It’s Saturday, August 2, 2025.
Today’s edition covers a pastor’s take on Christians’ role in politics after the U.S. sanctions a Brazilian supreme court judge, the pivotal role of music in the Protestant Reformation, and much more.
“Stop regarding man in whose nostrils is breath, for of what account is he?” (Isaiah 2:22)
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Of Christian Concern
WHAT REACTIONS TO U.S. SANCTIONS AGAINST A BRAZILIAN SUPREME COURT JUSTICE MEAN FOR CHRISTIANS: BRAZILIAN PASTOR
Brazilian supreme court justice Alexandre de Moraes (Photo: Palácio do Planalto, cropped / CC BY 2.0)
The United States sanctioned Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes on Wednesday for human rights violations, and Pastor Rodrigo Mocellin took the opportunity to highlight how Christians should (and should not) approach politics.
The Sanction of Moraes, Explained
The sanction of Moraes comes under the Magnitsky Act, which enables the U.S. government to impose significant limitations on foreign individuals, including freezing their assets that are under U.S. jurisdiction, banning them from entering the U.S., and prohibiting any transactions with U.S. entities or financial institutions, including card payment services like Visa, MasterCard, etc. Plus, non-U.S. institutions that continue to have transactions with the individual are liable for secondary sanctions, which disincentivizes doing business with a sanctioned person.
Moraes’s human rights abuses, according to the U.S. Treasury, include “target[ing] opposition politicians, including former President Jair Bolsonaro; journalists; newspapers; U.S. social media platforms; and other U.S. and international companies.” Bolsonaro, who is on trial for allegations of attempting a coup d'état, has been under house arrest and banned from using social media since July 18.
How Christians Shouldn’t Approach Politics
Mocellin, a pastor in São Paulo and popular YouTuber, posted a video reacting to the news. After explaining and celebrating the measure, he sharply criticized another pastor who declared that he stands in solidarity with Moraes, that Brazil should protect him, and that the people of Brazil have “the responsibility to make him feel supported.”
Cover image of Mocellin’s YouTube video. (Screenshot: Pastor Rodrigo Mocellin / YouTube)
Mocellin then also criticized other pastors who are not as absurd but are too lenient, saying things like, “Let’s see what will happen. Let’s wait another 72 hours.” According to Mocellin, this passive attitude towards politics is common among Christians, and it's a problem. “Ah, I don't want to involve myself,” he summarizes their position, “because emotionally I can become sad.” Later in the video, he mocks this passivity.
Why is it, is it not, that many Christians are so passive? Some do this out of cowardice, others out of laziness, but others out of theology—out of a bad theology: ‘Oh, we are so preoccupied with heaven. Oh, we are not concerned with the things of this world,’ they say. It seems so spiritual. Lie. This has nothing spiritual about it. So, go to the monastery, then, my son! Why work? Why? To rest is a thing of this world. To eat picanha? It’s a thing of this world! A thing of this earth! Why [are you doing] this? Go to the monastery! Live on only bread and water!
They won’t do it, right?
Mocellin notes that many injustices are tolerated by such passivity.
How Christians Should Approach Politics
How then should Christians approach politics? Mocellin observes that politicians are not very active, and, “The population is who should be more active. The population is who should move the parliamentarians.”
He describes his perception, after speaking with parliamentarians: “A good part of them do not even know what they’re doing.” Even those of them who are good and intelligent are busy attending to people the entire day, so they “do not even have time to sit, lean back, think in an intellectual manner about something, about a project…”
So, he concludes,
It is we ourselves who should arrive there and say, “It’s like this. You all represent us. So, here it is. Represent this.” And this is what they have to represent. We, the people, have to pressure this crowd.
If they do not represent the people they are there to represent, they should be made to fear losing their position. “They live off votes,” Mocellin remarks.
As an example, he relates how he has spoken to politicians at the federal and local levels about homeschooling (which is currently illegal in Brazil), and even the good politicians “did not even understand how it works, what it was. And there we were: ‘It’s like this, it works like this.’ It is we who have to help them.”
He then issued a warning:
Listen carefully. The militant left, which has so much space today—it does exactly this. They do not vote the guy in and forget the guy there. They pressure [him] to defend their interests. And that’s what the people really need to do.
Mocellin reminded his audience, “True faith, it materializes itself as works.”
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Also Noteworthy
→ Speaking of Latin America, Argentinian President Javier Milei signed a measure that “officially [recognizes] non-Catholic religious organisations as ‘religious legal entities’ across the country,” reports Evangelical Focus. This development comes after more than three decades of evangelicals seeking the measure.
