Criticism of Bishop Budde by Republicans Characterized as "Un-American". It's Un-Christian, Too.

Atlanta Journal Constitution Opinion, Sophia Nelson:  Bishop Budde Was Right to Speak Truth to Trump 

"Somehow, a portion of the Republican party, including President Donald Trump and his followers, many of whom profess to love the Lord and and demand the Ten Commandments be displayed in schools, have decided that it is OK to attack a Bishop, Marianne Budde of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington, for her humble and respectful plea to simply show the least of these among us--our fellow citizens--compassion." 

So says Sylvia Nelson, a news commentator, in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. 

Nelson self identifies as a Christian.  She adds, "I consider religious liberty one of the most sacrosanct freedoms our Founding Fathers left for us to protect and honor.  So to see a sitting President openly attack and revile a bishop who asked him to show mercy to immigrants and other vulnerable people is appalling," she said, and added, "Worse, it is un-American." 

Amen to that.  

Clarifying the Definition of "Professing to Love the Lord" 

There's no question that Trump's demand for an apology from Bishop Budde, because she dared speak truth to him based on a core principle from the Christian gospel, which she supported with a citation of a portion of that gospel, is un-American.  There's no surprise in his demand for an apology, since he has no idea what the Constitution says, and even if he did, his ego would not allow him to submit to obedience of it.  Let's get this straight.  We have a President who is a lawbreaker and a felon, and so we should not be surprised when his actions show ignorance of the law, or, more likely, contempt for it.  

Desiring to display the Ten Commandments in school classrooms in the United States, is also a violation of what Nelson correctly calls a "sacrosanct freedom" It is not a sign of someone professing to "love the Lord," but is a political statement made by those who are ignorant of both the first amendment's guarantee of a free conscience when it comes to religion, and of the separation of church and state.  And if Trump, and his followers who profess to "love the Lord" really did what they claim, they would not have criticized a Bishop who "rightly interpreted the word of truth," as the Apostle Paul says, by preaching a biblically supported core principle of the gospel of Jesus Christ in a sermon during a worship service aimed at bringing about reconciliation and redemption.  

Anyone who professes to love the Lord would have found the Bishop's words inspiring, and an accurate characterization of what true Christian practice actually looks like.  The Bishop based her sermon on the words of Jesus, as he was closing one of his own sermons to his disciples, getting ready for his crucifixion.  

Jesus defined "loving the Lord," in the passage she used. 

"For I was hungry, and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink.  I was a stranger and you welcomed me.  I was naked and you gave me clothing.  I was sick and you took care of me. I was in prison, and you visited me."  

"Just as you did this to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me."  Matthew 25:35-36, 40, NRSV 

Being critical of a sermon that is calling on people to practice their Christian faith by humbling themselves and serving others is not "loving the Lord."  It is characteristic, however, of what has divided American Christians for most of the 20th and 21st century, the period during which Evangelicalism developed.  

The moderate to liberal Christians in this country, whose interpretation of the Bible considers its historical and cultural context, and does not consider the whole book as equal, in terms of either authority for Christian practice, or in the manner in which it is interpreted, have collectively focused  Christian practice on how being a recipient of grace by faith in Jesus causes someone to view the world and live by the values that Jesus considered core components of the Christian gospel. Their faith practice includes those things on which the Bishop focused in her sermon, the love of one's neighbor equal to the love of one's self, and all of the core values of the Christian faith emphasized and preached by Jesus in every reference to his teaching in the gospel.  

A more literal interpretation, emphasizing how separate parts of the Bible read and are interpreted literally,  as the translators have determined the meaning of the text, is a late 19th century-early 20th century development in Christianity, which led to the development of what we now call conservative Evangelicals, in its various forms, most notably the fundamentalism of Jerry Falwell and the Pentecostal/Charismatic practice of Pat Robertson.  Their literalism removes most of the historical and cultural contexts by which the Bible's authors interpreted Christian faith and practice, and how they looked at the Christian gospel, and focuses the practice on one's self, on the acquisition and maintenance of one's personal holiness, and on developing this holiness by following the rules and commandments found all through the Bible, including the Old Testament.  

So when Nelson says that many of Trump's Evangelical followers profess to love the Lord, they look at what defines doing so in a very different way.  While it is not consistent with the character of the Christian faith to impose commandments on anyone, since the Christian gospel teaches a lifestyle that is motivated by grace, through faith, not the result of checking off obedience boxes to a list of commandments, the fact that these people want the Ten Commandments in classrooms is quite telling about their lack of understanding of the Christian gospel.  If there was an insistence on posting something on the wall of a classroom that represented Christian faith and practice, it would be the Beatitudes, or the Christian principle of being "salt and light," emphasizing values on which the Christian gospel places the highest value, like peacemaking, mercy and forgiveness, integrity, good stewardship, a sense of community, humility, and loving one's enemies and neighbors equally.  That's the true essence of the Christian faith.  

Where are those things evident among the rhetoric, the lies, the cheating, the thirst for vengeance, and the authoritarian intentions of Trump and Project 2025?  Trump and most of the conservative critics of Bishop Budde, are not really demonstrating a faith that shows their love for the Lord, they are demonstrating a measure of selfish ambition in using Christianity as a means to pursue a very selfish agenda that ultimately exists for the purpose of enriching the few at the expense of the many.  

Trump Attacked Bishop Budde, Religious Liberty and Church-State Separation

One of the differences of opinion between right wing extremism and the Christianity represented by Bishop Budde is that Trump's attack on the bishop was also an attack on the first amendment, particularly on the principle of separation of church and state, the "wall" built by the establishment clause.  White Evangelicals have, since the beginning of their existence in the late 19th century, promoted some form of Christian nationalism.  This is caused by their faulty, literalist interpretations of the Bible which attempt to impose elements of the Old Testament Jewish theocracy into Christian practice.  There's a long history there that is worth knowing, especially by those who wish to see this movement defeated in elections.  

There's a whole history of a movement labelled "Anglo-Israelism," that is an underlying feature of Evangelicalism, the idea that the white Europeans who emigrated to America were chosen by God to be given a chance to build a Christian nation using the resources of the virgin North American continent.  The establishment clause and the first amendment are clear obstacles to this perspective, and clear evidence that the founders were not intending to establish America as a "Christian nation".

Trump, to secure his Evangelical base, has made the erosion of this separation part of his agenda, evident in his attack on Bishop Budde.  This is where the Bishop's sermon has drawn the battle line.  The establishment clause and the principles of religious liberty were the result of the influence of Christians in the United States who had experienced persecution under state church rule, and who came here to escape from it.  Bishop Budde, and the millions of American Christians who are in churches and denominations not influenced by aberrant fundamentalism or mystic Pentecostalism, are the strongest supporters of church-state separation and religious liberty.  They are an essential part of any agenda formed, or reformed, to help combat Trump and his Project 2025 agenda.