Why most evangelicals should STOP calling themselves Christian
Hypocrisy at its best
Christian: the religion based on the person and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth, or its beliefs and practices.
A Christian is a follower of Christ. He follows his teachings, imitates his life and follows his philosophies. So, most American evangelicals should stop using the name Christian and use something else. Why?! That’s easy. You politics are racist, your hate of homosexuals is hypocritical, your anti-immigration stand is anti-biblical on every level, and your refusal to help the poor is punishable by hell! We should also be careful stewards of this planet and not destroy it. We will discuss the why later, let’s discuss how we got here. How we got to the point where Jesus teachings have been all but excluded from modern American Evangelical philosophy.
In 1960 when Richard Nixon ran for President, he made an astute mental note. He noticed that white Southerners had voted against their own interest (see map on the link). In voting for Kennedy, Southerners had voted for desegregation. He also understood the electoral college. Kennedy beat him by almost 80 electoral college votes despite Harry Byrd taking 15. He knew that if he could win the South, he would only have to win the swing states of Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Florida to become President.
His strategy was simple. He needed to separate those white racist voters from the Democratic party. He did that with what is known today as Nixon’s Southern Strategy. Republicans understood that White Southerner's belief systems were ‘bible based’. They also knew that they did not read and could be easily swayed. Facts and statistics would not sway them and science did not have a clue. They needed someone for them to focus that hatred on. Blacks were always available, but the country was changing toward them. In 68, he noticed that by doing so, George Wallace won the South.
Wallace did so by calling Democrats communist, vilifying welfare, and giving Southerners a new focus for their anger: Hispanic immigrants. Eventually, the hatred of blacks would be refocused as being tough on crime. They also saw the burgeoning women’s rights and gay right’s movements as targets. Later on, Abortion became a lynchpin in those battles and Gay Marriage refocused their hate. Yet, they continued to call themselves Christian. Immigration would become an issue after Reagan gave 3 million illegal immigrant amnesty and ‘cracked’ down on the border. People often forget about the amnesty part.
So here we are in 2016 on the cusp of another presidential era and Donald Trump is our Commander-in-Chief. An overwhelming majority of white Evangelicals voted for him despite him grabbing pu**y and being boorish. They voted for him even though he’s been married three times and cheated on each ex-wife with the new one. They voted for him because he spouted their core values and because, ironically, they believe he can start World War III and usher in the second-coming of Jesus.
So please stop calling yourselves Christian. I have a new name for White Anglo-Saxon Protestants. WASP because your values are not Christian. Jesus' speech on the sheep and the goats and your anti-poor stance are in direct contradiction. Jesus says if you don’t feed the poor you are going to hell and he qualified what he meant by that: hungry, thirst, clothing visitor, ill, and in prison. This is not an allegory and he is not alluding to something philosophical. Do these things and you get in, and do not do them and do not get in.
Yet, modern Evangelical Christians call welfare evil. They build gaudy sanctuaries and watch as America’s homeless problem becomes the worst in the world. They say that government should not be in the business of welfare; it should be the churches. Then they let people starve. They spout ‘teach a man to fish’ and forget about gleaning. This is not Christ-like. It’s Ayn Rand. A stark cold society where corporations thrive and humanity should just die.
Their fear of homosexuality goes beyond pale. There are six verses in the bible about homosexuals. There are countless about adultery and fornication. Jesus even said that some men are BORN without a natural attraction to women but they completely ignore that. For 10,000 years homosexuals have been here and for 8,000 of those years, we have been denying them their God-given rights. The bible says that homosexuality is a sin. Evangelicals have made it a deadly sin because of fear. Now they are trying to protect their right to discriminate and brutalize gay people.
Their anti-immigrant stand is just anti-biblical. From the story of Joseph to the story of Jesus himself, the Bible has a definite stand on how to treat foreigners in your land. As a matter of fact, the prophet Ezekiel claims that this was Sodom’s sin, not homosexuality. The story of Mary and Joseph’s passage to Egypt after Jesus was born shows us how we should treat immigrants.
Yet, Donald Trump supporters, who call themselves Christian, chant “build that wall”. Not at the Canadian border, but at the Mexican one.
Finally, Jesus told a parable about a vineyard owner who left two men in separate parts of his vineyard. One grew the vineyard and double his harvest. The other was lazy and did not increase the harvest and destroyed the vineyard. When the owner came back, he rewarded the good steward and banished the bad one. Science is not a fable. It is not a fairy tale. We are causing the planet distress and it is our job to fix it.
Yet, Evangelicals deny anything to do with the fact that we are destroying the earth. As a matter of fact, they want it that way. It is inconceivable that if and when Jesus does come back, that he will be happy with our destruction of his creation.
So, either, change your name or change your ways. There is no white Christianity and being a Christian does not make you superior. It makes you a servant because that is who JESUS wanted you to be. Stop calling yourselves Christian. It is really beginning to make Jesus look stupid. Call yourselves WASP. It is what you are and represent.
