Conservative Christian, Stop Sending Your Thoughts And Prayers

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You want to know why so much of modern conservative Christianity makes people want to vomit?

You want to know why so many people believe that conservative Christianity is largely a religion of the self-righteous and privileged?

You want to know why God surely cringes with a divine face palm nearly every time conservative Christians flap their gums?

Why? Because, at times, we stay stupid ignorant stuff—especially when what is needed most is either our complete silence or the taking of swift meaningful action.

We are so biased, pretentious, greedy, and dripping with double standards that we have become nose-blind to our own religious stench. It’s as if Jesus is so far removed from our faith that we can’t even summon a smidgen of His likeness when it counts.

Tragically, just days ago, 26 beautiful humans were brutally murdered while gathering for worship and prayer in their church in Sutherland Springs, Texas. Once again, a semiautomatic rifle was used to accomplish mass murder as they had been before in Orlando, Aurora, Las Vegas, Sandy Hook, and San Bernardino—starting to see a pattern?

In fact, it was an Evangelically elected President Trump who in February signed a bill into law in order to roll back an Obama-era regulation that made it harder for people with mental illnesses to purchase a gun—all to the praise and high-fives of many conservative gun-loving Christians. All of this, while a blatant bloody stockpile of evidence is ever-growing in its clear declaration that we have a monumental gun problem in America, largely at the feet of conservative Christians who worship their firearms far more than the Jesus of their faith.

In fact, in response to this most recent hellacious mass murder of a gathering of good people praying, seeking, and desiring the favor and blessings of God, the callous reaction of many conservative Christians to this tragedy was to send their “thoughts and prayers,” quickly deflect the issues of gun violence, and tell the American people that we should be more prepared and vigilant as potential victims of shootings—which I am sure would have made all the difference for 5-year-old Brooke Ward who was murdered within a matter of seconds upon the entrance of Devin Kelley into her sanctuary with trigger pulled.

Are you kidding me? Thoughts and Prayers? What the hell do you think these people were doing in that church?

Tell me this isn’t the sum of your faith. Tell me these aren’t your best ideas as to how to manifest the heart and will of a nonviolent Jesus in the midst of a growing list of countless murderous tragedies empowered by a lust for guns, privilege, and the insisting upon of your rights, even to the present and future deaths of countless lives.

Truly and obviously, with hollow sentiments like that, it appears your prayers have become a spiritual veil to an empty faith devoid of a love that leads to action.

No wonder why so many clear-thinking Jesus-loving people are crying, “Bullshit!”

If you can’t meaningfully restrict your gun rights for the sake of the lives of your fellow human beings, one thing is most certainly clear—you apparently don’t know Jesus, nor worship Him as Lord. Your guns, your rights, and your privilege have become your master, and the needless blood of countless mass shooting victims is dripping down your evil cowardly hands—that’s the truth.

So, stop sending your thoughts and prayers, the world knows that when push comes to shove, you don’t truly give a crap. In fact, it appears that nothing is more important than the furthering of your white male heterosexual conservative Evangelical Machine. You could leverage the turning of the tides in a violent gun-worshipping America, but you don’t, and sadly, it seems that you won’t. We can read between the lines, and we have become wise to your spiritual sleight of hand—your privilege is more important than people, period.

Until we see you leading the way towards real meaningful gun control. Until we see you encouraging your fellow conservative Christians to support and call for significant gun restrictions. Until we see you stand up and walk away from kneeling at the throne of the NRA. Don’t be surprised when all your spiritual bloviating, grandstanding, and parading of Jesus is met with the middle finger of many in America—myself included.

The world doesn’t need your thoughts and prayers, we need your repentance and authentic desire to actually follow the ways of Jesus when it matters most, and perhaps when it costs you the greatest.

Until then, the corrupted fruit dangling off your tree will be met with our fierce dismissal and denouncement. For we have tasted and seen that your twisted diabolical conservative Evangelical faith understanding is not good, not good at all—in fact, it’s evil.

