PENnED

“White evangelical Americans are more willing to endorse political violence than their non-Christian counterparts, according to a new survey from the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI).”

https://www.newsweek.com/evangelicals-political-violence-non-christians-1838384

That is indeed “disturbing.” And considering the fact evangelicals have been known for being “heavenly minded” and for expressions like “this world is not my home,” that can also be surprising to other evangelicals who don’t seem to care about what’s going on in our world.

But that’s not really surprising. As Donald Trump have risen to political power (he still wields power in the GOP) and have also fallen from it (particularly to those who acknowledge his defeat to President Joe Biden), so also many evangelicals have emotionally experienced both these highs and lows but are not willing to accept defeat. And that’s why evangelicals who “patriotically” support Trump are willing to do anything, including violent acts, or at least condone them to make America great again (MAGA).

To hurt and kill others is not the way of Christ. Violence has no place in the Kingdom of God in which Christ Jesus is The Prince of Peace. And so it seems that some evangelicals have misunderstood the Christian faith—that to follow Christ is to follow the way of peace. But like Peter who did not understand the goal of Christ’s mission and the way to accomplish it, they are willing to draw the sword. Just as Christ rebuked Peter, these evangelical “sisters and brothers” also need our Lord’s rebuke!

Why have some of our sisters and brothers in the larger Christian community become so radical that they are willing take up or support others who are ready to take up arms? My theory is that because they have become part of the MAGA kingdom and their thoughts and efforts have been focused on that. Thus, the Kingdom of Christ has become blurry and perhaps something that can only be enjoyed later. But for now, it’s the MAGA world that occupies them.

What do we make of this MAGA evangelical phenomenon? I don’t want to make a judgment and say that faith in Christ may not really be there. But from my perspective, I think many evangelicals, not just the MAGA ones, have misunderstood the Christian faith. A rational Christian who knows how to interpret Scripture texts the way they should be interpreted would know that many evangelicals, when talking about their faith and the Bible, often misunderstand and thus misapply what they read.

A case in point was a conversation I had with a Christian who supported Trump as a presidential candidate. He believed that Scriptures show that he was anointed by God, like he was a messiah. Trump himself being keen on what his supporters say and peddled around, picked up the idea and repeated them using Twitter, which was then called his “megaphone.”

On November 2, 2020, I wrote the following;

No one has expressed such grandiose view of Donald Trump more than Wayne Allyn Root, who described himself as a “Jew turned evangelical Christian.” Such praise had not escaped Trump’s attention. How could it? Wowed by a comment worthy of royalty…he tweets:

“Thank you to Wayne Allyn Root for the very nice words. ‘President Trump is the greatest President for Jews and for Israel in the history of the world, not just America, he is the best President for Israel in the history of the world…and the Jewish people in Israel love him….

“…like he’s the King of Israel. They love him like he is the second coming of God…But American Jews don’t know him or like him. They don’t even know what they’re doing or saying anymore. It makes no sense! But that’s OK, if he keeps doing what he’s doing, he’s good for….

….. all Jews, Blacks, Gays, everyone. And importantly, he’s good for everyone in America who wants a job.’ Wow!”

Let me repeat the line that perhaps made Trump feel like a god: “They love (me) like the second coming of God.” And that might have reinforced his narcissism and explains why he does things the ways he does, like a god! And MAGA evangelicals, in turn, whose views about Trump has been reinforced by his words and actions that portrayed himself as a savior or messiah (a symptom of fascism), unconditionally commit themselves to him. Right or wrong, Trump is the savior of America and the world!

Isn’t that idolatrous?