A Book Justifying Support for Trump by White Evangelicals

 

I am reading a book by a white Evangelical Christian justifying his support of the "chaos candidate." I am reading it with two friends who are Christians who live in German and are trying to understand the trumpian Church in America.

The author quotes Christian leaders who celebrate him as a "Chaos Candidate." These trumpians see the white Evangelical Church as embattled by dark forces of secularism who want to take away their freedom.

Imagine those who say they worship the Creator of the Universe celebrating chaos! Chapter 6 has extensive quotes of those celebrating the chaos candidate.

It reads like a librarian celebrating book burning.

The book is a strong confirmation in Church language that the trumpians in the Church, like all trumpians, love their orange idol because he hates who they hate.

Another chilling bit of clarity in the book is that in his reptilian instinct for power, trump has found a huge loyal group who really, deeply celebrates his authoritarian goals. The religious people who support him want rights reversed for everyone who is not them.

MAGA re-elected will reverse gay rights, abortion rights, women's rights, voting rights, the rights of the disabled, worker's rights and when the steamroller gets some momentum going, Bill Barr will reverse civil rights.

Evangelicals at the Crossroads: Will We Pass the Trump Test?

Fortune's Wheel and the Place of Peace

 

In “The Consolation of Philosophy” Boethius pictures fortune as a wheel. The world, like a wheel in motion, is always putting stress on those who are in the world. But the stress is far from equal. There are times of relative calm, when the wheel moves slowly. And there are times of trouble, like war and pandemic and tyranny, when the wheel speeds up. 

Those near the edge of the wheel, even in relatively calm times, have large forces acting on them. They are never at peace. They live inside their circumstances, often they believe that Fate is all they have. In hopeless circumstances such as terminal illness or being a refugee, they may be right. They may also make the perception that Fate is all they have into a self-fulfilling prophecy. 

Boethius says those who pursue philosophy move closer and closer to the hub of the wheel of this world. Those who are at the hub of the wheel, no matter how fast the wheel spins, are at rest. When we rest at the hub of the wheel through philosophy we can be at peace in a world with political strife and wars and storms and fire and flood. Elie Wiesel showed this in Auschwitz. 

We could, of course, be caught in any sort of disaster by chance and circumstance, but through seeking the good and the true and the beautiful, we can stay at the hub of the wheel of this world through anything. Since we live in this world, and cannot totally leave our responsibilities to others, we have to grab one of the spokes of the wheel of this world--family troubles, work problems, the pandemic—and we have to grip tight against the centripetal forces shoving us out of the refuge of philosophy. 

But when the crisis is resolved, we can turn back toward the peace at the hub of the wheel. In my case, daily meditation or riding up a hill I've ridden up 50 times before can bring my mind to the hub of the wheel, at rest even while my life is in motion.

Peaceful Transfer of Power and Change of Command

Most of my recent military service was during the Obama administration. I re-enlisted in August 2007, deployed to Iraq for a year in January 2009 and then left the Army National Guard in May 2016.  

During those 11 years I witnessed dozens and dozens of change of Command ceremonies.  From command of a company to a full division, the passing of the unit colors from the old commander to the new commander is very much the same ceremony. Whether in front of two dozen soldiers or ten thousand soldiers the officer holding power gives that power and privilege and responsibility to the next commander.

At many of these ceremonies, the new commander in the first address to the unit will talk about the peaceful transfer of power. How this peaceful transfer of power is a true American tradition dating back to President George Washington and continuing right up through the moment of the ceremony.  

Nearly all of the commanders I served with, as well as most of the soldiers, were Republicans or conservative independents.  They were proud of upholding this American tradition and looking forward to the peaceful transfer of power to a conservative President.  

But these same soldiers I served with are now will continue their support for the current President even though he will not commit to the peaceful transfer of power.  

In 1993, Vietnam War veterans made a great show saying they would not back President Clinton as a matter of honor, then honor melted like snow in the Sahara when they had their own despicable draft dodger.  In the same way the words about the peaceful transfer of power will melt faster than the polar ice cap when their Dear Leader refuses to leave office.

The military reports to the Commander-in-Chief.  When the C-in-C breaks the law, they will follow.