An unholy alliance
An icky alliance was forged last week when one of the voices of evangelical America — Christianity Today — published an editorial that demanded the president be removed from office.
The magazine, founded by The Rev. Billy Graham in 1956, finds itself today in the same pool as the Democrats who impeached the president.
Now, to be fair, the Graham family has issued a disclaimer that the magazine no longer represents their views, although it does have a track record of joining the fray from the investigation of Richard Nixon to the impeachments of Bill Clinton and Donald Trump.
But it is a strident voice of evangelicals, and when it says the president must go (https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2019/december-web-only/trump-should-be-removed-from-office.html,) a lot of people will listen.
The basis of the editorial is sweeping.
“This president has dumbed down the idea of morality in his administration,” the op-ed charges. “He has hired and fired a number of people who are now convicted criminals. He himself has admitted to immoral actions in business and his relationship with women, about which he remains proud. His Twitter feed alone – with its habitual string of mischaracterizations, lies, and slanders – is a near perfect example of a human being who is morally lost and confused.”
The piece summarizes by claiming that the president has “abused his authority for personal gain and betrayed his constitutional oath” and that the nation would continue to suffer “moral and political danger … under a leader of such grossly immoral character.”
Left, right, believer, or non-believer, those are powerful allegations.
The president, of course, swung back in predictable fashion on Twitter where he blasted the magazine, saying it “knows nothing about reading a perfect transcript of a routine phone call and would rather have a Radical Left (sic) nonbeliever, who wants to take your religion & your guns, than Donald Trump as your President.”
Jesus is relieved, I’m sure, to know that we have a president who promises to preserve not only religion but our guns as well.
The Twitter blast also went on to say that “No President has done more for the Evangelical community, and it’s not even close.”
Of course. The president is the greatest human being to walk the Earth, the chosen one for whom there are no superlatives grand enough. If you don’t believe that, just ask him and he’ll tell you.
His ego, his arrogance, his lies, his lack of intellect and intellectual curiosity, his misogyny, his lack of compassion, his embrace of White Nationalist ideals, his crude and vulgar demeanor, his lack of remorse, his inability to distinguish right from wrong, his bullying, and his immature playground taunts are reason for grave concern about his mental capabilities.
It all points to a frightening messianic complex, which psychologists equate as a subset of schizophrenic behavior. We should be concerned because when we research people with this mental condition we end up with a list that includes Adolf Hitler, Napoleon Bonaparte, David Koresh, and a host of other bad actors whose self-beatification spilled over to others who looked up to them with awe and reverence. It’s a sort of mass hysteria that cons even good-hearted people to fall for their scam, especially when the victims believe their eternal salvation is on the line. The guy with the big smile who promises to preserve their faith and ideals suddenly becomes a hero whose transgressions and lust for power are soon swept away, revealing not only the hypocrisy of many religious fanatics, but also a certain naivete that prevents them from critical thought. How else can you explain why the president has held such a grip on today’s religious right?
That’s why it was such a shock to see this magazine call for the president’s removal. This is a moderate, at best, publication that sticks pretty much to mainstream Christian values. That it has aligned itself with what the hard right consider the devil — members of the Democratic Party — is nothing short of blasphemous, especially considering how popular the president is with the religious right.
That doesn’t mean, however, that we’re all going to hell in a handbasket.
While it is true that the number of people who affiliate themselves with one of the mainstream Christian religions in the United States is falling sharply, that doesn’t mean we are a godless nation. It’s just a reflection of the shift from aligning tightly with one specific religion to more and more who claim no religious affiliation but profess deep spiritual beliefs — people who concentrate on deeds rather than hollow platitudes.
In other words, it seems that Americans are withholding their tithing dollars and worshiping in a more non-traditional manner, who understand that you do not need a church affiliation to have a relationship with God.
Perhaps it is the seemingly endless stream of scandals that have engulfed organized religion. Maybe it’s because of the inconsistencies that preach of the godlike benevolence of forgiveness yet portray him as the angry man in the sky who is just as likely to fling your soul into the eternal flaming pit of hell. It’s the realm of the Jerry Falwells and Pat Robertsons of the world who would chain you to their perverted version of Christianity through fear.
And the deification of the president continued in the aftermath of his impeachment when several Republican members of the House equated it to the crucifixion of Jesus, something that will be lapped up, I am sure, by the faithful.
This whole impeachment process has been a rather predictable parade down Church Street, America.
Now, as we prepare to move to the Senate trial, we can look forward to more of the same, except that the whips will be cracked by the other side.
And while the outcome should be fairly predictable, the far-reaching impact is not.
If you ask me, that’s when we will really need divine intervention, because it is going to be one hell of a mess.
May God bless us, each and every one.
The viewpoints expressed above are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of The Independent.
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