A New Year Means New, Difficult Choices
15 Now if you are unwilling to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served in the region beyond the River or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living, but as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” - Joshua 24: 15 NRSV
I have taken a break from writing because I honestly haven’t known what to say. It is not just the results of the recent US presidential election that has rendered me speechless, but rather the fact that the results were so clear and one sided. It would have been one thing had the presidential race been close, but there was no doubt: white supremacy and Christian Nationalism won the last US election. To be sure, I already knew that there were portions of the US population that valued white supremacy, greed, violence, and Christian nationalism, over justice and compassion but I guess I didn’t realize how many people either explicitly endorsed white supremacy, violence and injustice or who were happy to admit that they do not care about the well being of their neighbor.
And to be honest, I have been disappointed but not surprised by the response of predominantly White Mainline Denominations. At best the response has been inadequate and at worse evident that the denominations that claim to be a counterpoint to Christian nationalism, are willfully ignorant to the ways in which they perpetrate violence or at least ignorant to how ineffective they are.
The continued insistence of White Mainline denominations about the importance of bridging the political divide seems laughable when they can’t even bridge the divide within their congregation about what color the carpet should be. I am not sure White Mainline denominations have the ability or the authority to talk about bridging any political divides when it is becoming increasingly clear that their existence is irrelevant to a growing number of people. I’m not sure what the answer is to the growing threat of white supremacy and Christian nationalism, but I do know the answer will not come from White Mainline Protestantism.
Of course, this isn’t to say there aren’t individuals within White Mainline Protestantism who aren’t doing good work. There are clergy who are seeking to educate their members on the dangers of Christian nationalism, there are individual congregations who are finding ways to speak out against the rise in authoritarianism. But in general, I think the rise in Christian Nationalism is not just about the ability of predominantly Conservative Christians to consolidate power but it also serves as an indictment of the failure of more Mainline (and or liberal) forms of Christianity to be relevant. If and when Mainline Christians are speaking out against Christian Nationalism, it seems as if no one is listening.
So what words of wisdom can I input as we look ahead to 2025? Unfortunately, not much. It is too easy to write about hope and have it come across as ignorant optimism. The reality is, that things are going to get worse before they get better and no amount of pontificating about God coming down to earth as a sweet newborn baby is going to change that. The reality is that we as individuals and as a nation are going to have to make difficult and uncomfortable choices. And the reality is that not all of us are going to live to see 2028 much less 2026. I think in order for us to advocate for a more just and equitable society, we need to be honest with ourselves about the high stakes involved. It does no one any good to pretend otherwise.
I also think that the institutions that we had hoped to save us, will continue to fall into irrelevancy. And as a result we, as individuals are going to have to make some difficult choices We will need to make a decision about how we are going to live each day. Will give in to the forces of Christian Nationalism and white supremacy or will we spend each day doing what we can, even if it is very little, to continue to push back against these? Will we do what we can to uplift political candidates who are actively pushing against Christian nationalism? Will we have the courage to call out toxic and harmful theology where we see them, but particularly in our spheres of influence? Will we do what we can to help each other survive the next few years or will we retreat within ourselves? Are we going to be ok with the reality that we may not see the improvements we desire but that if we want our children and their children to live in a better world, we are going to have to do the work anyway?
I firmly believe that hope is not about feelings-though not to denigrate the importance of emotions. But that hope is found in the actions that we choose to take. The good thing is, however, that as long as we are alive, each new day is an opportunity to live in such a way that we contribute to the type of world we want to create.
Image: Silhouette of two hands reaching out to one another. Text: Hope is found in the actions that we choose to take.