By The Rev. Nathan Empsall
Executive Director of Faithful America
For Christians across the country, December is a time when we tell and retell the story of Christmas. The familiar tale begins with the journey to Bethlehem—which can lead us to reflect on our own personal and communal journeys toward grace and love.
Unfortunately, more than a few Christian-nationalist leaders have wandered off that path to focus on their own power this season, distorting the Gospel and sowing violent conspiracy theories. It’s a spiritual and moral detour that is dangerous for the church and our democracy. Thankfully, it’s one that the vast majority of Christians in this country reject. But we must be more forceful in our rejection.
Only a week before Christmas, a who’s who of MAGA celebrities, far-right pastors and insurrectionists gathered in Tulare, California, for the latest stop of the pro-Trump ReAwaken America Tour with Michael Flynn, Eric Trump, and Roger Stone. It was a repugnant showcase of political violence, hatred, and reckless disinformation, all perpetrated in the hijacked name of Jesus.
By twisting the Gospel and misappropriating the language of faith, these speakers routinely attach their extremist political views to religion, the thing their audiences hold most dear. Listeners learn to treat far-right politicians with the same reverence they treat the Bible. Small political criticisms suddenly feel personal and blasphemous, and to oppose former President Donald Trump is to defy God.
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