never too late for redemption. I praise Baker and anyone else who is willing to re-evaluate her worldview and her leaders and change her mind when facts demand it. But it is important to recognize all the cultural factors that make it hard for any person to admit she was wrong and publicly contradict the worldview of her neighbors. Exercising intelligence and morality against the pressure to conform takes courage.
Donald Pay had to have the courage to stand up against two pressures to conform, religious and secular. His church was trying to wed worship of God and worship of military might. It’s hard for a man of conscience to walk out of that situation, because his motives may be lost on some of his neighbors. They may not see the act of conscience. They may not ask what he’s doing and seek an honest conversation. They may just say, “That Donald hates God and hates our brave soldiers. Shame on him!” Of course, the people who would make that snap judgment on Donald perhaps lack the courage to investigate their own beliefs and are made uncomfortable by people like Donald whose actions challenge those beliefs.
I want to applaud the published remarks by Elizabeth Baker with a huge sigh of relief and gratitude! She is voicing what I and Christian friends have been incredulously questioning among ourselves since Trump was elected. Christian leaders and congregations continue blindly jumping on the Trump bandwagon, much like the parade of onlookers in “The Emperor’s New Clothes,” loudly proclaiming Trump their political savior while overlooking his history and behavior as he spouts lies, demeans women, verbally trashes minorities, tricks people, cruelly separates children from parents, engages in blatant sexual misconduct, stiffs contractors, exhibits no understanding of the poor, humiliates perceived enemies, destroys valuable worldwide alliances, disregards sacred societal values, openly discriminates against ethnicities around the world, expresses racist views, engages in adultery, continually uses threats as standard operating procedure, and demonstrates a complete lack of decency. Finally, and refreshingly, someone is speaking up about what so many of us are observing. That the Emperor is naked. Thank you, Elizabeth Baker! And thank you Cory Allen Heidelberger for enlightening us about Ms. Baker!
According to the Bible, the Church is the whole body of true Christians. Elizabeth Baker’s view that her “personal Christian values” are something separate from the Church reflects a fundamental misunderstanding of Christianity.
At the beginning of His earthly ministry, Christ identified Himself as the fulfillment of Isaiah 61:1, announcing that He had come to proclaim liberty to captives. The way some self-described Christians seem to idolize President Trump is a little bizarre, but so is the suggestion that Christ’s teachings more closely align with the Democratic Party’s platform.
Cory, I wasn’t attacking Ms Baker, I was unsubtly pointing out wingnuts have been infected with fake kristians ever since Jerry Fatwell stalked the Earth.
Kurt, I don’t think Christians or any of Trumps fans “idolize” him. More over, fans of Trump see him as someone from outside the elected/bureaucratic elite. very much like the folks who protested the Vietnam war. In a way we have reversed positions. Today, the majority of Americans do not trust the government. The government appears t have decided they can dictate to the people there rules and the people reject that and see Trump as someone who will stand with them against the elected/bureaucratic elite destroying our Nation.
Trump, according to OldSarg, is “from outside the elected/bureaucratic elite.” I would hardly call Trump an outsider. He was actively involved in providing campaign donations to those who would further his interests. He regularly interacted with/did “deals” with/solicited favors from elected officials and bureaucrats. He was a big cog in the conspiracy theory elite and the media elite. That some people think he’s an outsider proves how far down the rabbit hole of cultish sycophancy they have descended.
I certainly don’t trust the current government, which is currently run by a congenital liar and would-be dictator, if he wasn’t completely incompetent. I also have a healthy skepticism for any President , any elected leader and any bureaucracy. I called out Obama on his nuclear waste policy and on other things I thought he got wrong, including staying too long in Iraq.
But Trump is whole other basket of rotting fish. The only people destroying our nation are the people currently occupying the White House and their lackeys and sycophants. That later would be you, OS.
Kurt, Who cares about “Christianity?” That’s just a word describing a whole lot of people who have different ideas, different beliefs, different perspectives.
“I wish the evangelical church would wake up and realize how many of us there are out there feeling manipulated and abused.”
That’s a quote from a regular church goer in Fea’s article. You really should follow the links. There are some terribly broken hearted people out there who are realizing the church they’ve loved is lying to them. It really is sad.
The gaslighting they speak of has been a GOP tactic for a long time. The Democratic Party is indeed much closer to operating according to the teachings of JC while the GOP is more like the Roman rulers.
