Evangelicals and Misquoting the Bible in Public

https://religionunplugged.com/news/link-relcanonical-hrefhttps/the-department-of-homeland-security-quoting-the-bible-on-instagram%E2%80%9D%20/%3E%20%E2%80%9D

It's a shame, but Evangelicals in their persistent misguided zeal love any public quotation or reference to the Bible - even when it is being tortured, manipulated, and abused by politicians or celebrities. They think that somehow they've scored some kind of culture war victory because someone used Scripture - usually to justify something they're doing that has nothing to do with the verses in question.

They seem to miss that our culture is saturated with pseudo-Christianity and religiosity. It is precisely this sort of thing that has inoculated large segments of the population and even significant swaths of the Church, preventing them from actually understanding Scripture and embracing New Testament Christianity. It's everywhere and so it's become trite and cheap. Evangelicals want to make everything holy and as a consequence nothing is. Identities are confused and meanings are lost. As a movement they are blind.

This story about ICE agents is a case in point. While Evangelicals just love this sort of thing, the fact that they're appropriating Isaiah's call as a prophet in order to justify their violent enforcement of state orders and the clampdown on immigrants is to put it simply - sick. At best, it's a gross distortion of the Scripture in question. At worst, it's a blasphemous perversion of the prophetic office - which itself is a type of Christ. The idea that this imagery and theologically-laden content would somehow be tied in with a politically motivated crackdown on poor immigrants is pretty unbelievable. But when it comes to Evangelicals, I can believe just about anything. Nothing surprises me any more.

And the article in question is right, this has become more commonplace during the Trump era as the Christians (or rather apostates) who surround him are eager to put a 'Christian' stamp on their policies - many of which are simply deceitful and evil.

ICE agents are not soldiers of God. They're sadistic thugs.

As I've often said, I understand that states and empires are going to protect their borders. And borders by nature represent a kind of violence and separation. So be it. That's the world. That's what Rome and Babylon do. As Christians we should have nothing to do with this or the goons who are involved in such work.

Such misuse of Scripture and such ethical abdication should be an occasion for church discipline but more likely than not on any given Sunday morning, such people are asked to stand during Evangelical church services where they will immediately receive applause. Such actions are inappropriate at all times in a church setting, but it's telling that such figures receive such accolade while missionaries do not.

I remain convinced that for the majority of American Evangelicals, their commitment to Christianity can only be viewed in connection with their passion and devotion to the American Empire. A Christianity that doesn't affirm and strengthen Americanism is a religion they have no interest in. As such, when confronted with New Testament Christianity the response is one of hostility and violence.