It was like any normal Sunday. Families, some calmly, some in hectic hurried chaos, poured into the church. As they checked the kids into Sunday school, they caught up with friends, sharing stories of their week, including difficulties, praises, and prayers. Uplifted worship music sang out over the speakers, while people sipped coffee and prepared their spirits for God’s message.
The peaceful atmosphere of the day was soon disrupted when an usher found a black backpack abandoned in a bathroom stall.The security team organizes, follows procedure and checks the security footage to find a man entering the church, depositing the bag and then leaving.
The congregation, fighting through fear, activated. They called 9-1-1, gathered the children and led them to safety.
The question vivid in each believer’s mind as they reconnect in the safety of the parking lot, “Where is our protection, is it in the law, or in the Lord?”
And while this moment may feel imagined it mirrors a chilling reality. In the fall of 2023, this very fear unfolded across churches in Arizona, California, and Colorado, triggered not by paranoid fantasy, but by the deliberate actions of one man: Zimnako Salah
Between September and November 2023, Zimnako Salah, a 45-year-old man from Phoenix, Arizona, orchestrated a series of bomb hoaxes targeting Christian churches in California, Arizona, and Colorado. He planted black backpacks, designed to resemble explosive devices, inside sanctuaries during Sunday services, triggering evacuations and widespread panic. Although these were dry runs, testing church security, Salah was actively assembling a real bomb in a Colorado storage unit, complete with propane tanks, nails, and wiring.
His motivation was hatred and extremist ideology. Salah consumed radical Islamist propaganda online, including videos of ISIS executions and searches for “infidels dying.” The jury found that he targeted churches specifically because of the Christian faith of their congregants, legally classifying his actions as a hate crime. His goal wasn’t just disruption;it was to intimidate believers, obstruct worship, and instill fear in sacred spaces.
In the aftermath of this event, and others like it, tangled in the statistics of everyday crime and isolated vandalism, Washington steps forward with promises: protection for the Church, and special justice by decree. But when the sanctuary is guarded by Caesar, what becomes of its soul? The White House Faith Office (WHFO) doesn’t merely defend; it defines. It classifies violence, offers favor, and deputizes justice in service of belief. And in doing so, it risks becoming a surrogate god.
John 16:33“In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
At face value, the WHFO’s purpose is to advise the President on faith-related policy concerns, identify and respond to anti-religious bias, expand access to federal grants for faith-based non-profits, coordinate with the DOJ to enforce religious liberty protections, and promote social initiatives. The Office is led by Paula White-Cain, who has faced her fair share of controversy, including investigations into ministry finances, criticism for her theological positions, and political entanglements.
I have been critical of this office before (see my writing at LCI, link at the top of the Blog). Not because I oppose protection for faith communities, but because its design threatens to blur the line between revival and political patronage. This risks turning genuine spiritual concern into state-sponsored favoritism, and, worse still, it has led to military attacks in the name of the church.
The White House Faith Office sorts violence not by severity or motive, but by ideological proximity. Graffiti, threats, bomb hoaxes, even isolated acts of vandalism, can be elevated to systemic bias if they target the favored narrative. And then comes enforcement: through advisory memos, task forces, and DOJ action, justice is deputized, not to restore righteousness, but to fortify religious brand loyalty.
What Do I Mean by brand loyalty?
1. Prioritization of Christian Concerns
- The WHFO was explicitly created to combat “anti-Christian bias”—named in speeches, executive orders, and press releases.
- Other faiths are grouped under “additional forms of anti-religious bias,” signaling a hierarchy of concern.
2. Political Pardons Framed as Religious Defense
- President Trump pardoned 23 anti-abortion activists (these were not non-violent picketing activists, but people that cause injury,and put lives at risk), citing their Christian faith as the reason for clemency.
- This suggests that political alignment with Christian activism is rewarded under the banner of religious liberty.
3. Task Force Composition & Focus
- The Task Force to Eradicate Anti-Christian Bias includes top officials from the DOJ, FBI, and State Department.
- Its mandate is to “halt all forms of anti-Christian targeting”, not all religious targeting. Leaving other groups to wonder if they are protected.
4. Leadership & Theological Leanings
- Paula White-Cain, a prosperity gospel preacher and longtime Trump advisor, leads the WHFO.
- Her appointment sparked backlash even within conservative Christian circles, suggesting the Office reflects a specific theological brand, not broad representation.
5. Cultural Symbolism
- The declaration of Transgender Day of Visibility on Easter Sunday was cited by the WHFO as anti-Christian bias.
- This framing turns symbolic overlap into ideological offense, reinforcing a culture war narrative that appeals to a particular Christian demographic.
The White House Faith Office doesn’t just protect faith, it protects a favored flavor. Its actions suggest not a defense of religious liberty, but a fortification of religious brand loyalty: Christianity as defined by political allegiance, not spiritual conviction.
But what happens when the Church, once a refuge, begins to trust in protection more than providence? In Part II, we’ll examine how this dependence turns justice into idolatry, revealing the surrogate gods we serve and the revival we truly need
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