Once again, it’s Church Schism day on the blog. The next group of heretics that should be cast out into utter darkness: “rad-trad” Christian Nationalist Catholics:

“Just as the AR-15 rifle has become a sacred object for Christian nationalists in general, the rosary has acquired a militaristic meaning for radical-traditional (or “rad trad”) Catholics. On this extremist fringe, rosary beads have been woven into a conspiratorial politics and absolutist gun culture. These armed radical traditionalists have taken up a spiritual notion that the rosary can be a weapon in the fight against evil and turned it into something dangerously literal.”

The True Church follows the crucified Christ who told his disciples that those who live by the sword die by the sword. Anything else is heresy and should be treated as such. It’s time for a good church schism.

This Tweet from @preston_shipp was too good for me to not only unroll but to quote in its entirety here:

”I think the Bible is a collection of diverse literature, authored and compiled by pre-scientific human beings, writing in different cultures and languages and for different purposes, trying to make sense of life with a God that they, and we, will never comprehend. 1/6

Not everything the Bible says about God is true. While the authors were inspired to write about God, they got some things wrong in their attempts to understanding a God we’ll never grasp. But sometimes the Bible contains truths so beautiful and profound that we memorize them. 2/6

Discerning what is helpful and good and true in the Bible from what is harmful and destructive is the work of communities of faith, led by the God of whom the biblical authors write. We trust that God is present in the ongoing conversation about God. 3/6

So we give thanks for the Bible, but we do not worship it. The Bible, like the Sabbath, was made for human beings. It is a wonderful sign pointing to God, imperfectly of course, and there are other signs we also pay attention to. 4/6

We respect the Bible, but we do not serve it. We learn from it, but we keep it in its proper place. After all, many faithful Christians either existed before the Bible was assembled, have been unable to read, or lived before there was widespread access to Bibles. 5/6

We also recognize that God is not a Christian. God is not the captive of any one tradition. Other traditions contain profound truths about God, and we’re secure enough to learn from them, even as we seek God through our own scriptures, sacraments, rituals, etc. 6/6”

Given their wholesale embrace of the snake oil Donald Trump sold them, I fully expect that the Christian cryptocurrency will be a big hit among evangelicals.

Some of the things I remember most fondly about my evangelical days are the times I crossed paths with John Perkins, his ideas, and his ministries. His book Let Justice Roll Down led me to spend a few years living in the inner city helping tutor kids and learn from our neighbors. I was even able to spend an evening with him as part of a church “justice” conference (back when evangelicals didn’t vilify people as “social justice warriors”) I had been involved in putting on. If evangelicalism wants to reclaim its soul, following the example of Saint John Perkins would be a good place to start.

Enough niceties about evangelicalism. Here’s yet another article where evangelicals are making a better argument for atheism than the atheists. Hate is never a good look, especially when the messiah you claimed to follow talked so much about love.

If churches (Catholic or otherwise) are going to spend money to influence elections, then they should be taxed.