I began approaching the myriad locals who, in writing, have attacked me and my political allies. I wanted to know whether liberals and conservatives can still even talk to each other in rural America, and I wondered: What if we took the dialogue offline?
— Bill Donahue
A wonderful story in The Washington Post Magazine speaks of the divisions that have emerged in the last couple of decades as talk radio and social media have led people to vilify those who don’t agree with them. Written by Gilmanton resident Bill Donahue, it describes his attempt to reach out to those who vilified him online and in letters to the editor. While some of them would not meet him in person, those who did showed that people can still get together as neighbors, even if their viewpoints do not match. It’s a story of a small town undergoing change but holding onto some old traditions.
One of the people he succeeds in speaking with is Valerie Cote, whom he describes as a retired Air Force staff sergeant who spent 16 years as an iron worker. “A sign out front bears the silhouette of a gun-toting sniper along with the words, ‘If you can read this you’re in range!’ … Her husband, John Boutin, … makes a smirking reference to the warning sign on the lawn. ‘It’s not a joke,’ he says. ‘Once, when a guy came here to talk to me about life insurance, she got her gun out.’”
Instead of a gun, Cote brought out a cup of coffee and they spent two and a half hours discussing their histories and their political views, and Donahue declared, “Great conversations are rooted in courage and trust. We need them to keep our nation civil and stable.”
Evangelical Leaders Condemn Extremism
The marriage between Donald Trump and Christian evangelicals has confounded many who recall the days when people like Billy Graham tried to bring faith to world leaders rather than placing their own faith in those leaders. While praying for Trump is a very Christian thing to do, and affirming that those in power are placed there by God falls in line with Christian teachings, the cult-like worship of Trump is a completely different matter.
Now a coalition of evangelical leaders has publicly condemned “radicalized Christian nationalism” by supporters of the former president. More than 100 pastors and ministry leaders issued an open letter expressing concern about the “damage done by radicalized Christian Nationalism in the world, the church, and in the lives of individuals and communities.”
“While we come from varied backgrounds and political stances, we stand together against the perversion of the Christian faith as we saw on January 6, 2021. We also stand against the theology and the conditions that led to the insurrection,” they wrote. “[W]e unite our voices to declare that there is a version of American nationalism that is trying to camouflage itself as Christianity — and it is a heretical version of our faith.”
The letter went on to urge “all pastors, ministers, and priests to boldly make it clear that a commitment to Jesus Christ is incompatible with calls to violence, support of white Christian nationalism, conspiracy theories, and all religious and racial prejudice,” going on to say, “Instead of seeing the United States as God’s chosen nation we thank God for the church around the world that calls people of all races, tongues and nations to the knowledge and love of God. Instead of seeing any particular political leader or party as divinely appointed, we believe in the prophetic and pastoral ministry of the church to all political leaders and parties. Instead of power through violence, we believe in and seek to imitate the powerful, servant love practiced by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”
For Some, Trump Remains King
Regardless of how the election went, and despite the violence of the Capitol siege, some charismatic Christians still believe that Trump was chosen by God in spite of his faults. Greg Locke, a Nashville pastor, said Trump would “100 percent remain president of the United States for another term,” and Kat Kerr, a preacher from Jacksonville, Florida, declared that God had told her Trump would serve for eight years. Johnny Enlow, a California-based Pentecostal pastor, said, “There’s not going to be just Trump coming back. There’s going to be at least two more Trumps that will be in office in some way.” He has said that Donald Trump is “the primary government leader on Planet Earth.”
Australian prophet Lana Vawser claimed to have a vision of Jesus clothing Trump with a purple robe and crown.
Michael Brown, a charismatic revivalist and scholar in Charlotte, North Carolina, reexamined such views after the Capitol riots. “To entertain possibilities like this is to mock the integrity of prophecy and to make us charismatics look like total fools,” he declared. “How did we become so politicized? How did so many of us end up with an almost a cultlike devotion to a leader, compromise our ethics for a seat at the table and drape the Gospel in an American flag?”
The News Café is a virtual meeting place where we discuss the news of the day and where subscribers can share their knowledge, thoughts, and questions about any topic. We may even select some of those subjects for more in-depth analysis. So fill your cup with your favorite drink, pull up a chair, and join us at The News Café.
Those signing up for free subscriptions to the News Café will receive public posts by email so they will not miss a newsletter. By choosing to pay just $5 a month, readers will have access to all posts, some of which will be offered to subscribers only. Subscriptions also give readers access to an archive of stories. Either way, we want to hear from you as we build our community. www.libertymedianh.org