Bible, Improvisation, and New Community

Stacy Guinto-Salinas took this picture of a clothespin that was put on one of her Latino/a youth at a 4000 person UM youth gathering. On the other side was written "I love Trump."  So, it has been two weeks since the election of Donald Trump. It is the eve of Thanksgiving and many of us continue to be deeply disturbed and distrustful that our fellow citizens could knowingly elect a man who used vehemently racist, misogynist, and hate-filled language. Moreover, his rhetoric has inspired and encouraged hateful actions and speech among some of his supporters against churches, mosques, and individuals in schools and other institutions across the nation. One of my former students took a group of young Latinos/as to a youth conference where they were confronted by cowardly acts by high school aged supporters of Donald Trump.  When my former student, who is currently and MDiv student at Duke Divinity School, addressed the conference and shared her testimony about how she fo...

Martin Niemöller and Karl Barth So I have had a few days to reflect further on the election of Trump, what it represents, and how the church and believers in Christ should react. I still believe that the confessing church movement in Germany in the 1930s may shed some light on our current situation and perhaps provide us with a way forward. As I understand it, the main theological point of the Barmen declaration was to call out the idolatry of the so called "German Christians" who had come to align Nazi ideology with their faith, but in so doing had lost focus on the central convictions of Christianity, that Jesus Christ is Lord. Where Barmen shows us a way forward is that so many American Christians supported Trump and Trumpism, in spite of his hateful, misogynistic, and bigoted language. Of course the parallels with Barmen and the particular situation of the Protestant church in Germany in the 1930s break down somewhat. I'm not certain that the Trumpists organized ...

I like many others am feeling deflated, frightened and concerned at the election of a man who made bigotry, hatred, and misogyny the centerpiece of his election rhetoric.  I am deeply disheartened by the many in our country who failed to recognize the dangerous moral and ethical qualities of this man, and chose to vote for him in any case.  I am particularly disturbed that anyone who confesses Christ as savior and Lord could with any conscience cast a vote for Trump or support Trumpism. There will be judgment upon our land. I can only turn to the words of the Barmen Declaration for comfort.  These words, written in 1934, are the response of an ecumenical group of Christians in Germany who responded to the "German Christians" who had lined up behind the Nazi takeover of Germany. This was surely a dark time for the church in Germany. As we who are committed to Christ and the Word of God, let us remember that this can be part of our confession too. I am including sele...