Christian nationalism sees war as holy and empathy as toxic. This should tell you everything you need to know about the movement.

Dear Christian, If you’re demanding that the Ten Commandments be put up in public schools, but you’re not holding this president or his administration accountable to a single one of them, please don’t act like you actually take them seriously.

It’s not just what she said but the applause from those listening. This is blasphemy. This is what it sounds like to take Jesus’ name in vain.

Reminding you this Holy Week that Christian nationalism looks like seeing Jesus getting arrested, tried, convicted, and executed, then saying to those who are shocked and grief stricken by the injustice of it all, “Well, he should have just obeyed the law!”

Read my most recent article here: open.substack.com/pub/benjamin...

Imagine claiming to follow Jesus while supporting people in power who trample the poor, the sick, the hungry, the immigrant, the disabled, the homeless, the elderly, the different, and the planet, then somehow still wondering why people are rejecting Christianity.

Read my latest article here: open.substack.com/pub/benjamin...

I just can’t help but think how Jesus would be treated if his earthly ministry were taking place in America today. How he would be treated for riding a donkey into the city instead of a warhorse. (Mark 11:1-11) 🧵

My newsletter tomorrow is called “When ‘Christ Is King!’ Doesn’t Mean Jesus.” In it, I invite us to reflect on Jesus “triumphal entry” from Matthew 21:1-11 and how his posture contrasts with the way the phrase “Christ is king” is used today. Join here: benjamin-cremer.kit.com/profile?fbcl...

Read my most recent article here: open.substack.com/pub/benjamin...

The lies defining this moment in America: -The 2020 election was stolen -There’s massive voter fraud -There’s an epidemic of noncitizens voting -We’ve been “invaded” by millions of criminals -Only an authoritarian government can fix these problems -Jesus agrees with all of this

Remember, the KKK was present at polling stations to ensure “election integrity” during the Jim Crow era to make sure only the “right people” voted.

Please pray for our immigrant brothers and sisters and all our siblings of color who are traveling right now. Please advocate on their behalf to all those in power, both faith leaders and political leaders alike. Please do not look away from this continued gross misuse of power.

“Death and life are in the power of the tongue”-Proverbs 18:21 May we see our world as full of neighbors to be loved, not enemies to be destroyed.

Read my most recent article here: open.substack.com/pub/benjamin...

One of the most blatant forms of Christian hypocrisy in our time is Christians holding all ordinary people accountable to the most rigid moral standards while simultaneously holding themselves and the president accountable to no standards at all.

My next newsletter is called, "If You Had Been Here..." It’s coming tomorrow and in it, I invite us to explore why Jesus delayed in John 11:1-45 and how it can help us process questions we might have about God delaying in our world today. Join here: benjamin-cremer.kit.com/posts/

The single greatest threat to religion in the world isn’t secularism or atheism. It is religious people contradicting their religion by justifying evil, moral depravity, greed, selfishness, arrogance, hatred, and even the use of violence to preserve their religion.

Imagine framing the war in Iran around standing up for Iranian women while supporting Christian nationalism here in the United States that is feverishly working to subjugate women here at home and somehow not seeing the blatant hypocrisy.

The United States was the only country to vote “no” against the women’s rights document at UN commission. This isn’t being talked about enough.

One of the most successful deceptions of our time was getting many Americans to fear diversity more than racism, equality more than misogyny, democracy more than fascism, immigrants more than authoritarians, the poor more than corrupt billionaires, and empathy more than cruelty.

Many people who simply stayed committed to Jesus over the last decade are accused of leaving Christianity by those who left Jesus to follow a president.

Dear Christian, Undocumented immigrants can’t vote. It is a crime that results in prison and/or deportation. Only 68 instances of this has happened in the last 40 years, by the Heritage Foundation’s own report. Saying tons of undocumented immigrants are voting is a lie.