To me, the most loathsome creatures in this country are the “religious leaders” who loudly proclaim their devotion to the brute in the WH as serving Christianity. They are totally shattering a faith that has beauty within it. In the process, they’re doing untold violence to the people in the pews. It completely sickens me.
Don “I would hardly call Trump an outsider.” not would I but what I said was “fans of Trump SEE him as someone from outside the elected/bureaucratic elite”. It s like an opinion or view.
Trump doesn’t run the government. The government is a monster all on its own spending uncontrollably without direction. A president can somewhat steer it but not very well. Look at what is going on now: We took in more taxes than ever in history and the government just increased the spending without providing the people any additional benefits. No, Trump doesn’t run the government. It wld be better to think of him as sitting on a champion bucking bronco just holding on. That is what is so stupid about people who blame Trump for things that happen within the government. Do you think Trump runs Mueller? Hell no and the guy actually is working for Trump. Look at the leaks, if Trump was actually in charge do you think there would be leaks?
https://www.westernjournal.com/despite-trump-tax-cuts-feds-claiming-record-haul-2018/
OldS has some tax facts screwed up as per usual.
I’d written:
“OldSarg” writes:
You don’t think one Trump fan idolizes him in the whole world?
I’d written:
Donald Pay writes:
More than 30 percent of the world’s population self-identifies with Christianity. At least a large minority within that 30 percent presumably cares about what Christianity is.
Yeah, Kurt, and not 1 person of that 30 percent of the world’s population, if they follow Jesus, ought to care about “Christianity.” I never heard Jesus say, “Care about Christianity.” It was more about caring for one another, something you seem to not follow too closely. Jesus never referred to himself as “Christ,” or wanted anyone to make an idol of him. If the Greek is followed back to Egypt and Mesopotamia it has roots in paganism.
Donald Pay writes:
How do you claim to know these things?
What does this even mean? How could anyone follow the Greek language back to geographical locations where it wasn’t used?
Ancient Koininia Greek was used in Egypt and Mesopotamia. At the time that Hellenism dominated the ancient world, Koininia Greek was the language of commerce and was spoken throughout the Middle East and northern Africa.
The original manuscripts of the New Testament were written in that language. Koininia Greek was the language of culture and class. Only the lowly laboring peasants, who were illiterate anyway, spoke Hebrew and/or Aramaic as their first language. If they were multilingual, they had picked up a bit of Greek, but just as likely they knew some words in the languages of their neighbors.
Don is actually correct about followers of Jesus not being concerned about “the church” too.
In Jesus’ lifetime and the century of his death, there was no “church.” Followers of Jesus met in small groups in homes with like minded others. Their time together was spent in worship, praise and celebration.
Paul of Tarsus was intent on establishing churches, almost regardless of cost at times. Still, followers did not call themselves “Christians” till Constantine established it as the state religion of the Roman Empire.
With the advent of structure in Rome– popes, bishops, archbishops, cardinals, etc., the buildings themselves and the wealth and power contained therein, became the overriding focus. The myths of original sin and substitutionary atonement were introduced to create guilt and shame and make the flocks more easily malleable and manageable.
Martin Luther rebelled against some aspects of that and there are some Protestant churches and Catholic denominations who continue to get it mostly right.
US followers of Orange Imbecile seem to want him to emulate Constantine.
Deb writes:
(1) You misspelled koinonia.
(2) I’m pretty sure you meant Koine Greek.
(3) The word koinonia is Koine Greek for fellowship.
(4) I explained all of this to you more than three years ago:
https://dakotafreepress.com/2015/06/18/pope-francis-encyclical-our-common-home-is-falling-into-serious-disrepair/#comment-9112
The Hellenistic period didn’t begin until 323 BC. Is Donald Pay dating the “roots” of Christianity after 323 BC?
Do you have even a shred of historical evidence for any of your absurd claims, Deb?
There’s a reason we have a separation of church and State. Donald, I like what you have to say! Thank you.
Kurt. Oh Kurt my boy. smh. You are the poster boy for mansplaining. Boggles the mind.
I wrote a courteous and respectful comment to you because you said, “How could anyone follow the Greek language back to geographical locations where it wasn’t used?” You responded with immature, snarky mansplaining.
Follow this link to a very helpful flow chart guide to mansplaining.
https://goo.gl/o5v6sw
You very dearly need to print out the chart and keep it with you at all times.
