The Stupidest Christian Response to the Overturning of Roe v. Wade
Goliath is dead. Let’s kill the Philistines!
I don’t pretend to know the intricacies of the American legal system. However, there is something troubling about the jubilant reaction that I’ve observed from the conservative Christian right in response to The Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.
In case you’ve been living under a rock, the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday overruled the 1973 decision that effectively legalized abortion nationwide, choosing instead to send the issue of abortion back to the states, declaring that the Constitution is silent on abortion and that Roe was “egregiously wrong from the start.”
Almost immediately, pro-lifers began to celebrate the victory as a historic culmination of a five-decade campaign, with conservative Christians leading the charge.
“We Won!”
On social media, the pro-life rhetoric was predictably triumphant, as evangelicals declared it a victory for the good guys and for God. And while the conservatives patted each other on the backs and gave thanks for the fact that women now have less freedom than their mothers did, I was left wondering, “What now?” Or, maybe… “What’s next?”
Because I can’t imagine for a moment that conservative Christians will sit back and celebrate for too long. No. They are in a culture war where the goal is to bring the whole of the USA under a regime that they believe represents Biblical morality as if returning to it to the “glory days” where women knew their place, homosexuality was outlawed, and men could own a slave or two without guilt.
If I were part of a religious, racial, or sexual minority, I would be understandably quite concerned right now. In fact, following the decision, Justice Clarence Thomas indicated other important precedents could also be reconsidered: rights to contraception, consensual same-sex intimacy, and same-sex marriage.
Cause for alarm
Amongst the exuberant social media posts from conservative evangelicals in the wake of the overturning of Roe v. Wade, one stood out to me ominously.
It was by none other than Sean Feucht, the poster boy of the evangelical movement. I’ve written about him before. Sean Feucht is a Christian singer, songwriter, and worship leader at Bethel Church in Redding, California. He also ran as a Republican in California’s 3rd Congressional District in the last election because, hey… religion and politics make for such good bedfellows.
Feucht has been criticized and praised — depending on your point of view — for holding various Christian worship concerts in mid-2020 during and despite the COVID-19 pandemic. The concerts were held to protest government restrictions on religious gatherings because of the pandemic.
He periodically turns up in random cities around the USA, brandishing his acoustic guitar and leading “spontaneous” prayer and praise expression sessions in the streets, where he calls strangers to repentance.
He is met with morbid fascination by some and pure repulsion by others. The latter he wears as a badge of honor because he believes that if people hate you, then that’s about as sure as a sign as any that God is on your side. It couldn’t be that you’re disturbing the peace with a message no one asked to hear.
Predictably, Feucht took to both the streets and to Instagram to wax lyrical about how wonderful it is that Roe v. Wade has been overturned. Amongst his Instagram posts about abortion (there were multiple), this one represents the most stupid Christian response to the overturning of Roe v. Wade that I have read. Have your barf bag handy. You’ve been warned:
Abortion is Goliath
For those unfamiliar with the Biblical story of David and Goliath, here’s a quick plot summary: The Israelites (God’s people) are beset upon by an invading army known as the Philistines. The Philistines have an oversized champion named Goliath, who they send out day after day to taunt and demoralize the Israelites. And it works. Until one day, a young boy full of courage and the Holy Spirit stands up to the giant and manages to kill him in a one-v-one duel. The Israelites rise up and route the Philistine army, killing their men and plundering their camp.
The fact that Sean Feucht chooses to use this Biblical story as some kind of metaphor for the conservative Christian fight against the pro-choice “baddies” should alarm you.
Why?
Because, by doing so, Sean Feucht is unwittingly or otherwise making some fairly troubling claims about God and the American Christian Right that have far-reaching consequences for us all. Let me explain what I mean.
God is on our side
The way that conservative Christians are celebrating the overturning of Roe v. Wade like it’s a “win for God” is not surprising. Feucht puts all pro-lifers firmly in the Israelite Camp. Why? Because everyone knows the Israelites are the people of God.
In Fuecht’s Biblical analogy, the people of God are those who oppose abortion. Therefore, to have a different view of abortion to the hard-core pro-life view is to be an enemy of God and God’s apparently chosen people.
Feucht is effectively saying, “We are the good guys here! We are the people of God! Anyone who isn’t a pro-lifer is a Philistine. They are our enemy, and we must defeat them in battle.”
