Which is more concerning, when a biblically illiterate politician incorrectly invokes a piece of Scripture, or when the church congregation she’s speaking to gives an enthusiastic standing ovation after she does so?
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) was speaking last weekend at First Corinthian Baptist Church, a historically black church in Harlem, when she invoked Ephesians 6 to defend her decision to “resist” against President Donald Trump and his agenda. Prior to that, however, she was engaging in the well-worn tactic of fear-mongering and race-baiting with her audience.
“In our schools we’re hearing about bullying,” she said. “We’re seeing harassment at supermarkets. We see KKK flyers being passed around on a town in Long Island. We’ve seen an epithet written on a family’s door.
“Just a few days ago, Timothy Caughman [was] murdered by a white supremacist, solely because he was black. And two days from now, we will remember the anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.”
Then, she invoked Ephesians 6:12 in her next statement.
“Too many of you have witnessed this too up close and personal for far too long, and too many New Yorkers, especially within communities of color, have been facing this kind of hatred and violence even before election day,” she said. “This onslaught of hate [is] coming out from every direction in Washington, the highest places in this country. The struggle is not against the flesh and blood, but against the rulers, the authorities and the powers of this dark world.
“It’s time that we take a stand. We take action. We stand up to the bullying. We stand up to the hateful words. We protect those least among us. We protect the vulnerable.”
The Christian theological consensus is that Paul, in his epistle to the Ephesians, was writing matter-of-factly about the spiritual warfare they faced, not actual combativeness with our government. It’s a concept he also shared with the church in Corinth in 2 Corinthians 10:3-4:
For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling-down of strongholds,
Taken in its full context, Paul isn’t encouraging incitement against any government body, but rather to prepare ourselves for the conflict that will come when the enemy attacks. Ephesians 6:13-20 states:
Therefore take up the whole armor of God that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your waist girded with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, having your feet fitted with the readiness of the gospel of peace, and above all, taking the shield of faith, with which you will be able to extinguish all the fiery arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
Pray in the Spirit always with all kinds of prayer and supplication. To that end be alert with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints. Pray for me, that the power to speak may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may speak boldly as I ought to speak.
Gillibrand further reinforced her “resistance” message to the church by invoking Philippians 4:6 (NIV), stating:
“And when we’ve fought the good fight, and we still feel that anxiety that comes with so much uncertainty, we look back to the scriptures. And Philippians tells us what to do: ‘Do not be anxious about anything. But in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving present your requests to God.’ The peace of God will be with us. It transcends all things. It will guard our hearts and minds in Christ.”
It’s likely the senator’s staff wrote the speech she gave, but her audience ate it up. According to accounts of those who were there, she got an “electrifying” standing ovation. {eoa}
See an error in this article?
To contact us or to submit an article
