The Linguistic Marginalization of Christians Continues

I'm at our podcast.

My name is John Harris. I wanted to show you some things from the mainstream and fringe media today concerning Christianity and whether or not

Christians should have a voice in the public square. Of course this is an issue that is coming up more frequently and I think we see the future of what this might look like in the coming years of the

Biden administration especially but just as the culture changes I don't know that you necessarily need a Democrat run administration or a

Republican run administration. I think these issues would be there either way. First though a word from our sponsor which is

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Now let's get into it today. I want to talk about first this because I just read this.

I'm not gonna get into the details. I just want to encourage everyone check it out. This is from the

President of Russia. So this is en .kremlin .ru but it's February 21st and it's a

Security Council meeting. The President held a meeting of the Russian Federation Security Council at the Kremlin and I am a big believer in when you can, you should go to the primary sources to understand an issue and this would be going to a primary source.

I know some of you, I'm not gonna go listen to what Russia says but well you're gonna get it either way.

It's either gonna be talk show hosts and media personalities explaining to you what the

President of Russia says or you can go and you read for yourself. Here's what the President of Russia says and I found extremely interesting because I haven't been paying close attention until more recently.

I had a general idea of what was going on but I've been hearing and it doesn't matter right or left it seems like you're gonna hear a certain narrative coming from our media on this whole situation with Ukraine and I feel as though I things have been a little misrepresented to me about the what the

Russians are seeking in this. Now I'm not saying I trust everything the Russians say I'm just saying you're gonna get a better understanding if you just read the statements from I was gonna say both presidents but if you read the statements from our president

I'm not sure how lucid they would be. It's the statement from actually

Putin is very well put together compared to what we're used to from Biden and even Trump and certainly

Trump actually and even Obama and Bush. I mean it's it's just a little embarrassing actually and I'm like why is it that you know anyway that's that's we've elected or selected as the case may be perhaps in a certain election that just happened but I digress you're just gonna get a fuller understanding of what's going on and it really changed or solidified some things in my mind and I'm not gonna say in what direction because I don't have time to get into all of it and I know there's gonna be objections probably if I do but I'm just encouraging you go to the primary sources check it out see what's being said and I think you're gonna get a different picture and I'll just I'll leak this little thought

I have I think that our country and now it's not just our country but the politicians in Washington I think they want war

I really do I really believe that they and and China is the threat right now guys

China is the big threat defending Taiwan against an imminent potential Chinese invasion much more important if you're looking at the geopolitical stuff then this issue with Russia and Ukraine I yeah

I'll just I'll leave it there I really think that there's other interests involved that want to instigate something with Russia and I mean even look at the size of Russia's economy and military compared to China we we are we are ignoring the elephant in the room and anyway let's let's get into what

I really want to talk about today though let's talk about some mainstream media articles we're gonna start here with salon yes salon

Christian nationalism is rooted in stupid tough guy misogyny what would Jesus say yeah this is the caricature that the unbelieving world and what more the progressives on the left especially

I believe about Christianity those who are unfamiliar with Christianity this is how they're trying to portray it

I make the case I'm gonna make the case on Wednesday that those who wanted media attention and the limelight to represent

Christianity are not going to get it even if they had a position the media is gonna focus on the ones that they want to identify as crazy that's just how they are so you have here a whole entire article on a mainstream media website targeting

Christian nationalism and I want you to really listen to this particular line the author and there again this is an author from the secular world as I understand it

Christian nationalism is an idea now widely accepted within the evangelical church that the US is a

Christian nation founded upon Christian principles no matter what it may say in the Constitution okay so yeah as if the

Constitution just overturns this idea this guy has no clue about civics but this is the basic understanding and I think this is why evangelicals who are more conservative in their political leanings they get upset when this this term is just thrown out there because that is what they're hearing to they're hearing what you're just saying that if we think that the

US is a Christian nation meaning that it's founded upon some Christian principles that you know where these horrible people you know why would you vilify that and then of course you have the

David French's of the world saying you know you're just not understanding you're ignoramus you know it's so much nuance so much understanding you must have to know what

Christian nationalism is and you must come to me where because I listen to the right people who talk about and you get into arguments over that we're doing the same thing with critical race theory just getting arguments over the term and what but this

I think this guy nailed it that's exactly what this battle is over right now if you think that the United States was founded on Christian principles you're basically a

Nazi and John why would you say that because that's what they're trying to do that's it's it's Oderno's f -scale trying and it's it's trying to come up with equivalents in the

United States and they've come up with a few of them toxic masculinity neo -confederate but Christian nationalist is is a better term for them to use right now because look you know only a certain demographic is gonna be you can try to use the spear me out neo -confederate

I've had it you know deployed against me you know if you have any kind of love for your ancestors who might have been

