“A great book should leave you with many experiences, and slightly exhausted. You should live several lives while reading it.”- William Styron

If William Styron’s definition is correct, then I found Jesus and John Wayne to be one for the ages. Not for its escapism, nor glorious transportation to another place and time. Rather, it lifted a layer of secrecy off of the history I’ve lived through, leaving me feeling as though I’d been punched in the gut and needed a shower. Not exactly a glowing recommendation. It did, however, finally answer a question that’s been dogging me for five years.

The Big Question

Aside from the quest for social and political power, why did Evangelicals betray the teachings of Jesus to endorse Donald Trump for president?

If you’ve been reading my blog, you know I’ve been actively searching for the answer since September of 2019. My book page lists several resources that detail the rise of the Religious Right, far more of a political juggernaut than a movement of the faithful. But at the core of my discontent was my longing to understand the betrayal of our faith. These had been my people. They introduced me to Jesus Christ. Through the Evangelical Church I learned how to love, and I blindly assumed that we all shared a devotion to our Savior as He is revealed in the Gospels. I never found a satisfactory answer.

Until now.

The Duke Abides

The short answer, according to Dr. Kristin Kobes Du Mez, is that a man like Donald Trump is exactly whom they were expecting. Nothing like Jesus. But a lot like John Wayne.

He was the one-and-only Duke. White America’s hero of the silver screen strutted across our collective cinematic consciousness for over forty years. He was larger than life in every way. At 6’4, chiseled and arguably handsome, women wanted him and men wanted to be him. Almost every role he played cast him as a champion of our times; Superman versus all of America’s perceived enemies.

Jesus and John Wayne — John Wayne, credit to Wikipedia and Google Images

And just like the rest of us, he was a mixed bag. Most biographers tend to treat him kindly, giving him the benefit of the doubt since he inevitably played the good guy. He passed away in 1979, long before there was any accountability for his less-than-stellar personal behaviors. His politics were solidly conservative, but taken to public extremes in matters of anti-Communism, white supremacy, aggressive militarism, and utter contempt for non-heterosexual identities.

He also won an absurd number of awards, including (but hardly limited to) the Oscar for Best Actor, the Congressional Gold Medal, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Whether on or off-screen, when the Big Man spoke, American’s enemies were cued to quiver in fear.

So how did this character- part real person, part Hollywood creation- become the blueprint for the Republican candidate for President of the United States? Not to mention the poster boy for the Religious Right’s quest for the throne?

A Scholar Seeks The Truth

That, my friends, is the sordid story researched and reported by Dr. Du Mez in Jesus and John Wayne. At this point, you alone must decide if you want to read the book. My purpose here is not promotion but to share what I have learned and decide what I will do with the information. Far more than a history lesson, Professor Du Mez discovered the design for the Evangelical Church’s patriarchal stranglehold on their members.

I have faith in her process. Kristin Kobes Du Mez received her PhD in History from Notre Dame University and currently serves as a professor at Calvin University. She spent years painstakingly researching and documenting her findings. This well-written book weaves a spell-binding narrative that introduces a seemingly innocent precept: “There’s more to Evangelicalism than theology.” But that ‘more’ sprawls across decades of abuse: of power, money, position, fame, and sexual domination by a staggering number of famous names in modern Christianity. Any connection to Jesus Christ is a very long stretch of the imagination. But finally, we have an explanation for the meteoric rise of Donald Trump.

Evangelical names that you would recognize used John Wayne’s influence and persona, beginning the process of creating a white American male prototype in order to secure and maintain social and political power. It worked for them then, and it’s working for them still.

Trump wasn’t a long-awaited spiritual savior, as some Evangelicals still believe. He was the fulfillment of their machinations. This excerpt from page 253 of 356 in Jesus and John Wayne captures the essence of their cause:

“But in truth, Evangelical leaders had been perfecting this pitch for nearly fifty years. Evangelicals were looking for a protector, an aggressive, heroic, manly man, someone who wasn’t restrained by political correctness or feminine virtues, someone who would break the rules for the right cause. Try as they might- and they did- no other candidate could stand up to Donald Trump when it comes to flaunting an aggressive, militant masculinity. He became, in the words of religious biographers, “the ultimate fighting champion for evangelicals.”

