{"id":757,"date":"2020-06-02T10:37:51","date_gmt":"2020-06-02T15:37:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/joshlawson\/?p=757"},"modified":"2020-06-02T10:53:24","modified_gmt":"2020-06-02T15:53:24","slug":"about-that-photo-op-st-johns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/joshlawson\/2020\/06\/about-that-photo-op-st-johns\/","title":{"rendered":"About that photo op in front of St. John’s church"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>
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President Trump outside St. John\u2019s Episcopal Church, which was damaged during a night of unrest near the White House.Credit\u2026Doug Mills\/The New York Times<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
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Having watched the spectacle of President Trump\u2019s photo op in front of St. John\u2019s Church<\/a> in Washington DC yesterday, I\u2019m somewhat at a loss for words. Yet as a faith leader I feel like I should say something<\/em>.\ufffc\ufffc\ufffc<\/div>\n
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As I understand it, the President gave a press conference where he urged Governors to \u201cdominate\u201d the streets of their cities with local law enforcement and national guard or else he would send in the military to \u201cquell the violence\u201d of those who were looting stores and destroying property.<\/div>\n*
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Then, having upheld the national myth of redemptive violence<\/a>, he walked across the street where police officers had just stormed the patio of St. John\u2019s Church, forcing faith leaders and protesters to flee with a barrage of tear gas and flash bangs. Without permission, he then stood in front of the shuttered building and held up a Bible for photographers.<\/div>\n*
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What message was this act intended to convey? That God supports the White House administration? That Jesus would have us silence the voices of those who are standing in protest? That only the State is allowed to use force to get what it wants? One is left to wonder.<\/div>\n
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Now, I\u2019d like to fill my daily news feed with inspiring quotes and cute little pictures of kittens just as much as the next guy, but sometimes you\u2019ve just got to say something. And about that photo op yesterday in front of St. John\u2019s church, I\u2019ll just say this:<\/div>\n
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\u201cMy brethren, these things ought not so to be\u201d (James 3:10).<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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*Having watched the spectacle of President Trump\u2019s photo op in front of St. John\u2019s Church in Washington DC yesterday, I\u2019m somewhat at a loss for words. Yet as a faith leader I feel like I should say something.\ufffc\ufffc\ufffc \u00a0 As I understand it, the President gave a press conference where he urged Governors to \u201cdominate\u201d […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4194,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[174],"tags":[217,214,211],"class_list":["post-757","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-faith","tag-protests","tag-st-johns","tag-trump"],"yoast_head":"\nAbout that photo op in front of St. John's church About that photo op<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Having watched the spectacle of President Trump\u2019s photo op in front of St. John\u2019s Church in Washington DC yesterday, I\u2019m somewhat at a loss for words. YetPresident Trump went to a lot of trouble to give a photo op in front of St. John's church. 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