Conservative Christian, stop sending your thoughts and prayers—start repenting and surrendering your worship of guns before more blood is tragically spilled.

Grace is brave. Be brave.

32 Comments

  1. Paula sevier

    There are as many perspectives as there are people.
    Cast your vote.

    • Don Greider

      yup — “perspectives”?
      check the mirror, deep, when you come upon one

  2. steveA

    Thank you.
    So much for the thought that if we just armed all Americans, we’d be safe. This happened inTexas, where it’s legal to have an open container and an loaded gun in your truck, where people take their pistols to the shower with them (because, you know, Psycho), and where “pack the pews” is an NRA slogan.

    • ckratzer

      SteveA, yes indeed! Thanks for reading and commenting!

  3. Phyllis Browne

    Thank you, Chris! Once again, you have cogently and beautifully written one of the best pieces I have ever read about gun control and the Christian Evangelical community. I will share this as widely as I can. Keep on keepin’ on, my friend. Your words of sanity are sorely needed these days.

    • ckratzer

      Wow Phyllis, thank you so much for the kind words!

  4. Scott Bennett

    I guess Conservative Christianity is open game if one is liberal and desires to go in for the kill. I would just like to see what all the liberal Christians sent other than thoughts and prayers to this little conservative church who is mourning their dead loved ones . . . maybe some anti-Trump stickers or pink vagina hats? Maybe some hard cash or flowers? Or maybe they just decided to love like Jesus loved despite the crucifiction cross wielding Roman Soldiers? I find it odd how an self proclaimed athiest walks into a conservative church, kills 26 people during a worship service, and conservative Chrisitians get called evil . . . help me understand.

    • Earnie

      @Scott Bennett, It stems from being blinded by political agenda seen as an afront to one religious and human right rather than dwelling within the Mind of Christ and his love for human kind. We’ve seen many Conservative Christian poster with guns held high claiming an assault on ones constitutional right to bear arms. They do so without even thinking about what gun control laws actually might do; just that they feel violated that the law is enacted.

      I feel violated every time I see one of these posters especially when they’re handed out by my friends. I feel violated every time that one soul is lost over something meaningless and some type of control could have prevented mass murder. I feel violated by those who pretend to know Christ that have a different agenda that what Christ has. We will always have violence but there is no shame in trying to make it harder to commit that violence. So stop violating me by blindly supporting some cause of violence and start supporting the causes of Jesus Christ.

      Political agenda should remain out of the Church. Religion should remain out of political agenda. Yes, Christians should run for office, it is a right and a duty but we should not do so to flaunt our whims, our beliefs, our blindness on others. I fall to my knees every time I hear someone take a political stance based on religion or backed by religious cause because once again I feel violated.

    • Jill Mac

      Thank you Scott Bennett. My thoughts too.
      .

    • Rob

      Well said.

    • Jbruce

      Everyones sheit stinks Scott, and the politically active part of the CC movement is hypocritical and self deceiving, and not living by what Jesus taught at all. Oh and easily manipulated. Does that help you understand. And don’t try to blame this on atheists. nobody’s thoughts and prayers, including your’s, are going to do a damned thing to prevent the next 1,000 mass murders that will occur in the next few years. Some modest gun control laws well drawn ans enforced will prevent a good many of then, and lower the death toll on a lot of others. This part should be easy for you to understand.

  5. Jill B

    Thank you, Chris, for eloquently stating what actually can be done. And calling out hypocrisy. A picture flashed in my mind – Jesus healing the ear of the Roman soldier after his follower answered fear with violence. I cannot picture Jesus carrying a semi automatic even if his life and the lives of his loved ones were in danger.

    • ckratzer

      Jill, well said, I couldn’t agree more!!!!

