It was hard to wrap my mind around how I wanted to go about this.  The first book I read – Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation[1]  by Kristin Kobes Du Mez – was absolutely phenomenal.  I highly recommend reading it if you’re at all curious about the Evangelical-political landscape we’ve inherited.

But this is not a review of the book like I originally thought it would be. I had far too many reactions and thoughts to do the justice of a strict “review.”  Suffice it to say, I find her arguments compelling and her sources reputable.

The goal of this blog is to work through my own emotions on Evangelicalism and to encourage others who are going through the same process.  It’s literally doing what I started this blog to do: seek God in the stories we tell.  Granted, these are true stories; but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t seek God in them and ask where He’s taking us.

About the Book

Jesus and John Wayne is a perfect place to begin deconstructing where Evangelicalism went wrong.   It’s mostly a political history beginning in the pre-World War I era and going through the election of Donald Trump.  However, the politics of Evangelicalism are driven by the belief that traditional gender roles must be followed in order to course-correct the nation – and so a great deal of the book focuses on that.

To put it in context, Jesus and John Wayne was published June 23, 2020.  That was about a month after George Floyd was murdered.  I obviously don’t know exactly when it went to the publishers, but it was well before lockdown.  (Google told me it takes 9-18 months to publish with a traditional publisher.[2])

The point is, Du Mez had no idea politics was about to implode in this country; and yet, she wrote a prescient narrative of how conservative Evangelicals – the “moral majority” – got to the point of voting for Donald Trump – who seemed the antithesis of what Christians should want.[3]

This is the story of the core principles of faith millennial Evangelicals inherited; and it is more shocking and uncomfortable than I’d like to admit. Does she have a bias?  Yes. But since I’ve been insulated in an Evangelical bubble for most of my life, I find her critical attitude refreshing.  Critical, but not antagonistic toward the Gospel.  That is key, as there aren’t a lot of resources that do that.

My Reaction

I don’t have room to comment on all the shocking facts Du Mez shines a light on.  Suffice it to say, I wept.

I wept because I’ve been complicit in the things she mentions – like desperately wanting Brett Kavanaugh to be sworn in because if he wasn’t we were doomed as a nation. I wept because I, too, did not take abuse allegations seriously – despite being a survivor of such things myself.[4]

And I wept because God still uses Evangelicals, even though there is so much to weep over.

And I think that’s the incredible thing. Despite everything, God has used Evangelicals to save others. Has there been damage? One thousand percent, yes; then again, I’d say this happens in every generation.  It’s why there are so many denominations to begin with.

And this is what makes the faith we inherited so complicated.  The part founded on God’s heart is pure and wonderful; the part founded on man’s thinking…it verges on diabolical.

And I don’t say that lightly.

My Memories (or, The Part Where I Get a Little Harsh)

Despite those rather gracious thoughts, I still feel like collateral damage in a war I didn’t realize I was a part of.  Like most foot soldiers, I didn’t realize the propaganda being fed to me, blinding me to the very real issues in the faith.

And yes, it was propaganda.  Twelve-year-old girls don’t just think, “I want six children because that’s six Christians, and then they can evangelize and make even more Christians.”  Yes, that was my ambition.  And yes, it was a documented conservative movement.[5]

I also remember the fear used to manipulate us into acting in Evangelical interests.[6]  Fear of persecution, fear of communism, fear of terrorism, fear of LGTBQIA (although it was called something different then, of course).  This fear of losing ground was stoked on youth retreats when I was a kid, and through sermons as an adult.

It was a war, us against the world, and the world was winning; or if it wasn’t winning right now, it would be if we didn’t fight for our values.  Politically, of course.

For shame! Fear of the world has no place in any Christian denomination.  Perfect love casts out fear (1 John 4:18).  Therefore, if Christians are afraid, they are not relying on God.  And to use fear as a tactic to gain power?  Despicable.

Unfortunately, the truth of this fear has born its fruit: Evangelicals are a people willing to forsake every value they hold dear in order to vote in a person who will help them achieve their culture-war battles.  Or at least, that’s what some Evangelical leaders advocated during the 2020 election.[7]

This is the faith we inherited.  It isn’t a pretty sight.

