Have you heard about “Project 19“? This is charismatic “prophet” Lance Wallnau’s name for the Seven Mountain Dominionist attempt to take 19 counties in the swing states that will decide the 2024 presidential election. They are Cobb County (GA), Fulton County (GA), Milwaukee County (WI), Waukesha County (WI), Maricopa County (AZ), Clark County (NV), Bucks County (PA), Chester County (PA), Montgomery County (PA), Allegheny County (PA), Miami-Dade County (FL), Pinella County (FL), Duval County (FL), Cuyahoga County (OH), Wake County (NC), Guilford County (NC), Macomb County (MI), Oakland County (MI), and Kent County (MI).
Wallnau and others are advancing Project 19 through The Courage Tour. The tour is co-sponsored by the American First Policy Institute (AFPI), a pro-Trump “think tank” run by Linda McMahon, Larry Kudlow, Ken Blackwell, Pam Bondi, Doug Collins, Kellyanne Conway, Riley Gaines, Lou Holtz, Bobby Jindal, Alveda King, John Ratcliffe, Matthew Whitaker, Paula White-Cain, and Lee Zeldin. The AFPI is a promoter of the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025. Peter Montgomery connects all the dots here.
Project 2025 now seems to serve as the new umbrella movement for the Christian Right. All of the old Christian Right organizations have aligned with it, including the Alliance for Defending Freedom, Concerned Women for America, Family Research Council, Dr. James Dobson Family Institute, Liberty University, National Religious Broadcasters, and Eagle Forum. (Focus on the Family, no longer under the leadership of Dobson, is not signed-on to Project 2025. That is worth noting, it seems).
Wallnau recently had a vision:
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More than 200 evangelical leaders–moderates and conservatives–are calling for a “biblical” approach to immigration. The evangelical relief agency World Vision is behind a letter addressed to Kamala Harris, Tim Walz, Donald Trump, and JD Vance. The letter defends three “core principles”:
- Human dignity. The letter opposes “dehumanizing language” about immigrants and calls on the United States to accept refugees.
- Secure and orderly borders. The letter quotes Romans 13:1 and affirms that the Bible ordains government to “ensure order and safety.”
- Opposition to the separation of families at the border and through deportation.
Signers of the letter include Myal Greene (World Relief), Walter Kim (National Association of Evangelicals), Timothy Head (Faith & Freedom Coalition), David Hoag (Council for Christian Colleges & Universities), Gabriel Salguero (National Latino Evangelical Coalition), Tish Harrison Warren (Immanuel Anglican Church, Texas), Phil Vischer (Holy Post Podcast), Skye Jethani (Holy Post Podcast), Alan Robinson (Brethren in Christ U.S.), Jo Anne Lyon (The Wesleyan Church), Matthew Soerens (World Relief), Nathan Finn (North Greenville University), and Napp Nazworth (American Values Coalition).
Frankly, I can’t keep up with all of these election year statements.
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Tim Alberta, the evangelical writer at The Atlantic and author of The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism, was in Colorado this week to give the inaugural lecture at Center for the Study of Evangelicalism at the University of Colorado of Colorado Springs. A nice write-up here.
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Melania Trump has published a memoir in which she writes: “Individual freedom is a fundamental principle that I safeguard. Without a doubt, there is no room for compromise when it comes to the essential right that all women possess at birth: individual freedom. My body, my choice.” Some conservative evangelicals are not happy about this. In fact, they are “demoralized”:
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Bonnie Kristian of Christianity Today has “precepts” for election season. A few that stood out to me:
- #1: “A Christian’s opposition to Candidate X does not entail her support for Candidate Y.
- #2: “You can critique a fellow Christian’s politics without questioning his faith…”
- #7: “Some of us may need more courage of our convictions, especially if we find ourselves a religious, political, or cultural minority in our churches and wider community.”
- #12: “Lasting political disagreement among Christians is not by itself evidence of sin, unbelief, or any other dysfunction.”
- #13: “Your voting choices are constrained by the realities of our electoral system.”
- #20: “With some exceptions, down-ballot votes–especially for state and local officials, judges, and ballot initiative–will have more frequent and more tangible effects on your life and those of your neighbors than votes for president.”
- #21: “This is probably not the most important election of your lifetime.”
- #23: “What you do in the privacy of the voting booth is your own business and may be kept secret.”
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Let’s see what else is happening on X:
Jemar Tisby is VERY concerned:
The last president of the Southern Baptist Convention is not voting for either candidate:
John Kasich is not voting for Trump:
“He stands there silently”:
Some stuff from the Family Research Council’s “Pray, Vote, Stand Summit:
Os Guinness on open borders:
More Guinness:
Todd Starnes:
“Policies that promote righteousness” and “get over looking at a particular candidate who may not be the entire package…Jesus is not on the ballot.”
Jack Hibbs tells the crowd to “take names”:
“To God be the glory”:
Ryan Walters:
Robert George was there:
George on what the Family Research Council can learn from the Left:
Gabe Lyons was also there:
Michelle Bachman: The “globalists” are coming for you!:
Josh Hawley was there:
A.J. is a Messiah College graduate. I never taught him:
Huck wants evangelicals to vote:
OK, back to our usual programming:
Proof that you can make the Bible say anything you want:
And a response from Phil Vischer:
Sorcery and witchcraft:
Justin Giboney on the FEMA issue:
Tom Buck chastising Trump on abortion:
Owen tries to help us understand what it means to love our neighbors:
Owen has reading recommendations:
The Holy Post has political explainer videos with David French:
Tony Perkins responds to the golden calf someone brought to the Family Research Council’s Faith summit:
Tony also has some thoughts on this week’s VP debate:
Darryl Strawberry:
Ralph endorses Trump’s attempt a spiritual warfare politics:
Metaxas quotes Jesus on the cross:
Liberty University hosts Vivek Ramaswamy.