There has always been too much violence in the name of God. Wouldn't you think that God would be pretty sick of it by now? Supposedly God gave us free will but it seems to be the goal of these Christian sects to obliterate everyone else's free will. You've seen it all through history. And it's not enough to say come with us and be saved. People have to be shunned, and tortured (remember the rack?). They feel it's their right to kill you if you're not white or straight, or even a man. One popular tool for white men who didn't like it if their wives disobeyed was to throw them into a mental hospital. There are examples of this all throughout history. That must be why Trump is taking us backwards. To justify the cruelty as business as usual.
Thanks Jeff for naming Christ for the Nations as a (de)formative player in Boelter’s life and for tracing the institution’s racist and antisemitic history. Its connections with other Latter Rain and now New Apostolic Reformation movements (including the large mission organization Youth With A Mission) has been briefly explored by John Collins from the William Branham Historical Research project. Bad theology kills.
Thanks for the information. My oldest brother, five years my senior, attended the unaccredited Christ for the Nations Institute while I was in high school, where he was radicalized beyond reason. I do think my mother, who led the family down the path of American Christian Fundamentalism, was proud of this affiliation. When he came home in the summer, he was a different person, and not a better one. I didn't know about the institute's racist and antisemitic roots, but am not surprised. This is the same brother who told me during the great Republican hysteria against Obamacare that he would rather see his teenage daughter die of an easily treated condition than use health care that was facilitated by the government. Very Abrahamic, and totally nuts.
I’m sorry that you have had to witness the radicalization of a family member and experience the accompanying heartache. It’s a profound loss that I hope we as a society can become better at naming. So thank you for voicing yours.
I'll be honest. The tone of the country has made me extraordinarily nervous. When I participated in the Albany (NY) Pride Parade last weekend, the city had massive garbage trucks blocking the side streets. But if someone wanted to target our church, with its rainbow banners, and likely in the name of God...
At today's No Kings Day event in Glens Falls, NY, "a man wearing a Trump T-Shirt who punched a protester and then ran away gets put in handcuffs. Two women protesters tackled him and held him down until the Glens Falls Police officers came on the scene to arrest him." There were also other threatening, though non-lethal, actions.
Yes, it's a fast civil war, codified by a SCOTUS that finds FOTUS can do almost no wrong
Frank, you have first managed to fail when it comes to the facts (Pres. Biden didn’t “import millions of illegal aliens”), and then defended a Trump-supporting murderer. This says a great deal about who you are as a person.
I actually attended CFNI for just under a year. (It was strongly suggested I leave before the end of the second semester.)
I can verify the teachings of "them vs us" mentality. We were told museums of nature and science were "temples to Satan." We were told Deep Ellum, a section of Dallas with tattoo parlors and venues/clubs primarily, was evil and to never go there. Homosexuality was demonized and conversion therapy applauded. We were told to attend anti-abortion rallies. I actually got angry in the moment at the rhetoric preached here. The rest made me feel uneasy, but this one infuriated me in the moment. It was dehumanizing anyone prochoice. We were not to listen to any music that wasn't Christian or classical, no movies that were beyond PG. People would accuse roommates who dared dress alternatively of being demon possessed. A lot of speaking in tongues and being "slain in the spirit." If you were not an ardent supporter, you didn't hear from God and had no voice.
I'd like to add, the creation science course was taught by Gordon Lindsay's son. Who also wrote the required reading and workbook. Reading "On the Origin of Species" was considered immoral and words of Satan.
The only class I enjoyed was "A Survey of the Old Testament," which was taught by an incredibly smart man who's name I've lost. He taught history, really. He never insuated any enemy or hatred, he just told us about what was going on in the world during biblical times, how Jewish history was passed down via oral tradition, and that Israel was a beautiful place worth seeing some day. He was great.
Thanks for sharing this, Jessica. Sounds like you at least had one good professor there. After my church participated in a Pride parade about a decade ago, I saw a group with huge disgusting signs and one young woman screaming her pain at them. The next year, I went over and talked with them, engaging them in theological discussions so they’d stop yelling obscenities at the crowd. The next year several members of my church joined me, with some playing kazoos. Those protestors largely came from CFNI which is about five miles from my house.
If this were a mosque, I think I know what they’d call it—a site of radicalization.
Jeff, Thank you for providing this background information. The White Christian Nationalist Movement is not one built on serving but creating reactionary, "fire in the belly" masses to do the dirty work of the greedy and powerful.
Eric Heubeck's speech in July 2001 about the New Traditionalist Movement (aka the Weyrich Manifesto) states:
"It is not enough to say that conservative philosophy is more sensible than that of the Left. If we leave it at that, we will only attract “sensible” people to our movement. But “sensible” people do not go to the barricades, they do not make great sacrifices for a movement. And the experience of the conservative movement has shown this to be the case. We need more people with fire in the belly, and we need a message that attracts those kinds of people. As Plato said, “madness comes from God, whereas sober sense is merely human.” We should keep this in mind if we expect our people to make superhuman sacrifices for the movement. We must reframe this struggle as a moral struggle, as a transcendent struggle, as a struggle between good and evil. And we must be prepared to explain why this is so. We must provide the evidence needed to prove this using images and simple terms. Putting the debate in terms of mere freedom, the “leave us alone” mentality, does not inspire apocalyptic fervor."
