Snarky Faith

There's been a lot said about the current atrocities happening at the U.S.-Mexico border. Most of the responses have been along political lines, but recently, Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III decided to insert scripture as a justification for separating families from their children. Now, it's not surprising that Conservatives are using religion to justify their own warped worldview, but if you're going to use the Bible, you might as well use it correctly. Join us as we delve into the scripture in question. Let's look into Romans 13 and see what is actually being said in the text.

I'll try to make sure I don't mention that this particular scripture has been used to justify a whole host of evil deeds over history from slavery to Nazi occupation, but that's not the main point, though it is a notable side point. Our main thrust is to expose the hypocrisy of using scripture to justify the law of the land. It makes no sense and is completely asinine. You have the rule of law that governs the United States of America and you have the holy scriptures that supposedly govern the Kingdom of God. Even for Christian Conservatives, this should be abundantly clear that there are two very different sets of ethics and two very different sets of worldviews at play here. Spoiler alert; they don't blend well together.

It's time for Christians to get their heads out of their asses, blink the shit out of their eyes, and look around and see how horrific and abusive it is to separate families in this manner. It's cruel and evil. Isn't Christianity all about vanquishing evil and doing the morally correct thing? Maybe that was forgotten along the way. This is sick. This is twisted. This is beyond evil.

None of this should be done in the name of Jesus or scripture. Let's just call it what it has become: spineless, hateful, evil, self-serving, and blind to compassion... or otherwise known as the mantra of the Conservative Christian.

Come along for the ride as we skewer through life, culture, and spirituality in the face of a changing world.

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If you're in the church world, VBS (Vacation Bible School) is upon us. Our show this week is dedicated to VBS and why it so consistently misses the mark. It's basically just a Christian marketing exercise. Don't be fooled, it has little to do with evangelism and reaching your community; it's more of a Christian pep rally that offers exceptional outreach numbers to make congregations happy. Does it accomplish much in forwarding the Kingdom of God? Oh, hell no but it won't stop us from following traditions off the cliff together. If we've always done it, then we should continue to do it. That's the mantra of VBS.

We'll take a deep dive into what churches call the best outreach event of the year and why it is less outreach and more event-driven. It's become an event that's more driven by marketing than evangelism. Potentially, it was originally effective (that's up for debate) but today, it's the last breath of dignity a church has. The Gospel has been forgotten. The Kingdom of God has been lost. It's all about marketing our business to the community. That is not the way and teachings of Jesus. It's more like the Black Friday for churches - all marketing and advertising and not much to do with the faith.

Let's talk about how VBS is useless and more about why it misses the mark and mission of Christianity. We'll talk through the majority of voices from within the faith to explain why VBS matters and then tear them all down in a glorious snarky fashion. Unless Christians think about the traditions they uphold, they are doomed to repeat the sins of the past. VBS is a wonderful example of how Christianity consistently misses the point for financial gain. VBS, it's a vacation, just not from the BS.

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Yes, we live in the upside-down world right now. That's just a fact. If you're not onboard with me, this show may not be for you.

We'll delve into the deep recesses of Christian conspiracy theories in the age of Trump. They are fun to laugh at, but they're also insidious if you actually give them air to breathe. These theories push forward an unhinged and warped narrative of how to view the world through supposed religious eyes. The big problem with this worldview is that it also happens to be very un-Jesus-y.

These crackpot theories have nothing to do with the Kingdom of God so we should stop listening to them... right? The only problem is that the conservative base hears these lies as truth, gospel truth. That is a scary thing that should frighten believers and non-believers all the same.

Once conspiracies become the lexicon of their culture, then something great has already been lost. The something that has been lost may not be able to be found again. We stand on the precipice of something very evil and scary that just happens to have nothing to do with Jesus of Nazareth. I'd be okay with the right being crazy and not attached to reality, but the moment they connect Jesus with their theories, that's when I say, "Game over" for the lot of them. This is beyond nuts but has sadly become the norm in so many religious circles today.

Remember there's always hope. Yes, there's always another way, but that's not the point. We need to call out insanity when we see insanity. Christians should be doing the same because their faith requires them to, but that isn't happening. Christian conspiracy theory crackpots are becoming the voice of the movement and that's a huge problem. Jesus has been left behind and the faith has moved into space that no longer occupies any room for Him. These are the moments when drastic action is necessary if we want to save the ways and teaching of Jesus. Either we let this happen or concede the faith. The choice is yours. What will it be?

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With the recent move of the U.S. embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, many evangelical leaders are hailing this as a major victory for the Christian faith and President Trump. Before they begin to bask in the afterglow of their own self-congratulations, bigger questions remain. What has this move actually accomplished? What about the Palestinian Christians? Has scripture been fulfilled? Will Jesus return now? I can't wait for Jim Bakker and Kirk Cameron to finally be right about something.

Before we get ahead of ourselves, let's just hold on for a quick moment. This Zionist want-to-be move has only accomplished creating chaos and bloodshed in an already destabilized region. I guess destabilization is what Trump does best. Destabilize America. Destabilize the church. Got it. What was I thinking?

This move has been hailed by evangelicals in their usual tone-deaf manner. It's all about looking at the world from their own holier-than-thou, western, white-privileged goggles. It's just like how evangelicals approach missions (or their faith, in general). The optics are all that really matters to them. If we actually cared for the region, we'd be looking at both sides of the issue... and guess what? There are over 50,000 Palestinian Christians in the region. You know, the bad guys... right?

This is just a big f*ck you to the Palestinian Christians. It is absolutely shameful to disregard a part of the Christian family like this. Furthermore, anytime Christians ignore groups of people inside or outside of the faith, it's a disgusting act. None of this has to do with Jesus or the Kingdom of God. This is only about pushing a warped, biblically-shallow narrative forward while people's lives are held in the balance. This isn't a biblical move. For the religious right, it's always a political one.

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This week, we'll sit down with Josh Naaman, the author, host and sole creator of the podcastThe Belief Books. Beliefs inform our actions and Josh believes that analyzing these beliefs helps progress humanity leading us to interact with each other and the Earth in more positive ways. With this project, Josh seeks to talk about and explore beliefs through conversations with people from a wide spectrum of backgrounds.

Josh is a believer in the power of conversation and its ability to transform perspectives and communities. We live in an age where the notion of dialogue has been replaced with a debate. It's no longer about learning from one another; it's about winning an argument. This is a troubling path for sure, but there's always hope to change our ways. Join us for this conversation about how to engage in meaningful conversations with people who don't believe what you believe. A continued descent into political polarization and fracture isn't the way to healing. It's not even constructive. It's time to try something new. The ultimate hope is that we can always learn something from someone else and conversations are key.

Check out The Belief Books podcast here. It's well worth your time and you can thank me later!

Come along for the ride as we skewer through life, culture, and spirituality in the face of a changing world.

www.SnarkyFaith.com

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