Religionless Christianity: God’s Answer to Evil: A Review

 

 I have taken out the links in this posting that shows the nastiness of our ex-president. I do not believe they were honoring to God and felt I should be straight forward with my words about Trump. If one worships an idol they will not be convinced unless the Holy Spirit is allowed to work in their hearts. 

 

 

A Review

By Viola Larson

 

Religionless Christianity: God’s Answer to Evil

by Eric Metaxas

 

Many years ago, working toward a BA in Religious Studies and one in Philosophy I took an excellent class on the history of religion in America. The teacher a Jewish lady would put an outline on the board with the different items we would be discussing for the day. One class, she wrote Bonhoeffer’s name under the “God is Dead” theologians. Having already worked on a paper that looked at Bonhoeffer’s term “Religionless Christianity, I asked her to please not categorize Bonhoeffer that way. She kindly erased his name.

 Eric Metaxas has written a follow up book to his Letter to the American Church. Metaxas in his new book, Religionless Christianity, uses a term Dietrich Bonhoeffer used in letters he wrote from prison. Bonhoeffer was attempting to write about the only way modern humanity would embrace God. Metaxas compares the term to what he calls “Mere Christianity,” a term C.S. Lewis used to express the Christianity that all orthodox Christians agree to. But Metaxas redefines the meaning of both “Religionless Christianity” and “Mere Christianity.” This review will explain the meaning of both and look at some of the members of the Confessing Church that Metaxas uses to advise the Church in these troubling times.

 Metaxas rightly states of Bonhoeffer’s phrase, “… So many decades, much of what he wrote—especially his use of the phrase religionless Christianity—was utterly misunderstood. Many earnestly believed that in the last two years of his life, Bonhoeffer had skittered away from a genuine biblical faith into somekind of agnostic ethical humanism.”[1]  But Metaxas explanation of religionless Christianity holds neither biblical truthfulness nor the richness of Bonhoeffer’s meaning.

Metaxas sets up a false effigy, a scarecrow of most of the American Church. If he were writing about the progressive church, those who deny the deity of Christ, or his atonement or bodily resurrection, he could then point to the skepticism those churches are involved in, but he is looking a different direction. He is accusing those Christians who refuse his mixture of supposed evil alongside the real evil of being false Christians. Metaxas in explaining what “woke” culture or cancel culture is posits the idea that not seeing the 2020 election as stolen is the same as accepting gay marriage, and believing that the COVID vaccine is helpful is the same as not believing the Bible is the Word of God. He is making a political mess out of the truths of Christianity. [2]

Metaxas defines “mere Christianity” as a cold impersonal, works oriented faith, a dead faith and even satanic. And yet insists on works that mesh with his political views, quoting James’s truth that faith without works is dead. [3]

But mere Christianity simply speaks to those biblical truths that all Christians agree to such as the deity of Jesus’ and His bodily resurrection. And truthfully, active Christianity, loving God, loving neighbor and even loving enemies are a part of mere Christianity. The faith that Jesus calls us to has a great deal to do with caring for the needy, caring for the stranger, loving each other and being faithful to our Lord. And yes, despite what Metaxas thinks, (He faults Christians who question if we are living in the last days), looking for the coming of Jesus, perhaps tomorrow, perhaps in a thousand years, Is mere Christianity. It might be many years but we are always looking and longing.

In his letters Bonhoeffer enlarges and focuses on a Lutheran and biblical truth with his reference to religionless Christianity. That is the theology of the cross in contrast to the theology of glory.  There are several passages in his Letters that speak of his thoughts on this issue but I believe that a poem he included is his best explanation:

Men go to God when they are sore bestead

Pray to Him for succour, for his peace, for bread

For mercy, for them sick, sinning or dead;

All men do so, Christian and unbelieving.

 

Men go to God when He is sore bestead,

Find him poor and scorned, without shelter or bread,

Whelmed under weight of the wicked, the weak, the dead;

Christians stand by God in his hour of grieving.

