The Spiritual Danger of Anti-Trumpism

 

The Spiritual Danger of Anti-Trumpism

Michael C Thompson

In the middle of 2020 thirty self-identified evangelical Christians came together and published the book, The Spiritual Danger of Donald Trump (Cascade Books). Twenty-five chapters set out to criticize the character and leadership of the sitting President, unsurprisingly released in an election year. The fact that there were as many as thirty authors producing some twenty-five chapters of content was supposed to be a convincing and convicting statement, so bravely offered at such a critical juncture in our nation’s history. In reality, it wasn’t earth-shaking and actually failed to produce any critique that could be divorced from the narratives of other mainstream media. Nevertheless, it was an intentional statement: one that would give a certain reinforcement to many Anti-Trump voices in the ever-shifting demographic of evangelicalism.

Over the past four years there has been an ever-increasing decrying of what some have labelled, Trumpism. This term has a few meanings, but within the church it is intended as a criticism of any believer who may actually give any sort of political or personal support to President Trump. It is no secret that our governing elitists, along with their media cohorts, have been trying to ruin Trump and destroy his presidency since before the beginning of his term. One hit-piece after another has filled the media stage, often masquerading as news, regardless of the availability of supporting facts or credible sources. Especially in the early days of figuring out who Trump as President was going to be, many within the church took these accounts and felt a moral obligation to raise their voices against it. Although many have moved on from these juvenile attacks, others have not.

This idea of Trumpism has never been clearly defined, and even now remains vague. As a criticism of Christians its claim is that political support of President Trump is essentially wrapping the flag of nationalism over the commitment to the Cross. For this label to have its intended effect it cannot be more precisely defined, lest we discover that there are many who do not simply fit within the nationalistic categories. Like most socio-political labels, this one unfairly and uniformity lays over a wide range of people, discounting their layers of diversity, and works simply to make it easy to score public debate points against them. In reality, the vast majority of Christians who support Trump do not believe their political commitment has superseded their faith commitment. And yet, that is how they have been treated, even by those within the church.

Ironically, the push against so-called Trumpism has led to the rise of Anti-Trumpism, a movement with a simple purpose: to be against Trump and any of his supporters. This, I believe is taking place within the American church, not only in the production of critical books by evangelicals, but within the broader spectrum of our ecclesial communities. Because this backlash, like other movements, is based on politics, there is inherent spiritual dangers to be identified as well. Unsurprisingly, very few of these no-Trump evangelical voices have raised their concerns over things happening within the Anti-Trumpism movement, even though they posture themselves as prophetic enough to be above the fray. This essay is my attempt to outline some of these widespread dangers that I feel are working against the unity of the church. I am not a politician, though I can recognize my political biases. I am a biblical scholar and theologian, and so I will keep my concerns centered on the church. My aim is to balance out some of the rhetoric so that Christianity in American can return to a more responsible form of public discourse, for the sake of the gospel.

Instead of dragging this out into twenty-five needless chapters, I present five identifiable dangers that ought to be considered regarding the Anti-Trumpism movement: things that are particularly concerning in light of the biblical commitment Christians ought to have.

First, Anti-Trumpism presents a spiritual danger in allowing for a loss of commitment to truth as it stands. This can be a challenging claim to make, for it can be quickly dismissed as though I am simply declaring any competing political viewpoint from my own as a non-truth. This is most certainly not the case: instead, I am referring tot he priority that is being given to the narrative of Anti-Trumpism that overrides facts that may prove otherwise, or which might show some sort of nuance. In our national political discourse it appears that there is no place for nuance, which is quite troublesome, but it is most definitely harmful within the life of the church. The narrative that Trump is such a terrible human being has been so constantly pushed by the media, that one’s anger would certainly be justified if it were proven true. But the overwhelming majority of these claims have no credible evidence or witness. It appears the filter has been set, and adopted by certain people within the church.

