American Christians for Truth and Justice

Tag: christianity

  • Could Donald Trump be the Antichrist (part 2)

    In the last blog, I asked “Could Donald Trump be the Antichrist?”  I answered that he could be because he has a Messianic identity and Messianic ambitions, he speaks proud words and blasphemies, and his character is the opposite to that of Christ.  This doesn’t mean Mr. Trump necessarily is the Antichrist, but only that he could be, if additional events unfold according to the pattern set out in the prophetic scriptures. What are these additional events that we should be watching for to determine whether he is the Antichrist? 

    Before beginning to enumerate these, it should be pointed out that these items are based on a futuristic interpretation of end-time prophecies.  This approach is used mostly by premillennialists, especially dispensationalists.  Some other interpretive approaches, such as amillennial (typical of Reformed theology) do not necessarily look for a literal future Great Tribulation period or for a future literal Antichrist figure. If these events do start to take place, whether involving Donald Trump or someone else, it will show that this futuristic interpretation should be taken seriously.  If they take place soon and involve Mr. Trump, then the probability increases with each successive event that he is the Antichrist.

    The first item is not derived from biblical prophecy but is purely a matter of practical consideration, and that is that Donald Trump would need to stay in power beyond the end of his second term.  If seems highly unlikely that he could assume dominant power on the world stage if he lost his position of power as President of the United States.  His position as president gives him a platform of power from which to exert his power on the rest of the world.  Without that, it is hard to conceive of how he could become a ruler over the world, as will be true of the Antichrist (Rev. 13:7). As the Antichrist is said to rule over every people and nation for 42 months and the time remaining in President Trump’s second term is less than 42 months, it would not be possible for him to be the Antichrist unless he remains in power beyond his second term.  Another practical consideration is that he would need to live long enough for the Great Tribulation period to be completed.

    According to the U.S. Constitution, President Trump is not allowed to run for a third term, but he has mused from time to time that he would find a way to get around this.  While at present, it seems that he is prepared to concede the two-term limitation, it would not be out of character for him to change his mind. Hopefully, our democratic institutions and processes would be strong enough to prevent this from happening.  But again, it would not be out of character for him to find false pretense for canceling elections and declaring martial law to stay in power.  Or, if he does run again and doesn’t win, it is highly predictable that he would say the election was stolen and declare himself the winner anyway. And since he is Commander in Chief and has largely installed loyalists within the military, who would be able to stop him?  This scenario may seem like a longshot, and it may indeed be, but if it happens, then beware!  And be ready to watch for the next things on the list.

    The next item to watch for then, would be whether Mr. Trump continues to threaten and take over more countries.  Daniel prophesies about the fourth beast with ten horns in Daniel chapter 7, commonly understood to be the Antichrist.  This beast has a little horn which comes up among the 10 horns, and three of the (10) first horns are uprooted before it (Dan 7:8, 20). The 10 horns presumably represent an alliance of 10 nations or rulers which make up the power base of the Antichrist. We do not yet know what this 10-nation alliance will be, so if that comes into shape, that is another indicator that things are moving along.  Three of those nations will be overthrown by the Antichrist as he continues to consolidate his power.  President Trump has taken the role of a bully in threatening other nations, such as Greenland and Canada.  He has essentially taken over Venezuela and is threatening to take over Cuba through economic pressure.  If this pattern continues, and he overthrows three nations that were part of an alliance with him previously, then this would be another sign that Mr. Trump was on track to be the Antichrist. 

    A third item to watch for would be the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem. Several prophecies indicate that during the Great Tribulation there will exist such a temple, which until now has not existed since the destruction of the previous temple in 70 A.D. In Revelation 11, John says, “I was given a reed like a measuring rod and was told, ‘Go and measure the temple of God and the altar … But exclude the outer court … because it has been given to the Gentiles. They will trample on the holy city for 42 months’” (Rev. 11:1-2).  This period of 42 months is the Great Tribulation, and it will begin with the desecration of the temple by the man of lawlessness (the Antichrist) (2 Thess 2:3-4). This will be the fifth sign that we will return to in part 3 of this series. But the point for now is that to set the stage for this to happen, the temple must be rebuilt.  There is a temple movement among Orthodox Jews with that desire.  See, for example Israel’s priests prepare third temple  Possibly permission for this to happen could come from a peace treaty that President Trump puts in place or as a provision of the Board of Peace, of which he has appointed himself the chair.  This, of course, would be a major development, but in our world today previously unthinkable things seem to be happening regularly. If this one happens, and Donald Trump is at the center of it, although it could be an event celebrated by pro-Israel Christians, it would, in my mind, tip the scales from possible to probable in terms of Mr. Trump being the Antichrist.

    The fourth sign to watch for which would “seal the deal” in my mind is if Mr. Trump recovers from a fatal (or apparently fatal) wound. Prophesying about the beast (Antichrist), John says, “One of the heads of the beast seemed to have had a fatal wound, but the fatal wound was healed” (Rev. 13:3). This is referenced again later in the chapter when it refers to the first beast as the one “whose fatal wound had been healed” (13:12). As a result of this remarkable recovery, we are told that “the whole world was astonished and followed the beast … and they also worshipped the beast” (13:3-4). President Trump has already survived several assassination attempts, one in particular which was a “close call.” Around this has grown up a narrative that he is somehow invincible and that God has protected him because he is anointed for a special role.  If he could be resurrected from a fatal wound, this would take that narrative to a whole new level and would elicit awe, not just from his core followers, but from the whole world. But note that Revelation 13:3 says, “seemed to have had a fatal wound.” No mere human has the power to raise himself from the dead, and although the Antichrist will be empowered by Satan, it is doubtful that Satan has the power to raise from the dead, as God alone is the source of life.  More likely is that the Antichrist suffers and recovers from a near fatal wound but then spins a narrative (with the collusion of loyalist doctors and staff) that he died and rose again, thus appearing to duplicate what Christ did in rising from the dead.  If something like this happens to Mr. Trump, it is not inconsistent with his character or his supersized ego to think that he would claim such a thing.

