When the Social Gospel Replaces the True Gospel: A Biblical Critique of Mariann Budde's Inaugural Sermon Monday, January 20th, 2025, at the National Cathedral Washington D.C. by Dallas Reese
I know this blog is supposed to be about my family history. But my family history is steeped in the Christian faith. And I believe good theology is essential. Faith in my family runs deep and is tied to my family’s history on both my mother's and father's sides. I would not be true to my family's history if I did not comment on my convictions. There were many ministers in my bloodlines who preached the true Gospel of Jesus Christ with conviction. Their memory calls to me. My salvation drives me. And my duty as a believer compels me to speak. It’s simple: the truth of Christ must be shared. The Word of God is not something to hoard but to give freely. So, I press on, doing what Christians are called to do—go and make disciples, carrying the Gospel into every corner of the world. Even if it's a tiny corner, my voice isn't that loud. Well, it is deafening in person, just not online. Lol.
For those who might have missed it, the 47th President's inauguration occurred this past Monday January 20th before the swearing-in ceremony at noon. Donald Trump, along with his family, Vice-President J.D. Vance, and his family, attended the morning service at the National Cathedral(An Episcopal Church) in Washington D.C. This service has been a long-standing tradition for U.S. Presidents, dating back to George Washington in 1789. But, it's important to note that back then, the Episcopal Diocese of North America was not in a state of apostasy.
In 1789, the Episcopal Church in America was deeply rooted in the Anglican tradition brought from England. It was the established church in South Carolina until the American Revolution when Presbyterians, Baptists, and Methodists briefly upended it for its association with and support of the British monarchy. After the war, it somewhat disassociated itself with England and formed the Episcopal Diocese of America for political expediency.
But the Anglican Episcopal Church of North America did one thing right and true back then. It adhered to the historic Christian creeds, the authority of the Bible, and the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Its clergy preached salvation through Christ alone, the necessity of repentance, and the life-changing power of God’s grace. Services were marked by reverence, doctrinal clarity, and a commitment to the truth of the Bible. The church shaped the early American moral and spiritual foundation by encouraging members to live under God’s sovereign rule while promoting Christian virtue.
Fast forward to 2025, and the contrast is stark. The Episcopal Church of North America has abandoned many of the foundational truths of Christianity. It has embraced the tenets of secular humanism, reducing the Gospel to a message of social activism and inclusivity without the cross of Christ. The church’s leadership often prioritizes cultural relevance over biblical fidelity, leading to theological compromise on core doctrines. Issues such as the exclusivity of Christ for salvation, the authority of Scripture, and the definition of marriage and gender have been redefined to align with societal trends rather than the Word of God. The trend started as far back as the 1960s, got worse in the 70s, and then blew up like a bad disease in the 80s, 90s, and 2000s until churches started leaving, parishioners deserted them for more orthodox traditions and the church, which 100 years prior had been the largest protestant denomination in the world became a den of iniquity full of those who pretend to be Christians but aren't, at least biblically. These changes are the reason I left the Episcopal Church for the Anglican Church of North America. We broke away from the heresy of the Episcopal Church for a more orthodox and biblically authoritative approach. And I'm glad I did.
Why? Because the shift the Episcopal Church has gone through in the past 40-50 years is not merely changing liturgies or modernizing worship styles. It is a departure from the Gospel itself. The Episcopal Church of 2025 often promotes what Paul warned against in 2 Timothy 4:3-4: "For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths."
This apostasy is evident in sermons like this inaugural one from the Reverend Mariann Edgar Budde (Bishop of the Diocese of Washington and Maryland), emphasizing human unity and social justice while remaining silent on sin, repentance, and the need for salvation through Christ. The once-bold proclamation of Jesus as the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6) has been replaced by vague affirmations of spiritual diversity and interfaith harmony. But without understanding the apostasy of the Episcopal Church, one can't possibly understand how bad Monday's message from Reverend Mariann Edgar Budde really was.
In many ways, the Episcopal church where I was married (St. James Episcopal in Hendersonville, North Carolina) and the entire Episcopal Church of North America has become a hollow shell of its former self—retaining its rituals but denying the power of the Gospel (2 Timothy 3:5).
In the early days of our United States of America, when many of our Presidents proclaimed the Episcopal faith, including George Washington, James Madison, James Monroe, William Henry Harrison, John Tyler, Zachery Taylor, and more, the church was true. Throughout the first 200 years of our republic, the Episcopal Church was steadfast in its belief and preached the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Fast forward 250 years and a significant departure has occurred. The church has strayed from its core doctrines of Christianity. It is now immersed in a social gospel that denies the true Gospel of Jesus Christ and is filled with secular humanist post-modern rationalizations, denials, and scorn for the authentic Gospel of Jesus Christ. Knowing this is important so you'll understand why the message from Reverend Budde at this week's inauguration service was so bad.
