Posted by: minnow | October 11, 2016

Trump’s Conservative (?) Christian(?) Support

Most of the labels attached to Trump which actually describe him–racist, xenophobic, misogynistic, egomaniac–haven’t seemed to damage his popularity much.  On the other hand, one label I would argue has no place any where near Mr. Trump seems somehow permanently attached–Christian Conservative.  Simply do not understand.

Mr. Trump is about as far from a true conservative or an authentic Christian as one can get. But sadly, we don’t have many true conservatives left.  And, far too many Christians have forgotten what it means to follow Christ.  These days it seems we mostly have Trump and Trump-wannabes. So, what’s the difference between Trump’s brand of conservative Christian and the real McCoy?  Let’s explore the real McCoy first.

True Conservatives want to invest in the United States economy for their own benefit certainly but also for the benefit of the country as a whole.  They believe a solid day’s work should yield a solid day’s reward.  They recognize and respect the men and women who keep America going and growing and believe the working class should be compensated for their efforts. True conservatives want government to be fiscally responsible. They invest in their communities.  And, they pay their fair share of taxes because they know their tax dollars are necessary for maintaining the infrastructure, quality public education, a trained and equip military, social services, and law and order.  True conservatives are found at every social and economic level.

Likewise true Christians come is all shapes and sizes. They believe the fruit of a person’s life reveals his or her spiritual health.  They take seriously the words of Jesus when He told his followers to take care of the widows and orphans, the downtrodden, and the foreigners.  True Christ followers walk humbly, share their blessings including their wealth, and live at peace to the best of their ability.

Trump, on the other hand, has no interest outside of himself.  As this article from the New York Times explains, his business dealing have been reckless and self-serving, though technically legal.  For years, he has been a major contributor to what is wrong with Washington, donating to politicians on both sides of the isle in order to garner favor, thinking only about what would help him get rich, the rest of the country be damned.  In the early 90s Trump encouraged lawmakers to create loopholes that would allow him to avoid paying taxes on the loans he took out while at the same time declaring bankruptcy and refusing to pay those he hired.  He has declared bankruptcy on four separate occasions and buried most who have tried to sue him for non-payment with hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of legal bills.  Throughout the campaign he has avoided laying out any sort of plan for rebuilding the economy, restoring our flailing infrastructure, improving education, or creating jobs.  He wants to cut taxes on wealthy people like himself but calls workers too poor to pay taxes freeloaders.

The other adjective which seems stuck on Trump–Christian–is equally confusing. The most recent storm to hit the air wave concerning Trump, a video tape recorded in 2005  on which he explains–using extremely vulgar language–how easy it is for him to assault women, should be enough to illustrate just how far away from Christian values Donald Trump stands. The fact it is only one of dozens of such comments denigrating women, slandering Hispanics, condemning people in the LGBT community, and vilifying Muslims should cause Christians who claim to vote according to their principles grave concern.  Yet, for some unfathomable reason, except that it is not actually unfathomable but rather very patriarchal, evangelicals on the Right–Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council, Ralph Reed of the Faith and Family Coalition, David Bozell head of ForAmerica, Robert Jeffress senior pastor of First Baptist Church in Dallas and a member of Trump’s Faith Advisory Council, David Brody from the Christian Broadcasting Network, evangelist Franklin Graham, James Dobson of Family Talk, president of Liberty University Jerry Falwell and Mark Harris the pastor at First Baptist Church in Charlotte, WV–all continue to support him.

After the latest scandal, some tried to suggest Trump’s values are not why they support him but rather the more pressing issue of a justice to the Supreme Court is the more important factor.  Others insist that, that (meaning the latest scandal) was then and Trump has since been born again. To that suggestion I say, bologna! If we were talking about a before and after that were different from one another then perhaps the argument could hold some validity. The problem is Trump’s after  is very much like his before. The example of scripture is that once we come to Christ we understand how desperately we need forgiveness. We recognize our past failings as despicable. We humble ourselves before our Maker and yes, before Man as well. NONE of this rings true for Donald Trump. Since his supposed come to Jesus moment Trump has: 1. stated that the President and Secretary Clinton were founder and co-founder of ISIS, 2. tried to embarrass Humayun Khan’s family by ridiculing his mother, 3. called Clinton the devil, 4. threatened the Muslim neighbors of a terrorist with “consequences”, 5. slandered former Miss Universe Alicia Machado, excused the latest scandal as “locker room talk” and 7. suggested the 2nd Amendment folks could do something about Hillary. These are not the ravings of a man who has had a life changing encounter with Christ. Trump’s behavior threatens the physical and economic safety of the United States. His excuses and explanations reveal extreme arrogance, a desire to deflect blame, and a troubling refusal to accept responsibility.

If you do not agree with Hillary Clinton’s proposals and policies then don’t vote for her.  But for the sake of God and country stop pretending Trump embodies any conservative or Christian value worth holding. The man can’t remember what he said an hour ago let alone what promise he made or what platform the Party faithful drew up.

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