 

God goes to every man when sore bestead,

Feeds body and spirit with his bread;

For Christians, pagans alike he hangs dead,

And both alike forgiving.[4]

Bonhoeffer was attempting to put Christ at the center of faith, rather than being at the edge becoming only the answer to questions that had not yet been answered by progressive culture. He saw Christ’s suffering on the cross as the place where modern humanity could meet God and truly it is always so. A bruised reed he will not break, and a dimly burning wick he will not extinguish (Isaiah 42: 3a). The graciousness of Christ, his suffering mercy is religionless Christianity rather than any political stance.

Metaxas tends to use his subjects, characters, in a demeaning way to make his points. He has a whole chapter on Marin Niemöller entitled “The Cautionary Tale of Martin Niemöller.” He, although noting that Niemöller was a good man, uses his story to warn Christians. He writes:

As tempted as we are to thank that we would have behaved like Bonhoeffer, it is infinitely more likely that we would have behaved like Niemöller, who was a genuinely good man and a deeply committed Christian but who nonetheless misread the situation fatally.

But no, Niemöller, who at first did think that Hitler might be a good leader for Germany did not read the situation fatally but was in error. But that quickly changed and Metaxas does not tell the story with much integrity. He insists that Niemöller was alone in a meeting with Hitler. But the meeting began with several members of what would become the Confessing Church. Metaxas attempts to picture Niemöller as giving in to Hitler’s rages, writing that he told Hitler “We are all enthusiastic about the Third Reich.” But this was from a later document signed by several Confessing pastors. Hubert G. Locke as editor of Martin Niemöller’s letters from Moabit Prison writes in his Introduction:

On January 24, 1934, Niemöller joined a delegation of church leaders to protest some of the degrees of the Reich bishop, a meeting characterized by “heated” exchanges between Niemöller and Hitler; Niemöller told Hitler that church leaders had a God given responsibility toward the German people.[5]

Karl Barth stated of Niemöller: I think of him as the embodiment of ‘Barmen … Pastor Niemöller in the Dahlem congregation was and is exemplary for the “Church Struggle.”[6]

The strange outlook of Metaxas is that he is using Bonhoeffer to warn today’s Church against what he considers evil while missing the glaring truth that Bonhoeffer and the Confessing Church members were warning the Church of their time against a man and system that is not unlike the man and his cohorts he is promoting. Not only promoting but insisting that those Christians who refuse to vote for ex-president Trump are not following God.

Hitler is a ghostly shadow of what Trump is and could become. Trump despises the weak and disabled. He sees Jesus as being part of a positive Christianity rather than the suffering savior who died for his sins. He seeks no forgiveness. He maligns women in the worst kinds of ways. He calls those who disagree with him communist, fascist, and even vermin. He adores authoritarian leaders. He believes that all of those seeking safety in America will damage our blood. He calls for vengeance against his perceived enemies and is friends with those who hope to both imprison and hang enemies.

Trump’s followers including Metaxas, not unlike the German Christians he is writing about malign and exclude those who wish to honor Jesus rather than Trump.   

Yes, there is a mandate for the Church to hold on to the biblical purity of marriage: intimacy after marriage and that between one woman and one man. And the Church is pro-life or it is not the Church. But the Church is also the messenger of God’s mercy because of the death and resurrection of Jesus. It is the messenger of forgiveness for sinners, not the unrepentant. The Church is called not to political activism, the promoting of presidents but lifting up Jesus as Savior and Lord.

 

 

 

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[1] For an excellent explanation of some of Bonhoeffer’s difficult statements see, Worldly Preaching: Lectures on Homiletics: Dietrich Bonhoeffer, editor Clyde E Fant (New York: Crossroad 1991).

[2] Eric Metaxas, Religionless Christianity: God’s Answer to Evil, (New York: Regnery Faith 2024) 85.

[3] I have written Martin Luther’s response to the question of works in my article Eric Metaxas' Letter to the American Church and the Rest of the Story

 

“Faith, however, is a divine work to us that changes us and makes us to be born anew of God, John 1[12-13]. It kills the old Adam and makes us altogether different men, in heart and spirit and mind and powers; it brings with it the Holy Spirit. O, it is a living, busy active, mighty thing, this faith. It is impossible for it not to be doing good works incessantly. It does not ask whether good works are to be done, but before the question is asked, it has already done them, and is constantly doing them. Whoever does not do such works, however, is an unbeliever. He gropes and looks around for faith and good works, but knows neither what faith is nor what good works are. Yet he talks and talks, with many words, about faith and good works.

