The Time For Christians to Fight Fascism is Right Now

Fascism has arrived in the United States, and I refuse to be complicit.

If I sound like an alarmist to you, it is because we are in a five-alarm fire right now. I’d like to thank David Artman for turning me on to Jason Stanley’s book, “How Fascism Works,” and helping all of us Jesus followers ring the alarm bells.

Why have I become convinced that fascism is already here? Because I have eyes. Because knowledgeable people who have worked with Trump have told us this is true. General Mark Milley, chair of the joint chiefs of staff under Trump, had this to say about Trump: “He is the most dangerous person ever. I had suspicions when I talked to you about his mental decline and so forth, but now I realize he’s a total fascist. He is now the most dangerous person to this country. A fascist to the core.” John Kelly, the retired Marine general who was Donald Trump’s White House chief of staff, said he thought Trump fit the general definition of a fascist and that Trump said he wished his generals were loyal to him as Nazi generals were loyal to Hitler.

Here’s a question for you: what line does Trump have to cross to lose your support? Trump is a danger to America and the Christian faith. With his own words he revealed himself to be completely and compulsively dishonest. We have a decade of public lies beyond any other politician I can think of. With his own words he has denigrated military veterans and many other public servants of high character. With his own words he bragged about sexual assault and now we have confirmation from a jury that he is a sexual predator. And now he is attacking our institutions and our very constitution. If you are a MAGA Christian, why are you still in? Prominent Christians who support this deviant are doing damage to the faith. Full stop.

I also believe fascism has arrived because of Stanley’s ten markers of fascism. Stanley is a Yale professor of philosophy, not some random liberal podcaster screaming in panic. He writes very convincingly about how fascism paints an alternative form of reality through a purge of faith, art, science and government all in support of a cult of a leader who protects the interests of the wealthy and privileged at the expense of all others. Is this not obviously parallel to MAGA today?

Here are Stanley’s markers of fascism. It would be concerning if one or two of these were evident in our society. The fact that all ten are evident means our democracy is at a crossroads, and it is essential that we act immediately to safeguard it. As always, these are my thoughts on Stanley’s writing along with my own editorial musings on MAGA. You’re always better off reading the actual book (and it’s cheap on Kindle as I write this).

1. The Mythic Past

Fascists often glorify a particular vision of the past to make you feel worse about your present and your future. Take a moment to imagine the idyllic times of the 1950s as an example. I mean it, stop reading, close your eyes and picture life in the 1950s for sixty seconds. What did you picture? Was it a well-kept suburban home with a picket fence with a white, straight, cis-gendered family of four where the very well-dressed dad drives their one car to work in the big city? Or did you picture an oppressed black family who isn’t allowed into the county fair? I’m ashamed to admit it, but I picture the former much more than the latter and I’m a dangerous woke leftist. It’s clear to me what kind of America Donald Trump is envisioning when he says he wants to “Make America Great Again.” He’s not talking about economic prosperity, at least not for everyone. He’s not talking about national security. He’s not thinking about unity unless you belong to the dominant racial group with the dominant sexual orientation. His vision of America comes from a time when America was much less American.

2. Propaganda

The Nazis were famous for their propaganda. Much of it was quite crude, but some was convincing and even aesthetically pleasing. Unfortunately for us, we can’t even have the pretty propaganda, we only get the tacky kind. Propaganda is using lies, manipulating language and reshaping reality to bend our ideas. When Trump cries, “fake news,” he is prepping you for propaganda. When he calls the press, “enemies of the people,” he is prepping you for propaganda. Well-informed citizens are not as susceptible to propaganda, so he wants to portray the press and other truth-tellers as threats to the nation. Propaganda is how fascists solidify support and change the meaning of language to delegitimize dissent. They are trying to rewrite what it means to be an American. What does it sound like? It sounds like, “America first,” when God draws no boundaries. It sounds like, “the election was rigged,” when we know that’s almost impossible. It sounds like, “they’re eating the dogs, they’re eating the cats,” because fascists think you might be afraid of brown people.

