Kristin Du Mez: How Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith | Amanpour and Company
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- Опубликовано: 4 май 2022
- The likely demise of Roe v. Wade has galvanized America’s evangelicals. Who exactly are they? And how do they influence politics? Kristin Du Mez is a professor at Calvin University and a historian of American Christianity. Her book "Jesus and John Wayne" takes a look at 75 years of white evangelicalism. Du Mez tells Michel Martin she believes the Christian right is undermining democracy and fracturing the country.
Originally aired on May 5, 2022
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Two people you should never trust:
A religious leader who tells you how to vote, and a politician who tells you how to pray.
Well said!
When I was a teenager if minister told us who to vote for, we would have told him where to stick it.
AMEN
YES!!
Thank you, @Kristian Doon!
Blessings to you, of your choice
Personally, I'm of an opposing opinion: That religions are way too important to allow the churches to have a monopoly on running them. By all means, have religious freedom, but the laws that govern the religions must always be written by the state, and the state need to have insight into their activities to prevent the kind of fundamentalism that spreads around the world today... also, I probably would not trust a religious leader with telling me or my children how to pray, either...
As an Orthodox Christian, I find that American evangelicals often represent pretty much everything my faith teaches me to be against. Greed, consumerism, economic exploitation, the glorification of violence and militarism. Don't even get me started on prosperity gospel or the likes of Kenneth Copeland, and his private jets, mansions, and fleet of expensive cars. "My house is a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a ‘den of thieves." - Luke 19:46
Well said!
Dear Jayce, you are a nice person. As a result you have formed an internal god concept that reflects who you are as a person. If someone else's god concept is unpalatable to you it is because you are nicer than them. The point here is that humans create gods, not the other way round.
Jayce, spot on. These are the whited sepulchures. Despicable and bancrupt.
As an outsider looking at American Evangelicals their behavior, fanaticism, and frenzy elicits demonic possession and Satanic worship more than pious followers of God. I know it sounds extreme, but look at religious rallies, their worship of guns and the death penalty, military, and their love for lying and deception for profit. And these were once honest hard working good honest people, that suddenly changed overnight. What else could it be than demonic possession?
like "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." "What you do to the least of my brothers, you do unto me." Jesus To do the right thing. to be honest. to tell the truth
EUREKA MOMENT: For years, I've been scratching my head for answers; why is it that the evangelicals in America are the exact opposite of what Jesus Christ and the Bible taught and encouraged? This interview was and is a timeless piece! ...thanks, Prof Du Mez!
And great interviewer!
I'm lapsed, like for 60 years, but I know more about God on earth than today's Christian crowd. I'm not sure they have studied the Old Testament to learn about the life of Jesus. The argument he had with Bartholomew is essential reading to understanding the opinions of Jesus. I often question if Christians know who or what inspired the title of their religion. Maybe Jesus could shed some light on that confusion.
Evangelicals have turned religion into Heresy. ABHORRENT and hypocritical and blasphemous to our Lord Jesus.
The Rep. are using trump like God used Cyrus
This ridiculous woman is attacking a religious group without any debate. Would this be allowed if the faith was Jewish? There would be screams. How about Muslims? Can’t do. I’m not even Christian and I think the abortion issue has been canceled due to technology. It is a non issue. But this lady needs to stop attacking Religious beliefs of others.
Raised evangelical Christian. I ran away from the evil of it, their contempt and hatred among evangelicals for Christ’s teachings of live and compassion.
As a liberal Christian, I often feel sad that the label “Christian” has been so co-opted by the Evangelicals that people are shocked I’m pro-choice, anti-Trump, etc. AND a Christian.
Anyone that meditates on the teachings of Jesus and takes them to heart knows that Jesus espoused "Liberal" values.
"Help the poor and incarcerated, love one another unconditionally, meditate on the Holy Spirit ie. God within" etc.
Conservatives champion the toxic selfish philosophies of Ayn Rand. The furthest thing from genuine Christian compassion.
They are deluded "Christians in name only". It takes tremendous courage to be a genuine Christian and truly follow the teachings of Jesus Christ. Sadly, many churches have grossly distorted his teachings.
Why can't you just be a good person? Why must you insist on carrying some made up mantle in order to go through life being a decent person? Why can't you just see reality and accept it as it is? I sincerely want to know what makes so many people susceptible to religion and cults. Are you fearful all the time and look for anything that can make you feel better? I suppose it's better than booze or drugs. Why are you drawn to that which is not real?
@@calikali2420 p
@@charisecopes2237 What do you intend your response ( p ) to Martin mean??
@@virginiamoss7045 I suspect that early indoctrination generates an emotional connection with the imagined deity. Add to that the promises of eternal reward and threats of eternal punishment, and many Christians dare not examine the utter lack of good evidence for their beliefs. As you suspect, some see belief as a refuge, as celestial assistance in a life that overwhelms their capacities. Not all, though. Some like religion because the loving messages appeal to their good nature. In other words, it takes all kinds.
There is nothing in what these evangelicals preach and do that resembles anything that Jesus taught. Blasphemy
Bible bigots
Just curious which evangelical preachings affect you most?
Dear Michael, gullible people believe in God concepts. Conmen arrange them into groups and then milk them dry. Nothing particularly surprising in this.
It's like a really good con job that has lasted for 2000 years .. u gotta admit it!
@@edithlazenby5839 I concur. For what it’s worth lol 😝
Not a theological belief but a cultural movement.
Mind blowing for me.
Religion has ALWAYS been more of a Cultural Movement than anything else ... It SURE isn't based upon Logic ...
This person is so knowledgeable, with an obvious gift for teaching, that we all need to have access to her assessment of our current situation in America. She verbalizes what many of us feel intuitively, but lack the full understanding and words to explain. Thank you PBS for bringing her forward and please allow more time for these teachers to educate us all.
"I love the pure, peaceable, and impartial Christianity of Christ; I therefore hate the corrupt, slaveholding, women-whipping, cradle-plundering, partial, and hypocritical Christianity of this land. Indeed, I can see no reason, but the most deceitful one, for calling the religion of this land Christianity. I look upon it as the climax of all misnomers, the boldest of all frauds, and the grossest of all libels."
-- Frederick Douglass, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave
Thank you for the quote. Very much applies to current situation in America.
Excellent quote!
Great quote. Historical yet tiimely
Beautiful quote
Thank you ! Truth + Wisdom = Peace ✌ 🙏 👏 .
When I used to investigate child abuse and went into a home where there were allegations of sexual abuse, at least 75% of the time the family either had their own store front church or were 'devout' evangelicals. The dynamic of embracing religiosity to an obsessive extent in an effort to deny the urges so many of these men were dealing with was very 'in your face'. I would bet my house that the majority of men who marry children, and the families of those girls, are evangelical/fundamentalist Christians. As someone who grew up a non-evangelical Christian, the whole evangelical trying to turn the US into a Christian Taliban theocracy, has really just turned me off to religion.
