Jesus and John Wayne

Religion is in the process of destroying itself, turning itself into a mockery of what it is supposed to be.

Nothing better illustrates that than the nightmare that does not blush to call itself Christian Nationalism, as if Jesus were a first-amendment, gun-toting, shoot first and ask questions later firebrand nationalist, in short, John Wayne. That, you would think is just a joke, which it is, a sick joke, and Kristin Kobes du Mez does a brilliant job of documenting how that is actually what they think.

John Wayne is what has become of Jesus, which does as much damage… show more.

In Jesus and John Wayne, Du Mez examines the rise of the Christian right through the lens of popular culture. She argues that over the past seventy-five years evangelicals have remade Christianity into a form of toxic masculinity and Christian nationalism. They have extolled strong, heroic models of masculinity from the fictionalized characters in John Wayne and Mel Gibson movies to political figures, including Ronald Reagan, Oliver North, and even Donald Trump. Their projected strength was vital to protect and promote Christian values. This muscular Christianity supports patriarchy, authoritarianism, and aggressive foreign policies, and opposes the expansion of rights for… show more.