I searched for how many times the word "Christian" was used in this speech. It was one time:
"The New Traditionalists will not be exclusively Christians, but many of them inevitably will be."
The New Traditionalists thoughts about the Republican Party in the speech are also condescending. The GOP--just like the conservative Christians--is just a collateral tool for the Elite to be successful.
The problem as I see it is that there really isn’t a debate anymore. Things happen- a military parade, a No Kings day- and what happens is filtered through thoroughly opposed lenses, so that what is taken away is simply reinforcing preconceptions. If the American people are a jury, lawyers prosecuting their case, the media, are simply talking to their own jurors, and we end up with an endlessly hung jury. And periodic violent outbursts. Thank you for the background Jeff. I wish it could be part of a healthy conversation including both sides
This dovetails with the Christian ideology including speaking in tongues seen in the QAnon movement conferences that Ka$h Patel and Mike Flynn attend. The concept of violent prayer is very present from what I watched in footage from these gatherings. Jim Masterson and Kristopher Goldsmith have studied this movement and documented its beliefs and action calls. Will be interested to see the thrulines of this crime.
"If you’re not familiar with it, there’s probably an Assemblies of God church near you, and almost all of the people you’d find there would be just as horrified by Boelter’s actions."
Though I've left for many reasons, I still have many contacts in the A/G, including some district leaders and some close to headquarters. Christian Nationalism's inroads amongst many of its ministers and adherents is advanced and deep-seated. They may be horrified by Boelter's actions, but the distance between him and them isn't as far as anyone should hope to believe it is.
Wow. Excellent article. Thanks for posting it. I have a family member who has bewildered me for years. I think maybe now I understand him a bit better. Whatever the case, what you share here does not ease my mind.
There has always been too much violence in the name of God. Wouldn't you think that God would be pretty sick of it by now? Supposedly God gave us free will but it seems to be the goal of these Christian sects to obliterate everyone else's free will. You've seen it all through history. And it's not enough to say come with us and be saved. People have to be shunned, and tortured (remember the rack?). They feel it's their right to kill you if you're not white or straight, or even a man. One popular tool for white men who didn't like it if their wives disobeyed was to throw them into a mental hospital. There are examples of this all throughout history. That must be why Trump is taking us backwards. To justify the cruelty as business as usual.
Important and nicely said. Thank you.
Thanks, I guess.
But seriously I greatly appreciate your work.
Thanks Jeff for naming Christ for the Nations as a (de)formative player in Boelter’s life and for tracing the institution’s racist and antisemitic history. Its connections with other Latter Rain and now New Apostolic Reformation movements (including the large mission organization Youth With A Mission) has been briefly explored by John Collins from the William Branham Historical Research project. Bad theology kills.
Thanks for the information. My oldest brother, five years my senior, attended the unaccredited Christ for the Nations Institute while I was in high school, where he was radicalized beyond reason. I do think my mother, who led the family down the path of American Christian Fundamentalism, was proud of this affiliation. When he came home in the summer, he was a different person, and not a better one. I didn't know about the institute's racist and antisemitic roots, but am not surprised. This is the same brother who told me during the great Republican hysteria against Obamacare that he would rather see his teenage daughter die of an easily treated condition than use health care that was facilitated by the government. Very Abrahamic, and totally nuts.
I’m sorry that you have had to witness the radicalization of a family member and experience the accompanying heartache. It’s a profound loss that I hope we as a society can become better at naming. So thank you for voicing yours.
I'll be honest. The tone of the country has made me extraordinarily nervous. When I participated in the Albany (NY) Pride Parade last weekend, the city had massive garbage trucks blocking the side streets. But if someone wanted to target our church, with its rainbow banners, and likely in the name of God...
At today's No Kings Day event in Glens Falls, NY, "a man wearing a Trump T-Shirt who punched a protester and then ran away gets put in handcuffs. Two women protesters tackled him and held him down until the Glens Falls Police officers came on the scene to arrest him." There were also other threatening, though non-lethal, actions.
Yes, it's a fast civil war, codified by a SCOTUS that finds FOTUS can do almost no wrong
I told my husband, it’s a cold civil war right now.
The senile guy you voted for imported millions of illegal aliens. Boelter shot 2 Democrats that took a stand against illegal immigration.
Frank, you have first managed to fail when it comes to the facts (Pres. Biden didn’t “import millions of illegal aliens”), and then defended a Trump-supporting murderer. This says a great deal about who you are as a person.
If you wish to stick your head in the sand and deny reality, that suggests you have many things in common with ostriches.
I actually attended CFNI for just under a year. (It was strongly suggested I leave before the end of the second semester.)