So for four years the entire planet suffered through the reign of Donald Trump, culminating when he tried everything in his power to throw the election. When that failed, the world watched on January 6, 2021, as Trump’s “aggressive, militant masculinity” resulted in an attempted coup to overthrow the government of the United States.

Thankfully, he failed. But the movement continues. Some Evangelicals still subscribe to the false conspiracy theories that surround him like a razor-wire fortress. Many prominent pastors still straddle that divide, trying to keep one foot on each side of the fence. Sounds painful. And therein lies the sorrow of this entire debacle: Ex-vangelicals like myself face a fork in the road as we decide what to do with this newfound and disturbing information.

A recent Gallup Poll revealed that, for the first time since they started keeping records in 1937, church membership in the United States has fallen below 50% of the population. Further examination of this data reveals several possible causes. But we who walked away from Evangelical Christianity are not at all surprised. At first we were adrift, almost certain we were alone in an isolation compounded by the COVID epidemic. Slowly but surely, however, we are finding each other.

The Question That Keeps Coming Up

So again I ask the question that comes up on a regular basis: where do we go from here? For me, Jesus and John Wayne only seems to affirm my decision to change my religious affiliation from Christian to Jesus-follower, from Evangelical to Ex-vangelical. Rather than tackling any ecumenical challenges, I’ve chosen to focus on my website and provide resources to those of us who wander in the wilderness. I encourage all of us who call Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior to prayerfully consider how we will use our resources and gifts, whether within the sanctuary walls or without. Despite the heartache this betrayal has brought, we are not here to waste away. In paraphrasing Ephesians 2:10, we are STILL God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Even John Wayne couldn’t do better than that.

*To order the book, just click on any of the blue links above.

October 19, 2020October 19, 2020

Jesus’ Teachings Versus Evangelical Politics

What Jesus Said Versus Religious Right Theology

Never before have I integrated someone else’s writing into one of my blog posts. But what writer Christine Brinn had to say will resonate with so many young people who question the Evangelical Church over their support of Donald Trump. Today I share her thoughts and my own reaction in solidarity with other resistance fighters:

“Dr. James Dobson is basically my spiritual grandfather. I grew up listening to his familiar voice on the radio. Long road trips were passed listening to Focus on the Family’s audio drama, “Adventures in Odyssey.” As a teenager, I looked forward to the latest edition of Brio Magazine and I devoured all 800+ pages of Billy Graham’s Autobiography before I finished middle school. I was born and raised in evangelical America.

Today, my parents still attend the church I grew up in and I see many beautiful ways that my childhood community instilled in me (and still inspire) a genuine love for Jesus. The seeds of my Christian faith were planted within the small, sheltered world shaped by Chuck Colson, Jerry Falwell Jr., Franklin Graham, and so many others. I’m grateful for many of those seeds. I’m also grateful for the communities of faith that have since helped me discover my blind spots. In the years since “I Kissed Dating Goodbye” and “See You at the Pole,” I’ve been given the privilege of following Jesus in many different contexts, and have had to wrestle, evolve, integrate, un-learn, re-learn how I read scripture, how I read history, how I listen to human experience, and discern how to follow Jesus in our present global context. I’m indebted to communities of faith that have collectively shape my imagination (Hillcrest Chapel, Gordon College, Fuller Seminary, InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, IFES, Neighborhood Ministries, CCDA, Harbor Church, Urban Life, San Diego Refugee Tutoring, The Ruth Center, Epic Church, The Message Center, Venn Diagram, and many others).

So, what’s my point? Well, this week I read Dr. James Dobson’s heartfelt plea to his community (and my childhood spiritual family). He compelled his audience to protect and fight for religious freedom (aka, Vote for Trump). In his words, this fight is critical because we’re fighting for a God-ordained inalienable right that America’s founders “enshrined” in the first amendment. When I read that sentence, I stopped in my tracks. I realized with clarity why my faith in Jesus no longer fits into the values system that shaped me as a child.

What I’ve learned is this: Jesus didn’t live and die to “enshrine” religious freedom into our government structures. He didn’t impose his agenda on the Roman Empire – or on anyone for that matter. In fact, He did quite the opposite if we read the whole of scripture or through the eyes of the global church. Jesus says a lot about his relationship to Empire, and “enshrining” his ethics into government structures was far from his approach to redemption and healing of the world. The Jesus I follow today is not leading me to vote for a platform at the expense of basic human rights. I believe the Jesus I follow is in fact confronting the blind spots of the American Church and is exposing our possessiveness, our need for control, our dominance and our abuse of power.

