{"id":8004,"date":"2018-11-05T17:25:13","date_gmt":"2018-11-06T00:25:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/irreverin\/?p=8004"},"modified":"2018-11-05T17:25:13","modified_gmt":"2018-11-06T00:25:13","slug":"trump-as-messiah-the-billboard-is-gone-but-the-sentiment-remains","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/irreverin\/2018\/11\/trump-as-messiah-the-billboard-is-gone-but-the-sentiment-remains\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump as Messiah: The Billboard Is Gone, But the Sentiment Remains"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

If you live in the St. Louis metro and you drive home on I-70 in North County, you might be tempted to shut your eyes.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t do that. It\u2019s dangerous, and we need you alive to vote. Keep your eyes on the road. But avert them from the giant billboard: proclaiming Donald Trump as Lord and Savior of us all.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m not even kidding. Look how gross this is.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

I struggled with giving this image any more exposure. At the same time, it\u2019s important to know that there\u2019s a demographic of people in this country\u2013probably a broader margin than we\u2019d like to think\u2013who are Christians; and who think that Trump is somehow ordained by God to be our leader<\/em>.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s problematic enough, to think that God would \u2018choose\u2019 someone so overtly hateful, greed-driven and incendiary to be in a position of power. But this message jumps the shark entirely, suggesting that Trump IS the \u201cword made flesh.\u201d If you aren\u2019t familiar with scripture, \u201cthe word made flesh<\/a>\u201d is a term used by John the Baptist to describe Jesus as the Messiah; God\u2019s presence embodied in human form and come to earth.<\/p>\n

So\u2013this billboard basically says that Trump is some second-coming-of-Christ situation.<\/p>\n

To me, this seems like the sort of ad someone would design if they wanted to shame America for its corrupt, racist, greed-driven, dark money brand of politics. But it was clearly meant as an endorsement for both Trump and Christianity.<\/p>\n

At best, it is garbage theology; at worst, it indicates the roots of a fascist dictatorship. Once a population becomes convinced of the divinity of its leader, you can kiss democracy good-bye. Scary part is, the WHOLE population doesn\u2019t have to believe it in order for the narrative to take hold.<\/p>\n

I want to believe the \u201cnot all Republicans\u201d thing. I want to believe that many of those who voted for this administration did so out of a desire for the greater good, and are not pleased with how this is going; and that, however their values might differ from mine, they will AT LEAST acknowledge that this man\u2019s leadership is about as far from Jesus as you can get.\u00a0But \u201cmoderate\u201d Republicans are running out of chances to prove their moderation; and to save their party from this toxic marriage of theology, ideology and policy.<\/p>\n

Perhaps it should go without saying, but just in case: Let\u2019s talk about a few Ways Trump Is Not Jesus.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. For one thing, Jesus was into that whole taking care of immigrants and refugees thing. Trump, let\u2019s just say, is not.<\/li>\n
  2. Jesus said give away everything you own to the poor, while Trump\u2026 Lol.<\/li>\n
  3. Then there\u2019s the whole nonviolence thing. It was kind of Jesus\u2019 whole deal. Whereas Trump tends to Tweet middle-of-the-night threats about blowing other countries off the map; and then sends a massive army to turn away unarmed women and children fleeing violence and poverty. Also,<\/li>\n
  4. Last I checked, Jesus was also for empowering women who had no voice, and treating them like actual human beings with agency. Trump is more of a \u2018grab em by the pussy\u2019 kind of guy. He ran a whole campaign on it. And won.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    When I asked my 8-year-old to help me think of ways Donald Trump is not like Jesus, he said:<\/p>\n

    -He doesn\u2019t like people not from this country.
    \n-He has a terrible face.
    \n-Jesus doesn\u2019t command the military\u2026
    \n-and Jesus shares things.<\/p>\n

    Nailed it. (This message brought to you by the wonderful Sunday School teachers and children\u2019s ministry team at my Saint Andrew Christian Church!<\/a>)<\/p>\n

    It\u2019s a good list, but really, we can distill all of this to one main indicator that Trump is not the Messiah. Primarily, Jesus came to be the antithesis of empire. And Trump is the very embodiment of it.<\/em><\/p>\n

    Everything about his leadership\u2013 and the twisted gospel of this billboard\u2013is LITERALLY what is meant by the \u201cAnti-Christ.\u201d Stephen King could have a field day with a Trump\/Randall Flagg crossover character. He\u2019d most terrifying adversary of all time. (Like, maybe he morphs into a huge black crow with orange hair? I\u2019m having nightmares already).<\/p>\n

    More concerning than the extreme notion of Trump as Lord and Savior? The number of Christians still supporting this administration. They may not think he is the literal 2nd coming\u2026 but they still advocate for his policies, in spite of his \u201cAnti-Christ\u201d way of leadership. I won\u2019t speculate on their motives or reasoning; anyone, from any party or religious backgroun, still supporting this administration\u2013 and its cruel, death-dealing policies\u2013 enables a far-right fringe who want to prop him up as a demigod.<\/p>\n

    I assure you, that will end badly.<\/p>\n

    As for the billboard itself\u2026 it is gone now<\/a>. I guess that is good news? But know this: the sentiment remains. The implications cannot be overstated: leaders who are propped up as demigods tend to establish bloody fascist regimes. And with escalating violence against Jews, people of color, progressive politicians, and immigrants\u2026 it cannot be denied that he\u2019s already nudging us in that direction.<\/p>\n

    For some levity\u2013check out what some good folks have done with the domain names \u201cMake the Gospel Great Again.<\/a>\u201d This link will now lead you to some real Christlike leaders, working for real change that reflects the gospel I know.<\/p>\n

    If nothing else, consider that grotesque billboard a friendly motivational reminder to GET OUT THE VOTE tomorrow. And as you go to the polls, remember that God is not the God of any one party or candidate\u2026and God is certainly not the God of our consumer culture, our capitalist society. But go vote anyway. Vote your faith, vote your values. Vote to push forward leaders who might actually lead in the spirit of Jesus\u2026 without claiming to be him.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    If you live in the St. Louis metro and you drive home on I-70 in North County, you might be tempted to shut your eyes. Don\u2019t do that. It\u2019s dangerous, and we need you alive to vote. Keep your eyes on the road. But avert them from the giant billboard: proclaiming Donald Trump as Lord […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1154,"featured_media":8007,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[65],"tags":[781,771,1923,9,1926],"class_list":["post-8004","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-being-a-person","tag-election-day","tag-faith-and-politics","tag-make-the-gospel-great-again","tag-progressive-christianity","tag-trump-billboard"],"yoast_head":"\nTrump as Messiah: The Billboard Is Gone, But the Sentiment Remains<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"This billboard is concerning on a number of levels. 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