I can verify the teachings of "them vs us" mentality. We were told museums of nature and science were "temples to Satan." We were told Deep Ellum, a section of Dallas with tattoo parlors and venues/clubs primarily, was evil and to never go there. Homosexuality was demonized and conversion therapy applauded. We were told to attend anti-abortion rallies. I actually got angry in the moment at the rhetoric preached here. The rest made me feel uneasy, but this one infuriated me in the moment. It was dehumanizing anyone prochoice. We were not to listen to any music that wasn't Christian or classical, no movies that were beyond PG. People would accuse roommates who dared dress alternatively of being demon possessed. A lot of speaking in tongues and being "slain in the spirit." If you were not an ardent supporter, you didn't hear from God and had no voice.
I'd like to add, the creation science course was taught by Gordon Lindsay's son. Who also wrote the required reading and workbook. Reading "On the Origin of Species" was considered immoral and words of Satan.
The only class I enjoyed was "A Survey of the Old Testament," which was taught by an incredibly smart man who's name I've lost. He taught history, really. He never insuated any enemy or hatred, he just told us about what was going on in the world during biblical times, how Jewish history was passed down via oral tradition, and that Israel was a beautiful place worth seeing some day. He was great.
Every other authority there...less great.
Thanks, Jessica. I'm adding this to the post.
Thanks for sharing this, Jessica. Sounds like you at least had one good professor there. After my church participated in a Pride parade about a decade ago, I saw a group with huge disgusting signs and one young woman screaming her pain at them. The next year, I went over and talked with them, engaging them in theological discussions so they’d stop yelling obscenities at the crowd. The next year several members of my church joined me, with some playing kazoos. Those protestors largely came from CFNI which is about five miles from my house.
If this were a mosque, I think I know what they’d call it—a site of radicalization.
Jeff, Thank you for providing this background information. The White Christian Nationalist Movement is not one built on serving but creating reactionary, "fire in the belly" masses to do the dirty work of the greedy and powerful.
Eric Heubeck's speech in July 2001 about the New Traditionalist Movement (aka the Weyrich Manifesto) states:
"It is not enough to say that conservative philosophy is more sensible than that of the Left. If we leave it at that, we will only attract “sensible” people to our movement. But “sensible” people do not go to the barricades, they do not make great sacrifices for a movement. And the experience of the conservative movement has shown this to be the case. We need more people with fire in the belly, and we need a message that attracts those kinds of people. As Plato said, “madness comes from God, whereas sober sense is merely human.” We should keep this in mind if we expect our people to make superhuman sacrifices for the movement. We must reframe this struggle as a moral struggle, as a transcendent struggle, as a struggle between good and evil. And we must be prepared to explain why this is so. We must provide the evidence needed to prove this using images and simple terms. Putting the debate in terms of mere freedom, the “leave us alone” mentality, does not inspire apocalyptic fervor."
I searched for how many times the word "Christian" was used in this speech. It was one time:
"The New Traditionalists will not be exclusively Christians, but many of them inevitably will be."
The New Traditionalists thoughts about the Republican Party in the speech are also condescending. The GOP--just like the conservative Christians--is just a collateral tool for the Elite to be successful.
https://attackthesystem.com/2013/02/10/the-integration-of-theory-and-practice-a-program-for-the-new-traditionalist-movement/
The problem as I see it is that there really isn’t a debate anymore. Things happen- a military parade, a No Kings day- and what happens is filtered through thoroughly opposed lenses, so that what is taken away is simply reinforcing preconceptions. If the American people are a jury, lawyers prosecuting their case, the media, are simply talking to their own jurors, and we end up with an endlessly hung jury. And periodic violent outbursts. Thank you for the background Jeff. I wish it could be part of a healthy conversation including both sides
Thank you for keeping us in the loop. Be safe.
Thank your for exposing the rot.
Thanks for staying on top of this.
Great reporting thank you.
Thank you.
This dovetails with the Christian ideology including speaking in tongues seen in the QAnon movement conferences that Ka$h Patel and Mike Flynn attend. The concept of violent prayer is very present from what I watched in footage from these gatherings. Jim Masterson and Kristopher Goldsmith have studied this movement and documented its beliefs and action calls. Will be interested to see the thrulines of this crime.
"If you’re not familiar with it, there’s probably an Assemblies of God church near you, and almost all of the people you’d find there would be just as horrified by Boelter’s actions."
Though I've left for many reasons, I still have many contacts in the A/G, including some district leaders and some close to headquarters. Christian Nationalism's inroads amongst many of its ministers and adherents is advanced and deep-seated. They may be horrified by Boelter's actions, but the distance between him and them isn't as far as anyone should hope to believe it is.
Sadly I concur, Brent
Wow. Excellent article. Thanks for posting it. I have a family member who has bewildered me for years. I think maybe now I understand him a bit better. Whatever the case, what you share here does not ease my mind.
Jessica, when were you at CFNI? I was there 2000-2002, and I concur with everything you said.
Thank you