2022_REPORT_BRIEF

2022 REPORT BRIEF II

CHRISTIAN NATIONALISM OUT OF THE STEALTH CLOSET AND ON THE RAMPAGE
(Operating stealthily, spreading as a deadly cancer metastasizing throughout the body politic of America)

CHURCH OF ROME AND APOSTATE PROTESTANTISM ALLIED

Christian Nationalism is ideologically found in both Calvinist Evangelical and the Roman Catholic Church. In the Evangelical world it had its beginning in Reconstructionist "Dominionism." In the Church of Rome it is known as "Integralism."

At the instigation of Rome the two became allied in quest of Theocratic Dictatorship.

Already mentioned in one of the passages hyperlinked above is the fact that Christian Nationalism has always been a stealth movement. Rome manages to openly declare her goal of papal supremacy while advancing towards theocratic dictatorship by stealth. From the very beginning the Evangelical action plan has always been dependent on stealth. The stated objective is frightening:

The American Protestant Dominionist movement has had its own action plan throughout the decades of its existence. The following article by Katherine Yurica, another prominent voice in warning about the danger posed by Dominionism, has been described as "The No. 1 Article on the web on Christian Dominionism." Every segment of the article is of critical significance. However the following quotation is confined to the section titled "How Dominionism Was Spread." What it reveals is startling:

The Despoiling of America

How George W. Bush became the head of the new American Dominionist Church/State . . .

How Dominionism Was Spread

The years 1982-1986 marked the period Pat Robertson and radio and televangelists urgently broadcast appeals that rallied Christian followers to accept a new political religion that would turn millions of Christians into an army of political operatives. It was the period when the militant church raised itself from centuries of sleep and once again eyed power.

At the time, most Americans were completely unaware of the militant agenda being preached on a daily basis across the breadth and width of America. Although it was called “Christianity” it can barely be recognized as Christian. It in fact was and is a wolf parading in sheep’s clothing: It was and is a political scheme to take over the government of the United States and then turn that government into an aggressor nation that will forcibly establish the United States as the ruling empire of the twenty-first century. It is subversive, seditious, secretive, and dangerous.[9]

Dominionism is a natural if unintended extension of Social Darwinism and is frequently called “Christian Reconstructionism.” Its doctrines are shocking to ordinary Christian believers and to most Americans. Journalist Frederick Clarkson, who has written extensively on the subject, warned in 1994 that Dominionism “seeks to replace democracy with a theocratic elite that would govern by imposing their interpretation of ‘Biblical Law.’” He described the ulterior motive of Dominionism is to eliminate “…labor unions, civil rights laws, and public schools.” Clarkson then describes the creation of new classes of citizens:

“Women would be generally relegated to hearth and home. Insufficiently Christian men would be denied citizenship, perhaps executed. So severe is this theocracy that it would extend capital punishment [to] blasphemy, heresy, adultery, and homosexuality.”[10]

Today, Dominionists hide their agenda and have resorted to stealth; one investigator who has engaged in internet exchanges with people who identify themselves as religious conservatives said, “They cut and run if I mention the word ‘Dominionism.’”[11] Joan Bokaer, the Director of Theocracy Watch, a project of the Center for Religion, Ethics and Social Policy at Cornell University wrote, “In March 1986, I was on a speaking tour in Iowa and received a copy of the following memo [Pat] Robertson had distributed to the Iowa Republican County Caucus titled, “How to Participate in a Political Party.” It read:

“Rule the world for God.

“Give the impression that you are there to work for the party, not push an ideology.

“Hide your strength.

“Don’t flaunt your Christianity.

“Christians need to take leadership positions. Party officers control political parties and so it is very important that mature Christians have a majority of leadership positions whenever possible, God willing.”[12]

Dominionists have gained extensive control of the Republican Party and the apparatus of government throughout the United States; they continue to operate secretly. Their agenda to undermine all government social programs that assist the poor, the sick, and the elderly is ingeniously disguised under false labels that confuse voters. Nevertheless, as we shall see, Dominionism maintains the necessity of laissez-faire economics, requiring that people “look to God and not to government for help.”[13]

It is estimated that thirty-five million Americans who call themselves Christian, adhere to Dominionism in the United States, but most of these people appear to be ignorant of the heretical nature of their beliefs and the seditious nature of their political goals. So successfully have the televangelists and churches inculcated the idea of the existence of an outside “enemy,” which is attacking Christianity, that millions of people have perceived themselves rightfully overthrowing an imaginary evil anti-Christian conspiratorial secular society. . .

