I voted for Trump. I'm very happy he won. God has indeed shown great mercy. That said...
You write, "...few realise the Centre is now the Left..." Indeed. What even fewer seem to consider, IMHO, is this: if were the 2024 election to be transported back to 1960, Trump's "conservatism" would be so far to the left of JFK--the "liberal" in that race--he (Trump) would have been dismissed as raving leftist, unworthy of running for dog-catcher, before he ever made it to the *Democratic* primary.
To wit: the radical softening of the Republican platform on Sodomite "marriage" vs. 2020, and also on abortion. And that before one even gets to the third-rail subject of Trump's Zionism, a stance also so far to the left of JFK that it makes one's head spin, or lurch backward as in the Zapruder film.
Until, based on Scripture alone, by the Holy Spirit's leading in it, the church wraps its collective head around Solomon's epic fail, in 1st Kings, and God's gracious conversion of him, as chronicled in SOS, Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes, and then also the game-changing significance of the sacking and burning of Jerusalem in 70AD, we are doomed to think only in world-approved frameworks.
Piper's point, in its context, was simply that *any* world leader who isn't Jesus Himself presents the church, His bride, with a set of sanctifying tests. One need not approve the chaotic-demonic insanity of Kamala Harris and her steal-kill-and-destroy handlers, and their open hatred of all things remotely Christian to note that prosperity and orderliness (think Pharisees, Saudi, or Singapore) present their own special challenges. I'm VERY happy he won AND we best remain on our guard.
Thanks, yes that's a good balanced perspective. I think it's quite obvious where Trump's failings lie. In a sense, that's what makes him more trustworthy than many other politicians in our present climate, because he is very open about his motives, whether biased or vain. I don't think there's much point comparing him to previous epochs because, in this context, it is possibly only someone *like him* (warts and all) who could have broken through the matrix, as more by sheer obstinacy and disdain for the conventions of the present socio-political reality than principle. Thus, we certainly can't expect a wholly "Christian" approach from the administration, but the steps that will be taken may just smash a few idols and enable a few more wall-builders (in more ways than one!) for others to come after him. We shall wait and see (and pray!).
Your hard work to help us think through these things has been essential to help us know how to stay faithful to Christ and fight for the common good. Press on!
Immediately following the election, a swath of Black Americans (biblically orthodox Christian ones included, too) received a mass text alerting them that a van would pick them up at 7 AM in the morning to take them back to the cotton plantation in light of Trump’s reelection. That too is just one derivative of Trump 2.0. In a country with a history like America, an Obama election and a Trump reelection represent opposite things; one can equal dancing in the street, while the other result in appropriate lament. But it does take a little thinking critically about race in this country to recognize this—so I understand the miss. Dare I say, a little intersectionality is required to parse the complexity. This article expressed to me how both across the pond and on American soil, whiteness affords a privilege of selective justice that many of us with darker skin, or immigrant status cannot afford. And even if Trump 2.0 amounts to more than just that—it certainly means no less. This article sophisticatedly adjudicate the consciences of Christians by simply telling them that they can be proud of who they voted for because of his Christian adjacency.
Thanks for your pushback. It's helpful to hear your perspective. There are, of course, a few questions raised by your comments.
First, obviously Trump and his administration would not support such actions, so the question is: do you think the unkind people who sent that mass txt are likely to be made more unkind by Trump's election? Had Kamala been elected would they have been sanctified or more likely made more bitter?
Second, yes, the US context is rife with racial tension and this is not irrelevant, but I actually think, in the long run, Trump will help this by *removing* the intersectional toxins which exacerbate the problems. Critical Race Theory is utter garbage with a proven track record of only leading to far worse relations between different ethnicities rather than reconciliation. It only converts those already predisposed to critical theory (a subset of postmodernism). The Gospel is the only balm that can heal those wounds. Racism (e.g. using "whiteness" as a perennially pejorative term) neither atones for past racism nor sanctifies present racism.
I wrote about this issue in a (much shorter) article some time back, entitled "The Gospel of Race". I hope you do not see it through the CT lens as mere "whitesplaining" (another obviously racist term), but I fear you might just do so given your comments above. But I hope and pray you might surprise me...
I voted for Trump. I'm very happy he won. God has indeed shown great mercy. That said...
