Not that kind of Christian
Marcus Borg told a story (perhaps apocryphal) about a student in his college classroom who said, “I don’t believe in God.” Borg said, “Tell me about the God you don’t believe in.” And when the student did, Borg said, “I don’t believe in that ‘god’ either.”
As a Christian minister, I feel that way when people say they don’t like Christians. Chances are that if they describe what they think a Christian is, I would say, “I’m not that kind of Christian.” In recent years, research on the state of religion, especially Christianity, shows that a common view of Christians is that they judge and condemn, even hate, people who see the world differently or do not live according to their specific moral beliefs – what they call “a biblical worldview,” which I think is not biblical at all.
I’m not alone in resisting such a view of what it means to be Christian. Not only progressive Christians, but traditional evangelical Christians like Russell Moore publicly challenge such views. When it comes to political tribalism based loosely on self-identifying “evangelical Christians,” a growing opposition can be found around the world.
Giving voice to a British perspective, Tim Farron writes in his opinion column published in iNews:
“It is genuinely baffling to most British Christians that so many of our US counterparts can support a man of Trump’s – hardly Christlike – character and actions. And this time round, the prospect of his election threatens to destabilise not just America, but the entire globe, as he proposes to withdraw support from Ukraine and pull out of Nato.”
Conflating the meaning of being “American” and “Christian,” a 50-year-old conservative movement now seems to be dominated by people who make no distinction. Many of them speak of “spiritual warfare” against demonic, evil people set on destroying America (meaning anyone who does not accept their ideas of right and wrong, good and evil). More than ever, too many people in this movement speak of Donald Trump as a “savior,” almost a messiah. Tim Farron, from a British perspective, says:
“Politics there has turned into a question of salvation: vote for whichever leader is most likely to save you from the threats you believe are battering at the door. Trump’s team have capitalised on a fear, held by many right-leaning white Christians, that liberal, Islamist and Marxist forces are seeking to destroy society. They have used ‘Make America Great Again’ to promote a cultural Christian identity that their supporters believe is under threat. It is based around saving America from a hostile world.”
Farron gives examples of this rhetoric, including when people use Jesus’ words to “give to Caesar what is Caesar and to God what is God’s” to excuse antichristian behavior by political leaders like Trump:
“Jesus is saying here that you belong – and should give yourself entirely – to God. If you claim to be a Christian, you are called to apply and live out Christ’s teachings in every part of your life. You must not then fit your faith to conveniently suit your politics but must humbly tailor your politics to be faithful to the One whose image you bear. And to those of no faith who are looking on, I say this. Please don’t judge Christianity – or Christ – by the willingness of so many Americans to throw off the shackles of their faith and treat Trump as the new Messiah.”
If you are like me and refuse to be linked to “that kind of Christian,” please know that we are not at all alone in this “crazy” world.