Unless the American people reject the GOP’s control of the government, Americans may find themselves living in a theocracy that has already spelled out its intentions to change every aspect of American life including its cultural life, its Constitution and its laws. . .

Dominionism started with the Gospels and turned the concept of the invisible and spiritual “Kingdom of God” into a literal political empire that could be taken by force, starting with the United States of America. Discarding the original message of Jesus and forgetting that Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world,” the framers of Dominionism boldly presented a Gospel whose purpose was to inspire Christians to enter politics and execute world domination so that Jesus could return to an earth prepared for his earthly rule by his faithful “regents.”

As Frederick Clarkson and Chip Berlet are agreed, Dominionists "celebrate" Christian nationalism. The ideological components of Christian nationalism do not leave room for moderation, tolerance, peaceful dialogue, or the liberal democracy which alone has guaranteed individual liberty, and above all the freedom of conscience which is the only true religious liberty. These are among the many evidences that the movement is of the devil. Of profound significance is the fact that the Schaeffer agenda "is shared by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops." This is wholly consistent with the fact that Roman Catholicism is inherently Dominionist.

CHRISTIAN NATIONALISM ON THE OFFENSIVE

A growing Christian movement seeking a nation under God’s authority is key to Trump’s GOP

It was an hour and a half into the 11 a.m. service of a church that represents a rapidly growing kind of Christianity in the United States, one whose goal includes bringing under the authority of a biblical God every facet of life from schools to city halls to Washington where the pastor had traveled a month after the Jan. 6 insurrection and filmed himself in front of the U.S. Capitol saying quietly, “Father, we declare America is yours.”

Now he stood in front of the glowing map, a 38-year-old White man in skinny jeans telling a congregation of some 1,500 people what he said the Lord had told him: that Fort Worth was in thrall to four “high-ranking demonic forces.” That all of America was in the grip of “an anti-Christ spirit.” That the Lord had told him that 2021 was going to be the “Year of the Supernatural,” a time when believers would rise up and wage “spiritual warfare” to advance God’s Kingdom, which was one reason for the bright-red T-shirt he was wearing. It bore the name of a church elder who was running for mayor of Fort Worth. And when the pastor cued the band, the candidate, a Guatemalan American businessman, stood along with the rest of the congregation as spotlights flashed on faces that were young and old, rich and poor, White and various shades of Brown – a church that had grown so large since its founding in 2019 that there were now three services every Sunday totaling some 4,500 people, a growing Saturday service in Spanish and plans for expansion to other parts of the country.

“Say, ‘Cleanse me,’ ” the pastor continued as drums began pounding and the people repeated his words. “Say, ‘Speak Lord, your servants are listening.’ “ . . .

This is the world of Trump’s spiritual adviser Paula White and many more lesser known but influential religious leaders who prophesied that Trump would win the election and helped organize nationwide prayer rallies in the days before the Jan. 6 insurrection, speaking of an imminent “heavenly strike” and “a Christian populist uprising,” leading many who stormed the Capitol to believe they were taking back the country for God.

Even as mainline Protestant and evangelical denominations continue an overall decline in numbers in a changing America, nondenominational congregations have surged from being virtually nonexistent in the 1980s to accounting for roughly 1 in 10 Americans in 2020, according to long-term academic surveys of religious affiliation. Church leaders tend to attribute the growth to the power of an uncompromised Christianity. Experts seeking a more historical understanding point to a relatively recent development called the New Apostolic Reformation, or N.A.R.

A California-based theologian coined the phrase in the 1990s to describe what he said he had seen as a missionary in Latin America – vast church growth, miracles, and modern-day prophets and apostles endowed with special powers to fight demonic forces. He and others promoted new church models using sociological principles to attract members. They also began advancing a set of beliefs called Dominionism, which holds that God commands Christians to assert authority over the “seven mountains” of life – family, religion, education, economy, arts, media and government – after which time Jesus Christ will return and God will reign for eternity. (Underscored emphasis added.)

Opinion: Disturbing primary elections show how the GOP normalizes extremism

It looks likely that after Tuesday’s primary in Pennsylvania, the Republican nominees for governor and senator will both have been enthusiastic participants in the Jan. 6, 2021, protests at the Capitol. Though they did not engage in violence, both are election deniers and conspiracy theorists.

