Beware of any Christian movement that demands the government be an instrument of God's wrath, but never a source of God's mercy, generosity or compassion. Rev. Benjamin Cremer
In spite of the rhetoric the far religious right has developed to excuse their support for Republican political candidates who do not reflect their Christian beliefs or practices, it is not philosophically or practically possible for a person who professes the conservative Evangelical testimony of Christian conversion to give their political support and their vote to Donald Trump, and claim that is consistent with their faith and beliefs. The two worldviews, Trumpism and what we now call the MAGA base, and biblical Christianity, are practically, philosophically and religiously incompatible with each other.
I'm not saying that those Christians who support Trump have "lost their salvation," or were not sincere in their Christian beliefs and practices. That's for God to judge. But what I am saying is that their own knowledge of, and practice of their Christian faith is neither extensive enough, nor mature enough, to recognize the fact that MAGA Trumpism is antithetical to biblical Christianity. They are, as the author of the book of Hebrews called them, "infants unskilled in the word of righteousness," no matter how many sermons they've sat through or Sunday school lessons they've heard.
Talking the Talk Without Walking the Walk
With white, Evangelical Christians being the single largest constituency within the MAGA crowd, and traditional, Reagan Republicans being a minority, Trump has had to figure out where to make his deals and what he can promise and deliver that won't interferre with his main agenda, which is to give ownership of the resources of the United States to a class of wealthy oligarchs who will control every aspect of the economy, and not interfere with their ability to achieve this goal because of some quirky aspect of Christian nationalist politics.
Abortion and overturning Roe was an easy deal. It cost him nothing, because the judges he got on the Supreme Court who were willing to overturn Roe were philosophically and politically aligned with his agenda right down the line. And frankly, the fact that Trump's personal morality is as antichristian as it can get, and what faith practice he has is with the heretical, apostate "prosperity gospel" crowd, which has abandoned the Christian gospel found in scripture by defining the term "blessing" with "money," lets him please both agendas and keep them on his train.
It takes a level of what I refer to as "Biblical literacy," which includes knowledge of the themes and principles of each of the Bible's 66 books, along with some ability to discern how to interpret a text written in a culture and society in the Middle East over 2,000 years ago, to understand, and practice, the Christian gospel as a personal faith experience. Most church researchers, like Barna, or Ed Stetzer, for example, have discovered that, among those who are found in the church's pews on a regular basis each week, fewer than 25% of them have enough working knowledge of what can be found in the Bible to discern the difference between authentic Christian teaching and what the Apostle Jude calls "intruders" who have "crept in...and perverted the grace of our God into sensuality."
That's an apt description of exactly what has happened with Trump and the Evangelical far right. Look at the rhetoric. Trump has no qualms about making statements that Christians would recognize as sheer blasphemy if anyone else was making them, but they are blind to his use of that kind of terminology.
Several high profile, self-appointed Evangelical "leaders" have made multiple attempts to get Trump to confess an authentic Christian conversion experience. From their conservative, literalist, Evangelical perspective, this requires an individual to acknowledge spiritual conviction of their sinful nature, admit and confess that they are a sinner who cannot save themselves, turn to God, accepting the sacrifice of Jesus' crucifixion as the payment for sin's penalty and to avoid the wrath of God, repent from their sin and be restored spiritually by the Holy Spirit. The hang up they've encountered with Trump is his refusal to admit that he is sinful, and his proclamation that he has not committed any sin that requires God's forgiveness. His view of God, which he openly articulates, differs significantly from what those Evangelical leaders preach from their pulpits.
Franklin Graham was caustic and judgmental in his condemnation of President Clinton, calling out his "marital infidelity," and publicly claiming that it "morally disqualified" him from the Presidency. His response to Trump's affair with Stormy Daniels? He should be "left alone" to deal with it with his wife, and with God. And that statement morally disqualifies Franklin Graham, as far as I am concerned.
Of course, their response has been to try to ignore these public statements made by Trump, some of them caught on their own video, and pass over this, knowing that most of the people who follow them are not going to bother checking it out, and will believe whatever they are told. After all, these are the people who fork over millions of dollars to them on a regular basis, basically for nothing, so that they can claim to be recipients of "God's blessings." I'd suggest, or should I say, strongly assert, that any Evangelical leader of a large, multi-million dollar ministry organization, or a mega-church, who endorses and supports Trump is a phony. And that's not judging them, that's simply an observation.
So What is it About Trump That's So Anti-Christian?
I think the easier question to answer would be, "what isn't?"
