Kinzinger: Christians Who Support Trump Don't Understand Their Own Religion
"I'm going to go out on a NOT limb here: this man is not a Christian," said former Illinois Representative Adam Kinzinger in a social media post on Sunday, December 23. Kinzinger added, "If you are a Christian who supports him, you don't understand your own religion." That's in response to a Truth Social post from Trump.
When Republicans Get Things Right
The old saying, "even a broken clock is right twice a day," is a good description of how I feel about Republican politics, and politicians. The attraction between Republican politics and Evangelical doctrine and practice is easy enough to see. Both are systems which promote a privileged class of people benefitting from the power that comes from the collective group and its resources. Both run by oligarchy rather than on any democratic principle, which is just formality, not authoritative.
Adam Kinzinger grew up in an Evangelical church, Baptist by denominational affiliation, and is currently involved in a conservative, non-denominational Evangelical church, which explains his affinity to Republicanism. However, there are places in Kinzinger's more moderate practice of Republicanism that indicate the effect of a more Biblical, less politically-oriented practice of Christian faith, in his case, than that which is visible in the heretical form of Evangelicalism, blended with right wing extremist politics, which we see dominating the GOP.
Kinzinger says that he voted for Trump's impeachment because of his own faith convictions, something which resonates with my own Christian convictions, based on an orthodox interpretation of the Bible, not on the faddish trendiness of modern megachurch celebrity preachers. It cost him his seat in Congress, and it opened him up to attacks from the likes of self-appointed Evangelical "leaders" like Franklin Graham, who's more a worshipper of prosperity than a believer in Christ. He was the recipient of a very un-Christian attack on his own character from members of his own family. In spite of sticking to some Republican political positions, that, along with his service on the congressional committee that investigated Trump's insurrection crimes, gives him some credibility.
"This Man is Not a Christian"
Jesus himself is recorded as saying that those who believe in and follow the Christian gospel are not to judge others, an admonition found in Matthew's gospel, chapter 7 verses 1 through 3. But there's a difference between taking something someone says at face value, and comparing it to the lifestyle they want to promote for themselves, and judging them. Saying that Trump is not a Christian is merely pointing out the obvious, which includes Trump's own words on the subject.
Evangelical teaching is very clear in defining the term "Christian" as one who has experienced what they call "salvation" or having had a conversion experience that includes mandatory elements derived from both the words of Christ himself, and those of his apostles. The elements of conversion to Christianity include having experienced a spiritual conviction of one's own sinful nature, as compared to the nature of God, and a desire for repentance, or turning away from this sinful nature. Acknowledging that belief in the sinless life of Christ, in what he lived and taught, and turning to him by convicting belief, as opposed to mere intellectual assertion, in the sacrifice for human sin he made oby being crucified, and in his divine nature as the Son of God, signified by his resurrection from the dead, are all specific elements of conversion which, according to Evangelical doctrine and theology, brings forgiveness from sin by God himself, and makes one a "Christian."
The lifestyle that accompanies this confession and conversion is expected to follow the example set by Jesus and taught by the apostles in the New Testament, as the new covenant, or Christian gospel, and includes virtues and values that are defined and explained in multiple places, starting with Christ's Sermon on the Mount, found in Matthew chapters 5-7, and beginning with the Beatitudes of Matthew 5:3-11. Conversion occurs in multiple circumstances, so those who have experienced it do not always have the advantage of being around people who can guide them in their faith, that's what the church is supposed to do.
Trump says he's "Christian," and is clear that's in the traditional sense of the term, in that he has some connection to a Protestant church somewhere in his past. However, on more than one very public occasion, in the presence of so-called Evangelical leaders, Jerry Falwell Jr., Robert Jeffress, pastor of Dallas First Baptist Church, and Franklin Graham, he has dodged the conversion question, claiming he has "his own belief in God," and that he has not done anything which requires forgiveness. That, along with the lifestyle he continues to lead and the image he continues to promote, is easy to interpret as not being Christian, at least, not by the Evangelical definition of the term.
And that, very naturally and logically leads to the question of why those who claim that this is the center of their own life would ever support, endorse, or approve of someone who lives that way as a leader, whether it's in their church or in their country. That's not judgmental, that's simply a reasonable conclusion based on fact, including on the words of Trump himself.
Given the evidence presented during the congressional hearings, which Kinzinger helped by providing bi-partisan leadership, he arrived at the only conclusion that he could have in following his own conscience, governed by his faith, and that was that Donald Trump was worthy of impeachment and removal from the Presidency. That is the ONLY decision that any Evangelical Christian, whose consicence is governed by their faith, could determine and still remain true to their beliefs.
If Someone Tells You Something About Themselves, and What They Will Do, Believe Them
It's blasphemy to attribute the rise of a demagogue as a leader, which is an exact description of Donald Trump, and call that demagogue "God's man." None of the men who were called to be leaders in the Old Testament accounts of theocratic Israel were perfect. But none of those who the accounts in Kings and Chronicles describe as "doing evil in the sight of the Lord," ever came to anything except judgment.
And while there are two Apostles, writing in the New Testament about governing authorities having their power due to God's allowance, and instructing Christians to acknowledge this authority and give it respect, there is no place at all where Christians are instructed to give their loyalty and allegiance to governing authorities over that of Christ, nor is there any distinguishing between governing authorities based on their political posture. Applying those passages to our current political system and government means that Christians should give the governing authorities the respect they are due for their position, whether they are Democratic party, Republican Party, independent or Hottentot.
And under no circumstances will God ever ask Christians, who believe in him, to be loyal and give allegiance to an adulterous, lying deceiver who denies that he needs God's forgiveness and who makes up his own religion rather than acknowledging God's power and authority over him. Ever.
Pay close attention to what comes out of Trump's mouth this time around. What he is claiming are his plans for a second term in the White House are anti-Christian, and you can find the definition of that term in I John 4:1-3 and 2 John 7. So is the white supremacy, Christian nationalism, Seven Mountains Dominionism, and other heresies whose followers see Trump as God's man. That should be a warning for any Christian who understands and believes the gospel of Christ in the New Testament by conviction not to support, or vote for, Trump.
So thank you, Representative Kinzinger, for being true to your faith, and for putting country over party. It's tragic that there are so few Republicans who at least get this right.
No comments:
Post a Comment