 Faith is a living, daring confidence in God’s grace, so sure and certain that the believer would stake his life on it a thousand times. This knowledge and confidence of God’s grace makes men glad and bold and happy in dealing with God and all creatures. And this is the work that the Holy Spirit performs in faith Because of it, without compulsion, a person is ready and glad to do good to everyone, to serve everyone, to suffer everything, out of love and praise to God, who has shown him this grace. Thus it is impossible to separate works from faith, quite as impossible as to separate heat and light from fire. [LW 35:370-71]”

 

[4] Detrich Bonhoeffer, Letters and Papers From Prison, editor, Eberhard Bethge, reprint (New York, Collier Books 1971) 348-349.

[5] Exile in the Fatherland: Martin Niemöller’s Letters From Moabit Prison, editor Hubert G. Locke, (William B. Eerdman’s publishing Company: Grand Rapids 1986) 8.

[6] Barmen is the confession that the Confessing Church drew up in their battle against Hitler, the Nazis and the German Christians, The Church Struggle was against all three. Arthur C. Cochrane, The Church’s Confession Under Hitler, (Philadelphia: Westminster Press 1961) 110.

The Perfect Storm of Jew Hatred on the left & Right: But the Church…

 

"Do not forget that every nation deserves the government that it endures.”  From the first Pamphlet written by the White Rose

 

As I have explored and am writing about antisemitism connected to those who have some connection to Donald Trump, I am watching the rise of Jew hatred on America’s elite campuses,
and I am thinking of a perfect storm.

It seems strange to have written about antisemitism attached to a small circle of organizations and movements and then to see such movements enlarge and begin to make connections to an ex-president running once again for the office. And here I am speaking of mostly far right antisemitism. I am aware of the growing antisemitism movement on the left—I was aware when for many years I wrote about the Presbyterian (USA) denomination. That is no surprise. But watch. they, the far left and the far right, may too soon be holding hands.

I have been following the Reawaken America Tour for several years now. Its leaders are Clay Clark, Michael Flynn, and Eric Trump, the son of Donald Trump. The tour will supposedly have its last event in June of this year. But there is a hint it will go on longer. The tour has offered various speakers, pastors, supposed prophets and political leaders. The main message, alongside other conspiracies. is Trump’s position as president was stolen and he must win the 2024 election.

In earlier postings I have noted that several speakers at the tour are antisemitic, mainly  Scott McKay. In another posting, The Second Coming of Fascism to the United States, I noted that columnist Jake Tapper had actually contacted Eric Trump and Clay Clark and questioned them about allowing antisemites to speak at their meetings. These men have evidently not been allowed to speak since, although a friend of McKay who is also an antisemite did speak.

Still, when one constantly follows and holds to conspiracy theories it will eventually lead to antisemitism, the historical scapegoating of the Jews. I watched recently as Clark was put in a position of defaming the Jews. He never answered outright but he never defended the Jewish people who were being slandered.

The site Clark was visiting is SGT Report. I have not been able to find the name of the person who owns the site, however there are many different videos with various speakers and a great deal of antisemitism. Here is the words and question to Clark.

“…But I want to ask you about those red heifers[1], this whole thing is being orchestrated and its being made to happen on purpose because these people want a Luciferian sea change on planet earth so they’re trying to usher in demons through CERN, they want to rebuild the temple—the whole red heifer thing is something I wanted to ask you about. These red heifers were found in Texas and shipped to Israel, weren’t they?”

Clark affirms the red heifers came from Texas and the SGT moderator continues:

“It’s all so crazy man! I know this has become a topic now, Candence Owen thing, Ben Shapiro thing, I mean we can talk about Zionism, Ben Shapiro is just a devout Jew and Zionist so all manner of crime in Gaza A-Ok. But I think it really does need to be addressed that there is a sector of the Jewish community, Clay, that in my view is among the most extreme on planet earth, these people are extremist and I’m being polite. (Emphasis mine)

 After the speaker asks Clark his opinion, Clark speaks about his problem with racism as a young person but fails to answer the question about the Jews.

