Hello my friends!

I hope this finds you well. I want to thank you for your overwhelming support and response to my last newsletter, "The Myths We Believe." I was deeply grateful by how well it was received and how much it resonated with you. I appreciate you all very much.

Continuing in that same theme, I want to focus on the importance of holding onto hope. I don't know about you, but I can struggle at times holding onto hope for the future given all the world seems to be facing right now. So I want to think with you about why hope matters by looking at an historical example of when many Christians in America lost hope and what happened as a result.

But first, here are some resources that are very relevant to this conversation.

RESOURCES TO CONSIDER

-A book I feel is supremely underrated is one by Donald W. Dayton called, "Rediscovering an Evangelical Heritage: A Tradition And Trajectory Of Integrating Piety And Justice." This short work explores the history of early Evangelicals in American life and the movement's deep commitment to social justice. I highly recommend giving it a read.

-Another book I cannot recommend enough is "Bad Faith: Race and the Rise of the Religious Right" by Randall Balmer. Balmer is a religious scholar and one who was raised in the household of a prominent evangelical pastor. In this short book, he traces the reasons behind the trajectory of an evangelicalism that was opposed to slavery in its early days to being one that supported segregation and the ardent populism we have seen in the last few decades. The audiobook is really well done too, so that is an option.

-The now concluded podcast "The Experiment" also has a great snapshot into modern Evangelicalism in an episode called "How The Evangelical Machine Got Made" . It is well worth a listen.

-I know I have recommended this before, but the podcast called Throughline also has a great episode on this topic as well called "The Evangelical Vote," which explores the reasons why Evangelicals vote they way they tend to.

Okay, onto today's content!

THE DAMAGE OF HOPELESSNESS

Sometimes the problems in our world can feel so overwhelming and impossible to solve. On the spectrum of politics, religion, science, economy, war, and so much more, the prospect of moving forward in a positive direction can seem, well, hopeless.

But I want to encourage you to not lose hope. Not only because I believe it adds to our overall mental, physical, and relational health, but also because I deeply believe our future depends on all of us keeping hope alive.

Let me give you a small historical example of what I mean, one that is still directly impacting us today.

Many scholars mark the beginning of American Evangelicalism at the first great awakening (1730s). Early Evangelicals were convinced that they could embody Christ’s gospel in the public square for the good of the poor and marginalized.

For example, many early American Evangelicals led the charge for abolishing slavery, advocating for equal rights for women, dismantling child labor practices, and establishing workers unions for equal and fair compensation. They advanced what was known as the “temperance movement” which, at its heart, was a movement to prevent poverty and domestic abuse that was linked to the alcohol industry of that era. They would wear plain clothing and no jewelry as an effort to not make the poor feel “lower class” as they built relationships with them and advocated for them. They established housing and job programs for unmarried pregnant women, who would often be disowned and cast out from their families and churches because being single and pregnant was considered so taboo. The movement was marked by these efforts and so much more.

So much of the evangelical social vision then was set on fire by a hope that they could really make a difference in the world for those that Jesus himself ministered to in his lifetime. The poor, the sick, the marginalized, the captives, and the oppressed (Luke 4).

Then we fast forward through the second great awakening, the civil war, and the emancipation proclamation, and many would see their hopes dashed. Yes, slavery was abolished nationally, but it would be three more years until all slaves were actually all set free (which is why Juneteenth is so important). Then they saw the rise of Jim Crow laws, convict leasing, voting rights denied, jobs denied, housing denied, the KKK, and so much more backlash from those who disagreed with abolishing slavery, especially within the south. They felt like all their work, all those who sacrificed for these social causes were for nothing. The culture seemed intent on continuing to harm the most vulnerable and marginalized.

If this were not bad enough, just 47 years after the civil war, as these social transgressions continued, the Titanic sank, causing widespread shock and grief, and then WW1 began a few years later after that tragedy. That’s not even a whole generation apart from the civil war.

All this culminated in so many Christians, especially evangelicals literally losing hope that they could actually make the world a better place. These events literally literally made people think the world was ending and many didn’t really know where to turn.

Into this vacuum that hopelessness caused stepped in something which would change so much of American Christian theology: the brand new theology of the rapture called “dispensationalism.”​

This new theology was developed by James Nelson Darby in the 1800s, but only became a widespread theological movement within the United States in the 1900s, due in large part to the publishing and wide circulation of the Scofield Reference Bible shortly before WW1. This theological shift coincided with the dawn of Christian fundamentalism as well, which was a reactionary movement against European biblical criticism. As you might imagine, this had a tremendous impact on American Evangelicalism and Christianity in the United States as a whole.