Yup yup yup and yup... right there with you. I totally agree...and yes, these talibangelicals are planning to replace our constitutional democracy with an authoritarian theocracy ...we should be very very scared...
There are a lot of evil people and hypocrites claiming to be “Christian”. Jesus speaks against this.
Christian Taliban. Accurate.
Sorry but you wrong , we are not same .I'm real 💯 spiritual and yes because America 🇺🇸 belongs to God ✝️✡️not the 👹☠️👺😈🔥🕳️🏴🏴☠️God 🙏😇...😁
@@ruthnrivera2769 I thought that the Native Americans owned America and the US government stole it.
Watching this a year later (fall of 2023). Very insightful, and we're seeing the continuing rise of "we're right, and to the vote doesn't go with us, then the vote is wrong." Disturbing. The evangelical movement is not Christian or American.
Why do you think that Trump latched on to them...?...he knew exactly what he was doing..
Thank you for this piece. I was so confused by how people who professed to be Christian could support Trump. The answer is shocking.
Good reply I felt the same.
Having spent 20 years in evangelicalism, but having left so disillusioned, I totally understand what Kristin Du Mez is talking about. I am so disturbed and distressed to see where things are going in the US, but there is no compromise on the side of the evangelicals caught in this ideological bent. They believe they are on the side of God, so there's no reasoning with them.
Agree with all you said except "they believe they are on God's side." They don't, they believe God is on their side!
I have become an atheist over the past five years.
It sickens me to see what these people have done to our country.
They are so racist. Women have no value.
I have to fight hatred every day in my own heart, how can we get free from this infringement in our life?
Absolutely NO reasoning with them. They are not righteous; they are self righteous.
So, they act like lefties?
@@glendagraves1637 which brings me exactly back to Lincoln (quoted in eulogy): "it is my constant anxiety and prayer that both myself and this nation should be on the Lord’s side." Lincoln evidently considered the explicit will of God hard if not impossible to discern, in stark contrast to an evangelical movement that seems to claim full ownership of God's favor.
This woman needs to be broadcast farther and wider. She's so plugged in to the nuances and able to explain the spectrum of problems so well.
Yes, yes, yes!
No. While I'm glad that the left is waking up to the threat of fundamentalist white Christianity instead of the usual "angry white male" rant, this lady is clearly promoting man-hating feminism. I suggest learning the true (racist, wealthy elitist) history of feminism. Although I strongly advocate equality and have my entire life, I do not embrace feminism and the latent hatred/victimhood it still champions.
Her strong bias has led to her partly misrepresent (and grossly abbreviate) the history of white Christianity in this country. Not only that, but all branches of white Christianity and both genders are party to what's happening. If you want a more complete picture, I suggest reading about Positive Christianity from Nazi Germany. White Christians have a *long* and *global* history of promoting authoritarianism. After all, the religion itself is fundamentally authoritarian.
She problems arent show up honest concept about Christian because what she Said are one side of coin . Other side of coin are extremism lobby Zionist undermines American demogracy though média as Facebook Twitter Tv newspaper . In this sense she are so cinism .
Yes, she does a superb job. I am the prophesied return of the biblical prophet Elijah, sent to "set the record straight". Most Christians (of all stripes) have no idea what the "Good News" of Yeshua One with Christ ("Jesus Christ") is. So, they "evangelize" ignorance, which is precisely what EVIL is! ("Forgive them Father, for they know not what they do.") Listen; when GOD says "good news," GOD means GOOD NEWS! Are YOU ready for it? Click and ye shall find...
Ms.Du Mez has written an important book. I would also recommend Chris Hedges' American Fascists: The Christian Right And The War On America, published in 2006.
Amanpour & Company has become the go to source of important news and cultural events. Can’t say how nice it is to have a resource that seeks to inform people, not simply reinforce there aligned propaganda. While I don’t always agree with the interviewees position, at least I’m confident that it has been honestly challenged. Keep up the good work!!!
I was disappointed that she did not bring up her (and others’) research on the connections between white supremacy and the rise of the anti-abortion movement. Jerry Falwell chose an anti-abortion polemic to galvanize white Americans against POC’s in the late 1970’s. Knowing history makes all the difference in our understanding. Thank you, Professor.
I grew up in the Evangelical community. I remember singing, "they will know we are Christians by our love." I remember the social gospel of compassion. Today I see a faith overtaken by materialism and Americanism. The church has turned from compassion of Christ's love to judgemental, punitive legalistic attempts to force people to God's ways, as if that would ever work. The typical Christian church goer believes their mission is to bring their version of heaven here on this earth now. But that's not what's described in the Bible. They fail to see that if God's love is truly living in them, people would want to become Christians and live by loving principles, not be forced or punished into doing so.
Amen
Pretty sure it's NOT Gods way at all, and I keep trying to remind them of that fact!
The focus on "the mote in everyone else's eye", the praying loudly in the temple and using faith for persona management, rather than personal growth and quiet guidance in maturing and in humility before God.
The Lord is slow to anger, abounding in love and forgives sin and rebellion.
yet he does not let the guilty go unpunished.
@@Logiconfire They will not go unpunished…they being the evangelicals who abound in judgementalism, materialism, selfishness, greed, fear and rage. And many of whom worship a cult leader.
Thank you for bringing this to light. People are afraid of talking about this. I have lost many friends who are evangelicals because they have become so radicalized over decades. They will destroy America.
Correction. They have destroyed the USA with mystical magical thinking.
The basics, love one another, seems to be impossible in a world of greed
Upon the election of Obama there were TV ministers preaching hate against him and saying that he was not Christian and all kinds of unbelievable garbage. These were pastors i looked up to but when they started to become political i could no longer listen to them.Church is not a place for politics and if so they should also pay taxes.
Me, too!!
They have in a short time destroyed all three branches of government in our country
@@pattyamato8758the destruction from all this fantastical fabricated mystical magical thinking is Very convenient, makes one easily feel good. A great national celebration of ignorance .
This is a very accurate analysis. As someone brought up in former traditional Christian church from 60's and Sunday school in elementary school. I have watched how Christian church has changed. In 90's I noticed how political and strident it became when my daughter was in Sunday school in a non denominational larger church as it became evangelical. Kindergarten was great, but 1st grade was weird. Also, they began teaching traditonal churches were not really Christian, and you must be "born again" - that original baptism was not important or valid. We left that church. Evangelicalism has become a mess since then.
It was a mess before then...
As a former evangelical, I no longer consider myself as a contemporary or conventional Christian, rather, I am a follower of the teachings of Jesus.
