This episode lays out more evidence for the corruption of the evangelical church based on its embrace of rightwing identity politics. It discusses the Micah 6:8 inversion in which the demands for justice are placed on others, but mercy is not given but leveraged exclusively for personal salvation. Many evangelical Christians embrace a culture war worldview that is shaped more by Fox new and rightwing conspiracy theories than Scripture. The blasphemous embrace of the Trump bible signals the infestation of identity politics in the evangelical church.
“Who is my neighbor?”–Jesus’ answer to identity politics
This episode challenges believers to repent of identity politics, particularly with the judging, labeling, and discarding of liberals, the favorite bogeymen of conservative Christians. If the great commandments are the lens through which Christians see their neighbor, then the pigeon-holing and rejection of liberals is antithetical to Christian orthopraxy and witness. Evangelical vulnerability to right wing identity politics is evident in widespread embrace of politicians who specialize in demonization of different groups. The Biblical response to identity politics should be framed by Christ's answer to the question, "Who is my neighbor?"
The Perfect Setup for Identity Politics in the American Church
This episode provides an historical overview of evangelical Christianity, highlighting the decline of Biblical literacy and a Biblical worldview in the last 50 years. While roughly one-third of Americans identify as evangelical, only 10% meet the criteria based on the core doctrine tests of Biblicism, crucicentrism, and conversionism. And only 40% of these evangelicals actually have a Biblical worldview. Interestingly, this decline in Biblically-based Christianity has occurred while Christian influence in the political sphere has dramatically increased. The concurrence of these two trends is the backdrop of the perfect storm of the invasion of identity politics in the American church.