The Rev. Dr. Mary Susan Gast spoke at Community Congregational Church on Sunday, October 26, at 4:00 pm on the topic of Christian Nationalism, its roots and impact. The recorded videos are embedded below.
After the event, Dr. Gast wrote:
For more extensive study, I would recommend these books:
John Fugelsang—comedian and broadcaster, Separation of Church and Hate–A Sane Person’s Guide to Taking Back the Bible . . .
Obery M. Hendricks, Jr.—religious scholar and ordained elder of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, Christians Against Christianity
Amanda Tyler—attorney and executive director of the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty, How to End Christian Nationalism
Mary Susan Gast
BenIndy Editor: here are the two videos, many thanks to Community Congregational Church of Benicia and video editor Constance Beutel:
Daylight Savings Change! 4PM-5PM
Benicia Protest is Alive in the Light! Vigil For Democracy – Citizen opposition to Trump’s authoritarian takeover continues…
November in Benicia is under a mantle of darkness by 5pm, so we’re gathering an hour earlier beginning this week!
Thursdays at 4pm…
Longtime Benicia organizer-activist Susan Street is calling all of us to assemble for our every Thursday night vigil, starting on 4PM. A good crowd has gathered every Thursday since April 3 at the Gazebo in City Park, First & Military Streets. Here’s the new announcement:
VIGIL FOR DEMOCRACY Every Thursday, 4-5 p.m. On the sidewalk by the Gazebo
[map / directions]Come whenever you can, stay as long or as briefly as you can. Bring your signs, bells, kazoos, noisemakers. Invite ten people to join us.
Stay on the sidewalk. Don’t block anyone attempting to walk through. Ignore any harassment.
The Rev. Dr. Mary Susan Gast will speak at Community Congregational Church on Sunday, October 26, at 4:00 pm on the topic of Christian Nationalism, its roots and impact.
She states, “In the late 1970’s a movement began to emerge in the U.S. that we now recognize as Christian Nationalism. ‘Christian Nationalism’ is not simply being Christian and being American. It is the fusion of one particular take on Christianity with a vision of the United States as the birthright of the descendants of white Christian European settlers.
Bishop William Barber has observed that the adherents of Christian Nationalism believe that Christianity ‘calls on us to be anti-gay, against people who may have had an abortion, against immigrants, and against the poor. But what the Scriptures actually say is that God loves all people.’”
Her presentation on October 26th will examine the Biblical and historical bases for these diverse understandings of the application of Christian teaching, along with the effects of Christian Nationalism on our democracy and civil society.
Dr. Gast notes that the affirmation of Christian Nationalism among many current national leaders raises questions for many regarding the effects of that ideology on government policy.
“In August this year, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth released a video on social media. It featured two pastors of Hegseth’s fellowship of faith asserting that women should not have the right to vote. Doug Wilson, one of the pastors on the video, later affirmed to the Associated Press that he believes the 19th Amendment granting women the right to vote ‘was a bad idea.’
In early September many members of the current administration attended the National Conservatism Conference. Speakers at the event included:
Heritage Foundation president Kevin Roberts endorsing ‘the righteous anger young men feel when our elites say they can be replaced by immigrants or machines’
Charlie Haywood, who has called for the ‘total denigration of ‘career’ as the main goal of women’
and U.S. Senator Eric Schmitt who declared America belongs to ‘us’. . . ‘the sons and daughters of the Christian pilgrims that poured out from Europe’s shores to baptize a new world.’
Gast is a Liberation theologian with advanced academic degrees from Michigan State University and the Chicago Theological Seminary. Over the past 50 years she has made presentations in the U.S., South Africa, and China addressing the ways in which patriarchal and colonialist interpretations have distorted Christian teachings to the detriment of women and others regarded as not-quite-human.
Perfect sign and symbol of MAGA disregard for democracy and the rule of law
Work begins on the demolition of a part of the East Wing of the White House, Monday, Oct. 20, 2025, in Washington, before construction of a new ballroom. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Donald Trump initiated the demolition of the White House East Wing to construct a US$300 million ballroom, funded by private donors, bypassing traditional congressional oversight.
Historians and preservationists criticised the move, viewing it as emblematic of Mr Trump’s disregard for national norms and prioritisation of personal legacy-building, like a “Trump Tower”.
