Originally Published 10/28/24. Updated and re-published on 3/9/25

In 2022, Eric Metaxas, author of “Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy”, released a new book titled: “Letter to the American Church”

I bought a copy of the book after it was released, but then got distracted, filed it on the bookshelf and forgot all about it.

But a few days ago I felt like the Lord was burdening me to read it. I couldn’t even remember if I had a copy, but it kept coming to my mind, over and over. I had to think about it and look for it on my bookshelf because I couldn’t remember if I had a copy of it. And there it was.

After reading one page, I knew I had to get out my highlighter. Only, then I found myself highlighting and highlighting – almost every sentence on every page, page after page. It was useless. Every word of this book is so important, poignant and profound. In trying to highlight only the most meaningful sentences, the whole book would end up highlighted!

This is one of the best books I’ve ever read and I highly recommend it to everyone. If you read no other book this year, read this one. Buy it for everyone you know who’s a Christian or at least professes to be.

However, as fascinating as the book is, reading it was moving along all-too-slowly, due to some health problems. So, the Lord helped me out when two days into starting it, I was perusing Christian TV channels looking for something uplifting to watch and…voila! – there it was – “Letter to the American Church” – the movie – on Daystar TV.

If you can, get a copy of the book and find the movie and watch it. Do both. If you don’t find it on a cable tv channel, you can rent it for $9.99. Whatever you have to spend on the book or the movie, let me assure you: It will be worth it. Here’s the link to the website: https://lettertotheamericanchurch.com/

Eric Metaxas, the author of “Bonhoeffer”, gives us a history lesson of both the political environment and the Christian church culture of the early 1930’s in Germany, as Hitler was rising and then came in to power in 1933. It is mind-blowing, the way Metaxas, with words, can almost draw your mind a Venn diagram of the crossover between these two factions of the culture. He explains the role the 18,000 Christian pastors in Germany at that time had as Hitler ascended. According to him, of the 18,000 pastors, Bonhoeffer led 3,000 of them, aka: The Confessing Church, into taking a bold stand against the Nazi regime. Another 3,000 firmly supported Hitler. 12,000 pastors decided to sit out from taking a stand on the controversial political positions of Hitler and the Nazis, namely that of the “Jewish Question” as Hitler sought to establish his wicked, perverted form of nationalism and establish a purely German race. “It was the kind of nationalism that was the sworn enemy of Christianity and of Christ – and if they (the people) did not see that, the results would be catastrophic,” says Metaxas in explaining Bonhoeffer’s mind.

Hitler came to power as the chancellor, or the Fuhrer, of Germany on January 31, 1933. Bonhoeffer was already outspoken about the position of the Nazi’s; particularly their position against the Jews. Realizing that when a person accepts Jesus Christ, they are thereafter a member of the church, and it does not matter what race, creed, color or gender they are, Bonhoeffer embraced Jewish people just as he did anyone who became a member of Christ’s body on the earth. All, under the umbrella of Christ, should be accepted – that was his (rightful) position on the matter, and he was bold about speaking thus.

Two days after Der Fuhrer came to power, Bonhoeffer had a pre-scheduled radio address. Suddenly, in the middle of it, it was cut off.

Metaxas: “What the Nazis did first, a mere four weeks into Hitler’s chancellorship, was to use the incident of the Reichstag Fire – in which a Dutch madman set fire to the German Parliament building – to enact sweeping emergency decrees that suddenly allowed Hitler to do things without the approval of the German Parliament. It was a stunning erasure of German government, with blitzkrieg swiftness. It is still a question whether the Nazis themselves enabled the arson so they could use it as a pretext for what they did next. The Nazis controlled the media narrative and instantly whipped up a hysterical fear of the “Communists” and their other political opponents, whom they insisted were to blame for the burning of the Reichstag despite evidence to the contrary. But it was a useful fiction, and in order to do the things they wished to do, they needed to demonize their enemies – many of whom were rounded up and imprisoned – and to crush dissent by instilling fear in anyone who wished to object. Can you think of parallels to our own time?”

In April 1933 Bonhoeffer wrote an essay titled, “The Church and the Jewish Question.” In it he spelled out what he saw as the Christian church’s role in dealing with a state that was expressly hostile to Christian beliefs.

Metaxas: “First, Bonhoeffer said the Church was the conscience of the state and must call it to account, that is must loudly object if the state was doing wrong. It could not – and must not – remain silent when injustices and wrongs were being promoted and enacted. Second, he said that the Christian Church was obligated to help any victims of the state. For Bonhoeffer, that clearly included the Jews. But thirdly, and most dramatically, Bonhoeffer concluded that if the state refused to so change course and do the right thing, but rather continued in its sins – which in this case were principally focused on persecuting the Jews – it was the solemn obligation of Christians to take action. They were not merely to protest verbally and to help the victims, but were also to become actively political – to “shove a stick in the spokes” of the wheel of the rumbling machine of the state.”

