The Trump phenomenon's most telling and characteristic instances – not its most crucial, nor most brutal, nor most hazardous, nor most foolish, but possibly its most revealing – occurred earlier this fall. Over the span of several weeks, the US president commenced revealing the public his designs for a lavish reception room two times larger of the White House and subsequently started independently demolishing the eastern section to build it.
He has done things ten thousand times worse – the present calculation of casualties resulting from his reductions to international aid stands at 600,000 and rising, and this week a study predicted his fossil fuel policies would kill another 1.3 million. But nothing as definitional. No other president would have attempted – really, no other president would have conceived – solo demolishing significant portions of the presidential residence in order to erect a royal-themed celebration hall, with the active collaboration of some of America's wealthiest, the majority of whom maintain dealings with the government.
We went from 'the humble will receive the world' to 'the meek shall die of cholera'
As disorienting as it is to watch the president attempt to overturn the traditional concept about democracy and substitute it with its complete opposite, there remains a substantial portion among Americans who might not perceive it completely novel. That encompasses people such as ourselves – among senior generations almost a majority – who were raised as conventional Protestant believers.
We have observed across decades as rightwing evangelical churches converted the Savior we grew up with into the total contrary of our understanding of him. Essentially, they turned a figure of affection into an icon of animosity who approves precisely the cruelties that he criticized in biblical teachings; this has happened more slowly, across decades instead of months, yet it remains disturbing through similar means, a disorienting gut punch for countless people.
A Toxic Christianity Takes Hold
So let me first describe the Savior that I grew up with, because theoretically Jesus is the center of any Christian faith, and given that the rapidly expanding group of Americans might have little sense of him as they consider themselves atheists or uncertain individuals or nones. I take no issue with these various perspectives, nor with different religions; but I do think that contain precious wisdom of significant worth within Christian narrative.
It is unquestionably not the story of a mighty king emerging; instead, a child comes into the world to parents without shelter in a storage space, who need to rapidly escape to a different country to escape undercover officers. The baby grows up in simple surroundings, a laboring woodworker; his message is about love for other people, specifically for the impoverished – not merely emotional affection, but practical compassion, demonstrated through nourishing and protecting. Jesus' answer to violence is to turn the additional cheek – not as an act of passive acceptance, but as a method to educate the aggressor; his method regarding offenses is that if an individual takes your coat you ought to provide him your sweater also.
The evident and clear truth that the Savior of the gospels calls for a kind of extreme compassion concentrated on the poor has consistently rendered the Christian faith somewhat of a controversial faith: appealing to the populace, but due to its inherent radicalness needing to be restrained. During the 1950s it was contained through watering down – Protestantism was so prevalent that it basically baptized the status quo.
A Conflict for the Finest of Us
So I have been encouraged to observe the steadfast resistance to Trump emerge in this past year. It has served as significant comfort to participate in developing the movement that has protested openly through repeated demonstrations, and seems to have inspired citizens to turn out in large quantities during minor elections. We shall require to maintain it, and through comparable resolve, featuring US banners at every demonstration and requests to the finest aspects within national heritage.
We shall be interrogated ... about how you treated the stranger? Did you welcome them and welcome him or reject?
The nation is most protected, essentially, by reference to the best within national tradition, exactly as the Christian faith is best defended by reference to elements that cause it to be special and magnificent, which is the example of Christ. In both situations does it imply pretending the worst regarding America and religious tradition never occurred; it signifies both humility and belief, a blend that committed US believers should embrace.
