I was a little bothered the other day to see multiple posts on facebook that said that evangelicals are crazy about Trump. One person posted a link, and fb showed me a ton of similar links. It wasn't something I expected to see.
How could they like Trump? That was my question. I mean, the field is pretty slim as far as good candidates go.
But Trump's strongest points go against what Christians should be for. Particularly his views on immigrants in general, and especially about Muslims. We are supposed to to care for those who need our help. We aren't supposed to turn our backs on them in fear. But Christians in America are supporting Trump. Because he is going to keep Muslims out of the country. And make life hard for those who are already here. And, because Muslims are apparently all evil, we should be happy about this.
The fear in the Christian church right now is disgusting. It's mostly Christians who say that you shouldn't pick up hitch-hikers, and you shouldn't talk to Muslims or anyone of a different religion. Because it's too dangerous. Because you may be converted to whatever they believe. Oh yeah, they still believe in conversion, but the drive-by style of conversion. You know it, where you roll down your window and yell, "Jesus loves you! Repent and go to heaven!" as you're driving past. Or when you slip a tract across the counter with your money as you're checking out at the store. There's no such thing as building a relationship for the sake of a relationship. If you are not talking about Jesus every moment that you're with someone of a different religion, you're failing as a Christian.
Honestly, it's like we're going back to the early days of missions. You know, when there was a compound for the missionaries, and they ventured out to do their "good work", but spent most of their time inside, seeing no natives but their servants, who they "converted" and renamed. The kind that Amy Carmichael refused to follow, because she knew that she couldn't actually bring people to a relationship with Jesus unless she was in a relationship with them in the first place. If I am your friend, I will not bring random strangers up to you, suggesting that you guys be friends. If I do, that probably means that I don't like you, and I simply want you to find other friends, and I don't care who they are. Amy went out and dressed like the Indians she wanted to serve, and learned their language and culture, ate their food. She estranged the english missionaries who thought that she was mad. She gave up the comfort of living in the compound, built beautiful relationships, and ended up changing lives.
Notice that this does not say to keep yourself from being polluted by the world by not interacting with anyone who is not pure. It says to look after widows and orphans in their distress, and keep yourself from being polluted. The main pollution we're picking up from the world right now is fear. How will you change lives if you are afraid? How will you make a positive impact for anyone who is in need of your help if you vote for someone who is "strong" and who will keep the "scary" people out? When you are afraid, you lose major opportunities.
When I was little, we went out to Montana. We kinda went there a lot. In '94, which was, I believe, our second time, we went to Kootenai falls. Fun fact...the Kootenai river is where The River Wild was filmed.
This is a mellower part of the river, but if you fall in, you probably won't survive. The place where we went had a swinging bridge high above the river. I was terrified. Now, I was 7. I was scared of heights in general (still am, though you wouldn't know it by all the roofs I climb...), and this swaying bridge over a dangerous river was super scary. Even the last time I was there (in my mid-teens), I held on to the side rails just in case. This time though, I could not conquer my fear. I could not make myself cross the bridge, and nothing my folks could say convinced me that it was safe. Something about the movement as I neared the middle...I just couldn't do it.
This picture isn't the best, but it shows the farthest I was able to go that year. My parents were very encouraging, but I was upset about it (yes, even at 7). I wanted to do it, but I couldn't. The next time we went, it was a much bigger deal that I went across the bridge. I didn't want to feel that way another time. And the next time, I made it across. Since then, I've crossed the bridge quite a few times. I've been to Kootenai probably 4-5 times, and I know at least one of the times, we crossed back and forth more than just once each way. It still freaks me out a little, but I like it anyway. And I am glad that I got over that fear.
Now, I know that this isn't such a big fear. A 7 year-old's fear of heights and scary water. That's pretty normal. But it was still something I needed to get over.
We're all about getting over fears. There are whole books written about getting over fears. Fears of heights, fears of social interaction, fear of dogs, fear of really anything. Veggie Tales tell us that God is bigger than the Boogie Man. We tell people all the time that God can help them overcome their fears and hang-ups. Until the fears and hang-ups have to do with someone who has different beliefs. Then we are justified, because they want to kill us, and we should hit back first.
