Just recently, I tweeted out the following:
“I’m not sure if we’re in the beginning of the end, the middle of the end, the beginning of the end of the end ... but make no mistake, America is dying right before our eyes.
Maybe the end result will be positive but right now it is just sad.”
Let us focus on the key part here; AMERICA IS DYING.
Next, if America is truly dying, who can help save it? At least in the short term? The easy answer: Christians.
Non-Christians, I know what you are thinking, but I promise, hear me out.
Why? Because 65% of Americans still identify as Christian.
Now, Christianity is dying itself in America, but for the time being, it still represents the majority in America. This means Christians have power at the polls; this is not breaking news. It is something that evangelicals know and have wielded for years. Evangelicals got our current President elected.
I think it is dangerous to vote based solely on religious beliefs. For one, it is impossible for any political party to check every box personally and religiously. In addition, I think our government should function separately from any one religion, religious freedom means more than just Christianity. Our country should govern to serve everyone, regardless of faith.
Yet, I know that for so many, they vote based on one issue or because they believe a candidate or party will "bring Christianity back". We need to move past that thought in order to save our country and create the real change we need.
I will break this down in three phases, so to say, on how Christians can help save America, again in the short term at least.
The first phase is a call to those who know and understand what is at stake already. Some are currently fighting for America right now. They are active, talking, and having real discussions with people. They are reading and sharing fact-based information to fight the misinformation constantly thrown at us by people in power. However, there are still a lot of people in this group that are silent. These people can’t continue to be silent. We have to share what is at stake publicly and in our social groups. The toughest challenge for people in this group, the silent and not-so-silent, is the need to have really tough conversations with our friends and family, without worrying about upsetting them. This group has to challenge the ones that are closest to us, the ones we can actually have an impact on, the ones that we can possibly change their mind.
This does not mean arguing and name-calling, as much as our emotional side may want to. It means combatting their false information and their conspiracy theories while asking them to explain their opinions with data. We have to make them go beyond their rhetoric and we have to refrain from using rhetoric ourselves.
As I mentioned in a previous post, we have to follow the facts and adjust to new information as it comes available.
The next phase calls on our priests, pastors, reverends, ministers, and so on to speak up.
In order to save America, our Christian religious leaders need to bold and courageous. This group has a captive audience on a weekly basis, sometimes more often. Our leaders need to step to the plate and call out what is happening in our country. It is not a battle of political ideologies. Like mentioned before, Christianity is also dying in America and I guarantee that if we allow what is happening in America to happen, both America and Christianity will fall by the wayside together and rapidly. This is why so many of our leaders should take up the cause
Many of our religious leaders have woken up and are speaking up; this is good. However, for so many, they are stuck between a rock and a hard place. Speaking up and out against someone or something may cost them people in the pews, both in-person and virtually. It could also cost their place of worship money and maybe even their own job. As much as churches are there to serve others, they have to operate as a business to do so. It is hard to speak up when people will see it as political but religious leaders already do this when they preach. If a preacher talks about not oppressing our neighbors, they often use examples of how we oppress our neighbors in their sermons. In the context of the USA that could refer to our systemic racism. You may not see that but that message is there.
However, it is not the time for veiled messages. Now is the time for a message that causes immediate action. Our church leaders need to address that so many of our Jesus loving friends are worshiping a false idol, putting their faith in a man who is not only a bad human being but also threatening to kill democracy.
As a quick aside, our church leaders need to stand up against QAnon as well. The fringe group is converting Christians quickly and it is possible believers are in your church right now.
I know that this is a touchy subject because church and politics should not overlap, something I personally agree with, but many think they should go hand in hand. People that support this man have laid down as he steamrolled Christian principles. Christian Nationalism is taking over our country and not addressing could very well be the final nail in the coffin that kills Christianity in this country. For people under 40, nearly 50% do not associate with the Christian church. That number will continue to fall drastically if we allow four more years.