Mr Trump’s team defends the project as a visionary addition, while critics highlight his exploitation of loopholes to exercise expansive executive power with minimal public consultation.
WASHINGTON – When President Donald Trump met with donors for his new ballroom at the White House earlier this month, he relayed a story that thrilled his real estate mogul heart.
“I said, ‘How long will it take me?’ ‘Sir, you can start tonight, you have no approvals,’” Mr Trump said on Oct 15, describing a conversation he’d had about the project.
“I said, ‘You gotta be kidding.’ They said, ‘Sir, this is the White House, you’re the president of the United States, you can do anything you want.’”
Days later, demolition crews bulldozed the East Wing of the White House, reducing decades of history at one of the country’s most famous landmarks to a pile of rubble and drawing outrage from historians, preservationists, Democrats and the public.
Mr Trump had gotten what he wanted: a clean slate for his new US$300 million (S$390 million) ballroom. It was an action that seemed to symbolise, in physical form, a presidency that has taken a wrecking ball to national norms, international institutions and the world order itself.
Historians, largely aghast at the move, saw the thinking of a developer at work rather than the keeper of a sacred trust.
Donald Trump holding a rendering of the new White House ballroom during an Oct 22 White House meeting with Nato Secretary-General Mark Rutte. PHOTO: DOUG MILLS/NYTIMES
“I think this is the developer’s mentality again of building something big that has your name on it and that everyone remembers you for. A Trump Tower,” said Professor Jeremi Suri, a University of Texas historian. “He’s building a tower for himself. This is a ballroom tower.”
Indeed, Mr Trump himself, at the dinner with executives from Apple, Amazon, Lockheed Martin and Meta Platforms, all of whom the White House says have pledged to help fund the ballroom, marvelled at the opportunity the project presented.
“It’s exciting as a person in real estate, ‘cause you’ll never get a location like this again,” he said.
As a businessman, Mr Trump put his name on buildings, steaks and ties. Mr Trump’s press secretary, Ms Karoline Leavitt, said on Oct 23 the ballroom would be named, too, but declined to say what it would be.
Mr Trump told reporters late on Oct 24 that he did not plan to name it after himself. But the 90,000 sq ft structure will be forever associated with him.
“Everybody’s going to look at it, and they’re going to see now an edifice that overshadows the executive mansion, and that edifice has one man’s name on it,” said Dr Edward Lengel, a former chief historian at the White House Historical Association.
“I believe that’s intentional.”
East Wing White House demolition 2025-10-23 | Reuters
Well before the ballroom project became a reality, Mr Trump had made his mark on the White House with gold decorations in the Oval Office, a paved-over Rose Garden reminiscent of his Florida Mar-a-Lago club, portraits of himself throughout the property and giant American flags on new flagpoles on the north and south lawns.
The Republican president has also sought to remake Washington, DC, taking over control of the Kennedy Centre and planning an Arc de Triomphe-style monument to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the United States in 2026.
Mr Taylor Budowich, a former senior adviser to the president, said Mr Trump was the nation’s “greatest builder” with a vision for the White House and beyond.
“The president is a visionary, whether it be in politics, business or life. He is able to see things not just for what they are, but for what they could be,” he said.
“This is just another wonderful example of Trump being Trump.”
‘Little public disclosure, consultation’
Mr Trump’s team and allies have dismissed criticism of the ballroom project as manufactured outrage.
“All of his properties are first class. And he doesn’t spare expenses, and he has an eye for it. This will be a wonderful addition,” said Mr Armand Grossman, a Florida-based real estate investor who worked for Mr Trump for four years, about the ballroom. “It will be around for a long time for many generations to enjoy.”
A 1906 photo of the East Entrance, as it was then known, of the White House. PHOTO: LIBRARY OF CONGRESS/NYTIMES
The president followed his own unique style and belief in expansive executive power in making the ballroom project happen. While previous renovations were funded and approved by Congress, this one will be paid for by private donors, reducing oversight restrictions.
And while the White House says it plans to submit designs for the ballroom to the National Capital Planning Commission, it says that body only oversees construction, not demolition.
“I think it’s very clear that the administration studied those weaknesses and, with much greater care than they’re letting on, that they then very ruthlessly exploited those weaknesses,” Dr Lengel said.
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