Barry Goldwater said this in November 1994:
“Mark my word, if and when these preachers get control of the [Republican] party, and they’re sure trying to do so, it’s going to be a terrible damn problem. Frankly, these people frighten me. Politics and governing demand compromise. But these Christians believe they are acting in the name of God, so they can’t and won’t compromise. I know, I’ve tried to deal with them.”
No matter what you think of Mr. Goldwater, you’ll have to admit he nailed this one!
Now, 25 years after this statement was made, “these preachers” (the evangelical leadership) have taken control of the Republican Party, and we’re witnessing every day that it’s “a terrible damn problem.” While 800,000 hard-working Americans have now gone a whole month without paychecks and charities are pitching in to feed our public servants, an unknown number of migrant families (thousands) have been separated and their children held in detention, the United States continues to lead the world in gun deaths every year, Russia chose our last “president” and the recipient of those favors may have been in cahoots with those granting the favors, our national security is being threatened on every level, the GOP cares about none of these things. Or at least they don’t care enough to take action and pass legislation that would change the laws and reverse at least some of the damage being done.
Others may continue to remind them of the dire state of emergency our country faces, but their Teflon shells shed those reminders like rain water, while they continue parroting their favorite talking points: stop abortion, denounce LGBTQ people, and build a wall (fence/barrier/whatever) on our southern border. Oh, and take the country back to the good ol’ days when white men were in charge and everyone else knew their places. I think that pretty much sums it up.
Since the Republican Party has become synonymous with the Far Right/Christian Right (and sadly, the Alt Right)/evangelical establishment, it’s necessary to examine that group to gain any understanding of the state of our union. Is the Christian Right a religious affiliation or a political movement? Good question. Let’s think about it.
For starters, we can eliminate the idea that this movement is in any way Christian. A Christian is one who vows to follow the teachings of Jesus, to the best of his/her ability. Jesus never mentions homosexuality, even though homosexual people existed in the ancient world, long before Jesus’ time. He just never says a word about it. Paul mentions it and the writer of Leviticus mentions it, but Jesus is silent on the subject. Another thing Jesus never mentions is abortion. On the other hand, Jesus does say a great deal about immigrants, but what he says is the opposite of what today’s Republicans are saying. It’s enough to make one wonder if these self-identified “Christians” have ever read the New Testament or know anything at all about their professed Leader.
Here are a few things Jesus said about how to treat “the stranger” among you (a common biblical term for non-native born residents of a country). First is a familiar, often-quoted passage from Matthew 25, although the context of the passage may be somewhat less familiar. Verses 31-46 of that chapter are labeled “The Judgment of the Nations” and talk about humans giving account to God for their actions on earth. I don’t claim to know much about that subject, but the context clearly says those who do the following things will find favor in God’s eyes and those who don’t will not find favor. In fact, the verses immediately preceding the ones I’m about to quote talk about separating sheep from goats, and the passage clearly states that the criteria for making that division are humans’ treatment of their fellow humans.
35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’ 37 Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? 38 And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? 39 And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?’ 40 And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family,[a] you did it to me.’ 41 Then he will say to those at his left hand, ‘You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; 42 for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ 44 Then they also will answer, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?’ 45 Then he will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’
There’s plenty of room for discussion here about what’s literal and what’s not literal, but one thing is crystal clear: what separates human beings into sheep and goats, good and bad, righteous and unrighteous–in Jesus’ view–is how we treat those less fortunate than ourselves. Full stop.
And for those who prefer Leviticus, here’s another passage:
“When a stranger sojourns with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong. You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God” (Leviticus 19:33-34).
Now let’s look at how these so-called Jesus followers are measuring up to the standards set by the text they claim to believe and live by. They cheer a “president” who mocks a disabled reporter and dishonors a Gold Star Family. They condone imprisoning thousands of children (according to this week’s reporting, far more than we previously knew about), they condone holding 800,000 federal workers hostage to the demands of their ill-chosen “president,” they shrug their shoulders at the thousands of gun deaths reported every year, they turn a collective blind eye to those still suffering from natural disasters without adequate government assistance, they increasingly revert to racial attitudes of our country’s shameful past, and those are just the most egregious examples.
