Liberal Forum

Praise the Lord.

God did not save Donald Trump (msn.com)

 Nearly immediately after word of the shooting broke, pastors and politicians took to social media to thank God for saving Trump. “God protected President Trump,” Florida Sen. Marco Rubio posted on X. Franklin Graham chimed in. Robert Jeffress, senior pastor at First Baptist Church in Dallas, said it was “a demonstration of the power of Almighty God,” calling it “inexplicable apart from God.”
Jeffress, a longtime Trump supporter, went further: “I believe God spared Donald Trump’s life for a purpose … for the purpose of calling our nation back to its Judeo-Christian foundation. ”But God is love. This idea is at the heart of the Christian faith. Does Trump live by these words? I think not. The New Testament says, “No one has ever seen God, but if we love one another God abides in us … .” The Apostle Paul wrote, “All the law is summed up into this command — Love. Love God and each other.”
Scripture also makes it clear that love is kind, good, and gentle. Love always protects and forgives and makes room for mercy and grace. Love advocates for life and human flourishing. 
Violence is the problem, not the solution. Violence is the disease, not the cure. There is no place for political violence in America from any quarter, but especially for any of us who choose to follow Jesus. Jesus shows us another way than the sword or the bomb or the gun — a way to interact with evil without becoming evil. Peter learned, and any of us who dare follow Jesus must also learn, that we cannot carry a cross in one hand and a weapon in the other. We cannot serve two masters. The recent assassination attempt should cause us to consider how combustible our country is right now, so divided, so angry, so fearful. It should cause those of us who believe in God to take a closer look at our theology.
If our theology does not make us more loving, then we should question our theology. In the words of theologian Barbara Brown Taylor, “The only clear line I draw these days is this: When my religion tries to come between me and my neighbor, I will choose my neighbor … Jesus never commanded me to love my religion.”



(Trump is thinking... "Can I laugh yet?")