The New Conservative Push to Remove Transgender People From Society

The push to kill transgender people has definitely intensified over the past few years – and those of us that were told a few years ago that we were “over-reacting” to even speculate that this is where society is heading have tragically been vindicated (even though we had really hoped to have been proven wrong). See, for just one example, how Michael Knowles called for the “eradication of transgenderism” in a recent CPAC speech – and the applause that statement got.

But wait, you might say – he is being misunderstood! He meant that you just can’t be transgender in public, not that he wanted to kill or jail transgender people!

Maybe, maybe not. Why use the word “eradicate” instead of just saying “make it illegal”? Did everyone else clapping at that statement understand it that way as well? Doubtful.

I think he meant it just as it sounded to most of us.

But – I do realize that there are those on the Conservative side of things that really don’t want to kill or jail people – they think that transgender people will just magically vanish if states make it illegal. To them, being transgender is all about playing a political game, something people just decide to wake up one day and say “I’m going to come out as transgender to own my ultra-conservative Uncle!” They really think that lawmakers are going to pass laws to make it illegal, and the whole transgender community is going to shrug and say “well, it was fun while it lasted! Back to my sex assigned at birth.”

This, of course, proves that they really don’t have “lots of transgender friends” and that they haven’t “really studied this issue from all sides.” And it is also very dangerous in that, if this fantasy scenario does play out, people won’t just shrug at being told that it is illegal to be transgender, and society will still have to go to the next step of imprisoning and/or executing transgender people. Being transgender is not a choice, and it won’t go away just because a law makes it illegal.

So while Knowles and his allies are claiming they are not being authoritarian and Barbaric, their version of their beliefs (if they really, really believe that – and that is doubtful) still leads to the same place: criminalizing people for being transgender. They either don’t believe it is a real thing (and are clueless to Science and reality), or they don’t care that it is and just want to force their religious believes on everybody in a fascist manner. It was never about “protecting children.” Either way, this is a dark and dangerous time for a lot of people. Too many political leaders out to create a nationwide safe-space for their fragile political/religious beliefs.

Just How Dangerous is Critical Race Theory Anyways?

It seems like Critical Race Theory (CRT for short) has become the new “BLM” or “Socialism” for certain political persuasions to rail against without really knowing what the are raging against. Where I live, it has become the new issue that drives random people to run for all kinds of political positions – everything from state level representatives to local school board positions. I am all for people getting involved n politics, but when a random local pool business owner decides to run for school board with no experience in schools (claiming his teacher wife as his “experience”), then I start to get concerned. When his platform is pretty much generic statements about “student and staff safety” and “reduce teacher shortages” with “against Critical Race Theory” tacked on at the end… well, you can sense that agenda a mile away.

Just bring up CRT in many places and you will be amazed at how many snowflakes need a safe space from such a dangerous idea (I say all of that ironically/not seriously, because those that rail against CRT are also often the ones that say such things against others). So what is this theory that will supposedly ruin our poor, defenseless children… the ones that always listen to us and never, ever think for themselves?

Let’s take a look at a neutral-ish source (or at least, something that strives for neutrality): CRT in the Encyclopedia Britannica. This article covers several tenets – so let’s focus on that. What are these foundations of CRT?

  1. Race is a social construct, not a biological determination of superiority.
    (Okay, so CRT is against eugenics like we all should be, so nothing wrong with that.) 
  2. Racism is a regular experience of most People of Color.
    (Which is true according to what I have heard any Person of Color say, so nothing wrong with acknowledging that.) 
  3. Advances or set backs in legislation for People of Color tend to serve the interests of the dominant culture.
    (Okay, right – nothing really happens unless the people in control think it will benefit them.) 
  4. There are negative stereotypes of People of Color in the news and media that are harmful.
    (Again, this is true – I see that myself every time I turn on the TV.) 
  5. Due to “intersectionality,” we are all a product of the intersection of many different identities. We are not just one thing. I am not just a white person. I am a combination of white, male, Christian, educator, Texan, etc, etc, etc.
    (Another accurate tenet.) 
  6. People of Color are uniquely qualified to speak about their own experiences with racism.
    (You would think this should be obvious… but apparently it isn’t or else it wouldn’t have to be said.)

So…. yeah… such dangerous ideas! (sarcasm alert for those not fluent)

The bigger question would be: what does someone mean by being “anti-CRT”? Does that mean they think that people are born inferior because of their skin color, that negative stereotypes are okay, that racism isn’t real, that white people can talk for People of Color about their experiences, etc? I mean, probably not (hopefully not?) – but without clarification of what they are FOR in regards to racism, they leave a lot that is open to interpretation.

And sure – I am summarizing the tenets of CRT to make them easier to understand. I did this for someone on Facebook last month (this post is an expansion of that comment) and they said “well, this makes sense – the media always tries to make it out to be about race.” Well… what I said above was all about race as well. Did they miss that because I didn’t point out that “dominant culture” means white people in the third point?

Probably. And that says a lot.

(And before anyone comes in with some “yeah, but that is not how it is applied! That is not what people really do with CRT!” and all of that… I would remind you that people also take the Bible and use it to justify all kinds of horrible things – stealing from the poor, raping children, abusive marriages, etc, etc, etc. If you don’t want people to hold misuses of the Bible against Christianity, then don’t hold misuses of CRT against the people that support the theory. As you can see, it holds a lot of excellent thoughts for how to understand our culture.)

Is the United States Becoming More Hostile to Christians?

One of the constant points I hear a lot from Christians is that the United States is becoming more anti/post/etc Christian. This is usually backed up by anecdotal stories of people becoming more aggressive and combative with Christians/Christ-followers/etc. Of course, you can go back for decades and find Christians saying the same thing for as long as any of us have been alive. I like to listen to historic Christian music a lot, and “the U.S. is more and more against us” is a common lyrical theme all the way back to the beginnings of Christian Rock in 1960s.

Of course, if “anti-Christian” sentiment has been increasing all this time… how is it even legal to be a Christian still? I myself have heard since the 80s that “Christianity will be outlawed within a few years.” Yet, you don’t see attacks on Christians increasing (quite the opposite), nor do you see the influence of Christianity decreasing in politics, tech, or entertainment.

Of course, it is hard to quantify an entire nation “becoming more hostile to” something. Its even harder to prove that is happening online with so many private Facebook groups, Twitter accounts, discussion forums, the Dark Web, alternate social media services, etc, etc. What you see happening in your own world is really just your anecdotal view. In my anecdotal view, all kinds of people that weren’t Christian 10 years ago are suddenly “praying for the Church to win the culture war.” Anti-LQBTQA / BLM / Liberal / Female / etc sentiments have been increasing year after year. But again, that is just my view. I live in a conservative suburb in a Red state.