The recent buzz online over the past week has been about this sermon delivered by the Right(or should I say Wrong) Reverend Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde at the inauguration service. She directly addressed President Trump and, in the gentlest manner possible, condemned and scolded the President(without actually being mean) and attempted to promote a social gospel instead of the TRUE Gospel of Jesus Christ. Let's set aside the politics because that is NOT my concern. It does NOT matter who you voted for. What matters is WHAT was SAID in this church service.
So, I will focus on the poor theology and immoral doctrine of Reverend Budde. I took the initiative to download the video of the entire service and transcribe the sermon so I could listen to it and look at the words on a printed sheet of paper. And thus, here's my assessment from a biblical Christian viewpoint. It's important to note that, from a biblical standpoint, Budde's teachings are heretical, and her church is in a state of apostasy.
The core issue of Reverend Mariann Edgar Budde's message: the sermon lacks the central message of the Gospel
The Gospel of Jesus Christ is fundamentally about salvation through faith in Jesus' life, death, and resurrection. It centers on humanity's sin, God's grace, and the necessity of repentance and faith for reconciliation with God (Romans 3:23-25, Ephesians 2:8-9).
Budde's sermon is notably silent on the topics of sin, salvation, the cross, or Christ's role as Savior. Instead, it predominantly discusses human actions (unity, love, and mutual respect) as the solution to societal problems. This shift in focus from the redemptive work of Christ to human effort is a hallmark of the social Gospel. Such a theological approach prioritizes addressing societal issues over spiritual salvation, a dangerous deviation from the true Gospel.
Secondly, Budde frames Unity as the "Solid Rock" instead of Christ.
Budde says, "Unity...is the solid rock, as Jesus said, in this case, upon which to build a nation."
The biblical issue here is that Jesus explicitly identifies Himself as the "solid rock" (Matthew 7:24-27, 1 Corinthians 3:11). The foundation for a flourishing nation, community, or individual life is not unity or societal harmony but a relationship with Christ. By promoting unity as the "solid rock," Budde's sermon distorts Jesus' teaching and replaces Christ's proper foundation with a human-centered ideal. That's one of the many theological errors she made in this sermon.
You might not think it so severe. You'll say to yourself. Yeah, but she was preaching a message of mercy, tolerance, and love. But the theological implications are enormous. She diminishes Christ's supremacy and makes unity an idol. Apart from the truth of God's Word, unity cannot be the ultimate solution.
In the case of this sermon, Budde is complaining about a culture of contempt in America. But why does the contempt happen? Why is America polarized? Because of different worldviews. One is biblical, one is secular, and they clash like two opposite civilizations. And it will continue until all believe and realize that unity without truth is biblically problematic.
The sermon promotes unity that "encompasses and respects our differences" and "enables us to care for one another even when we disagree." While this sounds noble, it lacks a foundation in objective truth.
From a biblical perspective, true Christian unity is not based on tolerance of all perspectives but on shared faith in Christ and obedience to His Word (John 17:20-23, Ephesians 4:3-6). Apart from the objective truth of God's divine revelation in the Bible, unity is superficial and cannot lead to genuine peace or transformation. Did I mention they allowed a reading from the Quran in this service? And there was a Jewish call to faith. Jews are the chosen, but they must accept Christ as the Messiah. The gist of this service was utterly antithetical to Christ's message. John 14: 6 & 7 says, Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on, you do know him and have seen him."
The Bible warns against compromising truth for unity (2 Corinthians 6:14-15, Galatians 1:6-9). Christians are called to unite around the truth of the Gospel, not around vague notions of community that disregard God's standards. And they tried to promote unity by representing every bit of humanity in this service. Sadly, they forgot to define and present God, the most important, the sovereign creator of the universe, and the most holy.
Budde's emphasizes works over faith.
Mariann Budde asserts, "God is never impressed with prayers when they do not inform actions, nor does God spare us from the consequences of our deeds, which always, in the end, matter more than the words we pray."
But here's the biblical issue: while it is true that faith without works is dead (James 2:17), works are the fruit of salvation, not the means of it (Ephesians 2:10, Titus 3:5). This statement implies a works-based approach to righteousness. It disregards the power of grace through faith in Christ.
The focus on human deeds rather than God's grace risks leading people to believe they can earn God's favor through moral or societal actions.
Another major error I uncovered in this sermon. Rev. Mariann Budde misapplied Jesus' Teachings
I almost fell out of my chair when Budde improperly referenced Jesus' Sermon on the Mount (e.g., loving enemies, being merciful, forgiving others) to support the call for unity.
