Christian and American

“Christian Nationalist” has become a pejorative term. Many Christians are patriotic and believe American values overlap with Christian values. Combine these two terms and liberals claim we have recreated Frankenstein’s monster. Preface “Christian Nationalist” with “White” and many become doubly alarmed. There should be no stigma attached to either term; however, a liberal ideology has been developed around discrediting Christian Nationalists.

There is no Christian Nationalist party, no movement of that name, no defined ideology from its supposed proponents. Despite my associations, I receive no mail regarding Christian Nationalism; I am not asked for contributions to support the cause. None of my conservative friends discuss nefarious Christian Nationalist plans. Liberals have created a straw man, a phantom to define their political enemies. Christian Nationalists, they say, demand others in our country conform with their own religious views–or else. That would be a problem were it true. It is not.

“Christian” and “American”

I identify as Christian and American, a better moniker than the phony liberal construction. Christian Nationalists supposedly hate gays and transgenders and continually torment them; however, Christians are directed to hate sin, not the sinner. The Bible speaks clearly and often regarding the sin of homosexuality. Genesis, the initial book, condemns Sodom for this very sin:

They called to Lot and said to him, “Where are the men who came to your house tonight? Bring them out to us that we may have sexual relations with them.”

Lot went out to meet them at the entrance. When he had shut the door behind him, he said, “I beg you, my brothers, do not do this wicked thing. Genesis 19:5-7

God directed Lot to leave, and then destroyed his wicked homeland:

We are about to destroy this place, for the outcry reaching the LORD against those here is so great that the LORD has sent us to destroy it . . . and the LORD rained down sulfur upon Sodom and Gomorrah, fire from the LORD out of heaven. Genesis 19:13-24

St. Paul warns further about the sin of homosexuality:

They exchanged the truth of God for a lie and revered and worshiped the creature rather than the creator, who is blessed forever. Amen Therefore, God handed them over to degrading passions. Their females exchanged natural relations for unnatural, and the males likewise gave up natural relations with females and burned with lust for one another. Males did shameful things with males and thus received in their own persons the due penalty for their perversity Romans 1:25-27

Many Christians ignore such Bible passages; they deny homosexuality is even a sin. Some Christians point to other precepts which they say override these warnings regarding homosexuality. God doesn’t allow the faithful to discard rules we find uncomfortable. We cannot accept only nine of ten commandments. We must accept all and do our best to follow them.

While the Bible is critical of homosexual activity, it does not condone hatred of any individual(i.e. the sinner), including homosexuals.

You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you that you may be children of our heavenly Father (Matthew 5:43-45)

There are no exceptions regarding whom to love and whom to not. A Christian is not true to his faith if he doesn’t accept God’s simple directives:

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.

The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” (Mark 12:30-31)

Progressives would have us believe Christian opposition to sin of homosexuality (and other licentious behaviors) has supplanted Jesus unequivocal directive to love your LGBTQ+ neighbor as yourself. Furthermore, progressives fail to understand we can love one other even through criticism of this lifestyle.

“Those who disregard discipline despise themselves, but the one who heeds correction gains understanding.” – Proverbs 15:32

“As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.” – Proverbs 27:17

Here is the easily defined truth:

• the vast majority of American Christians are willing to let LGBTQ+ live their lives as they choose.
• the vast majority of LGBTQ folks are good people trying to live their lives.

In other words, freedom-loving Christian Americans say: live your life as you choose, but do not compel us to support your choices. We also don’t demand the LGBTQ change to suit our own beliefs.

On the other hand, Christian Americans prefer our government not promote LGBTQ values and we vote accordingly:

• Laws banning transgender surgeries for children as well as laws preventing biological men from accessing women’s rest rooms, and competing in women’s sports protect women and children; they do not harm transgenders.
• Laws defining treatment of potentially gender dysphoric individuals and removing discretion from medical professionals are overreaching and harmful to all involved. Return discretion to medical professionals and keep state coercion out of such care.
• Laws which limit parents discretion in such matters and allow the state to take custody or to force a children into certain treatment paths are also not in anyone’s best interests.

We support such laws while also allowing others the freedom to live as they choose.