Those of us who are not Christians, and have been paying attention, have been living with the consequences of Evangelical influence for decades. I have colleagues who I can work well with and neighbors who I can cooperate with, but they cannot be friends. How could they if the think everything I stand for is evil and that me, my wife, my children, my grandchildren are all destined for eternal suffering and hell.
I'm not Christian, but my sister & 2 close friends are Christians & to have a relationship with them I have to deal with their "beliefs."
I understand where you're coming from, only the radical Evangelicals in my life are in my own extended family. The past six years have only exaserbated the divide and hostility.
Evangelic arent chistian. Catholic arent Jesus. Because evangelic are politics bussiness as church. She books hasnt value because he show up dishonest cinism concern religious.
May God have mercy on you.
@@Logiconfire And also on you.
As a Christian, I am often offended by evangelicals. Many are not followers of Christ, even though they claim to be. There’s very little love coming from that group.
It's not the lack of love that matters; it's the huge amount of hatred and selfishness.
@@virginiamoss7045 I don’t disagree with your analysis. However, the opposite of love is not hate; it is indifference. A lack of love is indifference, and many people, including evangelicals, are not hateful. They’re indifferent, which is the position taken by the folks who left that man to die on the road in the story of the Good Samaritan. They didn’t hate him; they just didn’t love him enough to help him. See what I’m saying?
@@neilifill4819 I see what you are trying to say, but all you are doing is introducing a third element which is halfway between the emotional spectrum. Love is active; hate is active; indifference is inactive. Hate is the opposite of love.
@@virginiamoss7045 fair enough.
@@neilifill4819 They didn't care.
I had a professor in college who had practiced in a Mormon state years ago. She said the community was welcoming and generous to her. The only problem for her was that the women died early or had all sorts of medical problems due to the expectation to have large numbers of children.
Pro-life my ASS
Yes, they won't hear you...
I wish this video could be seen by more people. She does such a good job of explaining what's really going on with the evangelical Christian movement, how they got to this point and where they're likely headed. It makes my skin crawl. And I'm a Christian!
As a child survivor of evangelical christianity this video helps support my belief that this is truly happening. I was warned by a few that knew what happened to me. We need to stop this!
I sympathize with you. I ALMOST RETURNED recently, to Christianity, because I was lonely and needed to find people in a "community" of spiritual seekers. But it isn't worth the pain and the bad politics and they do have HATE.
I, too, grew up in this culture, and my adult life has been largely a struggle to recover from its toxicity. It distorts the gospel and betrays the true spirit of Christ. It hurts so much to see people who name the name of Jesus lend themselves to wholly un-Christian positions and spend their days excusing horrors. This cannot end well.
After spending 50 years living and working in that world I totally and sadly agree.
I agree. Much more common than society wants to admit
My family of 7 all went to Private Catholic school for 12 yrs. Now I understand why the Romans fed the Christians to the lions! ❄️🌎❄️
I wish I could meet more people like you, douglas. But sadly people like you are hard to find, when you are 61 like me and seeking other spirituality. Say what you want about christians, they do have large communities and meet together places. Where do the rest of us find "alternative" families and friends and community.
Outstanding analysis!!What a sad day for the message of the Prince of Peace! For certain, the Evangelicals are guilty of massive corruption of the Gospels and an endless stream of lies and distortions.
I came to faith later in life, and landed right in the middle of the culture Dr. Du Mez is explaining. It has taken me years of study and unlearning to renew my faith in the real Jesus Christ and the real church-not the prosperous, entertainment driven, people pleasing centers that act as if the Sermon on the Mount has no relevance today. And maybe for them it doesn’t.
For anyone who wants to save their faith and understand more of what breaking away from white American evangelicalism looks like and the hope on the other side, I’d recommend Brad Jersak Out of the Embers and Brian Zahnd When Everything is on Fire and Water into Wine. Both men are educated, pastoral, and activist. The have written many books, and I’ve enjoyed listening to both on You Tube.
Thanks for this presentation. I get discouraged sometimes when all people who call themselves Christians are lumped together no matter how bad their behavior. This episode makes some important distinctions and as a learner/unlearner, I’m grateful.
Thank you.
As an athiest who enjoys two loving Christian sisters I find this all very facinating. I enjoy talking about Christianity with my sisters because we all share the same values, and how the Christian Right has corrupted God's truth is something we can also agree on.
Interesting , who represents the Christian Right ?
I don't understand what an atheist would think God's truth could be? Could you explain?
@@rembrandt972ify The Bible expresses many values I agree with, so while I don't believe there is a God, I can use "God's Truth" as a euphamism for, 'Christian values I agree with.' Does that help?
@@EricKolotyluk Yes, thank you.
You are so lucky. Some close family have very narrow views because of Christian “so called religious” Evangelical conservatism. Compassion,love and grace are missing.
Conversations like this need to be more mainstream. Thank you for exposing how evangelicals are distorting the teachings of christianity.
I'd love to see this kind of discussion on a major channel in prime time.
Christianity has always been corrupt. A plague upon America.
As Mahatma Gandhi said. and said it best, "I like your Christ; I do not like your Christians."
A more true statement, regarding most American "Christians," cannot be found.
Great report. Thank you. I'm old enough to remember the push to bring Christianity into publishing, broadcast media, and the film and music industries. I was just a child but it seemed weird and inappropriate to me even then. It is heartbreaking and dangerous how our nation does not acknowledge and learn from its mistakes.
Wondering why she pronounces "evangelical" as "avengelical".....
Because they are not evangelical.
Christian bookstores, Bible publishing companies, and music labels are all owned by secular media conglomerates. They aren’t separate from the world, they are smack down in the middle of it. Supporting Trump says it all. The John Wayne toxic masculine attitude they express has ruined American men. Somehow they don’t realize it was Hollywood movies that built that myth.
Evangelical Fascism is dangerous, destructive stuff. I so appreciate Professor Du Mez's research and her explaining so clearly what she has seen and experienced first hand. Great interview.
that is a good description of it. they use Jesus as a Name brand. but ignore His commands to love.
Really? Who did everything he could to turn our economy around, negotiate with tyrants and protect our borders? Trump. The fascists are the leftists who burn our cities and ignore the border situation. Evangelicals come in many forms. Du Mez doesn’t know that true Christian’s are among the evangelicals too. She has nice theories, but only supports division in this country by supporting leftist fascists. She is guilty of misinformation because she is not a true believer, but a “scholar” at a Christian University.
@@janchristian514 why did you delete your comment?
@@Plethorality I think I accidentally deleted it. Can you remind me which comment you are referring to? I have been making a lot of comments lately! Thanks.
