Another story of the disaffected, from D. L. Mayfield on Religion News:
I can no longer call myself an evangelical, because what defines a white evangelical in the United States has become a longing for an authoritarian state where Christianity is prioritized and privileged.
This kind of Christian nationalism is entirely at odds with the gospel of Jesus, who told us right from the beginning that he was going to be good news to the poor, the imprisoned, the sick and the oppressed — and that he would be bad news for people who longed to clutch at power and safety and affluence at the expense of their neighbor.
I think the long-term consequences of white evangelicals longing to secure their own power and influence will ultimately backfire spectacularly — we already see people leaving the church in droves, and I expect that number to multiply.
If I am being honest with myself, I know I was kicked out of the evangelical world a while ago. I was told I could not write for Christianity Today anymore because of my stance on LGBTQIA issues. I left my church in Portland after a long and drawn-out period of trying to advocate for equality for women and the LGBTQIA community. And now I routinely have evangelicals, both in person and online, question the state of my salvation because I support the Black Lives Matter movement.
In this case, the assumptions should include what Jesus said, as Mayfield notes, but those are conveniently forgotten by those who’ve been convinced that they are poor victims – because the American way of life is changing, as always, and they’re being told it should be static.
The cult way of life leads one right into the morass of sin, the agnostic idly notes. Those who’ve privileged their need to belong and be special are those who abuse the most, I suspect.
And it remains fascinating.
