A Single Christian Woman - Open Memoir - Ruminating on Evangelicals at the Crossroads: Will We Pass The Trump Test?

 

I believe Joe Biden is our best choice for President at this time, for a reason. We need his experience, his background and his accumulated knowledge. We need his acceptance that to do the right job for America he must welcome all people who sought a new life who have a variety of backgrounds. He does not care. He does not shirk from reckoning that even though He is a Christian, he knows that in leading in the separation of the church and state, that he must support the Constitution as written. I believe he is a good man and I have watched as he encountered emotional distress for those who have been or are in pain. He emulates Jesus in his constant concern and respect, no matter who or what they are or believe. This, then, it what I believe should be the role of the President of the United States. That, in itself, as an officer for the Constitution, his loyalty is to the nation first and not to his religion as defined here on earth...

I woke up at 1:30 AM, this morning remembering only that I had dreamed that I should go back to the book I had started: Evangelicals at the Crossroads: Will We Pass The Trump Test?

This book was published in 2020. I hadn't realized that as I began to read. It is presented in the form of a debate, perhaps for the individuals to whom the book is addressed, or, for himself, as well. What is then presented is a back and forth discussion on issues and, of course, primarily the past president. I had read over 40 pages, but, since I had realized that it was written much earlier, I decided to turn to the back chapters... where you would normally find some type of conclusion in non-fiction books.

I read a little, my mind wandering away from the book, finding myself also going back and forth in my thinking... It seems important that, for the majority of my life, I had little or no involvement with politics. It seemed to me I was living my priorities at that time. I worked, I participated in church in various ways, and in family matters. Indeed, it was only because of Donald Trump's infamous first video broadcasted that I started to listen...

My great-niece, who is now helping me as a caretaker, shared that she described me to her husband as a women's libber... I laughed, immediately thinking that I had never burned my bra or read Gloria Steinem... but that, indeed, from early life, I recognized the difference in being a woman in today's world. And, even, as girls played about getting married, I played at becoming a secretary. Of course, my sister was in business school at the time, so it was a natural selection. My point is that I envisioned myself helping somebody in a role that was supportive to others...

And that early ruminating led me to how the author of this latest book I was reading shared/wrote... For instance, homosexuality was referred to as sinful--no "buts" about it... Indeed, the entire group of these people who were different was lumped together as sinners, more or less... However, I had interacted with women who professed being gay. One of them was a cousin who is now deceased. When she told me she was gay and getting married, I asked her just one thing--was she still in church? That is, was she still a Christian? She responded affirmatively and shared that she would be married in church...

Homosexuality has been in existence since before Christ. I have known homosexuals with whom I've been friends. I have known people who may or may not be homosexuals...(I never asked) and I've been friends or at a minimum willing to treat them as I would anybody else... I cannot think of any Biblical reference between Jesus and a homosexual individual. I do remember that in both the story of the woman who would be stoned by men, as well as the Samaritan woman who had a sexual background, Jesus merely acknowledged that he knew of that background and yet offered her His Love, His Light, His Truth... 

I have no doubt that He would never have placed these individuals into a stereotypical lump and condemned them... and, as many have gone even further in violence and murder...  But that is the history of 2000 years+ and we are a different culture, good or bad... But, with the example of Jesus, we learn that we must love all of God's children, no matter who they might be...

Thus, I would think that it is exactly how Pope Francis must have pondered, prayed, and recognized that Jesus would never have turned away anyone...

Key to this, of course, is based upon the separation of church and state. Let's take it a step further, the Catholic Church does not allow President Biden to take communion has been stated over and over...However, here's what has been stated recently...

Biden is welcome to receive Communion at churches in the archdiocese. Mr. Biden met with Pope Francis last month at the Vatican where Mr. Biden said the pope told him he was a "good Catholic" and should keep taking Communion.Nov 17, 2021

Notice that this statement is in the present tense--that is, he should keep taking communion...

I found Dr. Brown's writings as if it were an internal argument as to justifying what is/has happened. But that is just my feeling, perhaps, somewhat of my own bias against what has occurred. However, it seems to me that in all that has been done by republicans to provide "religious freedom" for Evangelical Christians, is that it is an attempt to dominate or control the lives of all people, whether they are christians or not. Going back and forth in justification is, again, in my opinion, an attempt to accept that Trump has indeed moved well beyond what the deal was...

Or, is it? What I believe the Pope is saying, and which I happen to agree with, is that God has created all people in his image. They are all God's children and it is only God's judgment which will decide their fate. And, in the meantime, rather than those who are religious in America being allowed to follow their own choices, just as they have, with their own beliefs, then all those who have different opinions or beliefs must be legally able to live in those positions/choices without prejudice.

