The Trump movement's most telling and characteristic moments – not its most important, nor most brutal, nor most dangerous, nor most senseless, but possibly its most revealing – came earlier this autumn. In the course of a few weeks, the American president commenced revealing all observers his intentions for an ornate dance hall two times larger than the White House and subsequently started solo dismantling the East Wing portion to build it.
He has performed deeds ten thousand times worse – the current estimate of deaths from his cuts to USAID stands at 600,000 and growing, and recently research predicted his fossil fuel policies would cause deaths 1.3 million more. But nothing as definitional. No other president would have risked – genuinely, no other president would have conceived – independently wrecking large sections of the presidential residence to construct a Versailles-style party room, with the enthusiastic participation of numerous the richest Americans, the majority of whom conduct transactions with the government.
We transitioned from 'the meek shall inherit the planet' to 'the meek shall die to cholera'
As bewildering as it is to witness the president try to upend the traditional concept regarding democracy and exchange it with its complete opposite, there remains a substantial portion within America who wouldn't consider it entirely new. That encompasses people such as ourselves – in older age cohorts a near majority – who were brought up within mainstream Protestant traditions.
We have witnessed across decades while conservative evangelical congregations transformed the Christ we were raised with into the complete reverse of our understanding of him. Fundamentally, they turned a figure of affection into an icon of hate who endorses exactly the harshness that he denounced in the Gospel; this change developed at a slower pace, over decades instead of months, but it is nonetheless unsettling via comparable methods, a disorienting gut punch for many of us.
A Harmful Christianity Establishes Itself
So let me first describe the Christ that I grew up with, because theoretically the Savior is the core of any Christian faith, and because the rapidly expanding group of Americans might have little sense regarding him because they identify as non-believers or doubters or nones. I have no problem with these various perspectives, nor with different religions; but I do think that contain precious wisdom of great price within Christian narrative.
It is unquestionably definitely not the narrative of a powerful ruler arising; conversely, a baby is born to homeless parents in an automotive shelter, who must quickly flee to another nation to evade covert authorities. The infant develops in humble circumstances, a working carpenter; his message focuses on affection for fellow humans, especially for the impoverished – not merely emotional affection, but tangible care, demonstrated through nourishing and housing. Christ's response to hostility is to offer the other cheek – not as an act of submissive tolerance, but as a way to teach the aggressor; his crime policy indicates that whenever someone steals your jacket you should give the person your additional clothing as well.
The obvious and clear fact that the Jesus from scripture calls for a form of radical love focused on the poor has consistently rendered Christianity rather a scandalous religion: attractive to the masses, but due to its natural unconventionality requiring to be controlled. During the 1950s it was controlled through watering down – The Protestant faith was so prevalent that it practically baptized the status quo.
A Battle for the Best of Us
Therefore I have felt heartened to observe the persistent defiance against Trump develop during the previous year. It has been great solace to help build the movement that has taken to the streets in rally after rally, and seems to have inspired citizens to participate in large quantities in interim political contests. We must have to continue it, and in the same spirit, displaying national flags throughout each rally and requests to the finest aspects of American history.
We're going to be asked ... how did you receive the immigrant? Did you welcome them and embrace them or not?
The nation is most protected, in other words, through connection to the finest within national tradition, just as Christianity is most protected by reference to what makes it distinctive and magnificent, specifically the model of Christ. In all circumstances does it imply pretending the worst about the nation and Christian faith did not happen; it means both modesty and conviction, a mixture that genuine American Christians ought to accept.
