Take Two Tylenol Before Reading And Keep The Bottle Close At Hand
Martin Luther posts his Theses
For the sake of Father Tobin’s grandchildren…
For the children and grandchildren of my friends…
America must never become a christian nation!
Why?
Because the guru or grand poobah of christian nationalism has already told us what it would mean for Americans.
Here’s two examples:
Prior to my first trip to China to teach about addictions and counseling, physician and Maryknoll priest Scott Harris (for the umpteenth time) told his governmental interlocutor “You know Dr. Flynn is a Catholic priest” – information easily available with a Google search.
The consistent response: “We look forward to Dr. Flynn’s presentations”
Take two Tylenol to limit the on-coming headache!
Almost certainly, their encyclopedic dossier contained information Father/Doctor Flynn didn’t know about himself.
When in China, I began Sundays with Mass at the local Catholic church. I was in Zi’an (my favorite Chinese city) when Pentecost was marked by a procession and a celebration with traditional dancing, music and acrobatics.
A procession? Yup. Provided no one stepped outside the main gate. Not even onto the sidewalk!
On November 23, 2023, Human Rights Watch (“China: Mosques Shuttered, Razed, Altered in Muslim Areas”), reported:
“The Chinese government is significantly reducing the number of mosques in Ningxia and Gansu provinces under its ‘mosque consolidation’ policy, in violation of the right to freedom of religion, Human Rights Watch said today.
“Chinese authorities have decommissioned, closed down, demolished, and converted mosques for secular use as part of the government’s efforts to restrict the practice of Islam. The authorities have removed Islamic architectural features, such as domes and minarets, from many other mosques.
“‘The Chinese government is not ‘consolidating’ mosques as it claims, but closing many down in violation of religious freedom,’ said Maya Wang, acting China director at Human Rights Watch. ‘The Chinese government’s closure, destruction, and repurposing of mosques is part of a systematic effort to curb the practice of Islam in China.’
“Chinese law allows people to practice only in officially approved places of worship of officially approved religions, and authorities retain strict control over houses of worship. Since 2016, when President Xi Jinping called for the ‘Sinicization’ of religions, which aims to ensure that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is the arbiter of people’s spiritual life, state control over religion has strengthened.”
[In China, the controlling governmental agency - the United Front Work Department -recognizes only Buddhism, Taoism/Daoism. Islam, Catholicism, and Protestantism – provided they are responsible to their civilian government supervisors through their respective “patriotic associations.”]
On the other side of the planet, Teo Babus, president and CEO of Outreach Aid to the Americas, a Miami-based nonprofit with more than 30 years of experience serving vulnerable communities in the Americas, addressed the same issue in the island nation just 90 miles off the Florida coast (“Miami pays the cost of Cuba’s religious repression,” The Miami Herald. April 17, 2026):
“Cuba stands out for how the government controls religion through a single mechanism: the Office of Religious Affairs…
“For decades, Cuba’s government has tried to control religion rather than eliminate it. Some groups are allowed to operate if they cooperate. Others face restrictions or are denied legal status. Afro-Cuban and Muslim communities face discrimination. Priests and pastors are often harassed, detained or pushed into exile…”
On Friday, April 24, the “pandenominational” The Christian Post (“Cuba returns to ‘hardline tactics’ as over 600 religious freedom violations tallied in 2023,” Anugrah Kumar) reported:
“The crackdown on religious freedom continues in Cuba following July 2021 protests as a new persecution watchdog report tallies 622 documented religious freedom violations in 2023 amid a return to ‘hardline tactics.’
“The Caribbean island maintained a high level of incidents similar to the 657 cases reported in 2022 and maintained a significant increase from the 272 cases reported in 2021 by the United Kingdom-based organization Christian Solidarity Worldwide.