One of the major clues that you are mansplaining is that you are talking to an expert in the field about her field. I am an expert in the field of theology.
I earned a graduate degree from Luther Seminary in 1997. Please do look it up. It’s called a Master of Divinity. It’s a 4 year degree, though a few of my colleagues did manage it in 3. I studied Hebrew, Koininia Greek, a little Aramaic, a smattering of German, Church History, Old Testament, New Testament, Christology, Dogmatics, Theodicy, etc, etc.
I was very fortunate to study with some of the leading scholars in their fields in Christianity and Judaism. All held Ph.Ds and nearly all were also ordained reverends. I did a 1 year solo internship in Washington state. I served several months as a chaplaincy intern at Regions Hospital.
As an ordained reverend I served 5 churches and 6 years as chaplain at a Veterans Administration hospital and long term care. In that time I attended countless conferences, seminars and workshops, read innumerable professional journals and more books by other professionals than I could afford. I still keep up.
That, you insufferable, ill-mannered, childish moron, is how I know this stuff.
Impressive Ms. Debbo, you probably will not hear back from Mr. Evans as you just booted him in the mansplain and it will take him some time to even find it after that drop kick.
Thank you Jerry. I feel better, even though it may sail right over his head. 😊
Deb Geelsdottir had written:
I’d written:
Deb replies:
You don’t sound like an expert in the field of theology, and you make Luther Seminary sound like a bad joke, because there’s no such thing as “Koininia” Greek.
I’d asked:
Deb writes:
So do you have even a shred of historical evidence for any of your absurd claims about Christ and the Church?
How about they never existed? Got irrefutable proof Jeebus was real?
Here is one way faithful followers of Jesus attempt to emulate him.
http://strib.mn/2SlqfQY
You were right gentlemen, as I suspected too. Kurt’s fragile ego makes him unwilling to learn. He fixates on spelling. Oh well. I tried.
On top of it all, Ms. Baker is a woman! Scares the bejesus out of insecure males like Mr. Evans. Ms. Debbo, that is why Mr. Evans provides us all comic relief at election time. Can you imagine a debate between Mr. Evans and Short Rounds? Telling Rounds that he would insist on the written answers so he could spell check them, while then, not answering the substance. Debates would last for days. Evangelicals have sold out this country and for what? Ms. Baker knows that the whole lot has been hoodwinked by the false prophets, better late than never.
debbo, I really appreciate your comments and perspective on the matters discussed here at DFP. I suspect I would enjoy the links you provide, yet I cannot access Facebook links or paid subscription links (absent buying subscriptions I don’t want). Perhaps you could provide summaries or quotes from the links for those of us that cannot access your Facebook links etc? Regardless, keep your comments coming as they are often thought provoking and usually right on the money.
Thanks BCB. Will do.
I’d asked Deb Geelsdottir:
Deb doesn’t answer that question, but “mike from iowa” asks me:
Any proof can be questioned, disputed and denied, but the historical evidence outside the Bible fully aligns with the historical evidence inside the Bible. Here’s a link for anyone who’d like to learn more:
https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/people-cultures-in-the-bible/jesus-historical-jesus/did-jesus-exist/
The evidence for the existence of Christ is probably at least a hundred times as strong as the evidence for the existence of Socrates, and almost no one questions the existence of Socrates.
Deb writes:
You’re acting like you don’t understand what I’m saying, Deb, and “jerry” is too. The fact that you insist on continuing to spell koinonia wrong is far less significant than the fact that koinonia is the wrong word. There’s no such thing as “Koininia” Greek, and there’s no such thing as Koinonia Greek either. The original manuscripts of the New Testament were written in Koine Greek. The word koinonia is Koine Greek for fellowship.
When you say, “Kurt’s fragile ego makes him unwilling to learn,” you seem to be projecting one of your own qualities onto me.
Kurt, debbo refuses to recognize any of her numerous faults. She harps about gender issues and then judges people based on gender. She harps about race issues and then judges people based on race. She pretends to be on the side of the LGBT community and then uses homophobic slurs. She contradicts her own comments very often. Ironically, she won’t even notice that her accusing you of “mansplaining” is just tired, barely masked phoney-feminist sexism. This is why I have often been required to call out her hypocrisy – I believe she thinks she is beyond criticism because she feels unlucky to have been born a white female.
Evangelicals have more evidence to support their belief in Jesus than they have to support their belief in Trump.