Why Do Christians Support Trump?

For many, the biggest mystery of the 21st century thus far is why do so many evangelical Christians support Trump for President. It's a mystery because there are too many, all too obvious contradictions between the Christian life and Trump's life and the policies he supports.

On the other hand, some want to use that alliance to see what it says about evangelical Christians and thus understand why they support Trump so. One of those who use that alliance to examine evangelical Christians is a liberal Christian commentator John Pavlovitz. Many of Pavlovitz's works come from his blog called Suff That Needs To Be Said. And much of his writings there fit the title of the blog..

This time, however, his comments are on his YouTube channel as he discusses 5 reasons why evangelical Christians support Trump's Presidency (click here for the podcast). His reasons come from the perspective of one who sees  blatant contradictions between Trump policies and person with the Christian faith.

The 5 reasons listed and described by Pavlovitz are as follows:  A Bad God Story, Daddy Issues, Pro-life lie, White Supremacy, and Capitalism.

By a bad God Story, Pavlovitz, though he doesn't say it in the best way, say that the God of evangelical Christians is made in their own image. Such a god is a white, cisgendered, heterosexual, Republican male. And it isn't that my fellow evangelicals believe that about God, but they certain believe that their way of life and politics comes from God. And in the end, their politics show preference to white, politically conservative, heterosexual males while opposing nonwhites, those from the LGBT community, and liberals.

By Daddy Issues, Pavlovitz is describing how evangelical Trump supporters have passionately embraced authoritarianism. And since authoritarians love heroes, and Trump has paid lip service to many of political positions with which Trump's evangelical base supports, they not only support Trump's Presidency, they become obedient believers in Trump himself while viewing all opposition to Trump as evil.

By the Pro-life lie, Pavlovitz refers to the many pro life positions Trump fails to embrace. That is tricky to say because what is defined as pro life depends on whether one has reduced pro life to the abortion issue. Pavlovitz is specific here in stating that Trump is not pro life toward migrant workers, those who are sick, those who are elderly, the poor, LGBT couples, and so forth. And here, Pavlovitz is more than correct.

However, Trump is seen by evangelical Christians as a pro life champion because he is doing the necessary work to make abortions illegal. That necessary work is that of appoint pro life judges.  But calling Trump pro life because of that  shows how evangelicals have reduced what it means to be pro life to the abortion issue.

By White Supremacy, Pavlovitz views evangelical Christians as promoting white supremacy. But I don't think that is true to the degree that Pavlovitz says it is today. That will be discussed later.

By Capitalism, Pavlovitz is saying that the predominant economic ideology of evangelical Christians is Capitalism, something to which Trump promotes.

One of the overall criticisms that Pavlovitz rightly lays at the feet of evangelical Christians is their black-white binary view of the world.  That is where, in the wods of Anakin Skywalker from episode 3 apply today: 'you are either with me or against me.' That many of my fellow evangelical Christians see the world in black-white terms of themselves as being good and their critics and opponents as being evil. And Pavlovitz rightly complains about that. At the same time, Pavlovitz portrays evangelical supporters of Trump in the same way. For Pavlovitz seems to be saying that these supporters of Trump are as evil as how his supporters see their own opponents as well as opponents of Trump. And though Pavlovitz has some good insights into the evangelical supporters of Trump, his double standard here is his down fall.

Evangelical Christianity suffers from two main flaws: misplaced loyalties and authoritarianism. Those misplaced loyalties are not necessarily misplaced because they are always the wrong things to be loyal to, but because of the degree of loyalty that is being placed with those things. Of course loyalty to race is wrong but that doesn't call for disloyalty. But loyalty to one's nation, capitalism and their romantic view of the past all show a loyalty that causes many evangelical Christians to compromise Biblical standards by demonstrating too much loyalty to either nation, economic ideology, and a delusion about the past.

Unfortunately, the conservative Christian's penchant for authoritarianism is strongly demonstrated by more than just their support for Trump.  That embracing of authoritarianism  results inthe constant pursuit of hierarchical relationships between groups of people. In other words, we evangelical Christians often don't know when to turn off the authoritarian switch  and simply live with others as equals. We all too often are looking to gain the upper hand over others in society. And Trump supports that notion.

But for all of our faults, even evangelical Christians who support Trump have much to offer society. But the world will never see that when it sees these Christians as evil just as these Christians see those outside of their circle as having nothing to offer. Thus, we see that evangelical Christians have no monopoly on having a black-white, binary view of the world.