KWhen I step into the voting booth next week, I will join in making my voice heard on local, state, and federal issues ranging from the local transit tax to who will represent me in the U.S. House, Senate, and me. After all, who will be our next President? Like millions of faithful Americans, my religious beliefs will be a central factor in my decision-making process.

This may be a troubling statement for some, especially those who view belief in any god as an outdated relic of a bygone era. Who can blame them for their discomfort? Organized religion has a checkered history, to say the least.

But as a Christian, the biggest threat in the US right now seems to be evangelical idolatry; the tendency of many Christians to idolize a political candidate, especially one who has proven to be as unfit as Donald Trump.

At a recent campaign event in Concord, N.C., supporters of former president and current Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump chanted: “Jesus! Jesus! Jesus!” The crowd’s chants were in response to Trump’s claim that his Democratic rival, Vice President Kamala Harris, had recently “mocked” and “mocked” Christians at her own rally. “Jesus is Lord.”

Like many of Trump’s claims, this was a lie. In fact, Harris was responding to a small group of anti-abortion protesters at her rally in La Crosse, Wisconsin. Within seconds, the small group was chanting numerous slogans in Harris’ direction, including “Jesus is Lord,” “Lies.” !” And “Abortion is a sacrament of Satan.” Not sure, as confirmed by multiple witnesses and video footage of the incident. Which statement specifically did Harris respond to in the chaos of the moment? Harris, who was interrupted by the group while speaking about abortion rights, suggested that these protesters were “at the wrong rally” and belonged to the smaller one down the road, apparently referring to a Trump rally. Far from mocking or ridiculing her Christian faith, Harris was clearly trying to silence the protesters who were interrupting her speech.

Although Trump’s retelling lacked accuracy, his version of the story had already spread. Conservative corners of social media and amplified by right-wing news sources. This anecdote has now become one of the many ways the Trump campaign is trying to brand Harris as a brand. Threat to Christianity in America.

I find the idea that Christians in the United States are an embattled group absurd. This lie is an old and frequently used rallying cry of right-wing Christians who insist on fanning the flames of the culture war. Christians represent a large segment and strong majority It is the population of the United States that makes any claim that Christians are being persecuted in this country seem ridiculous.

When I think of your name Jesus Having been yelled at multiple times in response to a politician’s lie at a political rally, I am angry at both the politician and the reaction of the crowd of people who seem to have transfigured the race-baiting, serial sexual assaults. It transforms the lying politician into a messianic figure.

Read more: Trump’s Christian Nationalist Vision for America

Like evangelical figures Rob Jeffress, First Baptist Church Dallas And franklin grahamTrump, who was onstage at the Trump rally in North Carolina that night, along with many other evangelical power brokers have long done their part to stoke Christians’ unfounded fears of persecution and portray Trump as God’s ordained man to stand against terrorism. “dark forces” Graham framed the situation in his prayer from the stage at the rally.

In Trump, evangelicals found a candidate who fueled a movement of hate, allowing and even encouraging them to baptize their prejudices against immigrants, LGBTQ+ communities, in the name of God.

When I vote next week, I expect to be faced with difficult choices about who to elect as my state representative, member of the U.S. House of Representatives, Senator, and President. But Trumpism, in all its ugliness, has now become so overwhelmingly the orthodoxy of the Republican party that even down-ballot Republican candidates overwhelmingly represent the cruelty and thoughtlessness we see in Trump.

I live in Tennessee, which has the highest per capita rate. Closing of hospitals in the country and among the worst outcomes mother and baby healthOur statehouse’s Republican majority continues to refuse Federal funding to expand Medicaid is a decision that has resulted in hundreds of deaths. premature deaths And Billions of dollars were lost to the state Since 2014.

The Republican candidate for my district in the U.S. House of Representatives is incumbent Representative Andy Ogles. In a state with firearms-related incidents leading cause of death in childrenOgles is the Congressman who famously posed with his family armed with assault rifles for Christmas Cards, with four of the five members, including himself. Since then Shooting at Covenant School Rep. Ogles’ response to the Covenant families in March 2023 was largely silence, as was the case in the following months. reportedly never met He met with representatives of Covenant School families and did not address the deadly problems facing our state’s children. The Republican nominee for the U.S. Senate is incumbent Senator Marsha Blackburn. Trump’s anti-immigrant rhetoricAlways oppose bipartisan border security legislation It was submitted to the Senate at the beginning of this year. Although both the Ogles and Blackburn are vocal about their religious identities, theirs is not a version of our shared faith that I see expressed in the Christian Bibles.

In my flawed attempts to understand and practice my faith, I have come to believe that the beauty and healing power of the Christian story is that we believe in a God who draws near to the suffering, the suffering, the immigrant, and the poor. marginalised. When I think of a leader who mocks those he perceives as weak, who lies as much as he breathes, who racially traps both documented and undocumented immigrants, and who tries to separate neighbors from neighbors, I cannot in good conscience vote for him. Not only am I not a Republican candidate for President, I cannot vote down votes from Republicans who parrot this hatred and divisiveness and display a callous disregard for the well-being of their constituents.

That doesn’t mean I like my vote being given to Democratic candidates by default. Democrats’ sometimes inept performance-based “wokeness” truly deserves to be ridiculed, as does the image worn by Senators Pelosi, Schumer, and others while kneeling. stole fabric for the city Following the death of George Floyd. Despite the shame factor, there is a largely sincere attempt in Democratic circles to reckon with and correct our nation’s racist history. Fix our historical racism through legislation.

While there may be a lack of tolerance on the more left wing of the progressive spectrum to question their own orthodoxies, in essence these are attempts at engagement and understanding to move us towards a more empathetic society. Democratic policies generally aim to integrate immigrants into our society, expand health care rights to those in poverty, and protect in law women’s rights to autonomy over health care decisions that affect their bodies.

When I hear Trump talk desperately Documented and undocumented immigrantsI am reminded of the story in the Christian Gospels that Jesus’ parents secretly took him from their country to Egypt because they feared for his life. holy family poor immigrants in a foreign land. When I think about the paths Trump sought in his first administration Destroying the Affordable Care ActWhen I think about the behavior of Supreme Court nominees Women’s health rights were restricted In a country where we fall far behind each of our peer nations maternal deathI think of Jesus the Healer, who cared not only for the spiritual needs of the people he encountered, but often also for their bodies, the blind. To the woman who has been sick for years. When I hear how Trump condemns and threatens his political opponents as he seeks to divide the nation, I am reminded of Jesus’ counsel: “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”

A friend of mine recently thought of the poet Maxine Kumin’s quote: “It’s important to act as if bearing witness is important.” When I stand at the podium to cast my vote next week, I intend to bear witness to my faith as a Christian. I will reproduce here the little testimony given to me in Tennessee.

I intend to testify against hatred, divisive and unnecessary fear, racial hostility, and discrimination. I intend to bear witness to the hope that we can do better as a nation, that we can move forward by acknowledging the deep wounds from the violence of our past, that we can reckon with our ghosts and choose a better path together.

When we take action supposedly Our testimony is important, that’s right.