The Convocation Digest [1:9]: Defending Democracy, The Heart of Debate, Trump's Christian Nationalism, and the Idolatry of Neutrality
Plus the latest from the Convocation Unscripted podcast.
Welcome to the next edition of The Convocation Digest, which brings into one place a collection of the best writing from each of our Substack newsletters (and occasional guest posts from other writers in our orbit):
The Cottage by Diana Butler Bass;
Du Mez CONNECTIONS by Kristin Du Mez; and
And be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel to watch our video podcast, The Convocation Unscripted.
These past two weeks have been quite unusual because both Jemar (The Spirit of Justice) and Robby (The Hidden Roots of White Supremacy) have new books out. If you have been considering buying the books for yourself or for friends and family, today is a great day to pick them up—both are perfect for book clubs or congregational adult education groups.
Warmly,
Jemar, Diana, Kristin, and Robby
From Kristin
Over at CONNECTIONS, Kristin has been sharing resources for faith communities looking for ways to cultivate deeper support for democracy. The first post, Defending Democracy, contains an invitation to participate in the Election Sabotage Response Network to help build trust, ensure election integrity, and be prepared to de-escalate in the case of propaganda and potential violence on November 5.
She also shared A Confession of Evangelical Conviction, a statement drafted with moderate and conservative evangelicals in mind calling on Christians to lead with love, not fear, and to reject political idolatry, stoking fears, and de-humanizing political opponents. She’ll be sharing more resources to help mobilize faith communities in defense of democracy in the weeks to come.
From Diana
Last Sunday at The Cottage, Diana wrote about an email she got from a disgruntled reader who wanted her to stop writing about religion and politics. But, as she does, Diana turned to the epistle passage for the day to support her contention that the two can't be separated.
On debate day, she shared some thoughts on what faith and politics have in common. At their best, they are the work of the heart.
From Robby
At White Too Long, Robby celebrated the publication of the paperback edition of his latest book, The Hidden Roots of White Supremacy and the Path to a Shared American Future, which hit the shelves this week. It contains a new Afterword that connects the Christian Doctrine of Discovery to the contemporary threat of white Christian nationalism we are facing in this election.
TIME ran an excerpt from the new Afterword on pub day under the headline, “Trump’s Christian Nationalist Vision for America.” Here’s a taste:
Trump’s cavalier treatment of the supposedly sacred issue of abortion has exposed the Republican Party’s best kept secret: The connection between Republican voters and their leaders was never primarily about abortion. Rather, as Trump’s “Make America Great Again” (MAGA) transformation of the party reveals, Trump’s bond with his supporters is forged from different material: namely, his militant mission to return power to white Christian America.
Robby also hosted a live zoom event exclusively for paid subscribers: a conversation with Jemar about his new book, The Spirit of Justice: True Stories of Faith, Race, and Resistance, which was published last week.
From Jemar
Jemar has been frustrated for a while with evangelicals whose only solution to the imperfections of the two major parties and their candidates is to withdraw from critical engagement. It's as if they are too holy to get involved in the complex and necessary work of understanding policies and their impact. Meanwhile, people at the margins and who are facing urgent problems are left to work for a "more perfect union" almost by themselves. It's as if political neutrality has become an idol.
Be sure to subscribe to The Convocation Unscripted YouTube channel to watch our video podcasts.
Here’s our latest…
Diana Butler Bass hosts this “grab bag” episode with Jemar Tisby, Robert P. Jones, and Kristin Du Mez. Jemar talks about his new book, "The Spirit of Justice: True Stories of Faith, Race, and Resistance,” which was just published this week. And Robby gives a preview of his analysis of Christian nationalism in the new Afterword in the paperback edition of "The Hidden Roots of White Supremacy and the Path to a Shared American Future,” which will be published next week. We also talk about Trump’s awkward flip-flops on abortion--which are anything but “pro-life”--but which seem not to matter at all to his white Christian Right base. In the second half of the show, we tackle the disintegration of the “church growth” industry in the wake of the rapid decline of white evangelicals over the past two decades, delve into a 2016 interview J.D. Vance gave about his conversion from evangelicalism to high-brow Catholicism, and flag the growing evidence of Russian money stoking some of the loudest online voices on the right.
Fascinating - I reposted this to my FB feed and FB removed it claiming it was spam