Disclaimer: I am writing this as if I believe in God and had more than a passing knowledge of the Bible. To both, I don’t.
When I saw the pictures of Trump holding the Bible in front of St. Johns Episcopal Church, which had been vandalized, I wished, as many others who made comments to stories about it, that God would have set the Bible on fire. It was an excuse for me to make the illustration above. Somebody in Trump orbit had the idea that I am sure they thought was brilliant to clear the protestors off the streets so Trump could have his glorious photo-op in front of the church that had been vandalized..
I can envision them scrounging around the White House for a photo-op worthy Bible. Perhaps Mike Pence was summoned to bring his most Bible looking Bible.
I thought of Moses who, while tending a flock of sheep, saw a burning bush which was not being consumed by fire. Curious, he walked over to see this strange sight. God called his name from the flames. Moses said, “Here I am.” According to the Bible (Exodus 3) then God tasked him to lead the Israelites, who were being enslaved by the Pharaoh, out of Egypt.
I know that with this readership I don’t have to remind people that most African-Americans have ancestors who came here as slaves.
I thought that if God could send a message to Moses though a burning bush, why not send one to Donald Trump through a burning Bible?
Religious leaders, including Bishop Mariann Budde, leader of The Episcopal Diocese of Washington said that she was “outraged” about Trump’s appearance stating “I am going to do everything in my power to disassociate our church from what the president did tonight.”
Other religious leaders said that the Bible was not a prop to be used for political purposes.
I am breaking my rule about only writing on academic topics like psychology which I know a a lot about. I grew up as a secular Jew and didn’t even go to Hebrew school or temple. My knowledge of the Old Testament comes from the stories told at Passover seders and at Hanukkah.
The rest the Bible which I am familiar with comes from movies and much of what I know about Moses comes from Charlton Heston’s depiction of him in “The 10 Commandments”.
I know enough about the burning bush story to know that it described how a humble sheep herder who became the most important prophet in Judaism received a message from God that he was to free his brethren from slavery.
Trump as a leader is the antithesis of Moses.
I wonder what messages God, assuming He exists and hasn't given up on humanity, would send to Donald Trump and his millions of followers.
Here’s my tweet. (Update) In a few hours 100 people looked at it but only 5 clicked the link to this story: