They're Repeating to America What They Did to Christianity

The Trump movement's most telling and distinctive moments – not its most crucial, nor most harsh, nor most dangerous, nor stupidest, but possibly its most revealing – came earlier this autumn. Over the span of multiple weeks, the nation's leader started showing everyone his designs for an ornate dance hall two times larger than the White House and then began independently demolishing the eastern section to build it.

He has performed deeds countless times more severe – the current estimate of deaths due to his slashing to foreign assistance is 600,000 and rising, and this week an analysis predicted his energy policies would result in fatalities an additional 1.3 million. But nothing as definitional. No previous president would have attempted – truly, no former commander would have conceived – unilaterally destroying major areas of the White House to construct a royal-themed celebration hall, with the enthusiastic participation of some of America's wealthiest, the majority of whom have business with the government.

We moved from 'the gentle will obtain the planet' toward 'the humble will perish to cholera'

As disorienting as it is to observe the president try to upend the established notion regarding democracy and substitute it with its complete opposite, there exists a significant segment of Americans who wouldn't consider it completely novel. That encompasses people such as ourselves – within elder demographics close to half – who were educated as mainline Protestant Christians.

We have witnessed over the years as politically conservative religious groups transformed the Christ we grew up with into exactly the opposite of our perception of his character. Fundamentally, they converted a persona of love into a symbol of animosity who approves exactly the harshness that he denounced in biblical teachings; this transformation occurred more slowly, over decades rather than months, but it is nonetheless disturbing through similar means, a bewildering emotional blow for numerous individuals.

A Toxic Christianity Takes Hold

So let me first describe the Jesus from my upbringing, because theoretically Jesus is the center of any Christian faith, and given that the fastest-growing cadre among Americans could have minimal awareness of him because they identify as skeptics or uncertain individuals or nones. I have no problem with these various perspectives, nor with different religions; yet I maintain that there are pearls of great price within Christian narrative.

It is emphatically definitely not the account of a mighty king appearing; rather, a baby is born to parents without shelter in a garage, who must quickly flee to a foreign land to escape secret police. The baby grows up in modest conditions, a working carpenter; his teaching concerns compassion for others, especially for the disadvantaged – not simply tender feelings, but practical compassion, expressed by feeding and sheltering. Jesus' answer to violence is to offer the opposite cheek – not as a demonstration of passive acceptance, but as a means to teach the assailant; his approach to wrongdoing indicates that whenever someone steals your outer garment you should give the person your additional clothing also.

The apparent and direct truth that the Jesus in biblical accounts advocates for a form of radical love concentrated on the poor has consistently rendered Christian religion rather a provocative belief system: engaging for the general public, but due to its inherent radicalness needing to be restrained. In the fifties it was restrained by dilution – Protestant Christianity was so prevalent that it practically sanctified existing conditions.

A Struggle for the Highest Within Us

So I have been heartened to see the persistent defiance to Trump develop over the last twelve months. It has been great solace to help build the movement that has taken to the streets through repeated demonstrations, and seems to have inspired electorate to turn out in significant amounts during minor elections. We will need to maintain it, and in the same spirit, with American flags during all protests and appeals to the finest aspects in US history.

We will be questioned ... about how you treated the foreigner? Did you welcome them and welcome him or refuse?

The nation is most protected, to put it differently, by relationship to the best in US heritage, similar to Christianity is best defended through connection to elements that cause it to be unique and magnificent, which is the example of the Savior. In all circumstances does it imply feigning the most damaging of both America and Christianity did not happen; it signifies both modesty and conviction, a blend that committed national faithful ought to accept.