    This would set the stage for the final sign, which if fulfilled by Mr. Trump would unequivocally identify him as the Antichrist, which will be taken up in part 3 of this series.

    As you can see, there are still several significant items that would need to line up to conclude that Donald Trump is the Antichrist.  At this point, it is still more probable that he is not the Antichrist than that he is.  However, given his Messianic identity and Messianic ambitions, his proud words and blasphemies, and his character qualities that are the opposite to that of Christ, and the repeated admonitions in Scripture to watch, lest we be taken by surprise (such as Matt. 24:42 and Luke 21:34-36) it would be unwise not to take the possibility seriously and to be watching to see whether Mr. Trump’s “Antichrist portfolio” continues to accumulate supporting evidence or not.

  • Could Donald Trump be the Antichrist?

    Recently several comments have been made suggesting that Donald Trump might be the Antichrist.  Marjorie Taylor Greene, a former Trump supporter now turned critic, called his post, in which he seemingly portrayed himself as Jesus, blasphemy and said this was “an Antichrist spirit.”  Tucker Carlson, another supporter turned critic, responded to this same post, in which Mr. Trump was dressed in Christ-like robes, healing the sick with a glowing light emitting from his hands, calling it a mockery of Jesus and asking, “Could this be the Antichrist?” To be clear, neither Ms. Greene nor Mr. Carlson stated emphatically that President Trump is the Antichrist—they merely raised the question of whether he might be.  So, let’s consider the question, “Could Donald Trump be the Antichrist?”

                But first, let us clarify what we are talking about.  Who or what is this Antichrist? In a general sense, the Apostle John refers to what we might call the “antichrist spirit” when he says, “Who is the liar? It is whoever denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a person is the antichrist—denying the Father and the Son” (1 John 2:22). But Christians who believe in a futuristic interpretation of the book of Revelation also believe that there will be a singular person, the Antichrist, in connection with a future Great Tribulation period just prior to the second coming of Christ (Matt 24:29-31). During this Great Tribulation, a world leader, referred to figuratively in Scripture by such terms as the beast (Rev. 13:1-10), the man of lawlessness (2 Thess 2:1-12), or the little horn (Daniel 7:8, 10-25), but popularly referred to as the Antichrist, will rule the world and persecute God’s people for 42 months before being defeated by Jesus at his second coming (Rev 19:11-21). This is the one I am referring to when I ask if Donald Trump could be the Antichrist.

                Before considering this question, a word of caution is in order. Many have been thought to be the Antichrist throughout the Christian era, including Nero and Adolf Hitler.  Martin Luther also famously called the pope the Antichrist. But none of these or the many others who have been identified actually were the Antichrist. So, we must be cautious in claiming that someone is the Antichrist.  Thus, that is not what I will be doing in this blog.  What I am asking is whether Donald Trump could be the Antichrist—that is, is he a suitable candidate and does this possibility warrant close watching?  With that clarification in mind, let us consider three reasons why Donald Trump could be the Antichrist.

                First, Mr. Trump has a Messianic identity and Messianic ambitions. This was evident from the recent post he made of himself as Christ or a Christ-like figure, as mentioned above. But even prior to that, there have been references from President Trump himself or from his supporters that encouraged us to see him as a Messianic figure of sorts. The word “messiah” literally means “anointed one,” and references to President Trump as one anointed by God have been common among his followers.  They don’t necessarily mean by this that he is the “Anointed One” in a capital “A” sense, but certainly the sentiment is strong among Trump’s followers and seems to have been internalized by Mr. Trump himself that he is a special anointed one, chosen by God for a special purpose. President Trump’s comments after he survived a near assassination reflect this. Mr. Trump’s recent post merely makes that Messianic identity bolder and more explicit.   His portrayal of himself as the pope in a May 2025 AI-generated post also communicated a similar message. Regarding Messianic ambitions, it has become evident, although Mr. Trump once campaigned almost as an isolationist, desiring to keep America out of wars in the global arena, that his oversized ego desires dominance on the world stage.  His not-so-subtle bid to be awarded the Nobel Peace prize and his bold move in establishing the Board of Peace with himself as the chairman also indicate (his aggressive role in starting the war in Iran notwithstanding) that he desires to be honored on the world stage as the one who brings world peace. In the prophetic blueprint of the Antichrist, it is commonly understood that the Antichrist will bring temporary world peace.  Thus, people will be saying, prior to the return of Jesus, “Peace and safety” (1 Thess 5:3). Jesus, the true Christ, will establish world peace when he comes again to set up God’s kingdom (Isaiah 2:4, 9:7). The Antichrist wants to pre-empt Christ by becoming a world ruler who brings peace before Jesus can do it. Donald Trump’s Messianic identity and Messianic ambitions to establish world peace indeed suggest that he could be the Antichrist. 

