Christian Nation series: “Bearing False Witness” and systemic racism

Last updated on: August 30, 2023 at 12:27 pm By Kathryn Shihadah

We’ve been making our way through the Ten Commandments (full series here) to see whether Christian nationalists are correct in their hypothesis that a nation built on America’s founding documents and ruled by the Ten Commandments would make us great again. Last time, we looked at some of the lies that our founding fathers, Abraham Lincoln, and white Southerners told themselves about Black people. These were not harmless, little white lies (pun intended), but lies designed to rob Black people of... Read more

Christian Nation series: “Bearing False Witness” and the historic lies we cherish

Last updated on: August 13, 2023 at 7:23 pm By Kathryn Shihadah

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Christian nationalism calls us to merge our national founding documents with Christianity’s “key” documents. The Declaration of Independence (et al) meets the Ten Commandments (et al). Christian nationalists claim that America, ruled effectively by both sets of documents in combination, would make America great again. We’ve been making our way through the Ten Commandments (full series here) to see whether they are compatible, and whether a Ten Commandments-based country would really be a Christian nationalist’s dream come true. We’re almost... Read more

Christian nation series: “Thou Shalt Not Steal” and reparations

Last updated on: July 30, 2023 at 3:48 pm By Kathryn Shihadah

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Today, we boldly go where few Americans have willingly gone before: a discussion of white supremacy and slavery. More precisely, we’ll be talking about reparations. Take a deep breath. (The following words challenge me, as I imagine they will challenge you.) Not sure Christianity was complicit in the enslavement of human beings? Read The Color of Compromise by Jemar Tisby. He will give you all the background you need. But today, I will be referencing Reparations: a Christian Call for... Read more

Christian nation series: a Christian case for gay marriage

Last updated on: July 23, 2023 at 12:07 pm By Kathryn Shihadah

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For the past few days, we’ve been discussing issues related to “thou shalt not commit adultery,” covering some of the more conservative beliefs and practices around marriage (here) and the question of divorce (here). Today we will look at gay marriage, a right that, much like women’s hard-earned right to choose abortion, could easily disappear if conservative Christians get their way. Not just conservatives, but also many progressive Christians struggle with the issue of same-sex marriage, as we’ve been taught... Read more

Christian Nation series: would Jesus agree with “biblical” divorce?

Last updated on: July 20, 2023 at 8:49 pm By Kathryn Shihadah

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In this second installment of Thou Shalt Not Commit Adultery vs. U.S. Constitution, we will look at one popular conservative website, and how it approaches the topic of divorce, and then consider the subtext of some of Jesus’ teachings. If you missed my last post, Toxic Masculinity Discusses Marriage, you might want to start there, as today’s post builds on that content. Modern Western Christianity is much different from Bible times, to say the least. Everything has changed – some... Read more

Christian Nation series: toxic masculinity discusses marriage

Last updated on: July 17, 2023 at 8:13 pm By Kathryn Shihadah

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It’s time for the topic you’ve all been waiting for: “thou shalt not commit adultery.” It just so happens that in the last few days, I binge- (and cringe-) watched “Shiny Happy People: Duggar family secrets.” It’s an important miniseries (available on Amazon Prime) about the Duggars (of “19 Kids and Counting” fame), their pal (disgraced) Bill Gothard, and the Institute in Basic Life Principles (IBLP). My upbringing was conservative, but not that conservative. However, much of the show’s content... Read more

Israeli settlers’ persistent tormenting of Palestinian Christians – this is bigotry

Last updated on: July 14, 2023 at 12:28 pm By Kathryn Shihadah

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We interrupt the Christian Nation/Ten Commandments series to bring you news on Christianity in the Holy Land – specifically, about the persecution of Palestinian Christians. If you’ve been with Grace Colored Glasses for long, you know I have a strong connection to the Palestine-Israel issue. I’ve written often about the situation, usually to point out the Israeli government’s human rights abuses against the Palestinian people (read a partial list of human rights reports here). This is (or ought to be)... Read more

Christian Nation series: Jesus, totalitarianism, and genocide

Last updated on: July 12, 2023 at 4:51 pm By Kathryn Shihadah

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Christian Nationalism insists that Christianity is baked into our national identity, and that the combined wisdom of Americanism and Christianity would make America a kind of heaven on earth. Imagine a land in which “thou shalt not kill” was really the law of the land! But are the foundational documents of America (Declaration of Independence and Constitution) and Christianity (here, the Ten Commandments) even compatible? Today we will finish up “thou shalt not kill” in our Ten Commandments series (go... Read more

Christian Nation series: secret exceptions to “thou shalt not kill”

Last updated on: August 30, 2023 at 12:19 pm By Kathryn Shihadah

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Christian Nationalism, the belief that America is (or should be) a Christian nation, is at times in love with “thou shalt not kill.” At other times, killing is not only tolerated, but commanded. Is this part of our founders’ vision for America? In this series (go here to read the series in full), we’ve been addressing the compatibility of Christian Nationalism’s love affair with biblical documents – specifically, the Ten Commandments – and America’s founding documents. Author Andrew Seidel, constitutional... Read more

Christian Nation series: beyond parenting, to authority

Last updated on: July 6, 2023 at 12:08 pm By Kathryn Shihadah

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Christian Nationalism…the ideology that believes America is (or should be) a Christian nation has been on the rise in recent years. Christian nationalists generally believe that democracy and capitalism are part of God’s perfect will, and other systems of government and economics (communism, socialism, marxism, etc.) are of the devil. Christian nationalists want to see our country administered according to the Ten Commandments and other Biblical texts. As we’ve been discussing (go here to read the series in full), Andrew... Read more