Why evangelicals made a deal with devilish Donald
Interestingly, Perkins described the motivations of his fellow "values voters" in the stark terms of modern identity politics: He spoke of a righteous "us" vs. the ruthless, corrupt and vindictive "them," who in his mind tend to be liberal Democrats.
Evangelical Christians, says Perkins, "were tired of being kicked around by Barack Obama and his leftists. And I think they are finally glad that there's somebody on the playground that is willing to punch the bully."
Hey, what happened to turning the other cheek? asked Politico reporter Edward-Isaac Dovere.
"You know, you only have two cheeks," Perkins said. "Look, Christianity is not all about being a welcome mat which people can just stomp their feet on."
And the culture war fights on. If you, like I, do not think of Obama as a "bully," you understand how conservative faith leaders are casting themselves and their flock as an identity group in starkly political terms: victims besieged by a sense of victimization in a hostile world.
President Trump knows how to play that card. He won the presidency partly because of it. However, as much as evangelicals appreciate their alliance with Trump, they also point out that the "mulligan" is only good once. In theological terms, Trump must go forth and sin no more. That's a lot to ask of any politician. For Trump, it might take a miracle.
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(E-mail Clarence Page at cpage@chicagotribune.com.)
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