The Christian Nationalist War
Don't forget Ukraine -- and how deeply it is woven into Christian nationalism globally and here, in the United States. Trump, Mike Johnson, and MAGA want you to forget.
Today marks the second anniversary of the war in Ukraine. It is important not to forget. Not only have a half-million people been killed in the ongoing conflict, but it has turned into a kind of proxy war of democracy against Christian nationalism.
While the world’s attention has been redirected toward the terrible events in Israel and Gaza, Ukraine has been slogging along against Russia. And Russia has become a far more ominous threat — with the murder of Alexei Navalny and Putin’s not-subtle-suggestion that he intends to move on other states in Europe when Ukraine falls (including the possibility of invading Poland — history nerds take notice: a potential invasion of Poland?!).
It is worth taking time this weekend to consider what is happening in Ukraine. Here’s a gift article from today’s New York Times surveying the situation — as well as the hard choices NATO countries, including the United States, currently face.
I’ve been long concerned with the intra-Christian struggle in Russia and Ukraine, and the implications of what’s happening there in relation to Christian nationalism in American politics. Below are two articles I wrote at the beginning of the war about religion in this conflict. I urge you to re-read them and consider the theological dimensions of what is happening there. Their combined analysis supports my contention that the Ukraine war is, in actuality, a war of religion.
What I never imagined then would be that the House of Representatives, two years in the future, would be in the hands of Christian nationalists who support Vladimir Putin and under the leadership of Mike Johnson (who was then a backbench extremist theocratic crank from Louisiana) as directed by ex-president Donald Trump, a man facing 91 criminal charges. And that Trump, a long-time Putin fan, who is attempting to beat off potential convictions and jail time through a presidential campaign, would be still be a powerful political force in the United States.
In short, the events in Ukraine are oddly interwoven with American politics — since Trump’s first impeachment in 2019 when the then-president withheld military aid to Ukraine as part of a quid-pro-quo to enlist their aid in his election campaign against Joe Biden. And, as I said in these articles, the events in Ukraine are part of a larger, global move away from democracy and human rights toward an emerging global alliance of ethno-theocracies.
While we attend to mitigating suffering in Gaza and call for an end to the violence there, we cannot afford to ignore the war in Ukraine. We must remember. Our prayers, support, and activism should be directed toward peace in every case — toward a world where every person is recognized with the full dignity they deserve and have the right to live peaceably beneath their own vine and fig tree.
Holy and Gracious God,
We pray for the people of Ukraine and the people of Russia; for their countries and their leaders.
We pray for all those who are afraid; that your everlasting arms hold them in this time of great fear.
We pray for all those who have the power over life and death; that they will choose for all people life, and life in all its fullness.
We pray for those who choose war; that they will remember that you direct your people to turn our swords into ploughshares and seek for peace.
We pray for leaders on the world stage; that they are inspired by the wisdom and courage of Christ.
Above all, Lord, today we pray for peace for Ukraine.
And we ask this in the name of your blessed Son.
Lord have mercy. Amen.
(This prayer is from the British Methodist Church. Their site also has some moving prayers for Israel and Gaza as well.)
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And yesterday, Trans-Dnistria (not sure about the spelling), that part of Moldova where many Russians live and want to claim.
A thought-provoking thesis worth considering: "In short, the events in Ukraine are oddly interwoven with American politics — since Trump’s first impeachment in 2019 when the then-president withheld military aid to Ukraine as part of a quid-pro-quo to enlist their aid in his election campaign against Joe Biden. And, as I said in these articles, the events in Ukraine are part of a larger, global move away from democracy and human rights toward an emerging global alliance of ethno-theocracies."