Are you a unifier or divider? Are you allowing political objectives to becom an idol in your life? How have your political opinions impacted your relationships? This week I read two articles that echoed what I have been saying for months. The first was from Aaron Earles of Lifeway Research entitled, “Half of U.S. Protestant Pastors Hear Conspiracy Theories in Their Churches.” The other was by Jaweed Kaleem from the LA Times entitled, “QAnon and Other Conspiracy Theories are Taking Hold in Churches. Pastors are Fighting Back.” I encourage you to read both. In his comic strip, Pogo, cartoonist Walt Kelly sums up both articles in just nine words. “We have met the enemy and he is us.”

Kaleem highlights the negative pushback pastors are experiencing when they call out conspiracies as “dabbling in darkness.” He asserts, “Trump’s false insistence that he won the 2020 election may have incited the mob, but it also pointed to a dangerous intersection of God and politics.” Another pastor laments congregants replacing Jesus with Trump. A quarter of evangelicals believe in the QAnonsense and 60 percent believe Trump won the last general election, according to the American Enterprise Institute.

Our Christian brothers and sisters not only believe the lies, but they are helping to spread them. Lifeway Research, an arm of the Southern Baptist Convention, indicated that 49% of Protestant pastors often hear congregants repeating conspiracies about national events. Only other believers can stop the damage being done to the Church by the lies and conspiracy theories. For lack of wood the fire goes out, and where there is no whisperer, quarreling ceases. (Proverbs 26:20 | ESV) We need to treat political lies the same way we do other gossip and mindless babble—confirming what we hear before believing it and refusing to repeat what we hear, period. If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless. (James 1:26 | ESV)

The folks behind the stolen election and other QAnonsense will only be persuaded by the truth when sincere Christians speak the truth to them in love. But, the messaging today is so divisive we need to exercise discretion. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. … (Ephesians 4:2-3 | NIV) Ironically, the man who popularized the term “fake news” is using fake conspiracies to destroy friendships, families, churches and, even our democratic norms.

His assertion of a stolen election is a lie that Trump began spreading months before the election to set the stage for his January 6th failed coup. However, the courts, including the US Supreme Court have made it clear the evidence doesn’t support his lie. And rational people are beginning to see the lie for what it is. Still, some people want to believe the Justice Department and Supreme Court are part of some conspiracy. Hearing that reminds me of the mother watching her boy marching at his army basic training graduation who exclaimed, “Look everybody is out of step, but my Donnie.”

The QAnon pizza pedophile cannibal conspiracy, likewise, has no basis in fact. It originated in the same place as the Jewish space laser behind the California wildfires story did. Frankly, if the preposterous conspiracies weren’t so dangerous they would be comical. The spiritual danger, however, is they have led people to quit trusting Jesus and start expecting Donald Trump to protect the Church. And sadly, the craziness has been abetted by some very influential pastors who seem to have forgotten the Church will suffer if it does its job of evangelism, but not for being a hypocritical, morality mob. Friends don’t let friends fall for dangerous, dumb stuff. If you are really serious about making America great again, work to stop the spread of misinformation. Believing a lie is bad enough, but sharing one is a sin. “I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak . . .” (Matthew 12:36 | ESV)

There are no perfect churches because churches are people and no one is perfect. Statistics show the problems we see in what we call the “world” exist in the same percentages in the Body of Christ. Is it any wonder those outside the church see us as phonies? The primary reason we need to avoid Christian Nationalism is its basic objective; exclusion. They want to exclude everyone who is not like them. And that contradicts the underlying premise of Christianity. Everyone is welcomed into the family of God. Furthermore, our goal in this life is to be like Jesus. Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. (Ephesians 4:14-15 NIV)

In its support of ex-President Trump, compromise has been embraced for the “greater good.” God does not need our help or, even Donald Trump’s to accomplish his will. With Fox News complicity Christian Nationalists have sold Jesus-followers a scare-tactic fiction that is easier to believe than the truth.

The Democrats will not turn this country into a godless, socialist nation allowing immigrants will take over what rightfully belongs to white Christians. That “right,” by the way, is also a fiction. We are not helpless victims whose only hope is Trump’s GOP. The independent vote will always be a tie-breaker. And thanks to Trump, there are many more of us today than there was four years ago. The GOP has even sunk so far that they had a Golden Trump at the CPAC convention in Florida last month. (The Golden calf must have been unavailable.) I am going to say it as plainly as possible.  Christian Nationalism is idolatry.

America is not now, nor has it ever been a Christian nation. It can be, but it won’t be accomplished at the ballot box or on Capitol Hill. It will become a Christian nation by focusing on the Great Commission and the Great Commandment. The Church, not America, matters to God. But we have brought Baal into the sanctuary by mixing faith with politics, no matter how lofty our ideals might have been. How can we believe God considers American Christians any differently than he does Christians from another nation?

Patriotism has its place in public life. Politics, likewise gives us a small voice in governance. Yet neither plays a role in the Kingdom of God. My prayer is those who are striving to make America Christian again would do it the old fashioned way; by sharing the Good News of the gospel, living a life that honors God and recognizes, even the unbeliever is God’s image-bearer, regardless of race, faith, gender, nationality or  sexual orientation. Christ and his teaching about love and unity is missing from Christian Nationalism. If you consider yourself a Jesus-follower, run, don’t walk, away from it’s ungodly influence.

