Evangelicals’ Bargain
When a young child gets in serious trouble, he is sent to juvenile court and any youthful misdeeds are sealed to give him a chance to change his ways. But once he attains adulthood and if he continues to break the law, he forgoes the forgiveness and must pay his debt to society. And any adult, who aids and abets, are similarly charged, even those who just happens to drive the getaway car.
So, if you are with a bunch of friends, you go out drinking and they decide to go beat up a person because of his race, and you sort of join in, you will most likely be charged with a hate crime.
If you are with a group of people who decides to rob a bank, and while you are not out there along with them, you partake in the proceeds of the robbery, you will be charged with some form of aiding and abetting.
And on a larger scale, when Hitler and his governing team instituted the “solution”, and the entire nation basically turned away their eyes, the entire nation was charged with the crime of genocide after the end of the war. Every person who supported the regime became sullied forevermore with the crime.
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“According to Jerry Falwell, Jr., evangelicals have ‘found their dream president’, which says something about the current quality of evangelical dreams.” Michael Gerson, prominent evangelical writer in The Atlantic, “The Last Temptation”, p. 45.
“Loyalty to Trump has involved progressively more difficult, self-abasing demands. And there appears to be no limit to what some evangelical leaders will endure.” Ibid.
“The moral convictions of many evangelical leaders have become a function of their partisan identification. This is not mere gullibility; it is utter corruption. Blinded by political tribalism and hatred for their political opponents, these leaders can’t see how they are undermining the causes to which they once dedicated their lives.” Ibid.
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So “in the spirit of the Holy Week”, I read an article by Michael Gerson in The Atlantic called the “The Last Temptation”, from which I pulled the aforementioned quotes. The well written article was written by an evangelical writer and provides a good history about evangelism, fundamentalism, and Christian faith. The background story of evangelism provided me a better understanding of the thinking and mores of what they are about (basically doing good things and helping out the unfortunate).
But the author laments the recent turn toward Trumpism. Those who still believe in what the evangelicals historically meant have had to drop “evangelical” from their self-description because the term has been sullied. Evangelism just no longer stands for the good it previously embraced.
And so, it is happening as I thought it would: the term “evangelicals” is becoming too toxic for those who truly believe in its tenets. I would say being called a Republican will have the same toxic stain; I either just haven’t heard about it yet or the stench haven’t quite reached the Republicans yet. There has been a few who has said that they can no longer be called a Republican – they are Republicans without a home. Maybe the urban Republicans, like those in Pennsylvania, are starting to turn away. The white Republicans in Alabama – no, they went for Roy Moore. Alabama voted in a Democrat mainly due to the strength of the black turnout; most of the white voters chose the judge. But I do believe the urban Republicans are edging away, looking for a new home.
The rural Republicans or Trump supporter are still mired in their tribalism. For whatever reason, they have truly given up their morals. Every day, Trump does more and more troubling things, and every day, they continue to stand steadfastly by him. The longer they continue to support Trump, the more the stink will stick to them. And much like the person driving the getaway car, they will dearly pay for whatever crime this administration indulges in.
If this continues long enough, and all things must come to an end, his end and their end will be inextricably bound together. I just hope that Trumpism does not sink to truly evil levels, for their sakes and for ours.
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“I do not believe that most evangelicals are racist. But every strong Trump supporter has decided that racism is not a moral disqualification in the president of the United States. And that is something more than a political compromise. It is a revelation of moral priorities…For a package of political benefits, these evangelical leaders have associated the Christian faith with racism and nativism. They have associated the Christian faith with misogyny and the mocking of the disabled. They have associated the Christian faith with lawlessness, corruption, and routine deception. They have associated the Christian faith with moral confusion about the surpassing evils of white supremacy and neo-Nazism. The world is full of tragic choices and compromises. But for this man? For this cause?” Ibid. pp. 51 – 52.
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