Thread by @TaylorMatthewD

Eric Metaxas is one of the most toxic voices in American Christian politics.

Now he's labeling (w/ zero evidence or cause) the close relatives of Dietrich Bonhoeffer "Jew-hating fanatics."

This story needs more coverage (shout out, @baptist_news!). Here's some background... 1/

https://twitter.com/baptist_news/status/1861923216089837977

A decade ago, Metaxas was on track to be a popular & respected evangelical public intellectual. Raised in NYC & educated at Yale, he styled himself as an erudite & engaged public figure.

He wrote pop biographies of William Wilberforce, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, & Martin Luther. 2/

In truth, Metaxas has no pedigree as a historian nor as a theologian, but he wrote enticing books that spoke in evangelical-friendly ways about evangelical heroes.

Real scholars pointed out these books were littered w/ factual errors & poor analysis. 3/

christiancentury.org/reviews/2010-0…

Metaxas earned evangelical kudos for his 2012 keynote address at the National Prayer Breakfast where he spoke about the pro-life cause directly to Pres. Obama & Speaker Pelosi.

He cast himself as an articulate & bright evangelical political gadfly. 4/

christianitytoday.com/2012/02/metaxa…

But, once Trump consolidated the 2016 Repub nomination, Metaxas threw in w/ him.

This wasn't a foregone conclusion.

In fact, @DavidAFrench said that, of all Trump-supporting Christians, Metaxas & William Bennett were "the two most surprising to me." 5/

yahoo.com/news/author-er…

Early on in his Trump-supporting days, Metaxas tried to couch his support w/ the common "lesser of two evils" trope.

He even called Trump's ascendance "a symptom of our fading virtue & faith."

But the thing about Christian Trump support is: It doesn't stay mild for long... 6/

Once on board the Trump train, Metaxas has made a fool of himself like all other Trump defenders.

He even stuck w/ Trump after the Access Hollywood ("Grab 'em by the ______") video broke, while acknowledging that Trump is "someone many think odious." 7/

deseret.com/2016/10/12/205…

In Sept 2020, Metaxas was visiting the White House, & he famously punched a protester on a bicycle (then bizarrely jogged away backward, seemingly giddy).

facebook.com/watch/?v=32980…

He later claimed (w/o evidence) that the protester was "menacing" him. 8/

religionnews.com/2020/09/01/eri…

After Trump lost in 2020, Metaxas joined the echo chorus of fools & Trump propagandists backing his election lies.

He emceed the landmark Jericho March in Dec 2020 in Washington DC. This was a key building-momentum event leading directly to Jan 6th. 9/

nationalreview.com/2020/12/christ…

Re: Trump's election lies, Metaxas said, “we need to fight to the death, to the last drop of blood, b/c it’s worth it.”

He said to anyone not supporting Trump's lies: "you are the Germans that looked the other way when Hitler was preparing to do what he was preparing to do." 10/

Note the changeover: In 2016, Trump was the lesser of two evils & a sign of America's degradation.

By 2020, anyone not supporting Trump is on the side of Hitler.

This would soon become Metaxas' favorite accusation, lambasting anyone living in factual reality as a Nazi. 11/

Metaxas' performance @ the Jericho March even caused his friend Rod Dreher -- who actually defended Metaxas punching the protester months before! -- to call him:

"A religious zealot... [who] conflates religion w/ politics, & politics w/ religion." 12/

theamericanconservative.com/what-i-saw-at-…

Since January 6th, Metaxas has joined the ranks of Trump's most obsequious court jesters, slavishly defending Trump's every lie, criminal act, & authoritarian threat.

He even shared a post comparing Trump's criminal conviction to Jesus'.

Lordy! 13/

premierchristianity.com/opinion/no-you…

Along the way (& this is why he's on my radar), Metaxas started hanging out with a lot of other right-wing Christian influencers, especially of the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) variety.

Including: Ché Ahn, the FlashPoint prophecy crew, Bill & Beni Johnson, & Sean Feucht. 14/

Metaxas has also persisted in attacking his enemies as Nazis.

To be clear: Metaxas is arguing that anti-Nazi heroes like Bonhoeffer would have supported Trump, while anyone who opposes Trump must be supporting Hitler (i.e., liberals like Joe Biden?).

It's head-spinning. 15/

He even wrote a (shockingly popular) book & helped shape a documentary film making this very argument.

He's spent the last yr brow-beating pastors to screen his film at their churches by encouraging his rabid followers to leave any church if the pastor refuses to screen it. 16/

This is the context in which, in Oct 2024, a group of respected Bonhoeffer scholars (top-notch theologians & historians, some of whom are my friends) to denounce Metaxas' distortions, the book, & the film.

You can read their statement here. 17/

change.org/p/stop-misusin…

Also, a group of 86 of Bonhoeffer's closest relatives -- he didn't have children, these are his nieces, nephews, grandnieces, grandnephews, etc. -- issued a statement last month, calling out Metaxas by name for "misrepresent[ing] Bonhoeffer." 18/

drive.google.com/file/d/1SIKs7_…

Which brings us to Metaxas' most recent, vicious, & jaw-dropping attack:

In an interview with Glenn Beck this week, Metaxas fired back at Bonhoeffer's relatives calling them "distant relatives who are guaranteed pro-Hamas lunatics... Jew-hating lunatics." 19/

Yes, Metaxas, a serial liar, Trump propagandist, faux Xn intellectual, is scurrilously labeling the family of Bonhoeffer "Jew-hating lunatics."

Mind you, multiple members of the family, not only Dietrich, were executed for trying to stop Hitler. 20/

baptistnews.com/article/metaxa…

I understand that these might seem like intra-evangelical spats, but something far greater is at stake here.

By coopting Bonhoeffer's anti-fascist & anti-nationalist legacy, Metaxas is weaponizing a theological hero as a pro-nationalist, pro-fascist symbol for evangelicals. 21/

Many evangelicals still listen to Metaxas' opinions, & he's become one of Trump's most effective messagers to Christians.

In this reality-distortion role, he is in the company of: Lance Wallnau, Charlie Kirk, Paula White-Cain, & the NAR.

They spin Trump's lies into gospel. 22/

Metaxas has even, this election cycle, become a member of Trump's official National Faith Advisory Board, the latest iteration of Trump's evangelical advisory council.

This means that, in a 2nd Trump admin, EM will have even more access & influence. 23/

I know it's a chaotic time w/ Trump's nominees burning up the headlines, but we need more news coverage & exposure on people like Eric Metaxas.

It's mendacious messengers like him that helped get Trump elected & who will staff Trump's ministry of disinformation come January. 24/