The Trump phenomenon's most illuminating and characteristic moments – not its most important, nor most harsh, nor most dangerous, nor most foolish, but potentially its most enlightening – came earlier this autumn. In the course of multiple weeks, the American president began displaying everyone his designs for an ornate dance hall double the dimensions than the White House and subsequently started unilaterally ripping down the eastern section to erect it.
He has committed acts countless times more severe – the current estimate of casualties from his cuts to international aid stands at 600,000 and growing, and presently research projected his fossil fuel policies would kill an additional 1.3 million. But nothing as definitional. No previous president would have dared – really, no former commander would have contemplated – independently wrecking significant portions of the presidential residence to construct a royal-themed celebration hall, with the direct cooperation of numerous America's wealthiest, nearly all of which maintain dealings with federal agencies.
We transitioned from 'the meek shall inherit the world' to 'the humble will perish to cholera'
As disorienting as it is to watch the president try to upend the old idea regarding democracy and exchange it with its complete opposite, there remains a substantial portion within America who wouldn't consider it completely novel. This includes individuals like us – in older age cohorts a near majority – who were brought up within mainstream Protestant traditions.
We have witnessed across decades as politically conservative religious groups turned the Jesus we grew up with into the complete reverse of our understanding of him. Essentially, they transformed an image of affection into a figure of animosity who endorses specifically the brutality that he criticized in scripture; this has happened more gradually, through multiple decades as opposed to months, however it is still disconcerting via comparable methods, a bewildering emotional blow for countless people.
A Toxic Christianity Establishes Itself
So let me first describe the Jesus from my upbringing, as conceptually the Savior is the core within Christian belief, and because the quickly increasing segment among Americans might have little sense regarding him because they identify as non-believers or uncertain individuals or religiously unaffiliated. I have no problem with these different approaches, nor with different religions; yet I maintain that contain precious wisdom of substantial value in the Christian story.
It is decidedly not the account of an authoritative monarch emerging; conversely, a baby is born to homeless parents in a garage, who need to rapidly escape to another nation to avoid covert authorities. The baby grows up in modest conditions, a working carpenter; his teaching is about love for other people, specifically for the impoverished – and not a sentimental love, but practical compassion, shown by providing food and housing. Christ's response to aggression is to offer the other cheek – not as a demonstration of compliant endurance, but as a method to educate the assailant; his crime policy indicates that whenever someone steals your jacket you should give them your pullover too.
The obvious and direct fact that Christ from scripture requests a form of extreme compassion concentrated on the poor has consistently rendered Christian religion rather a scandalous religion: appealing to the populace, but owing to its inherent radicalness needing to be restrained. In the 1950s it was contained via weakening – The Protestant faith was so dominant that it basically baptized the status quo.
A Battle for the Finest of Us
Hence I have become encouraged to observe the persistent defiance against Trump develop in this past year. It has provided great solace to participate in developing the campaign that has taken to the streets in rally after rally, and seems to have inspired citizens to turn out in significant amounts in the off-year elections. We will need to persist with it, and through comparable resolve, displaying national flags during all protests and requests to the highest qualities in US history.
We're going to be asked ... how did you receive the foreigner? Did you accept these individuals and welcome him or reject?
The nation is most protected, to put it differently, by relationship to the finest about American history, exactly as the Christian faith is optimally secured by relationship to what makes it unique and wonderful, which is the example of Jesus. In both situations does it suggest pretending the most damaging regarding America and Christianity never occurred; it signifies both humility and faith, a blend that serious US believers should be comfortable with.