                Second, in keeping with the prophetic profile of the Antichrist, Mr. Trump utters proud words and even words which some have been calling blasphemous. Revelation 13:5, describing the future beast that comes out of the sea (the Antichrist), says: “The beast was given a mouth to utter proud words and blasphemies.” Daniel 7, speaking of the Antichrist as the little horn, provides an earlier statement of the same theme when it says of him, “This horn had eyes like the eyes of a man and a mouth that spoke boastfully” (Dan 7:8). I don’t think anyone can deny, whether they oppose him or support him, that Mr. Trump utters proud words and speaks boastfully.  The New York Times (Feb 15, 2026) describes it like this: “President Trump has engaged in a spree of self-aggrandizement unlike any of his predecessors, fostering a mythologized superhuman persona and making himself the inescapable force at home and around the world.”  According to Mr. Trump, the things he builds or accomplishes are the best or biggest or greatest ever.  The attendance at his inauguration was the highest ever.  His economy is the best ever. He often put down former President Biden as the worst president ever, while claiming that he is the best president ever, or at least on par with George Washington. It matters little whether the objective standard measurements used to determine such things contradict his evaluation—it is what he says that matters in his mind and in the eyes of his supporters. Mr. Trump himself justifies his self-promoting manner by saying, “Remember, if you don’t promote yourself, then no one else will!” This is quite opposite to the wisdom of Proverbs, which says: “Let another praise you, and not your own mouth, someone else, and not your own lips” (Prov 27:2). Regarding the blasphemous trait, this is not as prominent yet for President Trump as the boastful trait, but he seems to be testing the waters with blasphemous or border-line blasphemous statements or posts, such as the posts of himself as pope and the Christ-like post which Marjorie Taylor Greene called blasphemous.  Mr. Trump’s profanity laden threat to Iran on April 5th, which he ended sarcastically with “Praise to Allah,” almost certainly seemed blasphemous to Muslims, and resulted in backlash from his own conservative Republican camp as well, most notably form Tucker Carlson, who said, “How dare you?” and “vile on every level.”

                The third reason that Donald Trump could be the Antichrist is that his character is opposite to Christ in almost every conceivable way.  Here I borrow from my earlier post “Trump and Jesus” to compare the character of Christ, which is our standard as Christians, with the character of Donald Trump.  Jesus taught and modeled love.  Mr. Trump speaks and models hate. Jesus brings people of diverse backgrounds together into one body in Christ.  Donald Trump divides the nation into polarized factions. Jesus is the Truth.  Mr. Trump tells so many lies the fact checkers can’t keep up with him. Jesus was a servant leader.  President Trump is a lord-it-over leader. Jesus promoted forgiveness.  Mr. Trump exacts revenge. Jesus valued all races and peoples equally.  Donald Trump values white men over diversity. Jesus was single and celibate.  Mr. Trump is sexually immoral and has been divorced and remarried multiple times. Jesus ministered to the poor and marginalized.  President Trump enriches himself while cutting off aid and benefits to the poor.  Jesus sacrificed for others, giving his own life.  Mr. Trump looks out for his own self-interest. Jesus was confident but humble. Donald Trump is arrogant and proud.  Jesus never sinned.  Mr. Trump claims he never does wrong, but the evidence overwhelmingly proves otherwise. Jesus was concerned about justice.  President Trump constantly obstructs or subverts justice.  In almost every way imaginable, Donald Trump’s character is the opposite of Jesus.

                For these three reasons—he has a Messianic identity and Messianic ambitions, he speaks proud words and blasphemies, and his character is the opposite to that of Christ, I believe we can say that Donald Trump could be the Antichrist. That is not to say that he necessarily is or will be.  For one thing, he is old, so if he is the Antichrist, then things must happen quickly. For another, the political tide may be turning against him.  His popularity level in the US is declining, and he is vastly unpopular in many parts of the world. Republicans are fearing that the mid-term elections could be disastrous. Some see the defeat of Victor Orban in Hungary as a harbinger of things to come for President Trump and his MAGA movement as well. Thus, even though Mr. Trump may have Messianic ambitions, these may not come to fruition.  On the other hand, it would be premature if not foolish to count him out. His political career seemed to be finished after the January 6th riots of 2021. Almost no one was willing to defend him.  But somehow, he managed to sway opinions and rewrite the narrative so that he got himself re-elected as President. So, we must be wary about ever counting him out.  Moreover, he has installed loyalists throughout the courts and military and has systematically dismantled accountability structures within the government.  If he decides on even bolder anti-democratic measures, like cancelling elections and declaring martial law, who is going to stop him?

                In my opinion, based on correlation with the biblical material about the Antichrist, Donald Trump could be the Antichrist. As already stated, this doesn’t mean that he necessarily is, but it does mean that the situation bears close watching.  If he is, there are things that will happen that will continue to strengthen the case.  Next time, in part 2 of this blog, we will look at those.

  • Is it a Trivial Matter?

    Picking up again with the theme of OT prophets whose warnings to the people of Judah at their time echo through the centuries to have relevance for God’s people in America in our political situation, we look next at Ezekiel 8:17: “Have you seen this, son of man? Is it a trivial matter for the people of Judah to do the detestable things they are doing here? Must they also fill the land with violence and continually arouse my anger? Look at them putting the branch to their nose!”

    Detestable things. The detestable things God was referring to in Ezekiel 8 were related to idolatry: making idols of metal (v.v.2), creating idolatrous images (v.10), burning incense to idols (v.11), worshipping the god Tammuz (v. 14), and bowing down to the sun (v. 16). There was a progression in the scenes God showed to Ezekiel, each one more detestable than the prior (v.6, 13, 15). 

    Is it a trivial matter? One strategy of the current administration seems to be to flood to zone with so many outrageous statements, executive overreaches, blatant lies, obvious misuses of power to target political enemies, open use of the power of the presidency for the self-enrichment of Mr. Trump and his family, repeated obstruction and perversion of justice, etc. that these actions are normalized.  But we—especially we who claim to be Christians, must not think it trivial that the leaders of our nation do such detestable things, especially when they do it under the pretense of making America a Christian nation again.

