You'll always win if you change the rules when you're losing. It then becomes natural to assume God's favor is on you b/c your "winning record" is evidence of His will. For decades Evangelical Conservatives (EC's) have told us "justice" must be Biblical, not social.
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Biblical = aligned with God's righteousness not pursuing human rights. We were told don't protest, trust the system, & leave it in God's hands. If we didn't comply, we were called: Communists, Critical Race Theorists, Heretics, Liberals, Social Justice Warriors, et al.
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Romans 13 was used as a proof text used for us to comply, if we didn't we were not "Biblical". Yet, when restrictions were placed on in-door Church gatherings many EC's claimed persecution. Protests in the form of gatherings inside churches were held, w/ masks optional.
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Acts 5:29 which says "We must obey God rather than men" was used to justify actions. Yet, the Gov't didn't tell us to stop preaching Jesus in our cities, towns, & states (per the context of Acts 5). EC's changed the rules of exegesis & hermeneutics to fit their preferences.
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The system & God weren't trusted per COVID restrictions, lawsuits were filed for the right to gather. Some churches who didn't were branded as cowards, Liberals, etc. Heb 10:24-25 was cited yet, the context doesn't reduce the gathering of saints to 1 day & inside 1 building.
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Many in the Global Church don't have the luxury of designated buildings for worship. Yet, in Central Asia, China, the Sudan, Vietnam, Jesus followers find ways to spur each other on to love/good deeds & gathering when possible. The lines of orthodoxy from EC leaders...
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kept moving progressively to the right & away from the fundamentals of how the Global Church defines what's Orthodox via doctrine. If you didn't cross their new line in the sand you were now an enemy of the Church. Voting for Trump was one such neo-litmus test of orthodoxy.
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It was a created binary saying those who don't vote for Trump: approve abortion, can't be Christian, want open borders, & fully embrace the extreme progressives of the Democratic Party's platform. We were told systemic injustice was a 'boogeyman' & didn't exist.
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Yet, when election results were realized, all of a sudden, a systemic injustice took place ex nihilo (out of nothing/nowhere). It was now the call of Christians to fight against the stealing of the election. When protests, & sub-sequential looting & rioting took place...
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over the past 6 yrs; it was quickly called out by EC's & EC leaders. Hashtags citing #AllLivesMatter & #BlueLivesMatter trended in response. We were told to accept the decisions of lower courts & Grand Juries. We were told to wait for the facts & trust the process...
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& believe our Justice system was fair. When no trial and/or no conviction for the killing of unarmed Black men & women took place, repeatedly our lament & mourning was met w/ crime stats from minority communities rather than compassion and/or empathy.
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Yet, when the 60+ cases Trump's lawyers filed regarding election fraud were dismissed or failed, the same advice EC's gave was no longer the standard b/c, to them, a judicial conspiracy that was systemic kept blocking justice from being realized.
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Then we witnessed the protest & sub-sequential looting & rioting at the US Capitol Bldg. Many EC's & leaders were quiet seemingly to only respond to other Christians who were denouncing what was happening by asking them "where were you when BLM & Antifa did the same?"
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Instead of rebuking by name those part of the insurrection, energy went towards finding inconsistencies of those calling it. When some EC leaders finally did speak out, they failed to admit any personal error of judgment regarding their endorsement of Trump & its binary.
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Rather than admitting Trump supporters were part of the insurrection, BLM & Antifa were blamed. VP Pence was framed as a coward, & Trump being banned from Social Media outlets was interpreted as a "fake news" outlet takeover, another systemic injustice in media.
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My dear brothers/sisters in Christ: the divisions among ourselves don't have to be this evident. We have lost our ability to agree to disagree while remaining in fellowship/partnership with each other. We have made American liberties tests of orthodoxy for far too long.
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We have repeatedly drawn unnecessary lines in the sand preserving the preferences of some & labeling them biblical mandates for all. Practically we have believed the lie the Kingdom of God is reduced to the USA & changed the rules of engagement to fit our desired outcomes.
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We have believed the lie some leaders told us, those in the family of Christ who affirm their God-given ethnicity, speak out against systemic injustice, & refuse to jump over every new line drawn in the sand are now our enemies.
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God isn't the author of confusion however, the evil one's confusing agenda is brought into the church when prophetic voices forth-telling God's Word & its rightful application are branded as heretics, liberals, SJW's by leaders/pastors.
We dedicate time watching YouTube...
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We dedicate time watching YouTube...
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arguing on social media & habitually blocking/muting voices of reason who disagree w/ us. We allow the cancel culture we rebuke to become en vogue, resulting in echo chambers. So, we move in a pseudo-community that refuses to say we're wrong b/c it would expose their error.
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Our arrogance leads us further into deception to a place where only the Lord can change our trajectory since our heart believes it's right, when God says it's wrong. The hope for one such person is repentance that is evidenced overtime by fruit (2 Cor 7:9-11).
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As an Evangélico who actually is theologically conservative & politically homeless, I'm one who is neither exempt or faultless. Over the years God has used His Word, the in-dwelling Holy Spirit, family in Christ, & even non-Christians to show me my errors, hypocrisy, & sin.
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Because of this, in God's grace He's empowered me to demonstrate a long-fuse with those who only want to argue with me. It takes a lot for me to block/mute someone, but I employ such boundaries when necessary to guard my heart, mental health, & time.
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We're in a time where the wars among Evangelicals are out of hand & to the world, the insider issues we're fighting over frames us as being out of touch with the times we're in. We have been given God's timeless Word & commissioned w/ instructions on how to apply it.
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It's been time for us to stop trying to "win" & embody #EthnicConciliation (removing animosity, distrust, & hostility) over secondary/tertiary issues. Let's redeem our witness as we put the gospel's power on display by our repentance, togetherness, & demonstration+ proclamation.
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