One way we can quantify hate is by the officially tracked FBI hate crimes statistics. I will highlight some statistics from the past five years that are reported to see if there are trends:

  • In 2015, religious-based attacks were 19.8-21.4% of reported attacks. 56.9-58.9% were race/ethnicity/ancestry based. 19.5-20.1% were sexual-orientation/gender-identity based.
  • In 2016, religious-based attacks were 21.0-21.3% of reported attacks. 57.5-58.5% were race/ethnicity/ancestry based. 18.7-19.7% were sexual-orientation/gender-identity based.
  • In 2017, religious-based attacks were 20.7-22.0% of reported attacks. 58.1-59.5% were race/ethnicity/ancestry based. 17.6% were sexual-orientation/gender-identity based.
  • In 2018, religious-based attacks were 18.6-20.2% of reported attacks. 57.5-59.5% were race/ethnicity/ancestry based. 19.1-19.4% were sexual-orientation/gender-identity based.
  • In 2019, religious-based attacks were 19.6-21.4% of reported attacks. 58.1-59.5% were race/ethnicity/ancestry based. 19.5-19.6% were sexual-orientation/gender-identity based. (this is the last year reported)

It seems that most forms of hate crimes are staying at about the same level, with religious attacks on about the same level as sexual-orientation/gender-identity attacks – but all falling far behind race/ethnicity/ancestry based attacks.

However, I should point out that the category of “religious attacks” account for ALL religions, and the exact divisions within that percentage tells a different story for Protestant/Evangelical Christians:

  • In 2015, 51.% of all religious attacks were anti-Jewish, 22.2% were anti-Islamic (Muslim), and 3.5% were anti-Protestant.
  • In 2016, 54.2% of all religious attacks were anti-Jewish, 24.8% were anti-Islamic (Muslim), and 1.3% were anti-Protestant.
  • In 2017, 58.1% of all religious attacks were anti-Jewish, 18.7% were anti-Islamic (Muslim), and 2.4% were anti-Protestant.
  • In 2018, 57.8% of all religious attacks were anti-Jewish, 14.5% were anti-Islamic (Muslim), and 2.5% were anti-Protestant.
  • In 2019, 60.3% of all religious attacks were anti-Jewish, 13.3% were anti-Islamic (Muslim), and 1.5% were anti-Protestant.

Attacks against Protestants seem to be on a downward trend since 2015. But to put this into perspective – in 2019, there were 24 attacks in entire country that were found to be against Protestants (i.e. attacks perpetrated because the person attacked was Protestant), but 1,393 attacks against someone for being LQBTQA. There were 1,930 anti-Black attacks.

Who is suffering more hate in this country?

To be honest, I don’t see the country becoming more against Jesus or people that follow him. But… yes, I have noticed some changes in the national conversations over the past few decades. So I recognized that there are changes happening… many of which DO affect certain versions of Christianity.

In general, the national conversation is becoming less anti-LGBTQA. Yes, there is still a lot of work to do, but if you want to treat someone that is LGBTQA as less than human (by denying them cakes, weddings, bathroom access, etc), you are experiencing more push back against that. However, nothing in the Bible tells you to fight against LGBTQA rights. You added that to your version of Christianity, and you are being persecuted for THAT and not following Jesus.

In general, the national conversation is becoming more pro-choice. This is different that pro-abortion, and those that want to treat it that way are experiencing push back. In fact, those that want to tell a woman what choice she has to make with pregnancy are receiving more push back as well. However, nothing in the Bible tells you to fight against the Pro-Choice cause. You added that to your version of Christianity, and you are being persecuted for THAT and not following Jesus.

In general, the national conversation is becoming more anti-racist. Again, there is still a lot of work to do here as well. But if you want to respond with “All Lives Matter” to someone that points out ongoing systemic racism, you are experiencing push back against that. If you want to have racist responses to immigrants or immigration, you are experience more push back against that as well. However, nothing in the Bible tells you to see BLM as a terrorist organization, or immigrants as less than human, or to participate in racism against any group. You added that to your version of Christianity, and you are being persecuted for THAT and not following Jesus.

In general, the national conversation is becoming more anti-corporation and anti-capitalism. There has always been a strong anti-big business trend in the U.S., but it is gaining momentum as the corporations take more and give back less… or more people realize that nothing trickles down. If you are supporting corporations that overwork and underpay it’s employees, you are experiencing more push back against that. However, nothing in the Bible tells you to see Big Business as the answer for everything in our economy. You added that to your version of Christianity, and you are being persecuted for THAT and not following Jesus.

In general, the national conversation is becoming more anti-rich. This is connected to the anti-corporation and anti-capitalism statements, but if you continue to support the people making huge profits by not treating their employees well, then you are facing more push back against that. Nothing in the Bible ever supports the rich person over the poor person. You added that to your version of Christianity, and you are being persecuted for THAT and not following Jesus.

In general, the national conversation is becoming more anti-conservative. As more People of Color, LGBTQA advocates, disabled people, and other historically marginalized groups are gaining more of the conversation space, they are speaking out more about the oppression they have faced. And they actually speak out against all political parties, but Conservatives seem to have the most party positions that are against them, so yes if you are of that political party, you are experiencing more push back against discriminatory political stances of your party. Nothing in the Bible favors one party over the other. You added that to your version of Christianity, and you are being persecuted for THAT and not following Jesus.

There is a lot more that I could go into there, like how Conservatives claim they are being censored more and more on social media, despite studies that show they are not (and in fact, they are usually more prominent at those companies than people realize). But let’s be honest: through the decades, every complaint that the U.S. was becoming more hostile to Christianity was actually a compliant that conservatism was losing ground. And yes, I am aware that Church attendance is declining… but it just now dipped below the majority of Americans this last year. The U.S. is still somewhere between 60-ish to 70-ish% Christian depending on how you define Christian. It is clear that it is the not the Church that is suffering more hostility, but the Conservative re-imaging of Christianity that is facing the most push back.

Abortion, Murder, and the Creation of a Political Movement

Is there a term out there that means “re-ignited something that was already raging”? Due to the recent passage of HB8 in Texas, the Pro-Life vs Pro-Choice debate has taken off… again. To be honest, neither side is making any new points – the bill just became yet another reason to fight… or fight… more? I’m just not sure how to describe something that was already an intense battle feeling like it has exploded again. But that is where we are now.

At the core of the fight is the statement or belief that “abortion is murder.” Those on the Pro-Life side believe this as an Unchallenge-able Truth that has stood for all eternity as part of their Evangelical/Protestant faith.

Except that, to be historically accurate… the Protestant arm of the “Pro-Life movement” is technically a recent creation of several politically-motivated leaders within the past few decades.

In a 2014 Politico article “The Real Origins of the Religious Right,” Randall Balmer looks at the true roots of the modern Pro-Life movement. Balmer examines historical documents that show how everyone from the Southern Baptist Convention (the largest Church denomination in America) to W. A. Criswell, (“one of the most famous fundamentalists of the 20th century” Balmer claims) took an indifferent approach to abortion. They made statements that sound pretty much Pro-Choice in relation to what they saw as a “Catholic issue” at the time:

“I have always felt that it was only after a child was born and had a life separate from its mother that it became an individual person, and it has always, therefore, seemed to me that what is best for the mother and for the future should be allowed.” – W. A. Criswell

Except for a little bit of “mild criticism” from Christianity Today, most Evangelicals were silent or even approving of Roe v. Wade. According to Balmer (and many historical documents he quotes), the real creation of the Religious Right (and the modern day Pro-Life and Evangelical movements along with it) was really in 1979 – as an effort to deny Jimmy Carter a second term so they could protect segregated schools. Abortion is just an easier sell to Churches than racism.

