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Image by Pexels \/ Pixabay<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>
The Church is in a Precarious Place<\/h2>\n
If you\u2019re reading this, this probably isn\u2019t new for you. I am worried about the state of the American Church. Well, I guess I should specify. I am afraid of the state of the White American Christian Church. The Church is in a precarious place right now, and it\u2019s under threat from White Christian Nationalism. There is a lot of support for Trump from the Religious Right. This support comes not in spite of the language that Trump uses. It comes with agreement\u00a0<\/em>in what Trump is saying. And that is worrisome.<\/p>\n I had a brief conversation with a Trump supporting friend the other day. He basically said he had seen this rhetoric before in our country. Decades of political grandstanding and big talk, but that\u2019s all it is. While we disagree, I responded with \u201cFor our sake I hope [you\u2019re right]!\u201d But I\u2019m not so sure.<\/p>\n I try to not overreact. I understand that things we worry about are not always what they seem to be. Most importantly, I understand that using inflammatory language can shut off a conversation. For example, Daryl Davis, a Black man, befriended members of the KKK and led hundreds to recant their white supremacy<\/a>. Similarly, this story of an ex-Westboro Baptist Church member<\/a> notes the power of interacting with these extremist groups.<\/p>\n With all that said, it is important to point out the things that are dangerous. I\u2019m not a political scientist, nor a scientist or doctor. I am a theologian and historian. And with that, let\u2019s talk about some things that are at our doorstep in the American Church.<\/p>\n You may not know this, but the Church in Germany played a major role in the rise of Nazism.<\/p>\n Many German churches, pastors, and theologians found ways to wed Jesus with the German National Socialist Party. (And before you come for me, the National Socialist Party is not the same as Socialism). While there was a resistance church, called the Confessing Church, the national Church was on board and in favor of the F\u00fchrer.<\/p>\n One of my favorite pastors and writers Brian Zahnd posted a book on his social media platform the other day. This book, A Church Undone; Documents from the German Christian Faith Movement, 1932-1940,<\/em> is a must read! I have been digging into the pamphlets, responses, and the positions of the German church in this time period.<\/p>\n One in particular struck a chord with me. Emanuel Hirsch, a German minister, theologian, and Nazi, responds to a paper from critic Karl Barth. Barth, in his paper, denounces the National Church aligning with Hitler. Hirsch, in response, talks about the need for the preservation of the \u2018True German People\u2019.<\/p>\n Hirsch pens his response to Barth in an article in 1933. Titled, What the German Christians Want for the Church: An Assessment of Karl Barth\u2019s Attack<\/em>, he responds to the attack on the German Christian Church. Barth is not shy in saying that the German Church should not be aligned with the Nazi Party. Barth wants the church separate from the state. In their separation, the Church can be free from being used as a weapon of a particular political party.<\/p>\n \u201cIt seems that Barth sees only paganism in the fact that the German Christians have dared to ask the Protestant church the question of the relationship between Christianity and the German character<\/strong>, [and] the question of whether men of non-German blood may lead the church<\/strong>\u2026\u201d (p. 109), emphasis added<\/p><\/blockquote>\n The issue of the day is that the Nazi Party was starting to remove those who were not \u2018full blooded Germans\u2019 from places of power. Because ministers in the German Church at the time were considered to be in public service role, the State began to remove ministers that were not Aryan. For them, it\u2019s all about the blood.<\/p>\n \u201cIf the blood is tainted, the spirit also dies; for the spirit of both peoples and individuals arises from the blood<\/em>\u2026 Our people\u2019s blood-bond was nearly undone. Had this process gone on fifty years more, the bearers of good, old, pure German blood<\/strong> would have become a minority among the leading sectors of our people\u2026 the church has not been able to impress upon the leading strata of the people their duty to give back to the people, by bearing German children, the blood-inheritance they have received<\/strong>.\u201d (p. 109), emphasis added.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n \u2018True Germans\u2019 are in danger in the eyes of Hirsch. What was the cause of this? How is the \u201cgood, old, pure German blood\u201d becoming a minority? Not only are \u2018mixed marriages\u2019 the cause of the downfall of the glory of Germany, he equates multiethnic children as inferior people.<\/p>\n \u201c[The Church] has looked with indifference on mixed marriages<\/strong> (as it has on the proliferation of inferior persons<\/strong>)\u2026\u201d (p. 109), emphasis added<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Not only does the \u2018purity\u2019 of the German blood matter, the \u2018half-Germans\u2019 are\u00a0invading\u00a0<\/em>the Church and, in the context of the day, the country as a whole.<\/p>\n \u201cShould the church expose itself to the danger that in future its offices will be flooded<\/strong> with the half-Germans whom the state excludes from its positions of leadership? How will it then be able to help with the correct formation and deepening of the German spirit and the German character?\u201d (p. 110), emphasis added<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Evangelical Christianity plays an important role in our politics. Since the mid-20th century, the Religious Right is working to influence the government in America. While the racism and xenophobia it espouses has not always been overt, the idea that White Christianity is superior is a pillar of their ideology. Now, they are emboldened by Trump. Let\u2019s take a look at some of the things Trump has said and how the American Church is responding to it.<\/p>\n Journalists are always reporting on what Trump says and does, but it\u2019s important to note a few important speaking tropes. We will use these as launching points. For example, Trump equates immigrants as criminals (SEE HERE<\/a>) and dehumanizes people by calling them \u2018animals\u2019, \u2018dogs\u2019, and \u2018predators\u2019 (SEE HERE<\/a>).<\/p>\n However, his use of \u2018pure blood\u2019 has become more overt. At a rally in 2023<\/a>, Trump says that immigrants are \u2018poisoning the blood of our country\u2019. In an interview in early 2024, Trump reiterates this, and adds to the conversation. Here is a quote from the New York Times<\/a>:<\/p>\n Howard Kurtz:<\/strong> \u201cWhy do you use words like \u2018vermin\u2019 and \u2018poisoning of the blood\u2019? The press, as you know, immediately reacts to that by saying, \u2018Well, that\u2019s the kind of language that Hitler and Mussolini used.\u2019\u201d The Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) conducted a post-election study<\/a> after the most\u00a0recent election. While there is so much good stuff in there to go through, they also put together THIS ANALYSIS<\/a> based around immigration and Christian Nationalism. It shows that 62% of White Evangelical Protestants agree that \u201cimmigrants entering this country illegally are poisoning the blood of the country\u201d. In addition, 41% of White Evangelical Protestants agree that \u2018illegal immigrants\u2019 should be put in \u201cinternment camps\u201d until they are deported.<\/p>\nI Hope I\u2019m Overreacting<\/h2>\n
Deutsche Christen<\/em><\/h2>\n
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Pure German Christian Blood<\/h2>\n
Evangelical Christianity in Politics<\/h2>\n
\nDonald Trump:<\/strong> \u201cBecause our country is being poisoned.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\nSo what are American Christians doing about this? How are they feeling?<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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