I must say I enjoy politics on television. One of the most enjoyable aspects being (of course) that you can always turn it off. But who would want to turn it off when none other than Donald Trump is having a little spat with the Roman Pontiff? Not me. And I'm afraid I have gone and taken sides. God bless the Holy Father!
However, we should feel a certain sympathy for The Donald. (As an aside, I think that Lord Macdonald, High Chief of the Clan, should perhaps threaten The Donald with legal action under the Trades Descriptions Act. Who does Mr Trump think he is - the equivalent of The Chisholm, or even of his fellow American The McBain of McBain? Clan Donald is equipped with no less than three fully fledged chiefs already, not counting the High Chief himself who surely is The Donald. Any more chiefs would be mere ostentation.)
But to return. We can have a certain sympathy for Donald Trump if only because so many others have thought like him, both in the past and in the present, and I imagine that original thought has never been his strong suit. However, Mr Trump has certainly been living up to his name. He has provided a terrific fanfare for the religious instincts of his tribe, and tribal religion is all too often the only kind of religion that many people can understand. And strangely enough, this is just what Christianity is most definitely not about.
Take the experience of Christ himself. Did he or his views appeal to the Tribes of Israel speaking at his trial through the High Priest and his Council? Not to mention previous conflicts with the Pharisees and the Sadducees? From the biblical record it doesn't look much like it. Kierkegaard said that Christ died for one man, and that every man is that one man. There is a certain contrast here with the declaration of the High Priest that it was expedient that one man (Christ) should die for the people - and for the people, read the tribe.
Christianity is often taken for a sort of magic. It has had its uses from winning wars to curing warts, and I would guess that very many, perhaps most, people have thought of it in such terms. For them, Christianity is about making life (both here and hereafter) safe for God's people - but not perhaps for anyone else. It's an understanding of the matter which has a very good pedigree - one which can even be found in the pages of the Old Testament itself.
But divine revelation - indeed divine self-revelation - did not come to an end before Matthew, Mark, Luke and John had picked up their pens. Indeed, it can be seen to have reached its climax in the pages of their Gospels in the person of Jesus Christ. And he most certainly did not just rubber-stamp all that had gone before. From now on you would have to make do with just one wife. But at least ham sandwiches could be enjoyed by all - except for their recently deceased ingredients, of course.
But religion became completely impractical from the point of view of someone like Mr Trump's friend and supporter, Sarah Palin. Even sparrows are of concern to their Creator - so no assassinating helpless moose from a helicopter, even if you can see Russia from your kitchen window. Now you have to love your enemies and do them good. Violence is out - especially from helicopters whether in Alaska or Vietnam. National greatness is of little significance in eternity, and Christianity is not particularly useful either in curing toothache or in making America great (yet) again.
Christ himself refused to be made an earthly king, despite being the King of Heaven, and he refused, despite all those legions of angels, to defend himself against the mob which came to the Garden of Gethsemane with Judas to take him prisoner. Riches are no longer to be seen as an indication of God's favour but as a means of doing good. They are to be given away - preferably to the despised poor, and especially to those in need of a decent system of healthcare.
And the Great Wall of America is not even to be thought of, let alone paid for in pesos.
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