Just ran across this article,
This Is Not of God’: When Anti-Trump Evangelicals Confront Their Brethren , about some evangelicals who call themselves Red Letter Christians who are protesting Trump's presidency as contrary to the spirit of Christ. One of their leaders is a Shane Claiborne who keeps wanting to confront the pro-Trump evangelicals at Liberty University in Virginia but keeps getting rebuffed.
Red Letter Christians refers to the fact that some Bibles put Jesus' directly quoted words in red, so this group consider themselves to be representing Jesus against other Christians they regard as not living as Christians. They emphasize work among the poor, missions and so on. Claiborne calls the pro-Trump evangelicals "Toxic Christians" who, in the words of the author of the article, endorse "Mr. Trump’s program of deporting immigrants, fanning racial tension and passing a tax deal benefiting the rich."
This is likely to be a very incendiary subject unfortunately so I'm hesitating about posting it at all. I'll probably be the only one on the pro-Trump side, and GDR along with everybody else will side with the Red Letter people as being the true Christians.
But I'll present a brief defense of my view here. As usual I see the problem as a confusion between what Jesus calls us as individuals to do, which the Red Letter people represent in a general way, while the pro-Trump people operate on the level of government and law in this fallen world, supporting programs that we think best serve a nation in this fallen context. Jesus gave guidelines for individuals, spoke of us as citizens of another country, made a distinction between what is owed to Caesar or the governments of this world, and what is owed to God. He did not in any way condemn Christians who serve in a governmental capacity, such as the Roman Centurions who believed and converted in His time. They weren't asked to give up their jobs and they weren't asked to turn the other cheek or go the extra mile in their capacity as servants of Caesar, they were there to keep order and there is no hint that their work was considered to be in any way contradictory with their faith in Christ.
Nations must operate by law, but Jesus addresses individuals. His influence nevertheless has influenced law in a merciful direction over time, but governments can't turn the other check, only individuals can, and if governments did it they would be betraying their main purpose which is the protection and organization of the people. Jesus didn't come to abolish the Law of God, He came to fulfill it, and nations must operate by Law.
To address this specific topic, I have a problem with how it's all characterized in the first place, as "Trump’s program of deporting immigrants, fanning racial tension and passing a tax deal benefiting the rich."
First note the usual Liberal spin on the term "immigrants." Trump's administration is not "deporting IMMIGRANTS, but ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS. Leaving out that term "illegal" is a big fat red flag. As he said recently, a nation can't be a nation without borders, but the left wants to destroy borders and destroy nations as a result, particularly the United States. Trump wants legal orderly immigration, and that's his job as the servant of the people of the nation. The anarchy promoted by the opposition can't be defended as anything Jesus would support.
Also I've heard that some of the more unfair laws concerning deportation were not Trump's doing but actually done by the Democrats, laws that separate parents from children for instance, and Trump recently asked that those laws be rescinded.
All the "fanning of racial tension" I've seen originates on the Left and does not come from Trump.
And taxes benefitting the rich are for the purpose of increasing the prosperity of the nation. We can argue about whether or not it's the best policy but that's it's purpose, not to benefit the rich at the expense of the poor as the Left always spins it, but to benefit the whole country which also benefits the poor. It's the policies of free enterprise that made America the richest nation on earth. We won't stay rich if all we do is give it away. You have to make money in order to have money to use for the sake of the poor.
So that's a sketch of this hot topic. I hope it doesn't give me a heart attack.
Edited by Faith, : No reason given.
Edited by Faith, : No reason given.
Edited by Faith, : No reason given.
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