    Must they also fill the land with violence? To all the above detestable actions now we add violence—first unleashing unrestrained ICE agents against our own people, resulting in the shootings of Rene Good and Alex Pretti (who, though victims, were  wrongfully attacked and maligned), and now unleashing violence globally in the war against Iran.  My sympathies are with the Iranian people, many of whom hate their own government and welcome US and Israeli intervention with the hope that it will lead to regime change.  I do hope for a positive outcome that will be good for the Iranian people.  But my confidence is not strong that this is high on President Trump’s priorities, and my concern is that the rhetoric and execution of the war are promoting a culture of unaccountability and cruelty, ignoring norms of international law, glorying in the display of our power, and gloating in the devastation that we are causing.

    Look at them putting the branch to their nose!  There is some uncertainty as to the meaning of this phrase, but I favor the interpretation that refers to a form of idolatrous practice that the people of Judah were engaging in.  In our current context, it makes me think of the way people wishing to gain power or benefit from being in the good graces of President Trump openly flatter him and promote a cult of personality in which Mr. Trump is seen as an “anointed one.”  It all borders on idolatry, the very sin that the people of Judah, who claimed to be God’s people, were being called out for in this passage.

    Therefore, I will deal with them in anger.  Verse 17 gives God’s response, which is a warning of judgement. Because the people engage in detestable practices, God says he will deal with them in anger.  He will not have pity on them or listen to their cries for help. As it applies to today, this is a warning for those who claim to be God’s people but support a leader and government that engages in detestable practices.

    In the next chapter, Ezekiel says that the people of Judah should “grieve and lament over all the detestable things that are done in it” (Ezek 9:4). These are to have a mark put on their foreheads to set them apart so that they are not judged with the others. (This is similar to the mark on the foreheads prior to the beginning of the Great Tribulation in Revelation 7:3). If we claim to be God’s people in America today, we should grieve and lament over the detestable things that are done in it.  But instead, many Christians ignore or justify these detestable things and continue to affirm and vote for those who execute them.

  • Trump and Jesus

    Because so many Christians, especially evangelicals, have supported Donald Trump, the names of Trump and Jesus have unfortunately come to be linked together.  Pro-Trump rallies have often had signs favorably connecting Donald Trump and Jesus.  Yet, it is hard to think of anyone who is less like Jesus than Mr. Trump.  Many Christians recognize that his character is a problem but voted for him anyway because he opposes the liberal left and supports some key causes that Christians care about. To some degree, that is understandable. But shouldn’t evangelicals, of all people, believe that character matters?  Do we realize what a big shift it represents to say that character in our leaders doesn’t matter?  During the sex scandal of the Clinton years, evangelicals were insistent that character mattered.  Donald Trump is at least as sexually immoral as Bill Clinton ever was, yet now suddenly it doesn’t matter?  With President Trump’s turn towards authoritarianism, consider what it means that a person of his character has almost absolute power.  If we think that doesn’t matter, we will surely come to regret it.

    Let’s compare the character of Christ, which is our standard as Christians, with the character of Donald Trump.  Jesus taught and modeled love.  Mr. Trump speaks and models hate. Jesus brings people of diverse backgrounds together into one body in Christ.  Donald Trump divides the nation into polarized factions. Jesus is the Truth.  Mr. Trump tells so many lies the fact checkers can’t keep up with him. Jesus was a servant leader.  President Trump is a lord-it-over leader. Jesus promoted forgiveness.  Mr. Trump exacts revenge. Jesus valued all races and peoples equally.  Donald Trump values white workers over diversity. Jesus was single and celibate.  Mr. Trump is sexually immoral and has been divorced and remarried multiple times. Jesus ministered to the poor and marginalized.  President Trump enriches himself while cutting off aid or benefits to the poor.  Jesus sacrificed for others, giving his own life.  Mr. Trump looks out for his own self-interest. Jesus was confident but humble. Donald Trump is arrogant and proud.  Jesus never sinned.  Mr. Trump claims he never does wrong, but the evidence overwhelmingly proves otherwise. Jesus was concerned about justice.  President Trump constantly obstructs or subverts justice.  In almost every way imaginable, Donald Trump’s character is the opposite of Jesus. You don’t need to listen to his political opponents to come to these conclusions.  You can just think about his words and actions that you have seen and heard for yourself.  Indeed, many Christians who voted for Mr. Trump know these things to be true.  It is time that we wake up to the seriousness of these character deficiencies before it is too late.

    There is one thing Jesus and Mr. Trump have in common—both demand absolute loyalty.  But when Donald Trump’s character is so diametrically opposed to the character of Jesus, you can not give absolute loyalty to Mr. Trump without compromising your loyalty to Jesus and his teachings. Jesus said, “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other.  You cannot serve God and money” (Matt 6:24).  The same principle applies here—you cannot serve Jesus and Donald Trump.  Mike Pence tried and found out he could not do it.  And neither can we.

  • Their evil deeds have no limit ..

    The last blog began a series based on words from the prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah which are compellingly relevant to our times.  The first text was, “Do not call conspiracy everything they call conspiracy …” (Isa 8:12). We ended with the command not to fear what the conspiracists wants us to fear, in our case, the evils of the liberal left, or conversely, the vengeance of President Trump.  Rather, the one we are to fear and dread is God himself.  Our text today tells us why.

