Putting the Protest in Protestant
Yet another attempt to explain Donald Trump’s appeal to evangelical Protestants in the United States, this time from Jonathan Merritt:
The answer seems to be the growing anti-establishment sentiments held by many evangelical Christians. (After all, the Tea Party movement draws “disproportionate support” from their ranks.) Not only are conservative Christians solidly Republican, they are also fierce traditionalists who feel that their values are increasingly under assault by modern society.
They like a candidate who will stand up to “the media”—whether Jorge Ramos or Megyn Kelly—because they feel reporters don’t give them a fair shake either. They are drawn to a candidate who hails from outside the Beltway—even if his hometown is the elitist island of Manhattan—because they think the Washington establishment has abandoned them. And they appreciate someone who makes no apology for using politically incorrect rhetoric—even if this includes a bit of profanity or misogyny—because they believe society is increasingly intolerant of many of their sentiments, too.
I know it won’t sound particularly warm and fuzzy, but I wonder if Merritt misses something not quite so mysterious — namely, evangelicals’ gullibility. Don’t want to harsh out readers’ buzz, but think for a moment.
Aside from all that Protestantism was supposed to do to disenchant the medieval world and usher in a self-understanding of self and society untethered by a cosmic frame or covered by a sacred canopy, evangelicals (among many Christians) have been highly predictable in attributing all sorts of divine import to affairs rather temporal and ordinary. For example, notice how evangelical Protestants are overwhelmingly supportive of American exceptionalism, or the idea that the United States exists in a special — even redemptive — relationship with God. Why any serious reader of the Bible would think that — after the one holy nation, Israel, failed and after the way the Roman authorities treated Jesus and the apostles — I don’t know. Does this mean that the United States is a below-average nation? Hardly. But why do you need to give the place cosmic significance to make it important?
Think too of the adage, repeated throughout the Psalter, that believers should put no hope in princes. Certainly the Hebrew monarchy gave plenty of evidence for that advice. First, God himself thought the idea of having a king was bad — it was a rejection of him. Second, he warned what kings would do — they (even the Hebrew ones) would tyrannize the people. Third, Saul failed to obey. Fourth, David failed to be monogamous and rule his household. In other words, why would anyone ever put their trust in princes, even the ones appointed by God? Instead, they should put their hope in God, right?
Do any of these considerations lead to support for Donald Trump (or Ben Carson)? They shouldn’t. Of course, that doesn’t mean that Christians shouldn’t vote. It does mean they should set their expectations to less gullible levels.
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