The final phase in this plan requires people to put some issues on the back burner and look more at what direction they really want their country to go. I will get the rough part out of the way, and if you are in this group I may offend, please stick around for the end.
Ready?
Okay, here it is…. Abortion is never going to be illegal in this country again, at least not nationally. It is time to reckon with this and figure out a different way to approach it. Don’t stop fighting to reduce abortions, I for one would love to see abortions reach zero. Nearly every American would love to continue to see abortion rates drop in this country. Abortion is not a simple yes or no answer for most Americans.
For one, abortion has seen a decrease nearly every year since the '80s and regardless of who is in charge. Pro-choice people also want to see less abortion, yes they want the option to exist but their strategy also includes the following, instead of taking away the choice to have an abortion they really want to get to a point where no woman or family has to consider that choice.
Therein lies the problem with the pro-life movement, too often it never addresses any of the real reasons why abortions are sought out and the movement wants to shut off access to free birth control and sex education, both avenues that would drastically reduce abortions.
You could make a good argument that pro-choice strategies reduce abortion more often than pro-life strategies.
Additionally, stopping Trump in the short term is more important than stopping abortion, mostly because he has not done anything to stop it and he has had nearly four years to do so.
Let us get back to the main point. The group of people I am talking are the same group of people that often yearn for the good ole days when Christianity was more mainstream. You or they just want God back in everything. Well the Christian god that is. Additionally, you hope for the day that Christians can save the country and right the ship. Here is the great news.
Now is the time!
The call is here. Christians, you can save America!
It is what you have always wanted. You have been waiting inside, gazing out on to the broken world through your stained glass, for just this very moment.
If you have uttered phrases like “It is time to put God back in school” or “America won’t be great until God is first”, your time is now. You thought it was in 2016, but the person on the other end of the phone was just another telemarketer (a failed one at that), we all should have hung up.
Instead of helping save America, you helped put a monster in power that might kill everything. America, civility, freedom, Christianity, and democracy are all in peril because you fell for one of the oldest Christian tricks, a false prophet. You saw someone who wanted you to think they were a prophet and forgot to ask yourself, is this the prophet we want?
Trump does not love America or care about a Christian resurgence. He just tells you that in order to get your vote. He loves only one thing, himself.
In terms of America; he has been caught goofing off during the national anthem, something bold for a man who mocks kneeling. He ignores intelligence briefings from our military, even when it is about bounties our troops. Oh, and now this report on how he really feels about our men and women in the military; calling some of our dead troops 'losers.' He had no problem mocking John McCain for getting captured in war, bold for someone who skipped Vietnam for bone spurs, which his lawyer said he made up. I don't blame him for not wanting to fight, but going after a war vet for being captured, while not fighting yourself is embarrassing. The real mistake is thinking a prophet would show up in the political world and in the USA of all places. Sometimes I get the feeling that conservative Americans think Christianity only resides in our country or that the USA is the capital of Christianity. Just FYI, if there is a Christian prophet in my lifetime, he or she probably will not be from America, and they sure as hell won’t be a lying, narcissistic, white bully with multiple sexual assault and rape allegations. I can’t imagine it will be a man who pays to sleep with women or one that has had multiple affairs. I can’t imagine it will be someone who is reckless with other people’s lives.
Here are his lies on CoVID-19 alone.
Far be it from me to know or say what God may or may not do, but the safe money is God is not calling on that type of dude.
Even if God did call on that type of person, surely at some point they would address their previous transgressions and become a real biblical and societal leader. Trump is in his 70’s and shows no sign this will ever happen for him. I doubt he would take blame for spilling a glass of milk, instead; he would somehow blame the milk itself.
In addition, why do we think a prophet is going to come and save a country? I am no theologian but I am confident God is not rooting for America as if we are battling Luxemburg for which country is holier like it is some sort of World Christian Olympics.
