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| Jerry Falwell Jr. (wikimedia commons) |
My late mother had the most genuine Christian faith. She felt the steadiness that comes with a resolute commitment of this type. Right or wrong, you can feel self-assured. I can't imagine her being any place but in heaven now. She raised me at a time when young people were shackled trying to find faith of any kind. We felt bitter and cynical.
And today there's a common belief that we have done a reversal. But it seems to me that old scars remain. The scars are such that we flail about looking for the same kind of faith assurances that our elders had. We think we have found some answers but then it becomes illusory, like we should have known it was fool's gold all along.
And so we must wonder, years from now when most likely the Donald Trump phenomenon has passed - presumably he will leave power - will the evangelical Christians come to grips with what they did? Will they explain what all they foisted on the Christian faith as a whole, plunging into raw politics with such abandon?
Will they realize that the gospel ought to stand on its own, not shared with a mortal leader who pretends to speak for them? "Speak" is what Trump does every day. He commands the so-called news cycle even on Sunday. He totally has the "evangelical" Christians eating out of his hand. How will the Christian faith reflect on this someday? Whatever faith I may have been able to develop, it is now tested by the Trump phenomenon. If someone like Trump, who is so absolutely amoral and shallow, can come to be practically worshiped by such a large portion of the Christian faithful, doesn't it suggest total naivete? It makes me wonder if Jesus Christ himself might have been someone rather like Trump, able to manipulate the masses, to get them eating out of his hand.
If it can happen now, surely it could have happened in Biblical times.
To have faith, the Christ story must come across as credible. If Christians are eventually seen to have been lemmings or guppies, easily massaged and manipulated by a flim-flam man, we might well wonder if Christianity itself was based on a lie. I cannot resist these thoughts on a daily basis. The Republican Party of America has become an extension of cult leader Trump, the man who has committed notorious acts and assaults on the truth constantly. Is he a modern Jesus Christ himself in terms of being able to cultivate a devoted, unquestioning following? It's a mass of churchgoing people who have suspended the ability to think critically. And it's for reasons I have a hard time fathoming, even though by nature I always try to discern human motivations.
A pivotal endorsement
We got to our current reality in part because of a particular evangelical leader endorsing Trump. Once that person declared his endorsement, other leaders took that as a cue that it was OK to do so. The flood of momentum then set in. Jerry Falwell Jr. did this. He gave us Donald Trump as the spokesman for the committed evangelicals.
My mother belonged to a church that is now seen as an island away from the Trump crowd. By extension I'm there too: an ELCA church. It's the Evangelical Lutheran Church in American (not "of" America), and in an earlier time, it was seen as being conservative as anything. My mother never cared about the political aspect. She read the whole Bible when young. Today she would be so revulsed by Trump, she wouldn't even want to talk about it, I assure you. Mostly it would be a civility issue with her.
I look around Morris and see some of the more "conservative" denominations - the word requires quote marks - and we can be certain these people vote 100 percent for Trump/Pence. These churches unfortunately project an image of growing momentum and fervor. The "island" of the ELCA seems rather a shrinking island, especially out here in rural America where the Trump lure seems so strong.
We in the ELCA are now perceived, and derided by many, as liberal. I'm sorry that a long-time and revered biology teacher at Morris High School left us. We in the ELCA are receptive to causes that are perceived by many as progressive. And now we want to be generous and caring about immigrants. I assure you that in the future, we will need immigrants to work in our nursing homes and in many other roles. These people want to work and they appreciate the safety and prosperity of America relative to where they came from. So many are people of color which is probably the main reason Trump seeks to impose roadblocks. So, the families get separated at the border and kids are put in cages.
Did we get to this place because of one man: Jerry Falwell Jr.? How much do you really know about this man who is associated with Liberty University? Is he the type of person you really want to have inspiring you? To hold your hand as you make voting decisions? Apparently many Christians have chosen to go this route.
I doubt that a single local Apostolic Christian votes Democrat.
Jerry Falwell Jr. endorsed Trump in January 2016 just before the Iowa caucuses. There were 17 GOP candidates. Several of them would appear to have the kind of credentials appealing to evangelicals. Trump has said he has never asked God for forgiveness. Maybe he thinks he is without sin. There is a hint of semi-divinity that Trump appears to be aspiring to. And the maddening thing about this, is that nearly the whole evangelical flock - the "Christian right" - appears willing to go along with it. Questioning Trump is not an option for them.
A parallel with Christ?
The phenomenon makes people like me, who know Trump is a flawed and mortal human being - to wonder if Jesus Christ himself was simply a leader of similar persuasive inclinations. How can one not think this?
Falwell Jr. is the president of "the evangelical Liberty University" which I suppose is in contrast with the "godless" University of Minnesota-Morris. And I'm sure that's how the local Apostolics and other zealots see things, tragically. So Falwell Jr. threw his weight and his name - we all remember who his father was - behind Trump, a man described in one media account as "a lewd, twice-divorced former casino magnate who has bragged about grabbing women by their genitals." Sorry Mom.
If a new book of the Bible is ever written, inspired by Falwell Jr. and Trump, would it mention the former pool attendant at the Fountainebleu Hotel in Miami Beach? There's mystery attached to that "pool boy" saga. Might that have been a factor altering the basic course of our nation?
Hey, they're on TV
The self-styled religious leaders who have learned to master the media have tremendous power. Some of our local pastors are surely just as articulate and intelligent, maybe more so. But the guys who know how to get in front of the cameras really have reach, and not always with the most pure of intentions, to say the least. It can be sinister. And it plays on the naivete of so many.
So I ask again: Given how pliable so many of us humans can be, is it possible that Jesus Christ was a charlatan himself, perhaps just a philosopher with strong political objectives in mind? Will Donald Trump too "rise from the dead" and be resurrected? I will pass on that.
Trump has advised a fellow wealthy businessman as follows: "If you don't support me, you're going to be so goddamn poor." Yes, I'll pass on such talk too. I'll say this about the local Apostolics: they don't want to be "so goddamn poor."
Addendum: I remember when our custodian at the Morris Sun Tribune, Howard Moser, got such a kick out of the elder Falwell making a big deal out of the "Tinkie Winkie" character of the "Teletubbies" cartoon. I guess "Tinkie" gave clues he was gay.
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com
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