  6. Judi Shubert

    Chris, this is on the money. I am sickened by what keeps happening, over and over again in this country. The hypocrisy of the “Christians” on the right is overwhelming and you have nailed them. I just wanted to thank you for doing so, and doing so very eloquently. Grace IS brave, and you are brave! Thank you!

    • ckratzer

      Judi, thank you so much for your encouraging words, such an honor to be on the front lines with you!

  7. Kari

    Thanks for this. Someone needed to say it. The Evangelical right’s support of gun rights and their embrace of gun culture is one of the biggest ironies of our time. Especially among the politicians who brand themselves as upholding Christian values. I would like to see the news outlets superimpose the NRA financial contribution to a politician on the screen every time that politician says “Thoughts and prayers.” The sheep mentality of some of these right wing Christians is terrifying. They drank the Koolaid. You are courageous to point it out. I don’t think I’m even brave enough to share your article.

    • ckratzer

      Kari, I completely understand, the evil is thick and to point a light at it can be costly. Thanks for reading and commenting!

  8. TKind

    “It’s disappointing. It’s sad, and this is what you’ll get from the far secular left. People who do not have faith, don’t understand faith, I guess I’d have to say,” Ryan told Fox News’s Laura Ingraham on “The Ingraham Angle” when asked about the criticism. -Paul Ryan
    These were his words in response to “thoughts and prayers”.
    The second amendment has become a thorn in the side of the body politic of America. It was originally a compromise to the southern states to keep the slaves on the plantation, and steal their labor. Because of it’s morphing into the right of anyone being able to own a weapon, and the NRA being nothing more than a Chamber of Commerce organization for the gun manufacturers, we’ve come to this. I fail to see why a weapon that is used on the battlefield should be available to the general public.

    • ckratzer

      TKind, good thoughts! Thanks so much for taking the time to read and comment!

  9. SLEE

    If all Jesus said, was “Sending you thoughts and prayers,” Christianity would never have gotten off the ground.

  10. Chris

    Okay, so when we outlaw guns of all types, including assault weapons, what will be your next move to criticize people who send their thoughts and prayers when another person gets an illegal firearm and takes out a group of good people? Really, what will you do when all the laws are passed and all the guns are outlawed and still somebody gets a gun and commits mass homicide? There are so many guns in this country that it is impossible to get rid of them. At least laws to outlaw guns will make us feel good. But bad people do bad things. And they don’t care about laws. Anybody can get a gun. Illegally. I DID when I was 16 years old, 49 years ago. Maybe if we Christians started saturating our communities with love and grace (the brave thing, right?), we’d be able to head off some of this evil stuff. Pass all the legislation you want about guns – that’s a noble enterprise – but it won’t stop gun violence in this country. Guns are part of the American mystique. Only grace that is lived, exemplified, taught, put into action in innumerable ways will stop the madness. Want to make a difference? Give out grace through actions that speak louder than words. People are dying.

    • Earnie

      @Chris, CK didn’t say anything like what you’re reading into the article. You seem blinded by the want to keep status quo. Yes, of course it will still be possible for someone to get hold of a firearm and do do harm. The idea here is that it needs to be harder for those people to get to that firearm. So don’t blind yourself to the hearsay that people dole out about gun legislation being a blight on the 2nd amendment that gives a state of the union the right to bear arms in defense of that state. Yes, action is what is needed and action to love those who are hurting to the point that they want to cause mass murder by listening with them, learning about them, giving them an ear is what is needed. However, this post is about those who aren’t doing any of that and instead want free reign to go buy what ever assault weapon without regard to any consequence. They voice their agenda with words of propaganda without thinking about what they’re actually saying. Most of the propaganda regarding gun laws being in violation of the 2nd amendment to the constitution is the very bullshit that CK expresses. The very fact that so called Christians are promoting that propaganda is in violation of the love Gift God gave us in Jesus. They sling out this propaganda as if Jesus himself promoted it. This is what CK, others and myself are so up in arms over and have become stricken with the madness of it all. We are fed up over the political agenda that has become verbose with the conservative evangelical and do not wish to hear those sermons any longer. We therefore preach a different gospel, one that should have been being taught to begin with. Political agenda has no place in our places of religion. Religion has no place in our political arenas. We need to stop advertising the rights of conservative evangelical as sanctimonious truth for political gain. We need to start advertising the message God gave us in the love Gift of Jesus.

