Trump Bible Photo-Op: A Blasphemy to Denounce, But Also a Brutal Truth to Face
By: Ken Wilson
Tags: White Supremacy, Religion, Equality, Culture, Politics

Trump Bible Photo-Op: A Blasphemy to Denounce, But Also a Brutal Truth to Face Ken Wilson Follow Jun 4 · 4 min read

I’m so grateful for the statements from religious leaders denouncing the recent photo op by the scapegoater in chief. But justified anger at 45 can prevent us facing the more painful truth: the man has a highly refined brain-stem and knows what he’s doing — conjuring powerful forces, religious forces that brought him to power.

Brutal Facts

According to the Pew Research Center, majorities in the largest blocs of religious voters: Evangelical, Catholic, Mainline Protestant, voted him into power in 2016. His support was positively correlated with church attendance. The only bloc of Christian voters who did not support him were people of color. And don’t forget that “Mainline Protestants,” the only major sector that is characterized as “liberal” swung for Trump by a thin majority. And white mainliners gave him what in a presidential race is considered a landslide victory: 57%. White people are the largest demographic in Christian churches and majorities of white people in churches like him. Those are the brutal facts.

Brutal Truths

Behind those brutal facts are some brutal truths. White Supremacy is imbedded in the culture of many Christian churches, including those that have denominational statements denouncing racism. Humans are culture-shaped creatures, and the culture of many churches harbors and coddles White Supremacy. How? By not confronting it and exorcising it. In many congregations, it’s not easy to say, out loud, “How is it possible that we elevated one who so obviously trucks in White Supremacy to power? Why didn’t his racism bother us more?” A statement like this could easily be denounced as brazenly political and out of bounds in church. That’s an example of the power of culture — in this case to silence open objection.

It’s a bear market for Christianity in most sectors as religious affiliations loosen. Shrinking religious institutions become fearful and orient even more toward self-preservation. Leaders in these institutions have a tendency to focus on retaining their share of a shrinking pie. And leaders that resist this tendency (and there are many) feel the push back from cultures they seek to change.

Facing Them Hurts

It’s really hard to face brutal truths. But it’s necessary. When I was a pastor in an evangelical denomination experiencing low-level discomfort with the thought that the traditional policies on sexuality and gender might be harming many people, I could live with the discomfort. But then a brutal understanding of my reality presented itself to my awareness. It skewered me.

First a little context. I was by that time an experienced pastor. And I had adjusted my strict approach to remarriage after divorce when I understood that denying remarriage after divorce was often harmful to people. I could see the harm. I realized that my interpretations of Scripture must be wrong because they failed the “love does not harm the neighbor” test. Fair enough. But then the brutal truth: I realized I wasn’t yet compelled to face the same reality with respect to LGBTQ people because it is possible to have a successful church without them, whereas it is nearly impossible to have a successful church without divorced and remarried people.

If you don’t have a stake in the church enterprise, I can appreciate how this would be obvious to you. But I can assure you, it was not obvious to me. Pastors like to be successful and are reluctant to rock the boat if it could threaten their success. Because pastors are human beings. And the sudden appearance of my brutal truth — that fear, not faithfulness was holding me back — felt like a Sinai lightning bolt. Excuse my language, but my brutal truth meant I was a chicken-shit, willing to tolerate harming others to save my own security. I never would have known otherwise. And had I not undergone the pain of that realization, I would be in bondage to the mob — the ruling power of the many — still.

No, I’m not going to offer solutions to the problem of White Supremacy hiding out in the culture of Christian churches. Because the solutions won’t be attempted without seeing the problem. Confronting the brutal reality is the bottleneck problem and the only portal to any real solutions. For that, we may need to stare at that ugly photograph and ask ourselves: why is it working for him?

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