    Jeremiah 5:28-29 says, “[They] have grown fat and sleek. Their evil deeds have no limit; they do not seek justice.” Jeremiah said concerning the Israelite leaders and people of his time: “their evil deeds have no limit.” That is how I feel about our present administration each day when I read the news.  Is there no end to falsehoods, bullying, and disregard for justice and the rule of law?  Each day the transgressions seem to be more blatant and bolder: pardoning criminals right and left, including the former president of Honduras, who was rightly convicted of drug crimes and the Chinese billionaire in the crypto-currency business who is an ally of President Trump; openly pursuing vindication against his political enemies, like James Comey and Leticia James, for charges that respectable prosecutors have deemed inadequate; clearly having something to hide with the Epstein files, first refusing to turn them over only to reverse course and say that he would while still refusing to fully release them; rounding up immigrants without due process and treating them harshly as criminals, the vast majority of whom have no criminal record and many of whom have demonstrated decades worth of value-add in our communities; blatantly enriching himself through business ventures while president without any regard for conflict of interest; attacking boats and killing people as adversaries of war without any clear justification that we are at war (and without any authorization from Congress); kidnapping and charging President Maduro of Venezuela in a way that even many of our allies regard as a violation of international law; making further threats of aggression against Canada, Greenland, and Cuba; and on and on it goes. And on and on it will go. 

    God’s indictment continues in the second half of verse 28: “they do not defend the just cause of the poor.”  President Trump has failed to defend the cause of the poor both internationally, with the cut to foreign aid which will result in the unnecessary deaths of thousands of the poorest and most vulnerable around the world, and domestically, with his “big, beautiful bill” which cuts benefits for the poor while providing tax breaks that provide the greatest benefit to the rich. Since Mr. Trump has been president, his net worth has skyrocketed and Mr. Musk has been offered the first trillion-dollar contract, while millions of lower income people in America and around the world find their condition becoming increasingly dire.

    After pronouncing his indictments in verse 28: “their evil dceds have no limit … they do not defend the just cause of the poor,” God asks two questions, “Should I not punish them for this?” “Should I nor avenge myself on such a nation as this?” (verse 29).  The implied answer is of course he should punish them and avenge himself on such a people as this.  That is why God is the one we should fear and dread.  The warning applies not only to the leader, in our case President Trump, but to the nation, for putting him into power and for defending his evils while opposing those who attempt to hold him accountable.

  • How did we get here?

    How did we get here?

    Note: this was written in March 2025 and so much more has happened since then, but it is still relevant.

    How did we get here, that is, to this point where we have a man like Mr. Trump elected president for the second time, with the support of most evangelicals, despite myriads of incidents and scandals that would have derailed any other candidate?  Four things come to mind, the first is that evangelicals decided on a transactional approach in which character doesn’t matter, if the candidate supports our core causes. But should evangelicals, of all people, be saying that character doesn’t matter?  Do we realize what a big shift this represents?  During the sex scandal of the Clinton years, evangelicals were insistent that character mattered.  Trump is at least as sexually immoral as Clinton ever was, yet now suddenly it doesn’t matter! With Trump’s turn towards authoritarianism, consider what it means that a person of his character has almost absolute power.  That is a very dangerous situation and we deceive ourselves if we think character doesn’t matter.

                The second explanation as to how we got here is that we believed Trump’s lies.  Or, to put it the other way around, Mr. Trump succeeded in deceiving a large portion of the American public into believing his lies.  If we look back, we can observe how he has done this.  I don’t think it is difficult to see what his tactics were (and are). He is so prolific in doing this (unfortunately) that it will take a separate blog article will expose 9 ways in which he succeeds in getting millions of Americans to believe his lies.

    Third, we got here as evangelicals because we failed to think theologically about a host of other issues besides the core issues that drove initial conservative support for Trump.  Those core issues were abortion / right to life, religious liberties, and opposition to the LGBT agenda.  But many other issues are part of the conservative agenda as well, such as opposition to any form of gun control, cutting government social programs that help the poor, taking a hard stance on immigration, and opposing climate change initiatives. And now Trump has added his own priorities, such as cutting off all federal aid that helps the poor worldwide, being anti-diversity of all kinds, being against medical and scientific research, and hiring and firing in the government based on loyalty to him rather than competency. Have we taken the time to reflect theologically on these issues to determine whether the conservative stance, especially Trump’s form of it, is truly a Biblical or Christian stance?  Or have we simply taken it as a package deal and assumed that the conservative stance is the Christian stance?  It is beyond the scope of this essay to evaluate theologically each of these issues, but if we were to do so we might find that many of these are simply American conservative values, not Christian values, and in some cases these political stances go square against Christian teaching.

    Besides all this, perhaps the most significant issue that needs to be thought through theologically is Christian Nationalism, which seeks to politically establish Christianity as the dominant moral and cultural order.  The strategy was well thought out by the crafters of Project 2025, which Trump denied knowing anything about, yet it has provided the blueprint for his barrage of executive orders.  According to CNN’s analysis, 36 of 53 first week executive orders evoked proposals outlined in project 2025’s blueprint for the next Republican president. Is the strategy of Christian Nationalism the strategy that evangelical Christians should be supporting?  Have we thought about this theologically?  It seeks to establish a kind of theocracy like that in the Old Testament, but is there anything in the New Testament that suggests this should be our goal in the present era?  Have we considered the outcomes historically when Christianity has allied itself with political power?  Has not Christianity thrived and been at its purest and best when it was not allied with political power, but was a persecuted minority? What is the eschatology behind Christian Nationalism?  Are we looking for Christ to come and establish a political kingdom of justice and righteousness (the pre-millennial view) or do we think it is our job to usher in a Christian political kingdom (the post-millennial view)?  American evangelicals have been predominately pre-millennial (remember the Left Behind series?) but now are throwing their support behind a Christian Nationalism approach that is essentially post-millennial.  Has anyone noticed that this is happening or asked whether we in fact agree with the theology behind it?  Or have we just been carried along by the conservative political winds, assuming that all this is what God wants?  

