Jack Jenkins’ twitterstream
[ by Charles Cameron — sources for my previous post with tweet & DoubleQuote]
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In fairness, because I questioned & implicitly critiqued Jenkins on one of the tweets in this series in my previous post, here’s the whole series for your consideration:
1. In light of last night's Make America Great Again hymn (?), some notes about what I call an emerging Trumpian Christian Nationalism. https://t.co/MkFXparb6b
— Jack Jenkins (@jackmjenkins) July 2, 2017
2. First, Trump and/or his advisers have been crafting a form of Christian nationalism since his inauguration. https://t.co/4UNBaJijtU
— Jack Jenkins (@jackmjenkins) July 2, 2017
3. Christian nationalism per se isn't new; Fusions of patriotism and piety are as old as America itself.
But Trump's version is…different.
— Jack Jenkins (@jackmjenkins) July 2, 2017
4. He uses common themes, such as the idea that America is a Christian nation ("our God"), and that faith is inherently patriotic.
— Jack Jenkins (@jackmjenkins) July 2, 2017
5. Here's some lines from his inauguration speech, as well as his speech to Liberty University in May. pic.twitter.com/Tc4ls7vNR9
— Jack Jenkins (@jackmjenkins) July 2, 2017
6. The fusion of faith and patriotism is old, and Trump (or his speechwriters) know it.
He harped on the "In God we Trust" at Liberty. pic.twitter.com/K3r7YIuh4e
— Jack Jenkins (@jackmjenkins) July 2, 2017
7. "In God we trust," of course, only showed up on U.S. currency in 1954 during the Red Scare.
But his point is they were right to do it.
— Jack Jenkins (@jackmjenkins) July 2, 2017
8. Trump's Christian nationalism, however, diverges from the traditional strain (preached by many) in two key ways.
— Jack Jenkins (@jackmjenkins) July 2, 2017
9. The first is subtle: his line about Americans worshipping "God not government"—used last night and in other speeches—appears partisan. pic.twitter.com/8sB9fy5ibE
— Jack Jenkins (@jackmjenkins) July 2, 2017
10. Many a preacher has endorsed the GOP small government approach, but few politicians have framed it as brazenly as Trump does.
— Jack Jenkins (@jackmjenkins) July 2, 2017
11. But the truly unusual part of Trump's Christian nationalism is how he appears to place HIMSELF at the center of his theology—as a savior
— Jack Jenkins (@jackmjenkins) July 2, 2017
12. At his inauguration, he appeared to imply that God will keep America safe BECAUSE he is president.
That is, as they say, not normal. pic.twitter.com/eMc4nCAMsO
— Jack Jenkins (@jackmjenkins) July 2, 2017
13. Trump's allies echo this: Rev. Jeffress, who emceed last night, delivered an inauguration sermon entitled "When God chooses a leader." pic.twitter.com/MkryYbkoKk
— Jack Jenkins (@jackmjenkins) July 2, 2017
14. Granted, the idea that presidents are imbued with divine purpose is NOT unique to Trump. Some likely thought the same of Obama.
But…
— Jack Jenkins (@jackmjenkins) July 2, 2017
15. Implying God's protection = a byproduct of your rule? Having choirs sing your campaign slogan?
That's a new, untested mix in America.
— Jack Jenkins (@jackmjenkins) July 2, 2017
16. Long story short: keep an eye on Trump's faith cadre—Jeffress, etc—going forward.
Trends suggest this theology will only grow bolder.
— Jack Jenkins (@jackmjenkins) July 2, 2017
Here you can find Jenkins’ ThinkProgress article, Trump is creating a new form of Christian nationalism centered on himself.
July 4th, 2017 at 11:05 pm
I think Trump is what’s called a nominal Christian -> he grew up in America and considers himself a Christian in the same way many Jews consider themselves Jewish – more of an ethnicity than a faith. As for the goofball churches, well, after 8 years of having their beliefs slammed by the previous administration (God and guns, anyone?) they have latched on to the man telling them what they want to hear.