“CSW's March 2024 report titled ‘Repression and resistance — a return to hardline tactics’ highlights repressive legislation and systematic human rights violations that have impacted religious leaders and congregations across various faiths, including Afro-Cuban groups, Jehovah's Witnesses, Protestants and Roman Catholics.”
Tylenol time, again!
If you’re thinking “It could never happen here,” consider Doug Wilson of the Congregation of Reformed Evangelical Churches (CREC), whom the current Secretary of Defense invited to address a February 17 Pentagon “prayer service.” Wilson and his demi-denomination are committed to the idea that government and anyone serving in government should be Wilson’s version of christian and only Wilson’s version of christians are qualified to hold public office in the United States.
Almost oxymoronically, however, the demi-denomination that aims for a christian nationalist United States has established churches in Canada, Australia, Japan, Russia, Hungary, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Poland, Brazil, and the Czech Republic.
Despite its focus on an “American” christian nation,” CREC spreads through “church planting.” CREC “churches” do not require their ministers/preachers to have a formal ordination by a centralized governing body – traditional denomination or “church” with capital “C.” In order to “plant a church,” would-be founders of new congregations need only contact CREC’s Moscow, Idaho headquarters to obtain materials and literature for people to use in their new “church.”
Doug Wilson has never been “ordained” by a tradition denomination. He inherited or took over Moscow’s Christ Church from his father Jim, the unordained yet self-declared “Bishop of Moscow.” Neither father nor son has had a formal theological/seminary education.
Matthew D. Taylor, Ph.D., the Protestant scholar at the Institute for Islamic Jewish Christian Studies (founded in 1987), explains, “They believe the church is supposed to be militant in the world, reforming it and, in some ways, conquering it.” CREC differs from charismatic christian nationalists who lean on prophecy and emotional appeals; CREC is grounded in its own logic and a slow, deliberate strategy for societal transformation. In Wilson’s ideal American christian nation there would be no distinction between religious and political issues. While Wilson has said that his ultimate vision is for a christian-governed America and world 500 years ago into the future, he has established a model school system, his own university, and a publishing company.
Time for two more Tylenol,
‘cause we’ve got more you should know!
Launched in 2012 as Spokane Faith and Values, FaVS News reported on an April 8, 2026 town hall meeting featuring Wilson, Toby Sumpter, a pastor at Wilson-led Christ Church in Moscow, and Jared Longshore, dean at Wilson-founded (1994) New Saint Andrews College Wilson. (“In Wilson’s ideal American christian nation there would be no distinction between religious and political issues,” April 10, 2026, Tracy Simmons):
“In Pastor Doug Wilson’s Christian nationalist America, there would be no minarets — only the sound of church bell towers. There would be no statues of Hindu deities or other non-Christian religious symbols in public spaces. Adultery would carry legal penalties, and Obergefell v. Hodges would be overturned.
“’What I mean by Christian nationalism is America being what it was founded to be,’ said Toby Sumpter, a pastor at Christ Church, the congregation led by Wilson.
“The pastors argued that Christian nationalism isn’t a new idea — it’s a return to America’s founding. They pointed to state constitutions that acknowledged the Christian God and held religious tests for officeholders. They said it had been done before and could be done again. A number of the original 13 colonies that made up the United States had established state churches at the founding, but those ties between church and state were cut early in the country’s history.
“What would America look like for the roughly one-third of Americans who are not Christian?
“Wilson claimed members of minority religions would actually have ‘more liberty’ than they do now, though he did not elaborate. He was clear, however, about the limits. The pastors argued that what the Bible defines as sinful behavior would not be treated as private — that it has consequences for society as a whole.
“’We’re living in the nuclear fallout of the destruction of the American family,’ Sumpter said.
“Under that framework, public celebrations of LGBTQ+ identity would not be tolerated. Wilson said Pride Month and Pride parades would receive no government support, and Obergefell v. Hodges would be overturned.
“Wilson … added that said sodomy laws — which were on the books in some of the 50 states until 2003 — should be restored, though not aggressively enforced. ‘I would not want a sexual Gestapo,’ he said.
