We can be sure some who stormed the Capitol claimed allegiance to the Christian faith.
Banners proclaiming “Jesus saves” appear next to those bearing the name Trump in the images of the protest and ensuing occupation of the Capitol. All were not Christians, but we know the most faithful supporters of President Trump over the years have been conservative white believers.
They claimed supporting the president was about making America great again. This was always problematic, because the moment one makes an unqualified appeal to a bygone America, one harkens back to an even further racialized and stratified America. They are not easily separated. American nostalgia often threatens Black and brown freedom. Therefore, it was no surprise to see pro-Trump rioters flying Confederate flags as they invaded the halls of the Capitol.
Black people have known what this was really about from the beginning. The ongoing protest of the election is not about a search for truth; it is an attempt to shape truth to suit the desires of the powerful.
The Gospel of John records a scene in the last days of Jesus’ life. In it Pilate, the Roman governor of Judea, asks if the claims about Jesus being king are accurate and by implication seditious. Is Jesus a friend of Rome or its enemy?
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President Trump (rhetoric) wasn’t making a legal or a factual argument. He was using his power to put a thumb on the scales. Therefore, the ongoing support of these unproven theories of election fraud by some white conservative Christians does not simply weaken the church’s witness by making it partisan. It weakens our witness by aligning truth with power — a classic error that has always led to ruin.
Whenever truth bends to power, the poor and the marginalized inevitably suffer. Continue here....
-- Esau McCaulley
