My parents were of two different faiths, and to the extent possible, they tried not to impose either religion on my brother and I. So we grew up mostly a non-religious family, even though we did celebrate Christmas and Easter. Still, this mostly allowed us to regard religion almost from an outside perspective right from the beginning, which was markedly different from most of my classmates growing up.
It seems that the country as a whole has grown less and less religious over time. In fact, I suspect that this trend is continuing right to this day.
Now, if you talk to people on the right, particularly those who identify as Evangelical Christians, this is the result of a "war on Christianity." They literally liken what appears to be a push back against religious presence in our politics as some kind of persecution against them, and they also seem to quickly (and without much in the way of facts) associate some perceived measures of a general decline as the inevitable result of the seeming decline of religiosity in the United States.
Here's the thing: I never hated religion. In fact, I believe that it has done some good in the world. For example, I have known some people who relied on it to get past serious substance abuse issues. There are some religions, and some people who believe in the faith, who have impressed me greatly. Archbishop Desmond Tutu and President Jimmy Carter in particular come to mind, as does Reinhold Niebuhr. I have been impressed numerous times with Pope Francis I, as well. And while Buddhism is often not regarded a religion in the strictest sense, I have always been impressed with the Dalai Lama, and his spirituality.
All of that said, let me now shift gears a bit. As impressed as I have been with some people (like the ones mentioned above) who hold strong faiths and have shown a willingness to express those faiths, I have been equally appalled by the extremists who seem to me to use their religions as a shield to justify their own hatred and/or greed. The most extreme example of this is the Westboro Baptist Church, which makes a point of trying to provoke people, entirely unnecessarily. Sure, they are entitled to their religious beliefs, but it sure feels like they are the poster children for religious extremists who use religion as their righteous shield to promote their hatred and prejudices, which are not actually taught or even really tolerated in the Bible.
These days, this frankly ugly, hate-promoting version of what passes for Christianity has become so commonplace, that it seems to be what most Americans think of when they think of Christianity. Again, it is anything but inclusive and welcoming, focusing instead on the harsh and extremely judgmental "fire and brimstone" version of Christianity. It also feels extremely contradictory. Many of these faiths are relatively small churches, who believe that they, and they alone, have the one true version of the faith, and that everybody else - whether they identify as Christians or not - are simply wrong, and destined to burn in the eternal fires of damnation. Infamously, former President George W. Bush, who once revealed that he believed that God wanted him to be president, was a member of such a faith. Either you accepted everything that they told you to believe in, or you were condemned to Hell. There are a lot of these small chapter faiths identifying as Christian. And when you think about it, it feels quite harsh to profess that either you accept everything that they believe, or you will be condemned to Hell forever. Frankly, it feels like spiritual blackmail, relying more on fear than on the love and compassion which were the basis of the teachings of Jesus as I understand them. It also feels inconsistent with the whole notion of God being all-loving and forgiving.
Then they wonder why more and more people are being turned off by religion, and perhaps by Christianity in particular? When they put themselves as the symbol of all that Christianity is supposed to be about, and they grow powerful and influential enough that people indeed begin to identify Christianity with them, is it any wonder that so many people will be turned away? When they try to impose their religion on the entire country, claiming that the United States is unquestionably a Christian country, and try to do away with the separation of Church and State, then whine and complain about what they call a "war on Christianity" anytime that there is any pushback against their designs to take over, do they really feel themselves persecuted? Is it really comparable to the ancient days when Christians would be fed to the lions? Are they really at a loss to understand why so many people see such hypocrisy clearly for what it is, and turn away from it?
It sure seems like these kinds of Christians want the best of both worlds. They want to maintain the separation of church and state when it comes to being exempt from paying taxes. However, that does not stop them from loudly and proudly being politically active. It is no secret that Trump relied heavily on the Christian Evangelical vote in both 2016 and 2020, and that he will need their support again if he has a chance in 2024. If he were to somehow lose their support, he would have simply no real chance at the White House again.
Which brings me to another contradictory aspect of what passes for modern Christianity in the United States today. Because there can hardly be imagined an individual who is, frankly, as antithetical to all of the things that Christians are supposed to believe in. Not only does he not embody the message of unconditional love and sharing and humility that Jesus taught, but he also has transgressions which should frankly have appalled even the Christians of the fire and brimstone variety. This man cheated on every wife that he ever had, and he brags about his transgressions. When he first descended from that golden escalator to announce his presidential campaign in 2015, he bragged about how greedy he was. Just in case you need a reminder, these are his words, not mine:
"All my life I've made money. I've made money. I've always been good at making money. I think I have great imagination — but I made money. And all my life I did well. And my father always said, ‘Everything he touches turns to gold.'"
"My whole life I’ve been greedy, greedy, greedy. I’ve grabbed all the money I could get. I’m so greedy. But now I want to be greedy for the United States. I want to grab all that money. I’m going to be greedy for the United States."