One recent example I have seen has been in regards to President Trump’s pro-life stance. In two separate online discussions I read the criticism that Trump was only “apparently” pro-life, and that he secretly mocks the movement’s proponents behind closed doors. The intent of this claim is to overthrow Trump’s official statements, speeches, and policies that make him the most pro-life president in American history with some sort of random hearsay. Advocating for this assertion is a foremost dedication to the Anti-Trump narrative.

The same could be pointed out regarding the Capitol Hill riots: once the narrative was set that Trump “incited” the attack on the Capitol, he was decried by voices throughout the Anti-Trumpism movement, especially within the church. As more details emerged (and continue to come to light), showing the President’s distance from the event, the evangelical Anti-Trump crowd has contorted around the facts yet again, claiming he probably still had influence in planning the event.

Along with the loss of commitment to the truth is the unfortunate reality that so many in our society have become downright lazy in how they obtain their news. Admittedly, most people simply don’t have the time or leftover energy to be doing the work that news media ought to do (and used to do). But we do in fact live in an age where much of the news media has proven itself to be untrustworthy, and it is a necessary task of those who would be responsible citizens, especially within the church. If believers do not have the capacity to acknowledge truth, even when it is uncomfortable, then we cannot have a credible voice in the public square. Since the church is responsible for the much more powerful and significant gospel narrative, failure to rightly handle truth will be a serious detriment to the community of faith. Anti-Trumpism fails in its understanding of the great conversations of faith and freedom that have both served as foundational to our nation and history, and which can contribute today.

Second, Anti-Trumpism presents a spiritual danger in its giving rise to the tendency to question the validity of faith in others. Mostly this done implicitly, but every now and again it becomes explicit. It is unfortunate that social tensions can rise to the point of making political judgments the plumb line for one’s faith commitment as a whole. There seems to be a growing acceptance of this idea that agreement with Trump on anything simply exposes an individual’s lack of understanding or commitment to biblical faith.

The biggest offender of calling into question the genuineness of other people’s faith was former editor-in-chief of Christianity Today, Mark Galli, who in December 2019 published a rather standard Anti-Trump editorial in which he openly called for those who supported the President to remember who they are and who they serve. Implication: you cannot be politically supportive of anything this man says or does without compromising the centrality of your Christian commitment. Although this sort of rhetoric ought to be completely out-of-bounds for discussions within the church, Galli’s piece was lauded by many evangelical Anti-Trumpists as a bold statement. In reality, his comments were so poorly reasoned that the piece has already been tossed aside, and Mark’s fifteen minutes as a media darling are expired.

What we see in this second danger is that it comes from a rise of modern day public propheticism within American evangelical circles, using a rather formulaic approach to provide the individual (or group) to make an openly Anti-Trump statement using language that makes it appears that this person is, in reality, above the fray and thus speaking for God. Galli’s article is a prime example of this, even though the substance of his statement is no different than what one can find in other mainstream leftist commentary. Christianity in America needs to come to grips with the reality that our nation is in much more critical need of pastoral voices than pseudo-prophetic ones.

Third, Anti-Trumpism presents a spiritual danger in the perpetuation of moral double-standards in our society. Yet again, it appears that a leftist political maneuver has been adopted into evangelical language. There has been a multitude of moral concerns surrounding President Trump, most of which have been shown false and a few that have some degree of validity. Personally, I find him just as human as any other person who has held the office, with a life including behaviors that I can choose to accept or reject. So, yes, there are more than likely moral deficiencies that a committed Christian can identify. I have no particular problem with this, except that the Anti-Trumpism movement has so hammered this person while being very silent on other immoral public behavior in our country. The old political adage rings true: “If you don’t have standards you can’t be held accountable to them.”

The Christian ought to have clear moral standards, even though numerous believers on both sides of the political aisle have often lost sight of them. The Bible doesn’t give us clear answers for every ethical question for this life, but it does provide a worldview to properly approach and explore any issue. When so many would-be prophets from the Anti-Trump position join in wave of criticisms of the President’s faults, while at the same time remaining silent on the left’s numerous and repeated encouragement of lawlessness and the destruction of cities, then the church is being asked to serve as a shell for a political party. Christians can stand against immorality whenever and wherever it occurs, but being selective as we have seen from Anti-Trumpism is being irresponsible with the message of the gospel.

