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I am a Non-Republican Christian.

I am a Christian.

I am a Christian and I am not a Republican.

Contrary to some reports, I am not a mythical creature relegated to story books and fanciful campfire tales. I do exist. I am not a leprechaun or a unicorn, I am flawed, failing flesh and blood working out a working religion here alongside you with fear and great trembling. I am a person of deep and abiding faith—and I do not vote Red.

I grew-up believing that the GOP owned Jesus; that no one could come to him except through the Party. This often caused me to soften or conceal my religious convictions or to dismiss them inside my own head whenever they deviated from the platform. When seeing the disconnect between the compassionate, sacrificial, loving Christ and the bitter, fearful, territorial religion being practiced in his name—I was made to feel wrong. I was made to assume mine was the moral flaw. 

It took me a while to rewrite this false story, to realize that someone could indeed be Christian and:

support women in leadership.  
bless marriage equality.
embrace the LGBTQ community.
not dismiss other faith traditions.
not believe the Bible was directly dictated by God.
affirm a woman’s right to have autonomy over her own body.
oppose the Death Penalty.
not worship America.
not vote Republican.

I’ve learned to walk fully into the simple reality that Jesus was not a Republican, that his platform transcended any and all containers we might fashion for him, that he was and is calling people to a narrower road, to a bigger table. Ironically the further I distance Jesus from any political affiliation or religious institution trying to tell me what he looked like, the more clearly I am able to see him.

I’ve wasted a lot of time being shamed into silence and apologizing for my faith conclusions, and yet that isn’t the greatest regret I have of this journey. The saddest truth of all, is realizing that this shame and silence have allowed a distorted Christianity to flourish, one that has propagated the idea that Jesus is something not revealed in his actual words and in his life as depicted in the Scriptures. It has yielded a white, angry Messiah who loves America more than the world; one who fears the outsider, resents the different, and exploits the vulnerable. It turns out that when politics tries to commandeer religion, it never goes well. It is not going well right now.

In a time when Christianity has been more entwined with a political party than ever—I am a proud conscientious objector. I stand simultaneously both in faith and in opposition to this bastardized, bully version of Jesus’ message, because it is not worthy of walking in and aspiring to.

The faith I come with is one that is trying to be marked by gentleness and grace, one that bends low to love the least, one that is not preoccupied with fear. It is a religion seeking to replicate the life of Jesus as best it can in this jagged, quivering bit of imperfect humanity. I am going to continue this journey, speaking clearly and loudly, and following the path wherever it takes me.

I don’t need you to share my convictions but I demand that you respect my road and I hope you’ll hear the contents of my heart. No politician speaks for me and no system represents me. I am striving toward something more deeply personal and far greater than a political party—and I’m not apologizing for it any more.

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