@@janchristian514 yeah, that can happen. if it is important, it will come back to you have a lovely day / night? : )
I saw this somewhere and now I repeat it to everyone: “ the religious right is neither!” I was raised a Christian by a family that thought we were to love everyone and let God alone judge people. These new Christians are scary people. They are not what I would consider “nice people.”
No, they live by the gun and greed. That is their guiding light. They have no other god.
@@evangelinemunyan7934 what other people groups do you stereotype and lump together?
@@evangelinemunyan7934 8
"New Christians"? This expression of Aryan evangelical misogynist neo-national socialist right-wing ethnic supremacist saltine ideology has been in place since the founding of the republic.
so the people who think killing innocent people in the developing state, in utero, in a most inhumane way, are the nice people?
I used to be a devout Christian. After MUCH study on the ORIGIN of god, Christianity and other religions, my eyes and brain were opened to the fact that there is not a personified god involved in the daily lives of humans. I also learned how incredibly harmful religions have been to mankind, and as we see in this video, it continues. We all need to do the research, wake up and realize there is no fatherly figure protecting or helping us, and it will break your heart; it did mine.
Yes, looking at other religions really puts things into perspective, right? I think anyone claiming to be religious should have to study 2 other religions very different from their own.
How did you know who god is? Did you talk to Donna Douglas? she has a lot of bitterness towards religion. She tried be spiritual in this life...but the corrupted and pressured her.
Thank you for covering the American evangelical movement. I've watched it my whole life and its such a relief to me that people are finally starting to take it seriously.
I heard this with my own ears: The night before the 2016 presidential election, I was on the road seeing patients (I am an RN) way way out in the country, and the only radio station I could pull in on the radio was American Family Radio. I listened to multiple big name Evangelical ministers, one speaking right after the other, telling listeners they HAD to vote for Trump. The ministers were telling listeners they could not/should not abstain from voting on account of not liking Trump's morals, because if they did, it would be their fault that Christians missed the chances to put judges on the court who would support Evangelical values for decades to come.
Oh my...painful.
I didn’t hear that exact radio program. But I remember visiting Arkansas around that time, and the program you mentioned, and others like it was all that was accessible while I was there. I remember that it felt like that area was under “State controlled” information/TV/radio.
Time to yank tax exempt status for churches who joined political campaigns.
Whoa!!!
@@communitygardener17 My thoughts exactly.
The real problem is the lack of separation between church and state
That and lack of separation between ego and reality.
It takes some artificially puffed up kahones to act like God believes whatever you want to believe.
A smidgen of honest self examination and humility would correct it.
Amen.
Wow, what a brilliant, articulate and courageous professor! Thank you.
This lady is a great guest : articulate and educated and accurate.
RS. Canada
This hits home so much for me. i was also raised in this culture. Most of my family are still there. I thank God that I was always an idealist, someone who felt so strongly that anyone who claims to follow Christ should do their best to behave in loving, kind ways. Things started to become so clear to me when my daughter died and I was in enough pain to be unable to accept hatefulness, toxic maleness and political fervor any longer. Now, my heart breaks for so many in the church who have been swept away by this madness. It is madness, and tragic, but also dangerous and powerful.
Yes. I stopped being able to tolerate it also. I think a lot could be changed if we could reach more women. My condolences on the loss of your daughter.😞
You are a sign there is hope that misguided people can come to the truth.
My heart goes out to you for the loss of your daughter. Yes it is tragic and dangerous. As a Unitarian Universalist with Christians and non-Christians alike who attend the same church as I do, I agree that followers of Christ (and other religious believers) should all do their best to behave in loving, kind ways. I know there are congregations who have a solid core of kindness and hope you have found a congregation that follows the loving kindness that is preached by Jesus.
May you find peace.
Magic Tragic and dangerous? Are you sure you are speaking about the salts of the earth, our Christian brethren? They are the self chosen ones who most demonstrate the true meaning of Family Values. Our Christian Republicans are the ones who offer loving leadership to those of us who have yet to embrace their thoughts and beliefs. And truths.
This...everything she says...is all true. I got into the evangelical movement when I was 16 and didn't know that I was "into" anything. I just "became a Christian". Thirty years later I was the scapegoat for my husband's sins when I finally escaped an abusive marriage and very nearly lost my children in the process. Today, three of my children have no interest in church, and one is radically involved. Our family is polarized like the country. Everything she says in this video reflects my experience.
Unfortunate situation Marcia but please don't blame God.
I hope she is careful. I hope with her views (which I agree with) she isn’t setting herself up to get fired from Calvin university. I know of at least two professors who had similar views, one in science and evolution, and the other in psychology. Both were asked to leave or left under duress. Please be careful and keep telling the truth. These people can be mean and vicious.
That was an Excellent Interview! Very interesting and laid out perfectly. She explains all aspects of the issue logically and very succinctly. 🤗🤗🤗❣️👍🏼
Yes, she's researched and given words to what I suspected but could not put my finger on
This is not Christianity as the Bible portrays. It is a mixture that uses God as part of their culture, but not really serving God. I thank you for exposing this transmogrified version of "Christianity". There is also a remnant of those who love the Lord and live by His word and are not involved in politics or culture, etc.
Every religion in the face of barbarism done by the religion says this is not the religion/faith that is portrayed in the "scriptures". Maybe its time to see how flawed religion is if it can't really teach or propagate peace and love towards all. Every corner of the globe has one form or another of extreme versions of these religions pushing intolerance and violence, be it Christianity, Buddhism [Burma], Islam [aka Wahhabism made in Middle East], Hinduism [Modi's brand for his party]. Time to shelve these ancient ideas atleast until mankind evolves to see what they are apparently really about.
@@aospkitkat4446 whataboutism
The way it should be.
@@aospkitkat4446 I’ve studied each of the religions (and religiously justified sociopolitical movements) you mention, and several others, from an academic perspective. I 100% agree. Thank you for sharing your clearly stated and well-founded thoughts here. We need more thinkers like you.
Christianity is fundamentally authoritarian. This is not a gender issue, as the lady in the video suggests. It's an ideological issue that dates back to the 1600s when early conservatives hated the new concept of freedom and instead favored authority decreed by divine right.
So much evil has been done in the name of God and religion.
The most evil has been done by secular humanists like Hitler, Stalin, Mao and Putin.
Yes ! But we must always remember that God is not the one perpetuating the evil, nor is it His church.....it is humans...who distort the truth of God, the truth that is Jesus!
Power, easy control, within hierarchy. Be that religion, politics, schools, or households.
I'm not one to be arrogant, we have enough of that, but I hear this all the time about religion , Stalin, Hitler, chairman mao of china, Kim jong UN, his father, Idi Amin, Tojo and pol pot all atheists have been responsible for more deaths in the last 90 years than religious people have maybe ever !
