Whose Christianity is MAGA embracing?

By now I'm sure you've seen the sermon delivered by Bishop Mariann Budde at the National Cathedral. But I want to make sure that it is recorded here at my little space on the internet. 

While many of us found courage and hope in these words, Donald Trump and his enablers went on the attack. The president called Bishop Budde "a Radical Left hard line Trump hater" and demanded an apology. Speaker Mike Johnson, who claims to base his politics on the Bible, accused her of hijacking the National Prayer Service to promote her radical ideology. Fox News went after Budde for going on a "far left woke tirade," referred to her sermon as "the rantings of a lunatic" and called her a heretic. 

Watching all of that, I was reminded of a speech Barack Obama gave in 2008 about the role of religion in politics - especially the first couple of minutes in this clip:

Even if we only had Christians in our midst - if we expelled every non-Christian from the United States of America - whose Christianity would we teach in the schools? Would it be James Dobson's or Al Sharpton's?

The lie that Christian Nationalists tell themselves is that their interpretation of Christianity is the only one ordained by God and everyone else is a heretic. That is how Bishop Budde is expelled from their tight circle of "us vs. them."

The one word all of these MAGA folks use to describe Budde that is actually accurate is when they call her a "radical." She asked the President of the United States to show mercy and compassion to people who are afraid. That call comes right out of the radical words Jesus spoke.

Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called children of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Those who call for the United States to be a Christian nation are enraged that a pastor called on the president to embrace what Jesus taught. As Asha Rangappa noted, "appeals to kindness, love, decency, and mercy make MAGA outraged."

I am reminded of the fact that two years ago, while MAGA was railing against critical race theory being taught in schools, they extended that vitriol to "social emotional learning." Here is an example of the kind of curriculum they opposed.

Parents involved with Moms for Liberty claimed that this teaching went against their Christian values because it teaches compassion - and for them, “not every human is deserving of my child’s empathy.” One has to wonder who this parent thinks is worthy of their child's empathy and who is not. 

Since I actually believe in free speech and religious freedom, I'm not here to judge or silence the people who actually believe that. But I'll also defend Bishop Budde and her right to speak about her faith.

On that one, I align myself with Jesus (see Beatitudes above). Also, Rev. Martin Luther King.

In a real sense all life is inter-related. All men are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. I can never be what I ought to be until you are what you ought to be, and you can never be what you ought to be until I am what I ought to be...This is the inter-related structure of reality.

Finally, remember that speech Barack Obama gave at the 2004 Democratic Convention? Here's what he had to say:

...for alongside our famous individualism, there’s another ingredient in the American saga, a belief that we’re all connected as one people. If there is a child on the south side of Chicago who can’t read, that matters to me, even if it’s not my child. If there is a senior citizen somewhere who can’t pay for their prescription drugs, and having to choose between medicine and the rent, that makes my life poorer, even if it’s not my grandparent. If there’s an Arab American family being rounded up without benefit of an attorney or due process, that threatens my civil liberties.

It is that fundamental belief -- It is that fundamental belief: I am my brother’s keeper. I am my sister’s keeper that makes this country work. It’s what allows us to pursue our individual dreams and yet still come together as one American family.

E pluribus unum: "Out of many, one."

I find it shocking that in 2025, we actually need to have a conversation about the role of mercy, compassion, and empathy in our pluralistic democracy. But here we are. As the Coffee Talk lady would say..."talk among yourselves." My suggestion would be to start here:

We are all implicated when we allow other people to be mistreated. An absence of compassion can corrupt the decency of a community, a state, a nation. Fear and anger can make us vindictive and abusive, unjust and unfair, until we all suffer from the absence of mercy and we condemn ourselves as much as we victimize others. ..

The power of just mercy is that it belongs to the undeserving. It’s when mercy is least expected that it’s most potent—strong enough to break the cycle of victimization and victimhood, retribution and suffering. It has the power to heal the psychic harm and injuries that lead to aggression and violence.

Bryan Stevenson, Just Mercy