The “Morning Joe” crew followed up their talk on the new Ron DeSantis ad about how God picked a “fighter” to become Florida’s governor with a conversation about many conservatives’ heightening politicization of Christianity.
Joe Scarborough started by explaining that Jesus’ humility was what “set him apart from those who ruled over him.” The “Morning Joe” host then went on to describe how the meaning of charity has since been warped.
“In ancient times, when you actually took care of someone else and you got nothing in return, charity was seen as a weakness,” Scarborough continued. “All of the things that we now have established in our culture as signs of strength — humility, meekness, kindness — all of those things are what the Romans didn’t understand.”
Scarborough drew parallels between ancient times and the current socio-political landscape, particularly within the Republican party, indicating that the Christians’ humble values, instead of violence and fear mongering, are what led to their eventual revolution and takeover of Western civilization.
“I bring this up because [there is] a Republican [saying,] ‘If Jesus only had an AR-15 he wouldn’t have been crucified,’ thereby missing the entire central purpose of Christianity,” Scarborough said, paraphrasing Lauren Boebert. “I don’t bring this up to preach, I bring this up to show that the very basis of this new sort of Christian nationalism is the antithesis of Jesus’s teaching for 2,000 years.”
“What’s the political message given to so many Christians in the United States today? Fear, anger, fear, anger,” political commentator David French said. “There’s even a message now that says, ‘Look, many of these basic qualities that are required of Christians in the New Testament, those are for a different time, those don’t work anymore.’”
French doubled down on his point, proclaiming that the original “Christian values” have been tainted by fear, anger, and even violence.
“The words were clear: Bless those who persecute you. Pray for those who persecute you. Love your enemies. Kindness, faith, hope, charity. These are the messages given to an oppressed people,” French said. “A people that lived an experience that we can’t grasp today and yet the message to Christians right now is fear and anger, constantly. And as we saw for example on Jan. 6, it’s even warping into violence.”
Watch the full “Morning Joe” segment here or in the embed above.
