The Trump phenomenon's most revealing and characteristic instances – not its most important, nor cruelest, nor most hazardous, nor most senseless, but possibly its most revealing – came earlier this autumn. During the period of several weeks, the nation's leader started showing the public his intentions for an ornate dance hall double the dimensions than the White House and then commenced independently demolishing the East Wing portion to build it.
He has done things countless times more severe – the current estimate of deaths from his cuts to international aid stands at 600,000 and rising, and recently research projected his petroleum strategies would result in fatalities an additional 1.3 million. However nothing as distinctive. No other president would have risked – truly, no former commander would have imagined – independently wrecking major areas of the presidential residence to build a palace-inspired entertainment space, with the direct cooperation of numerous the nation's most affluent, almost all of whom conduct transactions with the government.
We went from 'the meek shall inherit the planet' toward 'the humble will perish to cholera'
As bewildering as it is to observe the chief executive attempt to overturn the old idea about democracy and substitute it with its direct contrary, there is one large group of Americans who wouldn't consider it totally unfamiliar. That is those of us – in older age cohorts almost a majority – who were brought up as conventional Protestant believers.
We have witnessed over the years while conservative evangelical congregations transformed the Christ we grew up with into the total contrary of our perception of his character. At its most basic, they turned a figure of love into a symbol of hate who endorses precisely the cruelties that he denounced in biblical teachings; this transformation occurred more gradually, over decades rather than months, yet it remains disconcerting in the same ways, a confusing personal impact for many of us.
A Toxic Christianity Takes Hold
So let me first describe the Christ from my childhood, since in theory Christ is the focus of Christian religion, and because the rapidly expanding group of Americans might have little sense about him as they consider themselves skeptics or uncertain individuals or spiritual independents. I raise no objection with these various perspectives, nor with any other faith; yet I maintain that contain precious wisdom of substantial value in biblical accounts.
It is decidedly not the story of an authoritative monarch arising; conversely, a child comes into the world to displaced parents in an automotive shelter, who are forced to hastily depart to a different country to escape undercover officers. The baby grows up in simple surroundings, a laboring woodworker; his doctrine concerns compassion for other people, especially for the impoverished – not simply tender feelings, but a concrete one, shown by providing food and housing. Jesus' answer to hostility is to offer the additional cheek – not as a demonstration of submissive tolerance, but as a means to educate the assailant; his crime policy is that if an individual takes your outer garment you should give them your pullover as well.
The obvious and direct reality that the Jesus from scripture calls for a type of profound affection concentrated on the poor has perpetually caused Christianity somewhat of a provocative belief system: attractive to the populace, but because of its natural unconventionality demanding to be restrained. During the 1950s it was contained through watering down – The Protestant faith was so widespread that it basically sanctified existing conditions.
A Struggle for the Finest Within Us
So I have been encouraged to observe the determined opposition against Trump emerge during the previous year. It has been great solace to help build the movement that has demonstrated publicly in rally after rally, and appears to have motivated voters to turn out in large quantities in interim political contests. We must have to continue it, and through comparable resolve, displaying national flags throughout each rally and requests to the finest aspects of American history.
We shall be interrogated ... how did you receive the immigrant? Did you receive him and embrace them or not?
The nation is most protected, to put it differently, by reference to the best about American history, just as Christianity is optimally secured by reference to what makes it special and magnificent, which is the example of Jesus. In neither case does it imply feigning the worst of both America and Christianity did not happen; it signifies both humility and conviction, a mixture that genuine US believers ought to accept.