In another video “Red Heifer’s, CERN & The Solar Eclipse with Clay Clark on Fri. Night Livestream” Clark mentions that people ask him about Scott McKay. He excuses McKay’s absence by saying he had to make room for new people. He goes on to say that McKay is “gracious, he’s kind, he’s a nice guy … he really “has a lot of respect for Scott McKay”, … “his passion for saving the country.”

I have in other postings explained that Scott McKay pushes an old antisemitic idea that an ancient people, the Khazars, after converting to Judaism left the Baltic region for Europe and took over the banks and royal families of Europe. McKay refers to them as the Khazarian Mafia.[2]

Considering that these three people, Clark, Eric Trump and Michael Flynn are close to the ex-president this brings the possibility of the darkness of Jew hatred into the Whitehouse if Trump is elected. As I have written above, this country is already being engulfed by radical antisemites on the left via elite colleges and some denominational churches such as the PCUSA. This is the so-called perfect storm—a storm of Jew hatred.

Several commentators have mentioned that assaults on the Jews never ends with only the Jews. The kind of evil that slanders the Jewish people and reaches out to hurt them ends with many ethnic and cultural groups hurt. In Germany it was the disabled, the Roma, the LBGT community, the non-white community and finally the confessing church pastors as well as the young people who belonged to the White Rose. But it is the Jew who suffers the most from such lies and aarrogance.

In a posting I wrote in 2013, “The little ship of Christ’s church is sailing in a storm.” Lessons from the book, Paul Schneider: Witness of Buchenwald, I wrote about Paul Schneider, the first Confessing Church martyr during the Nazi years. I wrote about some of the differences between the German Christians and the Confessing Churches as experienced by Schneider. Christian nationalism that is being birthed in the MAGA movement holds some of the same attitudes and inclinations as the German Christians.  In one of his sermons Schneider stated:

“Of course, they [the German Christians] must underpin the practice with the false teaching that the message of the church is not the gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ, the Savior of sinners and the Kingdom of God alone, but our national character and traditions plus the gospel. They are in fact breaking with the living God and his Christ by placing blood and race and the history of the nation as sources of revelation alongside God’s Word, alongside God’s will revealed to us in the Word of Scripture alone, alongside Jesus as the only mediator between God and man.” 

May our churches and our hearts be filled only with messages of the redeeming blood of Jesus, the Kingdom of God and the salvation of sinners.

 

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[1] This is about a belief that orthodox Israelites must have red heifers to sacrifice in order to open a third and new Temple in Israel. The speaker is making something evil (Luciferian) about it.

[2]See Naming His Grace: Khazarian Mafia- the final conspiracy theory that opens the door to

God's judgements and Mercy: misusing Joel because of an eclipse

Amanda Grace of Ark of Grace Ministries in a video, today, April the eighth, the day of a solar eclipse, pulled in almost every historical and contemporary event during this time to prove that God was bringing judgement on those Americans who don’t repent. Well, He just might! Including those who add words to Scripture when teaching others. 

 Grace used some texts from Joel to teach her message and as I listened to her reading Scripture, I was surprised. She was reading Joel chapter 1:5-6 and as she read verse 6, she read, “’For a pagan and hostile nation” has invaded my land. I couldn’t remember God telling Joel that a “pagan and hostile nation” was coming against Israel. I was certain that God’s description depicted locusts. The description speaks of those who strip the branches, who ruin the grain, destroy the wheat and the barley, they leap, they climb on the wall like solders, they bring darkness. All of this is a description of a horrible plague of locusts And God does name them in the first part of chapter one, and also when He turns with compassion to Israel:

 Then I will make up to you for the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the creeping locust, the stripping locust and the gnawing locust, My great army which I sent among you. 

 So, the message turns political. It is a pagan people coming across our Southern border she says. They are mostly men who are of a military age she states and they belong to dark groups. Well. Yes. Some. But many are desperate families. And they are probably not going to climb on our walls and climb through the windows as insects do. 

And if God judges us it will not be because we have broken a national covenant with God, as Grace states. It will be because we have, first of all, rejected the offering, the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross, His work of redemption. We also are failing because of our eager reach for power and position—we are called to humbleness in our walk. 

