The Cold War Within Christianity is going Hot
American politics has long been shaped—sometimes for the better, often for the worse—by religious influence. From Billy Graham’s moral guidance to presidents to the civil rights movement’s reliance on Christian rhetoric, faith has been a force for change. But when religion becomes a vehicle for leftist ideology, it ceases to serve as a moral anchor and instead becomes a tool for cultural and political subversion.
The recent inaugural event featuring Bishop Mariann Budde (if we should even call her a bishop) was a glaring example of this corruption. Budde represents the progressive Christian movement that has abandoned doctrinal integrity in favor of political expediency. Her presence at the event symbolized more than just an ecclesiastical endorsement—it was a full-throated embrace of leftist ideology masquerading as Christian virtue.
This isn’t new. The left has long relied on a predictable playbook: redefining theological terms to fit their narrative. ‘Love,’ ‘mercy,’ and ‘compassion’—words with deep theological significance—are routinely stripped of their biblical meaning and weaponized against those who refuse to conform. This manipulative use of religion in politics has profound cultural implications, as it erodes trust in both religious and political institutions.
As I have encountered in academia, and as seen in the growing divide in Christian circles, this tactic is used to silence dissent and enforce ideological purity. When Michael Rea became the subject of a petition (one I was directly involved in), it was because he had accommodated these leftist trends within Christian philosophy. The controversy was emblematic of a broader problem: the pressure to conform to progressivism at the expense of orthodoxy.
Budde’s approach—and that of others like her—is part of this larger strategy. By cloaking leftist ideology in religious language, they seek to blur the lines between biblical truth and cultural accommodation. This equivocation isn’t merely misguided; it’s a deliberate effort to redefine Christianity in a way that prioritizes political agendas over spiritual convictions.
The Two Christianities: A Widening Gulf
We are witnessing an undeniable split within Christianity itself. The Religion News Service recently described an inauguration week clash as a battle between ‘two Christianities.’ But let’s be clear: one side represents historic, doctrinally grounded Christianity, while the other is a secularized faith that replaces Christ with progressive ideology.
This divide is not just theological but cultural. Figures like Budde exploit the language of faith to push agendas that are often antithetical to Christian teachings. Kaeley Triller Harms, in her critique of emotional manipulation, exposes how progressives within the Church frame disagreement (and foreground contrary values to Christianity) as unloving or lacking in compassion. This calculated move weaponizes guilt and moral confusion to silence conservative voices.
Evangelicals and the Progressive Drift
I have warned for years about the creeping influence of leftist ideology in evangelicalism. Some, thankfully, have repented of their ‘wokeness’ and rejection of Trump-era conservatism. Others remain ensnared in the same patterns of cultural accommodation, sacrificing biblical clarity for the sake of mainstream approval.
Anthony Esolen’s work highlights the dangers of this ideological drift. He rightly critiques how modernity erodes the Christian imagination, making it more susceptible to progressive reinterpretations of doctrine. If the Church does not wake up to this reality, it will continue to be a casualty in the cultural war rather than a prophetic voice against it.
The Cultural Stakes: Why This Matters
The implications of this manipulative use of religion in politics are far-reaching. When figures like Budde hijack Christian language to advance leftist causes, they contribute to the growing cynicism about religion’s role in public life. This cynicism fuels secularism and undermines the Church’s ability to serve as a moral and cultural compass, but again, this is just a symptom of what has been occurring for a long time, particularly by academics and leftist religious leaders like Budde herself.
Moreover, this trend exacerbates the cultural divide, pitting communities against each other under the guise of ‘compassion’ and ‘justice.’ By redefining these terms, progressives distort their meaning and use them as tools of coercion. This isn’t compassion; it’s ideological bullying. And the cultural cost is immense: weakened religious institutions, fractured communities, and a public square increasingly hostile to genuine faith.
No More Compromise
The battle lines are clear. The question now is whether Christians—especially evangelicals—will continue to capitulate or finally draw the line. The progressive hijacking of Christian institutions is not a benign evolution; it is a calculated (whether consciously or subconsciously) reformation designed to render the faith unrecognizable.
Budde’s performance at the inaugural event was just the latest in a long series of betrayals. The Church must reject this counterfeit gospel and return to a faith that is unafraid to challenge the cultural consensus. Anything less is surrender.
Image Credit: Unsplash
The above is an empty article. It talks in generalities and assumes that left political ideology is always wrong. And it has to assume it because the article is not specific enough to do anything else.
The historic Protestant faith is not without faults. Christendom itself gave the Church the sword. It should have never done that. The Church should have never persecuted unbelievers for their lack of faith nor for their sexual moral failures. And the Church did that through the government. And that persecution was not in line with what the Apostles taught and did.
How odd is it that those who claim to follow the Historic Protestant faith should be so aggressive in punishing people for their personal sins and so laid back in correcting social injustices practiced by the wealthy. Yes, we can fault liberal theology for its theological errors, but there comes a point when the more we accuse liberal theologians of their faults, the more blind we become to our own sins and thus we start emulating the Pharisee from the parable of the 2 men praying. For that Pharisee could see no wrong in himself.
History doesn’t make the Protestant faith infallible. So let’s stop pretending that we have valid reasons to turn a deaf ear to Christians whose political views are either progressive or leftist. Otherwise what we will find is that our faith ends up supporting oppressive wealth just like the dominant branch of the Church supported wealth and power in the pre-Revolutionary times of France, Russia, and Spain. For once oppressive wealth was overthrown, the Church paid a high price and the reputation of the Gospel suffered greatly
Exhibit “A” in support of the author’s conclusion.
THIS is addled, delusional farce.
This writer
condemns people he does not like for
“pitting communities against each other … By redefining these terms (‘compassion’, ‘justice’) (to) distort their meaning and use them as tools of coercion. This isn’t compassion; it’s ideological bullying.”
DUH?! DUDE! THAT is PRECISELY what you just did!:
defined and described other believers in the Lord Jesus Christ as a tool to ‘pit communities against each other’; thereby – by your own definition – making YOU an ‘ideological bully!!!
WOWZEE wee wee, you’ll have us laughing so hard – at American Reformer hypocrisy that we’ll need to pee pee.
Not to mention that YOU haven’t a moment, nor a word, about the Lord Jesus Christ, or the Bible, or the commitment of the Almighty God in an everlasting covenant: from ancient covenants with Hebrew people, and today with Christians, those drawn and bound to God in baptism, who call God ‘Lord’. Yet you make a complaint that ‘genuine faith’ is absent from the public square. In fact that is STUPID. Many baptized with genuine commitment to their baptismal covenant are in ‘the public square’.
You just don’t like their public policy analyses or electoral choices. THAT BETRAYS your TRUE commitment, not to the Lord Jesus Christ, but to your Ideological Idol! UH OH … there is a lotta lotta lotta Bible talk about that sort of Idol making, Idol worship!
Guess what: GOD of the Bible is coming with a roaring wrath on all those idols and all that idolmaking!
Exhibit “B” in support of the author’s conclusion.