Make Christianity Great Again: An African Christian’s Perspective.
Make Christianity Great Again: An African Christian’s Perspective
Tedla Woldeyohannes, Ph.D.
I chose the above title to make a point. Everyone familiar with American politics in the last eight years knows that Donald Trump’s political brand has the slogan, Make America Great Again (MAGA). A significant number of Evangelical Christians, many call them MAGA Christians, are Trump’s most loyal supporters. In this article, I share my reflection on the political marriage between the political MAGA movement and white evangelical Christianity, which I call Trump Evangelicalism (TE). I will argue that the marriage between the political MAGA and TE has done the most significant damage to evangelical Christianity in America. As an African evangelical Christian with a close association with evangelical Christianity in America, I argue below that evangelical Christianity in America needs to undergo an official divorce from the MAGA movement to make evangelical Christianity great again in the American context.
The American Tabloid World and Trump Evangelicals.
Trump’s first criminal trial in New York has presented the whole world with something rare—the man, Trump, whom Evangelicals chose to be their best political representative, is at the center of the tabloid news mixed with politics, his sex scandals that predate his presidency in connection with the 2016 presidential election interference. To this African evangelical Christian, American tabloid stories are new, even after having lived in the US for 20 years. I never had any reason to read or to familiarize myself with the American tabloid world, the salacious sex scandal stories, etc. I came to the US to study philosophy, and as an international graduate student in the US, I did not have any contact with the tabloid world. I do not recall picking up any of those tabloid magazines or newspapers, whatever they are called, from stores where I happened to be for grocery shopping, etc.
Now, imagine African evangelicals who know many good things about American evangelicals through American missionaries, as I do too, and other evangelicals elsewhere globally. From various social media and news channels, when evangelicals all over the world hear the news about Trump’s criminal trials in NY, they hear about Trump’s cheating on his pregnant wife with a playmate model and his cheating on his wife with a porn star when she was with a newborn baby. Every single time this story is told now and for years to come, the story of those evangelical Christians who chose Trump as their best political candidate or representative will be told together as well, forever.
Remember this fact: Trump evangelicals rejected an evangelical Christian, a conservative politician, who was their Vice President under Trump, Mike Pence. Nothing in the world forced them to choose Trump over Pence. They willingly chose Trump along with all the values Trump embodies. Trump is not an abstract entity or a spirit. He is a human being with values antithetical to most Christian values. This is an objective fact. It is worth noting the fact that Trump was also found liable for sexual assault and business fraud and was ordered to pay several hundred million dollars just a short while ago. Recall that Trump, while president, was ordered to pay $25 million for fraud involving his now-defunct Trump University.[1] Also, a book, Plaintiff in Chief: A Portrait of Donald Trump in 3,500 Lawsuits, was published in 2019. No matter how many explanations are offered, the truth is that a significant number of evangelicals in America decided, intentionally and willingly, to embrace Trump over any other political candidate in the last eight years. Also, remember this: Every time the stories of Trump evangelicals are told, Christ’s name is also associated with them because evangelicals are Christians, and Christians are followers of Christ.
It is important to keep this in mind: If Trump were not a former president, Trump could still be prosecuted for some of the alleged crimes, but if that were to happen, his story and the tabloid story, as well, would not be associated with evangelical Christianity or Christianity in general. That is because Trump’s story of crimes and sex scandals, etc., would have been just one of those regular crime stories of an American businessman. For the association of Christ’s name with the tabloid characters and their stories and all sorts of unchristian values, Trump evangelicals are responsible. Yes, Trump’s business model is transactional, but for Christians to engage in a transactional political marriage to Trump’s mode of doing business and politics should never have been an option. Evangelicals for Trump chose to trade Christian values for worldly values in the name of Christianity and Christ. This fact will remain a part of American Christianity's history for the rest of human history.