However, I know that people will read Balmer’s Politico article and still stick with the belief that Abortion is murder. And I get that – no matter how politicians have tried to use Religion to cover racism and other evils, if the Religious Book you follow says something is murder, you should still believe it is.

However, another problematic reality is that abortion is a bit more complicated in the Bible.

The Bible contains no direct statement that a fetus is considered a murder-able human in the womb. I know that there are two scriptures that come to mind immediately when I say this, but let’s look at what they really say without any preconceived notions about them:

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” Jeremiah 1:5

This, of course, is one of the most famous scriptures often connected to abortion… and one of the most misunderstood. You see, it is really a quote of God speaking to Jeremiah about how God set Jeremiah apart as a prophet. There is little proof that this applies to anyone outside of Jeremiah, especially since the Old Testament views of “prophet” were different that New Testament ones.

But, let’s say that you overcome the contextual evidence that this is only for Jeremiah. That would create a belief that the general idea here is that an omnipotent and omnipresent God knew someone before they were formed. This is because this view of God sees God as both inside and outside of time – meaning that God knew all of us before there were any people. “Before I knew you in the womb” just personalizes this fact. So technically, any form of contraception is bad if you view this verse that way.

Therefore, the bigger picture would be (assuming you take this belief) that you can’t just focus on the time in the womb, but also the time before… and after. If abortion is murder in the womb no matter what the reason, then killing someone after they are born for any reason stands as well. This means capital punishment, self-defense, and any other reasons Pro-Life Evangelicals have for justifying certain killings after birth (including denying access to healthcare and safe living conditions) are all on the same level as abortion.

If Jeremiah 1:5 applies to all humans as a declaration that abortion is murder in the womb, then the fact that it refers to “before” the womb would create a standard of outside the womb which also applies to after the womb due to the nature of God. Therefore, you can’t apply Jeremiah 1:5 to be about abortion unless you also are anti-gun, anti-self defense, and anti police action (and military as well).

Of course, the response usually is: “but I would only kill someone in self-defense if my life or property” was in danger. But again, if Jeremiah 1:5 applies to all humans, then it still applies to that person breaking into your home. If a woman can’t have an abortion to save her life or because she doesn’t have the ability to support a child (which would be connected to… you guessed it.. her property), then you can’t kill another human to save your life or property. Unless you want to argue that God’s ability to “know you” ends at birth?

Moving on – this verse in Jeremiah is related to Psalm 139:13, which also runs into similar problems:

“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.” Psalm 139:13

This verse is David writing about himself… so again if we want to take this to apply to all humans and not just David, we have to apply it after birth as well as in and before the womb.

However, if you also honestly look at both verses – neither one directly says that you are alive in the womb and that it counts as murder to terminate the pregnancy there. They just say God creates you in the womb. Any artist or builder will tell you that the thing they are creating does not really become that thing – a song, a painting, a building, a car, you name it – until it is finished. An unfinished thing is called “unfinished” because it is still not that thing.

There fore, lacking any direct statement in the Bible that you are committing murder by ending a pregnancy, we have to look at other verses to see what they say on the topic.

There are really two main scriptures left to look at now. The first is in Numbers 5:

“The priest is to write these curses on a scroll and then wash them off into the bitter water. He shall make the woman drink the bitter water that brings a curse, and this water that brings a curse and causes bitter suffering will enter her…. If she has made herself impure and been unfaithful to her husband, this will be the result: When she is made to drink the water that brings a curse and causes bitter suffering, it will enter her, her abdomen will swell and her womb will miscarry.” Numbers 5:23-24, 27

Now, there are multiple problems with this verse and how it advocates for abuse against women. But for the purpose of this post, the point in quoting it is to show that there is no mention of the miscarriage caused by the bitter waters being a murder. A child that was conceived by adultery would be aborted just because it was an embarrassment to the community – and the Bible says nothing about it being a murder?

In fact, you generally don’t see the Bible treating the baby in the womb as a full person. Exodus 21:22-25 is the starkest example of this:

“If people are fighting with each other and happen to hurt a pregnant woman so badly that her unborn child dies, then, even if no other harm follows, he must be fined. He must pay the amount set by the woman’s husband and confirmed by judges. But if any harm follows, then you are to give life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound and bruise for bruise.” Exodus 21:22-25

The basic point of this verse is that if someone hurts a pregnant woman and she miscarries the baby, then there will just be a fine. If there is any damage to the woman, then you will return what ever damage was caused to the woman – up to taking a life.

But – you might not have heard that verse that way, due to the NIV and other versions translating it incorrectly. These versions refer to miscarriage as “premature birth” in an obvious political move. But the general consensus is that the underlying word means “miscarriage.”

At this point, a Pro-Life person will usually bring up what they believe to be their “gottcha” scripture:

“When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.” Luke 1:41

This verse, and other verses that describe babies doing things in the womb (like Jacob and Esau struggling with each other), are said to be proof that the Bible views the baby in the womb as a fully alive human. Now, sometimes people take this verse too far to say that the baby was able to hear and recognize Mary. This is not really that clear – the verse seems to indicate that it was Elizabeth that conveyed emotions and recognition to the baby. But the part about verses like these where babies “leap” and “struggle” in the womb is proof to some that the Bible says that a fetus is a fully alive human before birth.

Of course, deeper Bible knowledge would inform one that the Bible ascribes many human attributes to things that are not alive – rivers clapping hands (Psalm 98:8), mountains singing (Psalm 98:8) and skipping (Psalm 114:6), blood crying out (Genesis 4:10), moon and sun being ashamed (Isaiah 24:23), etc. So ascribing human traits to something does not guarantee that the Bible sees it as “alive.” Not to mention that we see animals leaping, striving, crying out, etc and we will still kill them for food.

Of course, the problem with what I just wrote is the context of the scripture. We know by the context that the authors are using literary devices and not saying that rivers, mountains, the sun, and the moon are alive. Context is important!

Exactly. And context is important for Jeremiah 1:5 and all of the other scriptures examined here. There are no scriptures in the Bible that have a context of abortion. No where does the Bible ask or answer the question of abortion, and therefore there is no scripture in context that is meant to address the belief that abortion is murder – directly or indirectly. In fact, there are hardly any scriptures that have the context of addressing when life begins, either – except for one. Kind of. That is Genesis 2:7:

“Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.” Genesis 2:7

Some will claim this shows that life begins at first breath, others will claim it is metaphor that shows God forms human beings from conception. Its technically a verse about the unique way that God formed the first human – so applying it to our lives now is probably not a good comparison at all. Unless you know that God formed you from a literal ball of dust outside a womb of any kind. If that is the case – I would love to hear your story.

But again, even if this is proof that abortion is murder because “God forms us from the beginning,” then it still runs into the logical problems that Jeremiah 1:5 does.

