Have Christians Finally Had It With Trump?

Shortly after the passage of President Trump’s domestic policy bill, Speaker Mike Johnson posted a Bible verse on his social media from Paul’s second letter to the church in Corinth. It read, “All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation.” Mr. Johnson appeared to be referring to the House’s passage of the reconciliation bill. Adding his own commentary on the text, he wrote, “soli Deo Gloria,” which is Latin for “glory to God alone.”

You almost have to appreciate the nerve it took to apply Paul’s words to a law that is likely to lead to millions of Americans’ losing their health care. Consider that the apostle was referring to sharing the good news about Jesus Christ and the chance to be reconciled to God.

In a rare moment of Christian ecumenism, white evangelicals, mainline protestants, Roman Catholics and Black church leaders agree that there’s no glory to be found in this legislation. They have levied distinctively religious critiques of Mr. Trump’s signature piece of legislation. Their issues with the legislation vary, but they seemingly all note that the ravenous greed at the core of this law threatens to devour the poor.

I am glad to see this pushback, but none of these policies can be called a surprise. What many feared has become a reality: treating diversity as a threat, dehumanization of migrants and policies that favor the wealthy at the expense of the poor.

For too long this administration has presented itself as the only defender of Christianity while it engages in merely symbolic gestures like posting Bible verses or publicizing worship services in the White House. Frederick Douglass described this type of performance: “Religion simply as a form of worship, an empty ceremony, and not a vital principle, requiring active benevolence, justice, love and good will towards man.” I fail to see how you can shout glory to God one minute and laugh about the harsh conditions of Alligator Alcatraz the next.

Mr. Johnson’s use of the Bible is similar to a recent U.S. Customs and Border Protection recruitment video that was posted on the Department of Homeland Security’s social media. It quotes the biblical passage about God asking the prophet, “Whom shall I send,” and the prophet volunteers to go in the name of the Lord to do his work. This prophet goes on to call people to repentance for mistreating the oppressed and abandoning God. Co-opting a passage depicting a prophet shaken by a vision of the glory of God to recruit for U.S. Customs and Border Protection is an audacious affront to Christianity that defies adequate description.