3. Anti-intellectualism

Fascists target universities and educational systems. Well-educated people are more capable of critical thinking and can present organized threats against fascists ideas. MAGA wants to tell you that colleges are elitist, out of touch and are indoctrinating your children. It’s true that voters with degrees are much less likely to support Donald Trump. I don’t think that is indoctrination, I think that education, truth, history and critical thinking lead to progressive and inclusive ideas. But if you can call liberal critical thinking, “liberal bias,” then you can undermine the credibility of scholars and educators. Who then become the real arbiters of truth if not scientists and professors? The fascist leaders, naturally. Trump is constantly promoting conspiracy theories about climate change, public health, voting rights and immigration. He is nominating conspiracy theorists and wackos quirky eccentrics to cabinet positions. The goal of MAGA, like all fascists, is to consolidate power by eliminating intellectual dissent and present dear leader’s vision as the only accepted perspective.

Learning about history keeps us from repeating the sins of our past. One of the things that saved modern Germany is their ability to recognize their Nazi past and remain diligent against repeating it. But now, you have this movement in America to remove discussions about slavery and inequality. They say that these lessons make white kids feel bad, make them feel less patriotic. Well, good, that’s what they’re for. We should feel bad about the parts of our past that we never want to repeat. Removing these lessons makes it easier for fascists to up the dial on inequality and racism.

4. Unreality

We cannot keep up with the many outrageous lies being told right now. Steve Bannon uses the term, “flood the zone,” to mean that the best way to keep us all off balance is to constantly push false narratives and bad policies until we buckle under the pressure of having to debunk one lie after another. Trump is famous for the “big lie,” that the 2020 election was stolen even though there is no proof. Over 60 lawsuits challenging the election results were filed by Trump and his allies and were dismissed by courts due to lack of evidence. Judges, including those appointed by Trump, found no credible evidence to support claims of widespread fraud. Several states conducted recounts and audits of the election results, including Georgia and Wisconsin. These processes reaffirmed the original outcomes, showing no significant discrepancies that would change the results.

One of the worst examples of unreality recently is the claim that Lutheran Family Services (LFS) or similar organizations were laundering money. Pure conspiracy theories meant to turn people against Lutherans, immigrants, refugees and others. Such claims are considered preposterous and demonstrably false and fit the fascist agenda. There is absolutely no credible evidence to support the assertation that LFS is involved in money laundering. LFS operates with strict regulations and oversight making it nearly impossible to engage in any kind of illicit financial scheme, let alone money laundering. To make or believe this claim, you are either promoting a fascist rhetoric or are unbelievably gullible. This was a fascist misinformation claim that is part of a broader campaign to discredit any organization that supports immigrants and refugees.

5. Hierarchy

Fascists like to promote caste systems. In their ideology, some humans are worth more than others. Often, they determine who is worth more because of their race, religion and gender. When you hear MAGA promoting a return to, “traditional values,” they are promoting a hierarchy. What they’re really saying is, “it was so much easier when women couldn’t vote against us, or companies and schools without DEI polices could freely discriminate in favor of straight white men.” MAGA appeals to nationalism are not even truly about supporting America, they are instead promoting what they think are the “true,” Americans who just coincidentally happen to be white Texans. This deliberately creates an environment of anxiety, competition and fear for any minority group. The reason they do this is again to promote fear and stifle dissent. Keeping us divided in any way helps them perpetuate their fascism.

6. Victimhood

It seems counter intuitive, but when you promote some kind of superior position in a social hierarchy – again, straight white families – you also increase feelings of resentment and victimhood. We saw this with the Black Lives Matter movement. The common cry of, “but all lives matter,” was just a way to promote a feeling of victimhood among people in the superior position in society. I would typically explain it to my friends this way. Imagine you invite a bunch of friends over to your house for dinner and everyone gets a big plate of food except for Gordon. People start digging in and Gordon is just left out. Finally, someone says, “Hey, Gordon deserves food, Gordon is hungry.” Can you imagine one of your friends saying, “no, don’t say Gordon is hungry, because everyone is hungry.” It’s totally preposterous. Unless you want to feel like a victim when marginalized groups demand equality. This is true of the arguments about DEI, immigration reform, social justice, you name it. MAGA wants their followers to feel like victims so that others are seen as shared enemies. We should instead share in the joint cause of equality and democracy, but that is against fascist aims. Fascists look to deepen our divides and perpetuate cycles of inequality. It’s wrong on any level but it is especially unchristian.

7. Law and Order

A common fascist ploy is to portray certain groups as dangerous, lawless and criminal. It’s not enough for someone to be here legally (or frankly, sometimes legally even). We need to deport immigrants because they are dangerous gang members and sex traffickers, they are eating the dogs, they are eating the cats. Well, who gets pulled off the streets and disappeared into El Salvador hell holes? Brown people and students who support human life in Gaza. This reinforces racists’ hierarchical biases. It’s also a way to stifle dissent through punitive measures and aggressive policing. It seems to me that what MAGA call “law abiding,” citizens are only the ones who agree with little Marco Rubio. It is an obvious double standard meant to control the population through fear. The law only applies to the benefit of those in power.