What does Christ’s name have to do with the tabloid stories of sex scandals involving a porn star in America? The answer: The political marriage between the MAGA political movement and Trump Evangelicals. Who among Christians wants to see Christ’s name along with the names of the tabloid characters at Trump’s trial? Isn’t this one of the unintended, avoidable, yet tragic realities of MAGA Christianity? Always remember this: At least, among others, Mike Pence, a serious evangelical Christian, campaigned in 2024 seeking votes from evangelical Christians, among others, but he was rejected because evangelicals chose Trump over an evangelical Christian presidential candidate whose life story is nothing like Trump’s. For the last eight years, as an evangelical Christian myself, I’ve been grieving for Evangelical Christianity in America. Doesn’t Trump Evangelicalism need redemption? It does without any doubt. It is probably too late for redemption. I am writing this to plead with any Trump evangelicals who happen to read this to reconsider their commitment to Christ in light of their commitment to their political priorities and their allegiance to a political leader. There is nothing wrong with loving your country; I love America as well, and there is nothing wrong with loving your political leader. I previously wrote an article defending Trump.[2] But nothing and no one can replace Christians’ commitment to Christ in any way, shape, or form.
A Christ-Approved Divorce
To be clear, I am not talking about a divorce between a husband and wife or a Christ-approved divorce of marriage. Absolutely not! Instead, in this section, I am talking about a divorce between a “marriage” of Trump evangelicals to a political movement, a MAGA movement. How is such a divorce even thinkable? I am sure many would ask such a question. That is totally understandable. Am I suggesting that evangelicals who support Trump should withdraw their support for Trump? I leave that decision for them. My article is about Christianity: how can we make Christianity great again? Is it possible to still be politically married to the MAGA movement and yet to make Christianity great again? Here are a few thoughts that come to mind as a way forward, even if it is probably too late. Don’t we, Christians, believe in miracles? I do. God can make it a reality for Trump's evangelicalism to experience redemption.
First, the marriage of Trump evangelicals and the Trump brand politics, MAGA politics, is the result of a culture-war-shaped Christianity. As long as this culture-war-shaped Christianity, i.e., Trump evangelicalism, continues as a form of Christianity, the marriage between culture-shaped Christianity and the MAGA political movement will continue. [3] What to do? Recognize that this culture-shaped Christianity is not the true, historic Christianity that Jesus Christ had founded. Jesus Christ did not start a specific culture-shaped Christianity. Jesus Christ inaugurated the Kingdom of God here on earth with the Gospel—the Good News. The culture-shaped Christianity of American Trump evangelicals is not the Good News Jesus of Nazareth brought to this world. Any person who can take moments to reflect can see a monumental contradiction which is the result of culture-shaped-Christianity or an Americanized Christianity: That is, culture-shaped-Christianity, no matter how long it is pursued, will not lead to the true Christianity that was founded on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. “Make America Great Again” can probably work in the realm of politics, but MAGA politics cannot translate culture-shaped Christianity into true, historic Christianity or the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Those Trump evangelicals who apparently believe that the MAGA movement could help in the restoration of robust and true Christianity in America are working tirelessly to destroy true Christianity. The marriage between the political MAGA movement and Trump evangelicalism is a self-defeating movement when it comes to restoring strong and historic evangelical Christianity in America. Hence, my recommendation is for a divorce between Trump's evangelicalism and the MAGA political movement. The choice comes down to who Trump evangelicals are ultimately committed to--- Christ or Trump.
Second, I invite my evangelical family, of course, which includes Trump evangelicals, to reflect on this: Do you want to restore America (make America great again) as a nation or a society where Christian values permeate the lives of many in America? What is the best way to achieve such a noble goal, which I strongly support as a Christian? The obvious answer is by practicing what Christ taught us or what Christ commanded us all, including Trump evangelicals, who are his disciples. I am sure that Trump evangelicals will agree with me that they are disciples of Jesus Christ, not the disciples of Donald Trump or any other human. Jesus Christ commanded us this: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.” All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” Matthew 22:36-40. Now, my question: How likely is it for Trump evangelicals to love their neighbors, especially immigrants, including illegal immigrants? Remember Trump’s message to his supporters? That is, immigrants [from Asia, Africa, and South America] poison the blood of Americans. How likely is it for fervent Trump evangelicals to believe that immigrants poison the blood of Americans and yet love them as themselves? Also, can any follower of Christ find in anything an exception in interpreting Jesus’s commandment by saying love of neighbors excludes immigrants, most importantly illegal immigrant neighbors? I cannot imagine any justification for such an exclusion for those who are real, committed followers of Jesus of Nazareth.