Metaxas: “Bonhoeffer saw – and said – that those who call themselves Christians have an obligation to God to get “political” if necessary, and to take a bold – and likely dangerous – stand against their own government. This was a markedly radical departure from the default mode of the German churches since the time of Luther, whose memorable embracing of Romans 13 constituted a kind of Summum Bonum on the subject, as though it was all that needed to be said about the relations between church and state, as we shall explain.”

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I sure am grateful that our Founding Fathers and the “Black Robe Regiment” of Christian pastors didn’t stand on Romans 13, but rather defied the tyranny of the King of England, and fought for our freedom. And I sure am grateful for the men and women who have fought – and many died – to protect those freedoms ever since.

Romans 13:1 – Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.

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Again, of the 18,000 Christian pastors in 1933 Germany, 3,000 followed Bonhoeffer in taking a bold stand of resistance to the Nazi regime. 3,000 supported Hitler. But the biggest factor affecting what happened in Germany, and to the world, was that 12,000 pastors and their congregations, sat quietly on the sidelines as the Nazi’s began their reign of terror, the likes of which the world has never seen. Metaxas: “One presumes most of them agreed with (Bonhoeffer and) the Confessing Church, but somehow they simply didn’t have the courage to take a bold stand along such lines. It seems they reckoned it the better part of valor to let the three thousand take all the heat. The twelve thousand preferred to remain “neutral,” as if this were possible.”

“But can we doubt that it is precisely because of the twelve thousand who did not stand strongly with the Confessing Church that the three thousand who did had a much harder time? If another three thousand or six thousand Protestant pastors had stood with the Confessing Church during this time, the Nazis could never have been able to succeed, which is an extraordinary and heartbreaking thing to consider. The church had great cultural power in Germany. So when it balked and chose not to use its voice and its cultural power, it doomed the entirety of the German Church, which in turn doomed the whole nation. The blood of the scores of millions who died in the Second World War and the blood of the millions murdered in that abomination we call the Holocaust is on the hands of those twelve thousand. And when innocent blood cries out to God for justice, God, who is a Judge, judges. God certainly judged Germany and the German Church, most of whose leaders were sure He would not. Will God judge the American Church? Do we, like the Germans, think we are somehow exempt? Is there still time for us to repent, or is it already too late?”

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Now, if you are a Christian, and what you just read above doesn’t at least give you chills, if not make you cry, then I have to wonder about your heart, and whether it’s already turned to stone.

I believe the same things as Eric Metaxas, Charlie Kirk, and Pastor John Amanchukwu, who are all featured in this movie, and all of whom say: ‘The American church is lukewarm and, to put it frankly, toothless’ (I am paraphrasing with my own words here). And I know there are others out there who believe like I do, and speak boldly – like the Lord told me to speak. Like-minded people, who are speaking up for Him. Standing up for Truth and for Jesus Christ. Even if it comes to imprisonment and death (which it already has for many Americans).

Hallelujah.

However, there are way too many Christians sitting on the sidelines. Pastors and parishioners, both. Too many meek and genteel Christians don’t have the stomach or the will to fight the evil that has crept into our universities, our media, our culture in general, and frankly – even into the church.

But if not you to fight evil, then who?

Here are some of the things that were said in the movie. I interspersed some of my own words, but nothing inconsistent with what Eric Metaxas, Charlie Kirk and Pastor Amanchukwu said, themselves, in the movie, “Letter to the American Church”. Please remember, this was written last year when we were under the tyranny of the Biden regime. The Lord told me last August that He had heard a vociferous outcry from the people, and so now we know He has delivered us from the evil that had taken ahold of our government. But still, don’t think the battle with evil is over for this nation. That would be foolish.

Written regarding the DNC and the Biden regime: All too often, the American church uses Romans 13:1 as an excuse to bow to this government, even though they know this government, and especially one political party, are completely led by the spirit of the anti-Christ. They are evil. I guess some Christians don’t have a Biblical worldview and don’t understand that the DNC and this government are corrupt and have ill intentions toward us citizens, which would cause me to wonder if they’re really Christians, at all. But even of those who do recognize the nefariousness of those oppressing conservatives, Republicans and especially Christians, they think that based on Romans 13:1, God expects them to obey an evil government. We as Christians simply cannot obey this Democrat-party-controlled government that’s in place (even if they soon get voted out) – nor the political party that backs them. This political party, the DNC – who officially and intentionally declared themselves the party of non-believers in their 2019 annual convention – has to be completely dismantled. And for American Christians to submit to what has now come to be known as the “Deep State” or the “Administrative State” is – in my opinion, and apparently the opinions of Metaxas and guests – tantamount to obeying the Nazi regime in the 1930’s and 40’s in Germany. If we do this, we face God’s judgment.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer knew the Nazi’s were evil; he saw what was coming and spoke out against it. He paid for that courage and obedience to Jesus with his life; but he was a hero – not only of Germany and the world, but we Christians should recognize him as one of the great heroes of our faith.

