For almost three years I have been asking evangelicals how they can possibly support Donald Trump and his agenda. The response has been silence except for applauding his commitment to end abortion. But I have become aware of raising this issue from a secular perspective, and thus my inquiries have failed to intersect with the profoundly religious perspective of most evangelicals. So this week I will examine the question as a Jesus-oriented believer. What is it about Jesus, his life and teachings that is compatible with everything we know about Donald Trump, his life and his agenda?
Character and personal integrity
Consider Jesus’ call for his followers to live lives of moral integrity. Jesus did not begin by asking his followers to remake society, but to embody truthfulness, righteousness and compassion. In the beatitudes Jesus models as blessed a series of personal qualities; humility, sorrow for sin, meekness, a hunger for upright living, mercy, purity of heart, peace making. If this is how Jesus asked his followers to live, tell me how Donald Trump embodies any of these qualities. Or consider the characteristics early Christians found in those filled with Jesus’ spirit—love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
Few people in my memory, and I would guess also in yours, have typified the converse as much as has Donald Trump. I don’t feel the need to rehearse here Trump’s history. Those Christians who still support him must be aware of his character and know how far it is from anything Jesus asked of his followers. When confronted with this reality the only answer I have heard is,”but God has often used imperfect people to do his will.” Cited as evidence is Simon Peter or a series of despicable kings God sent to ancient Israel, beginning with David and his affair with Bathsheba. If any of these rulers had paid really big money to silence prostitutes or bragged about grabbing women’s crotches, the Bible doesn’t record it. If this is the best justification for Trump’s thoroughgoing immorality, I wonder how any evangelical can justifying support and keep a straight face?
The political agenda.
If his moral code does not justify Christian support of the President, consider his agenda. Trump’s first order of business has been building a wall across our southern border in order to keep out hordes of criminals, drug smugglers, assorted thugs and non-Christians he would have us have us believe would invade this nation, instead of the impoverished families looking for a better life; and Mexico would pay the billions of dollars the wall would cost. Then there are significant tax breaks, billions going to the already super-rich. At the same time a minimum wage of $15.00 an hour is rejected.
It doesn’t matter what the world’s scientists say about the serious danger of climate change. More than one hundred fifty nation\states have signed on to the Paris Climate Accord. Trump believes climate change is a hoax and has withdrawn the United States. Why? Because even recognizing the crisis might jeopardize the profits of the oil, gas and coal industries.
Health care for everyone is not a priority. In Trump’s world health care is a privilege granted the more affluent, not a human right. Need I go on? These issues as well as many others, have roots in the commitment of a godly people to care for one another, to welcome the stranger and to support every avenue offering justice and mercy. Are these not the values and programs Jesus would have those who call him Lord commissioned to support? In every case Trump comes down on the opposite side.
Jesus’ will for the world
Jesus had a clear notion of how God would have the world shaped, and asked his followers to be committed to that vision. We demonstrate our faithfulness as we feed the hungry, offer water to the thirsty, cloth the naked, care for the prisoners, welcome the sojourner and the outsider.
In the sermon at his home-to synagogue Jesus spelled out his mission—good news to the poor, release to the captives sight to the blind, and freedom to the oppressed. If the fundamental task of Christians is to carry out in history Jesus’ objectives, what are evangelicals doing about it. If Jesus described the society his followers are called to build, how does Trump’s agenda embody any part of it?
A personal commitment
Or perhaps Christians who still support Trump do so based on his personal dedication to spiritual disciplines including prayer, regular worship with a Christian community, and a heart-felt belief that Jesus is Lord. If these are the matters at the heart of what it means to follow Jesus, how can evangelicals, who claim that their support of Trump flows from their discipleship to Christ, be committed to someone who embodies the opposite? Sooner or later the eighty percent of evangelical Christians who support Trump and his agenda will have to answer that question.
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