The Trump phenomenon's most revealing and distinctive instances – not its most crucial, nor most harsh, nor most dangerous, nor stupidest, but perhaps its most illuminating – came earlier this autumn. Over the span of several weeks, the American president commenced revealing all observers his plans for an ornate dance hall twice the size compared to the White House and then commenced solo dismantling the East Wing portion to build it.
He has done things countless times more severe – the current estimate of deaths resulting from his reductions to foreign assistance amounts to 600,000 and growing, and presently a study projected his petroleum strategies would kill an additional 1.3 million. Yet nothing as characteristic. No other president would have dared – really, no previous leader would have imagined – unilaterally destroying significant portions of the executive mansion in order to erect a Versailles-style party room, with the enthusiastic participation of multiple the richest Americans, the majority of whom maintain dealings with the government.
We transitioned from 'the meek shall inherit the world' into 'the meek shall die of cholera'
As disorienting as it is to watch the president try to upend the established notion regarding democracy and exchange it with its complete opposite, there is one large group of Americans who should not find it totally unfamiliar. That is those of us – among senior generations almost a majority – who were raised within mainstream Protestant traditions.
We have observed across decades as politically conservative religious groups transformed the Christ we learned about into exactly the opposite of who we understood him to be. Fundamentally, they transformed an image of love into a symbol of animosity who endorses specifically the brutality that he condemned in the Gospel; this has happened more gradually, across decades instead of months, however it is still unsettling in the same ways, a confusing personal impact for numerous individuals.
A Toxic Christianity Establishes Itself
So let me first describe the Jesus from my childhood, because theoretically Christ is the focus within Christian belief, and since the fastest-growing cadre within America could have minimal awareness of him since they are skeptics or doubters or nones. I have no problem with these various perspectives, nor with different religions; yet I maintain that there are pearls of significant worth within Christian narrative.
It is emphatically not the narrative of a mighty king arising; rather, an infant arrives to parents without shelter in an automotive shelter, who must quickly flee to a foreign land to avoid undercover officers. The infant develops in simple surroundings, a working carpenter; his doctrine focuses on affection for fellow humans, especially for the poor – not merely emotional affection, but a concrete one, shown by providing food and protecting. The Savior's reaction to hostility is to turn the opposite cheek – not as an act of submissive tolerance, but as a means to educate the attacker; his method regarding offenses is that if someone steals your outer garment you must offer him your sweater also.
The apparent and straightforward reality that Christ from scripture calls for a form of radical love focused on the poor has perpetually caused Christianity rather a provocative belief system: engaging for the masses, but owing to its intrinsic extremism demanding to be controlled. In the fifties it was contained by dilution – Protestantism was so widespread that it basically blessed current circumstances.
A Battle for the Best Among Us
So I have been encouraged to witness the steadfast resistance to Trump develop in this past year. It has provided substantial consolation to participate in developing the initiative that has protested openly in rally after rally, and likely has encouraged citizens to show up in significant amounts in interim political contests. We shall require to continue it, and with identical determination, displaying national flags throughout each rally and calls to the highest qualities in US history.
We're going to be asked ... how did you receive the immigrant? Did you receive him and receive them or refuse?
America is best defended, essentially, by reference to the best about American history, exactly as the Christian faith is optimally secured by relationship to elements that cause it to be special and magnificent, which is the example of Christ. In all circumstances does it imply acting as if the most damaging regarding America and religious tradition never occurred; it signifies both humility and faith, a combination that committed US believers ought to accept.
