Prof. Wariboko Pens Essay on Relationship Between Evangelicals and Trump
The following essay by BU School of Theology Walter G. Muelder Professor of Social Ethics Nimi Wariboko was published on November 4, 2020 on politicaltheology.com. Please click here to read the full article.
Between Evangelicals and Trump: Redemption Through Sin
Trump supporters will not abandon him in the 2020 presidential election. They believe they are doing the will of God, and the theology that God uses sinners to accomplish His purpose now means divine purpose will be fulfilled through the president’s sins.
Anyone who has been watching the evangelicals’ love affair with President Donald Trump in the last four years would have rightfully concluded by now that they will not abandon him in the November election. For this group of Americans, Trump is not just a presidential candidate; he is a Messiah. He is not just a Messiah who will lead his followers to godly redemption, but he is also the unique one who will, through sin, accomplish redemption both for them and also for the whole of America.
Scholars and news analysts have been befuddled by the fact that evangelicals have stood solidly behind him regardless of his well-known ethical lapses or what in evangelical circles is plainly called “sins.” Whether it was evangelicals sticking to his side as he boasted about grabbing women by their pudenda, or looking the other way as Trump violated the Christian ethics of neighborly love by putting children behind cages at migration centers, or even the recent revelation of his tax shenanigans, evangelicals have stood resolutely behind him. Many watchers have therefore concluded that the evangelicals have lost their minds.