You write, "...few realise the Centre is now the Left..." Indeed. What even fewer seem to consider, IMHO, is this: if were the 2024 election to be transported back to 1960, Trump's "conservatism" would be so far to the left of JFK--the "liberal" in that race--he (Trump) would have been dismissed as raving leftist, unworthy of running for dog-catcher, before he ever made it to the *Democratic* primary.
To wit: the radical softening of the Republican platform on Sodomite "marriage" vs. 2020, and also on abortion. And that before one even gets to the third-rail subject of Trump's Zionism, a stance also so far to the left of JFK that it makes one's head spin, or lurch backward as in the Zapruder film.
Until, based on Scripture alone, by the Holy Spirit's leading in it, the church wraps its collective head around Solomon's epic fail, in 1st Kings, and God's gracious conversion of him, as chronicled in SOS, Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes, and then also the game-changing significance of the sacking and burning of Jerusalem in 70AD, we are doomed to think only in world-approved frameworks.
Piper's point, in its context, was simply that *any* world leader who isn't Jesus Himself presents the church, His bride, with a set of sanctifying tests. One need not approve the chaotic-demonic insanity of Kamala Harris and her steal-kill-and-destroy handlers, and their open hatred of all things remotely Christian to note that prosperity and orderliness (think Pharisees, Saudi, or Singapore) present their own special challenges. I'm VERY happy he won AND we best remain on our guard.
Thanks, yes that's a good balanced perspective. I think it's quite obvious where Trump's failings lie. In a sense, that's what makes him more trustworthy than many other politicians in our present climate, because he is very open about his motives, whether biased or vain. I don't think there's much point comparing him to previous epochs because, in this context, it is possibly only someone *like him* (warts and all) who could have broken through the matrix, as more by sheer obstinacy and disdain for the conventions of the present socio-political reality than principle. Thus, we certainly can't expect a wholly "Christian" approach from the administration, but the steps that will be taken may just smash a few idols and enable a few more wall-builders (in more ways than one!) for others to come after him. We shall wait and see (and pray!).
Your hard work to help us think through these things has been essential to help us know how to stay faithful to Christ and fight for the common good. Press on!
Thankyou for the encouragement! Glad you've found it helpful. May each of us remain steadfast, keeping on pressing on in faith, hope, and love.
Immediately following the election, a swath of Black Americans (biblically orthodox Christian ones included, too) received a mass text alerting them that a van would pick them up at 7 AM in the morning to take them back to the cotton plantation in light of Trump’s reelection. That too is just one derivative of Trump 2.0. In a country with a history like America, an Obama election and a Trump reelection represent opposite things; one can equal dancing in the street, while the other result in appropriate lament. But it does take a little thinking critically about race in this country to recognize this—so I understand the miss. Dare I say, a little intersectionality is required to parse the complexity. This article expressed to me how both across the pond and on American soil, whiteness affords a privilege of selective justice that many of us with darker skin, or immigrant status cannot afford. And even if Trump 2.0 amounts to more than just that—it certainly means no less. This article sophisticatedly adjudicate the consciences of Christians by simply telling them that they can be proud of who they voted for because of his Christian adjacency.
Thanks for your pushback. It's helpful to hear your perspective. There are, of course, a few questions raised by your comments.
First, obviously Trump and his administration would not support such actions, so the question is: do you think the unkind people who sent that mass txt are likely to be made more unkind by Trump's election? Had Kamala been elected would they have been sanctified or more likely made more bitter?
Second, yes, the US context is rife with racial tension and this is not irrelevant, but I actually think, in the long run, Trump will help this by *removing* the intersectional toxins which exacerbate the problems. Critical Race Theory is utter garbage with a proven track record of only leading to far worse relations between different ethnicities rather than reconciliation. It only converts those already predisposed to critical theory (a subset of postmodernism). The Gospel is the only balm that can heal those wounds. Racism (e.g. using "whiteness" as a perennially pejorative term) neither atones for past racism nor sanctifies present racism.
I wrote about this issue in a (much shorter) article some time back, entitled "The Gospel of Race". I hope you do not see it through the CT lens as mere "whitesplaining" (another obviously racist term), but I fear you might just do so given your comments above. But I hope and pray you might surprise me...
https://theologyeverywhere.org/2022/04/18/the-gospel-of-race/