Get thee behind me, Satan. And Christian nationalists.

(RNS) — A recent article by Atlantic staff writer Stephanie McCrummen about what white Christian nationalists are planning for the election, now less than a month away, is one you should read. It’s titled “The Christian Radicals Are Coming: The movement that fueled January 6 is revving up again.”

McCrummen reports on a big rally she attended in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, where the New Apostolic Reformation was having a tent revival as part of its “Courage Tour,” which is holding events in key battleground states that will determine the election.

The favorite word used in this revival (read: political rally) was “warriors.”

An evangelist named Mario Murillo on stage called people in the large crowd to become “God-appointed warriors” ready to do whatever the Almighty might require of them in November and beyond. Murillo shouted at the crowd, “We are going to prepare for war,” and minutes later the preacher said, “I’m not on Earth to be blessed, I’m on Earth to be armed and dangerous.”

We clearly have lost something in parts of our churches. People who call themselves Christian are supposed to be followers of Jesus Christ. But these militant religious movements are calling for things that are antithetical to the teachings of Jesus.

In stark contrast to the call to become “warriors” in this election, Jesus says to his followers, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God.”

That instruction came from Jesus’ Beatitudes, in his Sermon on the Mount, containing the key teachings for his early disciples about how to walk in the way of Christ. Are the disciples of Jesus Christ really supposed to be known and feared as those who are “armed and dangerous”?

Recently, Washington Post columnist Eugene Robinson asked me if these evangelists and preachers had read these Gospel texts and if so, how can they ignore all the teachings of Jesus, what he said and what he did?

The answer is power. That’s what they want for themselves. This is a movement that uses their politicized religion to gain power with Donald Trump by putting aside the teachings of Jesus — in contrast to the “red-letter” teachings of Jesus, where Christ rejects the power of this world and calls his disciples to bring a new way of living into the world.

One of Jesus’ early temptations happened when Satan took him up to the top of a mountain to see the world and offered him the power to rule all of it — if Jesus would simply fall down and worship him. Jesus’ response was to tell Satan to get lost.  

That should be the response of Christians today when a political evangelist shouts the word “warrior” to a Wisconsin crowd and asks the people there to chant the word back to him. Instead of yelling back “warrior,” they should say — in the words of another famed Bible verse — “Get behind me, Satan.” 

In the parable of the good Samaritan, Jesus tells us to love our neighbor, especially those who are different from us — as the Samaritan did. Even though he was being “othered” by his society, like many are being othered today, this outsider stopped to help a Jewish man who had been robbed, beaten and left for dead by the side of the Jericho road — someone who was different from him.

But as the article in The Atlantic reported, in the Wisconsin rally, a Canadian preacher named Artur Pawlowski said that Christians had been too “loving.” He told the crowd they must “go into the fire” with Jesus, and “in the fire he will set you free.”

Again, in sharp contrast, in the Gospel of John, verse 8:32, Jesus says you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks during a presidential debate with Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris at the National Constitution Center, Sept. 10, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

The continuing ugly lies being told by Donald Trump and JD Vance, about immigrants in particular, have left many of their supporters captive. Even in the midst of the horrendous suffering by many in these repeated hurricane floods (including some of my own family members), the Republican presidential and vice presidential candidates are now accusing the federal government of using money intended for the victims of these disasters, instead, for giving lots of money to immigrants.

Just as the Republican governor of Ohio and mayor of Springfield, Ohio, said the lies about Haitian immigrants eating people’s dogs and cats were not true, governors all over the South where hurricanes are wreaking such havoc all say — Republicans and Democrats — that the Biden-Harris-led federal disaster efforts are giving them all the help that they need.

Lies were all over the Wisconsin rally, and the overwhelmingly white audience is deeply responsive to the racial lies of the Trump campaign and these religious zealots in support of him. Race is a huge factor in these “religious” (read: political) rallies.

One of the leaders of this movement is Lance Wallnau, who has popularized the “Seven Mountains Mandate” in which Christians are being called to take power over the key pillars of society such as government, media, education, business, arts and entertainment, family and, of course, religion.

Wallnau speaks of “the demons” that are working against America, particularly from the Democratic Party. And he recently referred to Kamala Harris as a “Jezebel woman,” an evil female leader in biblical stories. A frequent visitor to Mar-a-Lago, he regularly talks about his plan and hopes for Christians like him to take power and control over America.

Two weeks ago, the chief Washington correspondent for CBS News, Major Garrett, came to my home office to hear the counterargument to white Christian nationalism. We went through the teachings of Jesus, which are so antithetical to the plans of this militant religious movement that supports Donald Trump for his and their power.

We discussed how this is not the first time in history that religion has been used and abused to support strongman authoritarian leaders in their quest for autocratic power. But I also signaled a hopeful sign — of another movement afoot in this country of diverse Christian leaders, Black and white, who are confronting and now countering this right-wing political movement that is distorting religion for power.

At the event in Wisconsin, Christian nationalists spoke openly of their efforts to encourage their followers to infiltrate the election system to be their “Trojan horses” to control the vote counting in key precincts around the country.

But we have a voter protection campaign ourselves, Faiths United to Save Democracy, which is training poll chaplains in many of those same precincts where voter suppression and intimidation are most threatened. Fifteen hundred poll chaplains have already been trained in being an informed, calm, peaceful and spiritually authoritative presence on and around Election Day — including practical instruction in de-escalation tactics and nonviolent action wherever needed. Our coordinator, Barbara Williams-Skinner, puts our historical moment well: “People are marching under the banner of Jesus, but without the manner of Jesus.”

You can sign up to serve as a poll chaplain here.

You can also read, sign, share and study our new and powerful Christian Faith and Democracy statement, which has already been signed by thousands of faith leaders: Protestant, Catholic, evangelical, Black, Hispanic and Asian American church leaders and pastors who intend to preach from the teachings of Jesus in the critical weeks ahead before the election.

I am seeing that new yet old movement to bring us back to Jesus rising around the country, growing stronger in every place I go. To those at the false religion events in Wisconsin and elsewhere, we want them to know that our message to them is white Christian nationalism vs. Jesus Christ.

(The Rev. Jim Wallis is director of Georgetown University’s Center on Faith and Justice and the author, most recently, of “The False White Gospel: Rejecting Christian Nationalism, Reclaiming True Faith, and Refounding Democracy.” The views expressed in this commentary do not necessarily reflect those of Religion News Service.)