Andrew Towl prays with Gov. Bill Lee during the 2022 campaign event. (Photo: John Partipilo)

25 years ago – I was a youth pastor at the Southern Baptist Church, which is easy to describe as another life. From abortion to same-sex marriage, I knew all of Cherry Pick’s poems to support my personal views.

That year, I voted for George W. Bush in the first presidential election where I was allowed to vote. Four years later, I left SBC completely and voted for John Kelly.

What has changed?

After the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, a surge in politics began to swirl from my church pulpit, a toxic mix of ideology and the Bible. Until then, whatever the naive political beliefs I came from my belief system. It was misguided, the system was my own.

One Sunday, my pastor looked up to Fox News to buttress the points about a particular social issue and draw a line. The “compassionate conservatism” supported by the Bush presidency has begun to bondage. Something was being spoiled. Basic Christianity was weaponized, so I didn’t want a part of it.

Comparatively speaking, they were good times.

Since Governor Bill Lee was elected in 2018, he has spoken consistently about how his personal beliefs affect his decision-making. He proudly did an epic show signing laws that reinforce Christian ideas (see the Adult Entertainment Act of 2023 and the Heartbeat Bill of 2020). SB 1304 2020) and prevents LGBTQ+ children from being raised by their families if they choose to do so under the Tennessee Foster Parents and Adoption Protection Act of 2024.

Recently, Lee may have committed his most clever crime. This violated Faust’s promise to help President Donald Trump crack down on undocumented immigration by creating a centralized immigration enforcement unit and “supporting moving forward with his (Trump) strategy.”

Tennessee’s “human smuggling” bill heads to the governor’s desk

Did Lee imagine the South Nashville racial profiling dragnet when he made that promise?

In early May, the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, along with support from the Tennessee Highway Patrol, carried out a traffic stop in the area of ​​Nashville, where immigrants are heavy. Witnesses observed the vehicle stopped and people were in custody. When the dust settled, nearly 200 immigrants with no permanent legal status were arrested.

mother. father. Children. Did all 200 people have a violent criminal history? Has each individual arrested a legitimate threat to their community? Anyone with common sense knows the answer to those questions.

State GOP lawmakers and the federal level were attacked when Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell condemned the ice attack. House Republicans in Washington have announced a federal investigation into O’Connell. Senator Marsha Blackburn pleaded with the Department of Justice to investigate the matter. Based on O’Connell’s remarks, Border Czar Tom Homan threatened more attacks.

As he tends to do so, Lee remained silent and conspired with the mixed chaos.

Three years ago, after the tragedy of the Covenant School mass shooting, Lee called for a special legislative meeting to address the state’s loose firearms regulations. That was one of the few times Lee pushed a little away from his political bully’s super joity. Nothing happened except Lee was sleeping from the public spotlight and muting herself from the correct self-preservation.

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I met Lee twice. He spoke to the students, really heard their ideas and took photos. In my very limited time with him, I left believing that he really cared about people on a personal level. The people I spoke to him say he is a good guy, but I don’t doubt that.

But when you grab your political wagon to a Christian brand bastarded by a powerful group of people plagued by power-haunted people, your personal witness will automatically fade. When you set up a system within your state that allows innocent children to be hurt, people are discriminated against and families torn apart, there may be a time when you stop leaning heavily towards Christian rhetoric to advance your political causes.

Recently I have moved my toes back into the faith community. You can say that you test the water. Ironically, most of my core beliefs about politics and mankind were shaped in my time in the church by the actual teachings of Jesus Christ. He had strong ideas about such a powerful political structure as Tennessee had. He also had a very specific language about the ways in which the vulnerable people in society should be treated, especially foreigners.

“I was hungry, you put me in jail, so I was thirsty and you confiscated my water,

I was a stranger, but you arrested me… what you did for one of my siblings, you did for me. ”

hang on. sorry. It must have come from the Trump translation, not the King James version.

Faith in everything is a highly respected and personal matter, but when that faith is used as an operating weapon to promote a political agenda, it becomes blasphemous.

Our leaders should act like O’Connell, and like Lee, putting humanity on legitimate justice.