Trumpism's most telling and defining occasions – not its most important, nor cruelest, nor most dangerous, nor most senseless, but possibly its most revealing – came earlier this autumn. Over the span of several weeks, the American president commenced revealing the public his designs for a lavish reception room twice the size than the White House and then commenced solo dismantling the eastern section to erect it.
He has committed acts 10,000 times as bad – the current estimate of casualties due to his slashing to USAID is 600,000 and rising, and presently an analysis projected his energy policies would cause deaths an additional 1.3 million. However nothing as distinctive. No former leader would have attempted – truly, no other president would have imagined – unilaterally destroying major areas of the White House to build a Versailles-style party room, with the direct cooperation of some of the richest Americans, nearly all of which conduct transactions with the government.
We went from 'the humble will receive the planet' into 'the gentle will succumb from cholera'
As confusing as it is to observe the president try to upend the traditional concept of democracy and exchange it with its polar opposite, there is one large group within America who wouldn't consider it completely novel. That is those of us – within elder demographics close to half – who were brought up as mainline Protestant Christians.
We have witnessed across decades while conservative evangelical congregations transformed the Christ we learned about into the total contrary of who we understood him to be. At its most basic, they turned a figure of compassion into a figure of animosity who endorses exactly the harshness that he criticized in the Gospel; this change developed more gradually, through multiple decades instead of months, however it is still disturbing through similar means, a confusing personal impact for many of us.
A Damaging Christianity Gains Ground
Therefore allow me to outline the Jesus that I grew up with, because theoretically Jesus is the center of Christian religion, and since the fastest-growing cadre within America could have minimal awareness about him because they identify as atheists or uncertain individuals or spiritual independents. I have no problem with any of these traditions, nor with alternative spiritual paths; but I do think that there are pearls of significant worth in biblical accounts.
It is emphatically definitely not the narrative of a mighty king arising; rather, a child comes into the world to homeless parents in a garage, who must quickly flee to a different country to escape secret police. The child matures in simple surroundings, an employed craftsman; his message concerns compassion for others, especially for the impoverished – not merely emotional affection, but a concrete one, demonstrated through nourishing and protecting. The Savior's reaction to violence is to present the opposite cheek – not as a demonstration of submissive tolerance, but as a way to teach the attacker; his approach to wrongdoing states that when a person pilfers your jacket you must offer the person your additional clothing as well.
The apparent and straightforward truth that the Savior of the gospels calls for a type of extreme compassion concentrated on the needy has perpetually caused Christian religion rather a provocative belief system: attractive to the populace, but due to its intrinsic extremism demanding to be contained. During the 1950s it was contained through watering down – The Protestant faith was so widespread that it practically baptized the status quo.
A Battle for the Finest Within Us
Hence I have become inspired to witness the persistent defiance against Trump emerge in this past year. It has served as substantial consolation to help build the campaign that has taken to the streets in rally after rally, and likely has encouraged electorate to show up in numbers during minor elections. We will need to continue it, and through comparable resolve, displaying national flags throughout each rally and appeals to the highest qualities in US history.
We're going to be asked ... how did you receive the foreigner? Did you receive him and welcome him or not?
America is best defended, essentially, through connection to the best in US heritage, just as Christianity is most protected through connection to that which renders it unique and wonderful, particularly the pattern of Jesus. In neither case does it mean feigning the most negative about the nation and Christianity never occurred; it represents both humility and belief, a mixture that genuine American Christians should be comfortable with.