 And then there is the many words of the prophets. For instance, in Amos, chapter two, God’s judgement comes because of idolatry, sexual sin, lack of care for the needy and because we “turn aside the way of the humble.” 

 But Joel does take a turn forward moving past locusts to those days when God will pour out His Spirit on all of His people—the days of Messiah, the Redeemer. “And it will come about that whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be delivered.” Whatever sin, whatever wrong, there stands the cross.

 

 

Both Right and Left- There is Spiritual Slaughter

This may be a hodge podge but too many thoughts came into my mind this morning, Maundy Thursday. It is about sin in our lives, the misuse of Christ’s redemptive work on the cross, and the false proclamations that are zinging around and past each other at this moment. It is the progressive church and the ultra-rightwing church. Christ’s sheep are being slaughtered not physically but spiritually. The pure gospel is at risk. 

I have not written for several years about the progressive Presbyterian Church (USA). I have written much about ultra-rightwing Christians. They came together in my mind today. They are using the Church and the good news of Jesus’ death and resurrection to advocate for their particular interests. For the PCUSA, because it is Holy Week they are using scripture to address the needs of trans people. Because it is the beginning of an election year the ultra-right are using scripture and supposed Christian needs to advance their advocacy for Donald Trump. 

 As I began studying the issues and the two groups as well as some of the scriptures connected to Holy Week, the text of the two disciples on their way to Emmaus (Luke 24: I3-32). With the help of E. Earle Ellis’ commentary on Luke, I see that parts of that story can be applied to both movements.

 Today I saw a link to the Presbyterian outlook on Facebook. The article was A Call to Celebrate the Trans Day of Visibility on Easter Sunday. The Emmaus story is used. The important idea the author, Shea Watts, uses is scripture text that the two disciples recognized Jesus in the breaking of the bread. Watts writes: One way of interpreting the story suggests that the men only recognize Jesus when they welcome his presence at the table. In other words, it is not their piety but their hospitality that makes their seeing possible. 

He goes on to suggest that, “One way to understand Christ’s transfiguration is to see Jesus as “a template for other transfigured, transfiguring bodies,” including transgender persons.” And not only is this a skewed interpretation of the disciple’s recognition of Jesus but also of Jesus as a template of transfiguring bodies, “including transgender persons.” 

Yes, the disciples were hospitable; they were in fact amazed and wondered at the exposition of the whole of scripture that Jesus had given while explaining the fulfillment of the messianic promises. No, it was not their piety that opened their eyes to see Jesus, nor was it their hospitality. It was God and their realization through the given word of a proper expectation of Jesus ministry and purpose.

 When Jesus had first started to walk with the two he asked them what they were talking about. They explained to him the crucifixion of Jesus and how they had expected him to be the messiah that would deliver Israel, meaning the nation of Israel. “But we were hoping that it was he who was going to redeem Israel.” Part of Jesus’ answer was, “Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and enter into His glory.” Beginning with Moses he then explained all that the prophets foretold about Himself. Ellis in his commentary writes: 

 The dialogue is characterized by opposite interpretations of Jesus’ death. For the two disciples it is a tragedy, the end of a ‘a prophet’ who they had hoped was Messiah (19-21). From the Scriptures Jesus interprets His death as a necessity, the ordained way in which Messiah was to ‘enter His glory’ (25-27). Messiah did ‘redeem Israel’ and will ‘restore the kingdom to Israel’ (Ac: 6). But it is not the ‘Israel’ of nationalist definition. And His redemption is not the political victory of current messianic expectation.

 The two disciples’ false interpretation of Jesus’ death arose from a false messianic expectation. In turn, this had its roots in a false understanding of the. Scripture. To ‘know’ the events one must ‘know’ the Scripture. Only after it is ‘opened’ to them are they prepared to ‘see’ Jesus in His resurrected glory (31f). This order is as significant as the occasion of their recognition (30). After knowledge of the biblical understanding of Jesus’ suffering and glory the disciples were prepared to see Jesus.

 So, we also see Jesus. Jesus calls us to love and care for those who are trans or any sinner as we all are. But he does not call us to affirm sin. Not any kind of sin. Not the sin of those who seek power and influence either. And that is who I will turn to next using the same scripture text. 

