Readers of this blog—I know you are few, and I appreciate each of you—might assume I have no love or respect for any white evangelicals, given the subject matter and tenor of most of my posts. If you have come to that conclusion, I need to correct that view. As you probably know, I was—and I think still am—an evangelical. And despite the ever-increasing number of age spots erupting across my face and arms, I’m still officially listed as Caucasian.
I Do Not Hate White Evangelicals
So, here it is, plain and simple: I do not hate white evangelicals. I strive to hate no one. Nor do I disrespect all white evangelicals. But I do hate the angry, hateful, bigoted religion that many self-proclaimed evangelical Christians have embraced and that now impels much of their actions. And I disrespect those white evangelical leaders who have created and fanned the flames of that angry, hateful, bigoted counterfeit Christianity.
The Christianity of the Bible I read and studied diligently for decades—if interpreted in the proper context—teaches love and tolerance, not anger and intolerance as promoted by so many of today’s self-proclaimed Christians.
The Christianity of the Bible I read and studied diligently for decades—if interpreted in the proper context—teaches love and tolerance, not anger and intolerance as promoted by so many of today’s self-proclaimed Christians. And I refer here to the Old Testament as well as the New. The much-beloved passage about loving one’s neighbors as oneself, while seen several times in the New Testament, first appears in the Old Testament’s book of Leviticus, right in the middle of a bunch of harsh restrictions.
The Church Has Not Replaced Israel
What folks need to understand about that apparent contradiction is that because it is in the book of Leviticus, it was directed to one group of people, Hebrews, in one specific era, the (approximately) 1,500 years between the giving of the law to Moses and the establishment of the church shortly after the death of Jesus. Indeed, most of the Old Testament was directed to that one particular group. Certainly, one can find universally applicable principles underlying much within the Old Testament’s narratives, commands, and wisdom passages, but the specifics were meant only for the Hebrew people in that specific era.
Failure to make that distinction between the nation of Israel and the Church is at the heart of much of the angry, hateful, bigoted beliefs and behaviors we see in the current version of evangelical Christianity. The problem can be traced primarily to one creed, often referred to as “Replacement Theology.” This is the belief that when the Jewish people rejected Jesus, their Messiah, God then rejected the Jewish people and replaced them with the Church.
That view has at least three fundamental flaws. The first flaw is that it was primarily the Jewish leaders, not the multitudes, who rejected Yeshua. The second flaw is that the earliest members of the Church were Jews. Gentiles came into the Church later. The third flaw can be seen in the New Testament itself, which plainly states in several places, but most prominently in Romans chapters 9 – 11, that God is not finished with the Jews nor with the nation of Israel.
Yet, despite these errors in their argument, many evangelicals persist in this belief, which has historically led to antisemitism as well as to more general types of bigotry. The Church is not the new Israel. Period. Full stop.
Leaning Toward Theocracy
But because of the mistaken belief that the Church is the new Israel, and because many take this creed to its logical conclusion, millions of Christians believe God has called them to institute a theocracy much like the one He established with the ancient Hebrew nation. These folks are typically referred to as Dominionists, Reconstructionists, or Theonomists.
I should not paint with too broad a brush. Not all who come under the categories listed above are mean-spirited bigots. Most are not. And by no means are all mean-spirited Christians Dominionists, Reconstructionists, or Theonomists. But those who believe that the Church has replaced the nation of Israel are more likely than other Christians to advocate for a modern-day theocracy—or something along those lines. Similarly, those who advocate for a modern-day theocracy are more likely than other Christians to call for harsh laws, along the lines of those given to the ancient Hebrew nation.
And, not coincidentally, those who call for a harsh theocratic-style government tend to be the most devoted Trump followers. I know that sounds weirdly incongruous—given Trump’s blatant irreverence—and it is. It makes no sense, but that’s the crazy world we now live in.
A Tradition of Tolerance
Also not coincidental is the fact that most never-Trump Christian are those who reject Replacement Theology and its concomitant Dominionism. These Christians tend to include Quakers; Anabaptists, such as Mennonites; Methodists, and some independents, largely the same factions that fought against slavery and for civil rights for all. And, of course, even within many of the denominations that lean toward theocratic notions there are dissenters—congregations as well as individuals. These are the Christians I prefer to identify with.
So, no, I don’t hate white evangelicals. I disrespect some of them—particularly hate-preaching evangelical "leaders." And I despise much of the disgusting dogma many of them spew. But I hope you, dear readers, understand that not all Christians—and I include white evangelicals in this statement—are angry bigots. Many are truly caring, tolerant people.