Isn’t that interesting? If these “Christians” didn’t get their attitudes from Jesus, and they clearly didn’t, from whom did they get them? Evangelicals have for decades been following authoritarian figures. Thinking for oneself is discouraged; accepting as gospel the words and interpretations of their esteemed leaders is the only way to avoid being shunned or ostracized. Such leaders as Charles “Chuck” Colson (Watergate criminal turned evangelical guru), Jerry Falwell Sr., Jerry Falwell Jr., Franklin Graham, Tony Perkins, James Dobson, et al. wield full mind control over their followers. These guys rely on cherry-picked Bible verses for their stances on issues and rebuff any attempt at disagreement, conversation, or placing the cherry-picked verses into proper historical context.
The people who willingly accept the edicts of these authoritarian leaders are the ones who have always accepted the words of their own authoritarian local pastors, many of whom are not accountable to boards of church ruling elders but who simply lead by edict in their small communities, taking their marching orders from their nationally recognized religious leaders. These are also the same people who were taught to accept the authority of the Bible as a literal book, penned by the hand of God and dropped from heaven fully edited. Never mind what inconsistencies they may become ensnared in as a result of this untenable position; these biblical literalists accept the authority of the Bible because God told them so in the Bible. No, that’s not a typo.
What happens when people so oriented hear from their authoritarian leaders that Donald J. Trump is God’s hand-picked choice for president, a prophet ordained for this time in history? I guess you already know the answer to that one. Never mind that the previous president gave a clear statement of his Christian faith and led a life much more in keeping with the standards evangelicals profess to adhere to. Nah, he’s not one of us! “He’s a Muslim, a danger to our country,” they repeat in unison as their leaders dictate. Then along comes this person whose verbal professions and lifestyle have nothing in common with their professed beliefs, but who their authoritarian leaders tell them will advance their pet causes which they believe are ordained of God even though God says little or nothing about them, and they’re cheering and chanting for the Messiah.
Fiction writers would be challenged to match today’s headlines!
Not only is this movement not Christian, it’s not conservative either, although that’s what the members like to call themselves. “Conservatism” is a term that defies concise definition, but historically it has been applied to those who value and strive to preserve (conserve) the best values of the past. Today’s “conservatives” are returning to the worst values and practices of the darkest parts of our country’s history.
Returning to Senator Goldwater’s assessment, the core problem here–and the reason our Republican-led government is stalled–is the refusal to compromise. Each of us as individuals has a few bedrock principles which are so deeply ingrained in our souls that we are not willing to consider compromise on those values. As a nation, we also should have a few of those defining values; but they should not include treating certain people as less than human and refusing those people equal rights. And if they do, we don’t get to call ourselves a Christian nation. And the party most espousing the mistreatment of certain people groups does not get to call itself conservative or the family values party.
I enthusiastically agree with Senator Goldwater that “Politics and government demand compromise.” The compromise, however, can’t be accomplished by conceding core values; it has to be brought about through intelligent dialog on the methods by which we uphold and live out those values. For example, everyone I know–Republican and Democrat, liberal and conservative–believes our borders need to be secured and that we must monitor what kinds of people are allowed to enter and take up residence in our country. Border security is an issue on which we should not compromise; but there is much room for conversation, research, and compromise on the best way to achieve secure borders. Authoritarians readily accept their leader’s edict that only a very large wall will do. More critical thinkers listen to research and facts which show that a wall will accomplish little or nothing and that the real problems are occurring at places other than the southern border and therefore require different solutions.
Two obstacles keep our government from moving forward on border security. One is the black-white fallacy so commonly a part of today’s dialog. I’m not talking here about race but about the logical fallacy which draws a sharp divide between two extremes and considers no other options. Those citizens who oppose building a stupid, expensive wall are accused of wanting open borders and caring nothing about national security. Um, no, we’re just willing to listen to the facts which support other methods of achieving the security we ALL want.
The other obstacle that has brought us into the quagmire in which we now live is the authoritarian thinking through which millions of minds are controlled by a few powerful voices, voices which now are submitting themselves and lending extreme and dangerous power to the one voice of Donald Trump. There are dire consequences for rejecting the group think and holding a divergent opinion: Exclusion from the tribe threatens our basic human need to belong to and be esteemed within a community. And when one has been convinced that God has chosen one’s tribe–however shaky the evidence on which that premise is based–any door to dialog and compromise is slammed shut and dead-bolted.
Anyone who has attempted to reason with a Trump supporter has learned the painful lesson that reason doesn’t work. Changing supporters’ minds would require citing a more persuasive authority, and no such being exists, because God will trump your authority, and they have God in their own little box from which there is no escape. You can’t argue with God.