NAR AND OTHER THINGS YOU MIGHT NOT KNOW ABOUT. I DIDN’T!

By Ruth A. Sheets

Yesterday, I attended an online workshop about a religious entity I had no knowledge of.  One would think a Christian minister would be acquainted with most of the religious movements in this country and many of those in other countries.  I have knowledge of many, but not this one, and it’s functioning right in our neighborhoods and growing. 

NAR stands for New Apostolic Reformation.  If you think that sounds radical, you are right.  If you think that sounds like a name someone would give to a group of Christian Nationalists, you are also right.  NAR is a collective of mostly white Evangelicals who believe this nation must be Christian and that their brand of Christianity is the one to take over all aspects of our lives.  Some of their principles include: 

• Only Christians get to vote
• Women are inferior to men in all things and should not vote
• Public schools must be eliminated because children must be educated in the NAR’s weird pseudo-christian principles instead.
• Violence for their version of god is acceptable and even encouraged.  They will identify the targets and what should be done about them.
• Their goal is to take over our government at all levels from school boards and town councils to the presidency and our courts.
  

For a branch of this collective, Pennsylvania is where they believe the center of the Christian world is, and they should be in charge.  One of the big proponents of that is a woman.  I guess like the Phyllis Schlafly movement of the Republican anti-abortion actions, this woman thinks she will somehow be the one woman who does not have to be as submissive as all the other women, perhaps even in charge of getting those other women under control.  She would be  the specially anointed one, well, until her usefulness wanes.

This “movement” has been active in some form since the 1950s but has blown up in the past 2 decades, including members of the Tea Party and other right-wing radical groups.  It is clear that Donald Trump is one of their boys, but even if Trump should lose in November, their movement will continue, grabbing power where they can.

One of their proud acolytes is Doug Mastriano.  You might remember him as the Republican candidate for Governor of Pennsylvania in 2022.  He seems to be one of those true believers.

One potential member is J.D. Vance who spoke at a recent Pennsylvania NAR event.  Mike Johnson, our House Speaker says he is inspired by them.  It seems that for both, the power the NAR and its affiliates plan to wield is more than tempting, as it is for other Republican legislators.  Powermongers that they are, they are moving toward full participation since they already hold most of the NAR’s ideas of "governing.”

The group’s precepts come nearly exclusively from the Hebrew Scriptures rather than the Christian gospels and letters.  It seems the leaders are creating a religion that encompasses the things they like and the punishments and controls their brains imagine them doing to others, in the name of god, of course, just like Medieval times and the Inquisition.  In my reading and listening I heard nothing in their message that involves love, being a neighbor, caring for poor and other disadvantaged persons.  Jesus is hardly mentioned, but people on the “left” are being proclaimed as demons and for the NAR cult, it is not a metaphor.

The NAR’s racism is sometimes covered up by their attempts to recruit members and leaders of color.  None of the basic beliefs are impacted in any way by having token others.  Women as mentioned previously are essentially handmaids who bear children for years, raise them, and bow to every male whim.  Yes, it has the hallmarks of a cult, but on a large scale.  Maybe it’s a collection of cults with a similar purpose, which seems to be, “take over government and do whatever you want to those people, while claiming it is for god and naturally, somehow they have god’s ear, a god who is OK with a fascist rule, all white men in charge of course.

Ah, white men are truly terrified of everyone, just as their ancestors were, so want to control everything.  It appears they want to remain toddlers and do as much harm to others as they can while not being harmed at all or held accountable.  Those few women in leadership will take care of every little need for those toddler-men while enduring the disrespect of those toddlers.  Other religious groups have tried this and some made it last for centuries, but the world has changed.

This is just an introduction.  I still don’t know how to effectively address this, but I plan to learn.