As usual I keep listening to and hearing about those involved in Christian nationalism and the New Apostolic Reformation adherents as well as the political and religious movement Maga. Many have been listening to Charlie Kirk founder of Turning Point USA. Recently giving an interview in a church, he stated:  

I want to make sure that we all make a commitment If the election doesn’t go our way the next day we fight …. A lot of people don’t won’t to hear that they say what do you mean it doesn’t go our way it has to go our way we have to win, I agree but if your answer is no I’m not going to fight if I don’t get my way then you are a summer, sunny what do they call it a sunshine patriot I’m not ready for the winter storm and you’re and there were a lot of people that were on board for the American Revolution.

 And then he goes on to say that when they had to march through the snow and face a smallpox’s epidemic they quit. In other words, Kirk is liking his idea of a fight to the American Revolution. 

From so many corners the threats are coming. See Julie Green, Eric Metaxas, ‘Still’ it is said, ‘still, shall the City of God abide, lusty beside her tiny stream’ I see this need for fighting so called political enemies and the desire for political power not different then the misunderstandings of the two disciples on the road to Emmaus. They hoped that Jesus would fight an earthly battle that would free Israel from Rome. Instead, he fought a battle that overcame sin, death and hell. Jesus was willing to suffer such a horrible death that led to glory and to the redemption of fallen. broken, sinful humanity. Yet, like His early followers—the call is not to seek power, position or prosperity but to take up a cross.

[1] E. Earle Ellis, General Editors Ronald E Clements, Matthew Black, The New Century Bible Commentary: The Gospel of Luke, (Wm. Eerdmans Publ. Co. Grand Rapids reprint 1991) Luke 24: 13.

 

Donald Trump, allowing himself to be an idol: A rewrite for a new election year

 

I am partly rewriting a posting I wrote before the 2016 presidential election. I was troubled in 2016; now I am simply a Christian who knows only one true leader, actually a King. I am a Democrat who almost always voted Republican because of my concern for the unborn. Now I have no political home. The democrats are mostly anti-life, and Donald Trump is an immoral, bombastic liar who is suggesting to his followers that he provides a kind of redemptive substitution for them. He is leading too many astray.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote and spoke about the authoritarian leader just as Hitler became the “democratically elected chancellor of Germany.” Speaking of a leader reaching beyond the authority of the office, Bonhoeffer stated:

“If he understands his function in any other way than as rooted in fact, if he does not continually tell his followers quite clearly of the limited nature of his task and of their responsibility if he allows himself to surrender to the wishes of his followers, who would always make him their idol—than the image of the Leader will pass over into the image of the mis-leader, and he will be acting in a criminal way not only towards those he leads, but also towards himself.”[1]

It follows, according to Bonhoeffer, that the leader must, “lead his following away from the authority of his person to the recognition of the real authority of orders and offices. … He must radically refuse to become the appeal, the idol, i.e. the ultimate authority of those whom he leads.”

Now it is true that many of those seeking office, both Republican and Democrat, need to be reminded of who they really are, in the presence of God, simply office holders chosen to serve the people. But in Trump, one finds a need to be the ultimate authority mingled with immorality and dishonesty. Those who follow him, follow a lie. And those who desire to follow truth shudder because of those who follow the lie.

 Still, there is a beautiful, biblical picture of a leader who has all authority but who is truly goodness incarnate. The leader is found in Psalm 72. A Psalm that was either written by Solomon or his father David. Scholars are uncertain.[2] It is a king’s prayer to be a righteous yet gracious ruler, something that neither man, although they were great men, were able to accomplish. And in this Psalm one clearly sees the beauty of the ultimate, King, the messiah.

The prayer is that the king will judge his people with righteousness “and the afflicted with justice.” He will save the children and still crush the oppressor. He is like rain is to mown grass and “like showers that water the earth.” Everything flourishes because of his reign. There will be peace and those who are righteous will flourish.  

“His rule is from sea to sea.” It is to the ends of the earth and all kings (and presidents) will in the end bow down to him. His compassion is perfect:

“For he will deliver the needy when he cries for help, the afflicted also, and him who has no helper. He will have compassion on the poor and needy, and the lives of the needy he will save. He will rescue their life from oppression and violence, and their blood will be precious in his sight. ..”

The Psalm goes on to praise God for his wonders and glory.

