Right now, if it really believes what it preaches, the American Church has one foot in Hell and one on a banana peel—and this God-forsaken wannabe theocracy, is that banana peel.
I am not a Christian--and would never adhere to a religion that in its many forms would have declared me and my ancestors heretics, Christ-killers, and anathema. Indeed, the likelihood of my survival in any century before the post WW2 one would have been in serious doubt. I have a Flying Spaghetti Monster insignia on my car. But I do appreciate, John, that you are trying desperately to get American Christians to sit up and take notice. But apparently not even the pope is capable of turning hearts and minds toward the Good and away from Evil. As an historian by profession I could give you a myriad reasons why this is the case (history doesn't show Christianity in a particularly charitable light). But right now we have reached a depth of despicableness that even I could not have anticipated. So good luck. UCC, UUA, liberal Episcopalians, Quakers, liberal Methodists and Lutherans: it's up to you.
Thank you for your words. Right now, I don't see many people standing up for values, integrity, and justice. The biggest pathetic group are people who "proclaim" to be Christians but are hateful, cruel, and racist.
John, as right as you are, there is something that needs to be addressed. The Christian Nationalist movement in the evangelical churches is succeeding, in large part, because of the failure of the "mainstream" denominations to call Christians to follow Jesus, and to abandon the false notion that we are called only to "believe" or to "claim our salvation." I am proud that the United Methodist Church, in which I am ordained, is finally standing up, and I pray it is not too late. But at the local church level, we must instill in pastors the backbone required to preach truth to power and the call to follow, which must begin with calling out the false prophets of the power-seeking evangelical nationalist churches. Too many--far too many--pastors are preaching and leading with fear in their hearts--fear of rejection, fear of removal, fear of offending those who give to support the church. But they must be helped to realize that it is that same fear which has rendered the church--the church which does not seek power, but Jesus--irrelevant and impotent. Not one more sermon can we bear that is preached in fear, or with "balance," or which is not a call to radical action.
Andrew, you are so right. My UMC church is a very large and very influential one in the US. The pastor still talks about how our congregation is filled with both Dems and Repubs and we have political differences. No! Repubs are not just a different political party today. They are supporting a fascist, racist, authoritarian who is purposely hurting its citizens & destroying our country (the world too?). This is not acceptable. I am “losing my religion” because he is apparently too afraid to lose their donations. I honestly consider myself a Christ Follower now because I cannot stomach “Christians”.
Agreed. It's past time to imagine that being a Christian has anything to do with worshipping what someone else tells us Jesus is or was much less what he stood for. It is past time that we BECOME LIKE JESUS, a fully-rendered, faithful to the end human being, full of the grace of God and ready to stand up for it. Blessed be the poor, blessed be the peacemakers, blessed be those who would die for righteousness sake.
There are signs of the followers of Jesus and the broader interfaith community waking up. Last night, we filled our Sanctuary with 350 folks in Greensboro, NC, for a "Light In The Darkness—Vigil for Immigrant Justice" sponsored by the newly formed Greensboro Interfaith Coalition for Immigrant Justice.
While I agree with the broad view here, I'm wary of referring to "the American church," as though it is one monolithic thing. I'm a pastor (recently retired from parish ministry) in the progressive United Church of Christ (UCC). In terms of our "official" theological identity and its political/cultural implications, we share basically nothing with Evangelicals: they and we are not "the church" in remotely the same sense.
So we have many, many American churches -- and there isn't even consistency within denominations. Even in such liberal/progressive denominations as the UCC, there can be a wide range of theologies and politics in individual members of congregations. Not everybody who sits in a UCC pew really belongs there: many should be in some far more conservative denomination, but hold on because this was the church of generations of their family and, by God, they're not leaving, no matter how ill fit they are for a progressive church (which, to me, means a Jesus-following church). Thus the difficult tensions for many UCC pastors & preachers, who know perfectly well what the Jesus vision is and our responsibility to teach and embody it, while looking out at congregations that include a MAGA contingent sitting there rejecting all we say. This doesn't mean we shouldn't preach and teach the actual gospel, just an acknowledgement that, sadly, to do so is fraught. In the church. Where it should not be fraught at all.
