I suppose one could say it's not too surprising to find them celebrating Trump - their closest thing to a dream candidate. They glory in 'positive change', rather than lament the state of the Church that has elected this evil man to office and has formed a close alliance with him. They seem to think that 'the policies of recent years' were destroying America but like the blind fools they are, they cannot understand that the mammon-economic system they promote (and frankly worship) brought this society to the point of such decadence and self-destruction. They wave the flag failing to grasp that the societal collapse is the result of the flawed and poisonous ideals of America that have finally gone to seed.
It is typical of these folks to confuse Christian identity in Christ with nationalist loyalty. They speak of 'our' nation. It's not ours. It never was. It's never been Christian and has always represented a dangerous threat in the form of compromise and syncretism. The history of the American Church chronicles this defection from the New Testament. Glorying in their shame and ignorance they think the 'positive change' and the supposed return to the Constitution is somehow Christian. Even more absurd they think that Trump somehow represents Constitutional law and integrity? Their delusion is literally layered.
The letter states:
It’s refreshing to see positive change take place in our nation over a very short period of time. The policies of recent years that were destroying our nation both from within and from without hit a sudden roadblock and a new course has been chartered. The course set is to return to the principles set forth by our Constitution.
Since January 20, 2025 a heightened state of urgency to protect our nation is evidenced by efforts to restore law and order. A deliberate attempt is being made to secure our borders by shutting off the faucet and removing those who have entered criminally. So much unnecessary heartache and grief have been forced upon and endured by many who have lost loved ones or have become victims due to lack of border enforcement. The price our nation is paying and will continue to pay cannot be measured in dollars and cents.
Echoing the talking points of Trump's White House, they express concern over immigration - even though this is not a concern found in the New Testament or in the application of its ethics. Those who have entered the imperial heartland outside of official channels are 'criminals' - even though in many cases they would be barred by the system had they attempted to enter by legal means. In other words, apart from illegal entry, they would have no means of accessing the US and its economy.
They are criminals, but the US that has overthrown their governments, tampered with their politics, bombed, polluted, exploited their labour force, funded proxy wars, and manipulated their economies is not criminal. Even though Washington has trained death squads, installed dictators and backed them - the American government is not criminal. Though Wall Street traders and strategists have destroyed their livelihoods and cultures - they're not criminals. No, these desperate people who simply want to come and work in a semi-secure environment - they're the evil element in all this.
And taking their cues from the GOP's political schemers, they constantly hype the handful of cases in which illegal immigrants have committed heinous crimes. Somehow the fact that someone was killed by an illegal makes the crime more horrific than if it had been perpetrated by an American-born citizen. This is an emotional appeal - not a rational or moral one.
The letter goes on:
Another positive change is ending the wokeness: the Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) policies that have usurped control of the nation’s military, corporate America, the prison system and the education system. Gone will be the flags that flew at U.S. Embassies to promote the LGBTQ+ agenda. Gone will be the federal recognition of the gender spectrum that defies simple biology. How refreshing it is to return to the recognition of “male” and “female” without thinking one can float from one to the other or to something altogether different.
While I certainly do not lament the restrictions placed on the sodomite agenda, I reject the premise of this statement. 'Woke' is a meaningless dog whistle. And as far as the nation's military, corporations, prison and education system - are they somehow to be considered moral or even 'Christian' simply because the homosexuals have been silenced and the perverts suppressed? They're still evil institutions of Babylon. I'm far more troubled about a 'Church' that supports such entities or thinks that somehow they were moral bastions ten, twenty, thirty, or fifty years ago.
These measures are all symbolic anyway. The perversity continues in earnest. This isn't about righteousness being restored to America (a notion which begs the question to begin with). It's about power and the fact that these people can now claim to control the Main Street. The filth is still there but it's pushed into the back alley or side street and thus they feel better because they control the High street and the public spaces.
The thing is - the back alleys, where the marginalised live and the heretics dwell - that's where the Church belongs. Not just to minister to these people but that's where we live and find our place in Babylon. We're second class citizens. We're a sect. In terms of American ideology, New Testament Christianity is not a default, Established or civic religion, but a counter-cultural heresy. These people by contrast glory in their shame. They think they've won something by Trump throwing them crumbs. They're just re-affirming their own errors and somehow they think they've scored points by condemning the lostness of lost people.
