Donald Trump and The End of Christianity

How the Faithful Play a Part in its Demise

It’s not every day you get to see a species become extinct. Only, in this era, that’s not exactly true.

Whether you’re a believer or not, we’re all witnessing the last vestiges of what was once Christianity as we understood it. It will be changed forever because of one man.

Donald Trump is single-handedly changing the religion and there’s not a thing anyone can do about it. He will be the end of Christianity as we know it.

Here is how Christians completely abandoned their religious beliefs and their only chance to get them back.

Altered states

Some things hide in plain sight.

There is a principle called Occam's Razor, which states:

“when explaining things no more assumptions should be made than is necessary.”

An example of this would be “When you hear hoofbeats, think horses, not zebras.” In simpler terms, all things being equal, the simplest observation tends to be the correct one.

This is where Christianity has come off the rails. They have become immune to obvious facts and truths about the state of religion today and the belief that Donald Trump is somehow, its greatest champion.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

Mr. Trump is the poster child for self-service and everything he does is geared toward four outcomes:

Self-preservation

Self-promotion

Self-enrichment

Self-gratification

Anyone who thinks the former President is acting on their behalf needs to re-examine their position. He does not act in anyone's best interest unless it serves him, and he doesn’t care who knows it.

So, why do people love this man so much? What is it about him that made people try to overthrow a free and fair election? Why did thousands of Trump supporters violently storm the Capitol on January 6th and chant “Hang Mike Pence?”

Why?

The answer is not that hard to figure out.

The trade-off

When The Supreme Court handed down the Dobbs decision, Christians and Evangelists across the nation finally had their prayers answered.

Roe v Wade was overturned and women's reproductive rights were set back half a century. This was the trade-off religious people were willing to make to place Donald Trump in power. It’s part of the reason why he’s still adored by millions.

You see, religious leaders see this exchange as a necessary strategy in the fight against, what they see, as an affront to God and religious beliefs.

Christians across this nation subscribe to one, singular belief while abandoning the basic foundations of the religion as a whole.

The hypocrisy is simple:

Christians are willing to sacrifice 9 Commandments, to enforce the one they feel strongest about.

Full disclosure: In no way am I advocating that any sin is a good one. I was raised Catholic, so I understand the meaning of the Ten Commandments. However, “Thou shalt not kill” is #6 on the list. If it was the most important, why isn’t it at #1?

The truth is, and what I believe, is the Ten Commandments are to be adhered to as a doctrine: a belief system to be followed as a whole and that one commandment is no more important than the other.

Many Christians would argue against this theory. If this is the case, then, “I am the Lord thy God, thou shalt not worship any God before me” would be the commandment demanding the most importance at #1. Therefore murder would be less impactful as a sin. I don’t subscribe to this belief.

Sin City

Everybody sins. There’s no escaping the fact that people do things they shouldn’t, myself included.

But sinning is not exclusive to one group or statistical metric. Crime does not discriminate. To demonstrate this fact, let’s look at some data as it relates to Christians and the Ten Commandments:

“Thou shalt not steal:”

Research performed by the Center for the Study of Global Christianity showed nearly one-third of churches were the victims of embezzlement, with nearly 27% of crimes going unreported.

“Thou shalt not commit adultery:”

According to EEW Magazine (Barna), nearly 37% of all Christian divorces were the result of infidelity.

“Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor:”

Wikipedia, citing a Pew Research Center survey stated that 67% of all Christians agreed that being honest at all times was essential to their Christian identity.

Other statistics:

• According to NBC News, 45% of Christians think abortion should be illegal. However, nearly 50% of religious people believe abortion should be legal.
• 61% of Americans believe abortion should be legal.
• Of the 10 most peaceful nations, the top 7 are the most secular (less religious).
• The safest states are the least religious.
• Nearly half of the U.S. population identifies as religious or spiritual.
• Religious participation has been on the decline for decades in the U.S.