As for Christian history, I completely agree that "Christianity was never supposed to be about power." Alas, a few centuries in, it became just that. When the emperor made it the official religion of the empire, we got the Jesus with crown, sword, shield, "armies," etc., and the actual historical Jesus, who lived and taught over against all of that, faded from view. Some of us have been trying to return him to the heart of Christianity ever since.... with huge resistance from our own people.
If you need any evidence of how badly Jesus' teachings are being twisted, look no further than to this article from today's New York Times entitled "Seeking God, or Peter Thiel, in Silicon Valley." How dismayed I felt reading about another well-orchestrated program to further the desires of rich oligarchs cloaked under the mantle of "Christian faith. "https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/11/business/silicon-valley-christianity.html
To me, it is this simple: Jesus was all about DEI. If you don't get that, you do not deserve to call yourself one of His followers.
Thank you, John, for pushing us to do and be better.
They don't want to follow Jesus. It's that simple.
One reason I walked away from Christianity is that this has happened over and over in history. I more or less follow Jesus's teachings because I'm a well rounded human being. I also follow some precepts of other religions like Buddhist thought. I try to do good because it's the right thing to do, not because I'm afraid of a deity who will punish me if I don't obey orders. So I ask, who is the "better" person? The Christian who obeys out of fear or the person who does good because it's the right thing to do?
Brenda above makes some strong points. Just like Islam, Christianity was turned into a weapon of war. I'm sorry if I've dismayed you, Pastor. In my opinion, Christianity is morally bankrupt, the small subset of Christians that actually follow Jesus's teaching notwithstanding. It's such an ironic and saddening outcome.
One thing I think will happen if this incipient Christofascist state is overturned is the persecution the Christians so desperately want. And they'll deserve it.
I am going to have to allow this to stir my mind and spirit. I can tell you that your words ring true. They make me question my level of comfort and blindness to long-held ideas.
I experienced the stirrings of this in the late 1970s in college in a Bible study group. Those who did not hold or questioned what has come to be known as Christian Nationalist views were bullied, harassed and ostracized. In my heart I knew this was not what Jesus preached and I quickly walked away. In spite of trying a few other Christian denominations through the years ,by the 90s most were infused with this fundamentalist mindset. I did not fit anywhere with the dominionist and prosperity theological view that seemed to be everywhere. I have since found peace and freedom on the Eastern road. I have a dear Catholic Chaplain friend of good heart that we are spiritual travelers together. But as for any organized American Christianity...no thanks.
I never “met” Jesus until I was 16. I fell in love with him - his heart, the way he treated the poor, the sick, widows and orphans, the broken in mind and body. The concept that I needed to be “saved” never entered my mind🤷♀️ I just was hungry to find SOMEONE who had the same aching, caring heart for the downtrodden all around us that I seemed to be born with. Someone who wept for the pain and suffering of others. Someone who hated unfairness (I didn’t know the word injustice then😌). Someone like me - child that I was. I am no savior, trust me. But I was born with something unusual?? I guess, in my heart. Loving babies and children, I’ve observed the shining loving light that seems to be there . . . Until it’s “beaten” out of them by culture, dysfunctional family systems, schools full of bullies - students and teachers both. And then there’s church. I have often said, though my childhood home was full of darkness, one of the BEST things that ever happened to me was NOT being raised in a “church”.
And I agree with you John. “The church” is NOT a building. It’s a living breathing organism meant to spread Love in this hurting world like a virus. 😌 But after 67 years of life I’ve come to realize that Love like that is NOT what a lot of buildings/churches are going for. 🤷♀️ I’m not welcome there because I can never bend the knee to their agendas and authorities and ridiculous teachings about “God”. The God of THEIR understanding, a God of their own creating that bears no resemblance to Jesus whatsoever. And asking questions about that can bring just amazing self righteous anger down upon your head. Now days you don’t have to leave on your own. They’ll actually INVITE you to leave. Seriously. It’s a thing.