I don’t have all the answers. I’m doing my best to listen to everyone’s experience. But, for all those in my spiritual family who are wrestling with this year’s ballot, I pray that we’d ask God to open our eyes to the blind spots we may have. Is “protecting religious liberty” or “voting for a platform” what Jesus lived and died for?

I follow Jesus because I find his invitation compelling: not to fight to protect an Empire, but in fact to consider first God’s deep love for all humanity. Check out Luke 4 – Jesus gives a great elevator pitch! How does your vote bring good news to the poor, the captive, the oppressed? [Side note: White evangelicals aren’t oppressed.].

I’m voting against white supremacy. I’m voting against bigotry and racism. I’m voting for human rights and the sanctity of all human lives. I’m voting for restoration of the earth. I’m voting for sustainability over profit. I’m voting for racial justice and equity. I’m voting for the prisoners, widows, orphans, refugees and immigrants. I’m voting because I believe these are the things Jesus invites me to prioritize. I hope you’ll join me! #vote2020“

Who Is Defying The Teachings of Jesus?

Christine, thank you so much for your words. As my mother used to say, “if everyone else goes and jumps off a cliff, are you going to do it too?” This woman succinctly recounts the pillars of her Evangelical upbringing. She must be about the same age my daughter would have been, considering the benchmark ministries and publications we faithfully followed and instilled in both of our kids. Who, in their right mind, would even guess that the giants of American Evangelicalism would buy into a mindset that so clearly defies the teachings of Jesus? I do believe it’s too late for some of the older folks. They are not willing to examine the evidence and compare it to the Gospels. And tragically, the younger Evangelicals see the hypocrisy and are leaving the church. Worse yet, they are LEAVING JESUS. And who is to blame for that? The pillars of American Evangelicalism, and their followers who lack the courage to OPEN THE BIBLE AND READ THE GOSPELS. There is a new world coming, and hopefully in God’s mercy Donald Trump will not be a part of it. This isn’t the first time the status quo religion of the day will be blown to pieces. Jesus will prevail. He is the Alpha, the Omega, the First and the Last. None of this would be happening if He were not allowing it. Kevin and I know that our job is to be there for the people we used to teach in Sunday School- those who now write to us in pain and sorrow. God will use this for good. My prayer is that God will have mercy on us, and deliver us from Donald Trump.

October 17, 2019November 2, 2019

The Price of Gullibility

Is Gullibility A Good Excuse for Following Trump?

I am as gullible as the day is long.

In the sixth grade, Pam Snivens convinced me (quite easily, I might add) to lick the wand that came out of the rubber cement jar. Our art project almost completed, she said all we needed to do was affix the construction paper to the poster board, but there was too much glue on the brush.

“It’s going to make a mess. You’re supposed to lick the extra off the wand.”

So I did.

I gagged, she laughed, and my face burned in embarrassment. Spitting the yucky stuff into the trash, it didn’t even occur to me to turn her in to the teacher for pranking me.

I felt it was my fault for being such a dolt.

How Do We React When We’ve Been Misled?

Feeling shame when someone has fooled us seems to be a universal response. That doesn’t really make sense though, does it? Especially not the first time. When we are misled or just plain lied to by people we trust, that’s on them. Now if we are dumb enough to fall for it again, that’s on us.

Millions of Evangelicals have been duped by the leaders of the Religious Right- most notably Franklin Graham (which is an absolute tragedy), as well as Fox News. I give everyday folks the benefit of a doubt, since these leaders used to have credibility. Graham’s father Billy Graham was a man of unquestionable integrity.

Fox News has veered further and further Right for years. However, it has become a mouthpiece for Trump and the RR political machine. In a stunning development this week, their anchor Shepard Smith resigned. Smith, who repeatedly called Trump out on the air, apparently exercised some integrity.

I salute him. We all should.

Now the time has come for those who bought into the promises made, and Scriptures inaccurately claimed, to take stock. Being a gullible gal, I can understand why they bought in. But honestly, if I had read the label on the glue jar, I wouldn’t have licked the wand.

If they had followed the teachings of Jesus, would we be in this mess?

Fortunately, I spit the messy mouthful into the garbage and learned at least one lesson. Thank God we can do an about-face with His help. Hopefully our country will eventually recover. The church, I honestly don’t know. I don’t see how. But God is still in control. May He have mercy on us all.

