Q&A of the Day – Christianity in the age of Trump
Each day I’ll feature a listener question that’s been submitted by one of these methods.
Email: brianmudd@iheartmedia.com
Twitter: @brianmuddradio
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Today’s entry...
Rationalize this, weird Trump Christians. Trump says something incorrect and the astronaut gently corrected him. So. He gives her the finger. Our oldest Allies, the finger. The Constitution, the finger. Another worldwide embarrassing day for America.
Bottom Line: Ever since I tweeted and pinned this to my Twitter account...We're incredibly blessed. I believe that if all of us who're fortunate enough to realize the power of God were willing to share the message in public, not just behind closed doors, this world would be a better place. I’ve heard from people attempting to call me out for being a hypocrite. This being one of those efforts. But first to address your ramblings. About the astronaut thing. Granted, I’m not an expert on delivering the bird but I thought someone had to be present? The President scratching his head while on the phone would lead to that message not being delivered. But believe whatever you want to believe. As for our oldest ally, France, not only is President Trump critical of President Macron – most of France agrees with him. Macron’s approval has averaged 30%-34% this year. But back to the bigger point. Christianity in the age of Trump. You want it rationalized and I’m happy and able to do it.
According to the Pew Research Center, Donald Trump won 64% of the Christian vote in 2019. That’s compared to only 28% of non-Christian voters. Clearly, Christians carried him to the Presidency. You, as many critics of President Trump, are attempting to advance the notion that a Christian is weird if they support him. Ironically, as a Christian who is clear in his faith, I’d suggest it’d be weird not to be supportive. Without getting into specifics about Christianity, the most important role a President can play for us – is to protect our rights to practice our faith, free from government interference. That comes in various forms of policy. Starting with tax policy.
Most people don’t associate a good economy and tax policy with religious liberty, but they should. The more money earned and retained, the more we have to engage our faith as we see fit. With near record low unemployment and record high wages – more Christians can support their religious beliefs with time and treasure. That includes the ability to donate money and increased financial flexibility to volunteer for causes they would like to support. More charitable time and money are contributed to religious causes than any other category in the United States.
According to the National Philanthropic Trust, over 90% of Christians donate a combination of money and time to charitable causes. Here’s what’s happened with Charitable giving in the two years of the Trump administration.
Total dollars:
- 2016: $390 billion
- 2018: $429 billion
That’s an increase of $39 billion or 10%, in just two years, with religious organizations and most specifically Christian organizations - receiving the largest share of the donations. That’s the personal economic case. In part two I’ll address the policy case.
Here's the link to the second part of today's Q&A: https://wjno.iheart.com/featured/brian-mudd/content/2019-10-24-christianity-in-the-age-of-trump-part-2-the-policy-case/