Many years ago, in a sociology class, the professor asked us to take a quiz to help him with a project he and some other professors were conducting. The quiz consisted of choosing between two different actions we would take, at first a good action or a bad one. But as we went further into the test both actions to choose from became bad. Finally I returned the quiz to the professor, telling him I could not finish because I could not choose either action. This election is the same.

I hope and pray that many of us, who are Christians, if we must, will not vote, but will instead cling to that One who will and does reign in righteousness.

 

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[1] This is taken from Eric Metaxas’ book Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy, (Nashville: Thomas Nelson 2010) see chapter 9, “The Führer Principle” However Metaxas is now insisting that those Christians who won’t vote for Trump are sinning. Sounds like he is making Trump an idol to me.

[2] Derek Kidner, Psalms 1-72: An Introduction & Commentary, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries, (Leicester, England: Inter-Varsity 1973)

Eric Metaxas' Letter to the American Church and the Rest of the Story

In October of twenty-two I wrote a book review of Eric Metaxas’ book, Letter to the American Church. I have since wanted to renew the review for several reasons. One reason is it has now been made into a documentary with footage that includes scenes of the horrific times of both Hitler and Stalin meant as a warning to American Christians that they can prevent such awfulness. The Documentary includes thoughts by Charles Kirk of Turning Point USA, an ultra-conservative organization. The documentary has been promoted on Epoch Times TV a branch of the news magazine Epoch Times which is affiliated with the religious group Falun Gong. 

There are two other important reasons. In the review I was attempting to counter Metaxas’ poor understanding of Martin Luther’s view of justification by faith alone. He believes Luther became obsessed with the idea that believers are redeemed by faith alone and that this caused the faithlessness of the German Church in the Nazi years. I have since found wonderful material in the Lutheran Formula of Concord which clearly disproves this. Metaxas does not understand the biblical scope of “by faith alone.” The other reason, I did not know at the time that I wrote the review that Metaxas was aligned with many in the New Apostolic Reformation movement (NAR) and even allowed guests on his show that hold QAnon beliefs.

 Both the book and the documentary have been shown widely among evangelical churches. This includes Calvary Chapels, Baptists, Nazarenes, and Assemblies of God churches. This doesn’t mean that all of those denominations accept what Metaxas has written but some of their churches have. 

 In my earlier review writing about Metaxas’ view of Luther’s biblical understanding of justification by faith alone I quoted Metaxas: 

But in his understandably giddy joy, Luther may sometimes have gone a bit farther than necessary, or at least opened the door for others to do so. For example, when he translated Romans 3:28 from the original New Testament Greek into German, Luther added the single word “alone” to the following sentence: ‘For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from the law.’ Luther’s version was, ‘Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith alone without the deeds of the law.’ Luther felt the need to add that word to underscore what for him was essentially the central idea in the universe, and he may be forgiven for this.

 And also: 

 We might say that Luther had in his zeal made an idol of his idea of faith, so that the genuine faith to which God calls us was crowded out.

 Plus: 

The phrase ‘faith alone’ had made the Christian faith so simple—and ultimately so thin and one-dimensional—that over time it was easily and blithely assented to by nearly everyone in the German nation, so that Bonhoeffer wrote about it in the Cost of Discipleship.

 After this last quote I explained that Bonhoeffer, a martyr of the Confessing Church, did not refer to Luther as the cause of the faithlessness of the German Christians in his book The Cost of Discipleship. But as far as the seeming problem of "faith alone” The Formula of Concord (Second Part) quotes from Luther’s preface to Paul’s Epistle to the Romans: 

Faith, however, is a divine work to us that changes us and makes us to be born anew of God, John 1[12-13]. It kills the old Adam and makes us altogether different men, in heart and spirit and mind and powers; it brings with it the Holy Spirit. O, it is a living, busy active, mighty thing, this faith. It is impossible for it not to be doing good works incessantly. It does not ask whether good works are to be done, but before the question is asked, it has already done them, and is constantly doing them. Whoever does not do such works, however, is an unbeliever. He gropes and looks around for faith and good works, but knows neither what faith is nor what good works are. Yet he talks and talks, with many words, about faith and good works.

