The Trump phenomenon's most revealing and distinctive moments – not its most important, nor most harsh, nor most dangerous, nor most senseless, but potentially its most enlightening – emerged earlier this harvest season. In the course of multiple weeks, the American president commenced revealing all observers his plans for a gilded ballroom two times larger compared to the White House and then began independently demolishing the East Wing portion to construct it.
He has performed deeds countless times more severe – the existing assessment of fatalities resulting from his reductions to USAID amounts to 600,000 and growing, and recently a study forecast his fossil fuel policies would kill another 1.3 million. Yet nothing as characteristic. No other president would have attempted – genuinely, no former commander would have contemplated – unilaterally destroying major areas of the executive mansion in order to erect a palace-inspired entertainment space, with the active collaboration of multiple the nation's most affluent, the majority of whom maintain dealings with public institutions.
We transitioned from 'the gentle will obtain the Earth' into 'the gentle will succumb from cholera'
As confusing as it is to witness the president try to upend the established notion about democracy and exchange it with its polar opposite, there is one large group within America who should not find it totally unfamiliar. This includes individuals like us – in older age cohorts almost a majority – who were raised as mainline Protestant Christians.
We have observed across decades while conservative evangelical congregations converted the Savior we grew up with into the total contrary of our perception of his character. Fundamentally, they transformed an image of love into a figure of animosity who endorses specifically the brutality that he condemned in the Gospel; this change developed more slowly, through multiple decades instead of months, however it is still disconcerting through similar means, a confusing personal impact for many of us.
A Harmful Christianity Takes Hold
Therefore allow me to outline the Savior that I grew up with, because theoretically Christ is the focus of Christian religion, and since the quickly increasing segment among Americans might have little sense of him as they consider themselves non-believers or uncertain individuals or spiritual independents. I raise no objection with any of these traditions, nor with any other faith; but I do think that exist valuable insights of substantial value in the Christian story.
It is emphatically definitely not the story of an authoritative monarch emerging; instead, a baby is born to homeless parents in an automotive shelter, who need to rapidly escape to another nation to evade secret police. The baby grows up in simple surroundings, an employed craftsman; his teaching focuses on affection for fellow humans, particularly for the disadvantaged – not merely emotional affection, but a concrete one, shown by providing food and housing. Christ's response to aggression is to present the other cheek – not as a gesture of submissive tolerance, but as a way to instruct the aggressor; his approach to wrongdoing indicates that whenever someone steals your outer garment you must offer him your sweater also.
The obvious and clear reality that the Savior in biblical accounts requests a kind of extreme compassion focused on the needy is what has always made Christianity something of a controversial faith: appealing to the populace, but because of its intrinsic extremism needing to be restrained. In the fifties it was restrained via weakening – Protestantism was so prevalent that it essentially baptized the status quo.
A Conflict for the Finest Within Us
Therefore I have felt encouraged to witness the determined opposition regarding Trump emerge in this past year. It has served as significant comfort to assist in constructing the movement that has demonstrated publicly via continuous gatherings, and seems to have inspired electorate to show up in numbers in interim political contests. We must have to persist with it, and with identical determination, displaying national flags during all protests and appeals to the finest aspects in US history.
We shall be interrogated ... how did you receive the immigrant? Did you accept these individuals and embrace them or refuse?
The country is optimally secured, in other words, by reference to the highest in US heritage, exactly as the Christian faith is best defended by reference to what makes it special and beautiful, which is the example of Jesus. In both situations does it mean pretending the worst of both America and Christianity did not happen; it signifies both meekness and conviction, a mixture that genuine national faithful ought to accept.