For a religious group that prides itself on Christian values and the word of God, maybe they should practice more and preach less. More on this in a bit.

The Old vs The New

If anything, the Bible is a great book. What other books have amazing stories about raising people from the dead, spirits being lifted to Heaven, and a grown man consumed by a whale? Not many, I’ll wager.

But the reason the Bible is so popular, besides the religious aspect, is because it contains amazing stories and valuable lessons. However, the book changed over time.

To be clear, The following interpretations are lessons learned from Bible classes and religious studies that most Christian children receive growing up. It’s important to lay the foundation of what the Christian faith believes so we have a better understanding of why it’s failing.

The Old

The Bible has two parts: the Old and the New Testaments. The Old Testament is the original book that tells the story of the creation of the world, and the human race, as it perceives. This version is filled with Psalms, prophecies, wars, and visions.

But, as the book unfolds, the content changes over time.

For example, if life expectancy remained the same as in Genesis, we’d all live to the ripe old age of 900, as with Noah. Plus, if the practices from the Old Testament were followed in the present day, the world would perform matching punishments for crimes such as “a fracture for a fracture” or “an eye for an eye.”

Thankfully the first book has a sequel.

You see, in the olden days when man became uncontrollably sinful and refused to respect God and follow his doctrine, he sent the Great Flood and destroyed all life on earth, except for Noah’s family and the creatures he placed into the Ark.

After this terrible destruction, God made a promise to never destroy all living things again. He sealed this covenant with a Rainbow. But man, once again, resumed his sinful ways.

The New

Now we come to the good part of the story.

Because God loved man so much and blessed us with the power of choice, he decided to save mankind once again. Only this time, he did something amazing. God gave man the power to choose his own spiritual fate.

To remove the sins of the world and provide man with the opportunity of redemption, God sent his only son Jesus Christ, to teach man a new path to salvation.

Jesus brought a message of peace, love, inclusion, and understanding for all living things. He preached forgiveness and compassion. Some of the greatest quotes in history came from Jesus:

• Turn the other cheek.
• Love thy enemy and pray for those who persecute you.
• Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God
• Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
• Let he among you who is without sin, cast the first stone.
• Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy
• Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in Heaven.

Are you starting to see the picture? God sent Jesus to be punished and persecuted for man's sins. Then, Jesus told his Disciples the only way to salvation was to choose him:

I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

There is no other message or lesson to teach. The entire basis for Christianity is summed up by this statement. The religion itself is not called Mosesianity or Joshuaianity, it’s Christianity: as in Jesus Christ.

So, if Christians understood the teachings of Jesus and were ordained to follow his lessons and live by his example, where did it all go wrong?

The Timeline

I believe I understand the timeline of when things started to go off the rails for Christianity.

It started with 9/11.

After the horrific attacks against America on 9/11, there was a sharp spike in reported hate crimes. It's no mystery that there was a lot of anger and confusion during this time of pain, anxiety, and frustration.

A few years after this initial spike, things began to calm down. But by the mid 2010s hate crime incidents were on the rise. That, coupled with the declaration of the immigration crisis at the border in 2014, the situation worsened.

To compound matters, certain right-wing media outlets stoked the fires by portraying immigrants in a negative light. And then, the unthinkable happened:

Donald Trump ran for President in 2016.

From the beginning, Trump took advantage of the fear-mongering by right-wing media and he ran with it. He falsely designated immigrants as thugs, drug dealers, murderers, and rapists. Trump even went as far as to call them terrorists. As usual, there was no proof of his allegations.

Regardless of the lies, the hate and racist rhetoric continued and gained incredible traction. When this situation was combined with the woke and inclusion movements, the country experienced unprecedented polarization.

Once Trump was in office his agenda became clear: anyone with an opinion other than his or who disagreed with him was an enemy of the country. He openly made fun of women, handicapped people, and politicians. He insulted and bullied everyone around him.