    Fourth, we got here by overlooking warning signs along the way. Before the 2016 election, the Access Hollywood tapes came out in which we heard Trump talk boastfully about groping women because someone famous like him can do whatever he wants.  This was disgusting, yet most evangelicals easily gave him a pass after he walked back the comments by saying that was just “locker room talk.”  Is this the kind of locker room talk that you would find acceptable for your son to say, or for you yourself to say as an evangelical Christian, or even for any decent person to say?  No—of course not!  That was an early warning sign, but evangelicals ignored it.  We should have taken warning when Trump went against precedence by refusing to turn over his tax returns when he was running for president in 2016.  This clearly looked like the behavior of someone who had something to hide.  Even when his tax returns were leaked and it was revealed that he, a billionaire, paid only $750 in federal taxes the year he entered the White House, much less than the average American, his supporters were unconcerned.  They easily accepted his explanation that he was just smart in how he did his taxes. But something is wrong when a billionaire is paying far less in taxes than the average American. This was a warning sign, but his supporters ignored it.

    Consider the firing of FBI director James Comey during Trump’s first term.  The FBI was investigating Trump for his attempt to interfere with the election by colluding with Russians.   Trump didn’t like it, so he fired Comey.  Firing the person who is investigating you is not proper protocol for someone who is transparent and above board.  It is what you expect from a president who has something to hide.  That should have been a warning sign.  The Democrats in the House impeached him for it, but Republicans overlooked it. Consider also the former cabinet members, who were appointed by Trump himself, but after working with him for some time and seeing what he was like, now speak harshly against him.  John Kelley was his former chief of staff for two years, and during this last election cycle came out calling Trump a fascist because of his dictatorial tendencies and for saying that he wished his military leaders would show the same deference to him that Hitler’s military showed to him.  Of course, Trump denied it, but John Kelley is known as an honorable military leader.  Is he not a credible source?  Other respected military leaders have also spoken against Trump, such as General McCrystal, retired four-star general who said that he would not be willing to work for Trump because it is important to work for people that he thinks are basically honest. Republicans have traditionally had high regard for the military, so comments like these coming from these men should have been a warning.  Yet evangelical voters ignored it.

    Bill Barr, Trump’s Attorney General in his first term, and Mike Pence, his Vice President, had been loyal to a fault in serving Trump.  Yet Barr knew there was no credible evidence to support Trump’s claim that the election was stolen, and he resigned rather than being forced to promote Trump’s narrative.  Pence refused to abdicate his duty to certify the election because he knew it was his constitutional duty, even though Trump pressured him to do it. As a result, the rioters, with Trump’s approval, shouted “Hang Pence.”  Evangelicals knew Pence to be a fellow evangelical and person of integrity and for Trump to pressure him to violate the constitution was a serious line to cross.  That was a huge warning sign.  Yet Republicans, including evangelicals, still chose Trump over Pence and others as the Republican candidate for 2024. Regarding the January 6th insurrection, we saw the footage for ourselves of what Trump said on the White House lawn and how he incited the rioters to go the capitol.  What he did was so obvious and inexcusable that 10 House Republicans joined the Democrats in impeaching him and 7 Senate Republicans voted to convict him.  In this polarized era, that is almost unheard of.  If there was any doubt as to his culpability, the January 6th hearings led by Liz Cheney, a conservative Republican, and others, provided strong evidence of his guilt.  Yet many Trump supporters wouldn’t watch or even consider the evidence, because Trump convinced them it was a witch hunt.  As Christians, aren’t we supposed to care about truth enough to look at the evidence?  When encouraging people to consider Christ, don’t we tell them to examine the evidence and see for themselves?  Is Trump above Christ that one can give support to him without even considering the evidence?  When Republicans, including most evangelicals, decided to stay with Trump after all this, a line was crossed.  It became clear that Trump had such a hold on them that literally nothing he could do, even as unthinkable as inciting an insurrection before their very eyes, could dissuade them from supporting him.  Consider the parable of the frog in boiling water.  If you put a frog in a pot of boiling water, it will instantly leap out. But if you put it in a pot filled with pleasantly tepid water and gradually heat it, the frog will remain in the water until it boils to death.   Evangelicals who are still “in the pot” with Trump must be more discerning than they have been in the past and have the wherewithal to jump out of the pot before it is too late.

  • Have we Lost our Minds?

    Note: This was written in March 2025, just three months into Trump’s presidency. There is even more to be concerned about now than there was then.

    For several years now, I have been shaking my head almost daily upon reading the news, wondering how it is that most American evangelicals have supported and continue to support Donald Trump. Although about 80% of evangelicals voted for him in each of the last three elections, I am among a minority who did not vote for him during any of those elections. I was especially concerned this time around about the consequences for American democracy if Trump won, but I must admit that I was still not prepared for the dizzying flurry of presidential actions   from day one that have ramped up my level of concern severalfold. There are so many things to be upset about all at once, which is very disconcerting, to the point that if someone were to ask me what I am upset about I would hardly know where to begin. So, that is my starting point for writing—to sort out in my own mind what it is that I am so upset about. 

