The Pope, Jerry Falwell, Jr., and Donald Trump Walk into a Bar

First this happened, when, after his recent visit to Mexico, Pope Francis was asked about Donald Trump’s candidacy for US President:

“A person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not building bridges, is not Christian. This is not in the gospel.”

-Pope Francis

Then, this happened:

And then, this happened:

“Jesus never intended to give instructions to political leaders on how to run a country.”

-Jerry Falwell, Jr.

I dare say that only one of these is even remotely near the truth of this issue. Donald Trump’s remarks show how little he knows about Christian faith. He claims that the Pope, whenever the Vatican is attacked by ISIS, will have hoped he had prayed for Trump to be President. He says he is the only one who would be able to keep them safe. Then he states, “As President I will not allow Christianity to be consistently attacked and weakened.”

I didn’t know that Jesus was so worried about safety and security.

If anything Jesus promises us trouble in this world. He tells us that if he is hated and despised for what he stood for, then how much more so will we also be subjected to such ridicule.

Jesus didn’t promise us power and prominence and influence. He promised us ridicule and abuse, but then reminded us that God chooses those things that are despised by the world to bring down the proud, the powerful, and the wealthy.

So maybe the Pope isn’t worried about if the Vatican is attacked, but instead about being faithful to live like Jesus.

As for Falwell’s comment, in a way I agree. Jesus’ first audience were marginalized and oppressed subjects of an oppressive regime, so I doubt his words in their original context were directed at presidents.

BUT, Mr. Falwell, if you mean to imply that a Christian person is supposed to divorce themselves from their faith in their ‘secular’ employment, in this case President of the United States of America, then I believe you to be grossly mistaken. While we are not a Christian nation, I do feel that every area of a Christian’s life ought to be influenced by their discipleship, and I fail to see the resonance between a Bible that proclaims acceptance of the outsiders, the poor, the marginalized, and the stranger and a policy statement that demands we deport all undocumented migrants and build walls of isolation and exclusivity.

Embed from Getty ImagesSo while I’m not a huge proponent of deciding who is and is not Christian, I do believe we can, with much humility, begin to ask if their actions are very Christlike.

And if we read the Gospels, I feel that bridge-building is more of what Jesus would have us to do.