The Trump phenomenon's most revealing and characteristic moments – not its most crucial, nor most brutal, nor most dangerous, nor most foolish, but possibly its most revealing – came earlier this autumn. In the course of several weeks, the nation's leader began displaying all observers his intentions for a gilded ballroom two times larger than the White House and then began independently demolishing the East Wing to construct it.
He has committed acts 10,000 times as bad – the current estimate of fatalities from his cuts to USAID amounts to 600,000 and increasing, and recently a study projected his petroleum strategies would cause deaths another 1.3 million. But nothing as definitional. No previous president would have attempted – really, no previous leader would have conceived – independently wrecking large sections of the executive mansion to build a palace-inspired entertainment space, with the enthusiastic participation of some of the nation's most affluent, the majority of whom conduct transactions with federal agencies.
We moved from 'the humble will receive the planet' toward 'the humble will perish of cholera'
As disorienting as it is to watch the leader try to upend the old idea of democracy and exchange it with its complete opposite, there exists a significant segment of Americans who wouldn't consider it entirely new. That encompasses people such as ourselves – within elder demographics almost a majority – who were raised as mainline Protestant Christians.
We have watched over the years while conservative evangelical congregations transformed the Christ we were raised with into exactly the opposite of our understanding of him. Essentially, they transformed an image of affection into a symbol of hate who approves specifically the brutality that he denounced in biblical teachings; this transformation occurred more slowly, through multiple decades rather than months, but it is nonetheless unsettling through similar means, a disorienting gut punch for countless people.
A Toxic Christianity Establishes Itself
Therefore allow me to outline the Savior that I grew up with, since in theory the Savior is the core within Christian belief, and because the fastest-growing cadre within America might have little sense about him since they are skeptics or uncertain individuals or spiritual independents. I have no problem with these different approaches, nor with any other faith; yet I maintain that contain precious wisdom of substantial value within Christian narrative.
It is emphatically absolutely not the narrative of a powerful ruler arising; conversely, an infant arrives to homeless parents in an automotive shelter, who need to rapidly escape to another nation to escape undercover officers. The baby grows up in humble circumstances, an employed craftsman; his teaching concerns compassion for others, specifically for the impoverished – and not a sentimental love, but practical compassion, demonstrated through nourishing and housing. The Savior's reaction to violence is to present the additional cheek – not as a demonstration of submissive tolerance, but as a method to instruct the aggressor; his approach to wrongdoing indicates that whenever an individual takes your jacket you must offer the person your additional clothing as well.
The apparent and clear fact that the Jesus in biblical accounts calls for a kind of radical love focused on the impoverished has consistently rendered Christian religion somewhat of a controversial faith: attractive to the masses, but due to its intrinsic extremism needing to be contained. In the 1950s it was restrained by dilution – Protestant Christianity was so prevalent that it essentially baptized the status quo.
A Conflict for the Best of Us
So I have been heartened to witness the persistent defiance to Trump emerge during the previous year. It has provided great solace to help build the campaign that has taken to the streets via continuous gatherings, and likely has encouraged citizens to participate in large quantities during minor elections. We will need to continue it, and with identical determination, with American flags during all protests and appeals to the highest qualities of American history.
We shall be interrogated ... about how you treated the stranger? Did you accept these individuals and receive them or reject?
The nation is most protected, to put it differently, by reference to the best about American history, exactly as the Christian faith is best defended through connection to that which renders it unique and wonderful, specifically the model of Christ. In both situations does it imply acting as if the worst about the nation and Christian faith did not happen; it signifies both meekness and faith, a mixture that committed American Christians should be comfortable with.