In a biblical context, these commands are given to those already part of God's kingdom and intended to reflect Christ's character. They are not prescriptions for societal harmony apart from the Gospel.
The Sermon on the Mount begins with the Beatitudes, emphasizing spiritual poverty, mourning over sin, and a hunger for righteousness (Matthew 5:3-6). The call to love and mercy flows from a heart transformed by the Gospel, not from mere human goodwill.
Budde falsely promotes a "Common Good" approach in this sermon, which won't work.
Budde's focus on the "common good" and societal flourishing without grounding it in God's redemptive plan makes unbelievers think there's a horizontal gospel focused on human relationships rather than the vertical Gospel that reconciles humanity to God. This deceives everybody in that room, including the many who watched on the internet and television.
What is the biblical issue? Well, it's this. We Christians are called to love our neighbors and seek the welfare of our communities (Jeremiah 29:7, Matthew 22:39); these acts are secondary to the primary mission of proclaiming the Gospel (Matthew 28:19-20). Addressing societal issues without pointing people to Christ is incomplete and ultimately powerless to address the root problem of sin. This is a significant faultline causing heresy in not only in Episcopal churches but also in many so-called evangelical and prosperity gospel churches in the U.S. today and so-called mainline denominations that have turned from the Bible (Presbyterian Church USA, The United Methodist Church, and more)
This sermon from Budde represents the social Gospel and NOT the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Budde shifts the focus from Christ's redemptive work to human unity, love, and deeds. While these themes are important, they are not the Gospel.
Theologically, the sermon:
Minimizes the centrality of Christ.
Redefines the "solid rock" as unity rather than Jesus.
Promotes unity without truth, which is unbiblical.
Emphasizes works over grace.
The Bible warns against compromising truth for inclusivity (Galatians 1:6-9, 2 Corinthians 6:14-15).
Budde's contradictions within her message are dangerous. They deceive people. They falsely point people to the wrong conclusions and they are heretical. Budde undermined Jesus' exclusive claims by invoking Jesus' teachings but then tried to include all other faiths by endorsing a pluralistic approach to truth and faith. I say to Mariann Edgar Budde if you don't believe Christ is the way, truth, and life, get out of the pulpit and don't preach a false gospel. It's as easy as that. And she (through her own words) is telling us she does not believe nor care if we believe in the gospel of Jesus Christ, which is sad. She could be a positive force for good if only she would share the objective truth of God, the sovereign creator of the universe. But she won't. And that is the problem.
And I didn't even consider that Reverend Budde completely contradicts herself when she tries to give three points for unity. Her first point for unity is, "The first foundation for unity is honoring the inherent dignity of every human being." Here, she is referencing the concept of Imago Dei. But she doesn't believe it. She's on record for supporting abortion, which is murder. (because it is the official position of her church, The Episcopal Church of North America). This completely contradicts the position of Genesis that all are created in the image of God and worthy of dignity. (Genesis 1:26-27) Biologically, human life begins at conception, so therefore, we should HONOR that life and not kill it. I don't even need the Bible to argue against abortion. We can do that from a completely separate secular scientific viewpoint and still prove her wrong and that her message was hypocritical if she is truly a Christian(which I don't believe she is)
The fact that the Episcopal Church tried to make this an interfaith-inclusive service to include everyone who doesn't believe in the God of the Bible belies the fact that none of them are Christians because they are denying Jesus. And they deny objective biblical truth outside of my mere opinions. My opinions don't matter. What matters is the truth of God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. But to some who say they believe it won't matter anyway because they're denying Christ three times before the cock crows. Peter did the same thing. I don't think anybody at the Cathedral on Monday was brave enough to stand up and call out the minister's bad theology for denial of Christ's valid and authentic message. But if I had been there, you can bet I would have stood up, spoken out, and probably been arrested. But I would have been speaking the truth of the biblical message. And for that, I'll sacrifice all. That's why I'm here. To set the record straight theologically from a layman's perspective.
A faithful Gospel message must confront sin, point to Christ's atoning sacrifice, and call people to repentance and faith. Without these elements, the sermon becomes a social or political commentary rather than a proclamation of the saving power of Jesus Christ. And that's all this was. And that's fine, and well, if you're NOT calling it a church service. But they did, and that's wrong. But what else would you expect from a church that long ago walked away from Christ?
If you'd like to listen to the entire sermon from Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde at the National Cathedral Service on Monday, January 20, 2025, before the inauguration of Donald Trump, here it is.
I welcome your comments, criticisms, theological discussion, doctrinal questions, or concerns. Email: dallasreese@zoho.com
In Christ
Dallas Reese
January 23, 2025
Kommentare