A remarkable thing happened on September 21 in Phoenix, Arizona.
One hundred thousand people, pretty much all white, gathered to celebrate the life and work of Charlie Kirk. It was not just a memorial, however; it evolved into a political rally that both embodied and articulated what many hope is the future of the United States of America.
It began long before the 11 am (2 pm EST) start time, with the stadium filling quickly and the praise bands pounding out Contemporary Christian music. Kirk’s pastor took the microphone first and issued an invitation to Christian faith and practice. How exactly that “faith and practice” evolved into “religion and politics” is what drew my attention and sounded an alarm.
A score of speakers took to the podium, including leaders in Kirk’s organization (Turning Point USA) and members of the current presidential administration. The last two to speak were the widow of the slain activist, Erika Kirk, and the President of the United States, Donald Trump. It lasted five full hours.
If ever you wanted to know the nature and vision of White Christian Nationalism, this is for you. “Get married,” more than one speaker urged the audience, “have many children.” Discerning people heard hints of that “white replacement theory” that drives their concern for demographics and birth rates. On display before a watching world, this is the fear and the future embraced by a growing number of American citizens. This was, and is, the five-hour alarm we all need to hear.
What began as a call to follow Christ evolved into the challenge to “battle the socialist indoctrination on college campuses,” and “wield the sword against evil men in our nation.” But even that “following Christ” part was problematic. The Christ invoked was named as the King of Kings, the one who reigns in power and comes in glory.
No one thought to invoke the words of Jesus where he announced his mission “to bring good news to the poor, release to the captives, sight to the blind, and freedom to the oppressed.” Nowhere was there even an illusion to the gospel work of feeding the hungry, serving the thirsty, welcoming the stranger, clothing the naked, visiting the prisoner, and healing the sick. Nobody remembered the prophetic call to “do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with God.”
Let me write this again: in five hours of speech about what it means to be a Christian nation, not once did anyone mention a concern for those on margins in need of help or healing or those in the shadows desperate for light or love: the widow, the orphan, the refugee, the undocumented, the addicted, the homeless, the incarcerated, or more simply, the poor.
Yes, the widow Erika Kirk quoted Jesus when he spoke from the cross and forgave his executioners; and that may be the proverbial “crack where the light gets in.” But her brief efforts to counter the mean rhetoric of domination and destiny were immediately overshadowed by the ugly vocabulary of Donald Trump. He, evidently, is exhibit number one of what it means to embrace and embody White Christian Nationalism.
It was as if nineteen speakers over five hours of time were finally provided with the one expression of the White Christian Nationalism that they effusively described but never named: Donald J. Trump! Here, clearly, is what they meant when they proclaimed the return of what they claim America once had been. Yes, pictures of Charlie Kirk hung everywhere, and it was his rhetoric of hard working, home tending, and Christ following that was extolled as the order of the day; but, in the end, it was the meanness of Stephen Miller and the me-ness of Donald Trump that made the lasting impression.
Half memorial, half rally, the five-hour service unveiled the marriage of us-centered Christianity and we-driven Nationalism. It was full of borrowed speech but empty of permanent blessing. Instead, it was one long curse upon our land masquerading as divine appointment.
It was a warning, a five-hour warning, of where some people want to take us.
A remarkable thing happened on September 21 in Phoenix, Arizona.
One hundred thousand people, pretty much all white, gathered to celebrate the life and work of Charlie Kirk. It was not just a memorial, however; it evolved into a political rally that both embodied and articulated what many hope is the future of the United States of America.
It began long before the 11 am (2 pm EST) start time, with the stadium filling quickly and the praise bands pounding out Contemporary Christian music. Kirk’s pastor took the microphone first and issued an invitation to Christian faith and practice. How exactly that “faith and practice” evolved into “religion and politics” is what drew my attention and sounded an alarm.
A score of speakers took to the podium, including leaders in Kirk’s organization (Turning Point USA) and members of the current presidential administration. The last two to speak were the widow of the slain activist, Erika Kirk, and the President of the United States, Donald Trump. It lasted five full hours.
If ever you wanted to know the nature and vision of White Christian Nationalism, this is for you. “Get married,” more than one speaker urged the audience, “have many children.” Discerning people heard hints of that “white replacement theory” that drives their concern for demographics and birth rates. On display before a watching world, this is the fear and the future embraced by a growing number of American citizens. This was, and is, the five-hour alarm we all need to hear.
What began as a call to follow Christ evolved into the challenge to “battle the socialist indoctrination on college campuses,” and “wield the sword against evil men in our nation.” But even that “following Christ” part was problematic. The Christ invoked was named as the King of Kings, the one who reigns in power and comes in glory.
No one thought to invoke the words of Jesus where he announced his mission “to bring good news to the poor, release to the captives, sight to the blind, and freedom to the oppressed.” Nowhere was there even an illusion to the gospel work of feeding the hungry, serving the thirsty, welcoming the stranger, clothing the naked, visiting the prisoner, and healing the sick. Nobody remembered the prophetic call to “do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with God.”
Let me write this again: in five hours of speech about what it means to be a Christian nation, not once did anyone mention a concern for those on margins in need of help or healing or those in the shadows desperate for light or love: the widow, the orphan, the refugee, the undocumented, the addicted, the homeless, the incarcerated, or more simply, the poor.
Yes, the widow Erika Kirk quoted Jesus when he spoke from the cross and forgave his executioners; and that may be the proverbial “crack where the light gets in.” But her brief efforts to counter the mean rhetoric of domination and destiny were immediately overshadowed by the ugly vocabulary of Donald Trump. He, evidently, is exhibit number one of what it means to embrace and embody White Christian Nationalism.
It was as if nineteen speakers over five hours of time were finally provided with the one expression of the White Christian Nationalism that they effusively described but never named: Donald J. Trump! Here, clearly, is what they meant when they proclaimed the return of what they claim America once had been. Yes, pictures of Charlie Kirk hung everywhere, and it was his rhetoric of hard working, home tending, and Christ following that was extolled as the order of the day; but, in the end, it was the meanness of Stephen Miller and the me-ness of Donald Trump that made the lasting impression.
Half memorial, half rally, the five-hour service unveiled the marriage of us-centered Christianity and we-driven Nationalism. It was full of borrowed speech but empty of permanent blessing. Instead, it was one long curse upon our land masquerading as divine appointment.
It was a warning, a five-hour warning, of where some people want to take us.
Recent Posts
Related Posts
Not Long Enough
“That Was Incredible!”
We Ordained a Man
I Went for a Walk