They're Doing to America What They Executed within Christianity

Trumpism's most telling and distinctive instances – not its most important, nor most harsh, nor most hazardous, nor most foolish, but possibly its most revealing – occurred earlier this fall. Over the span of several weeks, the nation's leader began displaying all observers his plans for a lavish reception room twice the size of the White House and subsequently started solo dismantling the eastern section to construct it.

He has performed deeds 10,000 times as bad – the current estimate of deaths from his cuts to foreign assistance stands at 600,000 and growing, and presently a study predicted his energy policies would kill another 1.3 million. Yet nothing as characteristic. No previous president would have risked – genuinely, no previous leader would have conceived – independently wrecking major areas of the White House to construct a royal-themed celebration hall, with the active collaboration of multiple the nation's most affluent, the majority of whom maintain dealings with federal agencies.

We went from 'the gentle will obtain the planet' toward 'the meek shall die from cholera'

As bewildering as it is to observe the president attempt to overturn the traditional concept of democracy and exchange it with its complete opposite, there remains a substantial portion among Americans who should not find it completely novel. That is those of us – among senior generations a near majority – who were raised as mainline Protestant Christians.

We have watched throughout the years while conservative evangelical congregations transformed the Christ we learned about into the complete reverse of our perception of his character. At its most basic, they transformed an image of affection into an icon of hate who approves specifically the brutality that he criticized in the Gospel; this change developed at a slower pace, over decades instead of months, but it is nonetheless disturbing in the same ways, a confusing personal impact for numerous individuals.

A Toxic Christianity Takes Hold

So let me first describe the Savior from my upbringing, as conceptually the Savior is the core within Christian belief, and since the fastest-growing cadre within America might have little sense regarding him as they consider themselves non-believers or doubters or nones. I have no problem with these different approaches, nor with alternative spiritual paths; however I believe that contain precious wisdom of great price within Christian narrative.

It is decidedly absolutely not the narrative of a mighty king arising; instead, a baby is born to homeless parents in a storage space, who must quickly flee to a different country to evade undercover officers. The child matures in modest conditions, a laboring woodworker; his doctrine concerns compassion for others, specifically for the disadvantaged – not simply tender feelings, but a concrete one, demonstrated through nourishing and protecting. Jesus' answer to aggression is to present the opposite cheek – not as a gesture of submissive tolerance, but as a way to teach the assailant; his method regarding offenses is that if someone steals your outer garment you ought to provide him your sweater too.

The apparent and straightforward truth that the Savior of the gospels advocates for a kind of radical love concentrated on the impoverished has consistently rendered Christian religion somewhat of a scandalous religion: engaging for the populace, but due to its natural unconventionality demanding to be restrained. In the 1950s it was restrained by dilution – The Protestant faith was so widespread that it practically baptized the status quo.

A Conflict for the Highest Among Us

Hence I have become heartened to observe the determined opposition to Trump emerge in this past year. It has served as significant comfort to help build the campaign that has protested openly via continuous gatherings, and appears to have motivated citizens to show up in large quantities in the off-year elections. We will need to maintain it, and in the same spirit, displaying national flags during all protests and calls to the best parts of American history.

We shall be interrogated ... about how you treated the immigrant? Did you welcome them and embrace them or reject?

America is best defended, essentially, by relationship to the best about American history, just as Christianity is best defended by relationship to elements that cause it to be distinctive and beautiful, particularly the pattern of the Savior. In neither case does it suggest pretending the most damaging of both America and Christian faith was nonexistent; it means both modesty and conviction, a blend that serious US believers should be comfortable with.