Last weekend marked the third anniversary of President Trump’s ride down the escalator at Trump Tower to declare his candidacy for the Republican nomination, and those who follow politics marked the occasion, in no small part due to the fact that they discounted it as a humorous aside to the election cycle.
Count me among them.
Who knows where the final inspiration to run had come from. Trump had, of course, flirted with the idea for years. Like many, I theorize it had to do with the White House correspondents dinner, where President Obama had a laugh or two at “The Donald’s” expense (he insists it wasn’t the motivation). He’s notoriously thin-skinned. But, wounded as he may have been, I thought the run would be short for two reasons. One: It didn’t make business sense. And two: Evangelical Christians.
Simply put, on a stage where a number of candidates had far better religious credentials, I thought the career womanizer represented just about everything a true blooded conservative Christian would oppose.
That possibility, in hindsight, was laid to rest when Trump had his “Two Corinthians” moment at Liberty University. Despite his stumbling and bumbling, he left town with the evangelicals in his hip pocket, and the Republican nomination.
Keep in mind these were the same folks who backed impeachment of a sitting president just two decades before for consensual sex in the White House, finger wagging and splitting hairs over the definition of “is.” These same folks now backed a candidate caught on tape boasting of forcing himself on married women and grabbing women by the ____.
Why?
I submit: Faith. Trump promised what this group wanted to hear. They also decided his brand of politics would sway enough of the party to vote for him, so they’d best get on board. After all, they were never going to vote for Hillary. And with hardline conservatives in congress to push their agenda, the evangelicals felt he’d be kept on track. They knew balance of the Supreme Court was in play, and they’d get their conservative. Not to mention all those seats on the federal bench.
Perhaps some held their noses to do so, and perhaps they truly feel they can forgive whatever they like, even if he doesn’t ask for it. But for many, it seems to be a matter of blind faith. Trump may be a terrible person, but the Lord has chosen to work through him.
We all have different versions of faith. From those who believe without question to those who do not believe. Most fall somewhere in between. But those who question would be at a disadvantage in understanding how a group that had held the moral high ground for so long would appear to trade that in a New York minute. Blind faith allows it. Because they did not vote for Trump, they voted for the vessel through which the Lord would do his work. And really, that was nothing new, we just never understood the motive.
That comes at a price, however. At the very least, evangelicals come off as hypocrites. These same folks who peak through your windows and judge your actions suddenly rolled over in the political arena. The gave up their moral high ground. In the least, they may have dealt a serious blow to their cause far into the future.
But far worse, what if they are wrong?
Count me among them.
Who knows where the final inspiration to run had come from. Trump had, of course, flirted with the idea for years. Like many, I theorize it had to do with the White House correspondents dinner, where President Obama had a laugh or two at “The Donald’s” expense (he insists it wasn’t the motivation). He’s notoriously thin-skinned. But, wounded as he may have been, I thought the run would be short for two reasons. One: It didn’t make business sense. And two: Evangelical Christians.
Simply put, on a stage where a number of candidates had far better religious credentials, I thought the career womanizer represented just about everything a true blooded conservative Christian would oppose.
That possibility, in hindsight, was laid to rest when Trump had his “Two Corinthians” moment at Liberty University. Despite his stumbling and bumbling, he left town with the evangelicals in his hip pocket, and the Republican nomination.
Keep in mind these were the same folks who backed impeachment of a sitting president just two decades before for consensual sex in the White House, finger wagging and splitting hairs over the definition of “is.” These same folks now backed a candidate caught on tape boasting of forcing himself on married women and grabbing women by the ____.
Why?
I submit: Faith. Trump promised what this group wanted to hear. They also decided his brand of politics would sway enough of the party to vote for him, so they’d best get on board. After all, they were never going to vote for Hillary. And with hardline conservatives in congress to push their agenda, the evangelicals felt he’d be kept on track. They knew balance of the Supreme Court was in play, and they’d get their conservative. Not to mention all those seats on the federal bench.
Perhaps some held their noses to do so, and perhaps they truly feel they can forgive whatever they like, even if he doesn’t ask for it. But for many, it seems to be a matter of blind faith. Trump may be a terrible person, but the Lord has chosen to work through him.
We all have different versions of faith. From those who believe without question to those who do not believe. Most fall somewhere in between. But those who question would be at a disadvantage in understanding how a group that had held the moral high ground for so long would appear to trade that in a New York minute. Blind faith allows it. Because they did not vote for Trump, they voted for the vessel through which the Lord would do his work. And really, that was nothing new, we just never understood the motive.
That comes at a price, however. At the very least, evangelicals come off as hypocrites. These same folks who peak through your windows and judge your actions suddenly rolled over in the political arena. The gave up their moral high ground. In the least, they may have dealt a serious blow to their cause far into the future.
But far worse, what if they are wrong?
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