Fourth Anti-Trumpism presents a spiritual danger in aligning men and women of the gospel with morally reprehensible leadership. I am aware that this is one of the core concerns of the Anti-Trump movement, and perhaps this is an indication that no politician is completely above reproach. But the growing anger at the President and the push to have him removed from office at all costs has swept many evangelicals into its undertow. As a result, there has been both implicit and explicit advocating of a political candidate (and his running mate) who have repeatedly made racist comments, who ave openly supported riots and looters (both verbally and financially), who advocate for eight-year-olds to have the ability to choose their own gender, who have made egregious personal attacks on their political opponents and their families, that have been a part of an administration that started illegal wars, have supported ideas and policies that go against religious freedom, among other things. 

The 2020 election made it clear that not everyone is willing to have an open and honest conversation about these matters if it would potentially harm the efforts to oust Trump from office. So, through the Anti-Trump movement has allowed for the strange bedfellows of leftist politics and evangelical Christians. I do not believe that those evangelicals who helped push through this leftism have a real sense of the spiritual danger they have invited into the nation’s leadership.

Fifth, Anti-Trumpism presents a spiritual danger as it fosters a growing acceptance of the advantages in accumulating and achieving political power. For years, Christians on the right hav been criticized for this approach, and in many cases this critique has been warranted. For the Christian there is no power or allegiance greater than the Kingship of Jesus. The Religious Right movement of the previous generation may have been an out-of-balance approach, but Anti-Trumpism is equally flawed on its own. Political power should not be the aim of the church, although the work of politics is a necessary endeavor to preserve the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity. It has been shown that conservatives in American government are actually much less concerned with gaining power than are the leftists. Christians on the right have demonstrated a firm commitment to the rule of law and the Constitution, and this is what one will find among Trump supporters up and down the line.

From a Christian point of view there is room for criticism of Donald Trump, and I am intellectually honest enough in my faith to say so. However, the onslaught of personal and political attacks that have been levied against this President is unprecedented, without a close second, and if that were all I knew about him then I would very much be opposed. But what if there was a chance that the steady diet of negativity we’ve been fed wasn’t actually the truth?

As a Christ-follower I would suppose that it would be my responsibility to look deeper, if not for the sake of my politics but for the sake of the imago Dei that affords each person the respect of being created. I would look deeper, knowing what it’s like, for myself and my family, to be personally and professionally maligned publicly for things you’ve never said nor done. Behind all of this cost-of-doing-business mudslinging that is American politics is the issue of our humanity. If we do not like how another person conducts themselves in public debate, we can choose to roll around in the mud or rise above. Politicians may do what they like, but the church ought to have a different approach.

Christ calls us each to a life more abundant, which gives us the right to be called children of God and the responsibility to change the world around us with the gospel. The constant pounding of the Anti-Trump drum within the church is drowning out the chords of unity and truth and love. Some will read this statement and say that the exact opposite is true, and I would not necessarily disagree. I submit this statement as one seeking balance, not the short-sighted victory of my political opinion.

Many will dismiss me outright as a shill for Trump: someone so blinded in his political devotion to a President that he has sacrificed his commitment to the Cross. I assure you nothing could be further from the truth. Mine is a simple assertion that the church can do much better than yelling at one another, demeaning each other’s political commitment, and assuming that roughly half of the country is comprised by idiots. In that regard, I am cutting both ways and encouraging believers to stand together, even in our political disagreements, for something of much greater value. Even through my great love for this great country I wholeheartedly understand that freedom is both a right and a responsibility, and that all things will pass away, except the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ.

The spiritual danger is actually on many sides of the church. But even these, playing the role of the Gates of Hell, cannot overcome the people of God.