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There was a time in my life when all that had to be said to win my support on a controversial subject was, \u2018the Bible says it\u2019s true\u2019. Another way to gain my vote would have been to affirm God\u2019s agreement or disagreement with regards to an issue that was up for debate. I was manipulated and my response, in those days, suited the political agenda of the \u2018right\u2019. I didn\u2019t care about the reason for a viewpoint other than the one that I was being told to believe was the right one according to scripture. The battle was against those who were labelled as oppressors to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, ones who advocated for those whose lifestyles or choices were considered opposite to the idyllic life set out for us to know, cling to and strive for in accordance with God\u2019s Word. I was ambitious, a full-tilt Ambassador.<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n Beverly Garside, in her article \u2018Holy Narcissism, White Evangelicals and Trump\u2019 describes with sour taste her feelings toward the exclusionary and superior attitude of white evangelicals. Based on the political approach and messaging that she filters through, as an agnostic woman, it seems to her that there\u2019s an expectation streaming from evangelicalism that believes \u2018we are supposed to be a \u201cChristian nation\u201d under the strict rule of straight white Christian men\u2019 and, not necessarily multi-ethnic and diverse [1]. There\u2019s political power play, coercion and manipulation for votes in order to keep this as status quo. Anxiety seems to fuel the movement. As a young Ambassador, I remember fear as the driving emotion that divided me from what I did not understand. This fear manifested ugly.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Samuel Perry and Andrew Whitehead, in their book \u2018Taking America Back for God\u2019 describe four different kinds of people and paradigms, four ways of considering the foundational and current influence of American Christianity on society and in politics: rejectors, resistors, accommodators and ambassadors. Perry and Whitehead are social scientists, interested in the impact of Christian Nationalism, \u2018an ideology that idealizes and advocates a fusion of American civic life with a particular type of Christian identity and culture\u2019 [2], as \u2018a framework that orients Americans\u2019 perspectives on national identity, belonging, and social hierarchies\u2019 [3]. This is perceived as an essential study, one \u2018that matters\u2019, with pointed findings pertaining to many aspects of American living and social structure, that portray the patterns and trends of the four different groups in their relationship to the principles of Christian Nationalism [4].<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Christian Nationalism is a position that can be differentiated from Christian religiosity. Eric Kaufmann, in his Washington Examiner article, \u2018For God and Country\u2019, while reviewing Whitehead and Perry\u2019s \u2018Taking America Back for God\u2019, considers the \u2018unalloyed reactionary impulse\u2019 of Christian Nationalists with whom \u2018religion serves as a symbolic boundary marker\u2019. Contrasting this somewhat illusory\/fallacious system, in the manner Christian religiosity Kaufmann observes an \u2018outward-oriented approach\u2019 and a concern for \u2018social justice\u2019. A negative partisanship ensues between the competing sides, a relationship that pursues and highlights discontinuities rather than the possibility of common ground. It seems that the greater the space between, with regards to current matters of social importance in American society, the stronger the integrity of their respective political parties. And, some people, both those of faith and those not, are left on the outskirts of this unfolding drama wondering who is right, where they fit and what does God (if there is a God) think about the confusion-making mess of American politics.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The world is watching the \u201cUnited States of\u201d America; the world always does. The truth is, America is so loud about everything, it\u2019s difficult not to pay attention. America calls for attention, constantly pushes for the power of the time and impresses control over the space. The result of this attitude is becoming ‘turn-off’. The hyper-antagonism across the sides of systems of belief seems complicated; simply, what the world witnesses are angry, loyal people who love their teams and who would do or say anything to ‘win’. I don’t know where truth or belief plays into it? Super-anxiety and mindless-idolatry may have something to do with the underlying causes of the tension. Unfortunately, throughout the world America is losing respect and credibility. (These things so sadden me to type out plainly because there are many Americans who I care for deeply, individuals who I hurt for in this time of seeming unravelling in their country).<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Soong-Chan Rah in his book \u2018Prophetic Lament\u2019 writes that in the book of Lamentations the people of God had \u2018made significant assumptions about their privileged positions\u2019 such as an \u2018assumed level of protection\u2019 that derived from a sense of exceptionalism. He connects this attitude with that of American evangelicals and at the risk of coming across as both anti-Christian and anti-American, states that \u2018American exceptionalism finds no support in the scriptures\u2019 [6]. The topic of humility could be a good way to enter into any political conversation. From this posture of vulnerability and openness then, to consider what the expression of the love of God is. An attitude to \u2018win\u2019 or to \u2018be right\u2019 will have no place in this conversation, save for those who\u2019ve been overlooked and oppressed, those who\u2019ve been used as subjects and platforms over the ages of haughty political competition. Then, from the breaking of American exceptionalism and Christian Nationalism, perhaps simply a break from the noise.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n A sunrise moment, one of an awakening or what has been referred to as \u2018wokeness\u2019 can occur in the blink of an eye; a paradigm shift. Every person matters. In a moment of discrimination as a result of racism, the person affected matters most. In a moment of segregation as a result a lifestyle orientation, the person affected matters most. Life matters and, it matters more than what we might think of it, right or wrong. The control of \u2018right\u2019 and \u2018wrong\u2019, the battle of \u2018first\u2019 and \u2018last\u2019 is fought on the battleground of narcissism.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Is it a call into competition when the Savior of the world says, \u2018the last shall be first and the first shall be last\u2019? By no means, this is a call to surrender and love your neighbour before yourself.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Bibliography<\/b><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n [1]\u00a0<\/b>Garside, Beverly. \u201cHoly Narcissism, White Evangelicals and Trump\u201d.\u00a0Medium Magazine<\/i>. July 27, 2019.\u00a0https:\/\/medium.com\/@beverlygarside44\/holy-narcissism-white-evangelicals-and-trump-31b09d01264a<\/a>.<\/b><\/p>\n [2] Whitehead, Andrew L.,Perry, Samuel L.. Taking America Back for God (pp. ix-x). Oxford University Press. Kindle Edition.<\/p>\n [3] Whitehead, Andrew L.,Perry, Samuel L.. Taking America Back for God (p. x). Oxford University Press. Kindle Edition.<\/p>\n [4] Whitehead, Andrew L.,Perry, Samuel L.. Taking America Back for God (p. 152). Oxford University Press. Kindle Edition.<\/p>\n [5] Kaufmann, Eric. \u201cFor God and Country\u201d.\u00a0The Washington Examiner<\/i>. February 27, 2020.\u00a0https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/opinion\/eric-kaufmann-on-taking-america-back-for-god-by-andrew-whitehead-and-samuel-perry<\/a><\/p>\n [6] Soong-Chan Rah (p.94)<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n