Trumpism's most revealing and characteristic moments – not its most significant, nor most brutal, nor most dangerous, nor most foolish, but potentially its most enlightening – occurred earlier this fall. In the course of a few weeks, the American president started showing everyone his intentions for a gilded ballroom two times larger compared to the White House and then began independently demolishing the eastern section to erect it.
He has performed deeds 10,000 times as bad – the current estimate of deaths from his cuts to USAID is 600,000 and growing, and recently research forecast his fossil fuel policies would cause deaths an additional 1.3 million. Yet nothing as characteristic. No former leader would have risked – truly, no former commander would have imagined – unilaterally destroying major areas of the presidential residence to construct a Versailles-style party room, with the enthusiastic participation of numerous America's wealthiest, the majority of whom have business with federal agencies.
We moved from 'the meek shall inherit the world' to 'the meek shall die from cholera'
As disorienting as it is to observe the president try to upend the traditional concept about democracy and replace it with its polar opposite, there exists a significant segment among Americans who might not perceive it completely novel. That encompasses people such as ourselves – in older age cohorts a near majority – who were raised within mainstream Protestant traditions.
We have observed throughout the years as politically conservative religious groups converted the Savior we grew up with into exactly the opposite of our perception of his character. Fundamentally, they transformed an image of affection into a symbol of hate who approves precisely the cruelties that he criticized in the Gospel; this has happened more slowly, across decades instead of months, but it is nonetheless unsettling via comparable methods, a disorienting gut punch for many of us.
A Harmful Christianity Gains Ground
So let me first describe the Christ from my childhood, since in theory Christ is the focus of Christian religion, and since the fastest-growing cadre of Americans could have minimal awareness of him because they identify as atheists or doubters or nones. I take no issue with these different approaches, nor with any other faith; but I do think that there are pearls of substantial value in biblical accounts.
It is unquestionably absolutely not the story of a powerful ruler emerging; rather, a child comes into the world to homeless parents in a garage, who need to rapidly escape to another nation to avoid secret police. The infant develops in humble circumstances, a laboring woodworker; his message is about love for other people, especially for the poor – not simply tender feelings, but a concrete one, expressed by feeding and protecting. Christ's response to aggression is to offer the additional cheek – not as a demonstration of submissive tolerance, but as a way to instruct the attacker; his method regarding offenses is that if someone steals your coat you ought to provide him your sweater too.
The obvious and clear truth that Christ in biblical accounts requests a type of radical love concentrated on the impoverished has perpetually caused Christian religion something of a provocative belief system: engaging for the general public, but because of its intrinsic extremism demanding to be controlled. During the 1950s it was controlled via weakening – The Protestant faith was so widespread that it practically sanctified existing conditions.
A Conflict for the Best Within Us
Hence I have become inspired to see the determined opposition regarding Trump arise over the last twelve months. It has provided great solace to participate in developing the movement that has protested openly in rally after rally, and likely has encouraged citizens to turn out in large quantities during minor elections. We must have to maintain it, and in the same spirit, with American flags during all protests and calls to the best parts in US history.
We shall be interrogated ... how did you receive the immigrant? Did you receive him and embrace them or reject?
America is best defended, to put it differently, through connection to the finest in US heritage, just as Christianity is best defended by relationship to that which renders it distinctive and wonderful, specifically the model of the Savior. In both situations does it suggest feigning the most damaging of both America and religious tradition never occurred; it represents both humility and belief, a blend that committed US believers ought to accept.