And so, using this Scripture as their excuse not to fight evil, including The Johnson Amendment, the SCOTUS ruling on abortion, the Covid shutdowns and other schemes the democrats have used over the years to silence the church, the American church has become lukewarm, lazy and silent. Despite the fact that our founders saw to it that the church was to be absolutely free to say whatever it wanted to, without government impediment – EVER – we hear nothing from the pulpit, or close to it, against the evil of abortion. (FYI – In 2017, Donald J. Trump issued an Executive Order instructing the IRS not to enforce the Johnson Amendment, which would call for a non-profit organization’s (i.e.: a church’s) 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status to be removed if they spoke of political issues). Everyone has just accepted the illegal, unconstitutional tricks of the devil and kept quiet about the big things on God’s mind. We hear crickets. While the culture spins downward, out of control, and the government oppresses it’s people, especially those who oppose them.

And now it is understood by most that this government is becoming increasingly oppressive and tyrannical toward every American citizen as things get worse with an open border and a remarkable increase in violent crimes that has been unleashed against us. There is also the issue of the democrat party’s tight control over every member (no freedom), and the apparent incapability of every member of the party to speak the truth.

The men listed above (Metaxas, Kirk, Amanchukwu) from the movie, like myself, are disgusted with the apathetic condition of the church. They point to the quiet, compliant, seemingly “Christian” acts of the church in 2020 as they obeyed tyranny. Choosing to side with the government and media when they classified the church, and by implication – the spiritual condition of its people – as non-essential; while bars, marijuana dispensaries and strip clubs stayed open, was to side with the wrong side. (Didn’t I just write about this in “THE CHURCH HAD BETTER GET OFF ITS BUTT”? Before I read this book or watched the movie, I might add.) The church, in general, went along with this – some closed for two years! Many churches never reopened. In siding with the anti-Christian government, most church leaders didn’t even feel their own institutions were essential to the spiritual well-being of their parishioners, or to the country. What does that say about them?

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We are in a spiritual war, church. You must realize that the de facto, self-appointed government that is now over you, is evil. We must help President Trump clean the government out of these demonically-influenced people. We can no longer sit by and watch as our schools, government, culture and country go up in flames.

Like Metaxas, I believe that to stay silent and do nothing at this time, is the equivalent of evil. The devil owns the fence that you are sitting on.

Matthew 12:30- “Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.” – Jesus Christ

“Silence in the face of evil is itself evil. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act. God will not hold us guiltless.” – Dietrich Bonhoeffer

I’ve written about these grim statistics before, and Eric points to them in the movie:

Just 37% of Christian Pastors in the United States have a Biblical worldview.

The majority, 62%, possess a hybrid worldview.

1 Corinthians 2:14 – “The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit.“

If you protest against Israel, and in favor of the terrorist states of Gaza and “Palestine” as well as the terrorist groups, Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis and all other Islamic terrorist groups and states including Iran, you are asking for it. But if you are in the church and remain silent, I believe God is saying: You are asking for it, too. In the end, it may be even worse for you, because you’re supposed to know and speak the truth, even in the face of danger.

The Lord commands us to hate evil. But you, young, anti-Semitic professors, students and provocateurs, love evil. Therefore, you are assisting the devil in his evil works.

Romans 12:9 – “Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.”

Psalm 31:23 NLT – “Love the Lord, all you Godly ones! For the Lord protects those who are loyal to Him, but He harshly punishes the arrogant.”

Psalm 97:10 KJV – “Ye that love the Lord, hate evil. He preserveth the souls of His saints ; He delivereth them out of the hand of the wicked.”

Psalm 146:20 – “The Lord preserves all them that love Him; but all the wicked will He destroy.”

Deuteronomy 7:9-11 – ⁹ Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments. ¹⁰ But

those who hate him he will repay to their face by destruction;
    he will not be slow to repay to their face those who hate him.

¹¹ Therefore, take care to follow the commands, decrees and laws I give you today.

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Isaiah 6:8-9 – ⁸ Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?”

And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”

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It’s time for the American church to stand up against all evil within our country, in every arena – public schools and all of academia, legacy media, social media, Hollywood and all TV and Movie productions, within our homes, businesses, and churches.

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https://nypost.com/2024/10/20/us-news/christian-students-in-wisconsin-speak-out-after-kamala-harris-told-them-they-were-at-the-wrong-rally/

“Jesus is Lord!”

“Oh, you guys are at the wrong rally.”

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IT’S TIME FOR MACA:

MAKE AMERICA CHRISTIAN AGAIN

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Why do I write this blog? Because God told me to. And what is He saying to you, American Christians? What does He want you to do, American Christian Pastors? Whatever it is, you must get to a point at which you lose all your fear, and value obeying Him more than you value life itself. I hope you get there and I hope and pray that God will save America, with or without you.