January 6, 2023
Norwalk, Ohio
For Immediate Release
Contact: Karen Prelipp, karenp1515@ymail.com
I want to start my remarks with 16 words. Some of you might guess what they
are. These are the first 16 words of the Bill of Rights, written by Christians, and
considered by them to be so critical that they chose them to open one of
America’s most beloved foundational documents:
Congress Shall Make No Law Respecting the Establishment of Religion or
Prohibiting the Free Exercise thereof.
Those are the first words of the first Amendment to the US Constitution. They
are clear and they are comprehensive. And they reflect a fundamental American
value that reaches back to the establishment of the original American colonies,
which were often founded by refugees fleeing religious persecution in their
homelands. The Church and the State must be separate. There is surely a place
for religion in daily life, but there is no place for it in government.
Right now, down this street and on the steps of this town’s courthouse, a group is
preparing to attempt to counter that argument. They’re calling it “A Peaceful
Rally for Christian Nationalism”. So, what is Christian Nationalism? Let me start
to answer that by declaring that it is NOT, and should not be confused, with
Christianity. Christianity, on its face, teaches followers to love God and to love
their neighbor. Christian Nationalism is not about love. It is about power. And if
given half a chance to take root, it will become about fear.
Christian Nationalism seeks to merge together Christian and American identities
and through doing so to distort both the Christian faith and America’s
Constitutional Democracy. It demands that Christianity be privileged and
preferred by the State and implies that to be a good American, one must be a
Christian. It implies that to be other than Christian is, by itself, to be less than. To
be less worthy of the government’s respect and protection and that this should
be encoded into Law.
Christian Nationalism is not solely a threat to non-Christians, though it is certainly
that. It is not solely a threat to American Liberty, though it is certainly that too.
It’s also a threat to Christianity. And Christians all over the country recognize and
agree with this. The organization Christians Against Christian Nationalism put it
better than I can in the statement they ask members to adopt. It reads:
People of all faiths and none have the right and responsibility to engage
constructively in the public square.
Patriotism does not require us to minimize our religious convictions.
One’s religious affiliation, or lack thereof, should be irrelevant to one’s
standing in the civic community.
Government should not prefer one religion over another or religion over
nonreligion.
Religious instruction is best left to our houses of worship, other religious
institutions, and families.
America’s historic commitment to religious pluralism enables faith
communities to live in civic harmony with one another without sacrificing
our theological convictions.
Conflating religious authority with political authority is idolatrous and often
leads to oppression of minority and other marginalized groups as well as
the spiritual impoverishment of religion.
We must stand up to and speak out against Christian nationalism, especially
when it inspires acts of violence and intimidation
The event about to happen at the courthouse is being put on by a group that calls
itself “The Perfect Law Institute”. The declare themselves, and I quote:
“A Christian Educational & Evangelistic Institute focused on
returning Christianity and Civil Society to Proper Biblical Principles
of Law for Civil Government and Politics.”
They don’t mince words, do they? No, they’re being very clear about what they
want. And what they want should concern every one of us.
How do they intend to do this? Their website also provides us with that they call
their “current” goals. Among these goals, and again I quote:
Organize and facilitate Christian political reform in strategic municipalities
where Christians stand a chance and defending a government based on
biblical penology, jurisprudence, and civics.
Raise up Christian government officials through educational programs,
campaign support, and direct contributions
Organize and facilitate Christian migration into states and municipalities
that are favorable for cultivating Christian political reform
Create a Corporate Recognition program which highlights companies that
adhere to values consistent with Bible and/or the American Constitution
And while that may all sound rather benign and peaceful, and just another group
partaking in the opportunity to participate in American Democracy and Society,
I’m noticing that they’re careful to call these “current” goals. Why? Because
these goals are aimed at establishing a base from which to grow. And as they
grow the goals will change. If this were any other religion, happening in any other
place, we would call it what it is: Fundamentalist Religious Extremism. And just
as with any religious extremist movement, the goals will become more invasive,
more fundamentalist, more extreme.
It's no accident that they chose January 6th as the date to hold this event. They’re
clear about that on their website also. I again quote:
“The date for the event was obviously selected very specifically as a
day on which a real insurrection occurred in our country; not a day of
"insurrection" when 3 letter agency members ran a false flag attack
against a group of peaceful protestors, but a day of true insurrection
when an illegitimate president, his administration, and an overall
value system of anarchy and "Pride" seized the government of the
United States of America, through fraud. The Biden Administration
are the ones who currently sit on a throne of power that was acquired
through fraud and weaponization of federal bureaus against their
political opponents. The Perfect Liberty Institute endeavors to stand
for truth and see the true light of God’s Word brought to bear on the
biblical state of our country, and the imminent duty of Christians to
act in order that justice be done for our neighbors…In standing for
Christian Nationalism, which is in essence biblical law enforcement,
we are standing for biblical justice for our neighbors. Therefore, the
time is now, the fight is now; a real insurrection has been perpetrated
against our neighbors, and we are the only ones on Earth who know
how to be “doers” of the perfect law of liberty, and who know the
Truth that can set them all free.”
Religious fundamentalism always runs the same playbook. They use the good
name of a religion as a cloak and shield to protect bad intentions from scrutiny
and to inspire others to their cause by fooling them into thinking that doing so is
righteous.
This is not righteous. This is not Christian. And this is not American.
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