Christianity is not a justification for hate: in fact, a vote for Trump goes against everything Christianity is.
The opinions stated in this article are those of the author alone and do not reflect the rest of the Roar. Additionally, they do not represent Algonkian District school board member April Chandler or her position.
Congratulations – we’ve elected a 34-time convicted felon, pathological liar, misogynist, racist, islamophobe, homophobe, transphobe, and adjudicated rapist to the highest office in the United States. And if you voted for him, whether you outright support him or just didn’t like the other option, you have shown that none of those things are dealbreakers to you.
This is especially true for Trump voters who are Christian or Christian-denominational. In that case, a long look at your religion and the values you hold is required.
In Matthew 22:37-39, Jesus stated, “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” Your neighbor is not just the next straight white person you see: it is the immigrant who fled their country to survive. It is the transgender person who just wants to feel secure in their body. It is the woman who doesn’t want to carry the baby of her assaulter.
For those familiar with the Golden Rule, historical context dictates that in Jesus’ time, Samaritans were a group of ethnic Jewish people who had a schism from traditional Judaism. The other man in the parable, the one the Good Samaritan helps, is determined to be a traditional Jew by most historians. In this case, the two could not have been more different. By sharing this parable, Jesus hoped to impart that we should love the “other:” someone completely different from ourselves.
Jesus wouldn’t hate you for your vote because he wouldn’t have hated anybody (in that way, he’s better than you). He would have hated, though, being the justification for the type of hate that elects everything we’ve already discussed Donald Trump is. Christian Trump voters could not be further from Jesus and what he stood for.
If you voted for Trump, you cannot separate yourself from his hate. He is still the man who proposed and enacted a Muslim ban. He is still the man who formed a Supreme Court that is stripping the rights of women and LGBTQ+ people. He is the man who attempted to bring down democracy with one strike of his fist, sending thousands of his supporters to storm the United States Capitol.
He is the furthest thing from the true message of Christianity, and he is the furthest thing from being an American. We are a nation built on immigrants. We are one of the most diverse nations in the world. His hate goes against everything America stands for. We are also the most advanced nation in the world. A country of our standing, a country with our population, should not be going backwards: but that is exactly what we’re doing.
Waking up on Wednesday morning, it felt like the end of the world for many. We watched as the nation revealed its true colors, no doubt setting up a dark age for many minorities in the United States.
We may not have the government, but we have each other. POC, LGBTQ+ people, and women: we have to continue to exist. Whether it’s out of spite or out of love, the only thing we can do is exist. It is the greatest form of protest.