Violent Rhetoric in Political Discourse
In March 2023, at the Conservative Political Action Conference, Donald Trump said this to attendees as part of his 2024 campaign for President: “I am your warrior, I am your justice, and for those who have been wronged and betrayed, I am your retribution.” Governor Ron DeSantis, also a Republican candidate for the presidency, recently said in a campaign speech, “All these deep state people, you know, we’re going to start slitting throats on day one.” Republican Congresswoman, Majorie Taylor Greene, a self-described Christian Nationalist, is known for liking posts on social media that call for violence against prominent Democrats. She once called Nancy Pelosi a traitor and has threatened that she will “suffer death.” Shortly after Trump was indicted on four felony counts of conspiracy and obstruction regarding January 6th and his efforts to overturn a fair election, Fox News host Jesse Watters predicted Trump would “unleash hell” on his political enemies. This wasn’t a call to use the courts and due process of law to ascertain crimes, but a call for unilateral revenge, something Trump is known for.
Unfortunately, these violent rhetorical statements come at a price. As recent history has taught us, it’s only a matter of time before someone acts on them, even when the speakers claim they were not meant literally.
For example, in 2022 a Republican activist, David DePape, severely beat Nancy Pelosi’s husband, Paul, with a hammer, leaving him in a pool of blood. Evidence in the criminal complaint revealed he was exacting retribution for Nancy Pelosi’s political “crimes.” She was the original target.
The most obvious record of violent political retribution that was acted out in our day was the January 6th riots engaged in by Trump supporters. The attack appeared to be incited by then President Trump and his cronies. Even if one doesn’t believe Trump incited the violence, it’s evident he gladly let it go on for 187 minutes without lifting a finger to try to stop it.
The Evangelical Jericho March and Calls for Violence
Most people don’t realize that there was an earlier rally put on by evangelicals called The Jericho March, that set the stage for January 6th. In it a speaker said that Trump had been betrayed, needed to invoke the Insurrection Act, and if he didn’t, “we’re gonna have to do it ourselves later in a much more desperate, much more bloody war.” It turned out the speaker was Stuart Rhodes, of the far-right group, Oath Keepers. He was welcomed by evangelicals. He later was convicted of seditious conspiracy for his part in the January 6th attack on the Capital. Leading evangelical leaders who help organize this rally, like Eric Metaxas, were present for Rhodes’ speech and didn’t challenge it. In fact, on a podcast that same month, in defending Trump’s “stop the steal” rhetoric, Metaxas said the “steal” was evil and if you don’t see it that way you are like the Germans during Hitler’s day who looked the other way. Metaxas stated, “…who cares what I can prove in the courts? This is right. This happened, and I am going to do anything I can to uncover this horror, this evil… We need to fight to the death, to the last drop of blood, because it’s worth it.” This was within weeks of January 6th.
Retributive and Violence Narratives on Both Sides
If you think these examples of violent and retributive speech and acts are only from right wing activists and politicians, think again. Although the record points to the overwhelming majority being from the right (and sadly many from so-called Christians), calls and acts of violent retaliation can also happen on the left. In June 2022, an armed man named Nicholas Roske went to Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s home to kill him. He was seeking revenge over the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas and the leaked draft of the Supreme Court decision that would later overturn Roe v. Wade. He was apprehended before he could carry out his plan. What’s more, although the majority of the Black Lives Matter protests were peaceful, sadly some spun into rioting and destruction of property.
The Disturbing Conservative Christian Gun Culture
Finally, there’s the approach and attitude of some evangelicals who are gun owners. Not all, of course, but there is a disturbing element of conservative Christian gun culture. Take the product made by a company called Garrison Grip marketed to Christians. It’s a Bible Gun Case. It looks like a typical leather Bible cover that the faithful use to protect their Bibles and store study notes. Yet inside is a pouch to house a firearm—a pistol—with another pouch to hold an extra magazine of ammunition. The company claims it’s a hot item among Christians who have conceal carry permits. Moreover, many pastors encourage their congregants to bring a firearm to church or even have one stored in the pulpit. These private-citizen “followers of Jesus” don’t take Jesus’ non-violent, love-enemies, or trust-God-for-protection narratives seriously. I get it. People are scared of crime, street violence, and mass shootings. But they are also advocating that more violence is the solution to violent acts. But is this the best way to solve these complex problems? Research and recent history teach us that they lead to accidental gun deaths, vigilantism, and people being shot for going up the wrong driveway or going to the wrong door. (In case you don’t remember, these last two scenarios recently happened).
How to Overcome Calls for and Acts of Retribution and Violence
The truth is that violence and retribution is part and parcel of both America’s popular theology and culture. In my book, Breaking Bad Faith: Exposing Myth and Violence in Popular Theology to Recover the Path of Peace, I explain why. Then I dissect why such retributive approaches are not from Jesus’ teachings and his original first-and second-century movement. Jesus deconstructed violent retribution in scripture (from reciprocal violence to retaliatory judgment to wars to the doctrine of hell). He paved a way for restorative justice that leads to lasting peace when most of us embrace it.
Retribution does not work in the long run. Restorative justice does. I invite you to learn how to deconstruct divine violence and destructive beliefs in today’s popular theology and American culture. Including examining much of our American history of wars. I invite you to learn why redemptive violence is a myth. And after that, hear about some extraordinary true stories of the path of restorative peace from history and today. In the book, you’ll read examples of more effective non-violent strategies that hold wrongdoers accountable but focus on restoring relationships rather than exacting retribution or punishment. It’s a remarkable contrast.
By the way, this doesn’t mean wrongdoers, whether it’s Donald Trump or Hunter Biden, shouldn’t be held accountable for crimes. No, this is a different form of justice that doesn’t use violence or retributive measures to level the scales. Rather, it uses love for humanity (both victim and perpetrator), truth, and facts to restore lost souls, so they admit their evil deeds, make amends for their wrongs, and are ultimately rehabilitated. It also heals victims by helping them understand the nature of evil and enables them to overcome bitterness over injustice. When measures are used towards perpetrators, like fines and prison sentences, they are designed to restore relationships, not punish for punishment’s sake. This approach, although not foolproof (no method is), is exceedingly more effective in restoring harmony in society. This message is critical for us to hear in order to level up our view of God, call for a ceasefire in our incendiary political discourse, and recover a path of peace.
“Breaking Bad Faith is a book our fractured society desperately needs right now.” ~ Heather Hamilton
The facts described in this post, if not found in recent daily news stories, are cited with footnotes in Breaking Bad Faith.
******
Michael Camp tends the Spiritual Brewpub, which helps disillusioned or post-evangelicals uncover historical facts and insights that help them deconstruct, rethink, and rebuild a more authentic faith or philosophy of life. He is the author of Breaking Bad Faith: Exposing Myth and Violence in Popular Theology to Recover the Path of Peace. To get specific help deconstructing conservative Christianity and rebuilding healthy faith, see Michael’s Religious Deconstruction Workshop. To hear fascinating interviews with leading voices in the deconstruction community, listen to the Spiritual Brewpub Podcast.
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In