“Their vision extends beyond sexuality and into the structure of the family — including who should have the right to vote. Wilson and the other pastors also argued for cutting the number of voters. Under their model, voting rights would belong to the head of each household — not to individuals. Women in households led by a husband would not. That means women who are widowed, divorced or otherwise head of their own households would vote.
“The household view is part of a broader argument made by the Reformed Christian movement Wilson is part of, which seeks to overturn the 19th Amendment, which gave women the right to vote.
“‘We don’t believe that the fundamental building block of society is the individual,’ Wilson said. ‘We believe the fundamental building block of any social order is the family.’
“…[Wilson] did not call for immediately repealing the 19th Amendment but said its passage was an example of federal government overreach into state elections.
“The primacy of the family unit also shaped their views on marriage law. Longshore said that their vision for America would eliminate no-fault divorce, which he blamed for enabling the breakdown of the American family. Adultery would carry legal penalties, with the unfaithful spouse penalized in divorce proceedings…
“’The fact that I can divorce my wife because she burnt the biscuits — that’s crazy,’ Longshore said. ‘What happened to our bonds and our allegiance?”
[EDITORS’ NOTE: No Adultery! No Divorce! Starting in the Oval Office that would wipe out an entire presidential administration – including the secretary of defense.]
And those pesky Catholics?
Finish off the Tylenol bottle!
You’ll need it!
The London-based The Catholic Herald (“Minister invited to preach at the Pentagon calls for US ban on Marian processions,”March 17, 2026, Thomas Edwards) explains Wilson’s position on Catholics:
“Douglas Wilson, a prominent Reformed theologian and pastor who has been invited to preach at the Pentagon, has called for the banning of Catholic processions in his vision of a Protestant America.
“In an interview with John Papola, a Catholic and host of the podcast ‘Dad Saves America’, Papola asks Wilson to explain how his future descendants might fare in a Protestant nationalist state.
“He begins the segment by explaining how Muslims will be treated, saying that whilst they can live and worship as a community, the call to prayer would not be permitted. He explains that Catholic church bells would be permitted, ‘but a parade in honour of the Virgin Mary, carrying an image of the Virgin Mary down main street, no.’
“When Papola asks whether a Eucharistic procession would be permissible, Wilson is unsure, answering: ‘Probably not. It would depend on what was being done around it, how it was being conducted.’ He continues by explaining that ‘public displays of idolatry’ would not be allowed and states that ‘you would not have a Hindu procession with a Hindu god, so you wouldn’t have a procession with the Virgin Mary.’
“Outlining his belief in the Eucharist, Wilson claims that he believes in ‘the real presence’ and that if a procession does not involve Catholics worshipping the Eucharist, it could be permitted.
“In the interview, Wilson also states that ‘Catholics in America have largely been protestantised.’ He explains that since Catholics in America permit and sit comfortably within a denominational structure, attending their own church and not trying to force Protestants to convert, they have accepted a Protestant approach to religion. ‘The fact that in America we have a volunteerist system where Protestants go to Protestant churches and Catholics go to Catholic churches means that in this respect, civilly, the Roman Catholic Church in North America has accepted the Protestant framing.’
“He says Catholics will be ‘treated with dignity and respect’ in his Protestant state, a courtesy he emphasises will also be shared with Jews, but that the basis of law will remain within the Reformed tradition.
“This is not the first time Wilson has espoused a critical view of Catholics, pitting them against other Christians. In a 2011 interview, he was asked whether ‘faithful Roman Catholics’ will be in heaven. He responds by saying ‘of course not and of course’ explaining that: ‘If someone is a faithful Roman Catholic in that they have memorised the Council of Trent and they understand the teaching of the Roman Church and they follow it… I don’t believe that such a person can be saved.’”
We’re gonna take two more Tylenol and a nap
before we approach our next essay on Wilson and CREC.