Leaving the character issues aside, his history of adulterous affairs, divorces, marrying the "other woman" each time, along with a whole, documented, sordid history of sexual immorality which, by all of the available evidence, has continued through his presidency and into his post-presidency, his complete lack of remorse, repentance or even an admission that his lie about the 2020 election was wrong, is a serious sign of his anti-Christian attitude and demeanor. He is a pathological liar, and that is just not consistent with the character of someone who claims to be Christian.
The kind of rhetoric in which he, and his associates and surrogates who are involved in his campaign are engaging, advocating domestic violence, using the law, not to prosecute criminals but to get revenge against political opponents, and the endless lies being told and conspiracy theories being promoted are a diametric opposite of any Christian values or virtues. Of course, his own son, Don Jr., made it clear, in a speech to a Turning Point U.S.A. rally that the virtues advocated by Jesus Christ "have gotten us nowhere." That's an exact quote.
When Trumpers emerge from a church service, critical of the pastor's sermon, based on Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, complain about where he got those "liberal talking points," that's a good sign that the spirit of antichrist reigns supreme in that far right wing political movement. Loving one's enemies and turning the other cheek are Christian virtues that, when practiced, are a clear demonstration of spiritual transformation, since they run counter to human nature.
The insurrection which Trump incited to attempt to keep Congress from counting the legitimately certified electoral votes, in addition to being a violation of the law, bordering on treason, are also a clear violation of scripture, written by the two most influential church Apostles, Peter and Paul. Paul's instructions to the church at Rome was a powerful testimony to the depth of Christian faith, found in Romans 12;1-7, and Peter, who says much the same thing, actually mentions the emperor in I Peter 2:13-17.
Then there's the incessant lying, deliberate dishonesty for the purpose of self-benefit and to deliberately mislead. Trump is a proven liar, who has left behind a trail of thousands of deliberate lies which he is either incapable of recognizing, or which are a demonstration of his lack of any kind of concience or integrity. And those who support him and buy into the lies are liars themselves. And that means that it is not possible to trust the word of any of his Evangelical supporters, especially not those who are in positions of leadership, because they are endorsing the lies and the behavior.
Conservative American Evangelicals Are Now Known More For Their Political Support for Trump, Than For Their Testimony of Jesus as Messiah
There's no way to avoid having to carry all of this worldly baggage when supporting Trump as a presidential candidate. There's no way to separate his corrupt character from his politics or from one's faith. Supporting someone with a vote that is a privilege, whose character is contrary to everything about one's own faith is sinful.
The fact that so many conservative Christians continue to support Trump, with evidence of his lack of Christian character facing them in the news cycle every day indicates what I see as an appalling lack of knowledge of the Bible that they claim is the "sole" authority for faith and practice in Christianity, and a disconnect between what the Bible defines as Christian practice, and their own, which tells me that they are resisting any spiritual prompting or conviction that is essential to a visible Christian testimony. But the lack of knowledge of the Bible in Christian practice is characteristic of Evangelicals as much as they claim it is a problem in other denominations whom they criticize for not believing the Bible like they do. In their support for Trump, they are giving loyalty to a false messiah (Matthew 24:23-24).
The very short epistle of the Apostle Jude, the only writing in the New Testament attributed to this Apostle who was most likely the son of Joseph and Mary and a brother of Jesus, gives instruction to the fledgling, first century church on remaining faithful and avoiding the intrusion of ungodly people who "pervert the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only master and Lord, Jesus Christ."
Jude identifies the intruders in a way that so closely resembles what is now happening to American Evangelicals that it's difficult to believe it wasn't written by someone who is observing it as it occurs. His decriptions of those who are leading the church astray are spot on.
"But these people slander whatever they do not understand, and they are destroyed by those things that, like irrational animals, they know by instinct. Woe to them! For they go the way of Cain, and abandon themselves to Balaam's error for the sake of gain, and preish in Korah's rebellion. These are blemishes on your live-feasts, while they feast with you without fear, feeding themselves. They are waterless clouds, carried along by the winds; autumn trees without fruit, twice dead, uprooted; wild waves of the sea, casting up the foam of their owns shame; wandering stars, for who the deepest darkness has been reserved forever." Jude, Verses 10-13;
"These are grumblers and malcontents; they undulge their own lusts; they are bombastic in speech, flattering people to their own advantage." Jude v. 16
To get the full effect of using this as a description of the MAGA cult, do a little research and define what this author means by his use of "the way of Cain," "Balaam's Error," and "Korah's Rebellion." It's an eye opener for sure.
And that's as good of a description of this abberration of American Evangelical Christians as I could come up with myself.
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