As the terrorists took over the Capitol, they carried Christian flags and banners that said, “Jesus Saves.” Trump followers continue to claim, as they have for over four years now, that he was sent by God. They say that stopping the count of votes in an election that Biden won fairly is what God wants us to do to save this country. Of course, I’ve seen a lot of Christians on the other side sharing their anger and outrage over these crimes and how offended they are that this was done in the name of Christ. My Facebook feed is full of posts from white Christians condemning the attack and white supremacy and Christian nationalism. I’ve seen lots of “this is not who we are” posts, and people expressing their shock that this could happen.
But I have a message for all my white Christian friends: we brought this upon ourselves.
For years, we have ignored the rise of fascism in this country and in our own churches. We have played nice in the name of keeping the peace and maintaining "unity". We have refused to firmly condemn white supremacy and Christian nationalism from our pulpits out of fear of offending conservatives and losing the money they put in the offering plate. How many times have I been told that my sermons saying racism is a sin are too radical, or that if church members find out their pastor is going to Black Lives Matter protests, they will stop coming? I’ve lost count already and I’ve only been ordained for two years. Those of us who dare to speak out are met with threats that people will leave the church if we don’t shut up, and if it reaches the ears of our denominational leadership, we’re “warned” that if we don’t compromise and sacrifice our beliefs we will never find another church position. And while those of us who try to speak out are silenced, our churches have become a safe haven for beliefs that are the complete opposite of everything Jesus stands for.
White supremacy has no place in a religion that follows a God who came to earth as a brown-skinned Middle Eastern man. Christian Nationalism has no place in a religion that follows a God who made all people in Their image and declares in Christ there is neither Jew nor Greek (Galatians 3:28). And yet these ideas have long gone unchallenged in white churches. I don’t want to hear you say “not all Christians” because even those who do not support these things have still looked the other way and stayed silent for fear of offending people. We may not promote Christian Nationalism in our churches, but we keep flags in our sanctuaries and sing God Bless America every Fourth of July and Memorial Day to appease those who want to worship the US alongside or in place of God. We may not preach white supremacy from the pulpit, but we refuse to talk about racism or face our country’s racist history, and we fire and blackball pastors who try to condemn it. The blame lies not just with those who spread those ideals, but also with those who stand by and do nothing to stop them.
It is long past time that white churches in the US confess our complicity in the rise of fascism. It’s time we stopped valuing niceness and compromise over justice. It’s time we looked in the mirror and realized our own inaction is responsible for the rise of Trump and the many injustices and horrors he and his followers have inflicted on the world. It’s time we stop worrying about offending people and start unapologetically preaching the radical words of Christ who came to preach good news to the poor and proclaim release to the captives and freedom to the oppressed (Luke 4:18). It’s time we stop silencing marginalized people in the false name of unity and decency and start calling for repentance from everyone who uses Christ’s name to justify bigotry and violence.
To my fellow white Christians, we made this mess. It’s our job to clean it up.