The hope for a Christian social impact and progress was dashed in this time period, convincing so many Evangelical and Fundamentalist Christians that there was no point to even engage in political life anymore. It was all doomed after all.

The goal at this time largely shifted from trying to bring about social good to just focusing on “saving souls” before the rapture occurred and God would destroy the planet. It became about “personal salvation,” to not only save as many people as possible from getting “left behind,” during the great tribulation on earth, but also to save them from an eternity in hell. A hell where, many believed, the world was quickly headed.

The damage of hopelessness among many Christians then and what they turned to instead is something that is still impacting us today.

Since the 1900s up to today, we’ve seen Evangelicalism and Fundamentalism meld together and continue to move from the hope of social change to the efforts of social control in order to “save the soul of the nation” for God. This movement is specifically known as Neo-Evangelicalism. We can see this most notably in the Christian nationalism movement, where its theology is deeply rooted in the dispensational belief that if the nation doesn’t turn from its ways and become "Christian," it will be doomed to both the tribulation and to hell. The goal is bringing the nation under its definition of "salvation," which includes each individual "personally" abiding by its theological and moral beliefs, while showing extreme animosity towards social justice efforts, especially those done in Christ's name. It's about "saving soul," not saving people from poverty, marginalization, oppression, or captivity.

As you can probably tell, our current time rhymes with our not so distant past in many ways. From the social anxiety over wars, the economy, trust in our political systems, racial justice, women’s rights, global warming, and covid, to the theological impact of Qanon, dominionism, nationalism, and culture war issues, there is ample opportunity for us Christians to be overwhelmed into hopelessness. In fact, during our global pandemic and the events of 2020, many would have been justified in feeling like the world was ending.

This reality however is precisely why it is so important for us to not lose hope, because when our hope is lost, cynicism and nihilism can creep in far too easily and have widespread and even generational consequences. When we lose hope, it is simply replaced with something else, something that may set us on a trajectory with long lasting negative impacts. The future of our world needs us to never give up hope that it will get better and that we can help it to get there!

I find hope in analyzing big picture problems, like systemic racism or economic inequality and then making small manageable goals to combat those things as locally as I can in my community.

One of the most powerful metaphors of hope in the Bible for me comes from Zechariah 9:12, which says, "Return to your refuge, you prisoners of hope; even now I announce that I will restore twice as much to you." Prisoners of hope. For me, that is who I long to be. Someone who is unable to quit hoping no matter what. Let's be "prisoners of hope" and find refuge together, trusting that even now, God is on the move to restore and make all things new.

So what are some practical ways to hold onto hope in days like these?

For me, I find hope in making sure I seek out good news more than “doom scrolling.” Good news is out there, we just have to make a habit of looking for it.

I find hope in my friends in ministry and my congregation who are doing such important work in their communities to make a positive impact.

I find hope that all of scripture points to Jesus returning to redeem and restore creation, rather than obliterate it from existence. Unlike dispensationalism, which sees the planet as expendable because God is going to destroy it anyway, I find an urgent hope in efforts to combat climate change and work with Christ to redeem and restore this beautiful planet God created. I find hope that Jesus encourages us to continue serving the most vulnerable and making the world a more hospitable place for them until he returns, because whatever we do for them, we do for Jesus (Matthew 25).

I find hope in knowing that just as damaging as hopelessness can be for us, holding onto hope is even more powerful and impactful for good.

Lastly, I find hope in my community of readers. Every week we gather on this newsletter and I get to hear about how God is moving in your lives in such incredible ways! I get to hear about how you are making an impact in your own families and your own communities. Friends, you are all making such a positive difference! That matters. Never forget that. That should fuel your hope.

My prayer this week is that whatever spark of hope you have is stoked into a fire. I deeply believe that love ultimately prevails over evil. It is a truth I find unshakable. It is why I continue to hope, to work, and commit to moving forward together.

As Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., once said, “the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” Change takes a long time, but it does happen. Never lose hope that change will come.

As always, thank you for reading. I love hearing from you, so please feel free to reply to this with your thoughts.

If you know anyone who would also enjoy my newsletter, consider sending them this link to join: https://benjamin-cremer.ck.page/​

Have a wonderful week!

-Ben

HERE ARE SOME RECENT NEWSLETTERS

​The Myths We Believe​

​The Plank In Our Own Eye​

​What do you mean by "Christian?"​