Trumpism's most revealing and distinctive moments – not its most important, nor cruelest, nor most dangerous, nor most senseless, but perhaps its most illuminating – occurred earlier this fall. Over the span of a few weeks, the American president commenced revealing all observers his plans for a lavish reception room two times larger than the White House and subsequently started solo dismantling the eastern section to build it.
He has committed acts countless times more severe – the existing assessment of casualties due to his slashing to USAID stands at 600,000 and growing, and presently a study predicted his petroleum strategies would kill 1.3 million more. But nothing as definitional. No former leader would have attempted – really, no other president would have contemplated – solo demolishing major areas of the executive mansion in order to erect a Versailles-style party room, with the active collaboration of multiple America's wealthiest, the majority of whom maintain dealings with federal agencies.
We transitioned from 'the meek shall inherit the world' toward 'the humble will perish to cholera'
As disorienting as it is to watch the leader attempt to overturn the old idea regarding democracy and substitute it with its complete opposite, there is one large group of Americans who might not perceive it totally unfamiliar. That encompasses people such as ourselves – within elder demographics almost a majority – who were educated as conventional Protestant believers.
We have witnessed over the years while conservative evangelical congregations turned the Jesus we grew up with into the total contrary of our understanding of him. Essentially, they converted a persona of love into a figure of animosity who endorses specifically the brutality that he denounced in biblical teachings; this has happened more gradually, over decades rather than months, but it is nonetheless disturbing via comparable methods, a confusing personal impact for countless people.
A Toxic Christianity Takes Hold
Hence I shall explain the Jesus that I grew up with, because theoretically the Savior is the core within Christian belief, and given that the fastest-growing cadre within America may possess limited understanding of him because they identify as non-believers or doubters or religiously unaffiliated. I have no problem with these various perspectives, nor with any other faith; but I do think that contain precious wisdom of significant worth in biblical accounts.
It is decidedly absolutely not the narrative of a mighty king emerging; conversely, an infant arrives to displaced parents in a garage, who are forced to hastily depart to a foreign land to escape covert authorities. The child matures in humble circumstances, an employed craftsman; his teaching focuses on affection for fellow humans, especially for the poor – not merely emotional affection, but practical compassion, demonstrated through nourishing and housing. Christ's response to violence is to present the opposite cheek – not as a gesture of passive acceptance, but as a way to teach the attacker; his crime policy is that if a person pilfers your outer garment you must offer him your sweater also.
The apparent and direct truth that the Savior in biblical accounts requests a type of extreme compassion focused on the poor is what has always made Christianity somewhat of a scandalous religion: engaging for the general public, but due to its natural unconventionality demanding to be contained. In the fifties it was contained through watering down – Protestant Christianity was so prevalent that it practically blessed current circumstances.
A Conflict for the Finest of Us
Therefore I have felt heartened to see the determined opposition to Trump develop during the previous year. It has been significant comfort to help build the movement that has taken to the streets in rally after rally, and seems to have inspired electorate to turn out in significant amounts in interim political contests. We will need to maintain it, and through comparable resolve, featuring US banners at every demonstration and calls to the finest aspects in US history.
We shall be interrogated ... regarding how you welcomed the immigrant? Did you welcome them and welcome him or not?
The nation is most protected, to put it differently, through connection to the finest about American history, exactly as the Christian faith is most protected by reference to what makes it special and wonderful, which is the example of Jesus. In neither case does it mean pretending the most negative about the nation and Christianity never occurred; it means both meekness and belief, a combination that committed national faithful ought to accept.