In the end, you have to decide for yourself when life begins. The Bible is pretty obscure on the topic if you are looking at any given verse for what it is actually saying, and the historical stance of the Protestant Church is not as Pro-Life as you would think. I have my beliefs, and I am sure you will keep yours. But if you are Pro-Life, I hope you would at least take seriously the way your stance has been manipulated through the years. I would also hope that you would understand the lack of Biblical backing you have as well. Really, neither the Pro-Life nor the Pro-Choice side has any Biblical backing. Neither does typing up this blog post for that matter – the Bible can guide principals that we use to inform modern issues, but it doesn’t speak directly to some of the ones that we face in this world. In such an undefined space, I think it is important that Evangelicals should consider allowing people to come to different conclusions about the things that don’t really impact them personally.

How are Some Evangelical Churches Connected to White Supremacist Violence?

When I heard about the recent mass shooting in Atlanta, Georgia, my first guess was that it was a white Christian male that was the murderer. When I read about Georgia passing Jim Crow-level anti-voting laws designed to suppress Black voters, I had no idea who the Governor was that signed the law at the time… but my initial guess of him being an older white male involved in his Church was quickly proven true (it is tragically symbolic that he signed the bill surrounded by other white males under a painting of a plantation).

Neither of these predictions were born out of any hatred of the Church or Christians at all. They are based on a sad acknowledgement of History. When we see violence or oppression against BIPoC in the United States, it a good guess to think that it is tied to a specific brand of white supremacy that is bred in certain Evangelical Church circles. This is all because more often than not… it is.

Of course, the first response to anyone saying something like this is usually some form of a “not all Churches” mantra that takes on the argument of “well, how come we only see a very small number of people resorting to extreme violence if white supremacy is such a big problem in some Churches?” Or maybe even pointing at some conservative white leader or politician that works against some form of oppression (usually in a very small way). Well, part of it has to do with the isolationist nature of these kinds of Churches. Most of us (even if you go to a moderate or progressive Church) are part of their “evangelism field” that they rarely interact with except to “preach the Gospel.” We just simply don’t see as much violence sparking as we possibly could because the people that would cause it spend a lot of time away from the people they desire to attack.

On the other hand, the oppression aspect happens all the time in society, so if you don’t see it by now (especially all the ways it is tied to the Evangelical Church) – that is on you. But the existence of this denialist mindset is a hard truth that we have to face up to: too many people think of societal violence only in terms of mass shootings. When you take a more honest look at the daily micro-aggressions, verbal assaults, discrimination, and systemic abuse that happens to BIPoC all the time… you realize that white supremacist violence is everywhere. And the Church needs to recognize their role in spreading this violence for centuries, right up to the present day. We never stopped.

But what am I talking about when I ask “How are Some Evangelical Churches Connected to White Supremacist Violence?” Do some Evangelical Churches serve as a kind of breeding ground for oppression and White Supremacy? How does a Christian at one of these Churches go from “Prince of Peace” to violence, murders, and oppression? Usually there are several possible signs – you might find one, some, or all at certain churches:

  1. It almost always starts off with a problematic literal reading of Matthew 5:27-30 which starts at a young age by teaching that Jesus meant for people to literally maim themselves in order to avoid sin. This usually accompanies an admonishment to do “what ever it takes” to get rid of sin. I have witnessed all kinds of unusual theatrics related to this – including a guy that carried a real coffin on his back all the way down an auditorium aisle (nearly dropping it on bystanders several times) so that he could place it at the front for us to write the things we wanted to cut from our life on piece of paper and throw into “the grave.” The stereotypical theatrics are bonfires (yes, these really do still happen) to burn books / CDs / clothes / etc that “cause one to stumble.” It is interesting to note that boys will often bring a effigial Barbie doll or picture of a girl to burn for their side of a relationship they want to purge, whereas girls are usually encouraged to bring symbolic or sentimental mementos, notes, gifts, etc. Boys and men are encouraged to take a more violent approach in most all interpretations of scripture – including here.
  2. Add in a very colonialist view of missions that sees the (white) Church’s duty to go and save the “heathen nations” from themselves, while also bringing (white) civilization and (U.S.-centric) democracy along for the ride. This is usually accompanied by lavish tales of the evils that happen in other lands (well, some of them, mainly in Africa, the Middle East, Asia, South America, etc): demonic possessions, moving inanimate objects, supernatural occurrences, etc. (crime is usually linked to these events as well). Interestingly, Europe is referred to as “post-Christian,” even though that term could also apply to places in Central or South America as well. White non-Christian equals “post-Christian” while Black and Brown non-Christian equals “Demonic.” A foundation of white supremacy and American exceptionalism are usually well entrenched in missionary efforts. They serve as a constant example that racist dog whistles are “okay” as long as you are doing “God’s work.”
  3. More and more passive aggressive racist and sexist comments usually start popping up around election years, when the “godless evil Liberals” are chided for destroying the world. People are asked “Who will stand up and fight? Who will do whatever it takes to stop the Liberals from taking over this country?” Liberals, of course, are always imagined as BIPoC (especially Black) and feminist. Homophobia, transpobia, and any other phobia you can imagine against the LGBTQA community are prominent as well.
  4. Don’t forget to bring the police in as protectors of the Church… or maybe armed members themselves… or both even. This turns the actions of the Police into a “Holy War” alongside the Church, with incidences of Police shootings given as examples of “spiritual warfare” against the evils of crime in the streets (with the criminals almost always being Black in these examples). BLM is then cast as an enemy idea in these contexts – even if there are no armed guards. Sometimes the police presence doesn’t happen, even though the Church embraces a police state ideology.
  5. Then you add in support for local, state, and national political leaders that constantly utter the same racist/sexist/transphobic/etc dog whistles (or just even come out and directly speak hateful beliefs). The vitriol from these leaders is often covered up by excuses, twisting of scripture, and treats of expulsion if you disagree. Everything from “Passion for the Gospel” to being an “Angry Young Prophet” are used to dismiss any concerns over rough language or terms (or even the n-word) that “slip” into these leader’s rants.
  6. Finally, some actual type of violence is upheld as “the ultimate sacrifice” for the “American Way of Life.” Often times it is a person that was killed on the mission field decades or centuries ago. But modern day examples of soldiers fighting in “heathen” lands is often a huge source as well. Now you even have the January 6, 2021 Capital Insurrection attempt, or any number of killings of people by the police to show the potential Christian martyr that they can be the aggressor instead of the victim. Its a weird mixture, but yes they do use martyrs that intentionally let themselves be murdered… and connect them to physically fighting “in the Name of the Lord.” Its… a weird stretch. Many Churches are currently teetering between 5 and 6 right now as I type this. But even when Churches pull away from violence, just image the atmosphere and mindset that all this creates to drive oppression in society.

You can also see in those points where excuses like being a “victim to sexual addiction” and various other justifications come into play. Obviously these are used all the time to blame the people in the church for not “overcoming” their temptations, but they are also very easy to pivot into being ways to excuse the Church from any culpability for the ways that people start acting when they are influenced by the areas listed above.

