Heresy, Insanity, and The Destruction of the Faith of Jesus

Last updated on: November 15, 2021 at 9:57 am by C. Don Jones

Heresy, Insanity, and The Destruction of the Faith of Jesus 2021-11-15T09:57:06-06:00 C. Don Jones

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.

Heresy is not often the equivalent of insanity. We who grew up during the cold war know how the Soviet government often declared political dissidents mentally ill. So, I do not say this flippantly that MAGA Christianity is both heretical and insane. Heresy is often the charge the majority lays on the minority. But its original meaning is division. The concept of heresy being about false ideas or doctrines is secondary. I can continue being in communion with people who disagree with me. I cannot, however, continue such a connections with people who don’t want to be in connection. It is that simple. But I add a further charge on MAGA Christianity. It is an attempt to destroy the faith of Jesus. It does not seek merely to destroy the fellowship. MAGA leaders seek to destroy it entirely.

The Heresy of Seeking the Devil

The devil in this case is not the adversary recorded in the Bible. It is the adversary certain people call others. Let me give a case of this.

A rather conservative church member became a follower of John Hagee of the Cornerstone Church in San Antonio Texas. People from Tennessee used to go there to visit the Alamo. Now there are many who make the pilgrimage to Cornerstone. This person made a few trips a year. He watched Hagee’s show everyday. And more and more, he spoke less about Christ and more about “The Enemy.” I watched this basically decent human being dissolve as something else was being born. He was concerned about not enough Americans holding on to “a Biblical worldview.” His lapel pin was both the US and Israeli flags. His son wondered if his father had not suffered some kind of stroke.

This heresy of needing to identify the devil has been prominent in conservative churches for a long time now. The questions I had over the last 30 years had very little to do with sacraments and more to do with identifying “the Anti-Christ.” Every question assumed this Anti-Christ was some identified enemy of the United States. Then, post-911, the enemy began to be identified within the United States. The divisiveness resulting from the 2000 presidential election began in earnest.

The Rising Delusion

The 2000 presidential election saw the popular vote going to the losing candidate. Many fundamentalist Christians saw the hand of God in the electoral win of good ole boy candidate George W. Bush. And then they got crazy. They became more so after September 11, 2001. Contrary to popular myth there was no real 9/12 unity. The gap between the two sides became broader and settled during the Iraq War. The delusion was not there was an “us against them.” The delusion was “they are in league with forces trying to destroy us.”

The assumption allowed for “real American patriots” to seek enemies everywhere. Fundamentalist Christians decided they were the true patriots, the true Christians, and needed to arm themselves spiritually and physically against the forces of evil. The 2016 election saw the popular vote winner lose again. And Fundamentalists became MAGA Christians. The fact that these people helped elect and tried to re-elect a destructive and vacuous person demonstrates how great the delusion has become. Now the delusion has taken the place of Jesus.

The Heresy and The Faith of Jesus

A recent video posted and shared on social media shows the Cornerstone Church has introduced a new chant to their liturgy. The slogan “let’s go Brandon” is known to be euphemism for “F*** Joe Biden.” Banners and T-shirts are being printed and worn with the slogan. The prayer for forgiveness for the sins of the word, “Lord have mercy/Christ have mercy,” has been replaced.

“Father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing.” (Luke 23:34b) The thought interpolated into the Gospel of Luke tells the reader that there are ramifications to the actions of people under mass delusion. A prophetic warning is involved in the prayer for forgiveness. Cornerstone Church and their worship leader are people under such a delusion. They do not realize they are destroying the faith they believe they are defending.

St. Paul warned the Corinthians about their worship. “If therefore the whole church comes together and all speak in tongues, and outsiders or believers enter, will they not say that you are out of your mind?” (1 Corinthians 14:23) A certain sense of decency and decorum is called for in worship. Cornerstone Church clapped their hands and chanted a slogan and claimed to be Christians. Yet, one can hardly imagine progressive Christians holding a similar chant about Donald Trump in their churches. Where would the outsider go to find God?

The Destructive Delusion of the Faithless

There is nothing more to say. MAGA Christianity is not Christianity as I learned and have taught it. I only recognize it because I saw the bear when it was a cub. But it had to grow to be seen for what it is and what it is not. The MAGA delusion is destructive and evil. I have no desire to preserve fellowship with it. I believe soon I won’t have the choice.

The United Methodist Church

Theology

Truth

Previous Post

November 11, 2021

Resentment And Spiritual Deformation

Next Post

November 18, 2021 The Bible And Progressive Christians

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Addiction Advent Afghanistan Anxiety Ascension Sunday Baptism Barack Obama Biblical Interpretation Bigotry Book Banning BSA Buddhism Choice Christmas Church Discipline Community Conscience Conspiracy theories COVID-19 Culture Wars death cults deconstruction Devotional Divine Judgment Donald Trump Earth Day Election Day empathy Environmentalism Evangelism Exploitation of the Poor Faith False Claims fascism Fear Forgiveness Genocide government Grace Gun Violence Halloween Hate Health Hillbilly Elegy Hindu Holy Communion Holy Week Homelessness Hope Identity Integrity Islam Joe Biden John Hagee Kamala Harris Labor Lent Liberation Theology Lies Love Love as action Neurological disorders Non-Christian Religions Online Worship Original Goodness Pandemic Peace Pentecost Philosophy Preaching Progressive Christianity Racism Redemptive Violence Myth Resentment Saint's Days Satire Sobriety social media Spiritual Self Care Spirituality Technology The Kingdom of God The United Methodist Church Theology Transfigurations Sunday Transgender persons Truth Uncategorized Violence Wesleyan Working Class

Select a Month September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 March 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 September 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 January 2025 October 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 October 2018 September 2018 July 2018 February 2018 January 2018 August 2017 May 2017 November 2016 July 2016 June 2016 November 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 January 2015 November 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 June 2013 March 2013 February 2013 December 2012 August 2012 July 2012 May 2012 February 2012 December 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What does "Elohim" mean in Hebrew?

Select your answer to see how you score.

The Almighty God Holy One Creator