Mercy Abroad and Hatred at Home

the hypocrisy of white-patriarchal-evangelicalism

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͐Today’s Post: Mercy Abroad and Hatred at Home

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There are healthy and adjusted caucasian Jesus-followers, of course, but the hypocrisy of white-patriarchal-evangelicalism is painfully obvious. Consider how the system …

• Sent us to the uttermost ends of the earth to tell people different from us about Jesus, but hasn’t really encouraged us to live like Jesus around people different from us here.

• Valued and even resourced our short-term mission trips to Mexico, but devalued the experience of our interactions with Mexicans living here.

• Told us to condemn the Godless regimes responsible for the inhumane treatment of those in Haiti, but when Haitians flee here, our "God-blessed" regime treats them inhumane, as well.

• Pleaded with us to pray for persecuted christians in China; even sharing chilling stories of how the government could show up at church services to terrorize christians, but here at home, it wants us to support the presence of sheriffs and ICE agents in the parking lots of christian churches who dare to welcome the immigrant. (In other words, the christians who, my entire life, told me to pray for the christians being persecuted are now persecuting christians!)

This is not to advocate for anarchy, to speak poorly of law enforcement, or to suggest all christian groups serving other countries are misaligned with love. Genuinely, some of the best humans I know are policemen and women, and/or missionaries, and/or christians.

However, I am fine to speak against the system of white-patriarchal-evangelicalism that continues to corrupt so much of our...

• Theology and the way it obsesses over controlling, coercive power rather than consensual, collaborative power.

• Law enforcement and the way it leans toward punitive justice rather than restorative justice.

• Evangelism and the way it offers a belonging contingent upon conversion rather than a belonging contingent upon, well, nothing.

• Missions and the way it advances colonization more than liberation. 

You, the individual person, might feel trapped in the system. And indeed, all of us, to some degree or another, are marked by the beast, so I'm not attempting to judge you. Instead, I'm attempting to overlay a judgment of love onto the whole system. Love isn't forcing us to follow the white-patriarchal-evangelicalism playbook; no, love is the thing asking us to resist.

Here's the funny thing ... I don't really care how people vote. Really, I don't. I've never publicly shared who received my vote, and I've never asked congregants or followers to vote a particular way. I've lived through enough trouble to realize that there is no perfect candidate and that scapegoating-evil exists on either side of the political aisle.

And it would be foolish for me to say that border monitoring itself is wrong. I do not think we should simply open the gates and allow anyone to enter without oversight. However, when one party or person gains power by leveraging a system sick with white-patriarchal-evangelicalism, it's my responsibility to speak up. We cannot attach God's name to such dehumanizing and expect to remain unscathed.

Reading Kenneth Bailey recently, I was reminded that the most disturbing thing the prophet Habakkuk could say about Israel's coming enemy was that they were making up their own rules 👉🏼 Their justice and authority originate with themselves. (Hab 1:7) Meanwhile, this seems to be the M.O. of the current wave of religious fanaticism we are experiencing. I'm confident that down the road, lots and lots of christians will experience regret over the way we've made up our own rules (in the name of God).

Likely, living through the next few years won't be easy.

Selah.

Be as wise as serpents and gentle as doves when you share this with a friend. 🙏🏻