Confederates or if you have any kind of southern identity or if you even think Robert E Lee was a good role model you're automatically a neo -confederate well that's only a certain demographic that that's not the whole list of people that the left wants to go after I mean they could you know maybe win that war that that media war which in some ways they have but they're not and what

I mean by that is they've they've effectively neutralized and they've porn so much scorn on people that would feel that particular way that it it's caused all the other supposed conservatives to back off and say well we don't want to associate with anyone who could be called that and and so they've kind of gotten what they've wanted they've they've they've been able to marginalize a group of people now they're doing it with Christian nationalists because this is a broader group of people and it's their number one enemy the evangelical conservative

Christians who tend to vote for Republicans they can call them a smear and it'd be basically and all comes back to you know they're

Nazis or they're racist of some kind they're they're evil they're they're they're oppressors that's that's all this is they're oppressors they hate certain people then they can effectively neutralize and do the same play again they can marginalize them and it's working it's working the same way it always works no one wants to be a toxic masculine person no one wants to be part of the patriarchy yeah there are certain people you know rah -rah

I'm part of that but you know in the mainstream it's not acceptable in the mainstream it's not acceptable to be to think that your southern ancestry is worth preserving their memory it's not acceptable now to think that Christianity has anything to do with our civics in the way that our country our identity as Americans we should

Christianity shouldn't be even part of that and of course this is a big change from the whole entire history of our country but now here we are and and so this is what they keep doing and I just thought that was interesting

I think this you know is David French gonna go after this writer at Salon that he doesn't understand Christian national he won't of course he won't because these are the people

David French and I'm picking on him but it's really that's a lot it's a big group of people in the elites in quote -unquote

Christianity these are the people they want to get approval from so Christian nationalism is based not in the

Bible or the teachings of Jesus but on the idea of the traditional American family oh my goodness what could be worse

I mean separate and seriously separating the Bible and the teachings of Christ from the traditional

American family I mean there I mean what do you think created the traditional

American family what do you think really inspired in many ways many aspects of that was it's the

Bible so I mean the divorcing the two is just stupid the roles of women have changed and divorces become more common same -sex marriage gains a firmer footing and now with the movement for transgender rights and invisibility becoming more public the panic of the

Christian nationalists becomes even more desperate oh man all right so let's get to the final point on Christian nationalism is around all the macho tough guy stuff that seems to be on the tips of every right -wing leader being tough seems to be the only thing conservative commentators and evangelical leaders care about Trump is supposedly the epitome of that and his little posse loves him for it you see the scorn dripping this is actually so funny there's like playground stuff this guy is so just just immature in the way he writes

I won't pretend to understand it after I graduated middle school being tough just didn't seem that important but yeah

I can tell this guy not tough at all but for people like Sean Hannity Tucker Carlson Jerry Falwell jr.

and of course Trump it's important to keep pretending that they are a bunch of tough guys yeah well Sean Hannity is a Catholic Tucker Carlson is

I believe an Episcopalian Jerry Falwell jr. just claimed and he never claimed to really be at least since his role at Liberty in the

Provost position he never claimed or the Chancellor he didn't claim to be a Christian and recently he said look

I'm not I'm not a religious person Trump of course he's Trump he's you know you know take that for what it is yeah these aren't exactly your evangelical choirboys here but this is you know all the hatred and you know the people that vote for Trump are evangelical so he says

I'm no tough guy well yeah I don't know pretty tough on the people you don't like here but I'm happy to offer a challenge to any of these fake tough guys debate me anywhere anytime

I am truly blue -collar a member of the American working class yeah you're writing for one of the most elite publications pouring scorn on people who are of working class so like you've you know this is

I don't know what we even called that a turncoat or you know what I'm a Bible -believing minister and a flaming liberal oh wow

I believe that the Christian nationalist message comes from the devil himself all right I'm gonna stop this is just immature it's it's laughable it's so ridiculous but this this is just a rant against in salon against Christians who would be tough now what's the purpose of something like this what do you think it is this is

I think what Christian elites often miss they see something like this and their reaction is oh no oh no we have to run the opposite direction how can we be associated with those tough guys they're offending people they don't like us and I mean

I really want to be liked by people in salon in the Washington Post New York Times and USA Today and etc

I really do so I'm gonna run the opposite direction and I'm gonna show them I'm a really nice compassionate guy look

I I just you know LGBT is it a sin I mean I don't know let's just have a conversation let's get a cup of coffee let's talk about it

I mean you know there's so many sins out there and what is sin well this is this is the tactic that's being deployed so often you know they try to you here's where I can agree with you here's the common ground we have

I'm not like those other guys and the separation firmly exists that's why they have to distance themselves constantly from folks on their right constantly they're looking to their right finding someone they can cast to the outer darkness because then they can they can showcase themselves to media elites and secularists that are well totalitarian secularists who might have the power to cancel them they can virtue signal to them that look

