You weaponized religion
and you wonder why
I'm leaving to find Jesus
on the wrong side of your walls
--From Hymn for the 81 percent
I see this morning an article from Daily Kos about a Christian worship leader in a South Bend, Indiana church, one Daniel Dietrich, who has written a song about the betrayal he feels from "evangelical" Trump support. Dietrich himself formed the church four years ago, described as "a Jesus centered community for believers and doubters and everyone in between." The title of the song is "Hymn for the 81 Percent", which refers to the percentage of evangelical Christians who have supported Trump. It is described as "a love song to the church and a call to repentance", and directly addresses the hypocrisy of the white evangelical church's support of Donald Trump in the face of Biblical teaching. The lyrics castigate the Trump administration for "putting kids in cages, ripping mothers from their babies," but blames the church for failing to rein them in. "I looked to you to speak on their behalf, but all I heard was silence, or worse you justify it."
The song has gone viral.
So I say Amen.
I can't help but wonder, however, who these Trumpster evangelicals are. I have been to many churches since becoming a believer in 1994--Non-denominational churches, Pentacostal churches, Charismatic churches, Methodist churches, Presbyterian churches, Catholic churches--but I have never been to a church that dabbled in politics or proclaimed support for any political figure or ideology. The churches I have been to have proclaimed the gospel alone, tailored, of course, to their own theological outlooks.
So who are these people, these evangelicals? They are the people, I suppose, who are generally ignored by the true church and true Christians yet are loudly present on the internet and in the imagination of those who wish to make Christianity itself a culprit in the disaster that is Trump. They are the nutcases on podcasts and late night radio shows who drivel on about 'the Chosen One' and wacko prophesies and end-of-the-world scenarios. They are the scammers, the users, the parasites that feed on their host, and much to the detriment of the host at that.
I know some of these people. They are not bad people. They are merely weak-minded people. They are people who have failed to receive the word in their inner parts. They are fearful people who seek assurance not in sacrifice and humility but in bluster and fantasy. They are people who have been led astray.
And, hopefully, they are people who will listen to this song and be inspired to seek more of the truth. Hopefully, they are people who will learn to share his yolk and walk thereafter with him, for, as he says, I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
and you wonder why
I'm leaving to find Jesus
on the wrong side of your walls
--From Hymn for the 81 percent
I see this morning an article from Daily Kos about a Christian worship leader in a South Bend, Indiana church, one Daniel Dietrich, who has written a song about the betrayal he feels from "evangelical" Trump support. Dietrich himself formed the church four years ago, described as "a Jesus centered community for believers and doubters and everyone in between." The title of the song is "Hymn for the 81 Percent", which refers to the percentage of evangelical Christians who have supported Trump. It is described as "a love song to the church and a call to repentance", and directly addresses the hypocrisy of the white evangelical church's support of Donald Trump in the face of Biblical teaching. The lyrics castigate the Trump administration for "putting kids in cages, ripping mothers from their babies," but blames the church for failing to rein them in. "I looked to you to speak on their behalf, but all I heard was silence, or worse you justify it."
The song has gone viral.
So I say Amen.
I can't help but wonder, however, who these Trumpster evangelicals are. I have been to many churches since becoming a believer in 1994--Non-denominational churches, Pentacostal churches, Charismatic churches, Methodist churches, Presbyterian churches, Catholic churches--but I have never been to a church that dabbled in politics or proclaimed support for any political figure or ideology. The churches I have been to have proclaimed the gospel alone, tailored, of course, to their own theological outlooks.
So who are these people, these evangelicals? They are the people, I suppose, who are generally ignored by the true church and true Christians yet are loudly present on the internet and in the imagination of those who wish to make Christianity itself a culprit in the disaster that is Trump. They are the nutcases on podcasts and late night radio shows who drivel on about 'the Chosen One' and wacko prophesies and end-of-the-world scenarios. They are the scammers, the users, the parasites that feed on their host, and much to the detriment of the host at that.
I know some of these people. They are not bad people. They are merely weak-minded people. They are people who have failed to receive the word in their inner parts. They are fearful people who seek assurance not in sacrifice and humility but in bluster and fantasy. They are people who have been led astray.
And, hopefully, they are people who will listen to this song and be inspired to seek more of the truth. Hopefully, they are people who will learn to share his yolk and walk thereafter with him, for, as he says, I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
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