I could sit here and battle you about why putting God in our schools is nonsense, because you know, we have that whole freedom of religion thing in our constitution. Similarly, wouldn’t we have to put all gods in school if we put the Christian god in them? Furthermore, there are Christian schools where God is very much involved on a daily basis. However, I am not here to shame you, I understand that God is important. I am here because America needs you.
Now, because I know you, you are going to say; finally, you see it as we see it. You are saying to yourself right now; yes, America is dying, it is dying because we are shunning God. We aren’t allowed to worship him. We’re not allowed to pray in restaurants. We aren’t allowed to talk about God in public.
You may also be saying things about owning the libs or liberals are causing everything to go to hell and if we do not stop the left, God will die forever. I am not sure there are any stats that would prove this, but I know emotional pleas work better. Lest we forget as well that there a lot of left-leaning people that love God.
You also say that we as Christians are under attack by the media and left. While, some of that may be kind of true, in the sense that they don’t talk about the Christian god as much as you would like or are used to, the tough reality is we deserve a lot of the bad press or condemnation. Let’s run through a few just to remind ourselves: We used the bible to defend slavery and Christianity has a long-running problem with white supremacy.
Sexual abuse in the church, especially catholicism.
Numerous cults that sold Christianity only to commit crimes and mass suicide.
Our inability to stand up for people of color, repeatedly.
The way so many Christians showed true selfishness during the current pandemic.
Our attraction to conspiracy theory nonsense, especially QAnon. ONE, TWO, THREE, FOUR
Our weird obsession with ignoring science and academia.
Our refute of whataboutism when bad things happen; such as refuting people who are talking about the seriousness of CoVID with well what about abortion or sex trafficking?
Our defense of a teen who is charged with murder because he shot and killed two people after bringing a rifle to a protest by raising nearly 400,000 on a Christian crowdfunding page. It does appear this campaign is paused for the moment.
Our obsession with fear.
I could argue how almost no one is trying to put God in a corner or shame you for believing in him, but I fear that too won’t work. You may not even listen to me because you assume I am some hippie, weed-smoking, wannabe woke liberal who is part of the plot to kill religion but your assumption is wrong. I am a Christian and I love God. Additionally, I am not afraid to call out things on “the other side” or even defended your positions at times. I too think that the left tries to be too woke at times and their elitism can be exhausting, especially among the rich and famous.
Let’s take another look at the tweet I shared to open this, in the final part I say that the death of America could bring positive changes. I truly believe that. To be clear, getting Trump out of office is just the start. I think America does need a reckoning but it needs one that focuses on making life better for everyone. That includes Christians and non-Christians. It includes making life better for every person in this country. This reckoning needs to bring equality and justice for every single person in our country.
America has problems and Christianity has problems, some of those problems overlap but most do not. Right now, there is a double triggered shotgun looking to take down both American and Christianity at the same time.
If we elect Trump again in 2020, we are doomed. The right and left will become even more radicalized and those of us in the middle, the majority of our country will suffer. We will fight and fight until real violence breaks out. Not just the social media bickering or the looting and rioting that damages buildings and injures some, but massive casualties. There will be more vigilante violence and shootings. We will continue to slip into authoritarian rule and we won’t be able to come back.
Electing Trump for four more years is not a vote for freedom or God or anything else. It is not even a vote for the Republican party.
It is a vote for a false prophet. A vote for an idol. A vote for the death of America. The choice shouldn’t be this hard.
*I would be mistaken if I did not mention the other group of people that can save America. That group is women, white women, especially. The main reason I did not separate this group specifically is that it is my belief they fall into the third group I mentioned above. The other reason is I feel like it would be sexiest to blame a gender.
Trump was able to win because a lot of middle-aged, upper-middle-class suburban women voted for him in 2016.
Despite his terrible history with women; this group even includes one woman whose own daughter was groped by Trump.
This group alone could save us all by not voting for him in 2020.
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