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Evangelical roundup for September 23, 2021

John Fea   |  September 23, 2021

What is happening in Evangelical land?

The majority of white evangelical Protestants believe Donald Trump is a “true patriot.”

When the KKK funded Billy Sunday:

In May 1922 the KKK publicly donated $50 to the evangelist Billy Sunday in Richmond, Indiana. Following that, Sunday told the press: "I guess if you behave yourself they won't bother you." pic.twitter.com/zUFEE4NyYp

— Randall Stephens (@Randall_Stps) September 22, 2021

The president of the National Association of Evangelicals meets with Biden.

Men’s groups are reading Jesus and John Wayne:

Just heard from a pastor of an evangelical church in the Midwest. Their men's group started reading JESUS AND JOHN WAYNE, and by the 2nd week the group doubled in size & it seems on the cusp of producing a revival of sorts.
I didn't think I could love this any more, but…

— Kristin Du Mez (@kkdumez) September 20, 2021

Robert Jeffress still wants you to get the vaccine:

First Baptist’s Robert Jeffress says he and his staff “are neither offering nor encouraging” members to pursue religious exemptions from vaccine mandates. “There is no credible religious argument against the vaccines.” https://t.co/Qx0y0P7gVn

— Ruth Graham (@publicroad) September 18, 2021

Let’s be clear. When the Liberty University Standing for Freedom Center talks about “faith” in this tweet they are actually equating Christianity with Christian Right talking points. I am pretty sure that if Christians articulated a vision of public life that does not conform in every way to Liberty University’s neo-fundamentalists talking points they would not be encouraging them to be so “bold”:

Leftists and secularists would have you believe that your faith should stay private and be kept at home. The exact opposite is true. Christians must be bold and profess their faith in the public square, (1) pic.twitter.com/fk0YCds5Bs

— Standing for Freedom Center (@freedomcenterlu) September 21, 2021

“You’re being led to believe”:

You're being lead to believe that vaccination is a moral necessity and that those who don't have it should be treated as second-class citizens. There is no rational or moral basis for either of these claims.@conservmillen pic.twitter.com/NHytTUE4o8

— Standing for Freedom Center (@freedomcenterlu) September 21, 2021

A “Christian counselor” and Southern Baptist divinity school graduate talk foreign policy:

America's nation-building effort in Afghanistan would have never worked. First, the culture and worldview of the nation do not allow for the sort of government we traditionally enjoy in the United States. More importantly, however, Afghanistan was destined (1) pic.twitter.com/bK95jmHLeG

— Standing for Freedom Center (@freedomcenterlu) September 20, 2021

The 2020 census and the future of American evangelicalism.

Jesus is Lance’s vaccine:

David French on the “God-and-country lifestyle brand.”

It only took four minutes before Eric Metaxas and John Zmirak brought-up Hitler. Remember those militia groups in Michigan who tried to kidnap governor Gretchen Whitmer? They were mostly FBI agents.

A Richmond congregation denied a zoning permit wins a lawsuit.

Strong but true words from Tim Keller:

Augustine: "Our hearts are restless until they find their rest in Thee". To try to find your ultimate rest in anything but God is idolatry–the marks of which include inordinate elation (temporary) if you get your idol and inordinate deflation (permanent) if you do not.

— Timothy Keller (1950-2023) (@timkellernyc) September 21, 2021

More on evangelical climate scientist Katherine Hayhoe.

Jim Wallis:

Pray for us as we take our biblical priorities into the heart of these policy conversations. These 3 bills- and the family support bill especially- would be transformative for millions of people experiencing the devastating impact of poverty daily. https://t.co/iZKpMClOAa

— Jim Wallis (@jimwallis) September 22, 2021

The pastor of the world’s largest evangelical church has died.

Norm McDonald and Jonathan Edwards:

Something I missed in Norm Macdonald's shaggy dog moth story: a reference to Jonathan Edwards' famous sermon about sinners in the hands of an angry God https://t.co/h1QkvYrJdI

— Daniel Silliman (@danielsilliman) September 20, 2021

The Holy Land Experience closes.