Dear Christian, You don’t have to tell people what your religious beliefs are. People see exactly what your beliefs are by the way you talk about and treat women, immigrants, people of color, the poor, those with disabilities, victims of war, and your political opponents.

America is not a Christian nation. America is currently a nation where authoritarians are using Christianity as a tool of predatory capitalism, oppression, violence, and self serving power.

It will forever baffle me at how someone could look at Jesus laying down his life out of love for the world rather than forcing it to conform to his will, then somehow conclude that political and theological authoritarianism is how his followers should represent him in the world.

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If we can’t see the hypocrisy of claiming to be “pro life,” while also being pro assault rifles, pro war, pro death penalty, pro cutting healthcare, pro cutting food assistance, pro science denialism, and pro rolling back environmental protections now, I don’t think we ever will.

Jesus’ harshest words in the gospels wasn’t towards prostitutes, other religions, or undocumented immigrants. Jesus’ harshest words were towards the rich and religious who used God’s words to justify exploitation and oppression. Yet many want us to believe the opposite.

A god that needs violent men in order to succeed is a god invented by violent men.

“I was hungry and you…” …spent a billion dollars on lobster tail, king crab, and ice cream machines for yourselves, and millions on bombs, all while cutting food assistance for me and millions of others. “…whatever you do for the least of these, you do unto me.” -Jesus

Imagine calling Islamic fundamentalists who want to legislate their brand of religion over everyone else "extremists," all while calling Christian fundamentalists who want to do the exact same thing in our country "patriots” and somehow not see the blatant hypocrisy.

One of the biggest problems with the sanitized way far too many Americans understand history is that we do not believe our country has ever done anything wrong. So we never even arrive at considering how we have directly harmed those who see us as enemies today.

He’s the children being bombed right now.

A nation that calls itself a “Christian nation” cuts healthcare and food assistance for millions of people, yet instantly funds wars without question. Jesus fed the hungry, healed the sick, and told Peter to put his sword away. May we understand the hypocrisy.

The rapture is not in the Bible. The rapture is not present in Christianity before the 19th century. The rapture makes for dangerous theology and foreign policy. The rapture needs to become a resoundingly opposed sentiment.

In my recent article, I explore the context of Revelation 16:16, where a lot of modern ideas of the “battle of Armageddon” come from and share the importance of noticing how the battle is no battle at all. Read here: open.substack.com/pub/benjamin...

Beware of any Christian movement that demands the government be an instrument of God's wrath but never a source of God's charity, mercy, or compassion.

Beware of any Christian movement that acts as though the world is full of enemies to be destroyed rather than full of neighbors to be loved.

In my recent article, I wrote about a theological perspective shaping a lot of discourse about the recent strikes in Iran. Read the whole article here: open.substack.com/pub/benjamin...

When I say that dispensational theology (rapture theology) is dangerous, this is what I mean. Bad theology kills.

I'm not concerned about those who question God or even doubt God. That’s just a natural part of faith. My concern are those who claim to know the mind of God better than anyone and act as though they have the right to impose their beliefs on everyone else.

When Israel and America claim that this war is God’s will, remember that Jesus said that peacemakers are the children of God, not the warmongers.

It’s important to remember in this time that the theology of the Left Behind series is fiction. The rapture, unwavering support of modern Israel, war in the Middle East as ushering in the end times. All of it. And it’s allowed to shape international policy.

You can oppose authoritarianism in Iran and the United States at the same time.

Notice how it’s somehow the government’s job to legislate a few Bible verses on human sexuality over our entire country, but it’s suddenly “not the government’s job” when it comes to the +2,500 Bible verses calling for a generous use of wealth that prioritizes the poor.

It takes a great deal of arrogance to live in the U.S. with over 200 different sects of Christianity, all with their own unique theology, yet insist that only your sect has the authority to speak, not only for all Christians, but for every person in our country.

What’s Happening to Pregnant, Postpartum, and Nursing Women in ICE Custody? Read full article here: reproductiverights.org/news/pregnan...