So no, I’m better outside those walls. I feel much more at home in an open AA meeting with people trying to overcome their addiction and the things that got them there. Their rough authenticity is refreshing. Those are MY people. Walking through groups of homeless people on the streets in a nearby city I am never repulsed. I look in their eyes and see myself. But for the grace of God I’d be right there. And I may yet get to join them soon. Those are MY people. Jesus felt that way so much so that he chose to be homeless. Yeah. He’s my hero. And I’m totally honest when I say that Jesus is no more welcome in some of those buildings then the stinky dirty homeless people, women who’ve divorced their abusive husbands, a young girl burdened with an unwanted pregnancy that was incested into her by her father, alcoholics grieving over the mess they’ve made of their lives who still have alcohol on their breath. They come looking for mercy and love and home but that is NOT what they’ll get. And because I love and adore and try to emulate Jesus? I’m not welcome there either.
And it’s okay. I will not waste one more minute trying to help religious people live their religious rhetoric. I’m done discussing, arguing, and trying to figure it out or understand. I can leave all of that to the God who Jesus taught IS Love.
Our assignment at this time in history is clear. The downtrodden are all around us and that crowd is growing. And we’re fast becoming part of them. We need to be neighbors like we’ve never had to before. We need to take care of each other. We need to hold hands as we step into the footsteps of Jesus and all the men and women like him throughout the ages. Steps that are firm and clear laid out before us. It may cost us everything. But like many of you, I don’t want to live any other life than a Loving one. It’s the only life worth living.
🙏
Evil always projects. Right now it’s just glaring as all these sick people speak and do destructive mean spirited things and claim that WE are the ones doing what only THEY are doing. It’s the way evil always work. Evil is called good and good is called evil. It’s gaslighting that makes you feel crazy. But we can’t change them or make them stop. We’ve got to ignore most of that, as in not letting it get inside us and incapacitate us. We can’t let the fear they’re trying to surround and fill us with keep us from doing what we have always done. LOVE. Care for the hurting.
The evil in them hates that in us. Let it.
I love the words from TUESDAYS WITH MORRIE: when discussing the battle between good and evil MORRIE is asked “who wins” he responded “Love wins! Love ALWAYS wins.”
The Natzi’s, the insane sociopaths, their billionaires, the MAGAs, the Project 25 agenda, and all their evil plans can NOT kill LOVE. 🙏♥️
Let’s continue to embrace Social Justice-Jesus Style and Love all the “Others” they’re scapegoating. We know what to do😌 Just keep Loving🫂
Beautiful post!! I so feel the same as you Maureen about my relationship with Jesus. I couldn't have said it better. Never needed a church. My mission is to be a helper! I have always felt that way!
Thank you for your courage. I am extremely sorry that you and your family must worry about your safety ~ and I’m sorry that you would even have to write an article like this. The “American Church” is a joke. I was raised in the church, raised my family in the church, and walked away 20 years ago because I could not find a congregation that taught what Jesus teaches: love, forgiveness without making you feel like a piece of s***, and acceptance. ~ It wasn’t until I started reading your articles and books that I could even think that maybe there are loving Christians out there after all. I don’t like the word Christian because, in my experience, it means you are like Mike Johnson. They say they know Jesus but don’t follow a thing He teaches. They are hate-filled liars and have sold their souls to the devil himself. Through all the years since I walked away from the American Church, I have loved the Lord and tried to follow His Word and His guidance. ~ I am not a Christian. No, I am a follower of Christ. Thank you for affirming for me that I am not alone.
I wonder if any of our of more than 535 Representatives, Senators and all the executive and judiciary branches, is there is a single one who is a true follower of Christ. If there is one, please so advise.
I had a math teacher in high school who would sometimes get on a soapbox. One day he said, “If I live my life like a good Christian and there is a God, I will be rewarded. If there is no God…well then I lived my life as a good person.” I will never forget that.
The Church needs Christians who aren't afraid to follow Jesus right out of the building if that's where he leads them.
The Church needs pastors, ministers, and pew sitters who will condemns this MAGA Christian abomination as the vile, fraudulent, sinful filth that it is.
John, you point out a very important point: "Jesus doesn't give a damn if America is first." Also, that we all make up The Body of Christ. Some Christians right now are the asshole.
