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Donald Trump And Exposing The Religious Right

Donald Trump And Exposing The Religious Right

Last updated on: August 24, 2023 at 8:35 am by Matthew Distefano

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Donald Trump And Exposing The Religious Right 2023-08-24T08:35:18-06:00 Matthew Distefano

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Grace is a key concept within Christianity. As is repentance. In fact, many Christians, including (and maybe especially) Evangelicals, say that grace without repentance is meaningless. Perhaps we can call this “cheap grace.”

Okay.

Fair enough.

I’ve read Bonhoeffer … and I get where this line of thinking comes from.

So, I only have one question: What about Donald Trump?

Now, it’s not my intention to weigh in on his multitude of felonies spanning what is currently four indictments, or his sexual assault and subsequent defamation(s) of E. Jean Carroll, or the recent assertion that per the 14th Amendment to the Constitution he is ineligible to run for POTUS – I’m happy letting the courts continue to do what the courts are supposed to do – but what I am going to weigh in on is A) Trump’s inability to admit fault for literally anything and B) the MAGA Christians’ support of him in spite of this.

First, I’ve never really been one to give a damn what people do in their personal lives. That’s between them, their families and friends, and their god. Obviously, as a social worker, I care about the well-being of others and if there are cases of neglect or abuse, but as far as one’s personal behavior, I’m pretty much a “live and let live” kind of guy, so long as you aren’t infringing upon the rights of others (that’s when I step in and say or do something). To that end, when it comes to Donald Trump, prior to him gaining political power and influence, I simply didn’t care. He always has been, and continues to be, yet another uninteresting sloppy lump of flesh and bones, albeit allegedly a rich one. Further, he’s always been someone who doubles down when he is in the wrong, and again, I find this type of person to be aggravating, annoying, and really, really uninteresting. I mean, we get it: you’re the best, the greatest, the bee’s knees, God’s gift to humanity, blah, blah blah. We’ve heard it a thousand times from a thousand different “alpha males,” and they are all basically programmed bots who are making up for their unresolved insecurities most likely passed onto them by their parents who suffered from the same inadequacies.

Where Donald Trump gets interesting, however, is when it comes to his supporters, more specifically the conservative Evangelicals that make up the majority of his base. Incidentally, these are the folks who raised me, sat with me in the pews, played with me on the worship teams, prayed with me during Bible studies, and counseled me when I got married. And while I reject most of their theology, their views on gender and sexuality, their denial of climate science, and much, much more, there are things they taught me that I still adhere to today. For example, I still value the Bible. I still shake the hands of my opponents, even when we vehemently disagree. I still respect those who can take a loss, and have taken many myself. I still respect women and the elderly, and value the needs of others over my own. I still push for economic responsibility and not accruing too much debt. And I still believe in the power of repentance (changing one’s mind).

Here’s where things take a turn though: the conservatives I grew up with don’t seem to care about any of these things when it comes to Donald Trump. They no longer seem to value the Bible, especially the parts about turning the other cheek, blessing those who curse you, or any of the other “woke” hippy shit Jesus talked about. They no longer respect theological or political opponents, especially when there are stark disagreements. They can’t take a loss, and whine and complain about everything being “rigged” whenever things don’t go their way (it reminds me of the sports fans who blame the refs after every loss). Their leader doesn’t respect women, brags about grabbing them by their genitals, and seems to have a palatable disdain for them. While he was in office, he drove the debt to greater and greater heights. And never have I ever seen Trump admit a mistake or change his mind on anything he has ever done. Ever.

So, to the MAGA Christians who continue to sell their souls to the one who promises political and religious power (ironically the same powers the devil offered Jesus in the wilderness), I ask: do you actually care about repentance? Or is this just a word you throw at your theological and/or political opponents when it suits you? Are you ever going to demand that your leader repents of his sins? Or are you going to forever apologize on his behalf?

And look, at this point, we know these are rhetorical questions because we already have the answers. These Christians have already sold their soul to the devil, and once you do that, there’s no guarantee you’ll get it back. That chance may have been lost in 2020, and if you still support this man, it’s definitely lost by now. It’s been 8 years since Trump first got serious about becoming the President, and most of us knew what he was all about back then. Fast forward to now and he’s even worse. And yet, his poll numbers among Evangelicals is at an all time high. Currently, he leads the GOP primaries by something like 40 points, and whether he becomes the candidate or not doesn’t change the fact that he has exposed Evangelicalism as nothing more than a cult with a passing resemblance to something we used to call Christianity.

So, with all that said, just know that we see you. We hear you. You’ve exposed yourselves as nothing more than sycophantic shills of the far right. But more than that, you’ve sabotaged your Christian message (one centered on repentance). And while I no longer identify as such, I simply wanted you to know. You’re the ones who have to live with this, not me. If you can sleep at night knowing that what you believe on Sunday runs directly counter to what you do Monday through Saturday, then so be it. You’ve already heard the critiques, so if you’re still ride or die with this man, then maybe you are lost. I just hope Jesus still has the stamina to continue to pursue the lost sheep, because I don’t.

Selah.

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Politics and Religion

About Matthew J. Distefano

Matthew J. Distefano is an author, blogger, podcaster, and social worker. He lives in Northern California with his wife and daughter You can read more about the author here.

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