Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

To Give a Defense

Home
Catholic
Our Hope is in Christ, Not Caesar

Our Hope is in Christ, Not Caesar

Last updated on: March 10, 2018 at 6:58 pm by Scott Eric Alt

Our Hope is in Christ, Not Caesar 2018-03-10T18:58:55-04:00 Scott Eric Alt

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Image via Creative Commons

The good news is that the next president will not be Hillary Clinton.

The bad news is that the next president will be Donald Trump.

***

Let me, however, disabuse some hopes and quell some fears by telling you what President Trump will not do.

President Trump will not do one thing to stop one abortion in the United States.

He will not end Obamacare.

He will not build a wall or round up folks to deport them.

The reason I say these things is because Donald Trump does not care about any of them. Mr. Trump is a liar. He said these things in order to appeal to the Republican base. He doesn’t mean those words any more than he meant the words “till death do us part.” If you think otherwise, he will soon disabuse you of that notion.

Of course, I could be wrong; I’m fallible. If I am, I hope I am wrong about the first, rather than about the second or third.

But then, what will President Trump do?

I have no idea. And that’s the part that worries me, because I don’t think it could possibly be any good.

***

Donald Trump, however, without meaning it, could help to reacquaint American Catholics with some important fundamentals, and if so that would be a good thing. He may do it precisely by thumbing his nose at, for example, his promises to promote anything approaching pro-life legislation or pro-life Supreme Court justices.

And that would be good if it were to finally convince Catholics who have thought otherwise that our hope for anything, including an end to abortion, does not reside in Caesar. Our hope is in Christ, and in Christ alone. It would be good if it were to finally convince Catholics who have thought otherwise that they should no longer run blindly and gullibly after any politician who dangles these pro-life promises like a red dot before a cat. It would be a good if it were finally to convince Catholics who have thought otherwise that the solution to abortion must be a moral solution rather than a political solution. And it would be good if it were finally to convince Catholics who have thought otherwise that we must put our hopes in Christ and not in Caesar. Caesar will always betray us; Christ never will.

I hope, however, that I am wrong about Donald Trump. I would far rather say “I was wrong” than “I told you so.”

***

Whatever the case, I hope there will be reconciliation and restored friendships between Catholics before January 20. If I have said anything or done anything to convey the impression to anyone that I was calling the genuineness of their Catholicism into doubt, or questioning the legitimacy of their real concerns about Hillary Clinton, solely because they were voting for Donald Trump, then I want to use this opportunity to say I am sorry and that that was never my intention.

Having said that, any Catholic who did vote for Donald Trump, and uses this opportunity to engage in triumphalism about it, or to continue to question the Catholicism or salvation of anyone who voted for Hillary Clinton, or who voted for a third party candidate, or who did not vote at all, will not be serving the interest of reconciliation in any way. If you continue to deny the legitimacy of their grave concern about Donald Trump and unwillingness to vote for him, you will not be serving the interest of reconciliation. No one’s Catholicism should be put into doubt, no one should be made to feel they are a lesser Catholic, because their personal political judgment, in a year when both candidates were horrific, differed from your own.

Only God gets to judge the state of someone’s soul, and only a bishop gets to judge the authenticity of someone’s Catholicism. Unless you are a bishop, or God, you do not have that right. And neither, frankly, do I.

Truth be told, we will have to be united as Catholics in order to fight for the truth of our faith in the years ahead. Because (and I must say this again) Donald Trump will be no ally to us. If you think otherwise, I promise you he will disabuse you of that notion. Our ally is Christ, and our unity is Christ–not any political cause, not any political leader, but Christ and Christ alone.

***

Politics

2016 Presidential Election

Catholic Church

Donald Trump

Hillary Clinton

Previous Post

November 8, 2016

The Evil of Abortion Does Not Justify Fr. Frank Pavone

Next Post

November 10, 2016 But Will Fr. Frank Pavone Take Instruction From His Bishop?

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Abortion About Me Answers for Calvinists Answers to Media Fictions Answers to Objections Anti-Catholicism Apologetics Apostolic Succession Atonement Authority of the Church Baptism Benedictines Biblical Exegesis Blogging Book Reviews Books & Writing &c. Calvin's Institutes Capital Punishment Catholic Church Chastity Christology Church Fathers Church Social Doctrine Confession Contraception Conversion Stories Crusades Debates Depression & Suicide Deuterocanon Development of Doctrine Ecumenism English Language Eucharistic Adoration Exorcism Extra Ecclesiam Fisks & Rebuttals Freedom of Religion Freedom of Speech Fundamentalism Gender Politics Gender Theory Good Works Homosexuality Humor Idolatry Immaculate Conception In the News Inquisition ISIS Islam Just for Fun Just War Justification LCWR Limbo Liturgical Abuse Liturgical Year Magisterium Marriage and Family Mary Mortal Sin New Evangelization NFP Papacy Papal Documents Papal Infallibility Personal Narrative Politics Pope Francis Pope Francis Derangement Syndrome Population Control Praying to the "Dead" Priesthood Primacy of Peter Protestant Denominations Purgatory Radical Islam Radical Traditionalists Real Presence Right to Conscience RIght to Life Saints Same-Sex "Marriage" Seven Quick Takes Social Justice Social Media Sola Scriptura Spirit of Vatican II SSPX The Eucharist The Mass The Resurrection Traditionalism Vatican II Year of Mercy

Select a Month August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 November 2018 October 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 April 2018 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 May 2013 April 2013 February 2013 January 2013

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What is the primary language of the Eastern Orthodox liturgy in Greece?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Greek English Latin Russian