One is a Christian nationalist who campaigns at QAnon events. The other has a long history of rancid bigotry against Muslims and gay people.

Many in the Republican Party at the state and national level are deeply concerned about Doug Mastriano and Kathy Barnette becoming the nominees for governor and Senate. But that concern seems to begin and end with their potential vulnerability in the general election. It doesn’t seem to bother anyone in the party that they are both radical extremists.

Which shows how such dangerous views are becoming normalized in the GOP. This is how the party handles fanatics in its midst wherever they emerge: Because efforts to eliminate them are so tentative and ineffectual, not only do they sometimes win, but even when they don’t, their ideas come to seem normal, even respectable.

Consider Mastriano. He’s no mere “Stop the Steal” advocate; he has all but promised to give Pennsylvania’s electoral votes to Donald Trump in 2024 no matter what the voters think. And since the governor appoints the secretary of state in Pennsylvania, the two of them might be able to carry out an election coup.

That’s not to mention his QAnon ties and Christian nationalist beliefs, which ought to be terrifying to anyone who believes in the pluralistic model of democracy that America was supposed to embody. . .

We see it in other places, too. In Idaho, incumbent Gov. Brad Little, a very conservative Republican, is being challenged by his lieutenant governor, Janice McGeachin. McGeachin is deeply enmeshed in the world of radical anti-government extremists; she speaks at events put on by notorious white nationalists and lunatic conspiracy theorists. “God calls us to pick up the sword and fight,” she has said, “and Christ will reign in the state of Idaho.”

To repeat, McGeachin is the lieutenant governor of the state. While a few lonely voices have called out her extremism, most criticism from the party has been careful and restrained. Republicans will say that they don’t agree with racist or conspiratorial ideas, and leave it at that.
And of course, McGeachin was endorsed by Trump.

Meanwhile, more and more deranged ideas move from the periphery to the center of the GOP. It’s now standard practice among Republicans to accuse any and all Democrats of being pedophiles.

Some Republicans aren’t even seriously disavowing the racist “great replacement theory,” which has been championed by Fox News host Tucker Carlson and motivated alleged mass shooters in Buffalo, El Paso and Pittsburgh. The occasional conservative columnist might call it out, but when almost half of the party’s voters believe it, what Republican is going to tell them they’re wrong?

Democrats do that all the time; influential people in their party are constantly attacking progressives and policing the boundaries of what they consider appropriate. When they decide to go after the left, they do it without mercy.

Imagine if Republicans really went after the extremists in their midst — not because they might threaten the loss of a few key elections, but because it was the right thing to do. Unfortunately, you can’t imagine it, because it almost never happens. The result is that extremism, hatred and a tolerance for violence spread throughout their party. And that puts us all at risk. (Original italics; underscored emphasis added.)

How Christian Nationalism And The Big Lie Fused To Fuel Doug Mastriano’s Candidacy

If Doug Mastriano, the frontrunner in tomorrow’s Republican gubernatorial primary in Pennsylvania, prevails and goes on to win the general election in November, he could single-handedly threaten American democracy. That’s not only because he is the Trumpiest of the Trumpists, having received the former president’s “Complete and Total Endorsement” on Saturday. It’s not just because he has enthusiastically promoted Trump’s stolen election lie, participated in the January 6 insurrection, and signaled his intent to abuse his power as governor to overturn any Democratic presidential victory in Pennsylvania in 2024. It’s because Mastriano believes he is on a mission from God — and has an energized Christian nationalist movement at his back.

That the Christian right is intertwined with a Republican candidate is hardly new. Since Ronald Reagan’s election in 1980, the movement has defined GOP politics. What is new, and increasingly perilous, is that over the ensuing years the movement has become more highly radicalized, a trend that was validated and accelerated by Trump’s candidacy and presidency — and especially by his stolen election lie. A movement that elevated Trump to messianic status and shielded him from his 2019 impeachment was able to convince millions that satanic forces had robbed God’s man in the White House of his anointed perch as the restorer of America’s white Christian heritage. Their duty, as patriotic spiritual warriors, was to go to battle on his behalf.