                What am I so upset about?  Let me count the ways.  First, I am upset because justice is being turned upside down.  No justice has been done in holding Trump accountable for all the crimes he has committed.  Special counsel Jack Smith dropped the federal election interference case after Trump was re-elected because of the Justice Department prohibition against prosecuting a sitting president.  But did we not hear with our own ears his provocative speech on the White House lawn and see with our own eyes the mob breaking into the Capitol building in an attempt to keep the election result from being finalized?  Did we not wonder why for hours he watched and did nothing to dial this back, even after the crowd was shouting “Hang Pence”?  The related Georgia election interference case is in limbo, initially sidetracked due to allegations against the prosecutor.  But did we not hear with our own ears how Trump asked Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to find a few votes so the Georgia result could be overturned?  Then there is the classified documents case, which a pro-Trump judge dismissed, not on the weakness of the evidence, but because she said that Smith’s appointment as special counsel was unconstitutional, even though the appointment of special counsels has been the norm for decades and provides a higher degree of accountability for government leaders.  The one case where Trump was finally convicted was the Hush money case. Finally, it seemed, he was being held accountable for something!  But sentencing was delayed and after he won the election, Judge Merchan gave him a no-penalty sentence.  Again, there was no punishment for the wrongs he did.  Since Trump’s goal has been to evade justice for himself, he is also disposed to pardon other powerful men who are guilty. Meanwhile, he has fired many government officials who were just doing their job and replaced them with Trump loyalists.  Anyone who has the integrity and courage to speak out against him, like Liz Cheney or Mike Pence, have been targeted and their political careers set back or ruined.  Those who do right are punished and those who do wrong, especially Trump himself, evade punishment.  And to make things worse, the Supreme Court ruled that the president has absolute immunity for any official actions done as president. Is it not the point of a democracy that no one is above the law?  The Trump appointed Supreme Court justices did not think so.  So much for “liberty and justice for all.” 

                Second, I am upset because truth has been eroded.  According to the Washington Post factchecker team, Trump made 30,573 false or misleading claims during his first term in office.  Now in his second term, to curry favor with the President, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has done away with factchecking altogether.  Why does this curry favor with Trump?  Obviously, Trump doesn’t like being fact-checked because the facts will show that he is lying.  Here is one recent and obvious example of a Trump lie. During his recent campaign, Trump said that he had nothing to do with Project 2025.  Yet after becoming president, he appointed Russell Vought, the co-author of Project 2025 to be the director of the Office of Management and Budget. Clearly, Trump was lying when he said he had “nothing to do” with the project.  Another recent lie is that Ukraine is responsible for starting the war with Russia.  We all followed the events for ourselves and know that it was Russia that invaded Ukraine.  Since the war started, the U.S. Congress, including Republicans who are now silent, regarded Russia as the aggressor and Ukraine as the target. 

    Of course, Trump’s “Big Lie” was his repeated insistence that he had won the 2020 election, but it had been stolen from him.  In fact, it was he who was trying to steal a free and fair election. Trump’s many lawsuits challenging the election results were dismissed or defeated for lack of evidence.  Even two of the most loyal members of his administration, Bill Barr and Mike Pence, refused to support his claim to have won the election, and incurred Trump’s wrath as a result.  In the end, although Trump failed in overturning the 2020 election, he deceived enough of the American public and intimidated enough politicians to go along with his lie that he was able to be re-elected in 2024.  Now that Trump has succeeded with his “Big Lie,” he knows that his followers will believe anything he says.  For those who care about the truth, that is a disturbing and terrifying reality.

                Third, I am upset because democracy in our country is in danger.  People have been warning us about this for a while, and many thought them to be alarmists.  Now it is clear that the warnings were warranted.  Balance of power is central to democracy, but Trump is relentlessly trying to undermine it so that he can establish an authoritarian regime with himself as the dictator.  He claimed he was joking when he said that he would be a dictator on day 1, but it is now clear that he was not joking. Congress has become almost irrelevant due to his barrage of executive orders that bypass its authority, and members of Congress are intimidated into supporting even his most outrageous cabinet picks or policies because if they don’t, they know they will incur Trump’s wrath and the wrath of his supporters, who could vote them out of office next time. Regarding the Courts, Vice President Vance is already justifying in advance the idea that if Trump doesn’t agree with the courts’ rulings, they can be ignored.  The court has no ability to enforce its rulings, seeing that Trump also controls the military. Another pillar of democratic societies is a free press, but Trump has long considered the press to be the enemy of the people and has unleashed lawsuits against unfriendly media outlets to intimidate them into not speaking against him.  Trump and his supporters want to make America great again, but ironically, if he succeeds the America that results will be decidedly un-American, considering that America from its inception has been synonymous with democracy. Trump has long shown disdain for America’s democratic allies and admiration for dictators, such as Putin in Russia or Kim in North Korea, because he aspires to be like them.  He is aggressively pursuing authoritarianism and remarkably has convinced his supporters that this is a good thing, as though democracy itself was the enemy.  Democracy is not simply a tool of the liberal left—it is a system of government that has served our country well for many generations, a system of government that has been the envy of the world, a beacon for those oppressed by authoritarian governments, a place where those deprived of it elsewhere can find “liberty and justice for all.”  I am afraid that such an America is quickly disappearing, and that is a cause of great sadness and concern.

