Trumpism's most illuminating and defining moments – not its most significant, nor cruelest, nor most dangerous, nor most senseless, but potentially its most enlightening – occurred earlier this fall. During the period of several weeks, the American president began displaying everyone his plans for a lavish reception room two times larger of the White House and then began unilaterally ripping down the eastern section to erect it.
He has performed deeds 10,000 times as bad – the present calculation of deaths due to his slashing to USAID amounts to 600,000 and growing, and this week research forecast his fossil fuel policies would cause deaths another 1.3 million. However nothing as distinctive. No previous president would have attempted – truly, no previous leader would have imagined – independently wrecking significant portions of the presidential residence to build a royal-themed celebration hall, with the enthusiastic participation of numerous America's wealthiest, nearly all of which have business with the government.
We went from 'the meek shall inherit the Earth' toward 'the humble will perish to cholera'
As disorienting as it is to watch the president attempt to overturn the old idea of democracy and substitute it with its complete opposite, there remains a substantial portion of Americans who wouldn't consider it entirely new. This includes individuals like us – in older age cohorts a near majority – who were raised as mainline Protestant Christians.
We have observed throughout the years while conservative evangelical congregations transformed the Christ we learned about into the complete reverse of our perception of his character. Fundamentally, they turned a figure of compassion into an icon of hostility who blesses exactly the harshness that he criticized in biblical teachings; this change developed more gradually, across decades instead of months, yet it remains disconcerting through similar means, a bewildering emotional blow for many of us.
A Harmful Christianity Establishes Itself
So let me first describe the Savior from my upbringing, since in theory the Savior is the core of any Christian faith, and since the rapidly expanding group of Americans may possess limited understanding about him since they are non-believers or uncertain individuals or nones. I take no issue with any of these traditions, nor with different religions; but I do think that contain precious wisdom of substantial value within Christian narrative.
It is unquestionably definitely not the narrative of a mighty king arising; rather, an infant arrives to homeless parents in a garage, who are forced to hastily depart to a foreign land to evade covert authorities. The baby grows up in humble circumstances, a working carpenter; his doctrine is about love for fellow humans, particularly for the disadvantaged – not simply tender feelings, but practical compassion, demonstrated through nourishing and protecting. The Savior's reaction to aggression is to offer the opposite cheek – not as a gesture of submissive tolerance, but as a means to educate the attacker; his crime policy indicates that whenever someone steals your outer garment you should give him your sweater as well.
The evident and direct fact that the Jesus in biblical accounts requests a form of radical love concentrated on the needy is what has always made Christianity rather a provocative belief system: attractive to the masses, but owing to its intrinsic extremism demanding to be contained. During the 1950s it was restrained through watering down – The Protestant faith was so prevalent that it practically baptized the status quo.
A Conflict for the Best of Us
So I have been encouraged to see the determined opposition to Trump emerge over the last twelve months. It has been great solace to participate in developing the campaign that has protested openly via continuous gatherings, and likely has encouraged voters to turn out in significant amounts in interim political contests. We must have to maintain it, and in the same spirit, featuring US banners at every demonstration and appeals to the best parts within national heritage.
We're going to be asked ... how did you receive the foreigner? Did you accept these individuals and embrace them or not?
The nation is most protected, in other words, through connection to the highest within national tradition, exactly as the Christian faith is best defended through connection to what makes it special and beautiful, particularly the pattern of Christ. In neither case does it suggest pretending the worst of both America and Christian faith never occurred; it signifies both meekness and belief, a combination that committed US believers should embrace.