Mastriano, a state senator, has not only ridden the wave of this radicalized movement, he has openly embraced it. He spoke at the December 12, 2020, Jericho March on the National Mall, which promoted the stolen election lie and pledged to rally a spiritual army to overturn the election results. Earlier this year, he announced his run for governor at a Christian nationalist event at which a shofar was blown, an increasingly commonplace occurrence as a symbol of Trump’s victory over satanic forces, otherwise known as our democracy. As Brian Kaylor and Beau Underwood detail in their newsletter, A Public Witness, Mastriano has been campaigning at events like Pennsylvania For Christ, whose organizers claim their goal is to “reestablish the kingdom of God in PA,” and Patriots Arise for God, Family, and Country, where he pledged, “in November, we’re going to take our state back. My God will make it so.”

This type of politicking is a result of the explosive growth of politicized, right-wing charismatic Christianity, a strand of evangelicalism that emphasizes the “gifts of the spirit,” such as speaking in tongues, prophecy, direct revelation from God, casting out demons, faith healing, spiritual warfare, and Christian nationalism. Escalating even before Trump weaponized it, Christian nationalists believe America had a divine, Christian founding, and that patriotic believers must rescue it from secular and satanic forces. Among these overlapping and interconnected movements and trends are the word of faith movement, also known as the prosperity gospel, which teaches, among other things, that believers can receive direct revelation from God and speak their desires into existence; the New Apostolic Reformation, which teaches that modern-day apostles and prophets receive prophecies from God and are called to take dominion over secular institutions; and seven mountains theology, which holds that Christians have a divine directive to take over the “seven mountains” of public life, namely religion, family, education, government, media, arts and entertainment, and business.

These ideas are spread far beyond pulpits and pews. Over the five decades during which that evangelicalism has become a force in Republican politics, these movements have become more widely influential, owing to televangelism, the proliferation of conferences and books, and, more recently, social media and podcasts. As the means of spreading these ideas grow, there are fewer barriers to entry in a sprawling market of self-styled prophets and spiritual warriors — a phenomenon that also has played out in the arena of QAnon, which has also captivated pro-Trump white evangelicals.

Trump’s elevation of these movements has transformed the party’s relationship with them. Both George H. W. Bush and George W. Bush had to be convinced by their religious advisor, the late Doug Wead (himself raised Pentecostal) that they should cultivate relationships with religious leaders in the charismatic world to capitalize electorally on their outsized influence and audiences. Compared to Trump, though, both Bushes held these relationships at an arm’s distance. . .

Mastriano is campaigning on Trump’s stolen election lie, but so much more. If Trump’s religious acolytes are elected to offices from which they can unlawfully manipulate election outcomes because God told them to, election subversion in 2024 could, even more than in 2020, be wrapped in a flag and a cross. (Underscored emphasis added.)

Big Lie and Christian Nationalism Promoter Doug Mastriano Wins GOP Primary for Pennsylvania Governor

Pennsylvania State Sen. Doug Mastriano won Tuesday’s Republican primary election for governor. Mastriano, who built a statewide campaign with the support of Christian nationalists, Big Lie supporters, and QAnon conspiracy theorists, had the backing of Trump world activists like former national security adviser Michael Flynn and won a late endorsement from former President Donald Trump days before the election.

Mastriano was one of the most energetic proponents of Trump’s false stolen-election claims in Pennsylvania. A few weeks after the 2020 election, he hosted a hearing at which Trump attorneys Rudy Giuliani and Jenna Ellis appeared—and which Trump called into by phone to spout his baseless claims about a stolen election. Mastriano ended the hearing with a call to arms, saying, “The time for dithering and deliberation is over. It’s time for decisive action.” Mastriano pushed for Arizona-style “audits” in several counties.

Mastriano also took part in prayer calls organized by religious-right activists to try to keep Trump in power. On one call, he denounced “weak and feckless” officials in Pennsylvania and prayed that “we’ll seize the power that we had given to us by the Constitution and as well by you providentially.” Two days before insurrection, Mastriano appeared on Eric Metaxas’s radio show where he called for divine intervention on Jan. 6. Mastriano reportedly used campaign funds to pay for six buses to take his supporters to the U.S. Capitol. On the day of the insurrection, Mastriano attended the “Save America” rally before heading to the Capitol grounds, where he joined other Trump loyalists crossing police lines and barricades.