 Faith is a living, daring confidence in God’s grace, so sure and certain that the believer would stake his life on it a thousand times. This knowledge and confidence of God’s grace makes men glad and bold and happy in dealing with God and all creatures. And this is the work that the Holy Spirit performs in faith Because of it, without compulsion, a person is ready and glad to do good to everyone, to serve everyone, to suffer everything, out of love and praise to God, who has shown him this grace. Thus it is impossible to separate works from faith, quite as impossible as to separate heat and light from fire. [LW 35:370-71]

Metaxas in his failure to understand the biblical view of faith alone added to the problem in his book, by melding the two sides of the churches during the Nazi years into one body. He didn’t do this in his book on Bonhoeffer but for some reason he did in Letter to the American Church. Perhaps it made it easier to insist that the American Church was not standing against the evils of the culture. But as I pointed out in my first review there existed in Nazi Germany, both the German Christians who aligned with Hitler and the Confessing Church which would only confess Jesus as Lord and did not stand with the German Christians. Bonhoeffer and many others including the first pastor martyred, Paul Schnieder, were a part of the Confessing Church.

The problem with all of this is that everyone who Metaxas aligns with, including Metaxas, insists that if Christians do not stand with Donald Trump, they are part of the church that will fail God, causing a tragedy greater than the Holocaust. This is really what his book is about. It is what Charles Kirk insists on. It is what The Epoch Times and Falun Gong stand for. In fact, the people publishing the Epoch Times do not even believe in Jesus Christ as Lord so they do not understand what it means to confess Him.

For all of their talk about Hitler, fascism, Marx and socialism, all those I have named, Metaxas, Kirk, the Epoch Times, the political members of the New Apostolic Reformation and QAnon, are lifting Trump up as an Idol- they themselves are guilty of conforming to a loyalty that mimics the German Church as they lifted up Hitler. When they call out brothers and sisters in Christ who will not conform to their expectations about Trump and malign them, they are imitating the German Christians. This is not to call Trump or the Maga movement Nazis but their actions concerning those who disagree with them are not much different.

In all of this ideology that lifts up Trump as a savior for America the cross is missing. The followers of Jesus are not called to seek power or position but rather to take up their cross. The promises of Jesus are not rooted in this world or its kingdoms but rather in the Kingdom of Heaven. We have a King who endorses no one but Himself. The innocent, perfect Lamb of God, the eternal Son, begotten of the Father calls us to a hidden place in Him. I have on my bulletin board a program from my church with the words of Jesus, "I have not come to bring peace but a sword." Some might think that is a call for Christians to take up a sword against their enemies, but it isn't. It is a truth that the world will too often take up the sword against the disciples of Jesus. Metaxas and others have it backwards, do not seek power, seek instead faithfulness to Jesus.  

 

My Mail and a Candidate for Assembly in California

 

I just picked up my mail today; the only bit was a flyer with the front sporting a pair of pink boxing gloves with the words:

What does her role as Planned Parenthood of California’s chief lawyer tell you about how Maggy Krell will represent us?

Well, I don’t need to read the rest. She is interested in preserving the right to kill little boys and girls who are not yet born. The boxing gloves may be pink but they are not girlish, womanish, or sweet and nice. They should be blood red.

Inside it mentions that Krell is fighting for rights including the rights of children—but both scientifically and biblically unborn babies are children, little human beings who deserve the right to live.

Jesus took the little children to himself and blessed them. Life is the beautiful gift that God gives to everyone—to take it from the innocent is a horrific act.

While Detrich Bonhoeffer, one of the Confessing Martyrs during the Nazi time in Germany, in his book Ethics wrote that although at times it my be the community that bears the blame for abortion, when a mother is in great need, it is still murder. He wrote:

Marriage involves acknowledgement of the right of life that is to come into being, a right which is not subject to the disposal of the married couple. Unless this right is acknowledged as a matter of principle, marriage ceases to be marriage and becomes a mere liaison. Acknowledgement of this right means making way for the free creative power of God which can cause new life to proceed from this marriage according to his will.

And of course, this also applies to those who bring about life outside of marriage. The child is still God’s creation. We should pray that neither our nor other’s hearts be hardened by the murder of children. We should pray for but not vote for Maggy Krell.