By Patrick Anderson, editor
A good friend of mine, missions leader Jim Smith, sat with me and a group of praying Christians several months after the attacks of September 11, 2001. We were fervently praying that somehow the earthly powers that be would avert what appeared to be an imminent war. We prayed long and hard, asking God’s protection for the many men, women and children who apparently were directly in the sights of missile-launchers, bombers and invading ground forces of America and her allies.
As we concluded our time of prayer, Jim told me: “Last week I was visiting our brothers and sisters in Syria, Lebanon and Jordan. They were praying just as fervently as we are that rather than avert war, that God would lead the earthly powers that be to invade with overwhelming military might and vanquish the nations responsible for the 9-11 attacks.”
Two diametrically opposite entreaties from two groups of people claiming kinship with God Almighty through Jesus Christ are sent heavenward. What must God think? The September 2001 attacks, and the seemingly endless wars that continue in the aftermath, still divide religious people. Wendell Griffen’s essay in this issue of Christian Ethics Today explains how Cornel West ties the duality of Christian belief to the conflict between “Constantinian Christians” and “prophetic Christians.” Perhaps that explains it. It is confusing.
After a season of family gatherings and much reading, I am struck by how differently self-identified Christians in America understand what it means to be a Christian and what priorities are shared by Jesus. For instance, consider how a few questions elicit opposite answers:
What puts America directly in the path of the wrath of God?
- From Republican, Trump-supporting white evangelicals: Gay marriage, abortion, socialism.
- From Democratic, Trump- opposing Christians: racial injustice, family separation, income inequality.
Is God coming back soon to destroy the earth?
- Forty-one percent of all Americans, and 58% of white evangelicals say “yes,” and that it will happen probably before 2050. This means that the environment does not matter, that the earth is going to be burned up no matter what we do, and that faithful Christians will not be here to experience it.
What is the character of President Donald Trump and what does it matter?
- From Trump’s (white) evangelical Christian followers: God has used sinful men to lead God’s fight for righteousness forever (Saul, David, Cyrus). People do not care about the personality or corruption of a warrior. Trump is a warrior, God’s warrior. We just want him to win the fight. Christian support for him is mandatory and opposition to him is sinful. Trump is God’s Chosen One, a savior who will deliver America from its transgressions.
- From Trump-opposing Christians: Trump embodies the values Jesus disparaged. He divides rather than unites; his dishonesty is overwhelming;, his arrogance and narcissism will lead to war; his disdain for science will lead to the destruction of God’s creation; his love of money and power are antithetical to Christianity.
Many other serious questions are answered from opposite perspectives by Americans who claim Christianity as their religion. It is amazing how a man who has never demonstrated any affinity for Jesus has divided professing Christians into pro-Trump and anti-Trump camps, placing himself squarely in the divide of orthodoxy.
