In light of the recent election the U.S. and especially the power surge of disapproval regarding the President-Elect, I wanted to reflect on how each candidate, Kamala Harris and Donald Trump, has used Christianity as part of their political platform.

Although many believers have been skeptical, Harris has addressed her Christian faith, saying:

…growing up, she and her sister went to a neighborhood church, where they sang her favorite hymn, “Fill My Cup, Lord,” in the children’s choir. When she was sworn in as vice president, she put her hand on a Bible that belonged to the woman who took her to that church.

According to Pew Research, almost all Presidents have been Christians or at least declared themselves as such.

The same article states:

Trump, never known as personally religious, has resurrected an attack line he used against Biden, claiming Harris would be “very destructive to Christianity and very destructive to evangelicals and to the Catholic Church” — an apparent reference to her support for abortion and transgender rights

Trump has been adept at manipulating Christians and the Church for his own purposes, but it would be hard to make a case that he is a believer at all.

And yet right-wing Christians are (metaphorically) eating him up with a spoon.

The night was young, no swing states had been called yet, but Anderson, who describes herself as a born-again believer, had been following the preachings of the self-styled prophets of the Christian right. They were saying Trump would win.

And they were right.

After a narrow electoral defeat in 2020 and two assassination attempts in 2024, Trump has emerged victorious – an event that Christian nationalists are celebrating as a critical win for their movement.

Presidential candidates, regardless of their personal faith (or lack thereof) have always pandered to the Christian voter, a bloc, though perhaps less powerful than they once were, that cannot be ignored.

But how can Harris, who supports abortion, gender ideology, and the LBGTQIA+ agenda be considered a “Bible-believing Christian?”

For that matter, how can Trump, who is clearly narcisistic, and who openly speaks in vulgar terms about Arnold Palmer’s penis and grabbing a woman’s genitals, be at all believed to be a Christian?

It depends on how you define “Christianity.”

ProgressiveChristianity.org describes themselves as:

We promote an understanding of Christian practice and teaching that leads to a greater concern for the way people treat each other than for the way people express their beliefs, the acceptance of all people, and a respect for other religious traditions.

We affirm the variety and depth of human experience and the richness of each persons’ search for meaning, and we encourage the use of sound scholarship, critical inquiry, and all intellectual powers to understand the presence of God in human life.

We are opposed to any exclusive dogma that limits the search for truth and free inquiry, and we encourage work that eases the pain, suffering and degradation inherent in many of the structures of society, as well as work that keeps central to the Christian life fair, open, peaceful, and loving treatment of all human beings.

Sorry about the length of the quote, but I wanted to include a relatively complete statement. You can read the rest on their About Us page.

In spite of that lofty speech, progressive Christianity boils God and Jesus down to “love everybody.” If love is the only quality you are considering, then technically, anyone and anything is acceptable (including any sin) if you say that God loves everybody regardless of any other quality or behavior.

Got Questions defines such a “Christianity” as:

Progressivism is not the only path to misinterpreting the Bible in service of cultural preferences…

To be fair, they say that both progressivism in the Church and “right-wing fundamentalism” (I’m getting to that) equally misuse scripture as much as they more legitimately leverage some parts of the Bible.

Ultimately, the Progressive Church cherry-picks scripture to support whatever political and/or social movements popular among the left at any given point in time. Look up eisegesis for more on this.

According to the Daily Montanan:

Christian Nationalism wants to bring America’s church and state into one entity – just like Hitler did — which is incompatible with the most basic principle of our democratic framework. I am deeply concerned about this cult-like movement.

A plethora of news stories and broadcasts have revealed America now has many political figures whose words and actions are those of a Christian Nationalist. The movement is dangerous in its assertion that God has a special bond with the United States and with selected politicians. It is unwise, undemocratic and destructive.

PBS posted a broadcast and its transcript called What is Christian nationalism and why it raises concerns about threats to democracy which you can listen to or read at your leisure.

Christians Against Christian Nationalism have this to say:

Christian nationalism seeks to merge Christian and American identities, distorting both the Christian faith and America’s constitutional democracy. Christian nationalism demands Christianity be privileged by the State and implies that to be a good American, one must be Christian. It often overlaps with and provides cover for white supremacy and racial subjugation. We reject this damaging political ideology and invite our Christian brothers and sisters to join us in opposing this threat to our faith and to our nation.

In other words (in my opinion) Progressive Christianity and Christian Nationalism are two sides of the same coin, the attempt to bend the teachings of the Bible a group’s preferred political and social biases.

Depending on who you are and what you believe, you may disagree with me. I’m sure Harris would and probably so would Trump and his supporters.

Faith in Jesus isn’t a political party. Yes, there can be some overlap between one’s political convictions and their faith, but one thing we have seen in the Bible is that nations come and go. Whatever happened to Babylonia or the Roman Empire?

My favorite perspective on this is that the Apostle Paul never went on a tirade on how he opposed the politics of the Roman Empire. Yes, he wanted to speak to the Emperor in the hopes of converting him to the faith, but Paul was all about being an emissary to all the Gentiles, including their leaders. He didn’t outright condemn any of their practices. In fact, he primarily criticized people who were already believers, the Churches in the diaspora, who were not living up to their stated convictions.

Very few Presidents have lived wholly Christian lives. In 21st century American politics, I’m not sure a truly devout Christian, a man or woman who lives in accordance to Biblical faith, could ever be elected. They would oppose too many critical points set forth by both major political parties.

As the Democrats announce their intent to fight on against oppression, racism, homophobia and all that, some will cite “God Loves Everyone” as if the Almighty never defined sin or set forth consequences for sinful behavior.

While Republicans are celebrating their victory over the left, some will be declaring that Trump is the fulfillment of prophesy and will return American to its roots as a Christian nation (the U.S. was never a “Christian nation”).

Both misuse the Bible for their own purposes. I guess I should say that A LOT of Christians at least occasionally read into the Bible what they/we want it to say in order to justify our wants and needs. However, if we are honest, if we pray, if we consult with other believers who we know can be trusted to be forthright and devoted to God’s standards, we know we’re fooling ourselves.

When or if you find yourself tempted to follow a politically and socially motivated version of Christianity, stop yourself. At the end when we are all judged, it won’t be by our voting records or which candidate had the most celebrity endorsements. We will be judged by our own behavior in all aspects of our lives, great and small, as they compare to the teachings of our King.

There is only ONE King.