Word&Way News: May 3
Here’s the weekly roundup from Word&Way. In addition to a look at a prayer for a football stadium that is free for anyone to read, paid subscribers to A Public Witness received a report on a Christian Nationalistic theology now pushed by the National Day of Prayer Task Force.
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Top 5 at wordandway.org
Review: The Exvangelicals. Robert D. Cornwall reviewed The Exvangelicals: Loving, Living, and Leaving the White Evangelical Church by Sarah McCammon.
Trump, Samson, and the Fall of the House of Evangelicals. Rodney Kennedy reflected on the moral and ethical danger facing Christians who have supported Donald Trump.
How a Beloved Worship Song Became the Theme Song of Christian Nationalism. Bob Smietana wrote about the political co-opting of “How Great is Our God.”
75 Christian Leaders Urge President, Congress, Churches to Act on Racism, Poverty. Adelle M. Banks reported on an ecumenical call for public policy issues that might be overlooked during this contentious election year.
Damaged in War, a Vibrant Church in Ukraine Rises as a Symbol of the Country’s Faith and Culture. Jill Lawless reported on a new church building next to an older one damaged by Russian attacks.
Dangerous Dogma
This week: Aimee Byrd on the Hope in Our Scars
by Brian Kaylor, Word&Way Editor-in-Chief
Last week, lawmakers in Oklahoma debated a bill to ban the use of corporal punishment in public schools on children with disabilities. The Senate passed it with a vote of 31-11. One of the senators who voted against the bill quoted the Bible to justify allowing school officials to hit, slap, or paddle children with autism, deafness, orthopedic impairment, or other disabilities.
“Whoever spares the rod hates their child. But the rod of discipline will drive foolishness from their hearts,” Republican Sen. Shane Jett said as he cited Proverbs 13:24 after also quoting Proverbs 22:15 about “ the rod of discipline” driving “foolishness from “the heart of a child.”
Jett added that the push toward “defying Scripture” was supposedly coming from communists and socialists. A graduate of Oklahoma Baptist University, Jett attends a Southern Baptist church.
In addition to the problem of trying to legislate the Bible in violation of the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment prohibition against establishing a religion, Jett also makes a fundamental mistake about how to read Scripture.
The verse he invoked is one commonly misused to justify violence against children or to blame parents for wayward adult children. But the wisdom sayings in Proverbs aren’t absolute truths or promises. They are generally true statements. They are proverbs. And thus they must be interpreted and applied carefully. Unfortunately, too many people take the approach of Jett and do violence against Scripture to justify doing violence against others.
Other News of Note
Brian Kaylor and Beau Underwood wrote for Religion News Service about United Methodists and Christian Nationalism.
Mike Hixenbaugh of NBC News reported on “FlashPoint,” a charismatic Christian TV show holding live events across the country to rally people for Donald Trump.
Jaxon White of Lancaster Online reported on Pennsylvania state lawmakers meeting with Sean Feucht in the state Capitol to plan a prayer rally there just ahead of election day this fall.
Katia Riddle of NPR reported on how pro-choice Catholics in Missouri are wrestling with their church and their politics.
“Jesus said you’ll know the truth and the truth will set you free. But the opposite of truth is not just lying, it’s captivity. A whole lot of good people are captive to these notions of White supremacy and White minority rule.” —Jim Wallis in a CNN interview with John Blake.
Hernán Restrepo reported for Christianity Today about efforts by Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro to buy the support of evangelicals ahead of an upcoming election.
Marc Ramirez of USA Today reported on various Christian responses to the war in Israel and Gaza.
Forum 18 reported on Ukraine sentencing two more conscientious objectors to prison for refusing to fight because of their religious beliefs — adding to the problem previously covered by A Public Witness.
Delegates at the United Methodist Church General Conference approved full communion with the Episcopal Church, a proposal that now needs final approval from Episcopalians.
Conor Dougherty of the New York Times reported on churches working to build affordable housing on their properties.
Former Trump lawyer Jenna Ellis, who called A Public Witness “a bad actor” for reporting on her election lies, last year pleaded guilty in Georgia for her role in trying to overturn the 2020 presidential election. Now she’s been indicted in Arizona for the plot to overturn the election.
Photo of the Week
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