But the real damage was with his lies. Always lying about everything. Unfortunately, when you’re the leader of this country, people take stock in what you have to say. Combined with the media rhetoric, and people started blindly believing the lies.

The Train Derails

When you follow the timeline of the hatred after 9/11, the immigration crisis and the woke and inclusion movements, you start to see a pattern that ultimately will lead to the end of Christianity as we know it.

You see, deep down inside, racist thoughts and feelings have never left this country. They’ve always been hidden beneath the surface just waiting for someone to normalize them.

Enter Donald Trump.

Suddenly, this country had a leader who felt the same way many felt in this country. What’s more, he openly and brazenly spoke about it. The man has no shame or humility. Trump's racist behavior has opened a wound in this country and set us back a century.

Instead of civility in this country, we have division. One side pitted against the other.

So, I have one question. Where are the so-called Christians in this time of need? Why haven’t the religious leaders of this country condemned every comment, speech, and action against anyone deemed to be different than them?

Why do Christians continue to support a man who encourages violence, continuously lies about everything, and supports extreme measures to hurt and punish people that he doesn’t like? Is it okay to put spikes on top of the border wall, or crocodiles in the Rio Grande, just because he hates immigrants? Is that what Jesus would do?

You can’t make the argument for drastic measures to deal with adversity when you belong to a religion where the leader promotes peace and love above all. Why then do Christians subscribe to the exact opposite in Donald Trump?

Christians made a deal with the devil. That’s why they don’t act. They were so focused on overturning abortion rights, that they lost their way and have become anything but what a true Christian is. They see Trump as a means to an end for the one commandment they care about, while simply ignoring the other nine.

Here Endeth the Lesson

Time for accountability.

The Old Testament was the initial foundation of Christianity. It was the beginning but not the end. The New Testament was meant to replace the Old One.

So here it is, Christians. Your entire belief system revolves around one belief: Salvation through Jesus Christ. All other priorities have been rescinded.

This is what God intended.

Jesus commands peace, love, inclusion, and understanding from everyone and towards everyone. There are no other paths to Heaven. “No one comes to the Father but through me.”

Sorry, but no more cherry-picking old verses such as “Leviticus” and others from the old book to prove your points. There’s a new book in town, and the owner doesn’t subscribe to that old b.s.

The problem today is most Christians have created their own version of religion. It’s okay to act and feel like they do because they assume they’re righteous and their opinions are the opinions.

Commit a sin? No problem! Just go through the morality car wash (confession) and you’ll be good to go for another week of sinning. What a bargain!

Christians think their religion is the only religion and if you don’t believe the way they do, you’re the enemy.

How about “Let he among you who is without sin, cast the first stone.” We are not the ultimate judge for anyone you think is a sinner. That job’s already taken, so take a breather and relax. We don’t get to decide. If people make the wrong choice, they’ll have to deal with it. You can’t force belief. Remember, it’s a choice.

Besides, if you want to bring more sheep into the fold, how about becoming a better role model? Christianity should hire a better Marketing Manager.

In The New Beginning? (we hope)

It’s time for Christians to read the New Testament again and listen to the words and not just read them. No more looking past the truth and inserting your opinions. It was never meant to work that way.

Christians should put their money where their mouth is. Now more than ever is the time to practice the faith you’ve abandoned. If you don’t want to see the end of Christianity…

Start here:

• Stop lying and tell the truth.
• Stop believing in a liar and fight for all truths.
• Stop cheating on your partners and work on your relationships.
• Stop being afraid of what you don’t understand.
• Stop forcing people to bend to your will.
• Stop killing each other.
• Start helping one another
• Start spreading peace and love.
• Start including others, even if you don’t agree with what they do or who they are.
• Start listening instead of talking.
• Start acting and behaving as Jesus would.

After all, the man died for us. It’s the least you can do to honor his memory.

For more inspirational stories about self-improvement, mental health, and wellness, join my free newsletter.

I’m available for work.