Conservative Christians Really Think Trump is Jesus

The golden statue didn't create the idolatry, it exposed it.

We Must Live in a Simulation

Let’s all point and laugh.

Over the weekend, the world was graced by a 22-foot-tall golden statue of Donald Trump.

This isn’t the first time we’ve seen this kind of behavior. Trump posted an AI-generated video depicting a statue of himself in Gaza, and at CPAC 2021, a golden Trump statue was unveiled to an eager crowd who couldn’t help but get a picture alongside it.

Now, I’m not a Bible scholar, but I am an AWANA sword drill champion (IYKYK), and I can tell you that the Bible has something to say about making golden images of figures who are seen with god-like status. To use the old evangelical line: God is a jealous God and won’t tolerate His creation worshipping false idols. But what I know? I’m just a heretic.

Of course, because of the anemic understanding of the term “worship” in the evangelical psyche, they imagine that worshipping an idol would look like a bunch of people bowing down in front of it. And it’s true, no one bowed down to the Trump statue (yet). But worship has a much more expansive definition. Worship is about what you give your allegiance to, and as we all know, White Evangelicals have given their allegiance to a con man who rapes women with a loyalty that is, at best, concerning and, at worst, downright evil.

Rules for Thee not for Me

The great irony, of course, is that the same pastors who demand we put the Ten Commandments in public schools are the same ones who lead a dedication service to a golden Trump statue. Pastor Mark Burns proudly led the ceremony, even calling Trump on his cellphone and letting him speak to the crowd.

the jokes write themselves

If you’re trying to understand how a pastor who claims to teach the Bible would do something so obviously idolatrous, let me save you time and energy by giving you the secret: Conservative Christians only care about whatever gives them power and control.

Truth is subordinate to power.

Theology is subordinate to power.

Morality is subordinate to power.

Their own Biblical interpretations are subordinate to power.

Pastor Burns exudes pure joy that he gets to call the President of the United States in front of everyone. It’s a signal that he has power—so much of it, he can call the president whenever he wants on his personal cellphone. That’s a hell of a drug.

Once you understand that, everything else falls into place. Trump has given Conservative Christians, especially White Evangelicals, access to political power they only dreamed about. Many of them have infiltrated the government and are responsible for policies that affect millions of people. Some of them, like Paula White, directly counsel Trump. You can read about my deep dive on Paula White and her New Apostolic friends here. SPOILER ALERT: They believe demons live in mountains and must be cast out by traveling to them. It’s wild.

This is Nothing New

But look, as much as I want to act shocked that Trump is erecting golden statues of himself, and that evangelical leaders are leading dedications to them, I’m honestly not surprised one bit. Anyone who’s been following Trump’s political journey has seen him be elevated to messiah-like status more and more each day. There were prophecies given by charismatic leaders declaring God had His hand on Trump. Prophets drew parallels to various Bible figures.

Trump is a Cyrus.
Trump is a Moses.
Trump is a Jehu.
Trump is the Son of Man—the Christ.

And on and on the list goes.

Paula White declared that to say no to Trump is to say no to God, and later compared the suffering of Christ to the suffering of Trump in what should be an onion headline, but is instead the circus that is our political system.

And I didn’t even mention Trump’s assassination attempt and how leaders used that to give Trump an even more god-like status.

For anyone who’s been following Trump from a Christian Nationalist POV, the writing has been on the wall for years now. And Trump obviously believes this propaganda, as he happily shares pictures of himself being depicted as Moses or Jesus… er, I mean a doctor, obviously… and what happened when he did that? Evangelical leaders feigned outrage, then resumed business as usual. Why? Because Trump gives them power and control. He’s their guiding star. There is nothing he can do for evangelicals to drop their support of Trump en masse.

Our Trump is an Awesome Trump He Reigns….

Trump represents the god evangelicals serve, and he’s far from the Jesus you read about in the four Gospel accounts, which is why Christian Nationalists rarely, if ever, quote the words of Christ to justify their positions.

They don’t want to worship a beta male Jesus who lays down his life for his enemies, extends empathy and compassion to the marginalized, and never got married and had kids. They serve a god that is vengeful, that will one day destroy his enemies and cast most of them into hell. This god looks much more like Trump, who has used the government over and over to go after his political opponents. Trump wants to destroy his enemies just like their god. Trump believes might makes right just like their god. And Trump dehumanizes anyone who isn’t on his team, just like their god.

It’s a False Gospel

This (obviously) is a false gospel, and it needs to be called out for what it is. There is nothing—and I mean nothing—redeemable about the White Evangelical world that has created the theological justification for MAGA. This is the same world that is responsible for rolling back the voting rights of Black voters in Tennessee, and that put a Supreme Court on the bench that gave lawmakers the legal permission to do so. 80% of White Evangelicals voted for Trump every time in the last three election cycles, and 65%+ have a positive view of the job Trump is doing.

Think about all of the hell on earth this administration has caused for immigrants, LGBTQ+ people, BIPOC communities, and other historically marginalized groups. Think about the Iran war he started for no reason that has cost children their lives and billions of our tax money to fund.

The majority of White Evangelicals still support him, although I will say that number has dropped over the recent months, which frankly I take with a grain of salt considering White Evangelicals have been firmly in the Republican grip since the ’80s, and not even an insurrection caused them to shift their political affiliation.

MAGA Christianity is a false gospel, plain and simple.

You Weren’t Crazy

I want to give a special message to those of us who grew up in conservative Christianity but either left or were kicked out when we couldn’t endorse an orange man who bragged about sexually assaulting women:

You were RIGHT. Your intuition was spot on.

You didn’t compromise your faith.

They did.

You didn’t compromise your moral integrity.

They did.

Don’t let the gatekeepers tell you otherwise. They are whitewashed tombs who truly have betrayed Jesus for a few pieces of silver. They have sold their soul to gain the whole world, which is precisely what they warned us against.

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