As Christians can we vote for Donald Trump without fear of being attacked by the world at large for our choice?
Many Christians dislike Trump the man but vote for him because of his policies.
This is a choice and should not subject anyone to ridicule.
Yet we all know that many people (Christians included) claiming the faith have made Trump into a messiah, a savior of America.
If so we must repent of our idolatry.
The video below and article help us think through this controversy.
Video from Culture, Faith, and Politics
Do Christians Need Permission to Choose Jesus Over Donald Trump?
"Although it may sound like a silly question, some Christians DO need permission to choose Jesus over Donald Trump. How can we create a permission structure for people to act on their conscience without feeling that they'll be cast into the outer darkness for not bending the knee to a man they find personally repugnant?" from video introduction
Trump idolatry is a real thing. And it must stop
"Christ is worthy of His Bride, the Church. And Christians, those who comprise the Church, owe our Groom an unapologetic and uncompromised commitment to His Word. This biblical worldview should be the blueprint of our lives, including our political postures — both in policy and messaging.
A Christian vote for Trump is easily justified. In 2016, a large majority of Christians, myself included, voted for Trump as a means to an end. Considering the impending Supreme Court vacancies and Hillary Clinton as the alternative, Christians’ support for Trump was largely about the issues, not the person.
But then things got weird.
A cultish tribalism amassed during his presidency, a fierce mutation from the pragmatic means-to-an-end posture from before. This movement weaponized Christianity to idolize a political leader who opposes abortion bans and refuses to say that boys cannot become girls. Christian conservative’s idolatry for Trump is a self-inflicting wound on Christianity, with a secondary offense of butchering conservatism.
Sadly, pragmatism became grossly tribalistic; ideology became idolatry.
I say this with no reservation, this idolatry demands repentance.
For clarity, here’s how I distinguish the Trumpist from the pragmatic Trump voter.
The Trumpist rallies behind Trump at every point and refuses to criticize him, even when it’s most imperative.
The Trumpist swiftly delivers out-of-context responses to Trump’s opponents. To the Trumpists, context only matters when they’re defending Trump’s statements.
The Trumpist is a sheep who allows Trump to narrate conservatism, instead of holding Trump accountable to the conservative values he was elected to advance.
Disclaimer: I voted for Trump in 2016 and 2020, and, given his nomination, I’ll vote for him come November and will sleep with a clear conscience that night with a My Pillow and my AR-15, which has its own My Pillow … okay, no it doesn’t. I speak for tens of millions of Americans when I say that his presidency gave me everything I wanted when I voted for him: A Court to overturn Roe, a religious freedom advocate, international peace (wasn’t he supposed to start WW3?), and a healthy economy.
But this simply fulfilled what should always be seen as a transactional voting posture:
The candidate makes promises (advertisement).
The citizenry elects them (the purchase).
The candidate delivers (the product).
When we eclipse the transactional posture with affection for the person themselves, we grease the path for idolatry, which creates a biased discernment for holding our candidate accountable.
This is exactly what happened with Trump. Trumpists became so enamored with him as the “most pro-life president in history” that when he publicly opposed abortion bans in 2023 and failed to say that a boy cannot become a girl, he still retained his galactic lead in the primaries. Can you imagine if Mike Pence said the same? Trumpists would have roasted him endlessly. But, you know, it was Trump, so it’s okay. Abortion and transgenderism are among the biggest battles fought by conservatives, and yet when Trump squishes on both issues, he retains the loyalty of “based conservatives.” As a wise colleague of mine put it, “In reality, they aren’t based at all. They’re conformists.”
Let’s go back and review Trump’s first election real quick…" from the article: Trump idolatry is a real thing. And it must stop