"My Scripture. Mine."

On life verses and MAGA politics

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When I was fifteen, I joined an evangelical church. At the time, a friend asked me about my “life verse.” A life verse? What?

She explained that “real Christians” should always have a life verse, a particular Bible verse that would guide your spiritual “walk” and provide words to lean on when needed.

“My verse is Psalm 139,” she continued. “I know it by heart,” and she quoted the words to prove it:

For you created my inmost being;
    you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
    your works are wonderful,
    I know that full well.
My frame was not hidden from you
    when I was made in the secret place,
    when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw my unformed body;
    all the days ordained for me were written in your book
    before one of them came to be.

As a church newbie, I was impressed and felt a certain kind of spiritual peer pressure to have a life verse, too. Eventually, I chose Ephesians 1:17-19:

I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe.

It’s a prayer from St. Paul that spoke to teenage me. My verse. Mine. And, it has stuck with me all these years.

I guess it worked.

* * * * *

One of the biggest stories in the United States this week involves Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito. He’s been making entirely too much news recently — mostly by undoing decades of rights enjoyed by women and marginalized citizens.

In recent days, filmmaker and “gonzo” journalist, Lauren Windsor, released a tape of an interview with Alito and his wife, Martha-Ann, that she made while posing as a right-wing activist.

The Alito tapes, admittedly recorded in under false pretenses (I have genuine reservations about Windsor’s tactics), nevertheless reveal that both the justice and his wife hold some radical — and perhaps unconstitutional — views on a variety of subjects including the relationship of church and state. Reporters have long warned that Justice Alito has been making decisions regarding religion, morality, and rights on the basis of his personal belief that America is a Christian nation. Turns out, they were right. Windsor’s tapes are a bit of a smoking gun.

While the quotes from Samuel Alito rightly dominated the news, the comments by his wife, Martha-Ann, who has earned her fair share of surprising stories this summer for her display of borderline-treasonous American flags at the couple’s homes (yes, “homes” plural), are perhaps even more troubling.

Mainstream news has focussed on Mrs. Alito’s discussion of the flags and her disdain for a Washington Post fashion reporter, but this passage on the Bible caught my attention:

Look at me, look at me. I’m German. I’m from Germany. My heritage is German. You come after me, I’m gonna give it back to you. And there will be a way — it doesn’t have to be now — but there will be a way they will know. Don’t worry about it. God — you read the Bible. Psalm 27 is my psalm. Mine. Psalm 27, the Lord is my God and my rock. Of whom shall I be afraid? Nobody.

Yes, there appears to be an oblique Nazi reference. And her words drip with lust for revenge.

But guess what? Mrs. Alito apparently has a life verse!

“Psalm 27 is my psalm. Mine.”

In case you need a refresher, here’s Psalm 27:

The LORD is my light and my salvation— whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life— of whom shall I be afraid?

When the wicked advance against me to devour me, it is my enemies and my foes who will stumble and fall.

Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then I will be confident.

One thing I ask from the LORD, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple.

For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his sacred tent and set me high upon a rock.

Then my head will be exalted above the enemies who surround me; at his sacred tent I will sacrifice with shouts of joy; I will sing and make music to the LORD.

Hear my voice when I call, LORD; be merciful to me and answer me.

My heart says of you, “Seek his face!” Your face, LORD, I will seek.

Do not hide your face from me, do not turn your servant away in anger; you have been my helper. Do not reject me or forsake me, God my Savior.

Though my father and mother forsake me, the LORD will receive me.

Teach me your way, LORD; lead me in a straight path because of my oppressors.

Do not turn me over to the desire of my foes, for false witnesses rise up against me, spouting malicious accusations.

I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.

Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD.

While not exactly an imprecatory psalm (the type that calls down curses on one’s enemies), this psalm does, indeed, center its attention on protection from one’s enemies. It is typically classified as a psalm of lament — and asks God for help against false accusers and “the wicked.”

Psalm 27 can be quite comforting in trials (I have found it so myself) and provides powerful images of hope and courage. It is especially well-loved in African-American churches.

But it is an odd choice for the wife of a Supreme Court justice, which is probably one of the most highly regarded social positions in the entire country. The Alitos live in a lovely neighborhood in Fairfax County, Virginia (I know because they live less than a mile from me!), and own a posh beach house. They are the recipients of every privilege possible to the Washington elite. Hardly the oppressed.

Mrs. Alito clearly knows the psalm well — she quoted it without a moment’s hesitation. It is, as she says, hers. Although she didn’t use it as a curse, she clearly referred to it with more than a whiff of paranoia and perhaps as a threat.

Most people choose life verses that are aspirational or beautiful, about things like love and goodness and service and spiritual insight. Like Micah 6:8 — Do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with your God. Or Psalm 23 — The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. Perhaps Mark 12:30-31 — Love God…and love your neighbor as yourself. Even a verse from Ephesians — May God give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation.

I’ve been gone from evangelicalism for a long time. But most of my work is among church people of all types. I’ve never heard anyone claim a life verse about enemies.

A life verse about revenge? That’s theologically troubling (unless you are being enslaved or the actual victim of oppression), if not revolting.

In these strange days, however, Psalm 27 is also revealing.

Of course, Psalm 27 is in the Hebrew Bible. But Mrs. Alito is a Catholic. And the New Testament also refers to God’s enemies (not usually “one’s” enemies on a personal level), yet its major theological emphases are forgiveness and redemption. Central, however, to Christian nationalism — especially in its current political form — is the notion that Christians are persecuted in the United States, a country that is rightfully “theirs” that must be ordered by biblical laws.

Anyone who doesn’t go along with this has become the “enemy.” Although Donald Trump, who is considered the God-appointed leader to restore a Christian America, would never be able quote Psalm 27 as ably as Mrs. Alito, the emotional heartbeat of his 2024 presidential campaign is revenge. Forgiveness is not on the Trumpian playlist. But paranoia, persecution, and divine payback are.

Mrs. Alito said the quiet biblical part out loud: When evildoers assail me to devour my flesh — my adversaries and foes — they shall stumble and fall. God’s gonna get ‘em.

And that’s the source of confidence and joy. Their enemies will be defeated. And they will be protected through the “war” with the wicked.

Maybe Psalm 27 is MAGA’s life verse.

The problem is that the “enemies” are those who don’t share these views. Like a neighbor who posts a rival political sign. Or a fashion reporter who makes sarcastic remarks about a dress. A woman needing a medical abortion bleeding out in a parking lot. The lesbian couple next door with a pride flag. Or, well, someone like me! It’s a long enemies list these days. And way too many of us are on it.

I wonder if Mrs. Alito has ever heard Jesus on the matter: But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you — Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone slaps you on the cheek, turn to them the other also.

Honestly, she needs a new life verse. We’d all be better off if Sam and Martha-Ann started memorizing passages about God’s love.

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INSPIRATION

If you are not to become a monster,
you must care what they think.
If you care what they think,

how will you not hate them,
and so become a monster
of the opposite kind? From where then

is love to come—love for your enemy
that is the way of liberty?
From forgiveness. Forgiven, they go

free of you, and you of them;
they are to you as sunlight
on a green branch. You must not

think of them again, except
as monsters like yourself,
pitiable because unforgiving.
— Wendell Berry, “Enemies”

And whom do I call my enemy?
An enemy must be worthy of engagement.
I turn in the direction of the sun and keep walking.
It’s the heart that asks the question, not my furious mind.
The heart is the smaller cousin of the sun.
It sees and knows everything.
It hears the gnashing even as it hears the blessing.
The door to the mind should only open from the heart.
An enemy who gets in, risks the danger of becoming a friend.
— Joy Harjo, “This Morning I Pray for My Enemies”

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NEWS FROM THE COTTAGE

For Paid Subscribers:

THIRD THURSDAYS AT THE COTTAGE:
June Third Thursday (tentative date June 20, more details soon)

Timothy Shriver, Chairman of the Special Olympics, comes to The Cottage. Tim’s a teacher, administrator, and visionary leader who is motivated by his faith to serve others — and create a fairer, more just politics. We’re going to talk about his new project — The Dignity Index.

Moment of geek: Tim was recently a Jeopardy clue! Do you know the answer? (No one on the show got it right!): “This sister of JFK founded the Special Olympics, which are now run by her son, Tim Shriver.”

Who is ______?

AS ALWAYS, THIRD THURSDAY CONVERSATIONS ARE RECORDED AND SENT TO ALL PAID SUBSCRIBERS so no one in the supporting community ever misses out!

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Sharing this short lecture from my good friend, Professor Julie Ingersoll, on an important topic — What is Christian Reconstruction? It’s an often misunderstood theological source of Christian nationalism, and she simply and succinctly explains this difficult-to-grasp movement. Highly recommended!

This is one of the lectures from our current course on Homebrewed Christianity, FAITH AND POLITICS FOR THE REST OF US.

FAITH AND POLITICS FOR THE REST OF US is a summer school course that I’m co-hosting this month with Tripp Fuller at Homebrewed Christianity. The class is underway, but you can join anytime and watch on your own schedule. REGISTRATION AND INFORMATION HERE. (This class requires a separate registration through Homebrewed — not The Cottage — and is a donation — including “free” — based course.)

If you sign up for the class, we’re going to soon have a SPECIAL ADDED BENEFIT — a private online screening of the brand new documentary, TRUE BELIEVER.

Julie and I both took part in the film and were at the Southern California screening last weekend. It is VERY moving and powerful.

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