The day before Mastriano’s primary victory, journalist Sarah Posner examined how “Christian nationalism and the Big Lie fused to fuel Doug Mastriano’s candidacy.” While Mastriano disavows the label, he was described in a 2021 New Yorker profile as the embodiment of Christian nationalism. He has said God told him to run for governor. At “Patriots Arise”—a QAnon, Christian nationalist conference—Mastriano told the crowd, “In November we’re going to take our state back. My God will make it so.”

As reported by A Public Witness, a group called Pennsylvania for Christ backed Mastriano’s candidacy as part of its mission to “reestablish the kingdom of God in Pennsylvania,” and said that his election would be a sign that “an awakening is coming.”

When Mastriano appeared at “Patriots Arise,” host and QAnon conspiracy theorist Francine Fosdick presented him with what she called a “Sword of David,” saying, “You’ve been fighting for our country, and you’re fighting for our religious rights in Christ Jesus.” Mastriano had appeared on her conspiracy theory program multiple times.

Mastriano has also been billed as a special guest at an event hosted by Rod of Iron ministries, an apocalyptic offshoot of the Unification Church that uses assault weapons in worship and is preparing for war against the so-called deep state.

During the campaign, Mastriano and Gab’s white nationalism-promoting CEO Andrew Torba showered praise on one another. (Underscored emphasis added.)

Scholars, activists brief lawmakers on role of Christian nationalism at insurrection

The meeting, which included Rep. Jamie Raskin, was a rare instance of lawmakers openly discussing the prominence of religious expression during the attack.

Members of the Congressional Freethought Caucus met with a group of scholars and activists on Thursday evening (March 17) to review a new report detailing the role Christian nationalism played in the insurrection that took place at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

The meeting was a rare instance of lawmakers openly addressing the prominence of religious expression during the attack, which was evident on Jan. 6 but has not been a central focus of public discussions on Capitol Hill.

California Democratic Rep. Jared Huffman, who said he first discussed the role of Christian nationalism and the insurrection with some of the panelists last summer, hosted the meeting for a slate of lawmakers that included Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin, a co-founder of the Freethought Caucus who also serves on the House Select Committee investigating the attack.

Raskin opened the virtual briefing by noting that while a variety of ideologies were represented among insurrectionists, Christian nationalism “clearly figured highly in the events of the day,” and was “a unifying theme for many of the factions that assembled on January 6.”

His words were echoed by an array of panelists who presented findings from a recent report they helped author with backing from the Freedom from Religion Foundation and the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty. Among other things, the 66-page study documents in painstaking detail the prevalence of Christian nationalist symbols and rhetoric at the insurrection and a series of events that led up to the storming of the Capitol. . .

Samuel Perry, a University of Oklahoma sociologist and co-author of “Taking America Back for God: Christian Nationalism in the United States,” told lawmakers he and others who study the ideology often use the more specific term “white Christian nationalism,” because data indicates Christian nationalist sentiments appear to “perform differently when white Americans affirm them as opposed to non-white Americans.”

Multiple lawmakers, such as Rep. Mark Pocan of Wisconsin, expressed concern about the role of Christian nationalism in ongoing fights with school boards across the country. School board meetings have become a staging ground for heated disputes over COVID-19 restrictions and supposed use of critical race theory, featuring many activists who have invoked religion. Several candidates currently running for school board seats across the country, Pocan said, appear to be tied to Christian nationalism.

Raskin also mentioned Christian nationalism’s pervasive role in ongoing political disputes.

“More than a year later, Christian nationalists continue to join forces to try to challenge our democratic institutions and values — whether it’s in the suppression of voting rights or the promotion of various culture, more battles, including to my mind the utterly fraudulent attack on critical race theory,” he said.

Seidel agreed, noting he planned to send testimony to the Jan. 6 selection committee on the subject. He argued that while there was a “moment of shame” among Christian nationalists immediately following the insurrection, many have since “adopted the insurrection and seem emboldened by it.”

He pointed to data showcased by Perry during his presentation that showed shifting views of the insurrection among Christian nationalists over the past year. In February 2021, immediately after the insurrection, 75% of white Americans who scored highest on Perry’s Christian nationalism index — a series of questions that gauge Christian nationalism — said those who attacked the Capitol should be caught and prosecuted. By August of that same year, the number dropped to only 54%.

By contrast, those who scored the lowest on the Christian nationalism index barely budged in that same timeframe, with around 95% saying both times they were asked that the insurrectionists should be caught and put on trial. (Underscored emphasis added.)

