Susan Wright on the Right
Keep repeating to yourself, over and over: This is not a cult. This is not a cult.
Truly, when you witness the large, rabid crowds, the uniform red caps, and the absolute adherence to every near-incoherent syllable to fall from his lips, and insistence that no matter the exaggeration, or even outright, provable lie spoken, if Donald Trump says it, it automatically becomes truth, then it becomes harder to insist that this is just another presidency.
I remember in 2008, laughing at the slow-witted Obama supporters, on video saying things like, with Obama, they’d no longer have to worry about paying their rent or other bills.
I remember adults leading their children in singing Obama anthems, or youth groups doing step routines and declaring that it was Obama that made their ambitions possible, rather than a system that was in place that allowed for the first biracial candidate to become president.
I saw all that and for eight years I declared that our nation had plumbed the depths of idiocy, hitting the absolute bottom.
Then along came the Trump train and said, “Hold my beer.”
No, the cult of personality did not start with Donald Trump. It has been feeding, growing, and mutating for quite some time.
Somewhere along the way – I’m going to say at least as far back as John F. Kennedy’s presidency – the American people began to move away from policy and character, towards celebrity.
Donald Trump, however, is something else. Barack Obama came close, but even he didn’t reach a point where Christians were willing to openly declare him equal to Jesus Christ.
Ok. Let me point out here that Democrats booed the inclusion of God in their party platform three times at the 2012 DNC convention, so that may have something to do with it.
Then again, which is worse? Rejecting God, outright, or comparing a wicked, adulterous con artist to Christ, himself?
Speaking for myself, I can say the first grieves my spirit, because I know what they’re giving up by rejecting the Creator, who loves them all so deeply.
The second, however, grips me with a combination of fear and righteous anger.
How dare they call themselves “Christian,” but then commit such blasphemy?
And this is where the Trump’s Temple acolytes say, “That’s not happening. Sure, he’s our King David, sent by God to Make America Great Again, but nobody is comparing him to Jesus.”
Think again.
In St. Louis County, Missouri, someone has paid a pretty penny to have a large, electronic billboard erected along Interstate 170, near St. Charles Church Road.
From KMOV4:
A large electronic billboard that features President Donald Trump with the bible verse, “The word became flesh”, can be seen along the southbound lanes of the highway.
It’s a really large picture of Trump.
In the top right corner, the billboard says “Make the Gospel Great Again” playing off Trump’s famous slogan.
If you’re a Christian and this does not bother you, I’m at a loss for words. It may be time for a heart check.
So first of all, the message on the billboard was from John 1:14.
The full verse reads:
“14 And the Word (Christ) became flesh, and lived among us; and we [actually] saw His glory, glory as belongs to the [One and] only begotten Son of the Father, [the Son who is truly unique, the only One of His kind, who is] full of grace and truth (absolutely free of deception).” (AMP)
Without any further explanation of the billboard’s purpose, it seems very much as if somebody paid to equate Donald Trump to the second coming of Jesus Christ.
Another explanation could be that someone is trying very hard to discredit evangelical Christians, given their allegiance to this presidency.
DDI Media owns the advertisement, but there’s no indication of who actually paid for it.
The second problem I have is with the line: Make the Gospel Great Again.
The Gospel has always been great. The Bible is the inerrant, inspired Word of God.
Sixty-six seamless books, compiled into a single collection. The authors were kings, poets, fishermen, tax collectors – writing over a span of more than 1,500 years, and a land expanse of 2,000 miles.
All this, yet, the story is cohesive, with a single message of redemption and grace, to overcome man’s failure and reconcile him back to the Creator, through the shed blood of a perfect sacrifice, Jesus Christ.
What other book can claim that?
Within the pages of the Bible, and in the Gospel message, we are taught the love of God for us. We are not alone. We were not mistakes. We can overcome, because of what Jesus did for us. Before our first sin was even committed, a way was made for us to be saved, and it had nothing to do with our voting habits, here in this world.
This world, every king and kingdom, is only temporary. Everything after is the promise, so we’d all better be living as if we understand that there is an eternity after this.
So, yeah. I’m a little upset with the notion that there are some Christians equating Donald Trump – an abusive, foul-mouthed, adulterous, misogynistic charlatan to our Savior.
John 1:14 says the Word (Jesus) was made flesh, but was full of grace and truth.
There is neither grace, nor truth in Donald Trump, who has lied over 4,000 times since taking office.
When I think of figures proclaiming themselves “Jesus,” I think of people like the Branch Davidians’ leader, David Koresh, Jim Jones, of the People’s Temple, or Marshall White, the leader of the Heaven’s Gate cult.
Their ends were not pretty.
And no, I’m not saying Trump has declared himself to be Jesus Christ (yet). I am saying, however, that he continuously refers to himself as “the one” or “the ONLY one,” able to achieve this or that terrific claim, and has said on multiple occasions that he’s done more for Christians than anyone else.
No, Mr. Trump. Jesus Christ – the actual Jesus Christ did it all for us, and there’s nothing you can do to improve on a single thing.
I hope whoever paid to have this billboard displayed rethinks their life, as well as their relationship with God.
This is not sane.
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