For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever.
Tim Alberta used the closing line of the Lord’s prayer in the title of his book, The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory, subtitled American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism. As a reporter, Alberta went to places where I would never go and spoke to people with whom I would not associate (because our values differ too much). His book is disturbing, but it gave me insight into the damage false prophets and their followers have done and continue to do to Christianity.
Alberta noted that Christian conservatives are now Donald Trump’s “most unflinching advocates.” Given DT’s immorality and unrepentance, as a follower of Christ, I can not help but ask the question that prompted Alberta to write his book: Why?
I also ask myself, What can I do to counteract the damage that has been done to Christian witness? How can I disciple Christians who have been seduced by false teachers?
As Alberta wrote, it isn’t fair to lump all Christian Trump supporters into one homogeneous group. They fall along a continuum. Like Alberta’s, my conservative Christian friends have “to some extent been seduced by the cult of Trumpism.”
An interviewer asked Alberta if he really believes that evangelicals are divided into two camps, as he implied when he tweeted that there are Russell Moore Christians and Jerry Falwell Jr. Christians. Alberta says he fumbled in his response, not stating his position clearly. He responded that some Christians see issues through the eyes of Jesus, while others process everything through a partisan lens. The truth is, Alberta sees evangelicals as either “faithful to an eternal covenant” or “seduced by earthly idols of nation and influence and exaltation…” In other words, one camp has its eyes set on this earthly kingdom, political power, and the exalting of people, not on God and his kingdom.
Evangelicals are not easy to define. Today, the description is frequently used as a cultural or political identity. At one time, evangelicals were born again Christians, characterized by activism – sharing the gospel (the good news) so that others might believe in Christ and be born again. There are still Christians who believe this is our mission. However, with the influence of groups like the “Moral Majority” in the 1980s and the Heritage Foundation today, a growing faction of Christianity has been transformed into a partisan political movement.
Alberta’s book is structured around how politicians, Christians, and others have attempted to coopt the kingdom, the power, and the glory that belong exclusively to God.
God has His own kingdom.
God has His own power.
God has His own glory.
Earthly kingdoms like the one envisioned by conservative Christians and politicians can not compare to the kingdom of God.
No amount of political or cultural power, not even the amount DT and wealthy political donors hold, can compete with the power of God.
The glorification of DT by the Trump cult and his own self-aggrandizement can’t hold a candle to the glory that belongs exclusively to God.
Alberta ended the book’s prologue with this admonition – you can not serve and worship both God and the gods of this world. Christians must resist idolatry. We must reject our worldly identity if we want to become more like Christ, the author and perfector of our faith.
The state of Christianity in the U.S. today is an unpleasant topic that’s been bothering me for years. It isn’t getting any better. The extremism persists. The false witnesses drown out the witness of the faithful. I feel called to resist the false witness.
Heavenly Father, the Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory are yours forever.
Innermost Being 
wow!! 14Change one ❤️
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