Ranting about these things on Twitter or Facebook by chiding your connections to “say something” will probably not really get through to those that promote and/or commit to this level of hatred and oppression. They have pulled away from interacting with anyone doesn’t share their beliefs. When they do interact, they see us as a “mission field.” Even former Evangelicals like myself are quickly switched from “insider” to “outsider” the first time we mention any kind of support for BLM, LGBTQA rights, “free” healthcare, or any other “evil Liberal” issues. I have tried to get through to people myself – I know full well that I have some friends that the last words they will ever hear from me were me telling them to stop being racist, sexist, homophobic, transphobic, etc. Not much I can do about that.

I wish I had some magical insight into how to get through to these people. I have gotten through from time to time, but I will be the first to tell you that there is no one single method for getting through. No matter what article or blog post you can share that shows the “secret” to changing minds, I can promise you there are many, many people that those methods don’t work on as well. Everyone is different, and we may never know who needs the in your face yelling and who needs the loving example to change minds. Maybe we should flip the tables (in a way) and start looking at the Evangelical Church as the mission field. There are all kinds of community outreach programs that look to educate people about hatred. But most of these programs give the Evangelical Church a pass on dealing with the problems in it’s midst. That needs to change if we are ever going to really deal with white supremacist violence and oppression in this country.

What Does It Mean to “Denounce White Supremacy”

One of the more contentious points from last week’s presidential debate between Trump and Biden was the point where Trump passed up an opportunity to denounce white supremacy when directly asked to do so. That has been overshadowed by Trump (and many others) testing positive for COVID-19. Now that Trump is back (after either doing really well or on his death bed depending on which misinformation source you believe), I wanted to circle back to this idea of “denouncing white supremacy.”

This whole issue really tracks back to the decades before Trump became president, when many different accusations of racism and/or biased practices were leveled against him and/or his companies. When he became president and started railing against “Antifa” and the “radical left,” many people connected past to present and wanted to know more specifically where he stands on racial issues as president. So various reporters and interviewers began asking if he would respond to and act on the fact that at least 90% of political violence in this country comes from radical right wing groups that are often racist or outright white supremacist. Typically, his response to these questions was to dodge or use tricky language. One of these responses was his now infamous response of “very fine people, on both sides” after a question about Neo-Nazis (even though Trump later claimed he was referring to supporters of Robert E. Lee – a guy that fought to keep slavery around). This led to more specific questions of whether he would even speak out about the actual sources of violence, much less do something about them.

Because of Trump’s history of saying something in support certain white supremacist groups (the Confederacy was white supremacist, after all), many wanted to see him change his tune. The calls for action and response were quickly shortened to “denounce white supremacy.” Of course, this shortened question is not the clearest call to action, since “denouncing” something really doesn’t have much teeth. But because of Trump’s evasive manner, that specific question became a shorthand for seeing if he would at least say something about right wing violence, and then actually do something about it as as well once they had his words to hold against him (as if that ever worked).

This is where the whole issue gets a bit sneaky. When certain people (usually of the liberal persuasion) say Trump will not even denounce white supremacy, they are met with quick responses (usually from the conservative persuasion) of videos proving Trump has denounced white supremacy.

Sometimes these are videos of someone asking Trump if he would ever denounce white supremacy, with Trump responding something like “sure, I will denounce white supremacy.” This is a sneaky use of words here. If you have children or have taken care of / taught / etc children, you recognize this ploy. You ask your kids to clean their room, and they say “sure, I will clean my room.” But then if they never actually clean their room, then their statement saying they “will” or “would” was meaningless.

Trump saying that he “will” or “would” denounce white supremacy is not the same as actually denouncing it. But even if he did say it, the original intent was that people wanted him to start denouncing it by saying so directly. Of course, now it finally seems that he did directly do the first step of denouncing white supremacy in an interview released last week.

But his statement should be the start of action, not a final answer of some sort.

It should also be noted that telling people to “stand down” is not a denouncement either – even though it is an important step. Yes, Trump did come back later and take away the problematic “stand by” statement to the Proud Boys by just telling them to “stand down and let the police handle it,” but this is also not a true denouncement. If a friend of mine gets so mad at someone that it looks like they are going to attack that person, but I tell my friend to “stand down” and not attack – have I denounced my friend and/or any of their beliefs? No, I have just told them to not attack. Which, of course, is also something we want our presidents to say – as a start, not a final answer.

This is why the issue is complicated. When you are dealing with the fact that 90% of the political violence comes from certain groups, we don’t want a president that just says “stand down” and “yes, I denounce white supremacy” to certain parts of the overall group. We want one that will denounce all of the violence in action as well as in words. So instead of railing against antifa (which is more of an idea and not an organized group) most of the time, start focusing on where 90% of the violence comes from and do something about it. The rally cry of “denouncing” just became short hand for dealing with the larger problem. Trump was complimentary to right-wing groups (which includes many white supremacist factions), and now he needs to work to curb those same groups.

This brings us to the problem of naming only the Proud Boys, especially in light of focusing too much on white supremacy and not the overall problem of extreme right wing violence. I think it was a big mistake on Biden’s part to say “Proud Boys” when Trump demanded a specific name of a group to denounce. Of course, we all know that Trump was just using a diversionary tactic to get away with being pressured into denouncing white supremacy. He generally doesn’t react to well to pressure, as he has a deep driving need to be the one in control at all times. So he wanted a name of a group to denounce rather than cave directly to the people he saw as fighting for dominance in the conversation. Biden should have stuck with the main idea and just said “all of them,” but he said “Proud Boys” instead. He probably wanted to just stop the fighting and move on, and I can’t say I blame him. But it was still a big mistake.

The Proud Boys are a violent right-wing hate group, no doubt about it. They are male-only, and have made it clear they are against immigrants, Muslims, LGBTQIA, Jewish People, etc, etc, etc. They also claim to be anti-racist, even coming out to say they denounce white supremacy as well. They even point to their small number of Black and Latinx members as proof they aren’t racist.

Of course, they also believe that racism doesn’t exist, which is clearly a white supremacist ideal. In fact, you can find all kinds of racist things all over their words and actions. But because they actually say they aren’t racist, and they have Black and Latinx members – many people will take them at their word and proclaim that they are “not white supremacists.” Never mind that the Nazis, the KKK, and many other well-known racist groups have made the same claims through the years.

People that do racist things always have a long list of reasons why they really aren’t a racist despite those racist actions.

But still, I wish that Biden hadn’t brought the Proud Boys into the conversation, because it takes a lot of unpacking to understand why they are part of the bigger problem of Right-wing political violence… as well as how they can still be viewed as white supremacists even though they say they aren’t. This is also why I wish there was a greater understanding of metamodernism in society in general, because the question of defining for all time whether or not Proud Boys really are or aren’t “white supremacist” misses what is needed here. People can say they are not racist or white supremacist and still bring about racism and white supremacy in many ways. Participating in Right-wing violence against BLM and Antifa still sends a message of racism and white superiority to many BIPoC – no matter what stances you claim to believe in or your skin color.