THE MAGA MOVEMENT IN CHRISTIAN NATIONALISM

The Seeds of Political Violence Are Being Sown in Church

The new insurrection is being organized, in a sanctuary near you. . .

It is always difficult to know when and how to cover extremism. Does highlighting a fringe provide an artificial sense of their danger and strength, in much the same way that “nutpicking” works in online spaces to exaggerate the extremism of your opponents? Or does ignoring a fringe allow it to flourish outside the spotlight and shock the nation when it finally emerges?

When it comes to Christian nationalism, the bar for concern has been passed by any conceivable measure. When a movement is strong enough to storm the Capitol, then it is worth continued monitoring and continued concern. Moreover, it’s important to understand why it continues to flourish, and why it is so difficult to understand, much less combat.

First, MAGA Christian nationalism is emotional and spiritual, not intellectual or ideological. While a number of scholars have done yeoman’s work in identifying the basic tenets of Christian nationalism, I’m still partial to Baylor University historian Thomas Kidd’s formulation of the ideology as “more a visceral reaction than a rationally chosen stance.” Kidd provides a telling example:

I recently saw a yard sign that read “Make Faith Great Again: Trump 2020.” I wondered, How can re-electing Donald Trump make “faith” great again? What faith? When did it stop being great? No coherent answers would be forthcoming to such questions, but that’s the point. The sign speaks to a person’s ethnic, religious, and cultural identity in ways easier to notice than to explain.

But a MAGA Christian nationalist will read that sign and know exactly what it means–when Trump wins, America wins, and the church wins. The man, the nation, and the church are the movement.

Second, MAGA Christian nationalism is concentrated in the churches most removed from elite American culture, including from elite Evangelicalism. While there may be some Christian nationalists in seminaries, or in the pews of big, highly-educated suburban churches, or in the leadership of America’s largest denominations, you’re far more likely to find the true believers in exactly the kind of nondenominational, independent, and often-charismatic churches that populate the list of ReAwaken America tour stops.

Pentecostal Christianity, despite its immense size, is about as far from elite American culture as Mercury is from Mars. And this means it’s quite distant from elite Evangelical culture as well. Right-wing blue-check theologians and pastors who speak disdainfully of warnings about Christian nationalism because it’s not something they see in their churches never darken the door of a Pentecostal church.

They’re almost wholly unfamiliar with the world of “prophets” and “apostles” who have helped fuel much of the fervor for Trump. It’s no coincidence that Paula White, a pentecostal pastor herself, was Trump’s spiritual adviser. Trumpism penetrated pentecostalism early. I do not mean to say that all pentecostals are Trump supporters, much less Christian nationalists. But you can’t understand the Trumpist Christian core without understanding its pentecostal connection.

Third, MAGA Christian nationalism is often rooted in purported prophecies. I’ve spent every single day of the Trump era living deep in the heart of Trump country, surrounded by Trump-supporting friends, and attending church with Trump-supporting Christians. If there’s anything I know by heart, it’s the “Christian case for Trump.” I’ve read all the essays. I’ve heard all the arguments. It’s in the air out here.

There’s the pragmatic or prudential cost/benefit analysis—he’s a bad man, but his judicial appointments are good. There’s the cultural argument about threat—the left has grown so terrible that we have to punch back. But there’s also another argument entirely, one that’s impossible to discuss rationally—that Trump is divinely anointed by God to save this nation from imminent destruction.

I have up-close experience with this level of fervor. Some readers may remember that I debated Eric Metaxas at John Brown University in September 2020. While the debate was civil enough, it was clear to me that Metaxas was operating with a level of commitment to Trump that went well beyond reason. He truly believed Joe Biden would destroy America. He truly believed Trump was God’s chosen man for the moment.

Then, after the election, Metaxas escalated his rhetoric considerably. Let’s recall some of his quotes about the election:

“It’s like stealing the heart and soul of America. It’s like holding a rusty knife to the throat of Lady Liberty.”

“You might as well spit on the grave of George Washington.”

“This is evil. It’s like somebody has been raped or murdered. … This is like that times a thousand.”

Indeed, Metaxas claimed certainty even in the absence of proof: “So who cares what I can prove in the courts? This is right. This happened, and I am going to do anything I can to uncover this horror, this evil.”

