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

Home
Progressive Christian
Trump And Jesus: What Reading The Wall Street Journal Has Taught Me

Trump And Jesus: What Reading The Wall Street Journal Has Taught Me

Last updated on: June 27, 2018 at 12:25 pm by Christy Thomas

Trump And Jesus: What Reading The Wall Street Journal Has Taught Me 2018-06-27T12:25:24-05:00 Christy Thomas

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.

He does not equate Trump and Jesus and is also able to separate Trump’s questionable morality from his political leadership, something I have not been able to do.

Trump and Jesus: Both seen as saviors

An editorial printed in the Saturday, June 23, 2018 edition of the Wall Street Journal, a soundly Republican newspaper, totally fascinated me.

Titled, “Did an Ancient Greek Anticipate Trump” I found it helpful as I seek to make sense of the current world: recognize that is it not coherent and quit trying to find some order in it. This one paragraph offered enlightenment:

Any tendency toward order is contradicted by big-bang disruptions, anarchic social media and Donald Trump, whose life is a masterpiece of spots and jumps. Each day of his presidency seems to arrive de novo, disconnected historically from the day before. History unfolds in a circus of tweets and surprises, with Mr. Trump playing all the roles: roaring lion and trapeze artist, clown and calliope. He is only one man, of course, but for the moment Mr. Trump seems to be the representative man: the star of our incoherence.

Later he writes:

Forget about Mr. Trump’s bad manners and vulgarian style. His idea of truth or falsehood is utilitarian: Absolutely everything that he does or thinks is a negotiation with the possibilities as he sees them at a given moment; the implication of amorality is implicit. Mr. Trump’s way may be called either leadership or Caesarism, depending on your point of view. The river that he swims is often the Rubicon.

And then this:

The dog and the angel are twins of human nature—another pair of Heraclitean opposites. Mr. Trump is a charlatan and a grifter, or at best a sketchy Prospero. His enemies, in the millions, have him down as a monster. Or perhaps—despite all—he is a leader of consequence and maybe (who knows?) a genius of history. Maybe he is all of those things, acting in tumultuous concert. We do not yet know the outcome.

And so I think, “I’ve finally read something that helps me make sense of something that has appeared senseless and exhausting.”

And then I read the comments. Most commenters, I’d guess 95%, dismissed the editorial as a bunch of hogwash. Most also said something along these lines, “I voted for Trump because he promised to shake things up–and they needed shaking up.” Others noted that the cult of Obama also had him elevated to the status of the nation’s Savior, just as many today seem to equate Trump with Jesus.

I, myself, have noted that The United Methodist Church needs its Trump moment. We need someone to come in and question everything we are doing and knock down the idols we have built that seem, at this point, untouchable. Such a process would help us discover what is really important and what is just window-dressing that makes life-changing ministry nearly impossible.

As many of my readers know, I am married to a person who voted for Trump. He continues to support most of his policies, very much excluding the horrors that have been taking place along our southern borders.

He does not equate Trump and Jesus and is also able to separate Trump’s questionable morality from his political leadership, something I have not been able to do.

I have been thinking some about the presidency of Bill Clinton, one of the more successful presidencies ever. He was and still is utterly despicable as a human being. Jimmy Carter, one of the most decent men ever to walk on earth, was a horrifically bad president. So was George Bush, likable as he is on a personal level.

As for President Obama: as much as I respect him as a human being, he made major, major mistakes while in office. Just as with Trump, Obama’s lack of experience evidenced itself quickly. Yet, as noted above, many saw Obama as the Savior. Now an opposite crew sees Trump that way.

Ultimately, these political cults point to a part of human nature: most of us want someone else to fix our problems for us. When we find what we think is that person, we want no criticism leveled. Otherwise, we fear that we will never be free from the problems that beset us.

In my many years of exploration of different types of Christian expression, I’ve observed the draw of various charismatic movements and their promises. The casting out of demons for instant relief, the ability to speak in tongues and spent time in ecstatic prayer, the hope of miraculous healing from various ailments: we want these things to be possible.

The Roman Catholic church elevates to the status of saints those who have verified stories of miraculous healings attached to them. In the Protestant world, we tend to elevate to saint-status those who have quick answers and even quicker relief for the unending complexities of our humanness.

Who among us doesn’t want instant “OK-ness?” We pray for healings for end-stage diseases and are disappointed when people die anyway. We give money to prosperity gospel preachers and trust their promises that by enriching them, we will stumble upon riches ourselves. We buy lottery tickets, happily fantasizing about how we would spend those untold riches.

We throw Bible verses at one another, somehow or another thinking that repeating some verse will magically ward off any evil. And then, again, are shocked when evil shows up anyway.

I refuse to buy lottery tickets because I’d be horrified to have that much money at my fingertips. BUT . . . I have enough for a very comfortable living. A lot of people do not–and the idea of a magical fix magnetizes us.

Truth: most of us don’t outgrow magical thinking, even well into adulthood. And Trump and Jesus, as often presented, both encourage magical thinking.

