Book Review: Trump and the MAGA Movement as Anit-Christ

Last updated on: November 4, 2024 at 4:39 pm by Brad Thibodeaux

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Book Review: Trump and the MAGA Movement as Anit-Christ 2024-11-04T16:39:22-05:00 Brad Thibodeaux

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Trump and the MAGA Movement as Anti-Christ Book by Matthew Fox

With the 2024 election only hours away, there is a lot of rhetoric about what a Christian ought to do. American Christians have a power that is not clearly articulated in Scripture. We have the power of make a choice – electio in Latin. So what are we going to do with our vote?

Matthew Fox is a spiritual theologian, an Episcopal priest and an activist for gender justice and eco-justice. While his writing is prolific, this newest book focuses on the 2024 Presidential election and what is at stake with the choice we make. The title is absolutely charged with Christian language, so before I dive in, let’s talk about the frame of the book.

What This Book IS NOT

American Evangelicals have a long history of proclaiming Antichrist’s in politics. Hal Lindsay’s Countdown to Armageddon and Pat Roberstson’s New World Order are only a couple that come to mind. They called out the Soviet Union and Gorbachev as the literal Antichrist found in Revelation. Similarly, Jerry Falwell and other vocal Evangelicals looked to the leaders of the USSR, but also claimed that US Presidents like Clinton and Obama were the literal Antichrist.

This book does not claim that Donald Trump is the Antichrist. Rather, it takes a Jungian approach to archetypes to explain how Trump embodies the spirit of Anti-Christ.

What Is Anti-Christ in the MAGA Movement.

Matthew Fox notes that this archetype Anti-Christ is what it says – it’s that which is against the nature of the Christ. For Fox, there are several characteristics that are universally agreed on by Christians to be Christlike. He focuses on Justice, Truth, and Love.

The MAGA movement is not justice-oriented. Trump and his followers regularly support policies that are unjust. When Trump works to lopside the Supreme Court (and MAGA praises this move), it leads to unjust rulings on abortion and corporate regulation. Eventually, harsher (and potentially eliminated) abortion laws will be unjust to those who seek abortions out of medical and safety necessities. Not only will lax corporate oversight increase the wealth divide, it may also lead to the destruction of our planet, as Fox points out in the Chevron case.

One of the hallmarks of the Trump presidency, and the last four years from the MAGA movement, is the lack of care with the Truth. Reports claim Trump lied more that 33,000 times in this Presidency. His lies about election fraud and deceit led to the violent insurrection on January 6, 2021. Violence is never the way of Christ.

Finally, Love is replaced by fear and hate in MAGA. The love of neighbor – documented or not – is usurped by hostility. Again, hate fueled the violence at the Capital during the election certification. Fear of the immigrant is a tentpole of Project 2025 and the goal of mass deportations.

What Now?

Fox does not endorse a candidate. Nor should he – a Christian moral compass does not align perfectly with either candidate. We cannot say that Trump or Harris is the ‘Christian choice’. However, Fox is clear that Trump, MAGA, Project 2025, and the White Christian Nationalist movement in America is not a faithful witness to Jesus. These are the embodiment of Anti-Christ.

Brad is a graduate student at Northwind Theological Seminary studying theology and the changing religious landscape in America. He works as a co-investigator at the University of Rhode Island’s College of Pharmacy providing education and support for rural New Englanders impacted by the opioid epidemic. Brad spends nights and weekends playing in regional bands as a bassist, guitarist, and vocalist. When not at a computer, he loves to spend time with his wife and chasing his toddler around the house. You can go to his website to get updates on his writing and other events.

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