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

Empathy Mining

Home
Progressive Christian
Dear Consevative Christian Friends, Can We Talk About Charlottesville?

Dear Consevative Christian Friends, Can We Talk About Charlottesville?

Last updated on: August 15, 2017 at 4:11 pm by Shane Phipps

Dear Consevative Christian Friends, Can We Talk About Charlottesville? 2017-08-15T16:11:01-04:00 Shane Phipps

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.

Dear Conservative Christian Friends,

We need to talk about Charlottesville, Virginia. You need to hear what I have to say, even though I highly doubt you’ll agree with me, you need to hear it. Whether I am right or wrong, you need to know that I’m not the only one who thinks these things. It won’t be easy or pleasant for me to write these words and I’m sure it won’t be comfortable for you to read them.

Let me start by assuring you that I don’t blame you for what I saw happening in the Charlottesville–certainly not in any direct way. I know that you were as disgusted by it all as I was–I believe that, please understand. But here is what I don’t think you recognize or own up to–those people who were doing the protesting, those men and women in white hoods waving Confederate flags and jabbering about heritage, those men and women praising Hitler, sporting swastikas, and chanting their dreadful 14 word slogan–“We must secure the existence of our people and the future for white children”–those people spreading so much vile hate– they are on the same political team as you.

God help us, it’s true.

Can you not see that, Conservative Christian friends? Does it not bother you?

It bothers me.

Those people demonstrating in such disgusting ways in Charlottesville were comforted by the same presidential candidate that you were.

When you saw candidate Trump, you saw someone who would defend the things you believe in–someone who would put God back in schools, preserve the sanctity of marriage between one man and one woman, and protect the lives of the unborn. You were somehow able to overlook the fact that Trump’s track record showed that he wasn’t really interested in any of that, but he said what he knew you wanted to hear. You believed that he had changed from the quite contradictory stances he’d held most of his life. You believed your fundamentalist evangelical leaders who propped up Donald Trump as an instrument of God.

I understand that you were misled–it happens to all of us.

But when those Charlottesville protestors saw candidate Trump and heard his mantra, “Make America Great Again”, they heard his dog whistle and they were emboldened to take up their crosses and rekindle their fires. They heard a different message than you, but they rallied under the same leader.

Yes, these are your teammates.

But I wonder if you were as disturbed as I was, watching the events unfold in Charlottesville. I wonder if you made the connection that those hateful people were on your team? Did you sit and think, as I did, that those people were emboldened by the ideas and policies of that man you believed was sent by God to “make America great again?” Were you as profoundly sickened as me to think that the president of our country has awakened a terrible sleeping beast we’d hoped we’d left for dead–the same president the likes of Franklin Graham and many other right wing Christian leaders hitched their wagons to–the same president you supported?

Like it or not–and I’m sure you don’t like it–those people are your teammates. That thought should give you great pause. It should make you realize that this is what is possible when we allow politics to strangle our faith.

If Charlottesville teaches us nothing else, I hope we all learn that mingling politics and Christianity almost always blots out the message of Christ.

Where is love in Charlottesville?

Where is the love in the White House?

Conservative Christian brothers and sisters, can you see it?

Will this finally give you pause?

Photo: Los Angeles Times

Previous Post

August 11, 2017

Hitching Our Wagons to Madmen--A Prayer for Sanity

Next Post

August 15, 2017 Charlottesville, Kaepernick, and the Ongoing Battle for the Constitution

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category 150 word story 2nd Amendment AARP abortion addiction aging alcoholism Anderson Wigwam Andrew Jackson Appalachia Basketball bias bigotry Black Lives Matter Christianity Christmas, Constitution, Bill of Rights Civil War Clinton cloning confirmation bias Conservation Constitution Controversial Creationism Creepy tales David Bowie depression Dogs Education Election Electoral College Empathy Environmental Evolution exvangelical faith Family Family History Fantasy Genealogy Genesis George Washington Ghetto Global Warming Gun Control health care High School Basketball Hillary History Hockey homosexuality Hoosier Hysteria Hoosiers Hunting immigration income inequality Interview ISTEP Jurassic Park Kaepernick Ken Hamm Kids say the Darndest things LGBTQ Love MAGA Manifest Destiny Merit Pay Mike Pence Muhammad Ali Multiple Perspectives Music Music Review Nashville News media NHL No Child Left Behind NRA Paradox Parenting Pence Perspective Politics POTUS Poverty Predators Race Religion religious freedom Sci Fi Science Secret of Life sexual harrassment Short Stories Slavery Small Town Indiana Smashville Social Commentary social media sports Stress technology Terrorism Thomas Jefferson Trauma Trump Turning 50 Uncategorized war Washington DC White Privilege wooly mammoths words in red Writing Writing Process Writing, Writing Process Young Earth

Select a Month June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 August 2021 May 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 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 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What city was known as the City of David?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Bethlehem Jerusalem Nazareth Jericho

Support this
Column