Keep in mind that this was his announcement to kick off his presidential campaign, so he was laying the groundwork for what his presidency would stand for. It was Then he told Americans that he wanted to be the same way, but for the country. Mind you, greed is outright listed as one of the Seven Deadly Sins. So is pride, which he clearly showed in mentioning how successful he is, and how great he is at making money, how much of an imagination he has in making it (even if many of his detractors dismissed him as a scam artist), and how his father suggested that Trump had the Midas touch. Let's remember that another quote by Trump was when he boasted about being able to "grab 'em by the pussy." That's boast pride and lust, which is yet another of the Seven Deadly Sins. I could go on, but I will stop there with that particular line of reasoning. The fact of the matter is that King Con Don is more than merely a "flawed" or imperfect man, as many of his most loyal supporters will concede (albeit grudgingly). In fact, when you really look at him and his behavior, he is not merely flawed or not perfect, but he embodies too many of the very evils that the Bible warns about. And he seems to encourage these evils in others. That is why his hate-baiting is such a source of concern to many. That is why so many are appalled and greatly alarmed by his words and actions, from mocking a disabled reporter to expressing xenophobic sentiments to boasting about how he can abuse women because he is such a big star, to dismissing literally dozens of countries as "shithole nations," to just countless other instances where he has shown petty and immoral and even, yes, evil behavior.
It was no secret, and hardly took some truly piercing insights into the human psyche to recognize that this guy was bad. Nothing could be more obvious. Which makes it all the more puzzling why the Evangelical Christian base of his support first of all came to be, and why they stick with him so doggedly no matter what. Either they take their Christian faith seriously, or they don't. Frankly, their unwavering support of and apparent faith in a man like Donald Trump discredits them.
Trump may not be a billionaire. That much seems clear enough now, with leaked tax documents, and his lawyers making clear that he does not have enough to post his over $400 million bail. Yet, he is undeniably rich, and had access to a lot of funds throughout his lifetime. Indeed, he enjoyed a life of opulence and excess (which is another thing that I never quite got about his base of support, largely from rural folks who usually were more suspicious of city slicker types, but that's something for another day). But let us be clear: Trump sure relied on a whole lot of scams in order to maintain his riches. He himself boasts of it. This is a man who declared bankruptcy multiple times, and who was sued for scams many, many times. There were business ventures which sure seemed like scams to anyone with an ounce of objectivity, from Trump University to Trump Steaks to Trump Airlines to Trump Magazine to Trump Vodka. More recently, there were those ridiculous (and ugly) Trump sneakers.
Now, King Con Don is trying to promote yet another thing which, frankly, smacks of a scam. This time, he is seemingly targeting his most faithful supporters, literally and figuratively. He is selling $60 Bibles, which are being called "God Bless the USA Bibles." Trump himself is promoting them, even though they do not bear his name (mercifully, we have been spared "Trump Bibles," at least for the moment). He is telling his prospective audience that “we must make America pray again.”
All of this just in time for him to pay the amounts which he owes to the courts, on top of his other debts! Also, just in time for the presidential campaign. King Con Don is trying to rally his most loyal supporters to give more and more money, by any means necessary. He has made no secret of his desire for revenge if given a second term, and has even claimed that he would indeed be a dictator.
Remember, this was the man who once, as president, had a peaceful and lawful protest near the White House grounds cleared by tear gas. Then, he went out by a church and posed with a Bible in hand so that he could have pictures taken with it. But he kept it short, because he then complained about the remnants of the tear gas that had been used to clear the grounds for his grand photo opportunity. Is that what good Christians do? Would Jesus approve?
I grew up at a time when televangelists were all the rage, and they were often exposed as con artists and hypocrites, like Jimmy and Tammy Baker. The late Pat Robertson is another such figure, as he spewed hatred upon anything he regarded as immoral, which seemed to amount to the vast majority of people. There are leaders of megachurches today who pretty much as the same way. In particular, Joel Osteen, for example, really creeps me out. There's just something about that smile of his, and the opulent lifestyle that he leads behind the scenes. Something about those leaders of mass religions just feels wrong to me. The leaders enjoying the trappings of the most luxurious sort just does not seem to be in sync with what Jesus actually said and taught. In short, it feels like these versions of a frankly decadent version of the Christian faith have more than a small element of scams associated with them.
These bibles feel like an extension of all of that decadence. They sure look and feel like a scam. They also feel contrary to what the actual Bible represents and tries to teach those professing the Christian faith. No, Trump is not outright a televangelist, but he paints his face sick colors, like some infamous televangelists used to do in the 1980's. Maybe Trump is not officially the leader of a megachurch, but the faithful sure seem to want to congregate en masse to see and hear him. Much like televangelists of old and leaders of megachurches in the here and now, Trump sure likes not only to live the opulent lifestyle of a spoiled brat, but to flaunt it, to boot. Indeed, I am not sure that the man is religious at all, frankly, yet Christian Evangelicals sure seem to feel that he is one of them.
Therein lies the problem. Because they loudly and proudly hail themselves as Christians. If this indeed is what Christianity is, or has been allowed to become, then I want absolutely no part of it. And I am not the only one. It seems to me that the real war on Christianity is being waged by those who identify themselves most loudly as Christians, who wear their religious identities on their sleeves, yet who seem to identify and promote things which are, frankly, undeserving of what actual Christianity is supposed to be about, as taught by Jesus.
Below are the links to the articles I used in writing this particular blog entry, including the quote used above:
Trump’s Newest Venture? A $60 Bible. by Michael Gold and Maggie Haberman, The New York Times, March 26, 2024:
His Bible sales pitch comes as he appears to be confronting a significant financial squeeze, with his legal fees growing while he fights a number of criminal cases and lawsuits.
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/26/us/politics/trump-bible.html
The 7 Trumpiest things Donald Trump said during his “counter-debate" By Jeff Stein Jan 29, 2016:
https://www.vox.com/2016/1/29/10868360/trump-quotes-counter-debate
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