The letter continues:
Rejoicing occurred by many regarding the directives to withdraw from the Paris Climate Agreement and to stop the flow of funds going into the World Health Organization, an organization that is working feverishly to destroy the sovereignty of the United States in order to bring about world control by simply declaring a health emergency
Also, since January 20th there is an emphasis to use the vast minerals and rich deposits God has placed in the earth for mankind to use. Its use is an area of stewardship.
There are problems with so-called Climate Science and some of the efforts made by the government to re-orient society. But these people are outright frauds that peddle misinformation. They are mouthpieces of the corporations who back them and their friends. They are corrupted by their ties to the various think-tanks and the 'ministries' that straddle the fence of politics and the Church - often through 'worldview' teaching. Calvin Beisner has appeared on the show more than once - he simply promotes the pro-Wall Street line, reinforcing the mammon order and mammon interests of the American Empire. The WHO reference is all about Covid - a shameful episode and ethical collapse on the part of the American Church, and though it's only been a few years, the whole narrative has been re-written. These people lie with abandon. They don't seem to have consciences. As a Christian why do I care about the sovereignty of the United States? But it's an absurd point anyway as the sovereignty of the US is not even in question. These are Bircher myths that have been used over and over again now for decades. They're always wrong and this time is no exception.
And if you doubt the twisted thinking of these people - somehow the corporations that want to drill and mine and destroy the Earth for future generations so they can make a buck - that's stewardship don't you know. As if anything connected to Wall Street has anything to do with stewardship. What a stunning statement. What self-indictment. What delusion.
The demagogic appeals continue:
A return of the Mexico City policy has been re-enacted to ban the use of tax dollars to promote abortion internationally and a return to the Hyde Amendment of prohibiting tax dollars to promote abortion domestically. The public has witnessed a weaponized justice department that put those standing for life as recipients of harsh sentences. This also is being reversed. While some of these steps are applauded, so much more remains to be done to protect the life of every preborn child!
The Pro-Life argument made by the Christian Right has been exposed as bankrupt. It was a farce from the beginning, a stratagem to stir passions and allow demagogues to rally the vote. Abortion is of course a terrible thing but the moral claims made by these people are false. They support guns and war, and economic policies that are tantamount to violence. And when an epidemic afflicted their society they refused to be inconvenienced and were content to allow more than a million fellow Americans to die. They quickly put partisan political interests over people's lives. The are not pro-life and so I find their arguments empty and appeals to worldview worthy of contempt.
The Trump administration has announced that it would de-weaponize the Justice Department which means - he intends to weaponize it and he has indicated that he will use his powers to pursue his enemies. This is all well underway. Jim Schneider, the host of the show is either ignorant or deceitful - or more likely both. Not only have Trump and his fascist cronies (like Pete Hegseth and Stephen Miller) indicated they want to use the military against dissidents, Trump has openly spoken of shipping prisoners outside the country and beyond the oversight of the US judiciary.
But there are more lies that VCY has to promote:
The United States has also taken a role to stand by Israel, to see all hostages returned and to protect Israel’s right to exist as a nation is imperative. We must never allow another Holocaust or the likes of October 7, 2023 to ever happen again! Additional efforts to bring about peace between nations is underway on many fronts.
Dispensationalism is heresy and it is at the root of Evangelical support for Zionist Israel and in particular the fascistic policies of Likud and its corrupt leader Benjamin Netanyahu, the Butcher of Gaza. October 7 was an episode of mass murder and criminality but it does not qualify as a Holocaust. It occurred in a context of mass murder and great oppression. The crimes of the Israeli state cannot be white-washed. Blood begets blood. Anything that took place on that day has been done a hundred times over by the Israelis.
And if that wasn't bad enough CrossTalk frequently provides a platform to some of the more extreme elements of the blood-soaked Zionist movement and its disinformation campaign. And it is well known that American Evangelicals provide financial and political support for the Settler movement in the West Bank. This is in accord with the unofficial but de facto policy of Likud. Many of the Settlers are terrorists and murderers.
The New Testament does not support Jewish claims to Palestine - nor does it support the wicked centuries of Anti-Semitism that emerged with Constantinian Christendom and the Papacy. It is inexcusable to hate or persecute Jews but all resistance and protest against the Zionist state does not constitute Anti-Semitism. Again, many of the protesters are in fact Jews.
