I read with mixed feelings the article “MAGA Has Devoured American Evangelicalism[i]”. I have no serious disagreement with the content. But the title makes American Evangelicalism the victim. The deer bears no guilt when it’s devoured by the lion. Similarly, the title suggests that poor, helpless Evangelicals have been devoured by those evil MAGAs and their cruel leader, Donald Trump. Pity the poor Evangelicals.
Or not. Assuming Evangelicals are adults (although their childlike gullibility in accepting a literal flood, six-day creation, zombies popping up and walking around Jerusalem after the crucifixion of Jesus makes one wonder), then they are fully responsible, are they not? Trump has never hidden his diseased soul. On the contrary, he flaunts it.
“The Snake” is a song from the 1960s that Trump likes to recite. (Google “Trump reads the snake” for a performance, if you can stand it.) I’ve always found Trump’s regard the song bizarre as the song so well describes HIM. In the song, a woman takes pity on an injured snake. After it recovers, the snake repays the woman’s kindness by biting her.
"I saved you", cried that woman
"And you've bit me even, why?
You know your bite is poisonous and now I'm going to die"
"Oh shut up, silly woman", said the reptile with a grin
"You knew damn well I was a snake before you took me in
Evangelicals knew damn well what Trump was before they took him in. Now, he’s bitten them.
- What Has Trump Cost American Christianity?[ii]
- Donald Trump and the Death of Evangelical Christianity[iii]
- Christian scholar urges evangelicals to abandon church as it's lost 'moral credibility'[iv]
- A pastor comes to terms with the church’s idols of Trump, money and power[v]
- In Iowa, white evangelicals are embracing Donald Trump, not Jesus. The critics were right about conservative Christians' true loyalties[vi]
Bitten but whose fault is that?
If they aren’t the innocent victim, what are they? Christians, in my view.
Christianity has two sides. One side emphasizes love, forgiveness, and closeness to God. But Christianity was fashioned by the Roman Empire, so much so that then Emperor Theodosius made it the official religion of the Roman Empire in 380 CE, the name of Christianity’s founder had been changed from “Yeshua” to “Jesus.” Jesus is a Roman name like Marcus, Brutus, Augustus, etc. And the Empire moved the Sabbath, supposedly ordained by God as Saturday, to Sunday. Some early Christians were pacifists. The Empire could hardly have an official religion that forbade war. So, Saint Augustine (354-430 CE) created the Just War doctrine, which describes when Christians can morally participate in a war. Since Augustine’s times, there have been innumerable wars between Christian states. And how many have some major Christian denomination declared unjust and forbade the faithful from fighting? Exactly zero.
The Roman Empire fashioned a religion for itself that legitimizes state. Thus, we have the Divine Right of Kings doctrine.[vii] Thus, we have the coronation of Charles in 2023 by anointing with holy oil by the Church of England.[viii] Clergy give God’s approval to state. In return, state gives religion respect and privileges like tax exemption; in some places, tax dollars flow to religious organizations. The U.S. government even allows parents to kill their child, as long as it’s done out of religious conviction. “Most states allow religious exemptions from child abuse and neglect laws”[ix]
The second type of Christianity is when religion is tightly joined to state. It’s exactly the type of Christianity that many Evangelicals want And so we have U.S. Representative Lauren Boebert saying that “churches should direct the government, not the other way around”[x] And so we have more than 75% of Republican evangelicals wanting the US declared a Christian nation.[xi]
Of course, there’s a serious problem with the U.S. being declared a Christian nation: exactly which Christianity? In 1864, Pope Pius IX in 1864 issued “The Syllabus of Errors,” a list of beliefs that the Pope condemned as errors. Here are a few:
- 55. The Church ought to be separated from the State, and the State from the Church.
- 77. In the present day, it is no longer expedient that the Catholic religion should be held as the only religion of the State, to the exclusion of all other forms of worship. 78. Hence it has been wisely decided by law, in some Catholic countries, that persons coming to reside therein shall enjoy the public exercise of their own peculiar worship.
- 15. Every man is free to embrace and profess that religion which, guided by the light of reason, he shall consider true.
- 18. Protestantism is nothing more than another form of the same true Christian religion, in which form it is given to please God equally as in the Catholic Church.
Item 15 condemns our principle of church/state separation. Item 18 condemns the free expression of Protestantism. Is anyone who wants the U.S. declared a Christian nation aware of Europe’s hundreds of wars over religion? Maybe the founders were right in establishing church/state separation?
In any event, there is much about the second type of Christianity for a power-hungry despot to love. “When Fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross" wrote Sinclair Lewis. He’s right.
