Religion & Public life • Former Board chair, @oneamericamvmt
Nashville, TN
Joined April 2009
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Matt Hawkins ن retweeted
MAGA Christianity will end. Historians, and God, will judge whether it had constructive accomplishments that compensate for the dangers to which it contributed. Evangelicals who supported it will decide what replaces it. If they are wise, they will side with historical patience, liberty for all, limited expectations of politics, providential hope, and Christian realism. How they choose will help decide the fate of the nation. @thedispatch
thedispatch.com/article/what…
Matt Hawkins ن retweeted
The church is not equipped for a political fight, and it was never meant to be. Its purpose is to share the gospel, and the gospel does divide — but it does not divide along party lines. It divides the world from the people of God. Christ did not come to sort Republicans from Democrats. He came to call a people out of the world and into His kingdom. A sinner in a red state and a sinner in a blue state stand on the same side of that line until grace moves them across it.
When the church aligns itself with a political party, it draws the wrong line. We are a 50/50 nation, and a church that marries itself to one party has told half the country that the door is closed before the gospel is ever preached. The offense of the cross is supposed to be the cross itself, which is not supposed to become a partisan yard sign. The church that trades the division Christ makes for the division Washington makes has abandoned the one fight it is equipped to win for one it is guaranteed to lose.
Matt Hawkins ن retweeted
Tragic. They'll almost certainly be sent to their death. They came alongside us and helped us defeat the terrorists responsible for 9/11. We promised them safety, and now we are reneging on that promise. Not something a Christian nation should be doing.
The Trump administration is preparing to deport at least 150 Afghans over the next 48 hours, first to Pakistan and then to Taliban-controlled Afghanistan.
Many of those facing deportation are relatives of those who worked alongside the United States. They could face severe retaliation from the Taliban upon their return.
@nickschifrin speaks to @shawnjvandiver for more.
Matt Hawkins ن retweeted
Today is international day of the persecuted church. Let’s remember in prayer our persecuted brothers and sisters.
This hits. I’ve long felt if I accomplish anything worthwhile in small groups it’s affirming and steering folks into o-rthodoxy (+ Bible reading aptitude). Many of them have been in church most their lives & aren’t equipped to recognize orthodoxy v counterfeit.
💯 what Dan says.
Yes. Every Christian should steward their citizenship wisely. I believe every Christian should vote. But the vote doesn’t begin in November every two years. It begins earlier. In primaries. In showing up and choosing the best candidate who matches character and policy. In local elections. In the things you choose to speak out about and those things you choose to be silent about.
If your only framework for politics is two weeks in November, you are not that engaged. You are disengaged.
Matt Hawkins ن retweeted
I’m praying for a renewed CT that embodies the vision and spirit of its original editor in chief, Carl Henry, with application toward the 21st century’s unique challenges. It’s an important institution.
Example of social science forcing survey respondents to split an obvious paradox, resulting in the appearance of polarization when there probably isn’t any.
Matt Hawkins ن retweeted
There’s another version of lust that can be just as deadening to the senses and just as damaging to the soul, and it’s one that we often overlook, something we often justify for being “realistic.”
thegospelcoalition.org/blogs…
Matt Hawkins ن retweeted
As a former police officer and as a pastor, I understand both the purpose and the biblical foundation of capital punishment. It is not merely punishment for a crime; it is also intended to deter others from committing similar acts.
Scripture not only provides justification for capital punishment, but in cases of murder, explicitly calls for it. Genesis 9:6 declares, “Whoever sheds man’s blood, by man his blood shall be shed; for in the image of God He made man.”
Capital punishment, properly administered, is not a rejection of the sanctity of human life. It is an affirmation of it.
But that does not mean executions should become public spectacles.
I oppose the proposed livestreaming of the execution of convicted Fort Hood terrorist Nidal Hasan for two reasons.
First, when we separate capital punishment from its moral foundation, we risk turning an act of justice into what appears to be an act of vengeance. Rather than affirming the sanctity of human life, a public spectacle of death can communicate the opposite message—that human life has little value.
Second, as House Speaker Mike Johnson has warned, broadcasting Hasan’s execution could provide jihadist organizations with a powerful recruiting tool. Rather than deterring future terrorists, it could give them propaganda to inspire more violence.
Nidal Hasan should receive the punishment imposed for his horrific crimes. Justice should be carried out, but it should not become entertainment.
The purpose of capital punishment is to uphold the value of innocent human life, not to make a spectacle of taking the life of the guilty.
In a world where we have pro-choice party vs pro-abortion party, we’re gonna see a lot more folks navigating this brother’s dilemma. 😔
It was easier when it was pro-life vs pro-choice.
The party trends are unavoidable and call for a reimagined, bipartisan prolife strategy.
Matt Hawkins ن retweeted
Great resource. Our churches could use this to help educate people on what it means to be Baptist
Over at the @obunews YouTube account, @M_Y_Emerson and I have begun a series with short explanations of the Baptist Faith & Message 2000. More to come, but we hope this first set serves you and your church!
youtube.com/playlist?list=PL…
A significant aim of just war theology is to retain the humanity and dignity *of those using* force in accordance with the theology.
Matt Hawkins ن retweeted
NEW from me: The National Association of Evangelicals (along with several other religious groups) are now joining the USCCB in condemning Defense Sec. Pete Hegseth’s plans to publicly execute Nidal Malik Hasan, also saying doing so promotes a “culture of death.”
Matt Hawkins ن retweeted
When the US government carries out a just killing- and this is what it is- it should do it soberly and w/ a heaviness. I fear turning it into a spectacle will undermine support for just and careful capital punishment.
I hope this decision will be reversed.
BREAKING: The Pentagon says it will livestream the firing squad execution of Fort Hood shooter Nidal Malik Hasan. apnews.com/article/fort-hood…
Don’t miss the through line of the past decade:
• “Just” locker room talk
• “Owning the [them]”
• Scapegoating: illegal immigrants, legal immigrants, Muslims, Jews, women (almost in that order)
• Rise of “Christian” nationalism +
• abandonment of religious freedom…
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• Exuberance for public physical punishment including execution. (Not merely a defense of capital punishment, but a gleeful desire for it)
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