Again, division is the main purpose. Fascists and MAGA want to provide you with false alternatives to make you mad and keep you angry at the other. I have this crazy idea that we don’t have to fall in line with these lies. We can believe simultaneously that a handful of immigrants commit crime and should be dealt with while the vast majority are less dangerous than actual American citizens. I think you can be anti-Hamas and pro-Gaza at the same time. I think you can support children in Israel and Gaza at the same time. I think you can support the Jewish faith and culture while expressing that you don’t think the current state of Israel is its highest expression. I think you can defend gun rights while at the same time insisting that Kyle Rittenhouse is no better than a school shooter. I think wanting to punish bad cops is actually supporting good policing. Life is no where near as filled with simple ideas as fascists want you to believe.

8. Sexual Anxiety

All this hierarchy is tied to very patriarchal ideas about gender equality. Gender equity becomes a direct threat to the power structure. Women are less likely to vote for fascists, so our fascists are deliberately making it more difficult for women to vote. Read about the SAVE act yourself, it is a terrifying and inarguably unconstitutional return to a poll tax designed to limit voting. But it goes beyond voting. I don’t have time to go into it here because it deserves its own post, but there is no text in the Bible that is against abortion. Fascists use reproductive rights as a way to control women, not because there is a religious proscription against abortion. Abortion is health care. If anything, the Bible is explicit that the life of a woman is more valuable than the life of a fetus. So why all this hype over reproductive rights? Because it helps to stigmatize all women.

Equally bad is the rhetoric against our LGBTQ+ sisters and brothers. Fascists love to foster paranoia. They paint LGBTQ+ people as groomers who want to convert your sons and daughters to a gay lifestyle. In what weird world do you think your own sexual orientation could be “converted?” But by creating fear around sexuality and gender, fascists can rally support amongst anyone who is just generally threatened by change. Cruelty, fear and discrimination is the very point.

9. Urban vs. Rural

Stanley refers to this as, “Sodom and Gomorrah,” but those words are so fraught with theological meaning I prefer to think of the divide between city dwellers and rural people. Fascists win by dividing us and one of the ways they divide us is to pain their enemies as evil elites. City folk don’t do the “real work,” that the MAGA voters do. What work, pray tell, does Elon Musk do then? Urban dwellers vote blue, it’s simple to understand the genesis of this rhetoric.

Did you know that Hitler gained traction with poor German farmers to consolidate power? Farmers faced a lot of economic hardship after World War I and often went into debt. They struggled with low prices for their crops so when Hitler attacked the “greedy bankers,” – a Nazi dog-whistle that meant Jewish people – the farmers mostly fell in line. People always need someone to blame for unhappiness, someone to scapegoat.

MAGA’s version of this is a kind of economic populism that makes no sense to anyone with a degree in economics, and that includes me. My training is to follow the data and in most cases, the data supports free trade. Most economists from across the political spectrum believe that free trade is generally better than the alternatives. Tariffs are dangerous taxes on all of us, not a way to tax other countries. But the rhetoric helps highlight divisions. Attacks on the elite or the immigrants amount to an us-vs-them rhetoric that helps frustrated people blame someone else for their considerable problems.

10. Arbeit Macht Frei (Work Shall Make You Free)

The slogan “Arbeit macht frei” (Work shall make you free) was infamously inscribed on the gates of Auschwitz and symbolizes the perverse ideology of fascism regarding labor and worth. Fascists often propagate the belief that minority groups and leftists are inherently lazy and unproductive, justifying their oppression and exploitation through this narrative. This ideology leads to the establishment of concentration camps and forced labor camps, where individuals deemed undesirable are subjected to brutal conditions under the guise of making them “contribute” to society.

Is it any wonder why MAGA despises labor unions. As I’ve said, I’m generally a free-trade kind of guy, but the only power we have as workers over big business is to unionize. Do unions overstep? Sometimes. Are they a pain in the rear? Always, that’s the point after all. They exist to advocate for worker’s rights and fair treatment, and we owe much of our modern work safety and equality to them. So, fascists want to paint unions as the enemy of a productive and disciplined society.

This ideology quickly extends to mistreatment of differently abled individuals. I still have no idea how any Christian could vote for Trump after he childishly mocked a journalist with a disability. Seriously, what is wrong with the Trump voter that this doesn’t immediately disqualify the man? Fascists see differently abled people as less valuable, unintelligent and a burden to society. It is inhuman. Your value is not in any way related to your ability to create even more wealth for a billionaire oligarchy.

Karl Barth as a Model

But Matt, I come here to read about difficult theological issues, not politics. I hate to break it to you, but your Christianity requires you to act. Right now. You cannot be complicit in the face of fascism.

It shouldn’t surprise any regular readers that I turn to one of my theological heroes, Karl Barth, for examples of what it means to take part in a theological resistance to fascism. Barth became disturbed by the rise of fascism in Germany under Hitler in the 1930s. Fascism in all forms poses a direct threat to the moral and spiritual fabric of the Christian church. Barth saw this under the Nazis, and we can see it today. He saw the need for action as the Nazis threatened the German church.

Germany in the 1930 underwent a political upheaval. Christians were tempted to take part in fascism because it protected their own self-interest and it proposed solutions to their fears and anxiety. The Nazis began to interfere with the church for the very reason that Christian values stand in absolute contrast to fascism. The Nazis tried to manipulate the Church, her symbols, her theology and her pastors’ rhetoric to justify their disturbing and inhuman ideology and actions. Barth saw early on that a choice had to happen inside of Christianity – we would stand against the Nazis, or the faith would fall to further subjugation as the Nazis tried to align the German churches with state propaganda and control.

Eventually, many Christians collaborated with the Nazi efforts to rewrite theology by starting the German Christian movement which attempted – in the most unholy way – to harmonize fascist evil with Christianity. Barth knew that this would undermine our prophetic voice. Christians needed to stand for the Christian doctrines of love, grace, justice and dignity of all who are made in God’s image – values that are fundamentally out of alignment with fascism.

In 1934, Karl Barth played a pivotal role in drafting up the Barmen Declaration. I’m surprised how many Christians today haven’t heard of this essential declaration of faith. It is radical to most modern thinkers, it is dangerous to fascists and yet to Christians, it should be the most obvious statement. Essentially the Barmen Declaration states that Christ is ruler overall. It rejects allegiance to earthly powers as well as any ideologies that are not aligned with the Gospel. It fearlessly stood up against the Christians who aligned themselves with Nazi Germany.

Where are you today when you see fascist evil in the United States? Will you, like Karl Barth and his compatriots, insist on upholding the truth of the Gospel message? Will you resist the efforts of fascists, Christian nationalists and elite oligarchs to co-opt our faith for their own ends? How bold will you be when a moral crisis arrives on your own shores? Did you think you wouldn’t take the side of the Nazis almost 100 years ago? Then it is your turn to stand up today.

Barth’s profound influence in the creation of the Barmen Declaration was evident in its theological depth and clarity. It called on Christians to uphold the truth of the Gospel and to resist any attempts to co-opt the church for political ends. The declaration was a bold affirmation of the church’s independence and its commitment to bearing witness to God’s justice and mercy amidst the moral crises of the time.

Barth paid a price for his resistance – albeit not the ultimate price that Bonhoeffer paid. Barth pleaded with Bonhoeffer to leave Germany for his own safety, but Bonhoeffer refused. Fortunately for the sake of his life, our continuing theological inspiration and the Christian faith, Barth fled to his native Switzerland and continued to advocate for Christian resistance to fascism.

I want to point to Barth’s legacy to give you courage to stand up against fascism in our own time. This isn’t politics, at least not in the American sense of Republican vs. Democrat, nor Left vs. Right. I happen to be a liberal and a Democrat, so Trump lost my support early on because I disagree with 90% of his ideas and most importantly because sexual abusers and felons are disqualified to lead for me under any circumstance. But MAGA lost me regardless of policy when it attacked our capitol, attacked police and then received pardons for their violence. This is pure, jack-booted, brown-shirted fascism.

My Christian resistance to our current fascism isn’t about your political party, but it is political in the sense of letting a deep commitment to our faith drive our action in the world. It is a call to be vigilant against any ideology that seeks to undermine our values. But Barth’s legacy is simply one more in the legacy that goes all the way back to our Lord. Jesus fought Roman oppression all the way to the cross. I beg you to consider what does it even mean to be a Christian, to call ourselves followers of Jesus, if we won’t stand up against state oppression today? What does it even mean to take up our cross if we allow fascism to erode the soul of this country and this world?