At first glance it would seem that former President Trump and Georgia U.S. Senator Raphael Warnock would have little in common, especially when it comes to politics and religion. In fact, it is in the (mis)practice of religion where they share a common perspective. That is, religious faith serves their politics. Both of them have corrupted the gospel of Jesus Christ for the sake of their political agendas. And, both of them have many followers who join in the political idolatry.
Over the recent Easter weekend, Senator Warnock tweeted the following statement:
The tweet provoked such a backlash that the Senator removed it. Even so, it reveals to us something about the Senator’s faith. Keep in mind that the Senator also serves as pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta. The Reverend’s statement is typical of the liberal theology that views the Jesus story as myth and metaphor used to shape one’s socio-political narrative. The gospel is not about Jesus, or the Kingdom of God; rather, it goes beyond Jesus. This is a secular gospel that denies the historicity of Jesus. It has become a common practice of the political left to (mis)appropriate Christian symbols like the resurrection, or footwashing, to advance their political narrative.
But, this practice is not limited to the left. The ascension of Donald Trump to the presidency was accompanied by resurgence of Christian nationalism in which making America great again was seen as a religious revival. Christian nationalism drapes the cross of Jesus with the American flag. Faithfulness to the gospel is translated into patriotism. One of the most common examples of Christian nationalism is seen in the following meme that appears frequently in various forms on my social media feed:
This statement lifts the heroic death of the American soldier to the same significance as the redemptive death of Jesus Christ. Furthermore, it makes the notion of political freedom equivalent to freedom from sin and death. In short, devotion to the USA has religious meaning and fervor. To be fair, this type of political idolatry is not unique to the USA, but is common to the nations of Christendom.
Those who use the gospel of Jesus Christ to serve the political agendas of state or party have committed idolatry, they have corrupted the gospel. Both sides have court prophets who claim to speak for God, but instead are leading the people into idolatry. The death and resurrection of Jesus Christ transcends the politics of this present age. All of the powers of this present age, left and right, progressive and conservative, will be judged and will bow before the only Sovereign Ruler of the Cosmos – Jesus Christ ( 1 Timothy 6:5). The kingdom of God is eschatological, that is, it will be fully revealed at the (re)appearing of Jesus Christ. The kingdom of God will be one people of many tribes and tongues who have been set free from the power of sin and death by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. This message transcends all of the politics of this corrupt, and dying, present age. Maranatha!
