Oklahoma churches push back on political use of Christian faith

Political mail featuring politicians declaring their Christian faith have been delivered to thousands of homes across Oklahoma, and political candidates have walked through churches in television ads claiming Christianity.

Several local ministers have looked on with concern.

"I receive mail in my mailbox that says 'A vote for this person is a vote for Christian values,' but what does that mean, exactly — feeding the hungry, helping the neighbor, stranger or immigrant?" the Rev. Mark Foster said.

"What I find is that, too often, when someone says they're about Christian values, they're picking and choosing, and rarely are those the values of the Beatitudes found in Matthew chapter five."

With his new sermon series Separation of Church and Hate, Foster said he hopes to help his Acts 2 United Methodist Church congregation discern the difference between individuals with genuine Christian values and those who only claim Christianity for the sake of politics.

Acts 2 is among the Oklahoma churches offering sermons series aimed at combating divisiveness, hate and ideologies like Christian nationalism as many politicians seem to use their Christian faith to gain votes. The Rev. David Wheeler, senior minister of New Covenant Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), will begin a sermon series titled Faith Was Never Supposed to be Silent: Justice is What Faith Sounds Like in Public on Sunday, Sept. 13.

Foster said the new sermon series is timely.

"It is wrong and dangerous for politicians, over these next nine weeks, to take our beautiful faith of Christ's love for us and use it to merge Jesus and meanness," Foster told church members at the Separation of Church and Hate series' Sept. 6 debut.

More: Two OKC churches tackle Christian nationalism, condemn the ideology

"If you really want to know what Christianity is about, it's about the things that Jesus prioritized — things like service to others, forgiveness, caring for the sick, the stranger, the prisoner, and loving one another."

Wheeler, at New Covenant Christian Church, said he typically preaches a sermon series that tackles difficult topics each fall. He said his upcoming sermons will focus on the teachings of the biblical Prophet Amos, whose warnings against social injustice, religious hypocrisy and corruption among leaders are found in the Book of Amos.

"I'm going to attempt to see if we can help people make a closer connection between what they say they believe about their faith and how they live that out in public life," Wheeler said.

A postcard that New Covenant sent to hundreds of Oklahoma City homes said the series is particularly for people who may be tired of politicians using God for their own gain, and who are weary of churches that have fallen in line with exclusion, fear and Christian nationalism, an ideology calling for a government that incorporates or endorses aspects of the Christian religion, including making laws and policies based on Christian beliefs. In the U.S., it is also a cultural and political movement that promotes the idea that America was uniquely founded as a Christian nation.

Along those lines, Wheeler said his first sermon is entitled "When Elected Leaders Use God."

"People on both sides of the (partisan) aisle have done it," Wheeler said.

He recalled a 2020 incident during President Donald Trump's first term, when the Republican president had law enforcement clear peaceful protesters from Lafayette Square so he could walk from the White House to St. John's Episcopal Church, where he stood in front of the house of worship and held up a Bible for news media cameras.

He said many Christians found what looked like a photo opportunity for Trump to be offensive.

"It was the feeling that something sacred was being put to political partisan use and so the church became a backdrop," Wheeler said.

"Politicians can make an argument, campaigns can make promises, but when God enters the story, political power can begin to feel holy in a gross way, in my opinion. So once power begins to feel holy, accountability gets hurt. Criticism can sound like disloyalty. Opposition can be portrayed not simply as opposition to a politician but opposition to God's purposes."

Wheeler said this is what he considers "the most dangerous thing political power can receive from religion."

"It's not just prayer, but it's immunity from judgement."

Wheeler said the biblical prophet Amos confronted some of what modern-day citizens are confronting, "like greed, exploitation of the poor and a religion, that in some places, can get calloused and just jump on the bandwagon of dehumanizing immigrants, overlooking the poor and removing the safety nets like SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) benefits, and other things like Social Security for the elderly and retired that are in desperate need."

"We're going to look at this through lens of theology and morality and ethics. Faith was never supposed to be silent when elected leaders use God," he said.

Foster hosted artist-theologian Julian Davis Reid, of Chicago, as guest speaker who gave the first sermon for the Separation of Church and Hate series. With soloist Tramaine Parker, Reid's message reflected on the racial hatred that motivated 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, which destroyed Tulsa's Greenwood District. He and Parker visited the historic Greenwood District which was rebuilt after the massacre, before visiting Acts 2, where Foster is senior pastor.

Foster said when he was a child, people knew what the church stood for, but that has changed in recent times. He said he hopes to remind people of the values that Jesus taught, including love of neighbor and the stranger.

"When it comes to church, there's no place for hate," he said.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma churches push back on political use of Christian faith