For we aim at what is honorable not only in the Lord's sight but also in the sight of man. - 2Corinthians 8:21 (ESV)
No! It Was Not Jesus-Loving Evangelicals Who Vandalized the Capitol | The Stream
The key verse today cannot be plainer. We are to strive to not only do what is right in the eyes of the Lord but also in the sight of man. Truth be told however, many in church leadership have not been doing either when it comes to politics. They never have. They have sold out Christ and His church for craven, carnal politics. They have wrapped Jesus in an American flag and taught nationalism at Sunday School for decades. While this has always been abhorrent to God and man it was really placed on steroids when Donald Trump was elected. As we entered the 2020 election season the church had already declared they were all in for Trump. All of the false prophets lined up to take their 50-50 shot that Trump would be reelected and all have been proven false as a result. This would have been damaging enough for the witness for Christ but the behavior of Christian leadership since the election has been far worse. They have hopped aboard the deranged train that sells the lies of election fraud that never occurred. This train derailed last week in Washington DC when Christians and white nationalists joined together to commit treason and insurrection at the Capitol. In the aftermath, many of the same leaders are now pretending they had nothing to do with how we got here. One such man is Dr. Michael Brown, who has carried the President's water for four years now. In his latest article linked above, he tries to dismiss the clear facts that Christians were among the revolt that has resulted in five deaths so far, including one police officer. Let us reason together once more to discover that not only is Dr. Brown wrong, but he is in fact culpable.
"In an important, probing article, David French claimed, "A violent Christian insurrection invaded and occupied the Capitol" (his emphasis). Is there truth to this serious charge? He wrote, "Why do I say this was a Christian insurrection? Because so very many of the protesters told us they were Christian, as loudly and clearly as they could." He notes that there "was a giant wooden cross outside the Capitol" and adds that "'Jesus saves' signs and other Christian signs were sprinkled through the crowd. I watched a man carry a Christian flag into an evacuated legislative chamber." One of his colleagues pointed out "that Christian music was blaring from the loudspeakers late in the afternoon of the takeover. And don't forget," he wrote, "this attack occurred days after the so-called Jericho March, an event explicitly filled with Christian-nationalist rhetoric so unhinged that I warned on December 13 that it embodied 'a form of fanaticism that can lead to deadly violence.'" French also points to some of the lies that helped fuel the fires of the storming of the Capitol, including: "America will end if Trump loses"; and, "The fate of the church is at stake if Joe Biden wins. A Misleading Article. Yet, as much as I agree with many of the concerns French raises, the article still paints a misleading picture. The fact that Christian music was playing at the big rally does not mean that the violent attackers were Christians themselves -- not, at least, in any true sense of the word. I believe that this will be confirmed in the days to come, as virtually all of those arrested will be identified as members of white supremacist, white nationalist-type groups. To say nothing of leftist agitators. Not all, but virtually all. The reason I say this is precisely because I share many of the concerns raised by French in terms of some very real problems in the evangelical church today, especially in our white evangelical circles. As my readers know all too well (for some of them, to the point of ad nauseam), I, too, have raised concerns about Christians looking to Trump as some kind of political messiah. I have raised concerns about an unhealthy Christian nationalism and about confusing America with the kingdom of God. And, in the immediate aftermath of the Jericho March, I drew attention to the dangerous military rhetoric that at least one speaker used in the rally. Not to mention the theological errors that colored much of the rally itself." - Dr. Michael Brown
This is the problem Dr. Brown. You continue to play both sides of every argument. You always did this when it came to exposing error in the church. For example, you wrote a book about the errors of greasy grace but then refused to call out Joseph Prince, the king of greasy grace. You write against the abuses within Charismania but still refer to Benny Hinn as your brother in Christ. This fence sitting is exactly what you do with your dominionism and NAR gatekeeper status. Yes, you have occasionally written articles warning about Trump idolization but they are surrounded by other articles furthering the insanely dangerous lie that there was fraud in this past election. Now you are an intelligent man Dr. Brown so I find it difficult to believe that you honestly believe there was fraud to the level that a seven million vote margin would be changed. I can believe you wanted it to be believable. I can see that you probably prayed for it. But in your heart you must know that this is one of the worst manipulations of truth in your lifetime. 62 lawsuits were dismissed or laughed out of court - many by Republican judges. They only clamor of fraud you hear comes from the loser of the election. That does not mean that there is somehow widespread shared belief in that false fraud accusation. Even within this opening paragraph we see the double speak. You state problems in the church. You speak against unhealthy nationalism. Yet in the middle of trying to get on the right side, you insert the gem about leftist agitators. This of course is horse manure created by the Fox News hosts to try and split the bill after the carnage. There was no leftist agitators Dr. Brown and you damn well know it. Yet you throw it out there for the Trump lies to continue to gain traction and that is why you are so dangerous to the truth and the Gospel.
"I also hold President Trump responsible for years of dangerous rhetoric that helped fuel the fires of hatred and mistrust that exploded in our nation's Capitol. (For the record, I do not believe he should have been impeached once, let alone twice.). But as an evangelical leader who is good friends with quite a few prominent, evangelical Trump supporters, and as one who lives in the midst of the evangelical movement, I know for a fact that these leaders and believers were appalled and shocked at what took place that fateful day. Peace and Prayer " Until a Bus Arrived. One caller to my radio show told our listeners that he felt led by God to be at the event and to stand in front of the Capitol, starting at 9:00 AM. All that day, in the freezing cold, he held up a flag saying, "We need You Lord." And he said that, for hours, as the handful of people there turned into tens and then hundreds, then thousands, the atmosphere was peaceful and prayerful. It was only when a bus arrived at 12:30 p.m. with a new group of people that things shifted, as they began to challenge the police and call for an attack. He was convinced that they were Antifa plants, but let's say that they were actually white nationalist Trump supporters. Either way, the point is they were the ones who provoked the violence, not the thousands who were there to pray. (He was actually positioned at the very point where the fence was breached, so his perspective was invaluable.). Other friends of mine who were there were beyond mortified by the events of the day. Every Christian leader I know was appalled." - Dr. Michael Brown
This article by Dr. Brown was released a couple of days ago so he unfortunately had not yet seen the video released today by the New Yorker magazine from a reporter who was there on January 6, 2021. You see Dr. Brown was not there. Despite seeming to be certain about things such as believers being shocked and appalled, Brown has already been disproven by the video evidence. The New Yorker video shows the insurrectionists in the hallowed chamber as one of them leads them in a prayer to Jesus Christ thanking Him for allowing their rebellion to be successful. Thanking our Lord and Savior for delivering to them the traitors and treasonous. All the while the other criminals were raising their hands as if they were at an Evangelical church service. With absolutely no respect your radio caller, who is pre-biased towards you, I will rely on my own eyes and the bible, which assures me that God did not lead anyone to be at that insurgency.
