When Politics Becomes Religion
At the RNC, conservatives stray from Biblical truth
Last night was the final night of the Republican National Convention. Many had hoped that Trump would be a changed man after his near-death experience on Saturday, but that does not seem to be the case.
The reason why many political moderates (including me) hoped that he would be a changed man is because our nation is more divided than ever. The only other time when America was this divided over politics — over the nature of good and evil, progress and tradition — was most likely the Civil War, when half of the country wanted to hold onto the institution of slavery, both for fear of being bankrupted and because they had come to view owning human beings as an indelible aspect of their culture.
Now, our problems are different. During the Civil War, both sides still prayed to the same God. Both sides thought they had help from above, as messed up as that may seem, when you consider what the South was fighting for. Nonetheless, there was a moral and spiritual framework within which all citizens could understand each other and their world. Today, that framework has fallen through the cracks.
Progressives think that their identity comes from their, well, identity (their race, sexual preference, and so forth), instead of their Creator. The right, on the other hand, still claims to derive its identity from God, but the truth is that it is increasingly finding its identity in politics in an effort to stop the “leftist” cultural takeover that has been underway for decades now.
Nowhere was this clearer than at the RNC this week. Speakers — including the likes of Ben Carson and Franklin Graham, Billy Graham’s son — invoked the name of YHWH to support their preferred political candidate. Carson applied Isaiah 54:17 to Trump when he said that despite liberal-led efforts to throw up roadblocks in the way of his reelection campaign, “no weapon formed against him” could prosper. Lara Trump cast him in similarly messianic terms when she quoted Proverbs 28:1: “The wicked [liberals, in this case] fall when no one pursues, but the righteous [Trump] are as bold as a lion.” It was saddening to see how conservatives feel at liberty to co-opt Scripture to forward their political agenda.
Conservatives — even born-again Christian conservatives — have become so desperate to counteract the left’s cultural influence that they are willing to call Trump “righteous” — at the cost of their conscience and credibility. Trump is not a righteous man. Besides being a former womanizer, he lies to his supporters, frequently disparages his opponents with foul language, and his “faith” in God is little more than a ploy to get evangelicals to vote for him. When asked in 2015 what his favorite Bible verse was, he responded: “I wouldn’t want to get into it. Because to me, that’s very personal.” Does anyone really believe that? While I pray for Mr. Trump’s salvation, the notion that his faith is just for show is a hard one to refute.
The justification for the recent lionizing of Donald Trump is that he was very nearly assassinated, and that God spared his life. Thus, God must be on Trump’s side! Franklin Graham certainly made the case for that in his prayer, which was less an appeal for God’s will to be done than for God to set His seal on Trump’s presidency, which is far from guaranteed. (While Trump is currently ahead in the polls, he leads by a very small margin; and if Democrats find a way to replace Biden with a viable candidate, like Michelle Obama, the tables could turn very quickly. Four months is an eternity in politics.)
Yet on the final night of the RNC, every speaker acted as if Trump was already elected. During Trump’s speech, the stage was awash in a projection of the White House, as if he was addressing the crowd as their newly elected president. Even more perplexing, in his speech, Eric Trump said of his father: “Our country loves you” — half the country hates him — “Our country misses you” — half the country wishes he were banished from public life, or worse — “And on November 5th, our country will reelect you as the 47th president of the United States of America” — we don’t know that yet.
Furthermore, the picture of Trump raising his fist moments after he was shot became a sort of messiah moment around which the fourth night revolved. Pennsylvania was Trump’s Via Dolorosa; but instead of rising again on the third day, he gave a speech on the fourth night of the RNC. If you think I am being dramatic, I encourage you to watch night four of the RNC if you haven’t already. Pay particular attention to the faces of the crowd as they watched Trump speak. Many were crying. Hope twinkled in their eyes, as if their entire future and destiny rested in the hands of a 78-year-old man. Indeed, many journalists noted that the RNC has never felt so charged with feeling. But that is a dangerous thing.
The fact is that people are putting way too much hope in Trump. His son, Eric, described him as a “chosen one” figure, almost like Nietzche’s ubermensch: “You are the greatest fighter I have ever seen. You are strong, you are full of life, and you are unapologetic. Your optimism is contagious. Your backbone is unbreakable.” Others described how he would cut taxes, restore energy independence, stop the drug crisis, enact a massive deportation campaign, deter all foreign wars — all while restoring national unity and making Americans wealthier than ever.
Furthermore, his first term in office was cast in glittering terms: crime was down, wages were up, the economy was the best in the “history of the world” (Trump’s words) — never mind that half the country hated each other. Meanwhile, Trump described president Joe Biden’s presidency as worse than that of “the 10 worst presidents in the history of the United States” put together.
Trump also repeated the lie that the 2020 election was stolen from him and that Democrats “used COVID to cheat.” Where does that leave us if the Democrats win this election? If Trump will not tell his supporters the truth — who will?
The level of hyperbole at the RNC was a sad look at the future of our politics: we think the other side is so evil, that we are willing to deify our candidate — ignoring blemishes on their political record, refusing to acknowledge their character flaws — and demonize our opponents if it means keeping them out of power. We will even believe a logical contradiction — like the 2024 election will only be fair if Trump wins it — if it means getting what we want.
Politics was never meant to save us. Jesus saves us. There is an instructive passage in the book of Joshua. Right as Joshua is about to lead the Israelites to take Jericho, the Angel of the Lord appears. Joshua asks him: “Are you for us, or for our adversaries?”
You would think the Angel of the Lord would be on the side of the Israelites. Instead, he answers: “Neither.”
“but as commander of the army of the Lord I have now come.” Then Joshua fell facedown to the ground in reverence, and asked him, “What message does my Lord have for his servant?” The commander of the Lord’s army replied, “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so. (Josh. 5:13–15, NIV)
God is not on the side of Republicans or Democrats. He is on His own side.
Christian RNC speakers should repent for their sinful presumption. God may have spared Trump’s life, but He alone decides when a nation rises and falls (Job 12:23). In fact, God may have spared Trump’s life in order to speed up our national decline. God frequently used Israelite kings to do the same, as punishment for the Hebrews’ wickedness and idolatry. Has America not been wicked? Do we not deserve annihilation? Have we, as a nation, not turned to the false gods of “identity” and “wealth”? Do we deserve God’s wrath any less than the Israelites did?
As Americans, we think we are so invincible. History teaches us otherwise. The western Roman empire lasted for nearly 1,000 years, from 753 BC to 476 AD; America has only been around for 248 years, and we seem dangerously close to the brink. It is also worth noting that Constantine, Rome’s first Christian emperor, could not save the empire from collapse: a mere 150 years after his reign, Rome would be sacked by barbarian hordes. Conservatives need to humble ourselves. The only person keeping us from national ruin is not a person at all. It’s God.
I will end with what God spoke to the Israelites in 2 Chronicles 7:14: “if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”