A sad feature in many (most?) contemporary (usually) conservative Christian communities is how comfortable they are ‘punching down’ on marginalized people groups. It’s the norm.
LGBTQ2+SI folks. Trans folks specifically. Queer folks especially during Pride Month. DEI/Christian Nationalist (white supremacist) embracement that tacitly vilifies Black, Brown, and Indigenous folks. Ableist worldviews that disparage and exclude disabled folks. Disdain for women and their autonomy (abortion). Championing ‘family values’ that promote authoritarian cultures that harm children. The list goes on….
Punching down is a defining characteristic that describes identity and function. It’s a characteristic that flows from community groups that define themselves by what or who they stand against, rather than what they are for. This is an identifiable feature for what it means to be ‘conservative’ today.
Conservatives have long organized themselves by creating ‘in-groups and out-groups’. Ideological preferences spill into personal identity where participation in the ‘in-group’ is no longer about upholding particular value sets, it requires a committed demonstration of personal identity linked to a set of ideological preferences. This would include vilifying ‘out-groups’ as a mechanism to demonstrate one’s convictions.
Because evangelical traditions lack deep theological history (the Scandal of the Evangelical Mind anyone?) and as such are easier to shape. Belief systems can quickly shift to accommodate walking alongside political persuasions that promise social power. But in order to function, there must always be an ‘enemy’. For churches, a constant pariah to focus parishioner activities. This posture echoes conservative political movements—which are virtually identical to the religious one—that are pushing further right like a freight train without any brakes, by appealing to identity politics embedded into individual personhood.
But for Christians, ‘punching down’ is decidedly anti-Christ.’
Which is to say, it counters the teachings of Jesus, specifically one of the most foundational teachings: the last shall be first.
Found in the Gospels (Matthew 20), and echoed throughout the entirety of scripture, the last shall be first and the first last, is a central Christian teaching that outlines the how Jesus followers ought to show up in the world.
This doesn’t imply that Christians, churches, even whole denominations actually follow the teachings. Many do not. Even many of the most popular churches and influencers/pastors would fail this litmus test.
We can indeed learn something from the posture of Jesus and his activities—how he showed up in the world. He was punching, but he was punching UP. Jesus routinely had the harshest critiques for the established institutions, the religious elite, the empire. When we came out swinging, he was tearing down malformed power structure above him to alleviate the suffering of those beneath.
This is a stark contrast to churches who consistently posture their activities and beliefs surrounding who they can run roughshod over. Who they can willfully malign. Who are on the outskirts and can be pushed further into obscurity.
So that’s the test. You can determine whether or not your community is reflecting the character and value sets of Jesus by asking, “am I (are we) punching up, or punching down?”?