This tangential post is in English since, well, it's obvious.
Living in Scandinavia is interesting. One reason is that everybody has strong opinions on America and American politics even though extremely few will be affected by them or even have an understanding of the American system/culture.
Another is that socialism is considered normal and good, with varying degrees of it having been the de facto political system for a looong time.
Another one is that everybody, more or less, really really dislikes Trump. Obviously, the information given through media and the (curated) Internet doesn't give the full picture of reality. Every level headed individual over here would/should have to question how it is that the media give us a 100% negative picture of the man. I mean, that is statistically impossible. Surely, there is something not demonically influenced that Trump has done...no? Nothing? Come on...
So this is a post about the question "Can you be a Christian and still support Trump?".
(For the record, I don't support him. At all.)
The short answer to the question is obviously "yes". To be a Christian is to say "yes" to Jesus, not the American president no matter who it is.
But it is a little more complicated than that. To be a Christian is to be a follower of Christ, to be Christ-like, and that makes things a little more difficult. To be like Christ means that all Christians should, indeed must, strive to become more and more like Him...in every area of their lives. This is why the Church follows in the example of Paul and the other Biblical authors and give guidelines, rules and laws about what a life with Christ looks like.
It's just silly to say that "Follow Jesus!" is enough for anyone trying to be a Christian. Plenty of lunatics have done that, in their own words, and been very far from being a Christian. So, it stands to reason that to be a Christian is to be Christ-like and that needs a definition and that the Church is the God given institution for that purpose (among others).
This is basic stuff.
The definition of being Christ-like is thus multi-faceted. At base, it means that one must know, understand and follow the instructions and example of Jesus. Further on, it means that the life of God/Jesus should be welcomed into one's heart and transform what once was there into something new. This is called "being born again". Someone's old self dies and gets a new God given self in return. Christians sometimes calls this "being washed in the blood", but never mind that now. Just think baptism, repentance and faith and you're good.
This spiritual new person/self is a baby that needs to grow and learn, just like biological, physical babies need to grow. This new person should learn how to imitate Jesus and that usually involves reading the Bible, attending church, praying and so on.
But sometimes we put Jesus second (or third) and start to imitate or follow or agree with another person more. Here are a few examples of people who attract large followings and thus have a lot of followers, real and social-media versions:
- the Kardashians
- Obama
- Trump
- Malala
- Joel Olsteen
- the Pope
- Drake
- one of those famous youtube/Instagram people I don't know about
When a person follows these people, or other people, or themselves, to a defining degree they cease to seek and follow and imitate Christ and, in technical terms, become idol-followers/worshippers. That doesn't mean that they start sacrificing goats but that something/-body else but Christ becomes their guiding light. True, lots of people have been influenced by Jesus and thus there is some of Jesus in them that is worth adapting. For example, both Obama and Trump have traits or behaviors that would be acceptable to Jesus and that could have been inspired by the example of Jesus. In Obama we see a man caring for his family and staying faithful to his wife. In Trump, we see a man who believes in the dignity of the unborn human person.
In other words, there is a little (or a lot) of Jesus "stuff" in most people but to be a Christian means to follow and understand and imitate the real Biblical Jesus as best we can. Now, when you agree with certain ideas or behaviors or thoughts or agendas that run counter to Jesus you put yourself in a tricky place. In other words, where do you draw the line between what Jesus said/did/likes and what a person said/did/liked? How much darkness in a person that you imitate/follow can a Christian support and still be a Christian?
This is where your church comes in. Believe it or not, you (and I) are not the arbiters of truth. Our church is. Heck, the Bible says that we are not even our own as Christians, so why should we expect to be able to retain the right to determine reality and/or truth about Christ for ourselves?
Thus, where does your church draw the line of what is acceptable and what is not? Does your church say that you can be a Christian and agree with everything Trump or Obama says/does? Does your church say that you can vote for Trump's business plan for the USA but dislike a lot of the other stuff he proposes and still be a Christian? What about Obama's support of Planned Parenthood? Does your church consider that a no-go zone or is it OK and you can still be a Jesus-imitator?
In other words, the question is both easy and hard. Yes, you can be a Christian if you support Trump...to a certain degree. But "no", my church currently has high moral and ethical standards that stop me from supporting lots of Trumps statements and behaviors if I want to consider myself a Christian, as well as lots of Obamas or Bush's or Clinton's statements and behaviors...and so on. If I want to stay true to my church's definition of what it means to be a Christian I do best in staying close to the Bible's depiction of Jesus and take it from there. We all do.
