Category: Democracy

Today Heather Cox Richardson wrote “the current-day Republican Party needs chaos,” and the Lincoln Project tweeted that what remains is “an authoritarian nationalist cult dedicated only to Donald Trump.” (https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/august-16-2022?utm_source=email) Chaos and Cult was my experience at the Reawaken America Tour.

Over the next few weeks, I will introduce you to some of the speakers. Their influence often extends far beyond their thousands of followers on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc. For instance, Mark Burns was labeled by Time Magazine as “Donald Trump’s Top Pastor” (https://time.com/trump-pastor/), and he has appeared on a wide array of news networks. (See https://www.markburns.org/ for more.)

When he stepped onto the stage, his rhetoric immediately cast him as either a “true believer” in the cause and mission of this tour or a consummate actor. “I am here to declare war on every demonic power in the state of New York,” he began. “We are here to take over for the Lord Jesus Christ.” He pivoted throughout his 15-minute spot from using specific Christian language one might hear in some pulpits to political and culture war topics.

“I’m tired of grown men wearing a dress and going into women’s bathrooms,” he shouted – and got a standing ovation. “They are using race to divide us.” Cheers. “They hate you because they hate Jesus.” He spoke about Martin Luther King, Jr. to (mis)use him to call the crowd to engage in a new civil disobedience movement aimed at taking over the country because “they’re trying to take God out of everything.”

From there he jumped to repeating the false claims of this movement like “a stolen election” and “The Democrats messed up when they raided Trump’s home,” and the boos filled the air. Then … “Do you believe Joe Biden is the president?” … then called for Biden to be arrested for treason and led the crowd in chants for Trump to be president now. Watch this clip from that moment, posted by Right Wing Watch:

It's not a cult. pic.twitter.com/vzR0V5C2oK

— Right Wing Watch (@RightWingWatch) August 15, 2022

This tour has attracted tens of thousands of people to multiple events, yet the tour itself is but one slice of a movement threatening our diverse, democratic nation. The religion espoused at these events does not represent mainstream Christianity. What they call “a biblical worldview” does not represent my understanding as a Christian minister of our scriptures and faith traditions. The movement has already amassed enough legislative and judicial power to begin a reversal of the movement toward civil and human rights so many have worked for. It must be stopped.

A frequent question I asked myself for two days was, “How can they say that?” Not just the conspiracy theories and proven lies, but the way they demean and threaten people. In the Scriptures frequently quoted at the Reawaken America event, Jesus says “the mouth speaks what the heart is full of” and “the things that come out of a person’s mouth come from the heart.” (Matthew 12:34; 15:18) With that in mind, I want to simply quote some words I heard.

Marty Grisham  (www.LoudMouthPrayer.org)

Covid mandates are a “decree of death.”)

[President[ “Biden is an evil, usurping man.”

Pastor Mark Burns (https://www.markburns.org/)

“They hate you because they hate Jesus.”

“We are here to take over for the Lord Jesus Christ.”

[They are] “using race to divide us.”

“I’m tired of grown men wearing a dress and going into women’s bathrooms.” (That got a standing ovation.)

“They’re trying to take God out of everything.”

Kash Patel (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kash_Patel)

“We will do to them what they did to us.”

“Corruption at the highest levels of our government … Government gangsters at the DOJ and FBI… the Clinton Cartel”

Christie Hutcherson (https://wffa.win/about-us/about-me/)

“This administration is working with drug cartels and terrorists … and this Administration has murder, blood, and rape on its hands.”

“Trying to destroy America and make it socialist, communist.”

Mel K (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-mel-k-show/id1587492577)

“If you’re a liberal [you are in] the army of the left fighting against America … There will never be peace until these people are destroyed.”

This language is a sampling from the first day – and does not include multiple conspiracies and easy-to-prove lies. A movement that calls itself Christian is rightly judged by the words of the one they call “Lord.” So … what would Jesus say about this? What did he say? As a Christian minister, I think we can set his words alongside their words and discern what seems to be in their hearts toward people like me. And I don’t like it.

For eighteen hours over two days, I listened to the speakers at the Reawaken America Tour in Batavia, NY – a new one about every 15 minutes with no breaks. I took breaks, of course, and wandered through the carnival-like atmosphere of the grounds. Under the big tent, it was unapologetic Christian Nationalism with every speaker talking about God and Jesus, about being Christians in a Christian nation – and pleading with the 3,500 people there to “save America now.”

The formal title of this tour is “The Great ReAwakening vs the Great Reset.” One speaker used an old term for Upstate New York as “the burned-over district,” referring to the 2^nd Great Awakening 200 years ago when people expected the fire of God’s Spirit to set the country ablaze with a new spirit. This crowd prayed for exactly that – for America to be a truly “Christian nation” again. Christian Nationalism to the core.

Unlike spiritual awakenings in the history of this country, this movement focuses on who is in control of the nation’s government, indeed who wants to control the world. Among the multiple conspiracy theories espoused was one they call “the Great Reset,” where “they” (always the nebulous “they”) used the pandemic – government-mandated restrictions and vaccines – to test “their” ability to control people everywhere. The cry of “freedom” was everywhere. “We” will not let “them” take away our freedoms.

In what sometimes felt like an alternate universe, I listened to the constantly-repeated claims of a stolen election and an illegitimate president – and how Trump will return. Joe Biden (they never called him our president) was called a traitor, along with everyone who stole the election and installed him as president.

Christian Nationalism threatens our democracy by calling for “real Americans”/Christians (only from within their “biblical worldview”) gaining control of every level of government, all while saying “we the people” will take “our nation back.” The rhetoric and “jokes” and casual references to specific groups of people all made clear who does not belong – LGBTQ, Jews, BLM, liberals, Democrats, for instance.

Many speakers challenged the charge against them of promoting white supremacy and violence, pointing out that a third of the dozens of speakers are Black (although 95% of the audience was white) and that there was no violence in and around the event (although there were personal bodyguards and armed security). However, the myth of a Christian nation, chosen by God (historically controlled by white men) dominated the whole event. The idea of systemic racism and white supremacy is anathema to this movement. Only individual responsibility matters, and racism only exists (in their minds) if an individual consciously hates a person of another color. They also denied that they encourage violence, even though speakers regularly used the rhetoric of warfare and enemies and “the mission.” And the main speaker and organizer was always referred to as “the general” (Gen. Michael Flynn). It was not overt, but it was implicit throughout.

In the coming weeks, I will post about my experience at this event, with quotes, details, and reflections – and what people who recognize the threat can do to challenge it.

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