Now, to go back to the analogy about telling your kids to clean their room. If you tell your child to clean their room, and they say they will, and they go in to clean the room… but they only pick up a few things and hide the main mess in the closet and under the bed… did they really clean their room? No, of course not. You really want them to vacuum, scrub, dust, organize, etc. Just saying things like “I denounce white supremacy” or “Proud Boys stand down and that’s it” or “we are not white supremacists” is the equivalent of the kids that stuff the mess in their closet and then don’t do any true cleaning.

We need a president that will stand up and do something about racism and white supremacy. BLM and those labeled as “Antifa” are showing up and doing something. You know who you usually see at protests asking rioters to stop? Usually it is the BLM protesters themselves. The Proud Boys and other right wing groupers are the ones that show up and agitate the situation even more. They are not even cleaning their room so to say – they are taking more mess and dumping it on the pile.

So that is where the issue stands: it’s complicated. It’s not just denouncing white supremacy (even though that has become the short hand), it is about ending political violence that is 90% Right-wing (and often white supremacist as well but not always). It’s not about proving certain groups are or are not white supremacist, but how they support white supremacist aims by promoting the general Right-wing violence that serves as a catalyst for white supremacy. It’s not about ignoring the political violence from non-Right-wing groups, but starting with the main overwhelming group causing 90% or more of the violence rather than spending 99% of the time focusing on the less than 10% that cause violence.

Fake Christians and Politics

We have probably heard the term “fake Christian” thrown around more in the past few years than the decades before. Liberal or progressive Christians are called “fake Christians” by conservative Christians, and conservative Christians are called “fake Christians” by the liberal or progressive Christians. Christians from both sides are increasingly looking at the Trump administration and referring to many people there as “fake Christians.”

While it may seem at first that these accusations do nothing but prove “both sides are equally bad” to some, I do understand where the need to determine who is or is not a “true” Christian comes from. All of our societal sociocultural groupings have standards, rules, and/or regulations for what counts as being “part” of that group. You can’t go and eat chicken while proclaiming “I am vegan!” for example. Words have meaning, those word describe our groupings, and we should have some say in telling people when they are misusing terms or claiming to be something they are not.

Also, we know that “being fake” has historically been a part of our cultural interactions. If a person acts like a friend, or the life of the party, or anything else they are not, they get referred to as being “so fake.” Whether it is because they are a “backstabber” in our opinion, or trying too hard to be a part of a social group they are initially not a part of, we are used to hearing the term “fake” used to describe people that are not being what they claim to be. This is nothing new.

Obviously it gets a little more complicated when applying the term “fake” to whether or not someone is a Christian, because really the main thing that makes one a Christian is belief in Jesus. Well… kind of, depending on who you talk to. There is then the whole process of sanctification and following Jesus. Sometimes your actions indicate you really don’t believe, while other times they indicate you really don’t understand fully. It’s all very complicated: some believe in “once saved always saved,” so there is nothing you can do to no longer be a Christian. Unless you renounce it, some say (but even a renouncement doesn’t count to some views). To others, even Christians have to ask forgiveness for their sins before they are washed away, others say all future sins were washed away at the salvation. Then there are others that say you lose your salvation, maybe because of suicide, or the unforgivable sin, or sometimes just because you “back-slide” so much that so much sin piles up and you lose it all. Then there are those that claim that some people pretended to pray a prayer of salvation but didn’t mean it, or just wanted the social look of holiness without making any personal sacrifice. And so on.

So really, what counts as being a “fake” Christian or a “real” Christian is in the eye of the beholder.

But wait! some would say: the Bible tells us that we have to determine who is real or fake, and how to tell which they are. Yes, there are some verses that tell Christians they can determine whether people really are Christians or not (Matthew 7:21-23, 2 Timothy 3:1-5, James 1:26, Romans 16:17-18, 1 Corinthians 5:11-13, etc), and even some limited guidance on how to kind of do that.

Despite all of this, I would still recommend that you not go there. Yes, it is acceptable in society to define boundaries between different groups, and to even to delineate why your group is different from others. But yes, even despite that and even though the Bible even tells you can, I would say its still not a good idea. Many things are permissible, but not all are beneficial as a good idea.

Some people have very good, defined reasons for why you can’t call Mike Pence or Donald Trump or Barack Obama a “fake” Christian. However, many of these reasons ignore the simple fact that all groups can, in fact, determine the rules for the boundaries of their group… even if many factions of that group end up disagreeing.

Others would say that brushing away all examples of bad behavior by Christians as “fake” Christianity ends up giving the impression that Christians never do anything bad. This is a real concern, and many people in the Church do need to wise up to the fact that there are people that do bad things while still very much being an actual Christian.

Sometimes this brushing away of all bad deeds under the banner of “fake Christianity” is seen as an enabling factor that allows abuse to go unaddressed in Churches. It is true that many people hide behind the banner of “they couldn’t be doing anything wrong because they are such a good person.” Or even “they did something bad, so they never were a real Christian, so they are no longer our problem.” These are real problems in the church, but they are ones that are deeper than the term “fake Christian.” In reality, the deeper problem of ignoring abuse in the Church is merely using the the real/fake Christian debate as a shield. If you could somehow ban the term “fake Christian” tomorrow, abusers in the Church would move to a different shield. We need to confront the underlying problem, but focusing on the concept this abuse is currently hiding under won’t really change much.

Besides, we should recognize that the term “fake Christian” is not always used as a way to talk about people we don’t like (in politics or real life). Here in the South at least, a common sermon point is that one can be “a really good person, but a fake Christian.” The idea that one is “fake” is not always tied to being a bad person in all circles.

Additionally, some people say that calling some a “fake Christian” is a No True Scotsman fallacy. The problem is that No True Scotsman is a pretty weak informal fallacy that misunderstands social norming. The main point of this fallacy comes from a hypothetical Scotsman saying “no Scotsman puts sugar on his porridge.” Someone else might say “well my uncle Angus is a Scotsman and he puts sugar on his porridge.” Then the first person responds with “well no true Scotsman puts sugar on his porridge.” It is considered a fallacy because Uncle Angus is a Scotsman, this proving the first statement untrue. However, the main final claim is not that Uncle Angus is not a real Scotsman, but that he falls out of the social norms of what true Scotsman are required to adhere to as a group. He is still a Scotsman, just not a true Scotsman. Some see that as changing the parameters after a counterargument is made, but in reality it is just a clarification of what was meant in the first place.

But No True Scotsman only really applies when referring to at least one factor that is a scientific fact, like being born a Scotsman. The concept of a “fake Christian” doesn’t fall under the No True Scotsman informal fallacy because it completely relies on choices and actions related to those choices. If you replace “Scotsman” with “Vegan” and “sugar on porridge” with “eats meat,” you see how quickly the entire concept of the No True Scotsman fallacy falls apart if applied to beliefs instead of actions and heritage.

However, while it seems like I am making a pretty good case that it is okay to call people “fake Christians,” I would still come to the end of all of this and say: don’t do it. If you want to point out that some one who claims to follow the Bible is going against one of its commands, that is one thing. But dismissing them as a fake Christian? I would avoid that.