Distorting the Message

This “analysis” is exceptionally facile. My American identity matters, but it is not placed above my Christian faith. I pray my country succeeds and stands for sound moral values. I put my faith in God, not in political leaders. God’s precepts take precedence. Many Sundays, my church prays for our nation and for our leaders to represent and support values aligned with Christ’s precepts. This is not embarrassing and not contradictory to Christ’s message of love.

However, the liberal message on moral matters is often problematic. October 12, 2023, President Biden spoke of the death of Matthew Shepard, a gay man murdered in 1998, twenty-five years earlier.

“Twenty-five years ago today, Matthew Shepard lost his life to a brutal act of hate and violence that shocked our nation and the world. The week prior, Matthew had been viciously attacked in a horrific anti-gay hate crime and left to die – simply for being himself.”

Christian Americans in 1998 did not want Matthew Shephard to die for his sins. There is no proof religious zealotry, wittingly or even unwittingly, fed some bloodlust.

Christianity preaches the opposite. Christ told us to love everyone without exception. A Christian who rejects loving our fellow man needs a self-examination of conscience and a re-orientation. We follow God’s decrees or the label “Christian” means nothing otherwise.

Perhaps, Matthew Shephard’s death had nothing to do with organized religion or intolerance for gays?

matthew-shepards-murder-was-almost-certainly-not-an-anti-gay-hate-crime

It wasn’t until the prominent gay journalist Stephen Jimenez published his 2013 book, The Book of Matt: Hidden Truths About the Murder of Matthew Shepard, that those gaps started to narrow significantly. McKinney and Shepard reportedly were connected by the drug trade, with Shepard set to receive a $10,000 shipment of methamphetamine around the time he was killed. Also relevant is that McKinney was allegedly not traumatized by advances from Shepard, as the two had been sexually involved.

President Biden’s omission of this alternative explanation is deliberate. He appears strong showing support of the LGBTQ agenda and opposition to intolerant religious folk, the supposed Christian Nationalists.

However, I wonder if President Biden and other liberals truly care about LGBTQ individuals or only for their vote. They elevate the “value” of tolerance, but tolerance is synonymous with indifference. They prefer we remain indifferent to societal problems resulting from a plethora of sexual perversions.   They say we shouldn’t care if another’s life is a mess as long as they made it a mess themselves. Christians, however, should involve ourselves whenever we can make a difference: to offer alternatives and to protect others from falling into this mire. We will be attacked for good intentions. So be it.

Academia promotes this bogus Christian Nationalist narrative even more explicitly than our politicians. They would have us believe Christian Nationalists hate the LGBTQ, want to eliminate homosexuality and transgenderism altogether, and that their unbending demand for conformity puts lives at risk:

crisis-of-faith-christian-nationalism-and-the-threat-to-us-democracy

Today, immersed in existential crisis and a moral panic, these Christian nationalists are casting aside the core values of democracy, the scholars said. They’re backing autocratic political leaders who espouse their religious values. And they’re using minority rule to marginalize opponents and to impose their values on the broader society.

The article expressly criticizes the Catholic and Evangelical churches in America:

In extreme cases, the impulse to defend a personal Christian and American identity transforms into an all-or-nothing struggle for existence, where the end justifies the means.

Pierson explored the emergence of the modern, militant Christian right in his 2020 book, Let Them Eat Tweets,  and in an interview he described how some political and religious leaders, supported by right-wing media, have worked together toward a radical Christian subculture.

Christian Nationalists are the source of all problems, apparently. The article even ties religious zealotry to opposition of democratic principles:

Christian nationalist movement has achieved stunning success in its efforts to tear down the wall separating church and state and to weaponize Christianity against perceived foes.

• Protestors on January 6, 2021 used religious symbols. Protestors even prayed inside the legislative chamber.
• January 6, 2021 was supposedly one of the worst events in American history, a national coup attempt apparently.
• This crossover between anti-democratic Trump supporters and religious, demonstrates overly zealous religious support autocratic regimes seeking to overthrow a legitimate democracy.

