The Trump movement's most telling and distinctive instances – not its most significant, nor most harsh, nor most dangerous, nor most foolish, but perhaps its most illuminating – occurred earlier this fall. In the course of a few weeks, the US president commenced revealing everyone his designs for a gilded ballroom double the dimensions of the White House and subsequently started unilaterally ripping down the East Wing portion to build it.
He has performed deeds 10,000 times as bad – the present calculation of casualties resulting from his reductions to USAID is 600,000 and growing, and recently an analysis predicted his energy policies would kill another 1.3 million. But nothing as definitional. No former leader would have dared – really, no other president would have imagined – independently wrecking significant portions of the presidential residence to construct a palace-inspired entertainment space, with the active collaboration of some of the nation's most affluent, the majority of whom have business with the government.
We transitioned from 'the meek shall inherit the world' to 'the meek shall die to cholera'
As confusing as it is to watch the chief executive attempt to overturn the traditional concept about democracy and exchange it with its direct contrary, there exists a significant segment within America who should not find it totally unfamiliar. That encompasses people such as ourselves – in older age cohorts almost a majority – who were educated as mainline Protestant Christians.
We have observed over the years while conservative evangelical congregations converted the Savior we grew up with into the complete reverse of our understanding of him. At its most basic, they transformed an image of compassion into a symbol of hate who approves exactly the harshness that he criticized in scripture; this transformation occurred at a slower pace, across decades rather than months, yet it remains unsettling via comparable methods, a bewildering emotional blow for countless people.
A Harmful Christianity Gains Ground
So let me first describe the Christ from my childhood, because theoretically Jesus is the center of any Christian faith, and given that the fastest-growing cadre within America might have little sense regarding him as they consider themselves atheists or doubters or spiritual independents. I have no problem with these various perspectives, nor with different religions; however I believe that contain precious wisdom of significant worth within Christian narrative.
It is emphatically definitely not the narrative of a powerful ruler emerging; rather, a baby is born to homeless parents in an automotive shelter, who must quickly flee to another nation to avoid secret police. The baby grows up in humble circumstances, an employed craftsman; his teaching focuses on affection for other people, especially for the poor – and not a sentimental love, but tangible care, demonstrated through nourishing and sheltering. Jesus' answer to violence is to turn the other cheek – not as an act of compliant endurance, but as a means to teach the attacker; his method regarding offenses is that if an individual takes your outer garment you should give him your sweater as well.
The evident and straightforward fact that the Savior in biblical accounts requests a form of extreme compassion concentrated on the needy is what has always made Christian religion something of a provocative belief system: attractive to the general public, but owing to its intrinsic extremism requiring to be restrained. During the 1950s it was restrained by dilution – Protestantism was so prevalent that it essentially sanctified existing conditions.
A Battle for the Highest Among Us
Therefore I have felt inspired to witness the steadfast resistance to Trump arise over the last twelve months. It has served as significant comfort to help build the initiative that has protested openly in rally after rally, and seems to have inspired citizens to show up in large quantities during minor elections. We will need to persist with it, and through comparable resolve, featuring US banners throughout each rally and calls to the highest qualities of American history.
We will be questioned ... about how you treated the foreigner? Did you receive him and embrace them or reject?
The country is optimally secured, in other words, through connection to the best about American history, just as Christianity is optimally secured by reference to what makes it unique and beautiful, which is the example of Christ. In neither case does it suggest pretending the most negative of both America and Christian faith did not happen; it represents both modesty and faith, a mixture that genuine American Christians ought to accept.
