Hobby Lobby: Intersection Toxic Masculinity and Christian Nationalism

Nothing makes me not want to be a Christian more than seeing crap like that in a store and knowing how many Christians believe it and buy it.

A few months ago, I saw some “art” at Hobby Lobby that celebrated the 2nd Amendment. (Apparently, it is still available on their website.) No other amendments were celebrated in this way. I wonder why.

I once saw a “decorative” sign (not at a Hobby Lobby, being sold at a grocery store) that said “In this house we don’t call 911” with a gun on it. Horrifying.

I once (reluctantly) attended a Sunday service on July 4th that included a song called “Stand for the Flag, Kneel at the Cross.” When they brought out the giant flag, everyone stood. There was a giant cross in the same sanctuary. No one knelt or was encouraged to kneel.

I grew up in a church that, for July 4, sang “America The Beautiful” and the national anthem while military personnel from all branches came in carrying branch flags and rifles.

We stood, hands over our hearts — but something like crossing oneself was considered a dead “ritual”

There really is no better visual representation of the relationship between toxic masculinity and Christian nationalism than Hobby Lobby.

And none of those signs were made in this country.

I think if you’re a company that wants to promote America and patriotism and all that, be a real patriot and have your products produced in this country. There’s something false about a sign or other product promoting our country that says “made in China.”

 

Replying to

@KaitlynSchiess
I was there the other day and saw this. My first thought was “oh I found the Christian Nationalism aisle”

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Replying to

@KaitlynSchiess
No joke that place legit scares me, I stumbled on this Christmas ornament there a few years back. A cross with cowboy boots, sheriff stars, a lasso? maybe nails wrapped around the sides, and possibly a crown of thorns? This isn’t #JesusandJohnWayne, this is #JesusisJohnWayne.

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Replying to

@KaitlynSchiess
It seems worth mentioning that the core target hobby lobby shopper is “women of all ages.” Anecdotally, the most “tough guy” men I know wouldn’t be seen dead in a craft store. Very weird to think a lady would be buying this for a guy’s man cave.
Replying to

@KaitlynSchiess
This is exhausting (because I’m a nine and anger is exhausting). But it makes me want to muster up the energy to write a blog, sermon, book, or series along the lines of: “The Folly of Modern Proverbs.”
That the garage is the sanctuary of the man is correct for the men in the Village where I live (not for me)
Replying to

@KaitlynSchiess
I love Hobby Lobby, especially for Christmas decor, but I just can’t shop there anymore. My stupid conscience won’t let me. Some of this is just gross.
And this isn’t even the worst of their offenses.
“Give an example of something you might find at Hobby Lobby or a Truck Stop.”
Replying to

@KaitlynSchiess
The one that makes me ill is the cross with the flag painted on it. 
I weirdly want to stand up for the men seeing this. It’s super insulting and makes men look like children. Just yikes.
Replying to

@KaitlynSchiess
after reading “Jesus & John Wayne” this all makes so much sense to me now.
Maybe I’m glad we don’t have a Hobby Lobby in Canada.

The Museum of the Bible Is a Safe Space for Christian Nationalists

by Katherine Stewart  @kathsstewart

a recent gathering at the museum featuring speakers who intend to “transform nations” by “igniting a holy reformation in every sphere of society,”

.. “We wholeheartedly believe the Museum of the Bible represents an ‘Ark of the Covenant’ for our nation, bearing witness to his goodness,”

.. A typical museum might invite visitors to explore the multiple meanings of the Bible and the complex history of its reception in different cultures over time. But this museum is not the place for that kind of inquiry; you’re here to celebrate.

.. The museum is a safe space for Christian nationalists, and that is the key to understanding its political mission.

.. Its subtler task is to embed a certain set of assumptions in the landscape of the capital.

.. Mr. Drollinger believes that social welfare programs “have no basis in Scripture,” that Christians in government have an obligation to hire only Christians and that women should not be allowed to teach grown men.

.. He lays out his thinking in a 2013 book, “Rebuilding America: The Biblical Blueprint.”

.. The “institution of the state” is “an avenger of wrath,” he explains, and its “God-given responsibility” is “to moralize a fallen world through the use of force.”

.. participants in his groups, however, aren’t just anybody. They include Mike Pompeo, the director of the C.I.A.; Attorney General Jeff Sessions; Vice President Mike Pence; Betsy DeVos

.. the message that national unity can be achieved only through a religious “awakening” and allegiance to conservative Christianity.

.. to inspire confidence in the absolute authority and reliability of the Bible.”

.. When Steve Green, the museum’s founder and the president of the Hobby Lobby crafts chain, formed the museum’s parent organization in 2010, he informed the I.R.S.

.. the location of this museum was an act of symbolic and practical genius. If you’re going to build a Christian nation, this is where you start.