Living in Scandinavia is interesting. One reason is that everybody has strong opinions on America and American politics even though extremely few will be affected by them or even have an understanding of the American system/culture.
Another is that socialism is considered normal and good, with varying degrees of it having been the de facto political system for a looong time.
Another one is that everybody, more or less, really really dislikes Trump. Obviously, the information given through media and the (curated) Internet doesn't give the full picture of reality. Every level headed individual over here would/should have to question how it is that the media give us a 100% negative picture of the man. I mean, that is statistically impossible. Surely, there is something not demonically influenced that Trump has done...no? Nothing? Come on...
So this is a post about the question "Can you be a Christian and still support Trump?".
(For the record, I don't support him. At all.)
The short answer to the question is obviously "yes". To be a Christian is to say "yes" to Jesus, not the American president no matter who it is.
But it is a little more complicated than that. To be a Christian is to be a follower of Christ, to be Christ-like, and that makes things a little more difficult. To be like Christ means that all Christians should, indeed must, strive to become more and more like Him...in every area of their lives. This is why the Church follows in the example of Paul and the other Biblical authors and give guidelines, rules and laws about what a life with Christ looks like.
It's just silly to say that "Follow Jesus!" is enough for anyone trying to be a Christian. Plenty of lunatics have done that, in their own words, and been very far from being a Christian. So, it stands to reason that to be a Christian is to be Christ-like and that needs a definition and that the Church is the God given institution for that purpose (among others).
This is basic stuff.
The definition of being Christ-like is thus multi-faceted. At base, it means that one must know, understand and follow the instructions and example of Jesus. Further on, it means that the life of God/Jesus should be welcomed into one's heart and transform what once was there into something new. This is called "being born again". Someone's old self dies and gets a new God given self in return. Christians sometimes calls this "being washed in the blood", but never mind that now. Just think baptism, repentance and faith and you're good.
This spiritual new person/self is a baby that needs to grow and learn, just like biological, physical babies need to grow. This new person should learn how to imitate Jesus and that usually involves reading the Bible, attending church, praying and so on.
But sometimes we put Jesus second (or third) and start to imitate or follow or agree with another person more. Here are a few examples of people who attract large followings and thus have a lot of followers, real and social-media versions:
- the Kardashians
- Obama
- Trump
- Malala
- Joel Olsteen
- the Pope
- Drake
- one of those famous youtube/Instagram people I don't know about
When a person follows these people, or other people, or themselves, to a defining degree they cease to seek and follow and imitate Christ and, in technical terms, become idol-followers/worshippers. That doesn't mean that they start sacrificing goats but that something/-body else but Christ becomes their guiding light. True, lots of people have been influenced by Jesus and thus there is some of Jesus in them that is worth adapting. For example, both Obama and Trump have traits or behaviors that would be acceptable to Jesus and that could have been inspired by the example of Jesus. In Obama we see a man caring for his family and staying faithful to his wife. In Trump, we see a man who believes in the dignity of the unborn human person.
In other words, there is a little (or a lot) of Jesus "stuff" in most people but to be a Christian means to follow and understand and imitate the real Biblical Jesus as best we can. Now, when you agree with certain ideas or behaviors or thoughts or agendas that run counter to Jesus you put yourself in a tricky place. In other words, where do you draw the line between what Jesus said/did/likes and what a person said/did/liked? How much darkness in a person that you imitate/follow can a Christian support and still be a Christian?
This is where your church comes in. Believe it or not, you (and I) are not the arbiters of truth. Our church is. Heck, the Bible says that we are not even our own as Christians, so why should we expect to be able to retain the right to determine reality and/or truth about Christ for ourselves?
Thus, where does your church draw the line of what is acceptable and what is not? Does your church say that you can be a Christian and agree with everything Trump or Obama says/does? Does your church say that you can vote for Trump's business plan for the USA but dislike a lot of the other stuff he proposes and still be a Christian? What about Obama's support of Planned Parenthood? Does your church consider that a no-go zone or is it OK and you can still be a Jesus-imitator?
In other words, the question is both easy and hard. Yes, you can be a Christian if you support Trump...to a certain degree. But "no", my church currently has high moral and ethical standards that stop me from supporting lots of Trumps statements and behaviors if I want to consider myself a Christian, as well as lots of Obamas or Bush's or Clinton's statements and behaviors...and so on. If I want to stay true to my church's definition of what it means to be a Christian I do best in staying close to the Bible's depiction of Jesus and take it from there. We all do.
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