      • SteveA

        Earnie,
        The bigger problem isn’t the folks who want “free reign to buy” whatever weapon they want. The bigger problem is the folks who want free reign to sell.
        The NRA is a front for gun manufacturers and bullet makers. Want to ban bump stocks? Want a three-day waiting period for private gun sales? Want to restrict high capacity magazines? Want to mandate safety features on guns? Want to use the no-fly list? Want to restrict silencers?Want to make campuses gun-free zones? But, but that might hurt sales. The NRA is all about the Benjamins. Make no mistake; they serve Mammon.

        • Earnie

          SteveA, I acknowledge and agree.

    • Traci K. Rowland

      Dear Mr. Strawman,

      Chris wasn’t calling for the outlawing all guns. Misrepresenting what someone said is the same as lying. I think not lying is somewhere in the Ten Commandments. Actually, I’m sure it is.

  11. Candace Olson

    It hurts me every time I hear these people leading someone else astray from the TRUE Jesus Christ. As an ex Methodist minister who left the orgnization feeling like a square peg in a round hole, I often feel guilty for not staying and trying to inspire others but I couldn’t take anymore. I cringe now-a-days when I hear a “Christian” use the name of Jesus Christ or the bible in reference to the state of the union or share a “judgement by God”. It is just sad.

    • ckratzer

      Candace, I’m right there with you and know exactly how you feel. As you said, it’s very sad! Thanks for reading and commenting!

    • Earnie

      Candace, I cry for you and empathize fully. I am the son of a Methodist minister who served in WV. I grew up during the formation of what became the United Methodist church. I know your struggles and have become an ex-church member, not because of dad but because I witnessed sanctimony within the church even to the banishment of even my family members who didn’t fit in. At one point during my late teen years my dad was thinking about the structure of how church should be and asked my opinion of starting a new church. At that time I discouraged it but I would now not be so laid back with an answer and would tell him that he should make it happen. I don’t know the details but basically he felt that the church wasn’t helping others as they should. I hope you find another church to serve, even one you start on your own. “Grace is brave, be brave.”

  12. Dave

    Thoughts and prayers. I will pray for you. I smell sanctimony and I shy away from this.

    • ckratzer

      Dave, where I appreciate the honesty of your comment, I wonder if your smelling of sanctimony is perhaps more of a reflection of your desires to deflect the truths and urgency of this article. There is no sanctimony in being on the receiving end of the religious oppression and evils of much of conservative Evangelical Christianity.

  13. Steve

    Your article is based on one major, unproven, assumption–that restricting guns will prevent murders. This has not proven to be true in America. Yes it works on Islands like Cuba and England where they can control their borders to keep the gun smuggling to a minimum. but in America gun free zones are the site of most mass shootings, and cities with the strictest gun laws have higher instance of gun crimes. Because the criminals will find a way to do their crimes. They’re either steal, or smuggle a gun, and if they can’t find a gun they’ll use other things, like trucks.

    Even if we banned all sale of firearms and required every person to turn in every gun in America, only the honest would comply, and the gangs would find plenty coming over the border from Mexico. (I’m guessing you also oppose a border wall and tightening our border with Mexico too, because that’s unkind.)

    You assume that the reason many christians don’t want to give up their rights to own a gun is because they don’t care about victims of gun crimes. Well, agree or disagree, as you may, most gun owners I know feel that more guns in the hands of the good guys makes the country safer. They may be wrong, but they’re no uncaring.

    • JMarra

      Well, those earnest and sincere gun owners are heartbreakingly ignorant and thickheaded.

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