In John 8 Jesus diagnoses those who try to establish themselves with lies and pride instead of truth and humility. Interestingly, the words he uses are intended to confront, not his professed enemies among the hostile Jerusalem elite, but (curiously) “the Jews who had believed in him” (cf. John 8:31). He is, in a word, speaking to wannabe disciples when he declares to them:
“If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” They answered him, “We are descendants of Abraham, and have never been in bondage to any one. How is it that you say, ‘You will be made free’? ”
Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, every one who commits sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not continue in the house for ever; the son continues for ever. So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed. I know that you are descendants of Abraham; yet you seek to kill me, because my word finds no place in you. I speak of what I have seen with my Father, and you do what you have heard from your father.”
They answered him, “Abraham is our father.” Jesus said to them, “If you were Abraham’s children, you would do what Abraham did, but now you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth which I heard from God; this is not what Abraham did. You do the works of your father.” They said to him, “We were not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God.” Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I proceeded and came forth from God; I came not of my own accord, but he sent me. Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word. You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and has nothing to do with the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks according to his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies. (Jn 8:31–44)
Notably, the people to whom he speaks are appealing to their genetic heritage as somehow placing them above the herd. It is a temptation to which none of us is immune and it partakes of the same black, satanic pride as white supremacist Christian Nationalism. More than this, Christian Nationalists have even less to stand on, given that Israel (meaning the heirs of the Mosaic covenant, not the secular nation-state) is, in fact, a Chosen People, while white supremacist Christian Nationalists are just Americans, a nation like any other with nothing to distinguish us from any other Gentile peoples. As Paul tells every Gentile Christian imagining they can look down on Jews:
If some of the branches were broken off, and you, a wild olive shoot, were grafted in their place to share the richness of the olive tree, do not boast over the branches. If you do boast, remember it is not you that support the root, but the root that supports you. You will say, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.” That is true. They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you stand fast only through faith. So do not become proud, but stand in awe. For if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will he spare you. Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God’s kindness to you, provided you continue in his kindness; otherwise you too will be cut off. (Ro 11:17–22)
The point is simply this: Whoever you are, you are not genetically superior. You are made in the image and likeness of God like everybody else and you are fallen like everybody else. Every racial quarrel is a fight among patients in a cancer ward about who is the least terminal. And those convinced of their intrinsic superiority are, like their father the devil, liars. The more you double down on the lie that any virtue or idea you have is due to your intrinsic awesomeness and not to the grace of God, the more you imitate your father the devil, who was the first to make that claim and who threw away every ounce of glory in making it.
Of which more tomorrow.
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One Response
The white supremacy of many Christian Nationalists is very disturbing. The overt hostility towards Hispanics is hardly Christian, however these people consider themselves to be the “real” Christians. They actually seem to think that Jesus loves White Christians more than other groups. The charlatans who comprise “Trump’s faith advisors” feed this perverted school of “Christianity.” It’s all quite revolting.