I'm afraid more evil has been done by the godless!
She is spot on with her research! I grew up as a teenager in the 1970s. My parents got convinced that they should go be missionaries to share God's word abroad. We had six girls. Four of us were left behind in the United States, the other two taken to South Korea. They blew up our family entirely for the sake of sharing God. Now 64, and a talk with my mother. She would still do it all again, saying that sharing god's word is even more important than maintaining her family. Relationships. Breaks my heart! Really dangerous stuff.
Just read Ms. Du Mez's book, finished it yesterday, truly enjoyed it. The hooks of evangelism are definitely set in right wing politics now.
I was once called a 'false prophet' by an Evangelical because I quoted passages from Surmon on the Mount. That's how twisted Evangelicals are.
Wow, the Sermon in the Mount! That's all about Jesus!
Did you misquote it or misapply it?
@@barrypatrickius No. I applied it correctly. It was her inability to face her own actions which provoked that response.
My late father, a devout evangelical Christian but not an extremist, by his own estimation, used to say that America's political system was ordained by God and set up to further the spread of the Gospel to the inhabitants of our land.
He often said that as exceptional as our political system is, liberty and political democracy are not the end all, be all and goals unto themselves, but instead are MEANS to be used to achieve the goal of , "a more perfect union," meaning a nation fully dedicated to upholding God's principles. ** If the nation strayed from its foundational Christian values and culture, then God would take away our freedoms! **
Even as a child, I found that statement shocking. Christian Americans seek to pursue individual liberty and political democracy NOT as an end goal, but as a MEANS for facilitating the proselytization of American society!
My heart sank whenever I heard my dad say this. He really should have known better; he was an attorney who graduated top of his class from law school.
And he was nowhere as extreme/knee-jerk as many devout evangelicals and, ironically, used to caution me not to judge moral issues as black or white!
They think everything is ordained by God. That itself is silly. Like only their brand will get to the pearly gates. Sorry
Your Dad sounds like the real deal. I bet he'd be dismayed at the quick downhill trajectory this country has taken in the past 40 years -and excelerating every day now. We are the Country needing the missionaries to teach us what true Christianity is again! And how to steer clear of cults - like Trumpism. Things are alot different in Evangelical churches than they were in the 80's that's for sure!
Blaming women for everything!
I'm a Christian and I've been Church shopping. They wanted to drag the flag in and singing patriotic songs, but now there are no cars in their parking lot.
God does not know borders.
Wow, so glad to better understand what is going on in our country. I am having so much trouble understanding the modern evangelist church.
My youth was in this fundamentalist world (born in 1951) and little has changed except iTs dangerous level of power today. What carried me to freedom was not knowing a single leader in the church that was not corrupt. Integrity, in the real sense of that word, was not allowed. I loved my parents and siblings but had to go where true invention was possible. I thank God for the insight and now this clearheaded woman.
No gods.
Yes, I could also see that 'true invention' was not possible, and that was a big reason why I eventually got out.
This was an excellent interview. The professor's summation on what the evangelical movement has done to our country is so on target it's scary. What the rest of us need to do is address how we can combat this before our country's completely destroyed by these people. & I think the insights provided here will help us out of the quagmire these radical people are dragging us into.
Absolutely. Its funny how Americans ridicule other countries as being overly religious (ie, Muslims in the Middle East), when we can be just as bad.
Agreed
Tax the churches, especially those running schools.
This is super interesting. I studied religion in college and used to read on Biblical literalism and its birth in the civil war.
"Christianity started out in Palestine as a fellowship; it moved to Greece and became a philosophy; it moved to Italy and became an institution; it moved to Europe and became a culture; it came to America and became an enterprise."
~Sam Pascoe
Boy, it's sounding more and more like The Handmaid's Tale. These people are really more scary than I had thought. How is it their religion and their political beliefs are more important than others who don't believe the same. They truly don't love their neighbor.as themselves. There is no compassion. I know back in the 70's when I was young, the same evangelicals showed the same rigidity when trying to convince me that I needed to accept Christ, be saved or go to hell which was very perplexing to me since I had been raised in the Lutheran Church, baptized and confirmed.
While the rest of us are leading productive lives, evangelicals are productively building on their original intent with everything they do. They breathe and live their faith. I put them on the same scale as fundamental believers of any religion (e.g. Islam) who often have a very rigid and backward view. To be honest, their origin story is not unique and the rigidity in the past made sense when we knew little of the world. But I really have a hard time looking at these people and their belief system and reconcile that with the fact that we are building rockets to go colonize mars. Perhaps the future that is awaiting us is in fact the one of space cowboys and space Christians lol. what an imagine
Atwood wrote it as a warning. They take it as an instruction manual.
Time to defect to Canada before we have to wear all those hot layers of dresses and submit to men's every wim!
@@maxwell4431 That's just it. Evangelism isn't Christianity, it's a grotesque parody of Christianity.
"The Handmaid's Tale" is their utopian fantasy.
As an over-educated old lady liberal with pets, I’ve been in a tailspin since 45 got elected. He activated the johns and it’s been hard living in their world. Good interview, thank you.
😂 Over-educated -- I like the reclaiming of that "insult"!
Love your ID. Me too.
@grace Valentine. 45 is no longer POTUS. Isn’t it time to get over this?
@@slimjimnyc270 wtf slim Jim I appropriate your stupid but appropriate line EAT ME
@@slimjimnyc270 when the damage he has done is repaired i will get over it
I first heard about this author on the Holy Post podcast and was forced to rethink so much after reading. I recommend her book highly. We as Christians need to thank those who criticize us so we can examine our selves and our actions against the standard which we claim. This is as vital as an immune system. If this makes you upset or angry, contemplate why. If you have been hurt, I am sorry and hope that you would have healing. If you have caused hurt, we are called to repent and work to change and make restitution. No difference from Jesus and Zaccheus. Either way, the moment we're in right now is not the end of the story.
I hope not...
Can't we do better than Michel Martin to interview such an important and articulate author?
Thank you Professor Du Mea for this very insightful analysis.
Agreed ....this interview needs to be broadcast on all MSM.
"When democracy is not the highest ideal but carrying out god's will is." How do we fight against that in our 'fractured' country now? Thanks for such a great conversation!
Democracies can get as corrupt and brutal as any other form of government when they are "tooled up" to fulfill a design by the right "singer". Democracy is not a value per sé, causal source of all good thing: it is an effect at best.
Let's rather talk about the real issue: assuming you have and own the true and never listening to the opinions of others looking to check and put your own convictions to test.
Here you get modern "Murica", with a manifest destiny because "God's will"!, Blind, ignorant, partisan, biased and full of different weight and measures to value reality.