This logic is nonsense and offensive (dare I use a word appropriated by the Left?). We know:

• God gave humanity freedom (You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free, Galatians 5:13).
• America is nation dedicated to freedom.
• American democracy is far from perfect, but still it fulfills God’s will for humanity to be free.
• Autocratic regimes are incongruent with God’s will to be free, and are therefore overwhelmingly rejected by American Christians.

Critics (including proud Catholics like Joe Biden, Nancy Pelosi, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez) either know nothing about Christianity or lie to achieve a political end. Their rhetoric negatively influences so many (I continually encounter their ridiculous mantras from ordinary folks myself).

Christian Nationalist Pre-cursors

America once had prominent religious figures with outsized public influence in the not-so-distant past. They were not so scary. Billy Graham was a spiritual advisor to several presidents (of both parties). His crusades were broadcast on network TV for decades, starting in the 1960s. Bishop Fulton Sheen had a weekly TV show, The Catholic Hour, on ABC in the 1950s and 1960s https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6cRVr1SuN-redXjS3RzI4w, broadcast in a day when there were only three channels and every prime time show was watched by millions.

These two sought to persuade, not compel, respecting the free will God has given us all.

Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God. 1 Peter 2:16

They were not vilified like the supposed Christian Nationalists of today. Today, we are told to fear a vast Christian Nationalist movement of such scary religious leaders. Who exactly is leading this movement? The culture largely ignores today’s religious leaders.

Furthermore, a significant portion of religious Christians today accept abortion, gay marriage, transgenderism, and other secular, biblically unsupported, values, yet this army of Christian Nationalists, opposed to all of the above, has supposedly infiltrated the nation.

Biblical teaching regarding sexual perversion (and those supporting it) are targeted, not the other way around.

The Last Supper was openly mocked during the 2024 Olympics and there was no backlash from a Christian Nationalist Army.

Colorado is considering a bill which could lead to children being taken from parents who object to transitioning of their children. https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/hb25-1312

Section 2 provides that, when making child custody decisions and determining the best interests of a child for purposes of parenting time, a court shall consider deadnaming, misgendering, or threatening to publish material related to an individual’s gender-affirming health-care services as types of coercive control. A court shall consider reports of coercive control when determining the allocation of parental responsibilities in accordance with the best interests of the child.

There should be an army to speak for the excluded parent and the child deluded by the education establishment and medical authorities, but it hasn’t shown itself.

Earlier this month, a female reporter was slapped on camera during an interview because of her view on abortion https://www.msn.com/en-us/crime/general/pro-life-activist-sucker-punched-on-camera-during-heated-abortion-interview/ar-AA1CmMlL. Who filled her attacker with rage against Christians with differing, “controversial” opinions?

Religious values are disdained far more than ever. Keep opinions to yourself or you will be treated as this reporter was. You are a hateful Christian Nationalist for straying from the approved progressive narrative.

Why Do I Care?

I am often asked: why do I care how others live their lives? Because we are all impacted via the culture. For instance, there are numerous problems with transgenderism, the most egregious of the cultural sins: delusion to self, coercion of children, removal of healthy organs. Most concerning, however, is that transgenderism is spread to many not remotely resembling transgenders, people who would have not been troubled by such thoughts years ago. Can we prevent those dealing with some other life problem from being shuffled along the LGBTQ+ assembly line?

The LGBTQ lifestyle is ten to twenty times more prevalent among the latest generation than it is among those born before 1980. Do more choose this lifestyle or are more directed into it?

Dr. Jordan Peterson, clinical psychologist, says the best initial response for most claiming to be transgender is “do nothing”. Wait and see. Be patient and the feeling may resolve itself.

children-change-minds

Only 2.5% to 20% of all cases of GID in childhood and adolescence are the initial manifestation of irreversible transsexualism.

Why force children especially into a lifestyle they may eventually reject on their own?