Don’t forget that Metaxas was a key figure in the so-called “Jericho March,” a December 2020 protest in Washington that was so apocalyptic in tone that it should have served as an alarm that violence was imminent. (Michael Flynn participated there, too.) Indeed, on December 13, 2020, I wrote this: “While I hope and pray that protests remain peaceful and that seditious statements are confined to social media, we’d be fools to presume that peace will reign.”

Were there prophecies at the Jericho March? Oh yes:

It’s possible to overreact to this, to paint with too broad a brush. Michael Flynn is not speaking for the Evangelical mainstream. Millions of Republican Evangelicals have likely never even heard of the ReAwaken America tour. They dismiss “prophecies.” They’re legitimately aggrieved when they’re lumped into a movement and an ethos they find strange and appalling.

In fact, one underappreciated reason why conspiracies that Antifa was at least partly responsible for January 6 or that the attack was incited by the FBI have taken hold amongst Republicans is the firm conviction in many Republican hearts that Republicans don’t act like that. That is not what we do. Thus, there has to be an alternative explanation.

So we have to be careful. When dealing with a potentially insurrectionary subculture, it’s important to separate it from the population. Wrongly tie them to the mainstream, and members of the mainstream may wrongly see the insurrectionists as allies.

But underreaction can be dangerous too. We know that fanatical religious subcultures can do an immense amount of damage to the body politic. We know that they can be both deadly and destabilizing. A Christian political movement that’s so focused on the threat from the left can often unwittingly facilitate the rise of radicals, through sins of both commission and omission. . .
The sin of omission is the deafening silence from so many Christian leaders about the threat to the church and the nation from the far right. Convinced by threat-inflation of the danger from the left, and desperate for the unity that is perceived as necessary to confront existential risks, the last thing they want to do is to divide the right. Indeed, they scorn those public voices who dare “punch right.”

Moreover, if Christians know anything about the far right, they know it’s vicious. Silence is the safe course. For all the (legitimate) talk of cancel culture from the left, many Christians self-censor out of fear of the right. They know Michael Flynn is dangerous, but saying so out loud carries a cost. So they remain silent. They stay in their anti-left lane.

The proper response to fear and fanaticism is reason and faith. It’s demonstrating by word and deed that the response even to the worst forms of extremism on the left is not to stampede to extremism on the other side. But we have to know what we face, and what we face is an Christian subculture that is full of terrible religious purpose. The seeds of renewed political violence are being sown in churches across our land. . . (Font enlarged for original underscored passages; all other underscoring added; original italics.)

Christian Nationalist MAGA Pastor Mark Burns Declares ‘We’re Here to Take Over!’

Mark Burns, an unabashed Christian nationalist MAGA pastor who is running for Congress in South Carolina, spoke at the ReAwaken America conference in Dallas, Texas last week, where he once again declared that any law that contradicts the Bible must be overturned and proclaimed that now is the time for right-wing Christians to “take over” the country.

The ReAwaken America event was organized and hosted by conspiracy theorist Clay Clark, who has been bringing various election, COVID-19, and QAnon conspiracy theorists together in churches around the country throughout 2021. The Dallas event featured a cavalcade of right-wing activists and conspiracy theorists, including Mike Lindell, Michael Flynn, and Eric Trump.

“Are we ready to declare war on every demonic spirit?” Burns asked. “Are we ready to take over? Somebody shout, ‘Take it back, take it back.’ Shout, ‘Take it back!’ We’re here to declare war on Satan. How many here know that this is a God nation, this is a Jesus nation? And liberals are trying to take God out of everything we hold dear. Are you gonna let them do it, Texas? I said are you gonna let them take God—somebody say, ‘Never! Shout, ‘Never!’ This nation was founded on Judeo-Christian principles. This nation was founded on the fact that Jesus is the messiah.”

“Let me go ahead and piss off the mainstream media,” Burns continued. “Any law that is a law right now that’s contrary to the word of God should be outlawed and abolished in this nation. Do you believe that Jesus should be at the center of American politics in the United States of America?”

“We’re here to take over,” Burns later declared. “We’re here to take over, God help me. We’re here to take over. We’re here to take over!”

Burns was a proponent of the movement to keep former President Donald Trump in power. He has made numerous calls for war, including on the eve of the Capitol insurrection when he riled up Trump loyalists at a Stop the Steal rally by telling them, “We’re ready to do war!” (Underscored emphasis added.)