America was born modelled on two parties, either being with "US" or with "THEM": Listen to a Binden administration talking to their supporter and you immediately realize they are no better then the Trumpers they so much despise.
"Nothing in the bible instructs to use it, to run the lives of others."
What is very strange about these evangelicals, is that they revere the Founding Fathers, but go against the very basis of the US Constitution the Fathers created, that maintains the separation of church and state.
@@andrefasset3266 It is no surprise that people should turn a blind eye to what benefits them, but them alone.
Hanna Ling - In what instances are you seeing this demonstrated?
Love this interview! Also, the culture bred by this group has turned marriage into the responsibility of the wife. Although the scriptures say the woman is the weaker vessel, just the opposite plays out in society. Everything is put on the woman's shoulders if she wants "to stay married!"
Yep. They hypocrisy of that thinking. Women are weak, yet we put more burden on them. Fuck patriarchy.
Everything is put on the woman's shoulders even if she doesn't want to stay married...EVERYTHING IS THE WOMAN'S FAULT...don't ja know...
Thank you for researching and writing on this subject matter. Every time I see a field of crosses on the lawns of churches, I am reminded of every dear woman who lost her life because she was forced to have a child that should have been aborted. It seems to me that God gave life to a woman, just as he gives life to a man, yet her life is lost when the state mandates its functions.
I'm an atheist but I grew up in the 60s with a Catholic father. My mother, however, went Evangelical when I was about 14. She read the Bible every day for the rest of her life and became addicted to TV evangelists like Kathryn Kuhlman (my favorite), Oral Roberts, Falwell (the most detestable), Jim & Tammy Bakker, Kenneth Copeland, and Pat Robertson, the latter who was political. She occasionally participated in Christian groups where speaking in tongues and healing were usually bigger than politics, or they were that way in the early years at least.
I remember how some TV evangelists would preach about the masculinity of the Christian male and send out pictures of Jesus that were of a strong square-jawed masculine. rugged-looking Jesus, the opposite of Jesus in Catholic or Renaissance art. According to many of these evangelists back then, Catholicism was thought of as being "of the devil," a sentiment repeated by Marjorie Taylor Greene recently. This revision of the physical appearance of Jesus -- of course no one knows if if even existed, let alone what he looked like -- reminds me of pictures by Trumpers of Trump not as an obese old man, but as a muscular comic book superhero.
The hyper-masculine thing is very similar to the way that is used by autocrats, from Mussolini to Putin. The more women they take, and people they kill, the more masculine it makes them. I believe that after his death, Trump will be worshiped as a deity. A generation down the road, and Trump will be in the history books under Insane Clown President.
Mussolini?
Why him?
He's been dead for 70 years...
If you actually believe..."No one knows that Christ actually existed".. you need to check up on your history.....did you ever hear of Tacitus or Josephus....yeah probably not🙄
If Trump is executed for attempting to install himself as dictator of the United States, these so called "Christians" will view his presidency as the second coming of Christ. His execution would be viewed by them as the second crucifixion of Christ.
@@williamclarke4510 I think they already see the "stolen election" as the cross he is bearing for their sins/sake.
The image of Macho Trump with a Machine Gun is just Trump’s head on Sly Stallone’s body from his old _Rambo II_ posters.
I wonder why Sly hasn’t sued them yet under copyright infringement. The Stallones are also Italian Catholic so it’s funny how Evangelicals use Sly’s body since they’re hostile to Catholics.
Highly recommend this book. Step back and look at what’s happened to the American church and the nation since the 80s, she gets a lot right.
What's the name of the book?
@@Terra_Lopez “Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation.”
People should also remember that the Protestant vote played a big part in getting Hitler elected in 1933.
SDB: It's amazing how little Jesus plays into their narrative. They may cry his name but mostly ignore his teachings.
@@Terra_Lopez - the title is “Jesus and John Wayne”.
Before the 2016 presidential election an evangelical acquaintance came to my door and tried to give me a list of who and what to vote for “according to her Pastor “ . My immediate reaction resembled a rabid cat!
As a Christian, I'm impressed (and somewhat surprised, I might add) by the (generally) high degree of civility displayed in the comments section of this video. Discussions about any aspect of Christianity often spur vehement exchanges of poorly examined personal opinions along with threats of "cancellation" among participants in the discussions. Having such a venue for the free exchange of a wide variety of views on any issue is a rare pleasure in our contemporary world. Please continue to model such good behavior.
BTW, Amanpour and Company is one of my favorite PBS tv shows.
JPB
I left the Christian church years ago because of what I perceived to be a group of people who's fueled by hatred and hypocrisy.
My mom is still a FERVENT Christian. She prays hours and hours on a daily basis. She's old and she has always been a never Trumper. She had to leave her congregation due to their political intolerance however. But I admire the way she has never lost her relationship with Jesus.
There are true believers but I wonder if there are enough to save the faith. More and more young people are leaving the church due to their perversion of the truth.
I feel for your Mom and have great respect for her leaving a toxic situation.
@@Amick44 well its not like those kind of churches want actual christians there... they chucked out Jesus ages ago, and just kept the Name as a brand and the cross as a logo.
@@Plethorality “the name as a brand and the cross as a logo” Your words hit me right in the chest. So well said.
@@jaykay1053 thank you. i wish i were wrong, but i think it has been that way since constantine... but there are the real ones, like your Mum. we will know a tree by its fruit.. but its really hard to make money and control a crowd, once you start letting them take what Jesus taught seriously. so, many just bypass His words, and just use Him as a means to heaven... no need to obey Him if you ignore Him, ay? nice and simple. plus you get to "gain the whole world"... ; )
Everything Trump touches dies...including the church, apparently.
As an ELCA Christian, I have seen these "evangelicals" and have concluded that their evangelism is not the evangelism that Martin Luther and his contemporaries had in mind. Du Mez pretty much summed up why this is the case. Thank you, professor.
Martin Luther’s evangelism
Involved Jewish pogroms and setting the table for the cultural rise of the Nazis several hundred years later. Evangelicals are awful but your tradition isn’t any better
@@eholden6510 Nazis were secular humanists.
The cheap grace dispensed by the ELCA is worthless.
Read the Cost of Discipleship by Bonhoeffer.
@@Logiconfire no they weren’t. If they were they wouldn’t have committed genocide.
They inherited the rich antisemitic tradition of Luther’s Christianity and brought it to its “final solution”
Luther bought the ingredients and the Nazis cooked and served dinner.
@@Logiconfire I bet you think they were socialists too.
This is the best explanation I have heard regarding why our democracy is in peril.
I stated the exact same thing, I am sick thinking about it.
That was an interesting & informative interview. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Dr. Du Mez is an illuminating presence in her religion. I hope those inside it will read her book & be swayed.
