Cole Allen has been arrested for rushing a security checkpoint at the Washington Hilton during the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner. What he reportedly left was a manifesto that has ignited a fierce conversation about faith and politics.
Scripture Twisted: Reading Politics Into the Bible
According to CBN News, one of the most theologically alarming aspects of the alleged manifesto is Allen’s attempt to justify violence through Christian reasoning.
In one passage, he responds to the objection that Christians should “turn the other cheek,” writing:
Turning the other cheek is for when you yourself are oppressed…I’m not the fisherman executed without trial. Turning the other cheek when someone else is oppressed is not Christian behavior. It is complicity in the oppressor’s crimes.
He also reinterprets the biblical command to “render unto Caesar,” writing:
The United States of America are ruled by the law, not by any one or several people. In so far as representatives and judges do not follow the law, no one is required to yield anything to them.
CBN’s Raj Nair identified the core spiritual danger: “They’re reading their politics into scripture, which is very dangerous. They’re not letting Scripture read into their politics or challenge their perspectives.”
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The Algorithm Problem: How Rage Becomes Religion
Nair placed the manifesto in a broader cultural context — one he believes is being engineered by social media platforms. “We are so siloed, so pigeonholed, so algorithm-ed to death,” he said. “These media personalities get money based off of making you angry, based off of having you keep watching, having you get clicks and shares.”
He warned that this cycle pushes people toward increasingly extreme voices while shutting out opposing viewpoints entirely — a process that can prove spiritually catastrophic. “When you’ve gone down that rabbit hole of just allowing yourself to hear one thing, you will read politics into Scripture and not let Scripture challenge your perspectives,” he explained.
His remedy is intentional engagement with the other side: “I intentionally don’t defriend people I disagree with. I intentionally read their perspectives so that my opinions and thoughts can be challenged — which makes them more thorough.”
The Cost of Rage: A Heartbreaking Confession
Co-host Billy Hallowell found what he described as the most tragic element in the document — a moment of raw, self-aware grief buried inside the manifesto:
And if anyone is curious how doing something like this feels, it’s awful. I want to throw up. I want to cry — for all the things I wanted to do and never will. For all the people whose trust this betrays. I experience rage thinking about everything this administration has done.
“That is heartbreaking,” Hallowell said. “You’re willing to betray everybody’s trust because you are so angry.” He connected this to a pattern that has now, he argued, produced multiple attempts on the life of the president. “The rhetoric on one side has, it seems, inspired repeatedly numerous people to try and take the life of the president. And this is the latest example of that.”
A Call for Discernment — and Responsibility
Both commentators agreed that the solution begins in the church. “Ask God for discernment,” Nair urged. “Really make sure that you’re asking the Holy Spirit to reveal truth, to give perspective — because when you have people that are predators on our own political leanings, this is the end result.”
Hallowell called it a cultural responsibility that transcends party lines: “When you make people so panicked, so afraid, so scared that if this person is elected, your entire life will implode — this is the end result of what that does in some people’s hearts and minds. We have to grapple with this as a culture.”
Abby Trivett is a writer and editor for Charisma Media and has a passion for sharing the gospel through the written word. She holds two degrees from Regent University, a B.A. in Communication with a concentration in Journalism and a Master of Arts in Journalism. She is the author of the upcoming book, The Power of Suddenly: Discover How God Can Change Everything in a Moment. For interviews and media inquiries, please contact [email protected].