Glad to see Shirley Hoogstra is part of this:

Our president, @HoogstraShirley, has accepted an invitation to join @PFADemocracy's National Leadership Council and will collaborate with other leaders from a variety of sectors to help create a stronger, more vibrant American democracy.
Read more: https://t.co/Wl5IlGDKQT

— CCCU (@cccuorg) September 21, 2021

German evangelicals march for life.

Hillsong vs. 60 Minutes.

New Orleans Baptist Seminary serves disaster victims.

The Southern Baptist’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission is going digital.

Evangelical speaker and apologist Josh McDowell steps away from ministry to enter a “season of listening” after he made racially insensitive remarks.

A gay man launched the Jesus Movement. Also, I just learned about the Jesus People Movement Oral History Project.

Blast from the past:

Christian fiction as a window into evangelicalism.

Kristin Kobes Du Mez responds to John Wilson:

If you tuned in, you would hear us discuss how the meaning of evangelical changes over time, how it means different things globally, how Black Chrs experience white evangelicalism, how it overlaps w/ but can’t be reduced to white Chr nationalism. If you cared to listen.

— Kristin Du Mez (@kkdumez) September 21, 2021

Chris E. Green reviews “The Eyes of Tammy Faye.”

Joy was one of the original employees of the American Association of Christian Counselors when she worked for evangelical psychologist Gary Collins in the early 1990s. Today, under the leadership of court evangelical Tim Clinton, the organization’s annual conference has become a Trump fest. Speakers at the organization’s recent conference included Ben Carson, Janet Parshall, Jay Strack, Samuel Rodriguez, Darryl Strawberry, Tom Mullins, and Jerry Boykins. Trump lawyer Jenna Ellis was also there:

We’re a the @theaacc World Conference and @DrTimClinton joins me to discuss mental health and Christian counseling — the need for hope and joy — in response to the pandemic era. What a great and encouraging discussion!https://t.co/iR2I5UfYV3

— Jenna Ellis (@JennaEllisEsq) September 22, 2021

While we are on the subject of Jenna, she retweeted this tweet from a member of Congress:

Normal is not coming back.

JESUS IS!

— Lauren Boebert (@laurenboebert) September 19, 2021

A student at John Brown University in Siloam Springs, Arkansas wonders why her university is so “gray” on COVID-19.

The “prolonged battle,” whatever that is, is apparently over:

I declare an end to every prolonged battle. The struggle is over in the name of Jesus! I can't wait to see YOU at Unleashed next week… your life will never be the same. https://t.co/3cJIWlBfwY pic.twitter.com/1zkSucnGiE

— Paula White-Cain (@Paula_White) September 22, 2021

Wait, what happened to make America great AGAIN?:

The future God has for you is so much better than anything in your past pic.twitter.com/fpR1Jw66TS

— Paula White-Cain (@Paula_White) September 21, 2021

More chaos in the Southern Baptist Convention as the Executive Committee meets. And this:

I so enjoy following you, Nathan, so this is not personal or snarky but I’m trying my hardest to think how this could fall under the category of unintentional.

— Beth Moore (@BethMooreLPM) September 22, 2021

Marxism is invading the public schools. James Dobson is on the case. And yes, Hitler is mentioned:

Some Southern Baptists believe that the judgement of God is on the denomination. More here.

Franklin misses Donald:

With the chaos in our world today and the lack of leadership we see, I miss this guy. Pray for him. Also continue to pray every day for all of our leaders in Washington. pic.twitter.com/YOwWAedZdO

— Franklin Graham (@Franklin_Graham) September 22, 2021

Ryan Burge and evangelical data.

Albert Mohler interviews George Packer:

I'm pleased to release a new Thinking in Public conversation today with George Packer of The Atlantic: "The Four Americas and Our Current Social Crisis." Watch or listen at the link. https://t.co/zg7hcawhwB pic.twitter.com/E5XK0ZUkv6

— Albert Mohler (@albertmohler) September 22, 2021

Tennessee governor Bill Haslam talks to The Gospel Coalition.

