Sometimes she's joking, sometimes she's not

It’s really not my intention to use my new Substack as a place just to rail and whine about the rise of fundamentalist Christianism in American politics, but the midterms are just a few days away and it’s hard to focus on the other things I’d like to write about.  Today I find myself fascinated by amateur theologian Lauren Boebert’s joke about Jesus not having enough AR-15s to keep the Romans from killing him.  As a devout Christian, she knows that the whole point of the crucifixion was for Jesus to not use his godly powers but to sacrifice himself willingly to atone for the sins of the world, Congresswoman Boebert’s included.  But she can’t quite stop fantasizing about a studlier, more masculine Jesus, who whips an automatic pistol out from under his robes just before Pilate washes his hands.  Down goes Pilate, the Apostles burst from the crowd, rifles blazing, the Roman soldiers’ shiny armor no match for the good guys with guns.

But no, she’s just teasing the “twitter trolls” (as she calls them) who are trying to give her grief for the perceived incongruity between her devotion to the 2nd amendment and her evangelical faith.  “They like to say ‘Oh, Jesus didn’t need an AR-15, how many AR-15s do you think Jesus would’ve had?’  Well, he didn’t have enough to keep his government from killing him!”  Zing!  The crowd erupts with adoring laughter.  Critics who seriously take her to task for misunderstanding the theology involved are missing the point.

It's a clever line, and that’s all it’s intended to be.  It brings love of Jesus and love of guns together in an amusingly satisfying way, even if it is doctrinally incoherent.  But once the laughter dies down, you’re left wondering what the joke really means.  Perhaps it’s intended to point out that, unlike Jesus, it isn’t our calling to sacrifice ourselves for the sins of the world, so when the government comes after us (as it surely will), a few righteous AR-15s might be just the ticket.  Surely Jesus would approve. 

More recently, Boebert’s been emphasizing in her speeches that we’re in the end times.  Now Christians need to joyfully “rise up” and “influence this nation as we were called upon to do.”  She proclaims to her audiences that, “You get to be a part of the ushering in the second coming of Jesus.”  This time, she’s not joking.  It’s pretty heady stuff for those millions who’ve been waiting all their lives for that second coming.

It’s careless to dismiss Boebert as ignorant and foolish, the wacko fringe of the Republican party.  An increasing number of elected officials believe as she does, and after Tuesday, there will almost certainly be more of them.  In a House of Representatives controlled by Republicans and led by feckless Kevin McCarthy, she and those who believe as she does will have real power.  Maybe she’s right about the end times after all.