What Would Jesus Do On January 6, 2021?

Christian apologists these days are busy trying to distance Christian Nationalism from Christianity, saying that Christian Nationalism is "imposter Christianity" and that Christian Nationalists are "fake Christians" because Jesus was all about love and acceptance and being nice.

Unlike so many of these Christians, however, we atheists have actually read the Christian bible. We remember the parts of the bible where Jesus threatens anyone who refuses to worship and obey him. We know the dark side of Christian history, in which Christian rulers and Christian mobs waged campaigns of terror against those who would not conform and obey them.

So, when we hear Christians insisting that Christian Nationalist violence and cruelty is not Christian at all, we know better. We know better than to suppose that the crazy QAnon prophecies had no precedent in Christianity. We know better than to wonder how the majority of Christian American voters could support Donald Trump once, twice, and now a third time.

We know better than to say that Jesus would never approve of the violent Christian Nationalist insurrection of January 6, 2021, because we know that Jesus was a narcissist who was quick to lash out at those who contradicted him. We look at the footage of the January 6 mob attacking Congress, and remember the scene of Jesus storming the Temple in Jerusalem and whipping the people there as if they were livestock.

Go on, Christian apologists. Tell me the story about how Christian Nationalists are "fake Christians". I have a few things to say in response.