Trump and the death of Christendom.

That title was meant to be click-baity but it’s still on topic, so don’t worry. 

This election cycle has been incredibly interesting to me. We are seeing what in retrospect seems inevitable: the implosion of the religious right. For 3 decades evangelical Christians have largely backed republicans and so republicans championed Christian value. The problem is that along the way faith and patriotism become convoluted, but that’s the price for colluding with the Empire. If you want state protection it’s going to demand God’s endorsement. 

I say this was inevitable because for over a decade now study after study has shown that millenials in general and Christian millennials in particular have been moving away from the belief systems of their parents, most likely to never return. We grew up in the information age, during a drawn out, unnecessary war, interconnected to new people and places thanks to a revolutionary little gadget called a smart phone. 

It has become harder each year to join the ranks of the old guard. They just don’t “get it”. They don’t understand how technology has changed the world and they keep waiting for this internet fad to die so things can go back to how they were. But that’s the problem, this is the new normal, there is no going back. Those of us who grew up in this new world are fine with it, happy almost, but it’s created a sharp gap between us and our parents. 

Which brings us to the point: Trump represents our parents and the old guard. He appeals to a way of life that is certainly dying if not already dead. He appeals to a confusion of religion and politics our parents happily endorsed but that this generation has massive problems with. There is a subtle yet growing movement within Christianity that sees the Kingdom of Heaven as an actual Kingdom being established and seems to identify politically with Jesus first and America second. We no longer want a God that supports war or demands we tow a party line. We don’t want a God that seemingly condoned atrocities in American history. 

Mark Driscoll wrote a book called Resugence a few years ago that I felt was suprisingly prescient. Then again, Driscoll was in Seattle and not the bible belt. Driscoll is to this day the only celebrity pastor I’ve heard decry Christian Nationalism and he was able to look at data about millennials and to a degree see this shift that is all but complete. My parent’s generation of evangelical Christians is looking to Trump to protect the old paradigm where the most important things in politics were stopping abortions and keeping your kids away from drugs and “alternative lifestyles”. 

But we’re in a new world where Christian millenials don’t feel comfortable identifying with mainstream Christianity and Republican politics. I don’t think that’s such a bad thing. Before you potentially get worried about that let me explain why you shouldn’t. We have reached a tipping point in our country and in the American church. The break between the church and politics has been a longtime coming and I think it’s a corrective move by God. We can’t establish the kingdom of heaven if we’re so beholden to America. We’re seeing shifts in theolgy to match this. Some of it I like, some I question, but overall I think we’re moving in the right direction. We are rediscovering old traditions and practices that we need in this fast paced, ever demanding world. We are rediscovering points of view from before the Reformation that I think will enrich our church and allow us to genuinely converse with people of other faiths. We might actually be able to get outside our 4 walls and evangelize. Part of the work of the Spirit is to create a space where an alternative can be imagined.  Where God’s radical kindom of liberation and rest can become a reality for God’s radical love, radical forgiveness, and radical inclusion to flourish. I’ve heard the older generations cry out for a strong “move of God” in my generation for years. I think it’s happening, but just like Jesus’s actions as the Messiah totally confounded the Jews expectations, so has this answer to prayer. They got what they wanted, it just doesn’t look like what they expected. 

The old reality, the old way of seeing the world is fading and while that is scary for many what I hope they see is that in it’s place is a beautiful renewal of God’s church and people. It will take us in new directions, some unexpected, but it will be one step closer to making the kingdom of heaven a reality here and now. 

Christendom is dead,

Jesus is alive,

Fear not,

Stay salty.