The Trump phenomenon's most illuminating and distinctive moments – not its most crucial, nor most brutal, nor most threatening, nor stupidest, but possibly its most revealing – emerged earlier this harvest season. Over the span of a few weeks, the nation's leader began displaying everyone his intentions for a lavish reception room two times larger than the White House and then commenced unilaterally ripping down the East Wing portion to construct it.
He has committed acts ten thousand times worse – the existing assessment of fatalities from his cuts to USAID stands at 600,000 and rising, and presently an analysis projected his fossil fuel policies would result in fatalities an additional 1.3 million. But nothing as definitional. No former leader would have dared – truly, no former commander would have contemplated – solo demolishing major areas of the executive mansion in order to erect a palace-inspired entertainment space, with the enthusiastic participation of some of America's wealthiest, the majority of whom maintain dealings with federal agencies.
We moved from 'the meek shall inherit the world' to 'the gentle will succumb to cholera'
As disorienting as it is to witness the president attempt to overturn the old idea regarding democracy and substitute it with its direct contrary, there is one large group among Americans who might not perceive it entirely new. This includes individuals like us – within elder demographics almost a majority – who were brought up as conventional Protestant believers.
We have witnessed over the years as rightwing evangelical churches converted the Savior we were raised with into the complete reverse of who we understood him to be. Essentially, they transformed an image of love into a symbol of animosity who approves precisely the cruelties that he denounced in biblical teachings; this transformation occurred more gradually, over decades as opposed to months, yet it remains unsettling through similar means, a bewildering emotional blow for numerous individuals.
A Harmful Christianity Establishes Itself
Hence I shall explain the Jesus that I grew up with, since in theory Christ is the focus of any Christian faith, and because the fastest-growing cadre of Americans may possess limited understanding regarding him because they identify as atheists or doubters or religiously unaffiliated. I have no problem with any of these traditions, nor with alternative spiritual paths; however I believe that there are pearls of substantial value in the Christian story.
It is emphatically definitely not the story of a powerful ruler emerging; conversely, a baby is born to displaced parents in an automotive shelter, who need to rapidly escape to a foreign land to escape covert authorities. The infant develops in simple surroundings, an employed craftsman; his message focuses on affection for other people, specifically for the disadvantaged – not simply tender feelings, but tangible care, demonstrated through nourishing and protecting. Jesus' answer to hostility is to offer the additional cheek – not as an act of passive acceptance, but as a means to instruct the aggressor; his crime policy is that if someone steals your jacket you ought to provide him your sweater too.
The obvious and straightforward reality that the Savior of the gospels advocates for a type of extreme compassion focused on the needy is what has always made Christian religion something of a controversial faith: appealing to the general public, but because of its natural unconventionality demanding to be contained. In the 1950s it was controlled through watering down – The Protestant faith was so dominant that it practically baptized the status quo.
A Battle for the Highest of Us
Therefore I have felt encouraged to observe the determined opposition to Trump emerge during the previous year. It has been significant comfort to assist in constructing the initiative that has protested openly through repeated demonstrations, and seems to have inspired citizens to show up in large quantities during minor elections. We must have to maintain it, and through comparable resolve, with American flags during all protests and calls to the highest qualities in US history.
We will be questioned ... about how you treated the foreigner? Did you welcome them and embrace them or reject?
America is best defended, essentially, by relationship to the best within national tradition, similar to Christianity is optimally secured through connection to that which renders it special and magnificent, which is the example of Christ. In all circumstances does it imply acting as if the most damaging about the nation and religious tradition never occurred; it signifies both modesty and belief, a combination that committed national faithful should be comfortable with.