Right now we are in the midst of a major problem. I agree with Biden it is a dangerous one. The question of our laws, our constitution, our country's freedom is, indeed, on the ballot. And that has ultimately been brought about from the hierarchy of the christian church... Think about how those who came to America to seek religious freedom, then went about forcing the Indigenous Natives to become christians... Think further back to the Crusades, the Inquisition, and, from a more openly hateful action, performed the Holocaust. 

Is not what the evangelical christians and the republican party, together, doing the same thing? Is it not that those now in office are purposely using the courts to allow discrimination? Consider, just one issue, as an example. A baker chose to not want to create a cake for a gay couple... My opinion is from my professional background. If you choose to go into a service organization, then you should serve all customers. By doing so, does not in any way, force you to accept what you don't believe. Indeed, it is merely doing your job. I find it ironic that it is christians, historically, who have been attempting to FORCE their religion on people... Historically, it has and continues to fail. Don't you think that those christians would begin to examine themselves and their decisions?

Indeed, by the end of this book. Dr. Brown continued to agree to disagree, but that he was going to vote for Trump... He proceeds to go on and on and on about his decision... Clearly the book was intended only for evangelical christians since there was no basis for consideration of choosing or not choosing Trump for president... Other than we all have our choice...and should exercise it.

While Brown refers to earlier beginnings such as Falwell and "family guy", the overview come across as wishy-washy to me. And, perhaps that is the key. Do we, as Christians, speak of love as the primary connection with others? Or do we see some "sin" that is to be squashed before they are worthy to even be called to "consider" to join a church? I don't have the answer... What I do know is that if, even at the beginning of the discussion of who to vote for, we are being told that our christian ideology must be part of the factor and therefore it's alright to vote for a known criminal, that...is...just...wrong...

Yet, it was indeed The Moral Majority, Jerry Falwell, who decided to enter into politics and start pushing... If you did not bother to watch the second video, in particular, about Pope Francis' statement, please do so now. Key is that the fact that, in my opinion, the Pope is clearly separating the church and the state, pointing out that he agreed that we are all God's children... and that as Americans we all deserve equal treatment... Remember, for instance, as soon as Trump became president, he attempted to ban Muslims from America. Two points come to mind for consideration. One, Trump is being praised in Brown's book for responding to the desires of evangelical christians. Thus, we must assume that refusing religious freedom to Muslims was a mandate of the evangelical christians... Is that not a logical assumption? Two, anybody and everybody is fully aware that Trump stuffed the courts with right-wing conservatives. Indeed, the first act, after each of the new justices said during their "employment" interview that they would not change precedent... they went ahead and did just that... (Roe/Wade)

Now, let's look at just the one action. The republican party, starting under Trump, went full speed ahead to, not merely initiate action in support of this change. No, they went all the way to create an atmosphere of fear, divisiveness, and medical emergencies! Decisions that are clearly NOT responsive to the needs of all Americans! Indeed, threats and overturning of judicial rulings are ongoing. Doctors do not know how to treat their patients, even if they see and have found a dangerous situation if a pregnancy is allowed to go through. This, to me, only means that a woman's life means nothing to either of these groups. Again, the logic is clear. Choosing to not provide for the common good of one American, while choosing to force to birth a dead baby or one who will die slowly afterwards, is, in my mind, one of the cruelest things that could be forced on a woman... For what? For some "Key Word" that has been used over and over and over to incite fear, hatred and division. I cannot make myself more clear. Neither religion nor the government should be involved in a women's medical issues. And, further, that the ONLY reason that it became an issue was because of one or more individuals wanting to have power over another!

My sister told me that if I was a Christian I must vote republican. To keep from arguing, I initially registered as Independent... then I saw what the republicans were really all about, and I changed my designation to democratic... I do not want to hear about the past, because I knew nothing about it as it occurred. Today, right now, is what I see... I see and hear one politician after another speaking out to help all Americans, regardless of their individual differences. That is the Democratic Party.

You know, folks, what I see when I look at Joe Biden is a man who cares about people... What I see when I look at Trump is a man who is a performer, who will change to elicit initial trust, and then demand allegiance as a would a dictator or monarch. And, in my opinion, the evangelical christian hierarchy, in choosing to support him, have created the ultimate individuals who could destroy America. Those who choose to demand their rights regardless of whether or not it hurts somebody else... 

Consider Covid 19. While Trump started the creation of an antidote, but then decided it was too difficult to handle, he moved to the opposite extreme, as a dictator does. He demanded that masks were not necessary. He made fun of people, He didn't care about the hundreds of thousands of deaths that occurred... And, even today, when I, in a simple attempt to point out that somebody could get a covid shot at the same time a flu shot was obtained, a man turned on me and screamed "NO!" into my face...

