Make money doing the work you believe in
On January 19, Well-Trained Mind Press, the educational publisher that I own, publicly objected to the current tactics and rhetoric of ICE as anti-family, anti-Constitution, and pro-racism. If you didn’t see that post and would like to go read it now, please do. I’ve linked it to the bottom of this post (and all of the sources supporting the post are contained in the first comment under the post, so you can check those out for yourself.)
The Press itself saw over a thousand comments on that post. Many followers agreed and approved. Others disagreed—some with civility, and some with abuse and threats.
Quick clarification, just for accuracy’s sake. I did not write the post. I edited it, I approved its posting, and I am in 100% agreement with the sentiments expressed. But it is not merely my personal position. The Press employs an entire team in our book publishing operation, and this was a joint statement from all of us.
Despite that, the reactions were not limited to the Press. Scores of social media accounts condemned me (personally) as godless. Home school influencers exhorted their own social networks to boycott my appearances and throw out my books as dangerous to people of faith. I was condemned as an apostate. And, apparently, quite a few prayers were offered up for my salvation.
Just stop and think about this for a moment. I didn’t spew heresy. I didn’t contradict the Nicene Creed. In fact, the most theological statement in the whole post was, “As human beings whose religious and civil founding documents tell us that our Creator endows each person with unalienable rights, we utterly condemn racism.” (Was that objectionable?)
And yet, in response, a whole segment of Christian home schoolers prayed for my salvation.
The last time we had a reaction like this came over ten years ago, when an imprint of the Press published Peter Enns’s elementary Bible curriculum TELLING GOD’S STORY and Ken Ham of Answers in Genesis strongly objected. Then too, I was personally condemned as anti-Christian. The books were actually entirely orthodox, but Peter Enns himself in his other writings has since taken some theologically controversial positions, and I understand why conservative Christian parents would react strongly to his material—and even, by extension, to my involvement in platforming him.
But look what’s happened here. As a citizen (well, it was a group of citizens, but I’ll stay self-focused for a moment), I objected to a government initiative , pointed out very obvious historical links between its rhetoric and past racist creeds, and suggested that laws be enforced in a way which is not cruel. And immediately, the responses went straight to my Christian faith.
Do you see the disconnect here?
The path that leads from “You object to violent law enforcement carried out by a secular government” to “You don’t love God” is a rockier path than the one that leads from “I don’t agree with the theology of the author you publish” to “Clearly you’re not a Christian.”
The biggest rock is the current administration’s use of Biblical phrases, themes, and images to reinforce its secular agenda. The Department of Homeland Security posts a video of armed agents arresting people at gunpoint and plasters it with “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.” Another recruitment video quotes Isaiah 6:8 (Whom shall I send and who will go for me?). Pete Wehner writes, in the Atlantic (linked), “The message the Trump administration is sending is not subtle: ICE is doing the work of God. The brutal and sometimes lethal tactics being used by a growing number of ICE agents are divinely sanctioned. Come join this holy campaign.”
If you think I’m a leftist liberal because I object to ICE’s tactics, that’s your privilege. You don’t have to use any of my books.
But if you think I’m anti-Christian because I object to ICE’s tactics, you are aligning ICE seamlessly with the kingdom of God. And before any quotes Romans 13 at me (I’ve read it too), raising concerns about how any particular government agency is run is not “rebelling against what God has instituted.” It is my right as my citizen and my duty as a Christian who believes that all people are made in the image of God. Raising those concerns is the only responsible way for any citizen, Christian or not, to work towards a peaceful, just, and kind society. Listening to those concerns, rather than dismissing those who raise them as “not one of us,” is the only way forward.