Donald Gets Called out by a Bishop

Grumpy Trumpy at Church.

Welcome to The Ex-Christian Observer: a weekly newsletter from a former Christian unpacking the madness that is evangelical Christian America.

What’s up nonbelievers, doubters, and skeptics?

Donald Trump says “the Golden Age of America begins right now.”

Hey, I like golden things: Golden Corral, Golden Crisp, Golden Retrievers.

But is this really about to be the Golden Age of America?

If you watched that inauguration like I did, then you may come away thinking that we’re entering the Golden Age of Christian Nationalism…and billionaires.

Well, the day after Donald Trump was sworn in as 47th President of the United States, he attended a prayer service at Washington's National Cathedral.

During the service, Bishop Mariann Budde directly addressed the President:

Let me make one final plea, Mr. President. Millions have put their trust in you and, as you told the nation yesterday, you have felt the providential hand of a loving God. In the name of our God, I ask you to have mercy upon the people in our country who are scared now. There are gay, lesbian and transgender children in Democratic, Republican, and Independent families, some who fear for their lives.

The people who pick our crops and clean our office buildings; who labor in poultry farms and meat packing plants; who wash the dishes after we eat in restaurants and work the night shifts in hospitals. They…may not be citizens or have the proper documentation. But the vast majority of immigrants are not criminals. They pay taxes and are good neighbors.

They are faithful members of our churches and mosques, synagogues, gurudwaras and temples. I ask you to have mercy, Mr. President, on those in our communities whose children fear that their parents will be taken away. And that you help those who are fleeing war zones and persecution in their own lands to find compassion and welcome here.

Our God teaches us that we are to be merciful to the stranger, for we were all once strangers in this land. May God grant us the strength and courage to honor the dignity of every human being, to speak the truth to one another in love and walk humbly with each other and our God for the good of all people. Good of all people in this nation and the world. Amen.

All the while, Trump sat there, staring into the abyss and scoffing.

But what is so bad about this plea? Is is so wrong to want people to be treated with mercy and kindness?

Something tells me that Jesus would side with the bishop over the posse sitting in the pews.

Trump was so angry that he posted on Truth Social after midnight:

This man does not contain one ounce of compassion.

4 more years of insults. 4 more years of treating non-straight, non-cis, non-white, non-Christian, non-American people as less than.

She’s asking you to be less of a prick, man. Less abrasive. Kinder. More accepting. These are foreign concepts, I understand.

Hmm. I wonder how Facebook Christians are reacting to this…

She is asking for the oppressed and marginalized to be cared about.

They’re mad because she’s asking for *checks notes* mercy?

Big apologies to the pussy grabber.

She needs Jesus!!! Get the hell out of here with your mercy, love, and kindness!!!

Yeah…because they neverrrrrr bring politics into the church.

Is it innately political to directly address what Trump said in his own speech and remind him of the beliefs that he claims to hold?

I’d love for Jennifer to define wokeness for us.

At least some of them get it, like David Earl Williams III.

Yet somehow wanting the president to be more Christ-like is… not Christ-like?

I think you’re talking to the wrong person, Bobby.

This guy went to worship??

Did it hurt when the irony just smacked you right in the face?

They will call everyone a wolf in sheep’s clothing…except the wolf in sheep’s clothing.

It’s wild to see how many people think SHE is the problem and not him.

This is what we call back assward, kids.

That’s all for today!

Remember: You don’t need a god to be good.

Kevin

Join Skeptic Circle—a community for nonbelievers

All of my links: www.jesusunfollower.com

Did Matthew, Mark, Luke and John Actually Write Matthew, Mark, Luke and John? Learn from Dr. Bart Ehrman in this free course (if you end up buying any paid courses through that link, I may get a small commission at no extra charge to you).