Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Progressive Christian
History and Religion
MAGA Churchgoers – Please Convert to Christ

MAGA Churchgoers – Please Convert to Christ

Last updated on: January 26, 2026 at 3:07 pm by Gregory T. Smith

0 Comments

MAGA Churchgoers – Please Convert to Christ 2026-01-25T15:33:51-08:00 Gregory T. Smith

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

MAGA churchgoers—please read the conversion of Paul in light of immigration raids. Could it be Jesus that you are persecuting?

MAGA churchgoer, you’ve been blind to the fact that your oppression of marginalized people is an attack on Jesus himself. (Image by Paul Goyette from Chicago, USA. )

Saturday’s murder of Alex Pretti by carried out by federal immigration agents is another horrifying death for which the Trump administration bears moral responsibility—and which the President has defended publicly.

This makes two murders of US citizens in just over two weeks. Churchgoers who still support the current administration’s policy of dragging (mostly Christian) families away from each other, killing people who stand up for the oppressed, imprisoning people without due process, and deporting American citizens need to rethink where they’ve placed their loyalties. And today is a good day to do that.

Complicit in Murder

In the Christian calendar, January 25 was the Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul the Apostle (also called Saul)—the day to remember a repentance so powerful that the Church has never been the same. Remember the story of the murder of Stephen by religious leaders in Acts 7? Verse 58 says:

They threw him out of the city and stoned him. The witnesses placed their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul.

Saul never got his hands dirty picking up stones. He didn’t stand close enough for Stephen’s blood to spatter his clothes. But he did watch other people’s coats so they wouldn’t get themselves dirty. This made him complicit in Stephen’s murder.

If you’re a MAGA churchgoer who is still defending Donald Trump and federal immigration enforcement as it is being carried out right now, you are just as complicit as Saul was in the stoning of Stephen—close enough to keep the coats clean while others do the violence.

You know about the roughly 30-32 people who died in ICE custody in 2025, and the two US citizens murdered this month. If you still defend this behavior—if you’re still watching the coats of those who perpetrate this evil, you are complicit in murder, too. Not necessarily in the legal sense. In the biblical sense: in bloodguilt. In the sense that you keep the machinery running and call it righteousness.

“Why Do You Persecute Me?”

Later, in Acts 9:1-19, Luke retells the story, as Paul related it to him. Remember, it starts with a Jewish man named Saul, who was empowered by religious/political leaders to persecute those they viewed as “other.” Verses 1-5 say:

Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”

“Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked.

“I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied.

This might sound odd to many readers. It probably sounded strange to Saul, as well. Led by his political and religious convictions, Saul felt compelled to do what he believed was right, arresting and even killing those whom he believed didn’t belong in his society. But Jesus said Saul wasn’t just arresting and killing others—he was persecuting Christ himself.

Persecuting Others—Persecuting Christ

Saul’s involvement in leader-sponsored persecution probably started out as a zeal for the truth. Wanting to protect his religion from an invasion of heresy, Saul viewed his actions as a mixture of patriotism and faith. Many agents in immigration enforcement view their involvement in the same light. And those who support Trump and these ICE operations likely feel the same way. They think they’re the “good guys,” fighting for truth, justice, and the American way. What they need to hear is Jesus’s voice saying, “Why are you persecuting me?”

How could that possibly be the persecution of Jesus? Unlike the lie that says people of languages, nationalities, and ethnicities are different from one another, Jesus teaches the unity of all people. He constantly ministered to people who were different from him, often crossing those barriers purposefully and to make a point.

In Matthew 25, Jesus told his followers that the way they treat others is the way they treat him—for God is present in all people. So, when you feed the hungry, clothe the naked, help the poor, welcome the stranger, and visit the prisoner, you do this for Christ. But when you refuse these blessings to immigrants, you refuse Christ himself.

Worse, when, like Saul, you actively persecute marginalized people, you are harming Jesus himself. So, MAGA churchgoer, your active persecution of immigrants (or, holding the coats for those who carry out violent enforcement) is persecuting Jesus. You can’t do that and be a Christian.

Was Blind, But Now I See

Saul was blinded by his vision of Jesus on the Damascus Road. Acts 9:6-9 tells us:

“Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”

The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone. Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything.

Saul’s physical blindness echoed his spiritual blindness—the fact that he allowed his patriotism and religious zeal to obscure his true sight. MAGA churchgoer, you’ve been blind to the fact that your oppression of marginalized people is an attack on Jesus himself. But, just as God gave Saul an opportunity to rebuild a different kind of life, your Damascus Road experience can be a new beginning. God wants to restore your sight and give you a vision for a new America in which diversity is strength, not threat. Maybe God can turn you around and use you like Paul, to be the start of a post-MAGA revival.

Amazing Grace

Hymnwriter John Newton is the author of the favorite hymn, “Amazing Grace.” When he called himself a wretch, he wasn’t wrong. A former slave trader, Newton had a dramatic experience in which he realized that everything he had believed was a lie. He acknowledged his spiritual blindness and trusted in God’s amazing grace to save him. Like Paul, Newton experienced a conversion that has impacted generations of believers with this powerful hymn.

MAGA churchgoer, I’m going to tell you something hard—but filled with hope. You may have called yourself a Christian for decades, but if, after all this, you’re still supporting Trump and a campaign of raids, mass detention, and lethal “mistakes” against civilians, you aren’t following the Way of Christ. It’s time to acknowledge your own blindness and ask God to restore your vision.

The good news is that God’s amazing grace reaches out to you. Just as Jesus saved Newton and converted Paul on the Damascus Road, he can convert you to the Way of Peace instead of the sword.

For related reading, check out my other articles:

Evangelical

History and Religion

Politics and Religion

Challenging the Church

About Gregory T. Smith

I live in the beautiful Fraser Valley of British Columbia and work in northern Washington State as a behavioral health specialist with people experiencing homelessness and those who are overly involved in the criminal justice system. Before that, I spent over a quarter-century as lead pastor of several Virginia churches. My newspaper column, “Spirit and Truth” ran in Virginia newspapers for fifteen years. I am one of fourteen contributing authors of the Patheos/Quoir Publishing book “Sitting in the Shade of another Tree: What We Learn by Listening to Other Faiths.” I hold a degree in Religious Studies from Virginia Commonwealth University, and also studied at Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond. My wife Christina and I have seven children between us, and we are still collecting You can read more about the author here.

Previous Post

January 21, 2026

The Lie Behind “When God Looks at You, He Sees Jesus”

Next Post

February 2, 2026 Ananias Shows How Not to Turn Cold in This ICE Age

Who said, "Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil"?

Select your answer to see how you score.

David Moses Job Paul