God & Money

You can thump that Bible all day long                             A– DA
And still have trouble with your right and wrong          D   D#dim
But you can’t, no you can’t serve God and money,        A  E  D E
Don’t you know?                                                                    A    

You can talk about truth while you spread a lie,             A–DA
Preach about life, and let your neighbors die.                D  D#dim
But you can’t, no you can’t serve God and money,       A E D E
Don’t you know?                                                                    A    

BRIDGE
How can people be so easily deceived,               Em  A7 (2)
Only see what we’re bound to believe    D Em F#m  F#7
If you’ve got troubles, oh, let ’em go!                      B7
If you’ve got love, won’t you please, let it show!  E7 F#m E7  

You can preach about peace while you start a war
Preach about love while you close the door
‘Cause you can’t, no you can’t serve God and money,
don’t you know?

You can thump that Bible all day long
And still have trouble with your right and wrong
But you can’t, no you can’t serve God and money, don’t you know?                            

  ©Doug Hendren 2020

What’s it about?  Christian nationalism is a plague upon the modern world. In the words of Congregational minister Tim Ahrens, it preaches “hatred, violence, separation and disinformation.” A growing number of people, he adds, have lost track of Christian faith and values, replacing them with the “devastatingly disturbed and corrupt” idea of Christian nationalism. “Spewing hate in the name of Jesus,” these people make a mockery of true Christians.

Baptist minister Marvin McMickle agrees, warning: “What seems like a fringe movement in American politics today can become a danger to religious liberty tomorrow for all Americans.”  Pastor Michael Chancellor goes further, asserting that Christian nationalism is based on idolatry: “What is the god of Christian nationalism? It is an America which has never existed but idolized and worshiped.”  Reverend William Barber II calls Christian nationalism ‘a form of heresy,’ attempting to sanctify lies over truth, a kind of “theological malpractice.”  Where traditional Christian values are heavily based on “the golden rule,” Christian nationalists tend to vigorously assert their personal freedom, with little regard for others.

When Marjorie Taylor-Green, Lauren Boebert and others in Congress explicitly espouse Christian nationalism, it’s a wake-up call to all Americans. As Katherine Stewart has brilliantly chronicled, this is an aggressive and misinformed political ideology not about faith, but about power.  These people have no business imposing their false beliefs on the American people.

——————-

Michael Chancellor, Baptist News Global: No, Rep. Boebert, the church is not supposed to ‘direct the government.’

Katherine Stewart, The Power Worshipers: Inside the Dangerous Rise of Religious Nationalism (2020)

Andrew Daugherty, Baptist News Global: No, Pastor Jeffress (and others), America is not a Christian nation. And here’s why it matters.