Trump is the only one who can fix our nation’s woes, so goes the mantra.

Believe in Jesus, and you will find healing and riches, so goes that mantra.

Reality: Life is just tough, messy, full of heartbreak and sorrow and always ends in death. Before so much mass media, with its perfect people, always slim and always with blindingly-white teeth, solving all problems within 30-60 minutes, I think we understood this better. But we exchanged reality for pure fantasy packaged as an attainable goal.

For the most part, brutality, dirt, and poverty dogged the lives, generally short, of the vast majority of people. Religion gave comfort of some relief, if not now, then certainly in an afterlife. It also provided important community connections.

For most of us, things are measurably improved now. Yet . . . it seems that discontent never disappears. Trump has promised that he’ll make it better for those who have felt left out. Elect him; support him, and all will be well. Many religions promise the same thing: join us and we’ll help you feel better. Accept Jesus and make him your best friend and all will be well.

Easy to conflate the two.

The problem is not so much with Trump as with the perception of Jesus as the great problem-solver-in-the-sky. A call to follow Jesus ends in one place: a willingness to lay down our lives for the sake of others, including our enemies. It’s a call to offer forgiveness to those who don’t deserve it. It’s a call to the radical hospitality of welcoming the “other” into our lives and communities, no matter how uncomfortable that makes us.

It’s a call that is just way too hard for most people. So we re-make Jesus into the Celestial Butler or the Heavenly Santa, there to serve our needs, get us whatever we want whenever we want it.

That’s what every presumptive President of the US tries to offer those who have the votes to elect–or not elect. Vote for me and I’ll give you what you want.

It is time to separate the Presidency from the hope of Paradise. No President can be the savior of the nation. All will be in hock to someone or something. All will be corrupt in one way or another. Some will certainly care more for the poor and outcast–but without a robust economy to generate funds, the caring won’t last long. These are political/economic realities of our messy society.

But most importantly, no putative Savior of the US will call us to be really like Jesus–it is not a vote-getter.

Photo Credits:

Donald Trump Hollywood Star photo: By Neelix: I am the originator of this photo. I hold the copyright. I release it to the public domain. – transferred from the English Wikipedia: en:File:Trump.jpg, Public Domain, Link

Christus Pantocrator in the apsis of the cathedral of Cefalù, c. 1130. from Wikipedia: By Andreas Wahra – Self-photographed, CC BY-SA 3.0, Link

Combination: by Christy Thomas

Christianity

Donald J Trump

Jesus the Christ

The United Methodist Church

Previous Post

June 21, 2018

I Was Way Too Soft On The Texas Bishops: Even The Nazi's Had Lists

Next Post

July 6, 2018 Millennials Flee The Church Because Of Lies And Sexual Discrimination

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category " obedience abortion accommodation accountability administration adolescence Advent advice an ordinary death anxiety apology apportionments Ash Wednesday ask thoughtfulpastor baptism betrayal Bible bondage calling certainty change character charity children Christianity Christmas church church as garden clergy clergy credentials closure comfort compassion competition compromise Confirmation conservation conservative conspiracy theories consumer conversion coronavirua corruption courage covenant cultural context death Deconstruction discipleship discord divorce doctrine doing good drugs dysfunctional Easter Easter; Resurrection education election entertainment envy escape evaluation evil exclusive church exercise faith faithfulness family fasting fear feast featured film review finances first world problem food forgiveness fundamentalist garden gay marriage General Conference generosity giving thanks GLBT glory good government grace guilt habit happy harmony hateful acts healing health health care heaven hell hello/goodbye heresy hidden agenda holiness homelessness homosexuality humility hymn hypocrisy Imago Dei In training inclusive church indulgence injustice innocents insurance intolerance itinerancy joy Justice kindness Kingdom of Heave kingdom of heaven language laughter laundry lawsuit leadership Lent LGBTQ liberal life Little Things Matter longform meandering thoughts memories mercy metaphor metrics miracle misfortunes morality Mormon Muslim mystery worship natural disasters New Category Name nutrients older adults oppression pain Paleo paperwork partnered pastor peace pension pharmaceutical placebo politics poverty prayer privilege public schools questions quiet racism rain reason reconciliation religion repentance requirements rescue respect rest resurrection retirement Sabbath sacrament sacred salvation same-sex marriage sanctuary schism schooling science SCOTUS secrecy separation of church and state sexism sexuality short cuts silence sin sleep soil spiritual journey stillness suffering surgery sustainable church teacher technology thank you theology therapy thinking tolerance TOS trust truth Uncategorized welcome Why Easter? wisdom women worship

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 December 2025 October 2025 September 2025 July 2025 June 2025 March 2025 February 2025 December 2024 November 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 April 2024 March 2024 January 2024 December 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 October 2022 September 2022 July 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 October 2021 July 2021 June 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 January 2020 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 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 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 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 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 July 2007 March 2007

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz