The Trump phenomenon's most revealing and distinctive moments – not its most important, nor most harsh, nor most dangerous, nor most foolish, but possibly its most revealing – occurred earlier this fall. In the course of a few weeks, the nation's leader started showing everyone his plans for a lavish reception room twice the size of the White House and then began solo dismantling the East Wing portion to construct it.
He has performed deeds ten thousand times worse – the current estimate of deaths resulting from his reductions to USAID is 600,000 and increasing, and this week an analysis projected his petroleum strategies would result in fatalities 1.3 million more. Yet nothing as characteristic. No previous president would have risked – really, no other president would have contemplated – solo demolishing significant portions of the executive mansion in order to erect a Versailles-style party room, with the enthusiastic participation of numerous the nation's most affluent, nearly all of which maintain dealings with federal agencies.
We went from 'the meek shall inherit the planet' to 'the humble will perish of cholera'
As disorienting as it is to watch the leader attempt to overturn the old idea about democracy and exchange it with its complete opposite, there remains a substantial portion of Americans who might not perceive it totally unfamiliar. That is those of us – within elder demographics a near majority – who were raised as mainline Protestant Christians.
We have witnessed across decades as rightwing evangelical churches converted the Savior we were raised with into the complete reverse of our perception of his character. Essentially, they transformed an image of love into an icon of hate who approves exactly the harshness that he criticized in scripture; this change developed more slowly, over decades instead of months, however it is still disturbing through similar means, a bewildering emotional blow for countless people.
A Toxic Christianity Establishes Itself
Hence I shall explain the Savior from my upbringing, since in theory the Savior is the core of Christian religion, and given that the rapidly expanding group within America might have little sense about him because they identify as non-believers or uncertain individuals or religiously unaffiliated. I take no issue with these various perspectives, nor with alternative spiritual paths; however I believe that contain precious wisdom of great price in the Christian story.
It is unquestionably not the narrative of a mighty king emerging; conversely, a baby is born to homeless parents in an automotive shelter, who are forced to hastily depart to a foreign land to avoid secret police. The child matures in modest conditions, a laboring woodworker; his teaching is about love for other people, particularly for the poor – and not a sentimental love, but a concrete one, shown by providing food and sheltering. Jesus' answer to hostility is to offer the opposite cheek – not as a demonstration of passive acceptance, but as a method to teach the attacker; his crime policy states that when a person pilfers your outer garment you should give the person your additional clothing as well.
The apparent and clear truth that Christ in biblical accounts calls for a form of extreme compassion concentrated on the needy is what has always made Christian religion rather a controversial faith: appealing to the masses, but due to its inherent radicalness requiring to be contained. During the 1950s it was controlled via weakening – The Protestant faith was so dominant that it essentially blessed current circumstances.
A Battle for the Best of Us
Hence I have become encouraged to witness the persistent defiance against Trump emerge over the last twelve months. It has served as significant comfort to help build the movement that has taken to the streets via continuous gatherings, and likely has encouraged voters to participate in numbers in the off-year elections. We will need to persist with it, and with identical determination, featuring US banners throughout each rally and calls to the finest aspects in US history.
We will be questioned ... about how you treated the stranger? Did you accept these individuals and receive them or refuse?
America is best defended, to put it differently, by relationship to the finest in US heritage, exactly as the Christian faith is optimally secured by relationship to what makes it unique and magnificent, which is the example of Christ. In both situations does it mean acting as if the most damaging of both America and Christian faith did not happen; it means both humility and faith, a mixture that committed US believers should be comfortable with.
