Among the most perplexing features of Donald Trump’s surge to victory has been the enthusiastic support of evangelical Christians for a man who can barely name any books of the Bible. Now that Trump’s nomination has forced me to consider soberly the real possibility of casting a vote for that man, I’m finding the Christian groundswell behind Trump ever more mystifying. One of my most pressing objections to voting for Trump is that I can’t see a way to do so as a Christian. I’m starting to think Trump’s ideology might represent the actual opposite of Christianity.
Here’s what I don’t mean by that. I don’t mean that Trump is such a meanie and my sweet, precious Jesus would never tolerate all that yelling. Reports of Christ’s niceness have been greatly exaggerated. Flip through the gospels and you’ll find a much rougher, scrappier character than you may have been led to expect–upending tables, talking back to his mother, fiercely vituperating his best friends. The use of the term “Christian” to mean “cuddly” is one of the more distasteful banalizations of that word in American popular culture. “Unchristian” isn’t a synonym for “uncouth.”
No, my problem is that Trump’s worldview is pretty much diametrically opposed to the one inherent in Jesus’ life story. By his own gleeful admission, Trump is all about “winning, winning, winning.” This means that from the bedroom to the electoral college, he defines human value in terms of material and worldly success. Who’s got the hottest… [Read more…] about Can a Christian Vote for Donald Trump?