I am not a Christian--and would never adhere to a religion that in its many forms would have declared me and my ancestors heretics, Christ-killers, and anathema. Indeed, the likelihood of my survival in any century before the post WW2 one would have been in serious doubt. I have a Flying Spaghetti Monster insignia on my car. But I do appreciate, John, that you are trying desperately to get American Christians to sit up and take notice. But apparently not even the pope is capable of turning hearts and minds toward the Good and away from Evil. As an historian by profession I could give you a myriad reasons why this is the case (history doesn't show Christianity in a particularly charitable light). But right now we have reached a depth of despicableness that even I could not have anticipated. So good luck. UCC, UUA, liberal Episcopalians, Quakers, liberal Methodists and Lutherans: it's up to you.
Thank you for your words. Right now, I don't see many people standing up for values, integrity, and justice. The biggest pathetic group are people who "proclaim" to be Christians but are hateful, cruel, and racist.
I'm in that same boat Linda.
John, as right as you are, there is something that needs to be addressed. The Christian Nationalist movement in the evangelical churches is succeeding, in large part, because of the failure of the "mainstream" denominations to call Christians to follow Jesus, and to abandon the false notion that we are called only to "believe" or to "claim our salvation." I am proud that the United Methodist Church, in which I am ordained, is finally standing up, and I pray it is not too late. But at the local church level, we must instill in pastors the backbone required to preach truth to power and the call to follow, which must begin with calling out the false prophets of the power-seeking evangelical nationalist churches. Too many--far too many--pastors are preaching and leading with fear in their hearts--fear of rejection, fear of removal, fear of offending those who give to support the church. But they must be helped to realize that it is that same fear which has rendered the church--the church which does not seek power, but Jesus--irrelevant and impotent. Not one more sermon can we bear that is preached in fear, or with "balance," or which is not a call to radical action.
Andrew, you are so right. My UMC church is a very large and very influential one in the US. The pastor still talks about how our congregation is filled with both Dems and Repubs and we have political differences. No! Repubs are not just a different political party today. They are supporting a fascist, racist, authoritarian who is purposely hurting its citizens & destroying our country (the world too?). This is not acceptable. I am “losing my religion” because he is apparently too afraid to lose their donations. I honestly consider myself a Christ Follower now because I cannot stomach “Christians”.
I agree completely!
Thank you for your words.
AMEN, JOHN!!!! Absolutely on-target, prophetic preaching...and I know there are many of us who feel exactly the same.
Agreed. It's past time to imagine that being a Christian has anything to do with worshipping what someone else tells us Jesus is or was much less what he stood for. It is past time that we BECOME LIKE JESUS, a fully-rendered, faithful to the end human being, full of the grace of God and ready to stand up for it. Blessed be the poor, blessed be the peacemakers, blessed be those who would die for righteousness sake.
There are signs of the followers of Jesus and the broader interfaith community waking up. Last night, we filled our Sanctuary with 350 folks in Greensboro, NC, for a "Light In The Darkness—Vigil for Immigrant Justice" sponsored by the newly formed Greensboro Interfaith Coalition for Immigrant Justice.
To be honest, I fear gatherings like those may be targeted by Trump's bully boys. I advise they have some security present.
While I agree with the broad view here, I'm wary of referring to "the American church," as though it is one monolithic thing. I'm a pastor (recently retired from parish ministry) in the progressive United Church of Christ (UCC). In terms of our "official" theological identity and its political/cultural implications, we share basically nothing with Evangelicals: they and we are not "the church" in remotely the same sense.
So we have many, many American churches -- and there isn't even consistency within denominations. Even in such liberal/progressive denominations as the UCC, there can be a wide range of theologies and politics in individual members of congregations. Not everybody who sits in a UCC pew really belongs there: many should be in some far more conservative denomination, but hold on because this was the church of generations of their family and, by God, they're not leaving, no matter how ill fit they are for a progressive church (which, to me, means a Jesus-following church). Thus the difficult tensions for many UCC pastors & preachers, who know perfectly well what the Jesus vision is and our responsibility to teach and embody it, while looking out at congregations that include a MAGA contingent sitting there rejecting all we say. This doesn't mean we shouldn't preach and teach the actual gospel, just an acknowledgement that, sadly, to do so is fraught. In the church. Where it should not be fraught at all.
As for Christian history, I completely agree that "Christianity was never supposed to be about power." Alas, a few centuries in, it became just that. When the emperor made it the official religion of the empire, we got the Jesus with crown, sword, shield, "armies," etc., and the actual historical Jesus, who lived and taught over against all of that, faded from view. Some of us have been trying to return him to the heart of Christianity ever since.... with huge resistance from our own people.
