Abusing Theology and Why Trump Matters

The title is quite accusatory but I think for good reason. I want to turn my attention directly to US Evangelicalism. I have stated in other forums and hopefully it comes through in my writing, there is much I love about Christianity. But, US Evangelicalism is an inherently abusive religion and the global harm it is doing is catastrophic.

What makes this harder is that most Evangelical folks are very decent and nice people. But, some of the most pernicious harm is perpetrated by those who believe they are doing you a kindness. Why is Evangelicalism so harmful:

• It has married itself to far right politics. E.g. research what southern Baptists used to believe about Church/State separation and abortion before its politicization.
• It has also married itself to a darwinian capitalist moral economic system.
• The US Evangelical worldview is, at its foundation, conspiratorial. It is a simple thing, when you believe in a celestial meta conspiracy, to fit within it any earthly conspiracy theory. Trump knows how to use this to motivate Evangelicals emotionally.
• It has done too well of a job of rendering impotent any serious self-correction mechanisms.
• It has closed its ears to any external prophetic voices.
• Corollary to the above points, it lacks the humility to admit it's wrong and seek reconciliation with those that are considered the “other”.
• It has become bitterly tribal. It “otherizes” everyone outside of its bubble and then whitewashes it with a vapid “love”.
• Its political power coupled with the rejection of climate change has and will continue to cause incalculable harm.
• Its view of biblical inerrancy is simply a protection mechanism to avoid deep honest critique of its interpretation of the Bible.
• When you believe everything will end horribly for the vast majority of us “others”, you are most probably predisposed, at least subconsciously, to see that very thing come to pass. An apocalyptic death theology tends to bend towards easily rationalizing and embracing such future outcomes.

Evangelical support of Trump is the natural outgrowth given the above. White Evangelicals are angry and frustrated by the constant pressure modernity places upon their worldview. They are in search of existential and epistemic comfort. Trump provides this for them in spades. He says the cruel things they want said. He attacks and hates those “others” they wish they had the power to fight and hate more directly. Trump is the visible tumor outgrowth of the underlying cancerous root of the US Evangelical worldview.