John Pavlovitz is a veteran minister in Raleigh, North Carolina who’s not afraid to call out men of the Christian Right (sometimes known as The Religious Right or DonaldTrump lovers, supporters, and defenders).
In a recent blog, Pavlovitz bluntly tells Christian women/all women that they don’t matter to these right-wing religious zealots who build up and defended Trump and the misogyny he brings to the table. Pavlovitz says Trump feels it’s okay to physically force himself on women and that seems to be natural and acceptable to “Men on the Christian Right” who believe “God is a dude and the woman brought sin.” He tells women:
“To them, you aren’t separate but equal, as they might claim from the pulpit. You may be made in the image of God, but not in the same way that they are. You are inferior. You are lesser than. You are Adam’s rib meat; baby machines, meal preparers, arm candy, pleasure tools designed by God for men to use as they desire. Some of these men of God will have the guts to actually say this, others will simply prove it to you. They are proving it to you now. Listen to them.”
Pavlovitz says in their twisted patriarchal world, the men on the Christian Right think all men act like Trump, all men talk this way, all men think this way, but adds, “No, we don’t—but they do.”
“If these professed men of God truly acknowledged your inherent value, they would be fiercely defending you right now, instead of Donald Trump. They would be openly condemning such disregard for the image of God within you, and sharply severing their ties with him—but many of them they aren’t. They’re making excuses. They’re blaming the victim. They’re doubling down. They’re digging in their manly heels right now.”
The pastor says it’s not only because the Christian Right men want to cozy up to Trump or pledge their allegiance to the Republican Party, or opportunistically seek to advance their profile. No. Although all of those reasons apply, Pavlovitz says the real reason is worse.
“The real reason they’re doing it, is because to them you aren’t worth defending; not your intelligence or your gifts or your worth. As a result, your consent isn’t really a concern either; you may have noticed that. It’s why, in their minds sexual misconduct almost never occurs, and when it does, it’s because you were dressed too provocatively or sending mixed signals, or because their motives were misinterpreted.They don’t believe you have the right to say or no or to be offended. If anything, they believe you should be flattered. This is the hubris of men who think God made you as an accessory.”
But Pavlovitz makes very clear the men of the Christian Right who are defending Donald Trump do not represent all Christian men, “and definitely not men outside of the Church, which is perhaps the greatest irony.” The most vigorous defense of ”Trump’s degradation of women is coming from those who most loudly claim they represent God and identify themselves as spiritual leaders.”
“As a Christian and a pastor and a man, I’d liked to apologize to you for these men and what you endure from them, but I won’t apologize to you on their behalf because that would mean aligning myself with them and I will not do that. They don’t speak for me. They don’t speak for many of us. They certainly don’t speak for God.”
In conclusion, Raleigh pastor John Pavlovitz says real men of God respect women. Real men of God condemn Donald Trump’s words, and the “culture of disrespect, dehumanization, and misogyny they breed.” He says real Christian men condemn when the Bible is used to justify your minimizing and harassment and assault. He says real Christian men will not stand for these things and that real Christian men ”are standing with you.”
Cheers to John Pavlovitz for this poignantly true piece and cheers to all Christians speaking out against Trump. You can read more by this pastor at JohnPavlovitz.com or visit him on Facebook and Twitter.
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