Dr. Peterson recently interviewed a young woman who was given puberty blockers at 12, testosterone at 13, and a double mastectomy at 14. Six years later, she wants her true identity back. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/531-irreversible-damage-at-fourteen-detransitioner/id1184022695?i=1000700177066

This extensive interview demonstrates how transitioning can go terribly wrong. Transitioning seemed right at the time, but it didn’t solve the problems she was promised it would. She speaks now of her “symptoms”: feeling uncomfortable with the changes in her body when reaching puberty and feeling more comfortable around boys. These feelings are not uncommon among young girls and do not necessarily indicate gender dysphoria, Dr. Peterson explains; yet, doctors pushed transition surgery on these factors alone–without examining other factors for her discomfort (most significantly repeated sexual abuse suffered as a six-year-old). Furthermore, her parents were told their daughter might die without the transition, a common warning delivered to doubting parents.

Should we be indifferent to this young lady’s plight?

Abagail Shrier wrote of a boy led into this lifestyle despite his father’s doubts of this pre-determined diagnosis: http://www.jewishworldreview.com/0621/shrier060921.php3

Now, Ahmed was worried that the white coats who had gently admitted his son to their care would refuse to return him.

“They sent an email to us, you know, ‘you should take your ‘daughter’ to the gender clinic,’” he told me.

“They were trying to create a customer for their gender clinic . . . and they seemed to absolutely want to push us in that direction,” he said when I spoke to him again this May, recalling the horror of last October. “We had calls with counselors and therapists in the establishment, telling us how important it is for him to change his gender, because that’s the only way he’s going to be better out of this suicidal depressive state.”

Ahmed played their game long enough to move his son and family to a “safe place”. He quit his job and left the state; he made sacrifices a good parent does to care for his family. Yet, the state was certain it knew better than him.

Dr. Peterson also laments being forced to choose between the legal standard and his experience and medical instruction. Many psychologists, he says, forgo their professional opinions and conform to the legal standard, fearing a loss of medical license or worse.

Furthermore, patients have the right to refuse treatment if not sure if it is in their best interest (or in the best interest of your child). We give our informed consent or obtain a second opinion. When I had cancer I sought a second and a third opinion. Why discard such rules for the sensitive topic of “gender choice”? Why also does the state inject itself between doctor and patient, between parent and child?

Should we remain indifferent to Ahmed’s problem also? Should we wait until someone pressures us to transition our own children?

James Younger made national news as a seven-year-old because his mother argued for “gender affirmation” while his father preferred “watchful waiting” of his child’s development.

The Texan’s Daniel Friend has done thorough reporting from the scene at the courthouse. “You’ve heard of people who can’t agree if the sky is blue. These parents can’t even agree if their child is a boy or a girl,” Logan Odeneal, the lawyer for Jeff Younger, told Texas jurors, according to Friend.

James’s mother dabbled in transgenderism and now her son is being guided inexorably down this path. How does a seven-year-old know who or what he is? After continual persuasion from his mother, perhaps he has accepted this choice, but how can she be certain her son is actually a girl? I scarcely believe we even ask such questions.

Ms. Younger appears to be living vicariously through her son; she is the one needing counseling, not him.

Should we remain indifferent to this form of child abuse?

After five years of legal wrangling between James’ parents, his transition is proceeding. LA-judge-ruled-in-favor-of-chemical-castration:

After a years-long court battle with his ex-wife, who claimed James Younger was transgender when he was just a young boy, [Judge] Juhas ruled in November of 2024 that Jeff Younger could no longer have any custody over his children, and turned over full control of the child to James’ mother, who has been attempting to transition the now 12-year-old James for years.

Do LGBTQ+ advocates believe it best to sacrifice these children for the good of the whole LGBTQ+ community? How is it moral to intervene in the natural development of a child and prevent the onset of puberty?

Are we to remain indifferent to the harm done to James?

Call Me Crazy

As a Christian American (or fanatical Christian Nationalist if you prefer), I take stances against cultural trends like transgenderism, especially with regard to children. I care because I observe cases like these three and then watch the moral fabric of our society crumble under their weight.

I reverse the question: why do others not care enough to take a stand? Why remain indifferent?

The phantom of Christian Nationalist seems necessary to hide the flaws in liberals own morality.

For the heart of this people has become dull, And with their ears they scarcely hear, And they have closed their eyes; Otherwise they might see with their eyes, And hear with their ears, And understand with their heart and return, And I would heal them.” (Acts 28:27)

Dave https://seek-the-truth.com/about/
https://seek-the-truth.com/category/trans/
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