The Trump movement's most illuminating and distinctive moments – not its most important, nor most harsh, nor most dangerous, nor most foolish, but possibly its most revealing – occurred earlier this fall. During the period of a few weeks, the nation's leader started showing the public his intentions for an ornate dance hall twice the size than the White House and then began unilaterally ripping down the East Wing portion to construct it.
He has performed deeds countless times more severe – the present calculation of casualties resulting from his reductions to foreign assistance stands at 600,000 and growing, and this week a study projected his fossil fuel policies would cause deaths 1.3 million more. But nothing as definitional. No previous president would have risked – truly, no former commander would have contemplated – solo demolishing major areas of the White House in order to erect a palace-inspired entertainment space, with the enthusiastic participation of multiple the nation's most affluent, almost all of whom conduct transactions with federal agencies.
We moved from 'the gentle will obtain the world' toward 'the meek shall die to cholera'
As bewildering as it is to observe the president try to upend the traditional concept of democracy and substitute it with its direct contrary, there exists a significant segment within America who wouldn't consider it completely novel. That is those of us – among senior generations almost a majority – who were educated within mainstream Protestant traditions.
We have witnessed across decades as politically conservative religious groups transformed the Christ we learned about into the complete reverse of our perception of his character. Essentially, they converted a persona of love into a figure of animosity who approves specifically the brutality that he condemned in biblical teachings; this has happened more slowly, through multiple decades instead of months, yet it remains disturbing in the same ways, a confusing personal impact for countless people.
A Damaging Christianity Gains Ground
Hence I shall explain the Jesus from my upbringing, since in theory Jesus is the center of any Christian faith, and since the fastest-growing cadre of Americans might have little sense regarding him because they identify as non-believers or uncertain individuals or nones. I raise no objection with any of these traditions, nor with different religions; yet I maintain that exist valuable insights of significant worth in the Christian story.
It is decidedly not the story of a powerful ruler appearing; conversely, an infant arrives to homeless parents in a storage space, who must quickly flee to a foreign land to evade undercover officers. The child matures in humble circumstances, a working carpenter; his message concerns compassion for others, particularly for the impoverished – not simply tender feelings, but a concrete one, expressed by feeding and protecting. Christ's response to violence is to turn the other cheek – not as a demonstration of submissive tolerance, but as a way to instruct the attacker; his crime policy is that if someone steals your coat you should give the person your additional clothing also.
The obvious and straightforward truth that Christ of the gospels calls for a type of extreme compassion concentrated on the needy has perpetually caused Christian religion somewhat of a scandalous religion: engaging for the populace, but owing to its natural unconventionality demanding to be contained. In the 1950s it was controlled by dilution – Protestant Christianity was so prevalent that it basically sanctified existing conditions.
A Conflict for the Finest Within Us
Therefore I have felt inspired to see the determined opposition to Trump emerge in this past year. It has served as great solace to help build the initiative that has protested openly through repeated demonstrations, and likely has encouraged voters to turn out in significant amounts in interim political contests. We shall require to persist with it, and through comparable resolve, featuring US banners at every demonstration and appeals to the highest qualities in US history.
We shall be interrogated ... regarding how you welcomed the stranger? Did you receive him and embrace them or refuse?
America is best defended, to put it differently, by relationship to the best within national tradition, similar to Christianity is optimally secured by relationship to what makes it special and magnificent, particularly the pattern of Jesus. In both situations does it suggest acting as if the worst about the nation and religious tradition did not happen; it represents both humility and conviction, a combination that committed national faithful ought to accept.
