I’m seeing a lot of social media posts from people who seem puzzled, even incensed that MAGA followers call themselves Christian. Their critics point out that they do not seem to love others as themselves or to show mercy to the homeless, the hungry, or those far from home.
In my experience, a Christian refers to a person who belongs to a group of people who call themselves Christians. I’ve also met people who declare themselves Christian but are not members of any Christian group. In my view, both qualify, because identity is self-referential. The term itself has no purity test attached. The central authority of the Bible can be used to support differing scriptural interpretations depending upon the church. What I learned in the Episcopal Church USA will not align perfectly with the teachings of the Pentecostal Holiness Church, but that doesn’t mean that one of those denominations is not Christian.
Christian faith has many strands. The followers of different sects within its umbrella may sincerely believe their way represents a Christ-like life. An argument that MAGA is not a true Christianity will change no one’s mind. Instead, it tends to reinforce, even strengthen their belief that powers and principalities oppose them and that they are blessed because Jesus mentioned this kind of insult, persecution, and false witness in the Beatitudes. You can cringe all you like at the thought that Donald Trump was divinely chosen to lead the country, but many people believe this. They are unlikely to find your skepticism compelling. Such is the nature of faith.
So I stay out of it. This is not my fight. I look forward with both curiosity and a bit of dread to find out what mine may be.