Donald Trump is tearing down America and Christianity. As Christian and Milikin University music professor Troy Castle explains, Trump’s utter ethical failure is as contagious as coroanvirus, making America’s Christian conservatives sick with exactly the moral flu they’ve told us they were fighting:
1. “Stand for truth no matter what,” they told me. Unless of course it’s their error I’m standing against.
2. “The end never justifies the means,” they said. Until they demonstrated beyond the shadow of a doubt that consequentialism is the most important principle of political involvement as far as they are concerned.
3. “Situation ethics are the antithesis of Christian ethics,” they said. Meanwhile, their about-face on the importance of personal morality in elected public officials couldn’t possibly be starker.
4. “Careful of the slippery slope, sin will take you farther than you ever thought you’d go,” they said as–in the span of seemingly hours–they went from “nose-holding” voters to worshiping the most blatantly and overtly corrupt, self-serving sociopath ever to occupy the public political space in my lifetime [Troy Castle, quoted in John Fea, “An Evangelical Reader Grieves for the Church in the Age of Trump,” The Way of Improvement, 2020.08.17].
Donald Trump is reducing Americans who professed care and conscience to bullying nihilism. Defending Trump requires abandoning all values and saying and doing whatever it takes in the moment to maintain power. It requires denying neighbors assistance after a disaster because they don’t vote for your guy. Such is the moral horror of flying the Trump flag.
If Jesus were to walk the USA today, these so called Christians would stone him for preaching from the bible that does not reinforce their misguided interpretations.
Simply put, the christian right is neither.
Christians are a bunch of Russian sympathizers and the Senate GOP shows how Russia worked with trump to steal the election of 2016.https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/18/politics/fifth-senate-russia-intel-report/index.html
Totally amazing…but is it really that amazing after what we have seen for the last several decades. Take a look around right here in South Dakota to see what Dirty Johnson supported with a Russian spy that was welcomed by the South Dakota GOP.
I believe the majority of Christians are good people trying to do the right thing. However, for several decades now the loudest “Christians” have been charlatans hijacking religion for their personal benefit. They’ve excelled at manipulating media for airtime and vulnerable people for $. They’ve been so media dominant they’ve seemed like the authoritative sole voice for Christianity and poisoned the faith for millions.
My conservative neighbor Professor Jon Schaff tweets an article form The Witherspoon Institute’s Public Discourse blog talking about how we are failing young people by failing to steep them in tradition and stable moral foundations. “Are we surprised,” asks the author, “when protest, indignation, resentful mobs, and rage replace argument and persuasion?”
Imagine the rage young Christians must feel, seeing their elders turn on all of the Christian principles laid out by the writer in the post at the top in a crass quest for earthly power under the “leadership” of the consummately immoral Donald Trump. Imagine the destruction of their sense of tradition and community as their church leaders sell out their moral foundations for the sheer narcissism that lies at the heart of Trumpism.
I’m mad… but young Christians, or at least those who thought they were being raised to be followers of Christ, only to see the moorings of their moral code wrenched loose in this fascist storm, will spend the next generation even madder at this betrayal.
…and the mobs, the lawless mobs, burning and looting in the name of vengeance and liberalism. It is the center where all must return, and the children will be nicer.
Don’t be such a big woozy Mr. grudznick. Your gal pal Tinker Belle GNOem will come by and sprinkle some pixie dust and make you all better. Now take your meds.
Cory, due to the corrosive “Christianity” displayed by false prophets who declare the pharisee in the White House a godly man and god’s emissary, it gets harder and harder to find “young Christians.”
Youth are often the quickest to spot hypocrisy and find it repulsive. They are departing the faith in droves, with the blame falling squarely on trumpian “Christians.”
Christ would today wear out a couple bull-whips driving the money-grubbing scoundrels out of the government “temple”. Personally, I’d like to lash Trump and Barracross their fat arses just one good time.
And Schaff and Trump lead adults in turn to call those “departing the faith in droves” the term “mob” to demean the focus of constitutional (inalienable, perhaps) protest.
Then they pour on the gasoline to call protestors they have now deemed mobs as “resentful” or “vengeful”, and then “lawless” [demonstration under the 1st amend is anything but lawless]. Then the protestors are “burning and looting“. All apparently “in the name of liberalism.”
A liberal said today “Defund the Police?” We don’t need fewer police, we need less police brutality. Public murders and death at the hands of armed police is rampant. Militarized police. White supremacy para military militias.
Beat up protestors? This is the natural result of Escalation by the GOP’s policy of Obstruction enunciated by McConnell, Barr and Trump with Impunity(C)…violating our sacred constitutional balance of powers, legal system and norms.
Ethics, morals? If laws can be violated to benefit the billionaires, how will political norms, professional ethics and religious morals ever be observed?
Current GOP actors are fascists or nearly-so. One authoritarian party. A dictator in the making. Emphasizing aggressive nationalism and racism.
There are only two real issues in this election. Immediate action against global warming. And economic inequality which covers EVERYTHING ELSE!
Military and policing solutions have proven themselves ineffective in preserving peace.
A substantial Biden vote will stop the extreme right wing in its tracks and initiate a bold new response to the polluted justice system the right has insidiously subverted to cling to power in the face of demographics.
This will begin a long deep retooling of our democracy taking malicious capitalism and racism and exploitation out of play. The voting public must participate in the long game despite the nefariousness the right will continue to sneak in for sometime to come. The world is deeply divided. The United States must be a reliable partner independent of an aberrant 4 year term of an anomoulus chief executive.
Liberals, Democrats, progressives and independents must create an all inclusive vision that equally honors each person, excludes money from politics, corporations from personhood, propaganda from free press, and religion from governing. Education and jobs will assure participation by the masses and protection from abusive technology.
This is an exciting time! This is the silver lining of the GOP’s failed experiment of a Trump administration. We must be deeply thankful for America’s courageous medical community during this pandemic.
“Liberals, Democrats, progressives and independents must create an all inclusive vision that equally honors each person, excludes money from politics, corporations from personhood, propaganda from free press, and religion from governing. Education and jobs will assure participation by the masses and protection from abusive technology.”
That’s a good summary, Leslie. Thanks.