The Compromised Church: KevinH

Last week I wrote about my concerns and fears of what may come about in the next four years of another Trump administration.

Certainly there were those who shared similar concerns and fears, but there was also some pushback and contrariness.

Let me first say that though my concerns and fears would not have been as great, they still would have been real for four years of a Harris administration, as there are also legitimate problems with the agenda on the Left.  I believe one of the biggest reasons the Left lost to a candidate as problematic as Donald Trump is that they have lost touch far too much with common sense and the common person as they push for coercive acceptance of all things LGBTQ and DEI, even the craziest of elements thereof.  Additionally, while I find the Republicans’ shift to a mostly classically pro-choice position on abortion to be troubling and hypocritical, the ever increasing rejection of limits or hindrances of any kind on abortion and the sometimes seemingly even celebration of the practice by Democrats is horrific.  (Whatever happened to safe, legal, and rare?)

Secondly, let me say that while there were plenty of problems during Trump’s first stint as president, the only catastrophic happening was pretty much out of his control with the onset of the COVID pandemic.  However, there are some considerable factors which portend that this next term could be significantly worse and more extreme than the first.  It was commonly acknowledged during Trump’s first term that he had many veteran government advisors and administrators around him who worked to keep things functioning in an orderly and moderated fashion, and helped to stymie or direct Trump away from many of his worst impulses.  Afterwards, many, many of these seasoned and respected people who experienced the happenings behind the curtain ended up saying things like Trump is unhinged, he is unfit to serve, with some even going to the extent of calling him a fascist.  This includes his loyal Vice President of four years and Evangelical Christian, Mike Pence, whom many Christians gave as a big reason for why they voted for Trump in the first place, who has said that Trump violated his country and the Constitution and is unfit to serve.  A second term likely will be much different with Trump as he learned from his first experience what he needs to do to get around the roadblocks, and has as much said that he will be appointing people this time around who will be on board with him….. i.e., they will go along with implementing whatever he wants.

Nonetheless, and most importantly, let me say that my biggest concerns and fears of a second Trump administration do not have to do with the presidency or this nation, at least not directly so, anyway.  My biggest fears and concerns relate to what the advent of Donald Trump to political power has done to the American Church, and what another presidency may further do.

I submit that the building for the Kingdom of God has been greatly harmed and inhibited by the excuse making for, the effusive admiration of, and the adoption of attitudes and behaviors by American Christians (primarily Evangelicals) of Donald Trump.  As they endeavored to keep America properly “Christian” according to their own understanding, many Christians have forsaken lots of the teachings of Jesus and the Bible in pursuit of their goal.  What started for many in 2016 as a holding of their noses as they voted for Trump because they found the alternative even more repulsive, has turned into full throttled support, adoration, and replication of the ways of a very, very unChristlike man.  In doing so, these Christians have damaged relationships, forsaken care and concern for many of their “neighbors”, especially those in the most need, helped to bring harm upon these same people, and above all, they have heaped shame upon the name of Jesus, leaving many with an adulterated picture of who Jesus really is and hampering efforts to spread His Gospel.

Therefore, my greatest concern of another Trump presidency is how it may continue, and maybe even increasingly so, to corrupt and impair many parts of the American Church.  Rather than building for the Kingdom of God, many Christians will persist in being derailed with the involvement of and employment of dirty partisan politics and the pursuit of “Making America Great Again”.  In the end, both the Church and the nation will be harmed, ironically so by those who claim they are pursuing the advancement of both.

God provides a way out of this trap and His name is Jesus….. all the while Jesus points us to His Kingdom.

“Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall.  No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man.  God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.  Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry.” – I Corinthians 10:12-14