If you need any evidence of how badly Jesus' teachings are being twisted, look no further than to this article from today's New York Times entitled "Seeking God, or Peter Thiel, in Silicon Valley." How dismayed I felt reading about another well-orchestrated program to further the desires of rich oligarchs cloaked under the mantle of "Christian faith. "https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/11/business/silicon-valley-christianity.html
To me, it is this simple: Jesus was all about DEI. If you don't get that, you do not deserve to call yourself one of His followers.
Thank you, John, for pushing us to do and be better.
MAGA Christians said Bishop Budde was wrong to preach the Gospel of Christ and that empathy is a sin. They do not want to follow a "woke" Jesus.
They don't want to follow Jesus. It's that simple.
One reason I walked away from Christianity is that this has happened over and over in history. I more or less follow Jesus's teachings because I'm a well rounded human being. I also follow some precepts of other religions like Buddhist thought. I try to do good because it's the right thing to do, not because I'm afraid of a deity who will punish me if I don't obey orders. So I ask, who is the "better" person? The Christian who obeys out of fear or the person who does good because it's the right thing to do?
Brenda above makes some strong points. Just like Islam, Christianity was turned into a weapon of war. I'm sorry if I've dismayed you, Pastor. In my opinion, Christianity is morally bankrupt, the small subset of Christians that actually follow Jesus's teaching notwithstanding. It's such an ironic and saddening outcome.
One thing I think will happen if this incipient Christofascist state is overturned is the persecution the Christians so desperately want. And they'll deserve it.
Well, Jesus is the original woke person. Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves!
Jesus has got us!
I am going to have to allow this to stir my mind and spirit. I can tell you that your words ring true. They make me question my level of comfort and blindness to long-held ideas.
I experienced the stirrings of this in the late 1970s in college in a Bible study group. Those who did not hold or questioned what has come to be known as Christian Nationalist views were bullied, harassed and ostracized. In my heart I knew this was not what Jesus preached and I quickly walked away. In spite of trying a few other Christian denominations through the years ,by the 90s most were infused with this fundamentalist mindset. I did not fit anywhere with the dominionist and prosperity theological view that seemed to be everywhere. I have since found peace and freedom on the Eastern road. I have a dear Catholic Chaplain friend of good heart that we are spiritual travelers together. But as for any organized American Christianity...no thanks.
So did I, hence my post.
Glad you are here Greg🙏
You, too! (Waves)
Warning: one of my books ahead🤣
I never “met” Jesus until I was 16. I fell in love with him - his heart, the way he treated the poor, the sick, widows and orphans, the broken in mind and body. The concept that I needed to be “saved” never entered my mind🤷♀️ I just was hungry to find SOMEONE who had the same aching, caring heart for the downtrodden all around us that I seemed to be born with. Someone who wept for the pain and suffering of others. Someone who hated unfairness (I didn’t know the word injustice then😌). Someone like me - child that I was. I am no savior, trust me. But I was born with something unusual?? I guess, in my heart. Loving babies and children, I’ve observed the shining loving light that seems to be there . . . Until it’s “beaten” out of them by culture, dysfunctional family systems, schools full of bullies - students and teachers both. And then there’s church. I have often said, though my childhood home was full of darkness, one of the BEST things that ever happened to me was NOT being raised in a “church”.
And I agree with you John. “The church” is NOT a building. It’s a living breathing organism meant to spread Love in this hurting world like a virus. 😌 But after 67 years of life I’ve come to realize that Love like that is NOT what a lot of buildings/churches are going for. 🤷♀️ I’m not welcome there because I can never bend the knee to their agendas and authorities and ridiculous teachings about “God”. The God of THEIR understanding, a God of their own creating that bears no resemblance to Jesus whatsoever. And asking questions about that can bring just amazing self righteous anger down upon your head. Now days you don’t have to leave on your own. They’ll actually INVITE you to leave. Seriously. It’s a thing.