By the way, the woman he was with, probably his wife, immediately turned to me and explained that she had had a reaction and we talked together... Have you all noticed that it is women who are quietly and effectively and efficiently dealing with today's issues? No wonder I'm seen as a women's libber... I've fought through the male-dominated bureaucracy. I've seen how some few men treat women--thankfully not all. And I've seen men who play the game of kissing the ring. And, right now, in America, there are far too many kissing Donald Trump's ring as their god... their idol... their hero... but, never, their president of all Americans...

I have no background on Hillary Clinton, for instance. I do know that she won the popular vote over Trump. I do know that women across the nation went to Washington to march against Trump and that group was larger than those who attended Trump's inauguration. What that tells me is that we women see Trump as exactly what he is. And men who choose to use the Bible to demean women, rape--physically, mentally or emotionally--or believe that women in higher level positions through affirmative action is wrong, these then are those to question...

Dr. Brown also glowed in his praise of Mike Pence, completely unaware of the fact that we are in the years of 2000... It was quickly headline news that Pence would not work with women--no wonder they despise Hillary Clinton! Could it be because she forgave her husband and stayed with him? I don't know but it certainly forces you to wonder...

Because, this single Christian woman, through many years of working on a university campus, in more higher level positions, quite often had lunch with men. My boss, my peers, faculty members, staff members... Many of them married. Yet, Pence chose to not be burdened with temptation? And therefore women in such positions were either not to be allowed in those positions, or that they would be ignored as an equal professional woman with whom he was to act responsibly? Check out an article in The New Yorker about this issue that is certainly why women have become agitated by being forced to deal with the selection that christians made for their president! 

Finally, it seems to me that, after 2000+ years, that God would have expected his children to grow up. That is, to grow in His Spirit... I am reminded of the parable of the talents, where one chose to bury the talent that had been placed in his hands for safe-keeping, fearing his master. Yet, when the master came back, he took away that talent and gave it to the others who had invested the talents and worked to benefit their master. I think about this parable often... America, especially, has grown in many ways, especially as a result of science. Should we not have as a country, a world, grown in our religious maturity. But, just like the man who chose to bury the talent, many have chosen to bury the results of increasing improvements in all areas, including religious study... That is why I've come to accept the words of Jesus as my primary guidance. He, more than anybody, who was condemned to death by those religious rulemakers of the past:

Matthew 23

Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: "The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat. So you must obey them and do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. They tie up heavy loads and put them on men's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them." Everything they do is done for men to see: They make their phylacteries wide and the tassels on their garments long; they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues; they love to be greeted in the market- places and to have men call them`Rabbi.'

"But you are not to be called `Rabbi,' for you have only one Master and you are all brothers. And do not call anyone on earth `father,' for you have one Father, and he is in heaven. Nor are you to be called `teacher,' for you have one Teacher, the Christ. The greatest among you will be your servant. For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted. "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men's faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to. "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are. "Woe to you, blind guides! You say,`If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.' You blind fools! Which is greater: the gold, or the temple that makes the gold sacred? You also say, `If anyone swears by the altar, it means nothing; but if anyone swears by the gift on it, he is bound by his oath.' You blind men! Which is greater: the gift, or the altar that makes the gift sacred? Therefore, he who swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. And he who swears by the temple swears by it and by the one who dwells in it. And he who swears by heaven swears by God's throne and by the one who sits on it. "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices--mint, dill and cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law--justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel. "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean. "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You devour widows' houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. Therefore you will be punished more severely." Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men's bones and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness. "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous. And you say,`If we had lived in the days of our forefathers, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.'So you testify against yourselves that you are the descendants of those who murdered the prophets.Fill up, then, the measure of the sin of your forefathers! "You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell? Therefore I am sending you prophets and wise men and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify; others you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town. And so upon you will come all the righteous blood that has been shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berekiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. I tell you the truth, all this will come upon this generation. "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing. Look, your house is left to you desolate. For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, `Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.' "

This scripture might seem to be addressed to the Jewish people, who lived at that time, and who were involved in the death of the Son of God. But, and I do not say this lightly... If the Bible is The Word of God as defined by evangelical christians and other sects, then, by claiming that, then this scripture must be, in my opinion, relevant to all individuals who live at any time. Otherwise, what relevance does this one passage have to anybody today?

So we see that pharisees and lawyers are to be obeyed but specifically told to not do what they do. Well, let's look back on the Trump presidency before Jeff Sessions was fired. It was at that time, that he quoted scripture about following leaders--essentially trying to say that we were to follow what the government and the president wanted, because after all, he had been appointed by Trump. It was during a time of migration of many immigrants who were seeking asylum. He announced a new policy whereby babies were to be separated from the parents... We all know how that went. Badly! Several issues became clear: The administration had no competency in creating, announcing, and then implementing a new policy! 

