Christianity and Trump
11/04/20 08:05 PM
Christianity and Trump
Whether we are Christian, Muslim, Jewish or something else, a common tenant of faith communities is to be faithful to something greater than ourselves, not to place ourselves as supreme. Parents of all beliefs try to teach their children to believe this. Donald Trump has exploited certain Christian groups in unprecedented ways and in-so-doing has exposed the hypocrisy of trading Christ for power. I try to be a Christian, so I will comment in that context, but other religious traditions can make similar observations.
If we are really, truly Christian, we try to teach our children to love and follow Christ. The prophet, Micah (6:8) writes that the Lord requires only this: “to act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with your God” (NIV). John says that “Whoever does not love, does not know God, because God is Love.”- 1 John 4:8. God is Love, not hate. Peter said that all things that are excellent and good are of God. Paul had a lot to say. We are not “some of Peter and some of Paul and some of Apollos,” no we are ALL of one God (and He requires that we respect others who seek God from different traditions). We are all sinners, deserving one awful fate but hoping for a better one. None of us can “be of Christ” and also “be of” an avowed demagogue. Judas Iscariot was a member of a political sect called the Zealots. The Zealots were, well, zealous about having political power over the Romans and would do anything to get it.
Judas followed Jesus when he thought Jesus was seeking an earthly, political revolution, but when he saw that this was not the plan, he betrayed him. Any of us who abandon Christ and HIS teachings in favor of one who promises political power in exchange for loyalty is taking the road of Judas. There is no middle ground. Christ’s way, God the Father’s way, is love not hatred.
For some, Christianity has truly meant following Christ’s example of love and grace. For others, the “Christian” mantle is merely a vehicle for advancing a quest for power or preserving the pre-eminence of a white, rural, unevenly educated majority. They have sold out Jesus in favor of political power through Trump. Paul said that “they will know we are Christians by our love”. No real Christian could have anything to do with Trump’s doctrine of fear and hatred. No real Christian would ever lock a child in a cage away from his or her mother and father in order to “Make America Great Again”. If one claims allegiance to Christ, taking this path is an admission of apostacy. People in America who identify themselves as “Christian” need to consider that voting for such a person as Trump has something to do with their soul and salvation.
Jesus gave us the prescription for our lives in The Lord’s Prayer. God is God, and he has a paternal relationship with us. He is in heaven, which is a place, a place that is perfect in peace and forgiveness, and love. He is “holy” which means that he alone is Him. He isn’t a perfect example of love or power, or anything else. Those things exist because they come from Him, not He from them. We pray that His kingdom might come here to earth, a fallen place, not perfect like heaven. The Kingdom comes to the extent that we bring it by following the Father’s will and Christ’s example of love and forgiveness and mercy, and faith. We ask God the Father to gives us just what we need to get through the day and to forgive us for more or less continually making mistakes, “trespassing” upon his will, trying to take things into our hands instead of his. The condition for this is that we do the same for others, including others who don’t look or act like us, who don’t approach God in the manner that we do. We are not all of Peter, or Paul, or Apollos, or Mohammad, or Abraham, or Pope Francis, or the Dalai Lama, or Franklin Graham, or Jerry Falwell, or Trump, or Barney the big, purple dinosaur. We are all of God, who simply is whether we acknowledge His existence or not.
Paul also helps with understanding God’s love, but he has more to say about what it isn’t than what it is. It’s interesting that Paul knew the importance of confronting our urge to pull others down more than to help them up. From 1 Corinthians:13, “Love is patient and kind”. Yes, good start. But what is it not? “It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others. It is not self-seeking. It is not easily angered. It does not keep record of wrongs (hold grudges). It does not delight in evil but rejoices in the truth.” What “love is not” reads like a list of the seven deadly sins: Pride, Envy, Wrath, Gluttony, Lust, Sloth, Greed. It reads like the clinical definition of Narcissistic Personality Disorder. It reads like Mr. Trump’s defining characteristics.
Jesus did not seek political power, he transcended it. The prophets did not seek political power, they transcended it. As for Jesus, as for the prophets, as for any disciple, it is hard. It is not the life of power and privilege that Trump or his sycophants crave. It is not the false gospel of “the victorious life”. No, for the actual, real disciple of Christ, this isn’t about who wins an election, it is about their soul and its destiny. For those who got lost in the moment in 2016, for those who meant to follow Christ and got led astray before, this is a chance at redemption or a chance to double down in following the way of Judas. It is about the way of Christ or the way of a demagogue. The way of a real disciple or the way of Judas. God’s Kingdom here on earth through our own actions or a demagogue’s agenda in exchange for personal power. The real cost (and reward) of discipleship or the path to the “blood field”. The Kingdom of God or the 30 pieces of silver. Neither is it about endorsing everything the alternative might support. That would just be picking another political agenda. It is about picking the decency of a man, Joe Biden, who does seek God vs Donald Trump, who proudly proclaims that he has done more than Jesus for his Evangelical base. It is about picking one who attempts to follow the path of discipleship, however imperfectly, over one who does not. It is about us seeking to live the life of real discipleship, trying to realize God’s Kingdom on earth through actions of faith, hope, charity, and love, not accepting uncritical membership in a demagogue’s club.
We owe a great debt to Mr. Trump. God’s love is everything he is not, and he has made very clear for us the path that we, if we are to be disciples, simply cannot take. If Christians, that is REAL Christians, want to follow Christ, he or she must follow love. If we want to serve God’s Kingdom and define our own, we have only one way to go. It is not possible to approve of and follow Mr. Trump and his brand of self- deification and hatred at the same time. We must pick. God or Trump. God or hatred. God or ...
