Here is the sermon preached last week by the Very Rev Peter Elliott, the Dean of Christ Church Cathedral, Vancouver.
15 responses to “The Trump of Judgement for Liberals”
-
I heard someone talking on the radio who had looked at actual voting data (wherever such people get that from). Predictors of whether someone was a Trump voter, though by no means decisive ones, were whether someone earned more than $50000, had never gone to college or had done so but dropped out, was male, and over 44 years old. But there were people in those categories who had voted for Clinton as well. Even the much spoken of Hispanic vote was not as big a predictor of voting preference as thought and there were too many women who hated Hilary Clinton for misogyny to be the overarching factor.
The stand out predictor which went across all categories was colour, whites going for Trump, up to %58.
This vote was an anti-Obama backlash from people who couldn’t quite forgive the fact that an African-American had been running the show for eight years, whether the racism was of the vitriolic nasty sort or the more urbane sort that says that some of the other lot are probably ok, but only as long as we don’t have to actually mix with them and they’re somewhere else, it amounts to the same thing. The analyst speaking referred to a sort of nostalgia for when whites seemed to be in overall charge of everything.
As to our response: as far as I can see the reason American politics is so vitriolic is because Liberals and Conservatives hate each other and also want to remake the other side in their own image.
Love the other: well very gospel, but pretty darned hard when you struggle to even like xenophobic misogynistic lgbt-haters, let alone love them!
Love might be the attitude that those of us who call ourselves Christians have to struggle towards, but I’m less sanguine than Kelvin is on this one and the verse that keeps going through my mind is the bit in Ecclesiastes about there being a time for this a time for that.
Sometimes conflict is inevitable and has to be fought to a finish. You can’t react to the kind of person who shouted out at Trump’s victory speech “jail Obama” on the basis of well, six of one and half a dozen of the other. And such people aren’t exactly amenable to sweet reason.
On the other hand sometimes people have just to be left alone. Forceably trying to remake the other in your own image just antagonises.
I think our response has to be to discern the difference between the two situations. And to redouble our efforts to make sure that a Trump can’t become Prime Minister in the UK.
-
A prophetic and timely warning, Kelvin. What Trump represents is on the way to becoming a global phenomenon. The tone of his rallies, and the chanting of mindless slogans, is all too reminiscent of Germany in the 1930s. The fact that his election has been welcomed by Marine le Pen and other far-right leaders in Europe speaks volumes.
-
Something to think about: when it penetrates the general consciousness that the majority of white conservative evangelicals voted for Donald Trump, what if anything will be the fall out for Christianity as a whole?
Previous Posts
-
An Everyday Story of Ecclesiastical Folk
Funniest Advent Calendar in the whole world ever is Dave Walker’s cartoon version, over at http://www.cartoonchurch.com/advent/Meanwhile, Ruth captures what it is like to be a cleric preparing for Christmas over on her blog. Freda has decorated her tree. (To great effect) Bishop David is musing on hell in response to Eric Stoddart’s work. It is a pity…
-
Book Review
Church Treasurer’s Handbook – Robert Leach This book does what it says on the cover. It is an excellent resource for anyone involved in the stewardship of any local church’s finances. There is comprehensive advice on all manner of aspects of this work, including record keeping, legacies, budgeting and expenses, contracts, tax and trusts. There is…
-
Sermon for 3 Advent, Year B
I’m not preaching today, but here is one I preached on today’s readings three years ago. I want you to use your imagination this week and use it to answer a question that I have for you to think about during the week ahead. – It is this – what would it mean to you,…
-
Lonely Hearts
Sadly, yesterday I could not get anyone to take seriously my suggestion that inspires (the magazine of the Scottish Episcopal Church) should have a lonely hearts column.It would work. I know it would work.
Leave a Reply