The Trump phenomenon's most revealing and distinctive occasions – not its most significant, nor cruelest, nor most threatening, nor stupidest, but possibly its most revealing – occurred earlier this fall. During the period of multiple weeks, the American president commenced revealing all observers his designs for a lavish reception room twice the size compared to the White House and then began unilaterally ripping down the East Wing to construct it.
He has committed acts countless times more severe – the current estimate of deaths from his cuts to international aid stands at 600,000 and rising, and presently research projected his energy policies would kill another 1.3 million. But nothing as definitional. No other president would have risked – really, no former commander would have conceived – independently wrecking significant portions of the White House to build a palace-inspired entertainment space, with the enthusiastic participation of multiple the richest Americans, almost all of whom have business with public institutions.
We moved from 'the humble will receive the world' to 'the gentle will succumb from cholera'
As confusing as it is to witness the leader try to upend the traditional concept regarding democracy and substitute it with its direct contrary, there exists a significant segment within America who might not perceive it entirely new. This includes individuals like us – within elder demographics close to half – who were brought up as mainline Protestant Christians.
We have witnessed across decades while conservative evangelical congregations turned the Jesus we learned about into exactly the opposite of our perception of his character. Essentially, they turned a figure of compassion into a figure of hostility who blesses exactly the harshness that he denounced in scripture; this change developed more slowly, through multiple decades instead of months, yet it remains disconcerting through similar means, a disorienting gut punch for many of us.
A Toxic Christianity Takes Hold
Therefore allow me to outline the Jesus from my childhood, since in theory Jesus is the center within Christian belief, and since the rapidly expanding group within America might have little sense about him since they are skeptics or doubters or religiously unaffiliated. I have no problem with these different approaches, nor with different religions; however I believe that contain precious wisdom of great price in the Christian story.
It is unquestionably not the story of an authoritative monarch arising; instead, a child comes into the world to displaced parents in a garage, who must quickly flee to a different country to evade undercover officers. The baby grows up in modest conditions, a laboring woodworker; his teaching focuses on affection for fellow humans, particularly for the disadvantaged – not simply tender feelings, but practical compassion, expressed by feeding and sheltering. Christ's response to violence is to turn the additional cheek – not as a gesture of submissive tolerance, but as a way to instruct the assailant; his method regarding offenses states that when an individual takes your outer garment you must offer him your sweater also.
The apparent and direct fact that Christ from scripture calls for a form of extreme compassion concentrated on the impoverished has consistently rendered Christianity somewhat of a provocative belief system: appealing to the general public, but because of its intrinsic extremism needing to be restrained. In the fifties it was contained through watering down – Protestantism was so widespread that it essentially baptized the status quo.
A Struggle for the Highest Within Us
Therefore I have felt inspired to witness the steadfast resistance to Trump develop in this past year. It has served as substantial consolation to assist in constructing the movement that has taken to the streets in rally after rally, and appears to have motivated citizens to participate in significant amounts during minor elections. We will need to maintain it, and with identical determination, with American flags throughout each rally and appeals to the highest qualities in US history.
We're going to be asked ... how did you receive the stranger? Did you receive him and receive them or reject?
America is best defended, to put it differently, through connection to the finest in US heritage, just as Christianity is most protected by reference to elements that cause it to be unique and magnificent, particularly the pattern of Jesus. In neither case does it suggest feigning the most negative regarding America and Christian faith did not happen; it means both modesty and faith, a mixture that committed US believers should embrace.
