Thursday, November 9, 2017

Was It Worth It? My Post-Election Prediction

This was my post on Facebook the day after The Narcissist Who Shall Not Be Named was elected. 


Since that time, me and my family have left both our long time church (for hate group related reasons) and Evangelicalism as a whole. We have not attended church since. I know of a number of others who have left. In many cases, we are those who have spent literally decades in dedicated service. The reasons we left our church were specific to that situation. The reason I am not inclined to try again is that politics have poisoned things, and the benefits do not seem worth the risk.

Actions - and votes - have consequences. I’ll be here (Lord willing and the creek don’t rise) to remind you all of that.

#wasitworthit?
#whitenationalismisnotachristianvalue
#socialdarwinismisnotachristianvalue
#misogynyisnotachristianvalue
#seriouslywasitworthit?

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If you want, here are my posts before and after the election. Sadly, it has become obvious that Le Toupee and the GOP were not joking when they promised to exclude immigrants and refugees, retaliate against civil rights protesters, gut healthcare for the poor and disabled, and generally implement the KKK platform of the 1920s.

Aftermath: A Way Forward For Those Of Us Who Still Believe In Basic Human Decency

And also:

Since When Is Exclusion of Immigrants a "Christian Dream"? 
Hate Groups And Why They Matter
Why Young People are Leaving Evangelicalism


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Update November 16, 2017:

Miguel de la Torre wrote this outstanding piece for Baptist News (of all the unlikely places.) I feel like I could have written it myself.

The Death of Christianity in the United States

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2018 update:

In just the last year, it has become even clearer that a major priority of white Evangelicals is to stop brown-skinned people from immigrating to the United States. Many people I know - and some I am related to - have lined up to defend even the most heinous of Trump's policies, including the separation of children from their parents (often permanently), stripping citizenship from US citizens if they can't prove that the midwife who delivered them didn't lie, and more. In short, Evangelicals seem determined to prove that they are the cruelest people in our nation. This makes me achingly sad.

Also: still haven't attended church since we left.  

10 comments:

  1. You might still find a church that is right for you. If you make it to San Francisco visit Glide Memorial. They believe in "radical inclusion", and as an added bonus the music is fantastic.

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    1. It's possible. I know there are churches outside of Evangelicalism. Just not sure I want to drag the kids through a search. And I am not sure if I even want to right now. Who knows what the future will hold, though.

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  2. No church is perfect, but some things are definitely deal-breakers. I hope you and your family find a group of like-minded people you can do love and life with. (FWIW, sometimes that group is found outside the church.)

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    1. The good news is, I know a lot of great people, and am making sure we stay in touch.

      On the issue of deal breakers, I think having to deprogram my kids on a regular basis was the worst. That is the part that gives me pause. It's hard enough raising kids with empathy for those outside the group, historical awareness, and openness to new discoveries without being fought on those very issues from the church.

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  3. Of course its worth it to them. This was their last stab at power. Giving up their chance of control would be giving up the entire point of religion for them.

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    1. I tend to agree. This does look like desperation. Unfortunately, the way I see this ending is that Evangelicalism will become much, much smaller in the next generation. And what is left will be people who are openly bigoted and hateful toward minorities, LGBTQ people, and and "liberals."

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    2. This is the moiled mess that comes about from mixing politics, patriotism, and Christianity. It is typically deadly in the end, one way or another.

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  4. Tim, have you heard of the book “Unchurching”? My wife and I were in a similar position as you and your family. We had left our “church” and were looking for another one when we found that book. It summed up a lot of what we were feeling at the time, and was only more appropriate after the election happened.

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    1. I had not heard of that. I'll have to look it up. Thanks for the suggestion.

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  5. I'm sorry to hear that it has come to this for your family. I feel we are peculiarly blessed in that our church (Baptist, though it is) has a comparatively low level of political and patriotic stuff going on. In fact, I haven't heard our pastor even comment on politics since he came early this year, though I admit we don't make it to services all that often. Just another reason we keep driving 40+ minutes one way to attend there. There is so much we couldn't stand in other churches.

    Some of my own family has not been part of any organized church for some years now, so I can relate to some of your frustrations. I do encourage you to keep seeking out relationship/fellowship with other Christians in other ways.

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