Honestly – if the government kept its nose out of religion, I would have almost nothing to write about. The latest diversionary tactic happened this week – Pres. Trump is telling federal employees they should share their religious beliefs at work. I think most of us can foresee the you-know-what show this will be. To be clear, in the same way that kids can talk about God in public school -they can even have Bible study, as long as it isn’t led or controlled by a public school employee – at lunch; adults are not prohibited from talking about God in public settings, as far as I know. Those discussions, however, need to be consensual. I will talk about my experience of God anywhere at any time with anybody, but they have to ask me. I have too much respect for the wishes of others to force my faith on them. This isn’t how a lot of false religion is, which is today’s point.
Jesus talked about God and the kingdom of God all the time – this was His job. But remember during the Sermon on the Mount when a guy tried to leave and Jesus did a verbal smackdown on him? Me neither. And that time an expert in the law asked a bunch of questions and pushed back on what Jesus said, and Jesus told him he was going to hell? Nope – didn’t happen. False religion tries to control unwilling people – it forces women to dress in certain ways and gives their autonomy to men. False religion doesn’t allow faith to be a choice – it favors one flavor over all others and even, at times, bans anything that disagrees with it. This is called a theocracy, and there are a lot of false Christians pushing, praying, and directing this administration towards that goal.
In my reading of history, the presidents who pushed the most for religion in the White House were the most immoral. Pres. Nixon was the first to bring Bible study (and Billy Graham) into the building, and Pres. Trump talks about religion more than any president in recent memory, including Pres. Carter. For Mr. Carter, faith wasn’t just words – it was also about living a faithful life. There were no cheap, money-making Bibles. There were no grandstanding events while holding a Bible upside down. When asked which Bible verses they liked most, they didn’t say “all of them.” Flawed as our previous presidents were, they tried to live their faiths as well as they could, some better than others. This is different – this is the cult of False Christianity flaunting its power and privilege as it tries to control the rest of us. This administration wouldn’t know God if God landed on it and sang “The Messiah.”
Prayer – Holy God, save us from cheap grace and false religion. Open the eyes of those who have been fooled and help us to maintain our faith in troubling times. Amen.
Our art shows what Jesus probably looked like as opposed to what the church has made Him look.