I have seen several posts over the last few days that point out, or comment on, the Christianity of Renee Good’s assassin Jonathan Ross. I think that some have done this to point out the apostasy, heresy, & hypocrisy of Christians murdering civilians by shooting them in the face.
But more often, the point in pointing out his faith & religious identity seems to be a “gotcha” about the ways in which Ross (& his propagandists JD Vance & Kristi Noem) fully embody the “white Christian nationalism” which has fully fused itself with the domination-system of powers & principalities, against which the Bible urges us to wage spiritual war in Ephesians, chapter six. For real, y’all, I can think of no more accurate way to describe the ICE gangs & their gangsters in charge than as “the wiles of the devil” because these “rulers” & “authorities” are as far as I can discern, the deputized agents for “the cosmic powers of this present darkness.”
But in shooting a middle-aged Mom in the face, Ross did not just kill a civilian. Renee was not just a civilian. Renee was a fellow citizen. Renee was also Ross’s sister in Christ.
Maybe many of the posts & poems & passionate podcasts & protests that I have witnessed have not fully processed the fact that Renee Good was a Christian & a Presbyterian at that. Maybe some on the left have not heard about this or maybe some are even a little embarrassed by it. But with the Presbyterians she did not just go to church sometimes. As a young woman, she participated in Presbyterian missions as part of the peace movement in Northern Ireland, a place where a civil war between Christian factions devastated communities for decades.
Renee Good was, from all accounts, good. In an official statement, her grieving widow Becca Good explained that Renee was a Christian who “knew that all religions teach the same essential truth: we are here to love each other, care for each other, and keep each other safe and whole.”
In describing her slain spouse, the other Mrs. Good eulogized: “Renee sparkled. She literally sparkled. I mean, she didn’t wear glitter, but I swear she had sparkles coming out of her pores. All the time. You might think it was just my love talking, but her family said the same thing. Renee was made of sunshine.”
It’s no secret that the Christian right in the United States really leaned into the martyrdom of Charlie Kirk as a cause for evangelism & even calls for greater Christian unity on the Christian right. Kirk’s funeral was a national state-sponsored worship service.
But what about us in the equivalent of America’s “confessing church” today, what about us on the so-called Christian left? When we “say her name.” can we also say the name of the one that kindled her inner light of sparkles & sunshine. We can, & I believe we must; we claim Renee Good as a Christian martyr in that same hallowed lineage as Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Martin Luther King, & Oscar Romero.
Let us not mumble or mince words.
Let’s not fall over ourselves to downplay our faith in the resurrected Christ in the fight against ICE & the American fascist regime.
Let’s not be ashamed of the gospel.
Renee Good radiated the contagious love of Jesus Christ & that love is what brought her to bear witness to the profound violation of her community that is a military occupation by an unauthorized & unAmerican army, dubiously deputized to promote fear & division.
I wrote these words this morning because they were so strong on my heart, that I wanted to honor & name her ministry & her last words: “That’s fine dude, I am not mad at you.” Would you please join me in celebrating the spirit of Christ in our sister Renee, who is now with our Lord Jesus Christ & the great communion of saints.
Would you also please join me in praying for the conversion of the active employees of ICE & pray for their supporters, that they might be converted in a manner not unlike the centurion at the foot of the cross, that they might be converted to renounce evil & lay down their weapons & join the Beloved Community in the ways of compassion & empathy, even sunshine & sparkles, that are the way of Christ.
We know that sunshine melts ice. Might we all be converted & warmed by the inner sunshine of Christ that Renee Good radiated & sparkled, that we might lay down our weapons & melt the cold-hearted war that divides & fractures & destroys our fragile communities, country, & world.
-Andrew Sunfrog
before dawn on12 January 2025