So no, I’m better outside those walls. I feel much more at home in an open AA meeting with people trying to overcome their addiction and the things that got them there. Their rough authenticity is refreshing. Those are MY people. Walking through groups of homeless people on the streets in a nearby city I am never repulsed. I look in their eyes and see myself. But for the grace of God I’d be right there. And I may yet get to join them soon. Those are MY people. Jesus felt that way so much so that he chose to be homeless. Yeah. He’s my hero. And I’m totally honest when I say that Jesus is no more welcome in some of those buildings then the stinky dirty homeless people, women who’ve divorced their abusive husbands, a young girl burdened with an unwanted pregnancy that was incested into her by her father, alcoholics grieving over the mess they’ve made of their lives who still have alcohol on their breath. They come looking for mercy and love and home but that is NOT what they’ll get. And because I love and adore and try to emulate Jesus? I’m not welcome there either.
And it’s okay. I will not waste one more minute trying to help religious people live their religious rhetoric. I’m done discussing, arguing, and trying to figure it out or understand. I can leave all of that to the God who Jesus taught IS Love.
Our assignment at this time in history is clear. The downtrodden are all around us and that crowd is growing. And we’re fast becoming part of them. We need to be neighbors like we’ve never had to before. We need to take care of each other. We need to hold hands as we step into the footsteps of Jesus and all the men and women like him throughout the ages. Steps that are firm and clear laid out before us. It may cost us everything. But like many of you, I don’t want to live any other life than a Loving one. It’s the only life worth living.
🙏
Evil always projects. Right now it’s just glaring as all these sick people speak and do destructive mean spirited things and claim that WE are the ones doing what only THEY are doing. It’s the way evil always work. Evil is called good and good is called evil. It’s gaslighting that makes you feel crazy. But we can’t change them or make them stop. We’ve got to ignore most of that, as in not letting it get inside us and incapacitate us. We can’t let the fear they’re trying to surround and fill us with keep us from doing what we have always done. LOVE. Care for the hurting.
The evil in them hates that in us. Let it.
I love the words from TUESDAYS WITH MORRIE: when discussing the battle between good and evil MORRIE is asked “who wins” he responded “Love wins! Love ALWAYS wins.”
The Natzi’s, the insane sociopaths, their billionaires, the MAGAs, the Project 25 agenda, and all their evil plans can NOT kill LOVE. 🙏♥️
Let’s continue to embrace Social Justice-Jesus Style and Love all the “Others” they’re scapegoating. We know what to do😌 Just keep Loving🫂
Beautiful post!! I so feel the same as you Maureen about my relationship with Jesus. I couldn't have said it better. Never needed a church. My mission is to be a helper! I have always felt that way!
Thank you for your courage. I am extremely sorry that you and your family must worry about your safety ~ and I’m sorry that you would even have to write an article like this. The “American Church” is a joke. I was raised in the church, raised my family in the church, and walked away 20 years ago because I could not find a congregation that taught what Jesus teaches: love, forgiveness without making you feel like a piece of s***, and acceptance. ~ It wasn’t until I started reading your articles and books that I could even think that maybe there are loving Christians out there after all. I don’t like the word Christian because, in my experience, it means you are like Mike Johnson. They say they know Jesus but don’t follow a thing He teaches. They are hate-filled liars and have sold their souls to the devil himself. Through all the years since I walked away from the American Church, I have loved the Lord and tried to follow His Word and His guidance. ~ I am not a Christian. No, I am a follower of Christ. Thank you for affirming for me that I am not alone.
I wonder if any of our of more than 535 Representatives, Senators and all the executive and judiciary branches, is there is a single one who is a true follower of Christ. If there is one, please so advise.
I had a math teacher in high school who would sometimes get on a soapbox. One day he said, “If I live my life like a good Christian and there is a God, I will be rewarded. If there is no God…well then I lived my life as a good person.” I will never forget that.
Your words need repeating, repeating, repeating:
The Church needs Christians who aren't afraid to follow Jesus right out of the building if that's where he leads them.
The Church needs pastors, ministers, and pew sitters who will condemns this MAGA Christian abomination as the vile, fraudulent, sinful filth that it is.
What would Bonhoeffer do? Time to brush up on his writings. And then act, for faith without acts is an emty practice.
John, you point out a very important point: "Jesus doesn't give a damn if America is first." Also, that we all make up The Body of Christ. Some Christians right now are the asshole.