Word&Way News: May 24
Here’s the weekly roundup from Word&Way. In addition to a review of Baptizing America that is free for anyone to read, paid subscribers to A Public Witness received a look at how some mainline Protestants are engaging the issue of Christian Nationalism.
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Top 5 at wordandway.org
Former Southwestern Seminary Professor Matt Queen Indicted. Bob Smietana reported on the latest from the U.S. Department of Justice’s investigation of the Southern Baptist Convention and its entities.
Review: God After Deconstruction. Robert D. Cornwall reviewed God After Deconstruction by Thomas Jay Oord and Tripp Fuller.
He Feared Coming Out. Now This Pastor Wants to Help Black Churches Become as Welcoming as His Own. Darren Sands reported on the mission of the pastor of Myrtle Baptist Church in Newton, Massachusetts.
Jesus Is Their Savior, Trump is Their Candidate. Ex-President’s Backers Say He Shares Faith, Values. Peter Smith reported on the support Donald Trump enjoys from White evangelicals as he increasingly infuses his campaign with Christian trappings.
From Schools to the Olympics, How France’s Staunch Secularism Affects Religion in Public Life. Ahead of the Olympics this summer in Paris, Giovanna Dell’Orto wrote about France and religion.
Dangerous Dogma
This week: Joe Ingle on Too Close to the Flame
Other noteworthy programs this week:
Brian Kaylor and Beau Underwood recorded two online presentations for Homebrewed Christianity. The first one considers how mainline Protestants helped build Christian Nationalism, while the second one looks at how mainline Protestants continue to unintentionally perpetuate Christian Nationalism. They will join Tripp Fuller for a livestream conversation on Thursday (May 30) at 11:30 am (ET).
We’re Honored
Last weekend we won four awards from the Associated Church Press for our work in 2023. These are in addition to the 17 awards we received last month from other religious journalism groups. Here are our new awards:
Award of Excellence (first place) in short devotional for an Unsettling Advent reflection by Melissa Bowers.
Award of Excellence in short format interview article for Wanted: Russian Pastor for Preaching Peace by Brian Kaylor.
Honorable Mention in critical review for Are You There, World? It’s Me, God by Juliet Vedral.
Honorable Mention in online photo feature for Visiting the World’s Oldest Colony by Brian Kaylor.
by Jeremy Fuzy, Word&Way Digital Editor
Last week, news broke that U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito flew an upside-down American flag outside his Virginia home in January of 2021 — likely a symbol of support for the then-recent Capitol riots as well as the broader “stop the steal” movement contesting Biden’s victory in the presidential election.
If this weren’t alarming enough, on Wednesday (May 22) it was revealed that two years after this incident Alito flew an “Appeal to Heaven” flag outside his New Jersey vacation house. This shifts things from a story with a hint of plausible deniability — he tried to say the upside-down flag was about a dispute with a neighbor — to undeniable, full-blown Christian Nationalism.
The “Appeal to Heaven” flag (also known as the Pine Tree flag) is an obscure Revolutionary War flag that has recently been adopted by those on the far-right who wish to enshrine their version of conservative Christianity within the American government. Not only was this flag present when Trump supporters were storming the capitol, but it has also been displayed by the likes of Doug Mastriano and Speaker of the House Mike Johnson.
“It’s a paraphrase for trial by arms,” Anthony Grafton, a historian at Princeton University, said of the flag.
It fundamentally represents rebelling against “unjust rule” through violent means. The flag was popularized by New Apostolic Reformation figure Dutch Sheets, who wrote in his book: “Rally to the flag. God has resurrected it for such a time as this.”
It is dangerous enough for some politicians to flirt with Christian Nationalist extremism like this, but for a sitting Supreme Court Justice to take these deliberate actions is honestly astounding. Encouraging the use of violence to overturn the will of the people is about as antithetical to democracy as you can get. The news cycle moves quickly these days and it seems like so much happens that it is easy to lose track — but let’s not let this one get lost in the wind.
Other News of Note
Eric Killelea of the Houston Chronicle profiled a “35-year-old Presbyterian Democrat” in the Texas House of Representatives who is talking about faith and challenging the Christian Nationalism of his Republican colleagues.
Tyler Kingkade of NBC News reported on efforts by the Satanic Temple to be approved as public school chaplains after conservative Christian lawmakers created such positions in Texas and Florida.
Some lawmakers in Oklahoma want to make it easier for public schools to let students leave to receive religious instruction during school hours.
Emma Cieslik of the National Catholic Reporter wrote about the religious and political influence of “Catholic Trad Wives.”
Sarah McCammon of NPR reported on the “abortion abolition” movement.
“Beside the rivers of Miami, we sat and wept at the memory of our people. There by the palm trees we hung our conga drums, for there Christian nationalists asked us for songs, White Supremacists demanded songs of joy; they said ‘Sing us one of your Mambo.’ How can we sing our rumba in a pagan land? If I forget you, mi gente, may my right hand wither. May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth if I do not remember you.” —Psalm 137:1-6 as retold by Miguel A. De La Torre.
The priest for Gaza’s only Catholic church was away from the territory when Hamas launched its terrorist attack in October and Israel started its military response. The priest managed to return last week.
American Baptist Churches of Metro Chicago passed a resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.
Jimmy Carter’s longtime Baptist church in Plains, Georgia, has called its first female pastor, Rev. Ashley Guthas.
A United Methodist pastor defrocked in 2004 for being a lesbian was reinstated weeks after a vote at the United Methodist Church’s General Conference to allow such reinstatements after the UMC ended its ban on LGBTQ individuals serving as clergy.
Jemar Tisby wrote at his Substack newsletter Footnotes about Jerry Falwell, South African Apartheid, and Christian politics:
Photo of the Week
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