Yesterday a host of news outlets reported the words of Former President Donald Trump at the Believers Summit in West Palm Beach, Florida where he spoke Friday night. During that speech he stated:
"Christians, get out and vote, just this time. You won't have to do it anymore. Four more years, you know what, it will be fixed, it will be fine, you won't have to vote anymore, my beautiful Christians... I love you Christians. I'm a Christian. I love you, get out, you gotta get out and vote. In four years, you don't have to vote again, we'll have it fixed so good you're not going to have to vote." (1)
If I understand Trump correctly (something I often find difficult), he is proposing a monarchy or dictatorship, as well as offering a version of political salvation. His statements, and my concerns, lead me to assert that there are three reasons Christians should reject these thoughts. The first reason comes from the Old Testament. The second, is rooted in the New Testament. And the final reason can be found in the founding of American Democracy. Let's take a look at each.
The Old Testament
One way to read the Old Testament is to look at it as a series of stories about the people of God making the wrong decision. While there are many poor choices made in the first 39 books of the Bible, the choice to be ruled by a king ranks right up at the top. I Samuel 8 records the account of Israel demanding a king to rule them and fight their battles for them. In the end, God tells Samuel to go against God’s desire and give them a king. Samuel anoints Saul and Israel's history with monarchy begins. It is not long before the king experiment goes exactly as Samuel predicts as the rulers usher in militarism, oppression, affluence and alliances with other kings. Walter Brueggemann calls this "Royal Consciousness." The royal consciousness stands in opposition to the vision for God's people given to the prophets (the Prophetic/Mosaic vision epitomized by Moses). Brueggemann posits that royal consciousness is marked by three things: affluence, oppressive social policy and static religion. Affluence keeps people happy and satisfied so they are unlikely to revolt. Oppressive social policy keeps those needed for labor, and those outside of the privialged ruling class, oppressed and kept in their place. Finally, a static religion is a stale and lifeless practice of religion that supports the king and his policies. This static religion is often dripping in language about God blessing the nation (as in Christian Nationalism) or is seen as a justification for the government and its actions. Brueggemann gives the example of Solomon as the height of royal consciousness. (2) Of Solomon Brueggemann writes,
"The entire program of Solomon now appears to have been a self-serving achievement with its sole purpose the self-securing of the king and dynasty. It consists of...a program of state- sponsored syncretism, which of course means the steady abandonment of the radicalness of the Mosaic vision." (3)
Rob Bell, makes a connection to our current moment, also citing Solomon,
"What's true of empire then is true of empires now. What we see in the Bible is that empires naturally accumulate wealth and resources. Solomon built terraces and stockpiled gold...At the height of Israel's power, while Solomon is reigning at the peak of his glory, we find the most incisive and honest critique of the empire itself. We're told the weight of his gold was 666 - which, remember, is a Jewish way of saying that somebody has so profoundly lost their way that they are now in opposition to God." (4)
It was always God that was supposed to fight Israel's battles. Starting at the Red Sea when Moses hears from God and tells the people, "The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.” (Exodus 14:14) the arrangement was set - God was the one who was fighting for the people of Israel not a King. The Battle of Jericho is another example of God fighting a battle for the people (Joshua 6). God fighting was the plan. It was never supposed to be a king.
Fast forward to our current moment and Trump is offering (and being encouraged by his supporters) to fight the people's battles and be a king. He is saying, I (in god-like fashion) will solve all of the problems and you will never need to vote again. When does someone never need to vote again? In the case of a King (or dictator)! This recent speech by Trump places voters - and in particular Christians - in the United States in the same place as the people of Israel in I Samuel. The rhetoric coming from the former President offers a choice, do we desire a king to fight for us, or God? Be careful what you choose, there is book you might be familiar with that tells the tale of what happens if you pick a king.
The New Testament
There is a tension in the gospels that runs like an undercurrent below the story of Jesus' ministry. Once you see it you can't un-see it. The undercurrent is that the people, and even the disciples, are expecting Jesus to be a political savior and deliver them from Rome. In short the people expect Jesus to be a king.
There are moments when Jesus easily could have taken the turn toward being a king but did not. In fact when those opportunities presented themselves he side stepped them all. A good example is found in John 6 in the story of Jesus feeding the 5,000. After the crowd is fed John tells us,
"After the people saw the sign Jesus performed, they began to say, 'Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.' Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself." (John 6:14-15)
In that story, Jesus, rather than seek political power, avoids becoming king by leaving the crowd behind. Another place we can see Jesus avoid being a King is when he is question by Pilate in John 18. In that passage he answers the question “Are you the king of the Jews?” by saying, “Is that your own idea, or did others talk to you about me?” (John 18:33-34). He also adds in that conversation, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place." (John 18:36).
Being a king, in the earthly sense marked by royal consciousness, was never on Jesus' radar. Jesus was not interested bringing an earthly kingdom this is why he kept telling parables about what the kingdom of God is like. Those parables are a stark contrast to affluence, oppressive social policy and static religion. In Jesus' kingdom everyone is welcome at the banquet table; weeds and wheat grow up together; and it grows like a weed called a mustard seed.
Jesus doesn't ever want to be king and doesn't see a king as a solution to the political problems presented by Rome. A king is not the answer for Jesus and it shouldn't be for us either. If to be a Christian is to be Christ-like (which is what the word means), we cannot want a king because Jesus never desired one. To desire an earthly king is anti-Christ in its orientation.
American Democracy
It should go without saying that the United States is a democracy (to be specific it is a representative republic). The founding fathers of our nation set the country up as a democracy because they did not want a king. This is a really simple argument. The United Sates was founded on the idea of not having a king and giving the power to the people. The core of any democracy is the right to vote. Asking someone to vote so that they "won't have to vote anymore" is asking someone to do something fundamentally un-American and anti-democratic.
For the above three reasons Trump's statements to those gathered at Believers Summit should be viewed as both anti-Christian and anti-democratic.
A king was never the goal.
Joel K
(1) https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-tells-christians-they-wont-have-vote-after-this-election-2024-07-27/#:~:text=Trump%20said%3A%20%22Christians%2C%20get,%3A%20%22I%20love%20you%20Christians
(2) I'm borrowing here liberally from Walter Brueggemann's excellent book The Prophetic Imagination. This book is a must read.
(3) Walter Brueggemann, The Prophetic Imagination, page 23.
(4) Rob Bell & Don Golden, Jesus Wants to Save Christians, pages 122 & 129-30. The reference here by Bell and Golden is to I Kings 10:14 and Revelation 13:18.
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