Has Trumpism Replace Christianity?

Can Trumpism Replace Christianity?

Will Trumpism Replace Christianity?

Over 2000 years ago, in a remote village in Israel, a baby was born to a 2-parent, working class family. Educated by his father, the child became a theological prodigy, able to lecture the most learned Jewish Torah scholars of his day. Not much is known about his life until he reached the age of 30, where he was reputed to have performed various miracles, signs and wonders, including raising a nobleman's daughter from the dead, which was attested to by scores of witnesses.

However, he grew in contention with many of the religious leaders, who accused him of blasphemy, and sentenced him to death. Despite a glaring lack of credible evidence, and contradictory witnesses, he was executed and buried, but allegedly resurrected, the narrative that has become the basis for one of the world's major modern religions, known as Christianity.

But there is a new religion in town, backed by guns, muscle, money and the support of Christian evangelicals. Shortly after Trump won the election in 2016, white nationalists gathered for a conference in Washington to celebrate Trump's victory with Nazi salutes. Richard Spencer, a well-known neo-Nazi, in a speech opening up the conference said: "Hail Trump, hail our people, hail victory!"

Andy Stanley, Pastor of North Point Community Church, a 37,000-member megachurch located in Atlanta, states concerning Trump: ""To his credit, he's figured out how to leverage that group, I mean, he's not evangelical. But he owns them. And they've loved him." As one well-known televangelist has put it, "To disobey Trump is to disobey God."

Trump's 2020 campaign has repeatedly accepted donations from well-known white supremacists, extremists and bigots, Federal Election Commission records show. American Bridge 21st Century found 30 extremist donors giving money directly to the Trump reelection campaign or to one of its closely affiliated political action committees, including the Trump Make America Great Again Committee and Trump Victory. Overall, the extremists' donations added up to more than $120,000 dating back to 2015, including about $50,000 given to Trump's 2020 bid.

Trumpism has been described as being constructed of four key ideological pieces: Social Conservatism, as seen in anti-abortion and anti-LGBT polices; Conservative Capitalism, characterized by tax cuts for the wealthy and governmental deregulation; Nativism, in the form of anti-immigrant rhetoric; and White Nationalism, underscored by the President's refusal to disavow racist groups like the Proud Boys.

One would think that, with Trump's noted unfamiliarity with the Bible, his divorces, vulgar rhetoric, association with porn stars and millions earned from casinos, Christians for Trump would be an oxymoron.

However, that is not the case. In this recent election, according to the National Election Pool and AP polling, nearly 8 out of 10 of white evangelical and "born again" voters gave their support to Donald Trump. White evangelicals are only 15 percent of the population, but their share of the electorate was 28 percent, according to Edison Research exit polling, and 23 percent, according to AP. Though exit polls are imprecise, it seems clear that White evangelicals maintained the 26 percent portion of the electorate they've occupied since 2008, even though their proportion of the population has steadily shrunk from 21 percent in 2008. This means White evangelicals turned out in mind-boggling numbers. Because they maintained their roughly 80 percent support for Republicans of recent years, it also means some 40 percent of Trump voters came from a group that is only 15 percent of America.

A Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary graduate who now runs the Public Religion Research Institute, Robert P. Jones, argues that Trump inspired White Christians, "not despite, but through appeals to white supremacy," attracting them not because of economics or morality, "but rather that he evoked powerful fears about the loss of White Christian dominance." White evangelicals responded passionately: pre-election, 90 percent said they were certain to vote, and nearly half of those voting for Trump said virtually nothing he could do would shake their approval. There was little evidence of differences among White evangelicals by gender, generation or education.

Black Christians, for the most part, have rejected the message of Trumpism, and view Donald Trump as the modern-day director of voter suppression, violence, racism and bigotry in America. Mystified by White Christian support, they feel that the evangelicals' "sell-out" has caused a major schism in the Church as a whole. A new slogan has emerged from the evangelical camp: "It's not about race, it's about grace. It's not about skin, it's about sin."

Black Christians, however, find it difficult, if not impossible to listen to that message in the face of America's comfortable acceptance of systemic racism and oppression. As one preacher said recently, "Where does George Floyd go to find grace?" And another: "How can I financially support a church where the man in the pulpit is the unrepentant grandson of the man who lynched my grandfather?""

Jesus' declaration, "Woe unto thee, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for you make the outside of the cup and platter clean, but within they are full of extortion and excess," rang true to the Black Church when Trump was described by James Dobson of Focus on the Family as a "baby Christian who needs our love and support."

A Brookings study in 2017 found that white evangelicals were increasingly likely to support politicians who commit immoral acts. According to the poll, 72 percent of white evangelicals at the time believed that private immorality does not disqualify a public official from fulfilling their duties in the public sphere — an increase from only 30 percent in 2011.

Even after the 2016 election, when "family values" was the word of the day, the Black Church wondered how a man like Trump could be endorsed and embraced with the specter of Stormy Daniels lurking in the background while questioning the Christianity of Barack Obama, and overlooking the immorality of Donald Trump. "We aren't electing a Sunday school teacher," said one prominent evangelical leader, "we're electing a President."

Strange pictures now emerge from the aftermath of this election. Black church members dance and give praises unto God for this presidential victory, while White evangelicals fervently pray in tongues for the diminishingly hopeful "victory to come". Kenneth Copeland fake-laughs for minutes at the prospect of a Biden win, while Paula White raises her hands and commands "angels out of Africa" to come and "help in the fight." If it is possible to confuse God, He must have scratched a hole in His head by now.

Whose side is He on, anyway? The White evangelical, who has made following Trump a modern-day substitute for sanctification and holiness, with a dash of patriotism thrown in to seal the deal, or the black pastor, who sees Trump as anathema, the racist representative of his ancestors past experiences as well as the wall that seeks to block his children's educational and financial future?

This one's easy, folks. "I am the Lord thy God, I change not," God says in Malachi 3:6. While allegiance to Donald Trump may be a prerequisite to membership in modern evangelical churches, according to Scripture, it will never be a ticket to the Kingdom of Heaven.

In addition, for the Black pastor who finds a social gospel effective in seasoning a sometimes unpalatable message of repentance before salvation can be received and good works accepted, Jesus always tempered His word of restoration and acceptance with the Bible admonishment, "Go, and sin no more." Is there a balance that can be struck?

Jesus plainly states, "I am the way, the truth and the life; no man can come to the Father, except by Me." Will Trumpism replace Christianity?

Hell, no.