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Donald Trump and the Kingdom of Man

Donald Trump and the Kingdom of Man

Last updated on: January 20, 2025 at 11:26 am by Eric Scot English

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Donald Trump and the Kingdom of Man 2025-01-20T11:26:31-05:00 Eric Scot English

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The Kingdom of Man by: Eric Scot English

On November 6th, I received a message from a friend who was distraught over the election results from the previous night. Her concerns were not the typical feelings that accompany someone whose candidate lost. Instead, there was an unexpected deepness to her sadness – a hopelessness.

I hesitated at the melodrama but there were others. Across my social media feeds were countless people demonstrating the same type of despair as my friend. I had been telling many of these people that it was just four years and that we would survive just as we did last time. But this proved unhelpful because it failed to address the real problem. They were not concerned about themselves but others around the country who would experience real suffering. For many, this was not a political posture for social justice but a real concern for the well-being of their fellow man.

But perhaps even more frustrating is the unwavering support evangelicals continue to give Trump.

The Kingdom of Man

If you are like me, you have tried before to show your evangelical friends and foes why electing Donald Trump was morally wrong. And the prospect of doing it again is daunting, to say the least. I mean the amount of context and information surrounding conservative evangelical’s situation is so convoluted that it is seemingly impossible even to know where to start. Ultimately, many of us have deemed conservative evangelicals a lost cause and have given up. They just don’t seem to get why supporting such a morally bankrupt person for President is ethically wrong and not in line with the Gospel.

It makes no sense to me why virtuous evangelical Christians would support someone who is not only anti-Christian but who is also so obviously pandering to them. Ultimately, they could have not voted but this is not the case as Trump’s support increases. As a result, their support for him makes them look foolish and ignorant.

I too have become weary of trying to explain over and over again what is obvious to everyone else. Although I have very little concern for evangelicalism in and of itself, my singular concern is the Gospel and how conservative evangelicals have polluted the name of Jesus for a few pieces of silver.

However, I also recognize that not all evangelicals are the same and that many are simply victims of their tradition and corrupt leadership. There are still many evangelicals in the world trying to discern truth but they are caught in the same quagmire and have few helpful options.

So I decided the most productive use of my time was to research and write. I wanted to know why evangelicals are so beholden to Donald Trump. Needless to say, I was surprised at what I found. I performed an exhaustive historical survey, analyzed the data, and provided some conclusions and insights into the issue. My goal was to produce something that one could hand their evangelical friend and say “read this, it will explain the whole thing.” That book is the Kingdom of Man and it will be released on January 28th, 2025.

“You want the truth; you can’t handle the truth”

You may often feel, as I do – caught in a quagmire of information that makes it seemingly impossible for someone to discern the truth. There exists so much misinformation that discerning what is or is not true has required advanced research degrees.

Although misinformation within the political sphere is not new, Trump’s first term took political spin to the next level. This was not by accident but was the tactical impetus of the Trump campaign.

Every President has participated in misinformation campaigns in order to bend the public to their will. That is the nature of politics. What makes many of the other Presidents different is that bits of truth are sprinkled within their misinformation to make it seem more plausible – not that that makes it any better just more believable. Usually, it is not until one’s idea backfires before the public is made aware of the falsehood. This is in contrast to Trump’s blatant disregard for what is true. As a result, Trump’s second presidency will be more dangerous because he is wise to the game and knows how to play it. Any learning curve that was observed in his first presidency has been eliminated.

The nature of truth within Western thinking has had various definitions over the years, but for the most part, it is defined by facts. Where people often disagree, is how to define those facts. For example, are facts simply defined by empirical evidence? What about unverifiable experiences? Regardless, facts are almost always at the foundation of how we define what is or is not true.

The Trump era re-introduced the idea that truth is based upon perception instead of facts. In many cases “facts” are even trumped by one’s perception (pun intended). This means that the idea of truth is ultimately defined by consensus. As long as the group agrees with how to define something that is what it will be understood as. The group then creates a language around their truth, which comprises idioms, cliches, and/or various justifications. This is what we have witnessed take place in evangelicalism.

Evangelicalism

After Trump gave his victory speech dozens began to sing the classic hymn “How Great Thou Art”. According to the AP 8 in 10 white evangelical Christians voted for Trump. This demonstrates that in the three times that evangelicals have gone to the polls they have overwhelmingly supported him. Somehow Trump gets more support with each voting cycle.

The idioms, cliches, and justifications have existed within evangelicalism so long that it has become a part of their culture – their worldview. In the Kingdom of Man, I not only document how this happened throughout their history but also take apart the evangelical worldview to demonstrate that their behavior is the direct result of a “fused worldview”, which makes it impossible to differentiate between their political and religious beliefs.

Making their situation more complicated is that they have inherited an idealism that makes God just real enough to make him the object of their affection but not real enough to have any perceived consequences for their actions. As T.D. Jakes stated to his congregation regarding his alleged participation in the P-Diddy scandal: “I didn’t do it, but if I did, all I got to do is repent and I am forgiven”.

Ultimately, within the evangelical imagination, there is a conflation between their political and religious idealism. This creates a self-constructed world that not only reinforces the validity of their positions but also results in extreme beliefs about the relationship between God and country. The book argues that in trying to create an American faith, Evangelical leaders have pursued power and prestige, mirroring the same pitfalls as their religious ancestors. Their ambition has built a kingdom not founded on God’s will, but on human pride-one that exploits the marginalized instead of serving them. It’s not the Kingdom of God they manifest but the Kingdom of Man. It is political corruption masked in piety.

This is just a brief synopsis of the problem. There are many more intricacies that go into bolstering and further clarifying the problem. The Kingdom of Man fleshes all of them out and organizes them into a digestible narrative.

Pre-order your copy today.

You can view my UNenlightenment YouTube Channel HERE
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Transform your life today by getting my book UNenlightenment HERE

Learn about my book The Kingdom of Man HERE

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About Eric English

Eric is a rogue philosopher, theologian, author, podcaster and ninja. He is a father of three, husband of one, and a poet unto himself. Eric’s main areas of thinking are in philosophy (specifically, Soren Kierkegaard), theology (Narrative Perspectivism), and culture. Eric also hosts the podcast UNenlightenment. You can read more about the author here.

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