“Any political party that claims to represent Christianity
should be held more accountable by Christians, not less.”

Neither political party represents the whole of the gospel of Jesus.

The gospel of Jesus is not a political platform; it is the inbreaking of God’s reign, a movement marked by self-giving love, justice, mercy, and reconciliation. It cannot be confined to any one nation, ideology, or party. While some political causes may resonate with elements of the gospel (such as care for the poor, defense of the vulnerable, or pursuit of justice), the fullness of Christ’s message transcends and often critiques all earthly systems of power.

Jesus himself refused to be co-opted by the political factions of his time, whether the zealots, the Herodians, or the Pharisees. He disrupted expectations on all sides, calling all people instead into a radical way of love, humility, and truth.

Yet only one political party in our time has been overwhelmingly claiming to represent Christianity for the last 50+ years.

Since the rise of the Religious Right in the 1970s and 80s, a powerful alliance formed between conservative evangelical Christianity and the Republican Party. This was not primarily a grassroots theological movement, but a calculated political strategy, spearheaded by figures like Jerry Falwell, Paul Weyrich, and Pat Robertson, to consolidate Christian voters around issues like segregation, abortion, school prayer, and opposition to LGBTQ rights.

This movement reframed Christianity in the public imagination, especially in the United States, as being synonymous with conservative politics. Over time, this association deepened, with phrases like “Christian values” and “family values” used almost exclusively to describe Republican aligned Christians. Meanwhile, issues like economic justice, racial reconciliation, peacemaking, environmental stewardship, and care for the immigrant, deeply rooted in Scripture, were often ignored or even opposed by the same coalition. Simply because some of these values were advocated by the “other side.”

This identification of faith with a single party has caused immense harm to the church’s witness. It has contributed to the rise of Christian nationalism, diluted the gospel into a tool for partisan gain, and alienated countless people, especially younger generations, from faith altogether.

The crux of this issue is that any party that claims to represent Christian values should be scrutinized more by the church, not less.

When a political party wraps itself in Christian language and symbolism, it does not become more trustworthy, it becomes more dangerous. History shows us that when the church weds itself to political power, it often ends up compromising the very heart of the gospel. From Constantine’s imperial church to the Crusades, from colonial missionary empires to the state churches of Europe, the pattern is tragically familiar: power corrupts and the message of Jesus is distorted and weaponized.

Theologically, Christians are called to be a prophetic people, not a partisan one. We are to speak truth to power, not be seduced by it. As 1 Peter 2:11 reminds us, we are “foreigners and exiles” in this world, not party loyalists. The church must never outsource its moral imagination to any political agenda. Rather, it must hold all earthly power to account in light of Christ’s gospel, a movement where the last are first, the peacemakers are blessed, and the poor are lifted up.

In our time, scrutiny of this “Christian party” is treated as betrayal, but it is actually faithfulness. It is what the prophets did to kings, what Jesus did to religious leaders, and what the early church did under empire. If a party claims to speak for Christ, then the church must be especially vigilant to ask: Which Christ? The crucified Savior of the Gospels, or a Christ of our own making?

The tragic reality is that much of today’s political harm, particularly policies that strip away rights, target marginalized groups, or elevate power over compassion, is being passed under the banner of “Christian values,” with little resistance from the church. This lack of accountability has allowed hypocrisy to flourish. Leaders can champion “family values” while displaying none of Christ’s character, and pass legislation that causes real suffering while receiving applause from pulpits. When the church refuses to hold such actions to account, it not only abandons its prophetic calling, it becomes complicit in the injustice itself.

This is why the church must reclaim its role as a holy outsider, not chaplain to political power, but a witness to a different way. The gospel calls us not to protect Christian power, but to embody Christ’s love, especially for the least, the last, and the lost.

May it be so with us.

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By Rev. Benjamin R. Cremer · Launched a year ago

This is about the nation—once great, now so very not—that follows its 47th president as a god, lifting his ignorance and meanness and avarice up to replace the one true God the people once pledged to live under.

Back in the late 18th century, Thomas Jefferson predicted this would happen.

We have met Jefferson’s “single zealot” twice now,
and we have new numbers for the beast: 45 & 47.
We might not survive this second encounter.

“Voters knew he believed in nothing, which meant he could conceivably do anything, making him the perfect candidate upon whom to pin their wildest dreams. . . . The problem with running as the candidate of people’s dreams is that, eventually, they wake up.” — Yair Rosenberg

Here’s another political collection of memes of note. . . .

Okay, one more . . .

. . . the return of Trump, especially those claiming Christianity, I point to . . .

. . . this from John Pavlovitz: “Dear Carrie Underwood”

. . . this from Ben Cremer regarding a bishop’s prayer for mercy:

An appeal to mercy for demonized groups challenges the narratives that demonize them.

When you worship power, things like mercy, empathy, and compassion will begin to sound like a compromise or a weakness, or even worse, they will sound like sins. When you worship power, the structures and people who maintain that power must prioritize authority, not mercy, forgiveness, or compassion. When you worship power, the more ruthless you are towards those you’ve already chosen to see as your ‘enemies,’ the more righteous you become. When you worship power, you see power as synonymous with the truth, and the truth should never be questioned or criticized. The worship of power has no room for mercy. This worship of power is why authoritarianism has become so appealing to far too many Christians. This worship of power is why the appeal to mercy is treated like a threat.

. . . [Y]ou will see certain politicians and pastors alike being supported by many Christians for high positions of power, no matter their crimes or abuses towards others, because as long as they are willing to use their power in order to protect and enforce what they believe to be “Christian values,” their moral character doesn’t matter. Securing and maintaining power is all that matters in this belief system.

. . . [O]ne of the most blatant forms of Christian hypocrisy in our time right now is Christians holding all the ordinary people we share this country with accountable to the most rigid moral standards while simultaneously holding their preferred politicians accountable to no standards at all. The greater the power one has, the less they will be held accountable to any moral standard. That’s what worshiping power looks like.

. . . Evangelical Christian leader Russell Moore said that multiple pastors had told him disturbing stories about their congregants being upset when they read from the ” Sermon on the Mount” in which Jesus espoused the principles of forgiveness and mercy that are central to Christian doctrine. “Multiple pastors tell me, essentially, the same story about quoting Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount – [and] to have someone come up after to say, ‘Where did you get those liberal talking points?” Moore added: “And what was alarming to me is that in most of these scenarios, when the pastor would say, I’m literally quoting Jesus Christ, the response would be, ‘Yes, but that doesn’t work anymore. That’s weak.”

. . . [N]owhere in the gospel accounts is Jesus seen checking someone’s legal status before welcoming them. Nowhere in the gospel accounts is Jesus seen making sure someone has a job before he “hands out” food to them. Nowhere in the gospel accounts is Jesus seen making sure someone was straight so could make sure he wasn’t “tolerating sin” by spending time with them.

As [a] powerful woman of God once said, “Jesus was not killed by atheism and anarchy. He was brought down by law and order allied with religion – which is always a deadly mix. Beware those who claim to know the will of God and are prepared to use force, if necessary, to make others conform. Beware those who cannot tell God’s will from their own.” (Rev. Dr. Barbara Brown Taylor)

“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall be shown mercy.” (Jesus)

Rev. Cremer invites us to (re)visit John 3:16-17 (not just the 16th verse) and Romans 1:29-32.

In the days of I Samuel 8, the people demanded a king. Samuel took his distress over this to God, who told him that the people weren’t rejecting his leadership but instead were rejecting God—”forsaking me and serving other gods.” In the face of the people’s rejection of faith in God, Samuel was instructed to be sure the people knew what they were asking, to be sure they understood the choice they were making.

So Samuel told the people what God said:

“This is what the king who will reign over you will claim as his rights: He will take your sons and make them serve with his chariots and horses, and they will run in front of his chariots. ¹² Some he will assign to be commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and others to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and still others to make weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. ¹³ He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. ¹⁴ He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to his attendants. ¹⁵ He will take a tenth of your grain and of your vintage and give it to his officials and attendants. ¹⁶ Your male and female servants and the best of your cattle^[c] and donkeys he will take for his own use. ¹⁷ He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his slaves. ¹⁸ When that day comes, you will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen, but the Lord will not answer you in that day.” (1 Samuel 8: 11-18)

And still they rejected God in favor of a king’s so-called leadership.

I’m not suggesting that previous administrations have been godlike in any way. But except for the 45th administration, the ones I’ve know haven’t been as mean and ignorant as this 47th will be. Except for the 45th, none have so greedily sought to be king. We look for our Samuel to the people, our David to Saul, our Nathan to David, our John the Baptist to Herod.

SPECTRAL GEOFF: Did you know that giraffes are, like, 30 times more likely than people to get struck by lightning?

ME: Makes sense, I guess. They’re generally closer to the source. They always told us not to stand under a tree in a thunderstorm. Maybe the same should be said about giraffes—as in don’t stand under ’em.

SG: And did you know that with this Inauguration, Donald Trump has the unprecedented opportunity to become the two worst presidents in U.S. history?

M: I hadn’t thought of it that way. Quite an achievement if he can pull it off.

SG: And did you also know that a chicken once lived 18 months without a head?

M:

Spectral Geoff’s first and third facts from
“101 random fun facts that will blow your mind”