I am sure they will label it: Satan's book.
Having read the gospels, I got the very clear impression that Christ was absolutely not a conservative.
The “Christian right” is the antithesis of Christ.
How right you are, Quantum Delusion… Christ was a beacon of love & acceptance, especially for the most reviled & persecuted members of his society.
Then There's ThxGod It'sOver, who is like a fundamentalist bot.
Very insightful interview. A must for all Americans. The Puritans, after all began the cancer. I've seen it happening since my undergraduate days, when I began meeting more and more evangelicals who were, for the most part, very hypocritical, though they talked lots about the integration of faith, word, and deed. Far too many would do anything to advance their theocratic notions. I've seen this in historical, mainline demonations too. That's why I've had it with organized religion. Money and power is at the root of most institutional and personal corruption. Planning to become an ordained Episcopal priest, where the church in some ways knows better than to embrace much of this, I still found so much corruption that I've left, deciding I can be a better follower of Jesus without the institution.
I wish you could find an open congregation. Your voice is needed.
Christianity is doctrine of white men using the word for their own bellies, there is a big difference in following Christ of the scriptures, and Being like JESUS and His followers being called Christians at Antioch, thus WWJD meaning what would JESUS do? And Christianity dont do what JESUS do, He does not teach the hate of people, hate of women not under their thumb. He teaches hate sin go and sin no more , love one another.
Oh yes the perverted puritan witch trials were rampant throughout “Christian” countries in the 1600s. Mostly women were targeted. Wondering why. Male domination just as is the abortion issue. I am white,male & have grey hair. A perfect undercover Trump Maggot.
It goes much further back then that. Study Jesus' ministry. Jesus died because of their sins. Religious leaders twisted that line into his dearh being for their sins to pay in place of them. Terrible transition because now people cling to Jesus because they believe no matter how they behave, they can nail this man to a cross for their bad behavior.
You sound like the apostle Paul who was disgusted with Laodicea. If I spelled that right. You and I make up the church. We are the “bride” of Christ. The church is all of us, not a set of buildings. Keep the faith and try to forgive without being hateful or spiteful. Jesus loves you!
"Religion is regarded by the common people as true, by the wise as false, and by the rulers as useful."
~Lucius Annaeus Seneca
Thanks for the great work professor Du Mez. Everything you said is true but sad.
The myth about Eve being a temptress and the gateway to original sin is just a way to blame women and not hold men responsible.
Exactly
A lot of glorified oppression. Women to serve men. Slaves to happily serve their master.
The Adam and Eve story is 100% mythology
The Bible almost exclusively talks of Adam's sin. Not Eve's sin.
@@videos_iwonderwhy The rationale of Catholic teaching has been that Eve is the originator of sin. The instigator. Typical of a patriarchial society.....
Let us not forget that the Southern Baptist Convention came into being by splitting off from the larger Baptist movement over the issue of slavery prior to the Civil War. It was not until towards the end of the 20th century that they apologized for their former support of slavery as an institution in the United States.
Thank you for shining a light on this.
Thank you Professor Du Mez!
"Very much based on a sexual double standard." Are we discussing ISIS-style Islam or Evangelical Christianity? Oh--right! They're the same damn thing.
Just change the names of the religious figures from one religion to the other.
@@williamclarke4510 Exactly! A person's religion is determined by where they were born and which family they were born into. It's not about which religion is false and which one is the ultimate truth.
OMG yes she gets it. I grew up in an evangelical home, went to a private mostly white Christian high school and an SDA university. When I left the church I lost my entire culture, many friends, and the belief that most evangelical Christians were truthful moral people. As a kid I believed Republicans were the good guys and Democrats were evil. The sexual shaming is real. I got pregnant at age 15 and thought that because I was “impure” no decent man would want to date me. I married the first person that showed any interest in me. I was 20 and he was 45 and very emotionally and sexually abusive. I ended up marrying a woman after I got out. Reckoning with the evangelical views of homosexuality and watching church groups blatantly lie to get proposition 8 passed in CA. I know exactly what evangelicals want. They are the Taliban of America and it’s really difficult for me to see all of this go down as my whole family is still very much in the right wing evangelical groups. It breaks my heart and makes me angry. It is their life and as someone looking in from the outside I can see how much I was manipulated and lied to. I can’t tell them these things. They are their beliefs.
Wow. The Taliban of America. That's true
Professor and host...very brilliant interview. Thank you for questioning and naming this hatefuilled movement.
It is an excellent book and helped me better understand my upbringing at a pastor’s kid in the 60’s and 70’s. My Dad was caught up in the Evangelical movement but I do not believe he fully understood where they were trying to take it. It was subtle and he wanted to be a faithful servant. He was used.
As an ex-xtian it is so hard to wrap my head around this whole fringe phenomenon. Thanks so much for discussing this!
Seems it isn’t fringe anymore.
@@wellnative1 It *is* louder.
MAGA is fostering a scrouched earth creed.
And it's powerful enough to control the Supreme Court. Really, this has stopped being just wingnut, quirky or funny.
@@wellnative1 It's a minority of the country. They're loud and aggressive, but they have not and do not in any way represent a majority of Americans. They just want you to believe they do. That's part of their game.
Sooo....did she just confirm evangelicals are really trying to turn us into Gilead 😳
Yes.
I see comments all the time on social media calling Evangelicals the American Taliban. I used to think that was a bit extreme, but if you step back you can see there is a similarity in their thinking.
Yes!!
@@stephenwright133 Christians used to believe, "Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's; and unto God the things that are God's.” Now, some think there is no difference.
Wow. This put so many of the pieces of the puzzle together for me.
Thank you.
Really outstanding interview, thank you both.
If you've yet to read Her Book, Jesus and John Wayne, You really must! I've read it twice. I also grew up in the era of the transition of Evangelicalism into this aggressive movement. She pulls all the pieces together and makes sense of it. It's a tragic tale and one that our current culture needs to understand in order to fight back.
There is nothing sensible about God wants me to be prepared to shoot my neighbor.
Thanks to this comment, I'll seek it out. Thanks!
Aggressive movement? Don't you think protesting in front of Supreme Court Justices homes is aggressive? What about BLM burning down cities and looting? The left is far more aggressive / militant. Let's not kid ourselves here we know who the aggressive ones are. No thanks, not interested in this book!
Aggressive movement? Don't you think protesting in front of Supreme Court Justices homes is aggressive? What about BLM burning down cities and looting? The left is far more aggressive / militant. Let's not kid ourselves here we know who the aggressive ones are. No thanks, not interested in this book!
@@weescotties One sided accounting is disingenuous and illegitimate.