Why? Well, because it is so complicated. I covered many of the different beliefs in the Church today about what makes one a Christian or not several paragraphs above. It is a long list of contradictory ideas that doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface of the different ways to view what it means to be a Christian. The person you think is a “fake” Christian may interpret the Bible differently than you do. They may sincerely be doing what they think is right. Or they might be doing something wrong, while determined to ask for forgiveness later. They may not know much about what the Bible has to say. They might truly be a bad person and a Christian. The Bible makes it clear that Paul himself did things he knew were wrong (Romans 7:15-20).

Even looking at all of the scriptures I quoted above, it is clear that the Bible writers meant for us to spend a lot of time and due diligence in determining whether a person really is a Christian or not. Tweeting out “Fake Christian!” every time John Piper or Robert Jeffress says something that doesn’t match with your understanding of the Bible (as much as I would probably agree with you personally) does not count as that level of diligence. And even then, most of the time the Bible just tells you to ignore and avoid that person more than anything else. There are times to speak up and disagree, especially when dealing with public statements by public figures. We all have a voice and should use it. But I think there are much better ways to disagree with evil in the world that are more effective than screaming “fake Christian!”

Gen X: The Forgotten Generation That is Replenishing the Church?

If you are a part of Gen X like me, you have probably started to notice that you are now the forgotten middle-child generation. Everyone wants to talk about the Boomers and Millennials… but not you Jan. Which is good when they are talking about how either generation is destroying everything… (even if you know it was Gen X that really did it). Related to that, this one tweet caught my eye today:

I would almost say this could be a compelling argument… if there wasn’t a significant generation between the two that, you know, had jobs and are at the general age when large portions of people tend to get involved with church. There are some anecdotal things I have observed about various generations that may come into play here:

  • Boomers were not as into church when they were teens and twentys as many assume. They might have been forced to go at some point, but so many of them seem to talk like they really stopped going at some point by their 20s.
  • These same Boomers seem to have come back to church in their 30s and 40s., when mortality and the brevity of life sinks in and they figure they need religion before they die.
  • Most people that have been in church know that “losing the youth of today” has been a common sermon trope for over 30 years now… but somehow attendance numbers seem to change little. If you have ever been behind the scenes at a church, you know that “reaching the youth of today” is more about getting money and commitment out of the 30-40 somethings than actually converting teens (which rarely works).
  • If you are Gen X, you know that most of the people you went to school with didn’t really like church. Most didn’t go, and many that did were forced to go by parents. A few believed at most, but kept it to themselves (until some big “reach the youth” event at their church guilt-ed them into doing some evangelism for a brief week at school).
  • Now that we have Facebook, we see that just like the Boomers before them, all of our Gen-X high school friends and family that were not Christian at all in their teens and twentys are suddenly all in church, posting scriptures all over Facebook and acting like they have been their all a long. Its really, really weird most of the time.
  • The current age of Gen-X is gnereally set at 40-54. However, older Millenials age 33-39 often talk about how they feel more in common with Gen X than Millenials. Generational differences don’t break down as easily as statistics would like them to, so you have to wonder what numbers get diluted when arbitrary divisions are used as standardized divisions across different research studies.

I may be reading too much into all of this. But I do know that there is a significant number of people that go back to church as they age. I do know that churches generally have large numbers of Gen-Xers in their midst, that those Gen-Xers generally have decent or good jobs. Therefore, I don’t think it is time to consider how Millenial trends will affect Boomer churches just yet. You can’t forget Gen-X.

Look – Gen-X was the original generation that was Emptying the Pews. We were the ones destroying all of the cool things that Boomers liked, while bringing in weird trends and food combinations. Gen-Xers were the ones that were struggling to get jobs and pay off student loan debt. But then we did start paying off loans and getting decent jobs (not all of us, but a lot of us). Our weird trends became retro-cool. And so on.

But wait! Will Millenials follow our same path? That I am not so sure of. Average college loan amounts are absurdly higher now than they were for us. Jobs are paying less, and are much harder to find for younger applicants. The economy really is in bad shape, but with less hope of anyone being able to fix it short or long term because of noticeably increased partisan divisions. It also seems like we have run out of time to save the environment. And so on. It could be possible that Millenials will follow the footsteps of Gen-X (how we somewhat saved ourselves from the mess that the Boomers left us… yeah, we were the first ones to notice that as well). But it may be too late for that to be possible. It might have gotten so bad that its not conceivable to change now. But I do think Gen-X is going to prop up what the Boomers have built for a lot longer than people seem to realize. Which is kind of ironic if you think about it.

John Cooper and Evangelical Misunderstandings of Pluralistic Society

By now, if you have any friends that are still evangelical, you have probably noticed many sharing the open letter by John L. Cooper of the Christian band Skillet written to former Christian leaders (like Josh Harris) who have publicly renounced their Christian faith. While there are some good points in the open letter about putting people on pedestals before they are ready, most of the letter falls into the typical Evangelical tropes about how every one else is wrong and certain types of Christians are the only ones that are right about the world around us.

From the beginning, Cooper displays an ahistorical ignorance of the fact that Church leaders have been leaving the Christian faith in significant numbers for as long as Christianity has existed. In the past, these people that changed faith affiliations (or even rejected faith of any kind) typically were shunned or ignored more than they are now, but I’m not seeing any proof there are currently any more than there were 10, 20, 30, etc. years ago. The number of attendees at Churches seems to be dropping due to the Exvangelical and EmptyThePews movements, but leaders are still coming and going just like they always have.

Most of the open letter is filled with Cooper being shocked that people who change their religious beliefs would want to share those changes with others. Of course, I have never heard of evangelicals extending the same idea to recent converts to Christianity – most “New Christian training materials” and “beginner Christianity books” encourage people to go out and share their new faith with others from the start. Why wouldn’t that go both ways? According to Cooper:

“I am stunned that the seemingly most important thing for these leaders who have lost their faith is to make such a bold new stance… I’m perplexed why they aren’t embarrassed? Humbled? Ashamed, fearful, confused?”

I wonder if he ever realized that they are sharing now exactly because they are embarrassed, ashamed, confused, etc. Maybe they feel like they need to undo the damage they have done in the past. Sure, they might be afraid that they are getting it wrong again. But – newsflash – they probably weren’t that sure about their Christian faith when they were believers as well.

You see, this whole “how can they be so quick to share their unbelief” attitude comes from this subtle idea in evangelical circles that everyone really deep down knows that Jesus is God, and those that say they are not following Christ are just lying to themselves and others. Therefore, when someone finally converts to Christianity, this is why they can go out boldly declaring the Good News from the very beginning: they have just acknowledged what they knew deep down all along. However, when someone decides to go back into this supposed self-denial of the reality we all know deep down… they should hold back, not say a word, and be ashamed that they got something wrong once and might get it wrong again. Quite the double standard.

It’s also weird that Cooper’s second point against “being real” is itself being real and very cavalier with the way he treats other people’s differences in beliefs. However, the real kicker is this statement:

“So the influencers become the voice for truth in whatever stage of life and whatever evolution takes place in their thinking.”

