Thread by @AlsoACarpenter

Here's what I mean; a thread:

Scylla: Trumpism and Christian Nationalism

Charybdis: "In the midst of blatant injustices inflicted upon the Negro, I have watched white churchmen stand on the sideline and mouth pious irrelevancies and sanctimonious trivialities. 1/

https://twitter.com/AlsoACarpenter/status/1339668238146228224

2/ In the midst of a mighty struggle to rid our nation of racial and economic injustice, I have heard many ministers say: 'Those are social issues, with which the gospel has no real concern.' And I have watched many churches commit themselves to a completely other worldly

3/ religion which makes a strange, un-Biblical distinction between body and soul, between the sacred and the secular." (Dr. King)

The Path Between: "There was a time when the church was very powerful—in the time when the early Christians rejoiced at being deemed worthy to suffer

4/ "for what they believed. In those days the church was not merely a thermometer that recorded the ideas and principles of popular opinion; it was a thermostat that transformed the mores of society. Whenever the early Christians entered a town, the people in power became

5/ "disturbed and immediately sought to convict the Christians for being 'disturbers of the peace' and 'outside agitators.‘ But the Christians pressed on, in the conviction that they were 'a colony of heaven,' called to obey God rather than man.

6/ "Small in number, they were big in commitment. They were too God-intoxicated to be 'astronomically intimidated.' By their effort and example they brought an end to such ancient evils as infanticide and gladiatorial contests. Things are different now.

7/ "So often the contemporary church is a weak, ineffectual voice with an uncertain sound. So often it is an arch defender of the status quo. Far from being disturbed by the presence of the church, the power structure of the average community is consoled by the church’s silent—

8/ "and often even vocal—sanction of things as they are." (Dr. King, “Letter From Birmingham Jail”)

9/ The problem with "Trumpism" and "Christian Nationalism" is the evil, oppressive, and anti-Christian CONTENT of each, not the prophetic voice of the Church itself, which should be calling the State to practice justice and righteousness.

10/10 For more on this theological and historical issue, see this and the Part 9 that follows it:

alsoacarpenter.com/2019/01/14/wha…