The Truth Will Set You Free...Unless Donald Trump Defiles the Meaning of Truth

Make no mistake: Trump has always desired to be a strong man and now he desires to be seen as a strong man as president of the United States. His admiration for autocrats is by no means confined to Vladimir Putin. He has seemed to reserve much of his praise in public and private comments for autocratic leaders like President Erdogan of Turkey and Korean dictator Kim Jong-un, and much of his criticism for allies leading European democracies. He finds the checks and balances of the American system inconvenient, and he clearly wishes that even the modest checks he has had to contend with so far weren't there.

But Trump is more than a liar. He has always tried to change what people believe about the truth — suggesting that there is not any truth, and people should just believe whatever Trump says. Listen to him, and hear him in any situation trying to change the truth to whatever he says it is. This goes all the way back to day one of his presidency, his inauguration day, when Trump said the sun was shining though it was continually raining. It has been raining on our democracy ever since.

Donald Trump is NO Strongman by any values of the Christian faith.

• He is weak morally;
• He is weak intellectually;
• He is weak emotionally.

So what do we do about Donald Trump? As Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King said, in another time of crisis, “We’ve got some difficult days ahead.”

We can’t control all the politics, but we can decide what we will do.

It is time for Christians

• to lift up the truth over falsehood, as a way of life;
• to defend public service over political tyranny; and
• to always protect the increasingly vulnerable.

It is time to reclaim Jesus.