Shane Claiborne on welcoming immigrants:

Welcoming immigrants is not a Republican thing or a Democrat thing…

It’s a God thing.
It’s a love thing.
It’s a Jesus thing.

When we welcome the stranger, we welcome Christ.

This isn’t about Left and Right.

It’s about right and wrong.

— Shane Claiborne (@ShaneClaiborne) September 22, 2021

For the record, some of our highest #’s of refugees came during Republican presidents. But our lowest # in recent history was under Trump. And Biden’s #’s in 2021 are even lower than Trump’s. That’s why this isn’t a partisan issue. It’s a national failure & a humanitarian crisis.

— Shane Claiborne (@ShaneClaiborne) September 22, 2021

Shane remembers Henri Nouwen:

Henri Nouwen died 25 years ago today. We remember him in @CommonPrayer. pic.twitter.com/FCLO1Iz60M

— Shane Claiborne (@ShaneClaiborne) September 21, 2021

The evangelical anti-vax app.

An Evangelical Free Church changes its name to GracePoint Church to avoid using the word “evangelical.” A few years ago my church changed its name from “West Shore Evangelical Free Church” to “West Shore Free.” I don’t think I have ever heard the explanation.

Iowa evangelicals love Senator Joni Ernst.

A Pennsylvania megachurch charter bus crashes.

There are a lot of evangelicals on this list. John Hagee is proud to be #2 behind Mike Pence:

Grateful to have our founder and Chairman @PastorJohnHagee ranked just behind Vice President Mike Pence as one of the most impactful Christian Zionist leaders in the world. https://t.co/EUL2gYfDfK

— Christians United for Israel (@CUFI) September 20, 2021

A Southern Baptist Church in Louisiana doubles as a Hurricane Ida command center.

Owen Strachan went from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville to the less-prestigious Midwestern Baptist Seminary to a small storefront seminary in Arkansas. Soon he will be the only white guy on an island somewhere in the Pacific chastising the natives for their unorthodox beliefs. This is what fundamentalism looks like today:

It also shocks me how little support there is today for freedom of conscience among a number of the "gospel-centered" crowd.

Many of us know of someone who has died from the vax, but this TGC essay dismisses it with a hand wave.

What on earth has happened to this outfit? pic.twitter.com/DgJEybVDBu

— Owen Strachan (@ostrachan) September 18, 2021

And this:

With respect, William Lane Craig is wrong: the Adam of Genesis 1-3 is the very same Adam spoken of by Jesus and Paul.

The stakes are as high as they can be here.

A response to Craig's essay in "First Things": https://t.co/6okuImbCwJ pic.twitter.com/QN3M6DwHYx

— Owen Strachan (@ostrachan) September 22, 2021

Sexually-abused Southern Baptist women tell their stories.

Should churches keep having altar calls?

Tim Barton, the heir to his father’s throne at Wallbuilders, thinks the Constitution was an anti-slavery document.

In this video, Tim Barton says that public school students are not learning about the Constitution. I challenge him to find any state with social studies standards that do not include the study of the Constitution:

Happy Constitution Day! Watch the latest one Room Schoolhouse about the men behind this incredible document. https://t.co/XdkEPXkRYM #ConstitutionDay #WallBuilders

— David Barton (@DavidBartonWB) September 17, 2021

While American historians on Twitter debate the importance of historiography, David Barton and friends are raising money for their Patriot Academy. Here is Wallbuilder’s Rick Green’s FB page:

Beyond Blessed today as we reflect on the weekend. It was absolutely incredible. Lauren Boebert, Beneil Dariush, Timothy Barton, David Barton/WallBuilders, Senator Bob Hall, and so many of YOU! What an amazing weekend! We kicked off our inaugural fundraiser in Ft Worth for the Patriot Academy Campus with 500 people! It was like a big family reunion. So much fun! If you want to be a part of supporting the Patriot Academy Campus, you can sponsor a brick engraved with your name to be installed on the campus grounds:

Learning from Baptists.

No more “Crusaders” at Evangel College.

John Fea
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