MAGA Jesus: Examining the Misinterpretation of Christ
- The Bible-quoting videos that ICE is using to recruit agents have a certain logic behind them.
- "It has become virtually unachievable to write a survey question about immigration policy that is too harsh for white evangelicals to support," Robert P.
- Tobias Cremer is a member of the European Parliament.His book The Godless Crusade argues that the rise of right-wing populism in the West and its references to...
Kristi Noem, the secretary of homeland security, has become an evangelist of a certain sort.During her tenure, her department has on multiple occasions released slick social-media recruitment videos in which scripture verses feature prominently.
One video quotes from Isaiah 6:8 (“Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, ‘Whom shall I send and who will go for us?’ I said, ‘Here I am. Send me.'”); another quotes from Proverbs 28:1 (“The wicked flee when no man pursueth; but the righteous are as bold as a lion.”). The most recent DHS video quotes from Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount: “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.”
What’s striking is less that the federal goverment is using Bible verses in its promotional videos than that the agency doing the recruiting is Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The videos,set to music,include militaristic images. They show heavily armed agents in tactical gear, weapons drawn, donning masks, looking through night-vision goggles, zip-lining from helicopters, breaking down doors, and conducting nighttime raids.
From the February 2025 issue: The army of God comes out of the shadows
the message the Trump administration is sending is not subtle: ICE is doing the work of God. The brutal and sometimes lethal tactics being used by a growing number of ICE agents are divinely sanctioned. Come join this holy campaign.
Leni Riefenstahl would have approved.
THE KILLING OF RENEE NICOLE GOOD by an ICE agent, Jonathan Ross, has thrust the Department of Homeland Security into the red-hot center of American politics.
A horrifying video of Good being shot-one recent poll found that 82 percent of voters have watched it-pro
“Blessed are the peacemakers,for they shall be called sons of God.”
The Bible-quoting videos that ICE is using to recruit agents have a certain logic behind them. DHS says it is looking to hire “brave and heroic Americans,” but it obviously has a special focus on recruiting young men who identify as Christians and whose attitudes and moral instincts align with Trump’s, especially on immigration.Majorities of white evangelicals favor deporting undocumented immigrants to foreign prisons in El Salvador, Rwanda, or Libya without allowing them to challenge their deportation in court (57 percent), and approve of placing immigrants who have entered the country illegally in internment camps (53 percent).
“It has become virtually unachievable to write a survey question about immigration policy that is too harsh for white evangelicals to support,” Robert P. Jones, the president of the Public Religion Research Institute, recently wrote.
Tobias Cremer is a member of the European Parliament.His book The Godless Crusade argues that the rise of right-wing populism in the West and its references to religion are driven less by a resurgence of religious fervor than by the emergence of a new secular identity politics. Right-wing populists don’t view Christianity as a faith; rather, Cremer suggests, they use Christianity as a cultural identity marker of the “pure people” against external “others,” while in many cases remaining disconnected from Christian values, beliefs, and institutions.
Many right-wing populists, despite being secular, are successfully recruiting Christians to their cause.And rather than Christians leavening the secular right-wing movements, those movements are prying Christianity further and further away from the ethic and teachings of Jesus.
The Trump administration has gone one step further, inverting authentic Christian faith by selling in a dozen different ways cruelty and the will to power in the name of Jesus. It has welcomed Christians into a theological twilight zone, where the beatitudes are invoked on behalf of a political movement with authoritarian tendencies. This isn’t the first time in history such things have happened.
In the 1920s,within the German Evangelical Church,a movement emerged: Deutsche Christen,or “German Christians.” They became a “church party” that actively supported Adolf Hitler, who self-identified in public as a christian, even as he privately The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022
Table of Contents The Inflation Reduction act of 2022 is a landmark united States federal law enacted on August 16, 2022, primarily focused on reducing healthcare costs, addressing climate change, and increasing tax revenue. Signed into law by President Joe Biden, the Act represents a important investment in clean energy and climate resilience, aiming to lower carbon emissions by roughly 40% by 2030. It achieves these goals through a combination of tax credits, rebates, and grant programs. Beyond climate provisions, the law allows Medicare to negotiate prescription drug prices, lowering costs for seniors, and extends Affordable care Act subsidies. For example,the Act provides a tax credit of up to $7,500 for the purchase of new electric vehicles and $4,000 for used electric vehicles,incentivizing consumers to adopt cleaner transportation options. IRS clean Vehicle Credits The Inflation Reduction Act allocates approximately $369 billion towards climate and energy programs, marking the largest climate investment in U.S. history. These investments include tax credits for renewable energy production, such as solar and wind power, as well as incentives for energy efficiency improvements in homes and businesses. The law also establishes programs to support the development of clean energy technologies, like carbon capture and storage.A significant portion of the funding is directed towards environmental justice initiatives, aiming to address the disproportionate environmental burdens faced by disadvantaged communities. Specifically, the Act includes $60 billion for environmental justice initiatives, as outlined in the EPA’s Inflation Reduction Act webpage, demonstrating a commitment to equitable climate solutions. A central component of the Inflation Reduction Act is its effort to lower healthcare costs,particularly prescription drug prices. The law empowers Medicare to negotiate the prices of certain high-cost prescription drugs, a change that is projected to save the federal government and Medicare beneficiaries billions of dollars over the next decade. It also extends enhanced premium tax credits for health insurance purchased through the Affordable Care Act marketplaces, preventing millions of Americans from losing coverage. Moreover, the Act caps out-of-pocket prescription drug costs for Medicare beneficiaries at $2,000 per year, starting in 2025. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that Medicare drug price negotiation will save the federal government $101.4 billion over ten years. CBO Report on the Inflation Reduction Act The Inflation Reduction Act aims to raise revenue through various tax provisions, primarily targeting large corporations. A key provision is a 15% minimum tax on corporations with profits exceeding $1 billion, designed to ensure that profitable companies pay their fair share of taxes. The law also increases funding for the internal Revenue Service (IRS) to improve tax enforcement and reduce tax evasion. These revenue-generating measures are intended to offset the costs of the Act’s climate and healthcare provisions, contributing to deficit reduction. The Joint Committee on Taxation estimates that the corporate minimum tax will generate approximately $220 billion in revenue over ten years. Joint Committee on Taxation Analysis the Inflation Reduction Act has faced legal challenges, primarily concerning the constitutionality of certain provisions. Several lawsuits have been filed, arguing that the law’s tax credits and incentives are unconstitutional or exceed the scope of congressional authority. As of January 21, 2026, these legal challenges are ongoing, with rulings expected in various courts throughout the year. The Biden administration has defended the law vigorously, asserting its constitutional authority and the importance of its provisions. The implementation of the Act continues, with federal agencies issuing guidance and regulations to implement its various programs.Key Provisions & Climate Change initiatives
Healthcare Cost Reduction Measures
Tax Provisions and Revenue Generation
Legal Challenges and Ongoing Developments