December 25, 2017
Trump and Christianity
I want to mention something that seems to have passed almost unnoticed in this Christmas season. It occurred in the speech President Trump gave to coincide with the lighting of the White House Christmas tree. He at one stage invoked "Our Lord and saviour Jesus Christ".
In that utterance he expressed the core doctrine of evangelical Christians. That was unprecedented as far as I can remember. Even Reagan, an undoubted man of God, was not so emphatically Christian. Many Americans DON'T think Jesus is their Lord and saviour so it was a bold thing for a politician to say. It would have been a dagger aimed at the heart of Leftist anti-Christians and a warm glow in the hearts of committed Christians.
Trump got most of the evangelical vote last time so he will probably get all of it next time but it was clearly not a good electoral calculation. He stood to lose non-Christian voters while picking up only a few more Christians. So why did he do it? The speech was undoubtedly written for him by an evangelical pastor but he ad-libs readily so could easily have toned that bit down if he had wanted to.
The obvious reason is that he believed what he said. Trump is amazing the way he speaks his mind. He is clearly no career politician.
But I think there is a second reason. Christians have copped so much abuse and condemnation in recent years that they deserved some support -- and Trump gave them that. He validated their beliefs and principles. It told them that the days of travail are easing. And if it stabbed at the anti-Christian left, it was about time they got some heat back. It was justice for the meek.
And the media were amazingly silent about it. They criticized a few minor details but ignored the Christian invocation as far as I could see. Maybe they were wary of antagonizing Christians -- JR.
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