The sermon delivered by Bishop Mariann Budde at the National Prayer Service on January 21 continues to draw fire from conservatives, many of them Evangelicals who are enraged because a female, Episcopalian bishop preached core principles of the Christian gospel which, by their very nature, contrasted with the worldly, licentious, immoral, inhumane and un-Christian perspective of Trump. I grew up in an Evangelical church, and even now, as part of that culture, as I listen to the whining and complaining over Trump's having been exposed to truth that he can't stand, a Bible verse pops into my mind:
You must understand this, that in the last days distressing times will come. For people will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, inhuman, implacable, slanderers, profligates, brutes, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to the outward form of godliness but denying its power. Avoid them! [The Apostle Paul, 2 Timothy 3:1-5, NRSV]
When I read passages like this from the Bible, I wonder how it is that the Apostle Paul could be so on target without ever having met Trump personally. He describes Trump and his entourage perfectly, as if he were alive and recording events by observation. They, of course, are blind to his character, because they have been deluded. There's another passage, also written by the Apostle Paul, which I believe explains exactly why this collection of conservative Evangelicals, the Southern Baptists and Pentecostals and prosperity gospel heretics who make up Trump's religious apoligists, are not able to discern the truth or see the evil.
The coming of the lawless one is apparent in the working of Satan, who uses all power, signs, lying wonders, and every kind of wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. For this reason, God sends them a powerful delusion, leading them to believe what is false, so that all who have not believed the truth but took pleasure in unrighteousness will be condemned. [2 Thessalonians 2:9-12, NRSV]
I'm not saying that these verses are a prophecy, predicting what we are seeing transpire in front of us now, but they are prophetic, in that they are accurate in their description of what we are seeing. The truth was preached, in front of the President and Vice-President of the United States, neither of whom are actually practicing or professed Christians. Because he was offended by the truth, so were his religious sycophants, whose support for him is a clear indication of the emptiness and insincerity of their own claims to faith.
The Bishop's Sermon was Doctrinally and Theologically Correct
I've read some critiques of Bishop Budde's sermon written by some of those on the conservative and fundamentalist end of the doctrinal spectrum. The problem they have is that her sermon, which cites references and uses both biblical and traditional support, is solidly anchored in the main core of the gospel preached and taught by Jesus, as recorded by the writers of the four gospels in the New Testament. It must be infuriating for those who claim to hold a high view of the Bible, and who are caustic and vitriolic in their criticism of "liberal" Christians, like the Episcopal Church, to be put in a position of refuting doctrinal and theological points they themselves would have applauded if the exact same words had been spoken by a conservative Evangelical or prosperity gospel preacher.
I'm on a roll here, with the Bible verses popping into my mind.
Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorns, or figs from thistles? [Matthew 7:15-16]
"Fruits" being their words, and their actions, the criticisms and the lengths to which these conservative Evangelicals are going to defend their idol because his ears had to hear something that pointed out the truth of his own immoral worldliness is evidence of their own hatred of truth. The Bishop was impeccable in rendering the word of God and pointing to a specific example of its application. That offended Trump, Vance, and their apologists. In so doing, it exposed their own immorality and ungodliness. Well, sometimes that happens when a pastor preaches truth in a sermon. In the Southern Baptist church in which I grew up, a convicting sermon usually led to a long altar call. At the National Cathedral, predictably, given who was in the congregation, it got a hostile reaction from the false prophets.
Taking the step to introduce a resolution in the House of Representatives to censure the Bishop will not accomplish anything except to underline the hypocrisy of those who support the resolution. Those who support doing this are showing us their lack of conviction, and if they claim to be Christian, it is a demonstration of gross hypocrisy. They are setting themselves aside as the wolves in sheep's clothing, or as the Apostle Jude put it, they are intruders in the church, bringing in licentiousness and denying the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ. They have found a new savior to worship and adore, and they are abandoning the one who actually preached and taught values.
Conservative Evangelicalism is a Cult by Definition
Of course, it's no surprise that Trump was offended by a basic doctrinal principle of Christianity. He is not only not a professing Christian, but has been openly defiant in his rejection of the Evangelical interpretation of a Christian conversion experience, claiming he has done nothing requiring God's forgiveness. Those within his entourage, or within the Republican party, who chose to defend and support him, are also denying aspects of their own faith. It's a choice, and they are accountable for it.
I've read and heard a lot of critics of the Bishop's sermon from among the fundamentalists of Falwellian ilk, and the Charistmatic prosperity gospel preachers of Pat Robertson tradition, and they are way outside of the boundaries of Christian orthodoxy. Their interpretation of the Bible, which didn't develop until the middle to late 19th century, doesn't take into consideration the interpretive standard of the words of Christ himself as the criterion by which all of the rest of the Bible is to be interpreted. So they have developed a very legalistic religion, in contrast to the grace-based Christian gospel of Christ.
But it appears that Trump is now the standard by which conservative Evangelicals interpret the Bible, and which dictates the practice of their Christian faith. All of those things upon which Jesus placed primary importance as expressions of values held by those who professed faith in the Christian gospel, from the beatitudes, including peacemaking, mercy and seeking after righteousness, to loving one's neighbor, and loving one's enemies, along with grace, forgiveness and mercy, are not relevant or important to conservative Evangelicals. It's what Trump thinks and says that are the gospel, not the Bible's writers.
And that has led us to this point, where Congress is considering a resolution that violates the first amerndment of the Constitution, the censureship of an Episcopalian Bishop, for preaching truth to power.
I'll close here with a quote from Randal Balmer, an Episcopalian priest, university professor and author.
The Bible I read tells of freedom for captives and deliverance from oppression. It teaches that those who refuse to act with justice or who neglect the plight of the less fortunate have some explaining to do. But the Bible is also about good news. It promises redemption and forgiveness, a chance to start anew, and with divine help, to get it right. My evangelical theology assures me that no one, not even Karl Rove or James Dobson, lies beyond the reach of redemption, and that even a people led astray can find their way home.
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