Cooper means this as an insult, but it is actually the most true statement in his entire letter. This thought is actually true of all of us no matter what we believe or how long we have believed it. If you are honest with yourself, you realize that your beliefs are always evolving, even if they still fit under the same category for years or decades. You can only be the voice of truth for whatever evolution you have in your life at that time. Whether that is within the same category of religious belief or if it changes from one to another, it is still all you can do: be a voice for your truth where you are at that time.

(Of course, many are in denial about their changing beliefs, or pretending changes are not happening – see Trump supporters and the changes they have made to their faith beliefs while denying they are happening – but that is another issue.)

But let’s say you disagree with the idea that beliefs can evolve. Let’s say you believe you make a big change in some belief system and then stay there for 20+ years. If it is true that this belief will not evolve, then you should be able to speak up about your belief on Day 1 or Year 20 – because it won’t change for a long time. Then, when it does finally change (and therefore you would be getting ready for another long period of little change), why not speak up again then? If our beliefs aren’t constantly changing, evolving, maturing, going to different systems, and so on – then why not speak up from day one of a big change?

Again, it comes back to the fact that no matter what you believe, you can only speak the truth about where you are at that moment of evolution (or non-evolution if you see it that way).

Then Cooper’s third point is the most cavalier one on the list – he completely misunderstands what people mean when they say “no one is talking about the real stuff.” Yes, we all know people have talked about it and written about the “real stuff” for centuries. This statement is usually a rhetorical device that is utilized to refer to how actual contextual/practical discussion of hard issues is often effectively shut down in many churches today. Not just “hard stuff” in general – there is always an acceptable list of “hard stuff” to talk about at every church (although not all of it really falls under the true banner of “hard”). Anything that contradicts main beliefs or tenets of various churches is quickly shut down or forcefully re-routed to pre-determined answers. Yes, people are handing out nice, neat answers in books about the “hard stuff,” but no one is talking about it with individuals in ways that helps them wrestle with and dig through the hardness of those hard things. Big difference.

Next there is the jaw-dropping statement that showcases Cooper completely misunderstanding how the world functions, when he has the audacity to say that Christian beliefs about generosity, forgiveness, self-sacrifice, and turning the other cheek are exclusive to Christianity. He is in a band that has toured the word and claims to have many friends of other faiths… but doesn’t understand that these ideals are common to many other belief and non-belief systems?

“And lastly, and most shocking imo, as these influencers disavow their faith, they always end their statements with their “new insight/new truth” that is basically a regurgitation of Jesus’s words?! It’s truly bizarre and ironic. They’ll say “I’m disavowing my faith but remember, love people, be generous, forgive others”. Ummm, why? That is actually not human nature. No child is ever born and says “I just want to love others before loving myself. I want to turn the other cheek. I want to give my money away to others in need”. Those are bible principles taught by a prophet/Priest/king of kings who wants us to live by a higher standard which is not an earthly standard, but rather the ‘Kingdom of God’ standard…. So why then would a disavowed christian leader promote that “generosity is good”? How would you know “what is good” without Jesus’s teachings?”

Every society has its own definitions of what counts as good. And while it is true that there is no proof of a universal morality, many of these systems do match up with Christianity…. often while pre-dating when Jesus walked the Earth. In fact, any student of Old or New testament studies knows that the Bible made explicit references to laws for good and evil that were copied from other – often earlier – religions.

Cooper is just a mouth piece of deeply self-centered form of Christianity (a very real form, even though it is self-centered) that thinks it is the moral epicenter of good in the universe. Cooper might be shocked to find out that many leaders and members that leave the faith end up leading great lives (despite his ascertain to the opposite). Many Christians that stay in the faith end up having their “lives fall apart” while they “sink in the sea.” Really its all over the place: those that leave Christianity and stay are both as likely to have a great life as they are to have it all fall apart.

Assuming that people who leave Christianity have horrible lives and no reason to tell their story is one of many forms of bias and hatred that the church extends to those that leave. Ironically, this hatred only encourages more to leave. I don’t think Cooper even realizes how he probably chased more people out of church than he convinced to stay with his open letter. Many have grown tired of how the church misunderstands its place in a pluralistic society.

The Problem of False Binaries

In many ways, metamodernism is all about binaries, conundrums, paradoxes, etc. However, the distinction that metamodernism makes about things like binary concepts is how two different ideas can often co-exist in the same space. Sometimes this coexistence is easier to define, and other times it is not.

However, I’m not sure if you can just throw any two random ideas or concepts together and just assume there is some way they will coexist, or even that there is a way to swing between the two in metaxy. For example, while modernism and post-modernism make interesting ideas to either fit together paradoxically or to swing back and forth between, not all ideas form a solid binary pairing to build a paradox out of – at least, within the current limitations of our understandings of logic.

In politics, it would seem that this problem can also be further extended when false binaries are introduced to the conversation in a way to equally erase both sides. You see this a lot in “both political sides are equally bad” arguments. For example, someone on one political side will say something that is historically or legally racist (“go back where you came from”), and people on that side will ignore historical and legal precedent to try and prove that this statement is not racist. People in the middle of both sides will pull out some kind of “both sides are equally bad” argument to just end the fighting rather than deal with the blatant racism. This will usually be supported by some problematic false binary meme:

The image above is a popular meme shared most often by moderates and independents. However, if you examine it for a minute, you begin to see that the two different sides on this graphic are not comparing two, well, “comparable” sides together, creating a false binary.

The first evidence of this is the fact that there are self-labeled White Supremacists and Nazis in our country, and they have generally attached themselves to the extreme conservative side of our current political spectrum. Also, there are those on the right that claim they are not racist, but they support the actions of the self-proclaimed White Nationalists and Nazis on their side. And while there are many on the Left that will hurl “Nazi!” and “Racist!” statements as insults (even occasionally at those that may not deserve that title), that does not change the fact that there are people that claim titles like “white nationalist” that are, in fact, racist.

However, the bigger problem comes with the insults being hurled at the Left in this diagram. had they chosen “Socialist!” or “Communist!” – that would have been a more accurate binary. There are those on the Left that are proudly Socialist or Communist. However, the insults depicted here are not equivalent to “Racist!” or “Nazi!” They are far worse.

“Libtard” is combination of “Liberal” and “Retard.” “Retard” is a hateful slur against people with disabilities. They are real people that should not be turned into insults in a partisan war. “Racist” or “Nazi” are labels that people can and do choose for themselves, but no one should be called a “Retard” or any form or mixture of the word, because disability is not an insult.

“Pussies” is using a part of the female anatomy as an insult, and there is also no place for this kind of sexist/misogynistic behavior. It comes from a view point that hates women and their bodies, and therefore sees them as a source for insulting terms. You should not use parts of the female anatomy as an insult, period.

There you have the false binary: taking words that can actually describe people (“Racist!” “Nazi!”) and comparing them with words that should never, ever be used to describe others (“Libtard!” “Pussy!”) in fake sense of both-sides-ism. Yes, I realize that all of those terms and others are thrown out in political arguments as insults. But to be clear: if someone is a racist or Nazi, that should be called out and confronted. However, there is never a reason to use disability or women’s anatomy as insults.