To the Editor:

If everything in our world were easily identified as good or bad, then most of us would choose good, at least most of the time. Unfortunately, things are not binary and are not always as they seem. People with a desire for power and influence may use words that sound true but they conceal an altogether different agenda.

 In the Bible, Jesus spoke of these “false prophets,” calling them wolves in sheep’s clothing. He said that by their fruit you will know them. The Bible also tells us that the fruit we should be looking for is “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.”

A movement called Christian Nationalism is rising in our country and its proponents are saying some things that sound good, using Christian rhetoric, but they have a hidden agenda. Christian Nationalism is not a faith, but is rather a political ideology masquerading as a faith, and in this disguise it is infiltrating our government and our churches. 

The end goal of this movement is to replace our pluralistic democracy with a system of government that uses a narrow and often erroneous interpretation of Christianity to subjugate anyone whose cultures and beliefs deviate from the group’s agenda. Perhaps more insidious is that in order to accomplish their goal they must replace the essence of Christianity itself, love, with fear. Their doctrine is one of “us vs. them,” where only those who pass tests of loyalty to certain narrow ideas are deemed worthy, and everyone else is considered “less than.”

Our values and our faith can and should inform our attitudes toward our society and our government. We have a government which is founded to be “of the people, by the people, and for the people,” and we cannot divorce ourselves from our values and beliefs, but there is a reason why the founders emphasized keeping church and state independent of each other. A doctrine or movement is not Christianity if Jesus’s teachings and the example he gave us are nowhere to be found.

To be effective, a wolf in sheep’s clothing needs to sneak up slowly and gradually. So, I’m asking that we all examine our own thoughts and ideas and think critically about what we hear from politicians, the media, and even from our faith leaders.

 If the fruits of their words are fear, distrust, and exclusion, then we should be skeptical. Are their ideas inclusive of everyone, or is there a strong element of “us and them”?  History has shown that once you deem some folks as “other” and even begin to de-humanize them, hatred, bigotry, and even violence are close behind. If those attitudes are coming from a politician, think twice about voting for them. If there are prevalent sentiments in your church, I submit to you that Jesus has left the building.

Paul Petroccione
Canton