Not only was the policy outrageous, they had failed to create an implementation plan for tracking--surely a simply matter if they had thought about it!!! After all, I had implemented a plan to locate over 20,000 students each semester and I can't recall ever failing in that endeavor... So in a year, I would have about 60-80,000 students and faculty arrive at a specific designation... I would imagine that even as of now, there are still children lost somewhere and yet to be found and returned to their parents. This became a major uproar for the administration, who cried out Wall, Wall, Wall, all could be solved with a wall... Geesh! Get Real!

The same thing happened with Covid19. Trump did initiate arrangements with pharmaceutical companies... That's it! Once again, the job was half done by this administration and Biden's new administration had to work overtime trying to catch up with what should have been done by Trump's staff. We all remember the possible use of various methods, including using bleach(!) that had no connection with helping to cure a virus being thrown out by the president. We also remember that he admitted to a man who was writing a book, that he purposely kept information from Americans claiming he didn't want his base to know...

Do either of these instances have a relationship to the above scripture? Of course they do. In both cases, it was the children and the elderly who were affected the most, but many others died purely from exposure because the president made it a joke to wear a mask and his followers did not wear them...killing even more than necessary. I remember a town into which a group of motor cycle riders came for an annual event, all of which did not wear masks...

I think I've shared this at another time, but it needs to be repeated again. The short version? Check out the italicized reference in red above. Not all versions of the Bible include this reference (which is another reason that questioning the Bible as "The Words of God" should be considered. Aside from that, in another version and in a book that was once given me by a pastor about the family, he said if I agreed with everything in the book, I would be an acceptable leader for a group at church. In that book, I was told that the church was to take care of me as a single woman... I therefore went to my pastor and asked when they would begin to take care of me... The thing is that the idea was so victorian--so ancient a concept that I and he both started to laugh... However, to me, it was another step to my moving to accepting the Bible as being inspired by God and NOT the Word of God. I and many others have found so many contradictory things in the Bible, as well as those which are extremely disturbing, including murder and rape as instigated/condoned by a King, who was said to be favored among men. Key to me is that, I cannot accept that if God was writing a book, as did Jesus, in a sense, they would make sure that what was said would be at least understood and that the full historical text would be included... The above is an excellent example of the clarity of Jesus, don't you think?

In other words, my ranking of the Bible as the Word of God would be very low... I believe it is historical, includes poetry and important guidance as of the time of Jesus. There are many, many writers who have written on the Bible, trying to explain, interpret a book that has been translated, edited, rewritten...just as any book would be... Indeed, the Book of Thomas, which was Thomas' recordings of Jesus' actual words is not included... More importantly, with Jesus as our Messiah coming, He was to lead us from then on there. Indeed, He said that from time to time and with various forms of doing so.

I find Matthew 23 as very provocatively written. While it says to obey them (I believe this refers especially to individual church rules as laws, and, perhaps, civil laws...But that we were not to do what they do... and then proceeds to specifically identify the issues to beware of. 

And, if you do as Jesus says about Love and Loving, none of the above should be even still in existence for us to quarrel over, in my opinion...

But that, however, is exactly what Dr. Brown, in writing this book has done. He has pontificated about all of the sins of the past president, yet allows that while he is going to continue to vote for Trump, that he is willing for you/us to make your own decision, since it is a right to which we should be obligated to perform. That is, voting for the government of our nation. Yet, at the same time, absolving the past president of any of his actions while in office or during that period, which have gravely affected the nation we once knew: Respect of everybody's lives, liberties and our pursuit of happiness...

In closing, I find that I am not the proper audience for this book. It surely was meant for all those who call themselves evangelical christians, as opposed to...just...Christian. As an aside, there are thousands of different sects falling under the bailiwick of Christianity. I have not taken the time, nor do I have the interest at this point, as to what constitutes the identity of an evangelical christian. 

If, however, you are an evangelical christian and you have become concerned, perhaps this book could be useful. Given that the writer continued to support the past president throughout the book, for me, I cannot recommend it or other books who asked me to do what the Bible says. Because, simply, if the Bible followers have caused what has happened in America, then talk themselves into believing it is what God wants, believe me, I'm not willing to play that game of disinformation...

This is not intended as a review of the book. I will not be posting it as a review. As you know, I have found, that so many issues that happen daily have affected my original intent to write a historical life memoir. Instead, I am writing my book in journal form, as events come into my life... bringing in past information or memories as relevant to the specific topic. The 50 or so pages I read were sufficient for me to reject the premise as one I would ever consider.

God Be With You

Gabby