Trumpism's most illuminating and distinctive instances – not its most significant, nor most harsh, nor most hazardous, nor most foolish, but possibly its most revealing – occurred earlier this fall. Over the span of several weeks, the US president commenced revealing all observers his plans for a lavish reception room double the dimensions compared to the White House and then commenced unilaterally ripping down the East Wing portion to erect it.
He has done things countless times more severe – the existing assessment of deaths resulting from his reductions to international aid stands at 600,000 and increasing, and this week an analysis projected his fossil fuel policies would kill an additional 1.3 million. Yet nothing as characteristic. No previous president would have dared – truly, no other president would have contemplated – unilaterally destroying major areas of the White House to construct a palace-inspired entertainment space, with the active collaboration of some of the nation's most affluent, almost all of whom maintain dealings with federal agencies.
We went from 'the gentle will obtain the world' to 'the meek shall die to cholera'
As disorienting as it is to watch the president attempt to overturn the old idea regarding democracy and replace it with its direct contrary, there exists a significant segment within America who might not perceive it totally unfamiliar. That encompasses people such as ourselves – in older age cohorts close to half – who were raised as mainline Protestant Christians.
We have observed throughout the years while conservative evangelical congregations turned the Jesus we grew up with into the total contrary of our understanding of him. Fundamentally, they transformed an image of affection into a symbol of hate who approves specifically the brutality that he criticized in biblical teachings; this has happened at a slower pace, through multiple decades rather than months, but it is nonetheless unsettling through similar means, a bewildering emotional blow for many of us.
A Toxic Christianity Gains Ground
So let me first describe the Jesus that I grew up with, as conceptually Christ is the focus within Christian belief, and since the quickly increasing segment of Americans could have minimal awareness regarding 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 significant worth in the Christian story.
It is unquestionably not the narrative of an authoritative monarch appearing; instead, an infant arrives to displaced parents in an automotive shelter, who must quickly flee to a foreign land to evade covert authorities. The baby grows up in simple surroundings, a working carpenter; his teaching focuses on affection for others, especially for the poor – not simply tender feelings, but a concrete one, demonstrated through nourishing and housing. Christ's response to violence is to present the opposite cheek – not as a gesture of submissive tolerance, but as a way to instruct the attacker; his crime policy is that if someone steals your coat you should give him your sweater also.
The evident and direct reality that Christ in biblical accounts calls for a kind of radical love concentrated on the needy has perpetually caused Christian religion something of a controversial faith: attractive to the general public, but due to its inherent radicalness requiring to be controlled. In the fifties it was restrained through watering down – Protestant Christianity was so widespread that it practically blessed current circumstances.
A Struggle for the Highest of Us
Hence I have become inspired to observe the steadfast resistance to Trump arise in this past year. It has provided significant comfort to assist in constructing the movement that has protested openly in rally after rally, and appears to have motivated citizens to participate in large quantities during minor elections. We must have to maintain it, and through comparable resolve, with American flags during all protests and appeals to the highest qualities of American history.
We will be questioned ... regarding how you welcomed the immigrant? Did you receive him and receive them or reject?
The country is optimally secured, in other words, by relationship to the finest about American history, just as Christianity is most protected by reference to what makes it unique and beautiful, specifically the model of Christ. In both situations does it suggest acting as if the most negative regarding America and Christianity never occurred; it signifies both meekness and faith, a mixture that committed American Christians should embrace.