A Biblical Example

I want to change gears for a moment.  Let’s put away politics. In fact, let’s put away modern times.  Let’s go back to the time of the kings in Israel.

After reading the Samuels, I kept going through Kings and Chronicles.  I’ve learned so much about God’s grace.  And if I ever hear anyone talk about the “wicked kings” of Israel again, I will probably walk out.  Some of them did evil things, yes.  But even the evilest kings of Israel and Judah (Ahab and Manasseh, respectively) were given grace by God (1 Kings 21:28-29; 2 Chron. 33:12-13); and even the best kings of Judah were rebuked by Him (2 Kings 20:16-18; 2 Chron. 16:7-9, 19:2).

But why are they described as “wicked” or “evil” by so many? Because the kings of the northern kingdom (Israel) followed in the footsteps of Jeroboam, their first king.[8]

And what did he do?

“Jeroboam thought to himself, ‘The kingdom will now likely revert to the house of David.  If these people go up to offer sacrifices at the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem, they will again give their allegiance to their lord, Rehoboam king of Judah.  They will kill me and return to King Rehoboam.’ After seeking advice, the king made two golden calves.  He said to the people, ‘It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem.  Here are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.’” (1 Kings 12:26-28)

Jeroboam’s great sin was to make an idol to retain political power. 

Applying the Lesson of Jeroboam

The example of Israel should be sobering.  Du Mez excellently shows how Evangelical Christians created an idol over John Wayne-like men in order to retain political power.  But she also offers hope. At the end of her book, Du Mez writes, “Although the Evangelical cult of masculinity stretches back decades, its emergence was never inevitable…What was once done might also be undone.”[9]

It’s an offer of hope, but also a challenge: how are we – the deconstructing Gen Xer’s, Millennials, and Gen Zer’s – going to do better?

The early Evangelicals saw a “problem” – the radicalization of society.  We are repeating that history as we speak.  Is the answer political control?

No.  One thousand percent, no.  If we want to change this faith we inherited to look like the heart of God, we need to stop the grab for power.  If you need more convincing, then look to the Pharisees.  Their bid to retain religious power caused the death of Jesus Christ.  Was His death necessary to save us?  Yes…but do you really want to be like the group responsible for such an atrocity?  I don’t think so.

Instead, I think we should look to the first century Christians.  Their stand was not in fighting, but in abstaining.  They let the government be; they simply abstained from practices they felt were wrong.

Most importantly, however, they cared for and loved the vulnerable in society.

So let’s do that.    

Seek the heart of God.  Seek out the hurting.  Comfort them.  Talk with the “others” – the people traditionally marginalized by Christians. Listen.

Be Jesus to the most vulnerable in society.  And not an image of Jesus of our own making.

 

 

Notes

[1] This was an ebook, and although I’m sure there’s a way to cite quotes from digital media, I really don’t have the time to research and agonize over it.  I will give chapters but that’s as specific as it will get. (Which is probably more helpful, as most of these references are discussed throughout the book rather than in one instance.)

[2] https://knliterary.com/2017/06/27/a-publishing-timeline-for-first-time-authors/#:~:text=But%20if%20you’re%20aiming,before%20your%20book%20hits%20shelves

[3] Chapter 16: Evangelical Mulligans: A History

[4] Both the discussion on Brett Kavanaugh and abuse allegations are discussed in Chapter 16: Evangelical Mulligans: A History

[5] Quiverfull movement, discussed in Chapter 11: Holy Balls

[6] Introduction

[7] https://www.foxnews.com/faith-values/california-pastor-told-trump-any-real-true-believer-will-vote-for-him-over-biden

[8] 1 Kings 15:26, 15:33, 16:19, 16:25, 16:31, 22:52; 2 Kings 10:29, 13:2, 13:11, 14:24, 15:9, 15:18, 15:24, 15:28.  I may have missed a few, but those are the majority of the references.

[9] Conclusion, first and last sentence of the last paragraph


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