                Fourth, I am upset because of corruption and flagrant conflict of interest in government.  Trump has made a point of pardoning or dismissing the charges of corrupt politicians, such as Mayor Adams of New York City or Rod Blagojevich, former governor of Illinois, while at the same time seeking to dismantle anti-corruption safeguards in government that would hold people like him accountable.  He has also disregarded the norm of disengaging as much as possible from conflicts of interest before taking office.  Trump refused to do this in his first term and has been even bolder and more flagrant in his second, releasing a Trump cryptocurrency coin just three days before taking office. Already, it has made him hundreds of millions of dollars.  Trump also has a myriad of business interests around the world which could influence his foreign policy but has made no attempt to disentangle himself from these.  Moreover, he has appointed Elon Musk, the richest man in the world, with a wide variety of business interests, to oversee the slashing of government agencies.  Clearly, there are many potential conflicts of interest, but both Trump and Musk sweep this concern aside.  And seemingly no one can do anything about it. 

                Fifth, I am upset because the political climate engendered by Trump is giving rise to increased racism and discrimination.  He is aggressively promoting an anti-wokeness and anti-diversity campaign.  While Christians have been legitimately concerned about the excesses of the liberal left in promoting the LGBTQ+ agenda, including in the education of our young children, Trump’s campaign goes well beyond that to attack even the hint of diversity friendly policies of any kind.  By his orders, West Point Military Academy has cancelled any clubs suggestive of diversity, including the Society of Woman Engineers and the National Society of Black Engineers.  Although Trump did not cancel Black History month as rumored, the Department of Defense and Military departments are no longer promoting diversity emphasis months such as Black History Month or Women’s History Month.  After the recent plane crash in D.C., instead of bringing unity and comfort as presidents typically try to do after such disasters, Trump immediately blamed diversity hiring practices for the crash, insinuating that diversity hires (women, minorities, handicapped, etc.) were inherently less qualified or capable than white men. And recently both Elon Musk and JD Vance, without any disavowal from the president, shockingly spoke out in favor of AfD, the far-right Nazi-leaning political party in Germany. If we ignore these things, we do so to our own peril.       

                Sixth, I am upset because Trump and his billionaire friend Elon Musk are enriching themselves while showing utter disregard for the poor.  I have already addressed the first part with respect to their conflicts of interest but coupled with that is a lack of compassion for the poor. One of the most upsetting things that Trump and Musk have done early in this second term is to do away with USAID and its billions of dollars of aid that helped the poor around the world.  Among other things, it has saved more than 3 million lives a year through immunization programs and expanded education for 15 million children in conflict environments.  It is true that some funding was used to support programs that evangelicals would not approve of, but those who highlight these things never mention the many lives saved by aid programs.  To gut the whole agency with no alternative plans to help those impacted shows a shocking lack of compassion and disregard for the poor around the world.

                Seventh, I am upset because Trump’s actions are impacting many people in significant ways—federal employees, scientists, immigrants, blacks, disabled, transgendered, Palestinians, Ukrainians, Canadians, etc.  As Christians who are called upon to love our neighbors as ourselves, we should care about these impacts, whether anxiety and fear, lost jobs, lost funding, marginalization, deportation, etc. Trump seems to take pleasure in disrupting peoples’ lives and causing fear and anxiety and has conditioned his supporters to take pleasure in it too. Many of those supporters are evangelical Christians.  But are we not called upon to love our neighbors and show compassion to those who are hurting?  For the most part, middle to upper class white evangelicals have not been directly impacted in a negative way by Trump’s actions, except those who are government employees or scientists, but we should be reaching out to those who are impacted to show them the care and love of Christ. But where are the evangelicals who are talking about this or doing it?

                Eighth, I am upset because Trump’s actions are endangering the whole planet by accelerating the already critical impacts of climate change. He immediately withdrew the U.S. from the Paris climate agreement.  Meanwhile, our country remains one of the greatest emitters of carbon dioxide, behind only China, and this situation will only worsen with Trump’s prioritizing of fossil fuels over alternative energy sources. Although Trump denies the impacts of climate change, can we not see it for ourselves in the increasing intensity of climate related disasters in our own country, whether the fires in California or the hurricanes in the southeast?  Of course, we have always had fires and hurricanes, but not to the extent that the very viability of the insurance industry is challenged as it is challenged now. If we ignore climate change, the situation both in our country and the world is only going to get worse.  Moreover, we will also endanger future generations by leaving them with a precarious ecological condition that cannot be reversed, all because we would not acknowledge the climate reality and respond appropriately.  The command to love our neighbor as ourselves, when applied to future generations, requires us to be good stewards of the world God has given us so that future generations can enjoy it as well.

                Ninth, I am upset because America’s reputation around the world is being damaged.  America’s use of power and influence in the world has not always been commendable, but at least the ideals it stood for, such as freedom and justice, were ones that people around the world wished to experience for themselves.  But now, what is America to be known for around the world?  It is to be known as the country that cares only about itself, as the country with no compassion, as the country that cannot be trusted to keep its alliances or commitments, as a country that refuses to do its part to address climate change, as a bully aggressor that threatens to make Canada our 51st state and to take over Greenland, the Panama Canal, and Gaza. As one who loves my country, this is all very disheartening.

                Tenth, and still more importantly, I am upset that the reputation of Christ and his church is at stake.  American evangelicals make up a key component of Trump’s support base, with about 80% having voted for him in each of the last three elections.  Since about one quarter of Americans identify as evangelical, the evangelical vote is significant.  Although the election was not as close as anticipated, Trump still won the popular vote by only about 2.3 million.  Even if only 70% of evangelicals had voted for Trump, he would have lost the popular vote by almost 2 million.  If 50% of evangelicals had not voted for Trump, he would have lost in a landslide, by about 10 million popular votes. So, it is fair to say that evangelicals put Trump in the White House and therefore what he does and what he stands for reflects on the evangelical church. How could evangelicals support such a man as Trump in such overwhelming fashion?  Have we lost our minds?