To be Christian— to believe in Jesus —means trying to be like Jesus, right?
According to Merriam-Webster:
A confidant of President Trump, Jeffress and others on the Christian Radical Right have asserted that Trump, a man with no understanding of Jesus whatsoever, is a Christian, while Democrats quoting scripture and affirming faith in Christ, are not.
In a blinding level of projection, the Dallas-based charlatan said, “when you talk about righteousness and unrighteousness, it is becoming clearer and clearer that the Democrat Party has truly become a godless party.”
To be clear, Jeffress and everyone he spoke to at the Faith & Freedom Coalition meeting, and other “evangelical christian” leaders around Trump, support:
- Separating refugee children from their parents.
- Discrimination on the basis of religion.
- Discrimination on the basis of gender.
- Discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.
- Discrimination on the basis of race.
- Cutting food, health, and economic development programs for poor people.
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Caging children for days without access to hygiene products or adequate food, bedding, toys or educational materials.
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Tax cuts that benefit the wealthy and corporations and hurt poor and working families.
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Lower standards for environmental protection, food safety, and health care.
- Support of brutal dictators around the world.
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- Abortion.
- Democrats.
Let me make it plain.
“Christians” who support Trump policies are not Christian.
The Radical Right’s claim on Christianity is false. They are rejecting Christ – choosing to NOT do what scripture says. The “Jesus” worshiped by Trump supporters isn’t Jesus. People who support broken families and caged children aren’t Christians. They aren’t even misguided or duped by politics. They are failing the most basic teaching of Jesus.
They follow a god they’ve made in their own image — selfish, bigoted, racist, American, angry and judgmental. They may not always be all of these, all the time, but guaranteed they and their god are always at least one of these.
They may do “Christian” things, like go to church, quote scripture, and even donate to the poor. Quoting scripture doesn’t make them Christian.
Churches are filled with people who claim to be Christian, and clearly are not — by their actions, deeds, or words, they show themselves to be living a life that doesn’t follow Jesus.
They are ant-Christ.
Christians make mistakes and bad choices, everyone does.
Being a Christian isn’t easy.
Following the teaching of Jesus is difficult sometimes, but Christianity involves following Jesus.
If you can’t respond with a minimum standard of basic human decency to American policy that intentionally creates horrific tragedy, you’re not following the teaching of Jesus.
For decades in the United States, for hundreds of years since the Reformation, people have seen that the Jesus in the Bible is different than the “Jesus” the leaders worship.
They leave the churches and leave the hypocrites because they can look in the Bible and see a different Jesus.
Jesus tells us to not respond to evil with evil. To turn the other cheek. To love our enemies. In fact, Jesus tells us to love everyone. (John 15:12)
The message of Jesus is love and abundance.
Jesus tells us to help children and widows.
Christians are called to forgive and to help those in need.
The message of Jesus is grace and forgiveness.
Jesus tells us there’s a better way to be.
Thanks be to God.
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