Donald Trump's ascension to the head of the Republican party is, in my estimation, a fulfilled prophecy. The Jeremiad is perhaps tiring for some, but does that count against its truthfulness? For years, American Christians have identified with the Republican party, almost to the point of seeing it as a symbiote. But this belief in the symbiotic relationship between Republicanism and Christianity is exposed by the ascension of Trump. It is quite clear that Republicanism can live independently of Christianity, or at the very least it can lord over various Christian ideas and use them for, well, "creative" purposes.
But there are many who think that this will be the cause of some evil. They are exactly wrong. It is only the effect of some evil. Trump can rise to power within "Christian America" precisely because America has lost its religion. Perhaps it never fully possessed it. In a democracy, the leaders are an expression of the will of the people. In that sense, just like in the case of the culture wars, we are getting what we want. Review with me the issues of gay marriage, abortion, the sexual revolution and the general loss of the culture wars. The reason we are losing the culture wars is because self-professing "Christians" are converting to a more enlightened, eclectic form of "Christianity," if they are not leaving the faith altogether. The great apostasy of our day is curiously not perceived as a loss; after all, people still identify as Christians. But this is the day and age when anyone can identify as anything, and it is their subjective "identification" that constructs reality. If a man can identify as a woman, then why can't a secularist identify as a Christian?
The other program is the compartmentalization of committed Christians. They often reason that since America is not a Christian nation, then we can vote according to our other instincts--perhaps our instinct for self-preservation. What has politics to do with Jesus, after all, etc.? But notice that the secularist who wants Christians to "shut the ___ up" can be as pleased with this outcome as any other. What will be offensive about our "private" Christianity? These Christians think that peace with the world is friendship with God. When their children and grandchildren have grown, they will see what they have won by abandoning the fight for their culture. The frightening thing is that perhaps by that time they will like it.
From my perspective, Trump's rise is the most obvious modern proof of American godlessness (either through resignation or blatant compromise). This is the day and age of the godless Republican. God is not needed to defend American supremacy! God is not needed to project strength! God is not needed to create wealth and defend it. Isis does not require some Christian solution. Isis requires incendiary devices. Instead of denying religion because it is seen as an opiate to numb the worker, we now deny religion because it is seen to be an opiate to numb the ruler. For rulers like Trump, religion is a unifying moral mythology, but human reason is its master. Strong and smart rulers will tell us what it means rather than it telling the strong and smart what their duties should be. The slow inversion is now complete. The godless have become gods of an America of our their own making.
This is the day and age of the godless Ayn Rand variety capitalist set against the godless socialist. For men like Trump, wealth is for the strong and hard working; it is a matter of the Darwinian struggle. Weakness is exposed and eliminated, as nature intended. According to this alpha model, America is becoming the prize of the weakest and most foolish among us. The strong are being strong armed by the majority into compliance with their wishes through various wealth transference schemes, like Obamacare. All of this can end when the Ubermensch determines to be the Ubermensch. Of course the Clintons and Sanders of the world only answer this with power as well; in their case the power of the Proletariat, which is just a many-headed Ubermensch. Nobody knows how to argue the truth anymore. We are living in Nietzsche's world and not even the deist Jefferson's anymore. Perhaps we found our way to Nietzsche's world because we passed through Jefferson's.
History tells us that people will follow the Ubermensch, or the majority, even if both are deeply morally flawed. Why? Because of the demand for godless practicality. Prayers from the feeble don't seem to produce "substantial" effects, but the Trumps and Clintons of the world promise to offer a close substitute. They will protect the people, and give them jobs, and secure their advantages. They will exert power for immediate advantage, provided they win of course. They will do what God has shown a disturbing disinterest in doing--our will!
This election gives us a strange dichotomy: a choice between a strong man who will give us advantage and safety, and a strong woman who will give us equality of resources. Depending on where the voter is coming from, it is all about what the strong can give us and not about what we are trying to build together. Is there such a thing as a shared national vision anymore? We are left with the godless ethics of egoism writ large. One party seeks power by pandering to the egoist needs of the bottom; the other seeks power by pandering to the egoist needs of the top. Who will win is not clear. But God has clearly lost. Or put truly, America has clearly lost by establishing a two party egoism, with a range of egoist options between.
Let us end on a positive note: the good news is that the people of God can now get to the business of being the Church. Going forward it will be impossible to conflate the purposes of America with the purposes of Christ's Church.