Now, I want to add this: How many Trump evangelicals are committed to love as their neighbors, homosexuals, transgender people, or anyone from the LGBTQ community? Why am I asking this question? It is obvious to anyone who has observed life in America how various communities have been singled out by politicians, in the name of Christ for hate, to be targets of hate. How many politicians use various communities or minorities in America, such as the LGBTQ, immigrants, or blacks, for voting purposes? Isn’t this partly and importantly the result of culture-shaped Christianity? The answer is a resounding YES! Culture-shaped Christianity gives birth to politicians who want to exploit it to gain political power, and those in political power encourage evangelicals to be passionate about culture-shaped Christianity. The circle is vicious and destructive of true Christianity or the Good News. I recommend pursuing true Christianity, the Good News of Jesus of Nazareth, instead of culture-shaped Christianity, Americanized Christianity.
For this African evangelical and almost everyone else from anywhere, Christianity is the Good News that God has given to the profoundly broken world in the life and work of Jesus Christ, and it is about loving anyone and everyone who is created in God’s image, including the transgender, members of the LGBTQ community, heterosexuals, those members of Black Lives Matter, Republicans and Democrats, atheists, Communists, Trump evangelicals, progressive Christians, Muslims, Buddhists and Hindus---EVERYONE. I cannot imagine a consistent Christian view of love that finds a justification to hate any group of people, no matter what their lifestyle choice is. I submit that culture-shaped Christianity does provide reasons for discrimination, hate, and even committing hate crimes, etc. Note this: Christians can legitimately debate the moral issues about any group from the above I mentioned. I am not endorsing this or that group and what is going on, especially the political aspect of any group, including heterosexual, monogamous, conservative Christians. My point is only about how the marriage between Trump Evangelicalism and the MAGA political movement, along with culture-shaped Christianity, has almost extinguished neighbor love as a fundamental feature of Christianity. But that should not be the case. Note this: I am not implying that those non-Trump evangelicals or Christians of any stripe find neighbor love so easy. But my point remains.
In conclusion, let me say this by paraphrasing Mark 8:36 (NASB): “For what does it benefit Trump Evangelicals to gain America that is great and forfeit the soul or the truth of Christianity?” I add that American Evangelical Christians, if they are committed to the promise of Christ and the truth of Christianity, can make America truly great and bring honor and glory to Christ as disciples of Christ. There is no secret or magic plan for what I said to be true. Consistently pursuing Christian values or virtues, with a commitment to truth and moral character, Americans can transform America, and the Good News can reach out to those who hear it.[4]
It is worth remembering that American evangelicals, those who are genuinely committed to sharing the Good News as missionaries, have done so much good. I have benefited from their work. I am only talking about evangelicals who genuinely follow Jesus of Nazareth. I am confident that some of those who are hijacked by the MAGA political movement are still sincere followers of Jesus Christ. As an evangelical Christian from Africa, I want to emphasize this truth: the marriage between the MAGA political movement led by Trump and the culture-war-shaped Christianity led by many, including highly educated Americans, has tarnished the image of evangelical Christianity in America. Both at home, in America, and globally, the credibility of Trump Evangelicals has suffered immeasurable damage. Who wants to hear about Christian values and the value of truth and moral character from Trump evangelicals who fervently defend almost everything Trump does by denying facts and truth any normal human being with just commonsense can know? I hope that Trump Evangelicals engage in sustained soul-searching and come out with a conviction that nothing in life is more important than trying to live a consistently Christian life, even if that means choosing Christ and Christian values over and against Trump and the values Trump embodies. Note this again: I am not talking about your political decisions. Christian values, if consistently practiced, inform and guide all the decisions Christians make, including political decisions.
[1] https://abcnews.go.com/US/judge-finalizes-25-million-settlement-victims-donald-trumps/story?id=54347237
[2] https://open.substack.com/pub/tedlawoldeyohannes/p/in-defense-of-trump-against-brazen?r=1k0iu4&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
[3] See for some relevant thoughts my previous article: https://open.substack.com/pub/tedlawoldeyohannes/p/defending-christianity-from-some?r=1k0iu4&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
[4] I highly recommend this book by a Christian philosopher, Michael W. Austin, Humility: Rediscovering the Way of Love and Life in Christ (Eerdmans, 2024).