The letter continues:
While these above changes are taking place and many are feeling a sense of opportunity and optimism, we must recognize as believers that these things are not what will accomplish our mission. Yes, it is true that Christians are to impact the society around them, but it is important to know that our goal is not to just bring about a better place for people to enter a Christ-less eternity.
We can have the lowest inflation, the lowest unemployment rate, strong paying jobs, the finest housing, a balanced budget, the best education system, the tightest borders, great healthcare, all the energy one can dream of, low food prices, and the respect of international heads of state, but if one does not know Jesus as Savior, of what value is it?
Then why in the name of God do you people spend all your time and energy focused on these issues? You speak with forked tongues and you destroy your testimony in the process. By supporting policies that feed the mammon beast you worship and put a boot in the face on those you oppose - you subvert and destroy the message of the gospel.
Even the gospel presentation has to be dressed up in political terms:
Scripture clearly states, “For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” (Mark 8:36) The elements of this world will one day “melt with fervent heat” (II Peter 3:10,12) not from global climate change, but from God’s judgment. None of the items listed early in this article will have any standing at that time.
The dig at climate change does not make the point. Why do you omit verse 11?
Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness,
You omit it because it condemns what you do and contradicts the very things that your pour all your energy into. America? What's that? It's a vapour, a wind that passes, a Beast power that will fall and though you will lament it and tear your hair out when it happens, it has no bearing of God's Kingdom.
Their political allegiance and agenda cannot be separated from their gospel message:
It is imperative for each person to place their trust in Jesus Christ as Savior! This issue has a greater degree of criticalness than any other written. Do you know Jesus as your Savior? It is sin that separates us from Him and the penalty of this sin is death and eternal separation from Him. But God in His infinite love sent His only begotten Son, Jesus, to this world to take our sin upon Himself. He took our penalty for us. Jesus died for our sin, He was buried and He rose again. By placing your trust in Jesus, you can have your future secured with Christ in heaven. But to refuse or reject this gift secures a spot in hell forever. If you have not placed your trust in Jesus, call out to Him today!
If you have trusted Christ, then don’t lose sight of your mission to tell others about this free gift of salvation. While we seek to make our country a better place, our time here is but temporal. Eternity is forever!
You celebrate filth and your alliances with evil. You glory in sin and disobedience to Christ and then you speak of Him as Saviour? And how does he save when you do not call for repentance? The broad strokes of the gospel message are there but in the form of cheap grace. And in the end all you seem to care about is making 'your' country better - even while you spit on the country to which Christ belongs - the True Zion.
In the end, the gospel is but secondary or perhaps a means to an end - the end being the political agenda and activism you espouse. You trumpet the simple gospel message and argue that it's more important than anything else and yet if someone embraces it but doesn't embrace your Bircherite Right-wing views - their salvation is in question. It's the politics that are the test of orthodoxy. And that's what makes VCY so dangerous - it masquerades as Christian but in reality is something else.
Colossians 3 exhorts us to seek the things that are above and not the things of the Earth. We are called to self-mortification which includes covetousness, malice, and mendacity - things that characterize the Christian Right and Bircher Evangelicals as well. Part of the renewed image which emerges in light of mortification (and is expressed in setting affections on things above) is the understanding that in Christ there are no nations or races. As such, Christians are not to motivated by borders, wealth, and the use of violence to protect the same. Throughout the New Testament we are repeatedly warned about the dangers of mammon and in this case it goes hand in hand with the kind of covetous and even gluttonous tribalism promoted by the Birchers and VCY. They are quite literally ensnared and I'm not sure they're even capable of understanding just what kind of cage they're trapped in. I pity the simple people that listen to shows like CrossTalk but I have no patience for the leaders of the organisation and the many deceptive guests they regularly host.
Enjoy your counterfeit Zion under Trump you fools. You dig your own grave. Indeed, eternity is forever. Your own words condemn you. You have put Bircher categories and nationalist allegiance above the gospel - rendering your presentation hollow, corrupt, and meaningless. You are enemies of Christ's Church.
Share the gospel - but in doing so you must warn others that the Church has been infiltrated by the agents of the enemy. VCY and CrossTalk is but one of many.