‘Bible Believing’ Christian Nationalist Who Wants to Shoot ‘Godless Commies’ in the Face Running for State Senate

Last September, MAGA pastor Jackson Lahmeyer, who is challenging Sen. James Lankford in Oklahoma’s Republican primary, held a campaign event at which he was endorsed by right-wing activist Jarrin Jackson.

Speaking at the campaign rally, Jackson declared that he hopes to see the establishment of military tribunals that will send “godless commies” to “burn forever in a lake of fire.”

“Godless commies” is Jackson’s preferred term for basically anyone who doesn’t share his right-wing Christian nationalist worldview, and he has not been shy about repeatedly declaring that he wants to “shoot them in the face.”

Jackson is now running for a seat in the Oklahoma state Senate. Earlier this week, he released a campaign ad declaring that “we are at war with communism” and asking voters to “unleash me.” (Underscored emphasis added.)

MAGA and the White Nationalist Agenda

The “Make America Great Again” MAGA slogan is nothing new. On the evening of March 21, 1915, President Woodrow Wilson attended a screening of The Birth of a Nation. The “blockbuster” film was based on The Clansman, a novel written by Wilson’s good friend Thomas Dixon. As in the novel, the film presented a resurgent view of the South and its glorification of the Ku Klux Klan. Wilson endorsed the film wholeheartedly, only to embolden a KKK white nationalist reign of terror on African Americans. The Klan created a shibboleth to accompany their resurgence and terrorism: “Make America Great Again.”

Ronald Reagan and the Republicans used the theme successfully throughout Reagan’s presidency. Decades later Tea Party Patriots, white nationalists, the alt-right and conservative Republicans proclaim the same MAGA. Only this time the invocation conveys more of an urgency and vitriol. They fear the growth of multiculturalism, socialism and leftists and a country the white majority is becoming a minority. The leader of the emergent white nationalist movement, the one who gives voice to their fears, is none other than the “billionaire” and star of the reality show The Apprentice, Donald Trump, forty-fifth POTUS. With Mussolini aplomb and stand-up comedy theatrics, Trump has drawn out a subterranean cast of characters. Trump has been successful in using concepts, terms and colloquialisms easily understood by the “deplorables.” In fact, it appears that they enjoy each other’s company and Trump’s political rallies. They have become a fun fest of character assignation and blatant lies about political rivals and their “ridiculous” policy positions. . .

Most interesting are conservative Christians and Catholics who not only dismiss Trump’s checkered past and present, but distort and manipulate scripturally comparisons of Trump to Cyrus the Great, a pagan Babylonian king who freed the Jews from captivity in Babylon to reclaim Israel. Point being that God can carry out her/his will in the “unchurched” like Trump, in the same way that God can work through pagan kings like Cyrus the Great to free Israel from captivity and bondage. Cyrus, as their argument goes, is the archetype of the ironic “vessel” (vessel theology) in which God carries out her/his plan of salvation, despite the superficial inconsistencies.

For conservative Catholics, as long as Trump is against abortion, anything he does on a personal level or supports as public policy contrary to Catholic social teaching can be justified. Ignored in this form of ethical triumphalism, is the fact that Catholic ethics calls for its faith community to form their consciences on Church teaching (Scripture and Tradition) based on the “continuum of life” ethics. This means that no one single overarching issue should take priority over others, unless one’s conscience directs them in good faith otherwise. Nevertheless, both groups revel in the fact that with three Supreme Court picks, Trump will be able to overturn abortion and follow through on a complete list of conservative and libertarian public policies that the Right have been dreaming of for the last forty years. In all, the vessel theology for conservative Christians appears to be a scriptural form of money laundering while conservative Catholic antiabortion triumphalism appears to be a gaslighting technique, intended as a diversion from other highly import[ant] ethical concerns.

Arguably, both conservative Christians and Catholics might agree on vessel theology and the primacy of abortion in their support of Trump. . .

In America, Christian Nationalism is racing towards its inevitable ascendancy, prophetically and in religio-political reality. It is now an established fact that we are in the end times, and close to the last remnant of time. Yet to be fulfilled is the prophecy of Daniel 11:45, which will signal the imminence of the close of probation and the beginning of the "time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation . . . ," (Dan. 12:1.) The foundation for the fulfillment of Dan. 11:45 has long been laid, but now seems to be dormant. How soon, and how suddenly, will the prophecy spring to life? This question calls for intense watchfulness.