→ Curious American statistics, juxtaposed:
Almost two out of three Americans think abortion should be legal, according to a new AP-NORC poll. The report reveals, “Sixty-four percent say abortion should be legal in all (25%) or most (38%) cases, while 36% think the procedure should be banned in all (9%) or most (27%) cases.”
Almost two out of three Americans (63%) “hold an unfavorable view of the Democratic Party,” according to a new Wall Street Journal poll.
Just over one out of three American adults (36%) have a great deal (20%) or quite a lot (26%) of confidence in the church or organized religion, according to a new Gallup poll measuring American confidence in U.S. institutions. This figure is up from 32% in 2022 and down from 66% in 1973, when Gallup first took the survey.
→ Florida is the state with the greatest religious liberty, according to a new report from the Center for Religion, Culture & Democracy. West Virginia is ranked as last place. See where your state ranks here.
→ Brent Leatherwood resigned as president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission. Unlike the false alarm last year, it's real this time. The response has been mixed, reflecting the divide in the SBC, with some celebrating his presidency and others celebrating his departure.
→ Religious expression is protected in the federal workplace, according to a memorandum published by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management on Monday. Agencies must allow employees to keep Bibles or other religious items at their desks, wear crosses and clothes with religious messages, politely proselytize their fellow employees during a break (as long as the other employee does not ask them to stop), and more.
Content Catch-Up
Recent notable content of Christian interest.*
Screenshot: Pastor Cody Watson’s Substack article.
→ “It Ain’t Boring, You Just Don’t See It!”: Pastor Cody Watson expounds on deep and glorious truths hinted at in a famous quip by baseball Hall of Famer Leo Durocher: “Baseball is a lot like church — many attend, few understand.” (Article)
→ “The Worst Day of My Life”: Christian apologist and diagnosed psychopath David Wood tells a story from his past in a bid to offer some personal advice to Muslim apologist Mohammed Hijab, who has recently been exposed for abusive behavior. (Video)
→ “It All Makes Sense Now”: Jon McCray of the YouTube channel “Whaddo You Meme??” evaluates the recent viral moment when Christian podcaster George Janko pressed popular psychologist Jordan Peterson about why he hesitates to call himself a Christian. McCray presents an insight from a conversation he once had with Peterson over dinner. (Video)
*Not necessarily an endorsement
Church History Tidbit
Music in the Protestant Reformation
Martin Luther played the lute. (Photo: Talie79 / Pixabay)
Music played a pivotal role in the Protestant Reformation (1517–1648) and its lasting impact, serving as a tool for worship, education, and cultural identity. Its significance stems from the reformers’ emphasis on congregational participation, vernacular language, and spreading theological ideas. Below is a concise overview of its role during the Reformation and its enduring influence:
Congregational Singing and Vernacular Hymns
Martin Luther’s Contribution: Luther, the father of the Reformation, viewed music as a divine gift, second only to theology: “Next to the Word of God, music deserves the highest praise. … But any who remain unaffected [by music] are clodhoppers indeed and are fit to hear only the words of dung-poets and the music of pigs.” He composed and promoted hymns in German, such as A Mighty Fortress Is Our God, to make worship accessible to laypeople. His chorales were simple, memorable, and rooted in scripture, encouraging active participation.
Vernacular Emphasis: Unlike the Latin chants of the Catholic Church, Protestant hymns used local languages, aligning with the Reformation’s focus on accessibility and personal engagement with faith. This democratized worship and fostered community.
Theological Education:
Hymns served as a vehicle for teaching doctrine. Luther and others wrote lyrics that encapsulated Protestant beliefs, like justification by faith, making complex theology memorable for the illiterate.
For example, Lutheran hymns often contrasted grace with Catholic practices like indulgences, reinforcing reformist ideas.
Polemical Tool: Music was a propaganda tool, with songs spreading Reformation ideas and critiquing Catholic practices. Street ballads and hymns rallied support for the movement, often set to familiar folk tunes for wider appeal.
Other Reformers:
John Calvin: Calvin was more cautious, limiting music to metrical psalms (e.g., the Genevan Psalter), rejecting elaborate polyphony to focus on scripture-based simplicity. This shaped Reformed (Calvinist) worship traditions.
Huldrych Zwingli: Zwingli was skeptical of music’s role, banning it in worship in Zurich, though his followers later embraced psalmody.
Musical Developments
The Reformation spurred new musical forms, like the Lutheran chorale, which combined folk melodies with sacred texts. These influenced later composers like Johann Sebastian Bach.
Printing technology aided hymn dissemination, with hymnals becoming widely available.
Conclusion
Music during the Protestant Reformation was a transformative force, enabling worship, education, and cultural expression. Luther’s chorales, Calvin’s psalms, and subsequent hymnody shaped Protestant identity and left a lasting legacy in sacred and secular music.
Written with Grok.
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