Our views and God’s views are the same
When you presume that God is on your side, the logical side effect is that you presume that your way is God’s way. That being the case, you must do what you can to impose that ‘way’ on the rest of the world. Yes, even though most Americans believe abortion should be legal in most circumstances, the conservative right has somehow manipulated the system to take society back five decades. According to Sarah Stankorb, “An intimate health care decision has been made and motivated by a theological position held by a minority of Americans.”
But, make no mistake. Abortion is just the beginning. The desire of the conservative Christian is to “return” the USA to what they believe it once was: A Christian nation. The fact that this belief is ostensibly untrue (the official motto of the USA is “In God, We Trust,” was only adopted by U.S. Congress in 1956) is immaterial. “America was, is, and must remain a Christian nation,” the Christian nationalist asserts, regardless. And, of course, this way of thinking sets a prescriptive program for what America must continue to be in the future.
That’s because when you argue that your nation was and always will be a Christian nation, it causes you to draw lines in the sand about who is and who is not part of that nation.
In reality, many groups of people cannot or will not conform to the religious and cultural template that our “Christian nation” imposes. People of different races, faiths, cultures, genders, and sexual preferences don’t fit under a Christian nationalist regime. Perhaps that’s one of the reasons that scholars almost unanimously agree that nationalist governments tend to become authoritarian and oppressive in practice.
The idea that one group enjoys the favor of God more than another is really the spirit behind colonialism, racism, sexism, elitism, homophobia, Islamophobia, and any other kind of prejudice you’d care to name. Only when you believe that all people are God’s people can you truly embrace all people in the same way God does.
Who is David?
And who was the brave, young soldier who stepped up to face Goliath? Who is David in Sean Feucht’s story?
Well, perhaps it is none other than Donald Trump.
After all, it was Donald Trump who, during his four years as president, appointed three conservative justices — Neil Gorsuch in 2017, Brett Kavanaugh in 2018, and Amy Coney Barrett in 2020 — to give a court that had been ideologically deadlocked with four liberals and four conservatives when he took office a solid 6–3 conservative majority by the time he left.
All three appointees were in the majority in the decision to overturn Roe.
Three pebbles in the forehead of big, bad Goliath, thanks to Donald Trump, who, unsurprisingly, is basking in the glory of his own splendor. This is what he had to say on Friday:
“Today’s decision, which is the biggest WIN for LIFE in a generation, along with other decisions that have been announced recently, were only made possible because I delivered everything as promised, including nominating and getting three highly respected and strong Constitutionalists confirmed to the United States Supreme Court. It was my great honor to do so!”
The Philistines must be killed
Take a moment to appreciate the irony of Sean Feucht — a pro-lifer — telling his followers to “chase down the Philistines” now that the “Giant of Abortion” has been taken down.
The Biblical reference that Feucht is leaning on here is 1 Samuel 17:51–53. Here’s what it says:
When the Philistines saw that their hero was dead, they turned and ran. Then the men of Israel and Judah surged forward with a shout and pursued the Philistines to the entrance of Gath and to the gates of Ekron. Their dead were strewn along the Shaaraim road to Gath and Ekron. When the Israelites returned from chasing the Philistines, they plundered their camp.
Their dead were strewn along the road. Does that sound pro-life to you?
Who are the Philistines in Sean Feucht's Biblical analogy? Why, I suppose it’s anyone who isn’t on the ‘side’ of the good guys? Is he talking about liberals? Or democrats? Those who are pro-choice? What does Feucht propose to do with those people? It doesn’t sound very Christian, does it?
One thing seems certain; the battle isn't over now that “Goliath has fallen.”
Jesus, and the misuse of religion
It’s ironic.
The way that Jesus lived his life was a critique of the misuse of religion for exercising power over others. His most scathing words were reserved for the religious leaders who sought to burden the average person with religious obligation and law-keeping.
Yet, here we stand at a moment in history where certain “Christians” believe they must impose the “Christian” way on the rest of society by force.
Fact: True Christianity has never been driven forward by force. True Christianity has never been imposed on others but imparted through love and humility.
Today, I can’t help but think that Jesus is not with the “Christians” as they celebrate the end of abortion with great fanfare and much back-slapping. Rather, I think he is at the side of the woman who has had her destiny decided for her by the church — even though she may or may not have faith in their God.
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