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As far as I’m concerned, they should follow the Bible’s warning about putting too much trust in earthly powers and not enough in God.
July 5th, 2017 at 8:52 pm
On the night Obama was elected, the crowd at the rally at Grant Park in Chicago looked like they were witnessing the Second Coming. People believed their lives had been changed forever, and they were probably right. It was the 21st century version of the Fatima Miracle of the Sun. It was the night Obama told America he
was “the answer that led those who have been told for so long by so many to be cynical, and fearful, and doubtful of what we can achieve to put their hands on the arc of history and bend it once more toward the hope of a better day.”
An event on par with men walking on the moon and the Berlin wall coming down, when history, “touched her finger to a screen, and cast her vote.”
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Honestly, that leaves Trump in the dust. Obama was invoking something beyond the mere peasants’ notion of a Deity, which is something every run-of-the-mill president does in some form or another. Obama was different. He was the fulfillment of the prophetic arc of Lady History. Her blessed finger actually reached down and struck the holy touchscreen casting the deciding vote for him, the new Chosen One. Take that Russian hackers.
July 5th, 2017 at 9:05 pm
Don’t forget the part where they called him a lightbringer.
http://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/morford/article/Is-Obama-an-enlightened-being-Spiritual-wise-2544395.php
July 5th, 2017 at 9:11 pm
My New Ageism is a little rusty, but wasn’t Lucifer the lightbringer?
July 5th, 2017 at 11:46 pm
I googled Think Progress and discovered it is an outlet for the Center for American Progress which was founded by John Podesta. Mr. Podesta should be a name familiar to readers of Zenpundit. Then I ran perused the Think Progress site and ran through Mr. Jenkins twitter feed going back a few months. From this 15 minute in depth program of research, it is not a surprise Mr. Jenkins can see the outlines of a bogey man moving through the mist shrouded political forest.
July 6th, 2017 at 2:11 am
Sure. When Jenkins posted tweet #11, I responded thus:
I was far from sure that he had made his case, especially as he’s a writer who prides himself on a connection with Harvard Theological.
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And I recall (and must surely have posted here) Obama captured in a messianic pose in a photo taken at a fund-raiser at Steven and Judy Gluckstern’s home, April 9, 2007:
— while his own words played on the theme of his messiaship in a manner that “both lampoons and slyly encourages the perception” when he said at the Lebanon Opera House, New Hampshire, on January 7, 2008:
July 9th, 2017 at 12:20 am
“On the night Obama was elected, the crowd at the rally at Grant Park in Chicago looked like they were witnessing the Second Coming.”
Second Coming? Obama was a Rock Star and the US his mosh pit.
Obama didn’t get the Nobel Prize for being a savior, he got it for being someone other than a GWB, a person who was Born again, waiting for one, and thought he could help it along.
What you saw was what you wanted to see.
July 11th, 2017 at 7:59 pm
“What you saw was what you wanted to see.”
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Isn’t that the point, Larry? Absent an objective lodestar, we’re set adrift, only capable of interpreting events in terms of our own incomplete subjectivity.
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Every American leader has invoked divine providence to justify and bolster their moral authority. In Obama’s case he went a step further and beseeched Clio, the goddess of history, which was an interesting flourish, certainly unique, but I suppose still in the ballpark. It’s implied that we are and always have been protected by God(s). Trump openly mentioned it this time because, being from the construction business, he has an affinity for the simple groundwork unlike our previous more diffuse leaders.
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My favorite example of this has to be Trump’s Western Civilization speech last week.
“We write symphonies. We pursue innovation. We celebrate our ancient heroes.”
After seeing the dog-whistle allegations about this line I can’t get the mental image out of my head of that scene in Annie Hall,
https://youtu.be/DaPBhxXhprg