- Christian Nationalism Is One of Trump’s Most Powerful Weapons[xii]
- Trump Shares Messianic Video About God Sending Him To Save World[xiii]
- Experts on why so many Republicans accept that "God gave us Trump.” How Donald Trump has evolved into a Messianic figure among the white religious right[xiv]
- Trump just promised an authoritarian ‘task force’ to impose Christian ideology[xv]
- Christofascist MAGA Nazis want to ban women from voting, because most women vote for Democrats.[xvi]
The first type of Christianity cares about love and forgiveness. It cares about the sick, the hungry, the homeless, victims of racism and sexism. The second type of Christianity is very different.
- For Trump’s Evangelicals, the Inconvenient Teachings of Christ[xvii]
- Christianity Today Editor: Evangelicals Call Jesus “Liberal” and “Weak”[xviii]
- American Evangelicals now think Jesus was too woke[xix]
- Even Jesus is too woke for the MAGA right[xx]
The second type of Christianity cares little for the common people.
- 15 G.O.P. Governors Shut Out Food Aid for 8 Million Children[xxi]
- Christian church installed bars across the front so no one can shelter in the recessed entryway[xxii]
- God Hates Fags[xxiii]
The second side of Christianity is about giving God’s approval to secular rulers, supporting mostly any and all wars, and providing a docile, obedient populace. When a pastor says that the Bible is God’s very own Word but when God inspired/wrote “serpent” He “really meant Satan,” the pastor isn’t teaching spirituality as much as gullible, slavish obedience to authority, a quality any ruler of state would value. Such a religion isn’t about getting closer to God. It’s about robbing believers of their self-confidence.
God says “serpent” but means “Satan”. And who are you to disagree, you totally depraved sinner deserving of hell? Do you masturbate, use contraceptives, engage in pre-marital sex? Sinner. Sinner. Sinner. You’d better listen to us and do what we say or a God who loves you will watch you burn forever!
A religion wedded to state isn’t primarily about getting closer to God; it’s about supporting state and wielding power. Rather than trying to lead believers to God, it’s about robbing them of their self-confidence. If Evangelical MAGAs are successful, it’s not difficult to imagine what the U.S. will become. One need only look at Iran or North Korea. Not a pretty sight.
[i] https://archive.ph/2024.01.12-104848/https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/12/opinion/maga-evangelicals-iowa.html#selection-371.0-371.41
[ii] https://www.aei.org/op-eds/what-has-trump-cost-american-christianity/
[iii] https://religion.ufl.edu/news/2019/donald-trump-and-the-death-of-evangelical-christianity/
[iv] https://www.rawstory.com/evangelicas-have-no-moral-credibility/
[v] https://www.penncapital-star.com/commentary/a-pastor-comes-to-terms-with-the-churchs-idols-of-trump-money-and-power-opinion/
[vi] https://www.friendlyatheist.com/p/in-iowa-white-evangelicals-are-embracing
[vii] https://www.britannica.com/topic/divine-right-of-kings
[viii] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coronation_of_Charles_III_and_Camilla
[ix] https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2016/08/12/most-states-allow-religious-exemptions-from-child-abuse-and-neglect-laws/
[x] https://www.denverpost.com/2022/06/27/lauren-boebert-church-state-colorado/
[xi] https://religionnews.com/2022/09/23/study-more-than-3-4-of-republican-evangelicals-want-us-declared-a-christian-nation
[xii] https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/06/opinion/jan-6-christian-nationalism.html
[xiii] https://www.mediaite.com/trump/trump-shares-messianic-video-about-god-sending-him-to-save-world/
[xiv] https://www.salon.com/2024/01/11/experts-on-why-so-many-accept-that-god-gave-us-trump/
[xv] https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/trump-2024-christian-right-truth-social-rcna132082
[xvi] https://www.reddit.com/r/prochoice/comments/194vlp8/christofascist_maga_nazis_want_to_ban_women_from/
[xvii] https://hds.harvard.edu/news/trump%27s-evangelicals-inconvenient-teachings-christ
[xviii] https://newrepublic.com/post/174950/christianity-today-editor-evangelicals-call-jesus-liberal-weak
[xix] https://boingboing.net/2023/08/17/american-evangelicals-are-getting-mad-at-jesus-for-being-too-woke.html
[xx] https://www.cityweekly.net/utah/even-jesus-is-too-woke-for-the-maga-right/Content?oid=20336976
[xxi] https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/12/us/school-lunches-assistance-republicans.html
[xxii] https://mastodon.world/@jeffowski/111740302755422937