Is the way of Jesus strong enough for the political arena?     RSVP Today! TONIGHT! Join AVC for Free Webinar with Author Bonnie Kristian Bonnie Kristian is an experienced journalist skilled in compelling opinion writing, concise news delivery, and meticulous editing. Bonnie's brand new book is titled Untrustworthy: The Knowledge Crisis Breaking Our Brains, Polluting Our Politics, and Corrupting Christian Community. Her talk will explore themes from her popular books and columns, and give attendees an opportunity to ask questions. Please plan to join us by using the RSVP link below.   When Politics Replaces Religion "Out-party hate has become more powerful than in-party love as a predictor of voting behavior." If this is not a perfect and depressing summation of our present moment in politics, I do not know what is. The quote comes from a 2020 study done by a team of social scientists looking into what they have termed "political sectarianism." The study found that voting against your political enemies is a better reason to vote than voting for your interests or the interests of your party. Or, as the kids might say, political sectarianism is hurting your self-interest to own the other side. Michael Wear wrote about this study this week for Christianity Today and provided three great reasons to have hope in an age of political sectarianism: "Americans, including many Christians, are fighting against this anti-social imaginary." Christianity does offer a way to fight against this anti-love ethic if we are willing to believe the way of Jesus is strong enough for the political arena. People want genuine help from civic leaders if leaders are willing to offer that help. Even with all that is going wrong in American life, there is reason to hope. Part of why I have hope is because of a simple truth that was not in Wear's article but has become something of a refrain for him if you follow him on Twitter or read Wear's work elsewhere. That truth is this, "Politics is causing great spiritual harm in Americans' lives, and a big reason for that is Americans are going to politics to get their emotional and spiritual needs met." From golden statues to being unable to speak against Trump, there is no more significant proof of Wear's point that Americans are looking to politics to meet their spiritual and emotional needs than Donald Trump. I remember Obama's election in 2008 and how many conservatives made a big deal over how Democrats and progressives seemed to fawn over him like some kind of messiah figure. While some likely did see Obama through that lens, it pales in comparison to the way large swaths of the Republican Party, including many Evangelicals, have made Trump their messiah. This devotion, not just to Trump but to politics in general, has wreaked untold havoc on the lives of Americans, but it does not need to be this way. The way forward will not be a more friendly politician who urges us to look out for one another. Instead, it will be regular Americans who choose to put politics in its proper place. Political solutions exist because, as a society, we need a way to reason together for the best solutions for the whole, but we cannot do that if there is no "we" and no way of gathering together. To rediscover that "we," individuals will have to decide that seeking the good of their neighbor is better than seeking personal gain or their neighbor's ill. But this ideal of a good life, that we all are better off when everyone is taken care of, is not something that can be argued into existence. It must be lived and shown to be worthy so that those who would typically choose out-party hate as a motivating factor are convinced of a better path. We need, as Wear ends his article, more joyfulness. "Politics needs people with joyful confidence who seek security not in politics but in Jesus. We can break the vicious cycle. There's a better story to tell. And we should tell it as we live it." 3 More Things: 1) If you've been following the claim from those on the conspiratorial right that schools have litter boxes available for students who identify as cats to use, NBC News has tracked down the truth. In short, some schools do have litter boxes for students to use in the event of a school shooting when students cannot make it to the restroom. NBC News does a great job of tracing how such a sad truth has morphed into something entirely other. 2) If you missed it, a jury decided that Alex Jones was liable for defamation and must pay $1 billion to families who lost children in the Sandy Hook school shooting. While Alex Jones took to his show to laugh off this decision, Matt Lewis argues that this should be a cause for hope. Jones cannot, or should not, survive having to pay this amount in damages. And even if he does, this verdict shows that there is a limit to how you can traffic in misinformation. 3) The New York Times has a new poll showing that 71% of Americans think democracy is in danger, but only 7% think it is the most critical issue in the country. And suppose that is not wild enough for you. In that case, 12% of Democrats and 37% of independents are at least somewhat open to voting for candidates who deny the 2020 election results because they are concerned about the economy. Charlie Sykes and Will Saletan had a great discussion about this issue on the xxxxxx podcast. Join Our CIRCLE Join our brand new CIRCLE group (imagine a positive Facebook-free online group experience) where we'll be sharing tools to assist folks facing the division caused by toxic politics, hosting book club events, and building community together. The first 100 people to join are getting Jeffrey Bilbro's latest book, and there are a few spots left -- claim yours now! Join Our Free CIRCLE Community Support Our Work with Pastors     American Values Coalition | 2250 Double Creek Dr. #6661, Round Rock, TX 78683 Unsubscribe [email protected] Update Profile | Constant Contact Data Notice Sent by [email protected]