The Trump phenomenon's most revealing and defining moments – not its most significant, nor cruelest, nor most threatening, nor most foolish, but possibly its most revealing – came earlier this autumn. Over the span of multiple weeks, the US president started showing the public his intentions for an ornate dance hall twice the size than the White House and then began solo dismantling the eastern section to erect it.
He has performed deeds ten thousand times worse – the present calculation of casualties resulting from his reductions to international aid stands at 600,000 and increasing, and presently research projected his petroleum strategies would result in fatalities 1.3 million more. However nothing as distinctive. No other president would have dared – genuinely, no previous leader would have imagined – solo demolishing major areas of the executive mansion to construct a palace-inspired entertainment space, with the enthusiastic participation of some of the richest Americans, almost all of whom maintain dealings with federal agencies.
We moved from 'the meek shall inherit the world' to 'the gentle will succumb of cholera'
As bewildering as it is to watch the leader try to upend the old idea of democracy and replace it with its complete opposite, there exists a significant segment of Americans who should not find it totally unfamiliar. That encompasses people such as ourselves – among senior generations a near majority – who were brought up within mainstream Protestant traditions.
We have witnessed throughout the years while conservative evangelical congregations turned the Jesus we were raised with into the complete reverse of our perception of his character. Essentially, they converted a persona of affection into an icon of hostility who blesses exactly the harshness that he criticized in scripture; this transformation occurred more slowly, across decades rather than months, however it is still disconcerting via comparable methods, a disorienting gut punch for many of us.
A Toxic Christianity Establishes Itself
Hence I shall explain the Savior from my childhood, since in theory Christ is the focus of any Christian faith, and because the quickly increasing segment among Americans could have minimal awareness about him as they consider themselves atheists or agnostics or nones. I have no problem with these various perspectives, nor with alternative spiritual paths; yet I maintain that there are pearls of significant worth in biblical accounts.
It is decidedly definitely not the account of an authoritative monarch arising; rather, a child comes into the world to displaced parents in a storage space, who must quickly flee to a foreign land to avoid undercover officers. The infant develops in modest conditions, a working carpenter; his doctrine focuses on affection for other people, particularly for the impoverished – not simply tender feelings, but tangible care, demonstrated through nourishing and protecting. Jesus' answer to violence is to turn the other cheek – not as a demonstration of passive acceptance, but as a method to educate the assailant; his crime policy is that if someone steals your outer garment you must offer him your sweater too.
The apparent and direct fact that the Savior in biblical accounts advocates for a type of extreme compassion centered on the needy has consistently rendered Christianity rather a scandalous religion: engaging for the masses, but due to its intrinsic extremism requiring to be restrained. In the fifties it was restrained by dilution – Protestant Christianity was so prevalent that it essentially blessed current circumstances.
A Struggle for the Finest Within Us
Therefore I have felt inspired to observe the steadfast resistance to Trump develop in this past year. It has been substantial consolation to help build the campaign that has protested openly via continuous gatherings, and likely has encouraged voters to participate in numbers in interim political contests. We will need to continue it, and in the same spirit, displaying national flags throughout each rally and appeals to the finest aspects within national heritage.
We will be questioned ... regarding how you welcomed the stranger? Did you receive him and welcome him or not?
America is best defended, in other words, by relationship to the best in US heritage, exactly as the Christian faith is most protected by reference to elements that cause it to be distinctive and beautiful, which is the example of the Savior. In all circumstances does it suggest pretending the most damaging about the nation and religious tradition was nonexistent; it represents both modesty and belief, a combination that genuine US believers should be comfortable with.