I talked to a lot of people lately, who say that they met someone who looked Middle Eastern, and they felt guilty because they just assumed the person was a Muslim, and because of that, they were leery of talking to them. It's common enough in the culture that our government is perpetuating. But just because something is common, that doesn't mean it's good.
It wasn't too long ago that white evangelicals were scared of another dark-skinned race. And even after integration, there's still so much racism and fear. Have we not learned anything? Jesus treated the Samaritan woman the same way that he treated anyone else he came across, despite the enmity between their people. He didn't tell us to turn the other cheek if the person who slaps us is the same colour or religion that we are. We are supposed to feed our enemy if they are hungry, or give them water if they are thirsty. I'm pretty sure that dropping nukes on them doesn't count...
We need a leader who will do his best to improve relations with the rest of the world. Not a leader who tries to make the world afraid of us, but one who will try to unify the world. The word United is in our name, but even our own country is not united. If you look at all of our divisions and struggles, most of them come down to fear. Which is why Trump is popular. Because we're scared, and we think he'll protect us. Stop voting with your fear, and vote for someone who will change the country for good.
How could they like Trump? That was my question. I mean, the field is pretty slim as far as good candidates go.
The fear in the Christian church right now is disgusting. It's mostly Christians who say that you shouldn't pick up hitch-hikers, and you shouldn't talk to Muslims or anyone of a different religion. Because it's too dangerous. Because you may be converted to whatever they believe. Oh yeah, they still believe in conversion, but the drive-by style of conversion. You know it, where you roll down your window and yell, "Jesus loves you! Repent and go to heaven!" as you're driving past. Or when you slip a tract across the counter with your money as you're checking out at the store. There's no such thing as building a relationship for the sake of a relationship. If you are not talking about Jesus every moment that you're with someone of a different religion, you're failing as a Christian.
When I was little, we went out to Montana. We kinda went there a lot. In '94, which was, I believe, our second time, we went to Kootenai falls. Fun fact...the Kootenai river is where The River Wild was filmed.
This is a mellower part of the river, but if you fall in, you probably won't survive. The place where we went had a swinging bridge high above the river. I was terrified. Now, I was 7. I was scared of heights in general (still am, though you wouldn't know it by all the roofs I climb...), and this swaying bridge over a dangerous river was super scary. Even the last time I was there (in my mid-teens), I held on to the side rails just in case. This time though, I could not conquer my fear. I could not make myself cross the bridge, and nothing my folks could say convinced me that it was safe. Something about the movement as I neared the middle...I just couldn't do it.
Now, I know that this isn't such a big fear. A 7 year-old's fear of heights and scary water. That's pretty normal. But it was still something I needed to get over.
We're all about getting over fears. There are whole books written about getting over fears. Fears of heights, fears of social interaction, fear of dogs, fear of really anything. Veggie Tales tell us that God is bigger than the Boogie Man. We tell people all the time that God can help them overcome their fears and hang-ups. Until the fears and hang-ups have to do with someone who has different beliefs. Then we are justified, because they want to kill us, and we should hit back first.
It wasn't too long ago that white evangelicals were scared of another dark-skinned race. And even after integration, there's still so much racism and fear. Have we not learned anything? Jesus treated the Samaritan woman the same way that he treated anyone else he came across, despite the enmity between their people. He didn't tell us to turn the other cheek if the person who slaps us is the same colour or religion that we are. We are supposed to feed our enemy if they are hungry, or give them water if they are thirsty. I'm pretty sure that dropping nukes on them doesn't count...
We need a leader who will do his best to improve relations with the rest of the world. Not a leader who tries to make the world afraid of us, but one who will try to unify the world. The word United is in our name, but even our own country is not united. If you look at all of our divisions and struggles, most of them come down to fear. Which is why Trump is popular. Because we're scared, and we think he'll protect us. Stop voting with your fear, and vote for someone who will change the country for good.
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