I'm not like the guys you hate and I really think that's what's going on here more than anything they they're looking at the people with the power and trying to ingratiate themselves to them now what is that so that's the response

I would say most evangelical elites would have what's the proper response if you read this article by Nathaniel Manderson is his name you're actually finding out what the left is afraid of they're telling you their fears telling you exactly what they don't want why would they feel the need to publish a piece like this because they have to try to convince people to reject this kind of thing because they're afraid of it they don't want it and and this whole thing is is yeah there's there's all kinds of disdain but there's fear here why is the the panic level at 10 because this gentleman is afraid for some reason that these guys get power into powerful positions and he doesn't want that and this is the this is the takeaway

I think that people should have who are on the right politically and evangelical

Christians who believe in biblical orthodoxy they should look at this and say huh let's crank it up a little more let's crank it up to 10 you know what there there's something working we're over the target that's why we're catching flack doesn't mean you become like Jerry Foley jr.

or Donald Trump or Sean Hannity because that's not ultimately what they're afraid of those are just representations in the mind of this particular author they're afraid of the article talked about the traditional family they're afraid of thinking that Christianity is part of the somehow part of the foundation for the principles that led to the formation of the government of the

United States so there's some identity that Christianity has a link to if you're an

American there's they're afraid of Christians exerting the their influence on the political and public stage do it more they're telling you what's working and what they don't want you to do instead most

Christian elites do exactly what the media wants them to and they just retreat more so that's from salon now there's a there's a little article from the let's see is this the one

I wanted to know I wanted to start here okay start here all right this is an article from the

Jacobin magazine Jacobin actually used to be the word that people just use for communists really but it is a communist magazine and there's an article in it recently what's the date on this very recent it says

I don't think it says the date okay well it's a it is a recent article I know that and it's the anti -semitic face of Israel's evangelical allies so it shows

John Hagee here addressing a bunch of pro -israeli state of Israel people and and the thing is let me just boil this whole article down for you if you want to evangelize

Jews you believe in the conversion of Jews to Christianity you are an anti -semite okay that's and this is a communist magazine saying this it is a way to try to fracture any kind of relationship that might exist between and cooperation between the

Christians and Jewish people we saw that in the last election to some extent especially the more conservative and I don't mean the conservative sect of Judaism I mean the conservative traditional

Jews tended they were veering more Republican an alliance is forming and I suspect that might be why a piece like this would go out there's an attempt to paint evangelicals on the right politically as anti -semites because they want to convert

Jews they want to evangelize them and so it doesn't matter how pro -israel they are that you know that's a real problem so there's there's an attempt here you know they bring up more things as well that to try to create this rift but this is this is the strategy

I want to show you this from Jacobin magazine because this is where the mainstream media ends up usually going it's this is the hard hard hard left what why would the

Jacobins why would the communists want to create this well you know I think it's obvious they want to destroy they want to fracture they want to split the right up they want people at each other's throats they want to try to also marginalize

Christians and that's exactly what they're doing and guess what here's an article from not too long ago

Tennessee Bible history teacher proselytize made anti -semitic comments mom says this is

NBC News in Chattanooga Tennessee now of course I don't believe this story because I cannot trust

NBC News but there is their version of it a mother of a Tennessee middle schooler claims a class on the

Bible as literature included Christian proselytizing and comments offensive to Jews and other non -christians so she made a post on Facebook about this and the way her daughter feels and I really don't know what the truth is in all this but you know that's what's happening on NBC there and so I don't know if this was just I don't know what it was

I don't know but the anti -semitic stuff is there's an uptick in accusing

Christians of this and I suspect that might be one of the next things I don't know if it is the next thing but I think that might be one of the things that the left might try to get some traction out of calling

Christians anti -semites for things as simple as evangelizing or pro -christianity means anti -judaism

I mean this narrative has been sitting there for a long time I got a good dose of it in my Holocaust class and I learned about it at least and it's been sitting there and I think it may be picked up again just just telling people to be aware this is another story this is from NPR students walk out at West Virginia school after Christian revival and I don't again

I can't I don't know it's NPR I don't know exactly what happened here but there was some kind of an evangelism effort at the school of some kind and a teacher was involved and now it's this big

I mean in these people just the civics is so horrible you know the teens were asked to give their lives over to Jesus those who did not follow the

Bible will go to hell they were told a basic gospel message and this is in West Virginia and the high school junior asked is this legal and the answer according to the

US Constitution is no you know yeah of course they right according to the US Constitution no according to maybe the way that certain precedents of court decisions are being interpreted the answer is no the

US Constitution doesn't weigh in on this they are public schools even legal according to the US Constitution federal funding for them

