McLaren on the Presidential Election
“Of course, a happy band of conservative Evangelicals feel Pentecostal joy about their role as Trumpist right-hand religious men. So intoxicated by the cocktail of fear, winning, scapegoating, simple words and big (un-keepable) promises, they’ve sidelined the Golden Rule and the Great Commandment.
But other American Evangelicals, especially the young, educated and non-white, realize that their leaders, through a combination of ego, complacency, incompetence, greed, and ignorance, have led them into a spiritual and political quagmire so deep that they can only escape it by leaving their Evangelical identity behind.
That’s the predicament in which a significant minority of Evangelical Christians now find themselves (along with many of their conservative Catholic and Mainline companions). True, many are leaving religious affiliation entirely; others are launching out in search of a better way to be Christian.”
“I understand that millions of Americans are pumped up by Trump’s talk about being tough, his “punch him in the face” bluster, his disgust with a free press, and his glib praise of dictators and torture. But my faith leads me to see true greatness in service and true power in love, self-control, and neighborliness — not domination, reactivity, and revenge. Trump’s love of power may have served him well in business and entertainment, but in political leadership, it will be his Achilles’ heel, and his reactivity and lack of humility will make him chaotic and dangerous.
Not only that, but supporting a crude, angry, unaccountable and self-indulgent leader sets a terrible example for our children and grandchildren. And if conservatives reward Trump with a victory, can you imagine what the next generation of conservative politicians will be like?
Listen, I don’t always agree with everything that goes under the label of progressive, and progressives need to be way more effective at communicating and implementing their best ideas. But I cannot support any party or candidate — local, state, federal or presidential — characterized by mean-spiritedness, bigotry, unfairness, carelessness toward the poor, funneling wealth to the richest, undermining abortion reduction, destroying our fragile planet, playing into the hands of terrorists, exploiting the anger of suffering people, and being driven more by the love of power than the power of love.”
