The Future of infuential US Christianity : Andy Stanley on Evangelicals After Trump - by Emma Green

Andy Stanley’s evangelical megachurch was empty on Election Night, with only a few cars in the Disney World–style parking lot out front. North Point Community Church and its nine satellites in the Atlanta area have been mostly closed since the coronavirus pandemic began in March. When Stanley decided to cancel in-person worship until at least early 2021, dozens of families were so unhappy that they decided to quit his church. “Never once did I hear, ‘We’re upset because we miss coming to church,’” he told me, leaning back in a heather-gray wingback chair. The vibe of his church offices is tasteful and inoffensive, as if his decorator was trying to channel that magic Fixer Upper quality of looking distinctive while appealing to almost everyone. “What I heard was, ‘We’re upset because you bought into a political agenda. We’re upset because you believe the Democrats’ narrative.’”

In the Gospels, Jesus calls on his followers to go out, teach his message, and baptize people. Stanley has organized his life around this imperative, called “the Great Commission.” The question for evangelicals, now, is whether the undeniable association between Trump and their version of Christianity will make that work harder. “Has this group of people who have somehow become ‘evangelical leaders’” aligned with Trump “hurt the Church’s ability to reach people outside the Church? Absolutely,” Stanley said. But he’s not overly worried: A year or two from now, he said, “all that goes away.” New leaders will rise up. The Trump era of evangelical history will fade. Stanley chuckled. “And this will just be, for a lot of people, a bad dream.”

Not everyone believes that recovering from the Trump era will be so simple for the Church, however. “We Christians have a lot of ground to make up now against those evangelical Trump followers whose devotion to him bordered on the idolatrous,” Mark Galli, the former editor in chief of Christianity Today, told me. Read more at: Andy Stanley on Evangelicals After Trump - The Atlantic

USA: Khizr Khan: 'Trump may damage American democracy permanently

When Democrats convene for their 2020 convention next week, albeit virtually, Khan will again be taking part. His darkest fears about Trump and the mortal threat he poses to the constitution have been realised, he says. But he retains faith in America and finds hope in Joe Biden, the Democratic presumptive nominee, who understands what it is to endure the death of a child.

Read more at'
Khizr Khan: 'Trump may damage American democracy permanently' | US news | The Guardian

USA: Coronavirus puts a spotlight on the moral compass of America

No country has invested as heavily as the U.S. in the idea of itself as a land where freedom to pursue opportunity is paramount. But in a time of crisis, that creed can stray into the desperate territory of "every man for himself," writes Keith Boag.

Read more at:
https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/keith-boag-coronavirus-moral-character-1.5505963

USA: Donald Trump, white supremacist violence, and American surrender: The connections are clear - by Chauncey DeVega

What more is left to say?

Another day, more angry young white men, more mass murders by gun, and all enabled and encouraged by a racist violent man named Donald Trump, his Republican Party and their news media.

On Saturday, a 21-year-old white supremacist drove nine hours from Dallas to El Paso, Texas with the goal of committing mass murder against Hispanics and Latinos who, like Donald Trump, the Republican Party and the right-wing media, he believes are "invading" and "poisoning" "his country."

The alleged white supremacist terrorist accomplished his goal by killing 20 people and wounding 26 others in an attack on a Walmart and a nearby mall.

Then on Saturday night, a 24-year-old white man wearing body armor and armed with an assault rifle and a "double drum magazine" holding 100 bullets attacked a bar in Dayton, Ohio.

He allegedly killed 9 people, including his own sister, and wounded 27 others. A motive for this rampage has still not been determined. Of note: six of the people slaughtered are black, 3 others are white.

The Sunday prior, a 19-year-old man who had shared white supremacist views on social media attacked the Gilroy Garlic Festival in Northern California. His attack left 3 people dead and 12 others wounded.

America is in a state of moral and political crisis, and Donald Trump is at the center of it.

Read more at: Donald Trump, white supremacist violence, and American surrender: The connections are clear | Salon.com

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USA: Gene editing ethics, Trump politics and the future of America, as see by Dan Rather.

Dan Rather weighs in on gene editing ethics, Donald Trump's politics, and the future of America itself.

Ready more at: 

https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/national-dan-rather-interview-1.5119686