Garth Minott | Evangelism and Trumpism

Donald Trump is the United States President-elect and will once again assume state power and leader of the free world in January next year. I am confident, unlike events that occurred when he demitted office the last time, there will be a smooth transition from the Biden-Harris administration to the Trump-Vance term of office.

Indeed, in what many are anticipating will be much of the same kind of leadership that characterised the previous Trump-Pence administration and given the place and position of the global realities at present, with in excess of fifty wars across the globe, it would not be surprising if some hold the view that not much will be improved. At the same time and given the previous attempts at blocking Obama Care or the Affordable Care Act, which would deprive millions of Americans of much-needed medical care, there is renewed concern that while the policy benefited millions and was in favour of the vulnerable and the poor, a new policy direction will bring radical change.

PRIORITY FOR THE VULNERABLE AND POOR

Moreover, some are of the view that the Biden-Harris administration was very complicit in the war in Gaza and the genocide being perpetuated there, and now with additional conflicts in Lebanon, attacks on Israel by Iran and the ongoing war in Ukraine, there is need to pause and consider whether the new administration will change or reverse the present trend. No one knows for certain how things will evolve. However, with references to Project 2025, dubbed a manifesto for a new Trump administration, though there were pockets of denial that this is, in fact, not the case, nevertheless, there is some indication that a very conservative agenda will be driving the new administration.

Yet the project provides a source of hope for some as they consider the threat of immigrants a serious issue, while for others, policies that produce economic and social deprivation in countries that were described as sh*t-hole countries by the former, and now soon to be president, keep these issues in the forefront. Indeed, these are not small matters as they are critical in how we view those who are vulnerable not just within the United States but also in Ukraine, Gaza, Lebanon, South Sudan, and other areas, especially since children, the disabled, the elderly and, generally, vulnerable people around the world, especially in war torn areas, are adversely affected.

EVANGELISM AND TRUMPISM

With the election of President Trump, the pushback against abortion, migration, and cannabis will be kept in the forefront. Here, there seems to be an alignment with what I would refer to as evangelicalism and Trumpism, with the former made up of leaders of the evangelical tradition and the latter represented by a political ethos based on promoting the wealthy at the expense of the poor. This was addressed by psychologist Stephen Lewandowsky, chair of cognitive psychology at the University of Bristol.

He points out in an article titled ‘Why people vote for politicians’, they know are liars that there is a general disillusionment with the establishment and the need for an alternative reality that takes the needs of people seriously. He uses, for example, the popularity of former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who, though making light of the situation of a young boy with pneumonia having to sleep on the floor at a hospital, and though he misrepresented the details of the deal that resulted in Brexit, he was still voted in as prime minister as voters required radical change in the status quo.

In the final analysis, therefore, while the issue at hand now is the election of President Trump and the overwhelming support by evangelicals, the real issue to be addressed is the lack of trust in institutions generally and political parties and the governments they form. These governments are seen as corrupt, foster inequality, pursue policies that favour the wealthy while marginalising the middle class, the poor, migrants, and other vulnerable groups. With change understood as inevitable, voters, be they conservatives or liberals, are looking for new ways to live in the world, and the view is that the present global political and economic systems are not working in favour of the majority. How then does the Church, which acclaims Jesus as Lord, address these issues, especially in the present climate?

Here, I recommend a re-reading of Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s book The Cost of Discipleship in which he speaks of costly grace. Measured against cheap grace, which spiritualises the gospel, keeps it in the realm of the soul, makes it devoid of social justice and insensitive to the transformation of society, costly grace, rooted in the incarnation, that is God in flesh in Jesus, places the gospel in the midst of people’s fears, anxieties, and struggles. It is aligned with the disillusionment of people while offering Jesus’ death on the cross and his resurrection as hope for a transformed life.

A church on the margin, the title of one of his books is proposed by Rev Burchell Taylor, Baptist minister, who refers to such a church as one that embraces the prophetic tradition, accepts that it’s numbers will not necessarily evolve into mega churches but will be responsive as disciples. It is a church committed to following Jesus, not in a populist sense, but willing to literally and figuratively lay down their lives for the sake of those on the margins of society. Children, the mentally ill, the homeless, migrants, those living with HIV/AIDS and other chronic illnesses, and on a broader scale, those affected by climate change, to include rising sea levels, increased storms and hurricanes and the rise in temperatures must be at the forefront of advocacy for improved quality of life. Only churches and institutions that are proactive and responsive to these issues will be taken seriously in the age of evangelicalism and Trumpism.

Rt Rev Garth Minott is the Anglican Bishop of Kingston. Send feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com.