The Trump phenomenon's most telling and characteristic moments – not its most crucial, nor most harsh, nor most dangerous, nor stupidest, but possibly its most revealing – occurred earlier this fall. In the course of a few weeks, the American president started showing the public his intentions for an ornate dance hall twice the size than the White House and then began independently demolishing the East Wing portion to build it.
He has done things ten thousand times worse – the present calculation of fatalities resulting from his reductions to foreign assistance stands at 600,000 and increasing, and recently a study forecast his energy policies would cause deaths an additional 1.3 million. Yet nothing as characteristic. No former leader would have attempted – really, no former commander would have contemplated – unilaterally destroying major areas of the presidential residence to construct a royal-themed celebration hall, with the enthusiastic participation of multiple the richest Americans, the majority of whom conduct transactions with federal agencies.
We went from 'the gentle will obtain the world' into 'the gentle will succumb from cholera'
As bewildering as it is to observe the leader attempt to overturn the traditional concept regarding democracy and replace it with its complete opposite, there is one large group within America who might not perceive it completely novel. That is those of us – within elder demographics a near majority – who were brought up as conventional Protestant believers.
We have watched over the years as politically conservative religious groups turned the Jesus we learned about into the complete reverse of who we understood him to be. Essentially, they turned a figure of love into a symbol of hate who blesses precisely the cruelties that he criticized in the Gospel; this transformation occurred more gradually, over decades instead of months, yet it remains disturbing via comparable methods, a bewildering emotional blow for numerous individuals.
A Damaging Christianity Gains Ground
Hence I shall explain the Jesus from my childhood, as conceptually Jesus is the center within Christian belief, and given that the rapidly expanding group of Americans might have little sense about him since they are non-believers or agnostics or spiritual independents. I have no problem with these different approaches, nor with any other faith; however I believe that contain precious wisdom of great price within Christian narrative.
It is emphatically not the narrative 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 avoid covert authorities. The baby grows up in humble circumstances, an employed craftsman; his doctrine concerns compassion for fellow humans, especially for the disadvantaged – not simply tender feelings, but tangible care, expressed by feeding and sheltering. Christ's response to violence is to offer the other cheek – not as a gesture of compliant endurance, but as a way to instruct the assailant; his method regarding offenses is that if an individual takes your outer garment you should give the person your additional clothing too.
The obvious and clear truth that the Jesus of the gospels advocates for a type of radical love centered on the poor has perpetually caused Christianity somewhat of a controversial faith: appealing to the masses, but due to its inherent radicalness needing to be controlled. In the fifties it was controlled via weakening – The Protestant faith was so prevalent that it essentially blessed current circumstances.
A Conflict for the Finest Within Us
Hence I have become heartened to witness the persistent defiance to Trump develop over the last twelve months. It has been significant comfort to participate in developing the campaign that has demonstrated publicly through repeated demonstrations, and seems to have inspired electorate to participate in significant amounts in the off-year elections. We must have to maintain it, and with identical determination, displaying national flags at every demonstration and requests to the best parts of American history.
We shall be interrogated ... regarding how you welcomed the foreigner? Did you welcome them and receive them or not?
The country is optimally secured, essentially, through connection to the highest in US heritage, just as Christianity is most protected through connection to what makes it special and magnificent, which is the example of the Savior. In neither case does it mean pretending the most negative of both America and Christian faith was nonexistent; it represents both modesty and faith, a mixture that serious American Christians ought to accept.
