Faith Which Feeds the Hungry, Owes No Apology.
and political religion, and why a Christianity without the cross
The Age of Performative Faith
Everything now is performance.
Performative anger.
Performative faith.
Performative grievance.
An entire industry now sells indignation by the ounce.
Remember the line:
“Obamacare will pull the plug on Grandma.”
That was not even Trump. But it belongs to the same industry.
Birtherism.
The “Obama was born in Kenya” nonsense.
None of it was about truth.
It was about attention.
And that is the real danger.
Not intelligence abused.
Ignorance weaponized.
The Soundbite That Pretends to Be Wisdom
Performative grievance says:
“We are a republic, not a democracy.”
It sounds profound.
Until you think for two seconds.
Who ever said America is not a republic?
Who ever said it is only a democracy?
No one.
A republic describes the structure of the state.
A democracy describes the method by which the state is governed.
Of the people.
By the people.
For the people.
Both exist side by side.
To pit one against the other is nonsense wrapped in gravitas.
A soundbite pretending to be revelation.
But that is the point.
In the Age of the Microphone, you do not have to make sense.
You only have to sound certain.
“America Will Never Apologize for Its Faith”
Now we hear this:
America will never apologize for its faith.
Two questions.
1. Who is asking America to apologize for its faith?
And
2. What faith?
That is not a rhetorical question. It is a serious one.
What faith?
Only those already perishing, those in a state of ongoing perishing, could see an empty such as, statement as "America will never apologize for its faith" as something to hoist on a flag and wave around.
But that is exactly how deception works.
How Deception Works
First, one perishes for lack of knowledge.
Then the truth that would have saved them appears before their eyes.
And they reject it.
Not for blatant lies.
Satan is too clever for blatant lies.
What he offers instead is lazy theology.
He knows Scripture.
He quotes it.
He presents it to those already inclined to perish.
“See? God can use anyone. It’s in the Bible. Cyrus. See?”
The master of deception rarely invents new lies.
He simply twists what already exists.
He plants falsehood around biblical narratives.
He wraps preference in theology.
He helps the willingly blind remain happily blind.
And so they reject the truth that would have saved them.
Back to the Question
America will never apologize for its faith.
Fine.
But again:
What faith?
What if I told you that the faith which “America will never apologize for” is not Christianity?
Glory!!!
That that faith is not Christianity.
Never was. Never will be.
It is a faith rooted in a Christ without a cross.
The Priest and the False Christ
There is a story about a priest who once saw an apparition of Jesus.
He drew nearer.
And nearer.
And then he spat on the apparition.
When I first heard the story I was shocked.
Until the narrator explained what the priest had seen.
When the priest drew closer, he noticed something.
This Jesus had no scars in his palms.
The story is often told about Martin of Tours.
According to the tradition, the devil once appeared to him disguised as Christ, radiant in glory and dressed like a king.
Martin looked carefully.
Then he said:
“Show me the wounds from the Cross.”
There were none.
And the apparition vanished.
Because a Christ without wounds is not the Christ of the Gospel.
The Question Every Christian Must Ask
That story is about discernment.
And it leaves us with a question every Christian must ask.
When someone claims to speak for Christ.
When someone claims to act in Christ’s name.
When someone claims to defend Christian civilization.
We must ask:
Show me your wounds.
The Faith That Must Apologize
Do we expect an apology from love?
Of course not.
Those who bring hope to their fellow man owe no apology.
Those who feed the hungry owe no apology.
Those who show compassion owe no apology.
But the faith Trump says America will never apologize for?
The one that hunts immigrants like vermin?
That faith must apologize to every true Christian.
A faith that calls itself Christian while giving tax breaks to the rich and leaving the poor to starve must apologize to Christianity.
A faith in which a knee can remain on a man’s neck for nine minutes because of the color of his skin, while leaders mock the dead man, must apologize for passing itself off as Christian.
A faith that despises the word empathy must apologize to Christianity.
When a Faith Calls Itself Christian
A faith that calls itself Christian but lacks charity.
A faith that calls itself the faith of Christ but mocks the fruits of the Spirit.
A faith that calls itself Christian while sanctifying cruelty with lazy theology.
That faith must apologize to Christianity.
Final Word
Because though it passes itself off as Christianity,
it is not.
It is wickedness disguised as Christianity.
I rest my case.
And wipe the dust off my slippers.
Don Kenobi
#MyFrancisEssays
#OldManInTheMolue
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