This confirms a few things I've heard about over the years. My husband was working at a community centre here in Canada and an evangelical homeschooling group wanted their kids to have an art class. The instructor was a woman and the boys in the group made the class a misery for her and the girls in the group. They were rude, abusive, bossy and obstructive. The group was banned from further classes.
Around the same time, my older sister was taking an exercise class to help her recover from knee surgery. An evangelical homeschooling group used the gym beforehand for games and one of the boys barrelled straight into her and nearly knocked her down. He himself went sprawling and he claimed she pushed him. His mother took his part and was rude to my sister.
Great title for a book: “Jesus and John Wayne. “
Ms Du Mez has it right. I recently heard a Republican organizer say he determined in the early '70's that the way to get more conservatives supporting the Republican party was to attract them with the pro-life movement.
Bravo Kristen Du Mez. Your research and scholarship answers so many questions about how and why American Christian Evangelicals can support Tr*mp. Thank you.
Anyone who has ever watched the likes of Kenneth Copeland or Paula White understands how sick and demented these charlatan evangelical so called pastors are. They are not christians in any way, shape, or form. Rather they are con men, serial liars, corrupt, and literally evil imposters. It is no wonder why they fit in with the GOP party and continually brainwash their congregations about supporting the GOP. The GOP itself is now a mafia level criminal organization, pretending to be politicians. Just like these evangelical scammers pretend to be chrisitians.
@ThxGod It'sOver Your comment makes no sense
Smart lady. I grew up in this world. She spoke to so many things I remember in my experience in the church. Grotesque. Triggered so many things in my mind that I have spent many years working to forget.
Totally relate. And yes, years of processing...
Congratulations! I hope you don't forget and continue to enlighten others about your experiences.
Honestly there are two problems. One Church arent Jesus Christ. Secound Church politics are represented by corrupted states. However she books are undermines information because she dishonest concept not show up how perverse Zionist are anti Demogratic.
Triggered is a good word for the many things this brings up in me. I grew up baptist in San Diego with parents from Texas. I was assaulted by my youth group leader and had another youth group volunteer staff ask me if I had pubic hair while I could see he had an erection when I was 12 years old. I’m 54 now and it haunts me and I have to push it away. Many other things happened as well so it all goes together for a destructive time of my young life which one doesn’t get back. It didn’t even occur to me that I should tell anyone because I didn’t want to lose out on being with the only friends I thought I had. My parents were divorced and my mom was just trying to survive and raise 3 boys without her deadbeat, alcoholic husband. I needed to remain invisible so I didn’t make problems like my drug abusing, violent brothers did. I was trapped! I feel a great sadness as I say this… my parents are gone too young and I haven’t seen my brothers since our dad’s funeral. Fractured. I had cancer last year and it’s really got me thinking about everything I’ve been through. At least I left christianity and never looked back. I wish everyone peace and healing.
@@eldonscott9 what an incredible story. The church has always been painted as some safe haven. But depending on the church, you could end up not being safe. I do however, believe we can alter the course of where people think we will end up. I know I did and I’m content in my choices.
I wish you nothing but the best in your continued journey out of such a challenging place.
When you have people that still ''believe'' that our Earth is only 6000 years old , built in 6 days by some-guy-in-the-sky........you have identified the PROBLEM !
It's like 40 year olds still believing in Santa clause. There's no rational thought in blind faith. It's scary to me to live among people who can't think for themselves.
My second comment about this presentation.
I grew up in the UK, my parents attended Baptist churches wherever they lived. However, UK Baptists are almost the opposite of the US group of the same name. My father joined Baptists congregation because each was an independent entity with no central governing body dictating how to worship or what precise creed to follow. He was an independent in the true sense of the word.
However, my parents supported and promoted two UK crusades spearheaded by the 'Rev' Dr Billy Graham in 1956 & 1968. At the latter, I also participated as an usher, I considered that I shared my parents Christian beliefs.
I was appauled by the high pressure sales presentation given by Billy Graham, it sickened me. However, I was grateful for this crass format, it challenged me to think deep about my belief. I climbed onto the roof of the exhibition hall where the crusade was being held, thought deeply for a while, descended the ladder from the roof and walked out, Billy Graham had made me realise that I didn't believe.
How many of the Bible Bashing Southern Baptists have really thought deeply about the basis of their beliefs, or have they succumbed to the high pressure sales patter of Graham and his cohorts ?
I went to Bible school in 1978-83 because I wanted an in-depth understanding of history and theology. What I found was an odd 1950’s culture of no dancing, no movies, very restrictive cultural taboos. Culture shock! And they had a language all their own which I did not understand as a Catholic who became a part of the Jesus Movement revival(so to speak), I experienced wonderful changes in my young life, an amazing group of like-minded youth and leaders. So in the election of Reagan on 1980, I couldn’t quite put my finger on it, but I became very uncomfortable with the way evangelical Christians were commandeering the political agenda. Those who want to be disciples of Jesus need to get back to actual words of Jesus.
Thanks for book and interview!
This is so sad.
I grew up in an evangelical Christian home, decades ago. We were taught to value peace, patience, simplicity, helping the less fortunate, embracing equality, following the golden rule, and sharing a message of forgiveness. There are lots of scientists and engineers in my family, so we also learned to value logic and practicality, but those things didn't seem to clash much with our religion. At least not how we practiced it. What has become of American evangelicalism is unrecognizable to me.
The message of “boys will be boys”, for example, was considered something that the unsaved and the hypocrites embraced. Men and women were both expected to wait until marriage, and follow the same basic principles. To suggest otherwise was considered sinful. At odds with the world, and some might say quaint, but it wasn’t inconsistent.
John Wayne was just an actor. Not a hero. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., on the other hand, was an example of a real hero. And we’re white… so go figure. Again, race problems were said to be perpetuated by the hypocrites and the unsaved. I suppose that’s convenient, as not all evangelicals are the same, but the ones I grew up with were truly anti-racist before anti-racism was a thing.
Apparently, Christian missionaries need to start sharing the gospel with the evangelicals. Don’t get me wrong, the signs were there. The writing was on the wall, but I mostly chalked it up to individuals with personality disorders being given a little too much power. Maybe this cancer hadn’t taken over by then, but it does seem to be rampant now.
These days I consider myself to be a Christian Quaker, or perhaps more simply a student of Jesus, as that comes closest to describing what my faith means to me.
Of all sects of Christianity, the only one I have any respect for are Quakers. If someone held a gun to my head and pick a Christian group, that would be the only place I could head and not feel I sold out every moral belief I have. And I'm Atheist.
“I distrust those people who know so well what God wants them to do, because I notice it always coincides with their own desires.”
~Susan B Anthony
Excellent interview. Another great resource is the book, Pure: Inside the Evangelical Movement That Shamed a Generation of Young Women and How I Broke Free
by Linda Kay Klein