October 13, 2019September 13, 2020

King Cyrus and the War of the Worlds

Debunking the Trump Cyrus Prophecy

Why on Earth does the Religious Right cling so desperately to Donald Trump’s presidency?

One answer has to do with a supposed Biblical prophecy that Trump has come to fulfill, involving King Cyrus of Old Testament fame. Better writers than I have documented all the Scripture references, so let me give you a thumbnail sketch and a link at the bottom where you can find more information.

Cyrus the Great was a Persian king, foretold by the prophet Isaiah and used by God following the conquest of the Babylonians around 539 BC. Forty-seven years earlier, in 586 B.C., the Babylonians had conquered Jerusalem. The Jewish population had either died or been forced into exile. Now along comes Cyrus and conquers the conquerors. It should be noted that Persian kings didn’t handle their captives the same way the Babylonians did. Instead of scattering their conquests, the Persians generally worked with their captives to rebuild what had been destroyed during the campaign. They also allowed them to continue their own religious practices. Long story short, God used Cyrus, a man from a people who did not worship Yahweh, to accomplish His purposes by returning the Jewish people to Jerusalem and promising to help rebuild their temple.

This guy Cyrus was the real deal. He may not have been one of the chosen people, but he and his mission were foretold, chronicled, and remembered as a time when God used a non-believer as a vessel to accomplish His purposes.

Meanwhile, Here In The Present…

2557 years later, in a completely unrelated event, Donald Trump moved the American Embassy from its long-time location in Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, a political gesture prompted by the American political right as a message of solidarity with Israel. Needless to say, the Israelis were overjoyed that America recognized Jerusalem as their capital.

So overjoyed, in fact, that Benjamin Netanyahu, the president of Israel, said this:

“We remember the proclamation of King Cyrus the Great–Persian King. Twenty-five hundred years ago, he proclaimed the Jewish exiles in Babylon can come back and rebuild our temple in Jerusalem….Mr. President, this will be remembered by our people throughout the ages.”

Now there are a number of differences between King Cyrus’s situation and Donald Trump’s, the most notable being this:

Cyrus the Great’s purpose was declared by God and foretold by the prophet Isaiah. Trump’s action was political, not declared by God or foretold by a Biblical prophet. You would think this would have been the end of it. It should have been the end of it. Sadly, it was not.

The Aliens Have Landed

Remember the story of the “War of the Worlds” radio broadcast?

Orson Welles narrated and directed an adaptation of HG Well’s novel War of the Worlds as a live Halloween broadcast on October 30, 1938. While some came in late on the disclaimer, others just didn’t put two and two together. Their regularly scheduled programming was increasingly interrupted by a series of news bulletins. Martians had landed in Grover’s Mill, New Jersey, and were blasting humans with heat rays. The situation worsened to the point where poisonous smoke was floating over New York City, and the military was powerless to stop it.

Widespread, national panic ensued. It wasn’t a real attack, but it scared the living daylights out of much of the nation.

There Were No Aliens, and There Is No Prophecy

It’s funny how things get going like that. I submit that the same mob mentality has morphed one political move and Netanyahu’s grateful response into a massive religious lie. Starting with a book written about Trump’s faith, it snowballed into a cultural phenomenon involving every possible means of communication available to red-blooded Americans. Many people, including people I know, swear by it. That’s why they ignore, gloss-over, or attempt to explain away actions by the President that clearly are not ordained from above. Like perpetrating genocide upon our Kurdish allies, or obstruction of justice, or treason. You don’t mess with vessel, right? And they believe Donald Trump is a vessel used by God.

I believe that the Cyrus Prophecy over Donald Trump is a mass-hysterical reaction to a fictitious assumption, just like the panic over War of the Worlds. It’s just that everyone back then was hoping and praying it wasn’t real.

The bottom line, folks, is that any prophecy spoken or written over Donald Trump isn’t Biblical. That frees us all up to let it go and see him for who he truly is. You won’t be messing with the vessel. But you could be saving the world.

This article was published online by Red Letter Christians.Org.

For a balanced, informative book on the political movement known as the Religious Right, written by one of their own, read The Immoral Majority by Ben Howe.

Category: What the Religious Right Believes

John Wayne, Jesus, and The End of Innocence

Jesus And John Wayne