During the recent Super Bowl, among the advertisements for beer, crunchy snacks and automobiles (with each ad costing millions of dollars) was one that promoted Christianity. The commercial featured a series of images of groups and individuals demonstrating compassion and helping others in need. The background music was Johnny Cash’s cover of “Personal Jesus.”
As the ad went on, words flashed across the screen with the message that, “He (Jesus) gets us.” In the context of what is happening to our nation, an important question is do we “get” him?
Recently, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to establish a White House Faith Office. The stated goal of this project is to support cooperation between the federal government and faith-based organizations in the promotion of “American values.”
To the extent possible, the U.S. government would make sure that religious organizations are not disadvantaged as they compete for public funding. The idea here is that religious organizations do many good things including providing essential aid to the world’s most disadvantaged communities.
At the forefront of providing on-the-ground assistance over the years have been organizations funded through USAID. In the first week of his second presidency, Trump has chosen to shutter this agency. The administration’s stated reason for closing USAID was justified, at least in part, by very specific yet false claims made by Elon Musk and the president.
One of the more outrageous statements involved an assertion that American taxpayers were spending $50 million on condoms for members of Hamas. Musk, but not Trump, walked back this claim yet never explained why he would say something so preposterous in the first place.
Most of what USAID spends money on is for the provision of clean water, food, education, medical care, job skills training and medication to the disadvantaged.
At first look it would seem strange that an administration that makes noise about setting up a “White House Faith Office” and promises to lead the fight against discrimination against Christians would abruptly pull the rug out from underneath charitable organizations. But then consider who is in charge.
Donald Trump, Elon Musk, J.D. Vance, Mike Johnson and many like them are Christians in the same way that someone consuming beef burgers every day is a vegetarian. Up until several years ago, the president led the Trump Foundation. It became the focus of legal investigations that resulted in millions of dollars in fines, admissions of self-dealing and ultimate dissolution.
The president does donate millions each year to charities, with the overwhelming amount of it in the form of tax write-offs for land he cannot develop. Elon Musk makes more profit in one day than he gives to charities in a year. And like Trump, when he does give, it generally benefits his family and businesses. These are not generous men.
The United States is a country of many religions, and even those who identify as Christian have a wide range of beliefs. For example, the leader of the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Francis, said that evolution and the Big Bang Theory are real and that “God is not a magician with a magic wand.” The pope also has been outspoken in repeated urgent calls for action to address global human-driven climate change.
Faith leaders across the spectrum have expressed concern about the path the United States has embarked on related to mass deportation. Trump’s “border czar ” Tom Homan reacted to the pope’s concerns by essentially telling the pontiff to stay in his own lane.
President Trump had a similar reaction when the Episcopal bishop of Washington encouraged him to show compassion for migrants and members of the LGBT community. The president reacted by demanding an apology and criticizing the bishop.
Exhibiting a long history of self-centeredness and greed (America First seems to mean “Me First”), perhaps POTUS could redeem himself by embodying a spirit of forgiveness. He could ignore slights from others and not harbor grudges. Have we seen any evidence of this Christ-like quality? Do we witness from him any signs of compassion, sincerity, humility, fidelity or gentleness?
These are not qualities that appeal to the MAGA base. The Jesus of the New Testament is too weak and too woke. He really doesn’t fit in with the president’s plan.
It seems more and more that Trump and his closest administration members are all in when it comes to Christianity, with the exception of the main things that Jesus said and represents. Do they really “get him?”
Edward M. Dowd lives in Greenfield.