The inevitable insurrection occurred on January 6, 2021 when America witnessed the first attack on the U.S. Capitol since the British did it in 1814, during the War of 1812. It was the first, organized insider attack against our nation since cannons fired on Fort Sumter to begin the American Civil War in 1861. Many believe president Trump, along with other, prominent politicians and religious figures were responsible. An impeachment trial will likely not punish the most guilty. No doubt the members of the mob who are identified will have their day in court, but those most responsible will slink back into the shadows.

A Senate trial is, by definition, a toothless, political sideshow, especially now, given the fear GOP politicians have of the former president’s supporters. In fact, the vote to call the process unconstitutional was their cowardly way of avoiding responsibility and guilt by association. They would rather debate the process than adopt a moral position. The party of Lincoln has proven to be more like the party of Nixon, except that GOP finally had enough. Certainly, we cannot expect them to take their Senate juror oath any more seriously than they have their oaths of office. You’d be wrong to conclude Republicans fear the former president. They do not fear Donald Trump. They fear the mob behind him. And that is the Presidents most potent weapon.

Homeland Security issued a national domestic terror alert this week because the threat persists. And it persists because the lies and cover-up persist. House leader McCarthy tried to blame all Americans for the insurrection, but that is simply a smoke screen intended to conceal his party’s culpability. If we conservative Christians share any responsibility at all, it is our lack of outrage and silence in the aftermath of the insurrection.

That mob has been conditioned from both the bully pulpit and the church pulpit to believe they are doing the right thing, indeed, the will of God. Sociologists refer to the unholy view of Christianity that so obviously perverts the teaching of Jesus, Christian Nationalism. Some folks, who call themselves followers of Jesus, have taken their eyes off him and placed their trust in politics and politicians. It is up to us to lovingly guide our brothers and sisters back into a Church that practices, not just praises, the teaching of Jesus.

Admittedly, I was angry as I watched people carrying Bibles and the banner of Jesus while yelling obscenities and making murderous threats against elected officials, including the vice-president. This is what I wish our ex-president and the weak-kneed GOP members of Congress would hear from the Church. You do not have the privilege of encouraging others to kick down our door, attack our family, bust up our furniture, steal our tv and then blame us. Yet, that is exactly what representative Kevin McCarthy did. Nor do they have the standing to tell us to forgive, forget and move on as many Trump-supporting politicians have done. I suspect most of us have already forgiven, but I doubt we will ever forget. It was a knife to the heart of our nation akin to 9/11.

Genuine followers of Jesus are not the ones pouring gas on the fire intemperate words and actions ignited. But the fire is still raging and GOP elected officials pretend not to see anything—just as they pretended not to see the ex-president’s immoral  actions. Until he, and others who perpetuated the stolen election lies admit responsibility and take public action to restore confidence in our electoral process, the rift in our nation will remain an open wound.

It is time to teach your sons to man up. I’m not talking about making them macho, just responsible, contributors to society. The manly man focus introduced through Wild at Heart by John Eldridge, in my opinion, has done almost as much damage to Christian young men as Purity Culture has done to young women. The difference is there may also be a link to Christian Nationilism resulting from the Eldridge work.

Poor, delicate, little snowflakes. America, we have created a generation of helpless children that might look like adults, but lack the basic skills necessary to survive without mommy and daddy hovering over and protecting them. I recently listened for a second time to a podcast by Dr. Jeff Iorg, President of Gateway Seminary in Ontario, California that he called, “Man Card.”

Iorg encouraged parents, specifically Christians, to focus to making their children, especially their sons, responsible adults no matter how difficult it may be for all concerned.​ He lamented the ‘prolonged adolescence’ resulting from overprotective parents.

To make his point he described a new course offered by the University of California at Berkeley. Before continuing, consider this. California, along with a number of other states, allows 16 year-olds to register or pre-register to vote. And yet, college-aged young adults, at least in California, apparently need a class to know how to function in the grown-up world.

The course, Psychology 198, was called ‘Adulting.’ A grade of pass/no pass was awarded. (Apparently failure is not a part of the Berkeley adulting world). Perhaps that is why it filled up so quickly. Seems sort of like a trophy for participation, but that’s what many have come to expect.

Regardless, the course description used these words to describe the need for it. “The school system does not require a class for students to learn how to live in the real world and function as an adult. We often enter college unprepared to take care of ourselves.” Wow! Old enough to vote, buy a car, obtain a credit card and register to be drafted into military service, but unable to take care of themselves?

Is it any wonder politicians who resemble indulgent parents appeal to that demographic. It may also be why some parents must obtain a court order to remove adult children from the family home? I concur with UC Berkeley about schools not creating responsible adults.

Even more, I concur with Dr. Iorg that schools never had that responsibility. Parents do! It is time parents quit coddling their children, especially their sons. Learning to navigate the ‘real world’ should begin in elementary school not college or graduate school.