This is a short post in which I am offering two links. Both links are informative, but the first is a downer, and the second is uplifting. They offer two competing perspectives on Christianity.
The first link is an essay on Russell B. Johnson by the Bulwark. Russell B. Johnson is a Christian Nationalist influencer-pastor of a church called The Pursuit NW, in Washington State, which aggressively solicits donations from its congregation while Johnson himself lives in a multi-million dollar home and flies on private jets. In his hour-long sermon from May 31, 2026, Johnson wears Louis Vuitton and Amiri, and he talks for the first 20 minutes about tax policy, and then some how ties it to Paul’s letters to the Romans. Russell B. Johnson uses imagery that he is fighting a battle and walking with a figurative sword in his fight against “the enemy.” Russell B. Johnson also has very close ties with the highest levels of the Trump Administration. In Johnson’s own words: “yea it costs a lot to follow Jesus; it also pays a lot more than it costs.” Apparently so.
The second link I am sharing is a homily of Father John Unni at St. Cecelia Parish in Boston, MA, which is in line with how I was brought up in the Catholic Church. Father John, in his homily, stresses the message “Love one another.”
I’m sharing the first link because I think it’s important to understand how Christian Nationalists are successfully warping our national politics. I’m sharing the second link as a way of inviting you to see my perspective on how I experienced the faith growing up, not that the Catholic Church is by any means perfect.
Russell B. Johnson’s is a faith of certainty, simplicity, and spiritual warfare. John Unni’s is a faith of introspection, growth, building community and caring for the least among us. Religion can be leveraged for good and for bad, just like any of the tools we have invented over the centuries.
The question we need to ask is: which of these two versions of religion serves us best?
Link 1:
Link 2:
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