I mean is that even the business of the federal government how about that being the answer no but this is where NPR is at so students are you know having a major walkout because they're so offended by this preacher coming in and speaking to them and I really don't know exactly it's kind of unclear what exactly happened here but anyway this you know this is the way the media views

Christians this should not be a surprise it should not be a surprise and I'm actually happy that this this was back in January but I just saw the

Daily Beast report on it I think I had seen it on a lesser publication but I'm glad the Daily Beast is reporting on this there and I guess if there's the headline is

X Miss America's contestants husband shot dead in front of Todd toddler while evangelizing they put that in quotes

I I guess if she wasn't married to an X Miss America who knows whether this would have even made the headlines but anyway he was out evangelizing and he was shot dead and Thomas Hand jr.

is the man's name and this happened in Alabama Montgomery Alabama of all places 437 p .m.

or or I guess I don't know when he was when the altercation occurred very sad though I mean this look persecution does happen in the

United States so the whole to tie everything together here there is an uptick in I marginalization of Christians there's real persecution that does exist out there even in this country that that kind of thing can happen and look this has always happened but I do sense there is somewhat of an increase and the media is for the most part on board with the marginalization of Christians and and this is and so what are

Christian elites going to do what are the people that lead the organizations in the big churches and the publishing conferences all that whether in conservative or whatever world they're in what are they going to do about this what how are they going to react to the what's coming and I think what's coming is going to make what has happened look like nothing

I truly do we're gonna miss the days of Black Lives Matter 2020 at some point

I don't know when I don't know I don't know the time frame I just know that the trajectory is to figure out ways to marginalize

Christians more and more and more make them out to be freaks weirdos haters people that aren't fit to be in society and have any kind of influence whatsoever they're dangerous you hide your kids hide your wife it's that's what's going on that's what's happening and it's working to some extent and I think evangelical elites are helping it along by trying to then say oh we're not that we're not that as if the problem is oh these secular elites just misunderstand they just don't know how

Christians really are good citizens and we're gonna show no look you misunderstand why they hate you they it's a power thing they hate you because of what you represent you represent a moral vision that is in conflict with theirs they don't want traditional families of course not they want individuals and they want a government and they want the government to make everything fair of course carving out a spot for them at the top and they want individuals to be the the basis upon which society is built not families they don't you're throwing a complete wrench in their gear system when you're a traditional

Christian and you vote that way and you're public about it so back down don't be masculine hate stop trying to convert other people that's that's gonna be anti -semitism in certain cases don't hold your evangelism rally at a public school that's against the

Constitution right we're gonna define for you what our legal documents actually mean and you're not allowed to say there's a

Christian foundation to any of this that's just a myth and what did the Christian elites do yes yes we agree with that narrative in fact we're good

Christians and we're going you know we're not a threat to please don't ban Christianity bad bad tactic bad tactic none of the

Apostles would have taken this tactic and of course they didn't when they were met with these kinds of things I mean they look in Ephesus people had to hold the other

Christians had a whole Paul back because he wanted to go confront a whole entire Colosseum or yeah

I guess that would be the would that be the word I guess I was there in Ephesus I forget the stage that big stage anyway where there's people probably thousands of them shouting great is

Artemis of the Ephesians and you know there Paul's the number one hated guy

I mean they would kill him it would rip him apart if he showed up because he was putting the idol makers out of business and he wanted to go confront him and and share the tree he wasn't oh my goodness yes you're so right we need to care about these idol makers because their livelihoods are being challenged and all they have kids to feed and yeah that wasn't

Paul we we must take responsibility for what what we're doing when we convert people to Christianity because it's having this negative effect no no of course that wasn't

Paul he wasn't weak he was very strong so was Jesus so was Peter it took risks they were okay being on the outs with the other elites in certain societies in which they operated not so today with those who have the responsibility of leading

Christian institutions and it's part I'm gonna talk about it tomorrow but it's I think partially because of the way that Christian leaders are identified and platformed is we're not actually putting leaders out there we're putting managers out there and we don't need managers right now we lean we need leaders we need men with backbone so that's the podcast today hope that was helpful for you

I know it's a little discouraging remember God's in control remember he remember the stories of inspiration from the

Old Testament especially of I think of Daniel and Hannah and I Michelle Azariah I think of the prophets of Elijah just remember those stories and I have to remember them

I have to preach them to myself because I see things getting darker I live in a very secular state I live in a very secular area and I see things all the time

I mean there's I moved away for four years I came back and now I'm seeing there's all I mean I was at Barnes &

Noble the other day and there's a right at the entrance on the display is a book on spells

I was getting a donut not too long ago and and we crossed the street that never was there before as a place

I used to go all the time is now a Wicca shop of some kind I mean this is what's going on in my neck of the woods don't get discouraged though because we we must remember who our