As a person of faith, I have been horrified to watch Christianity’s fall from grace in mainstream America. The former president’s legacy stands out as an embodiment of what is missing today from our leaders in Congress, and in church.
Christ isn’t a part of the Christian church to be an example for people to follow. Humans are not nearly as smart as we believe (it’s hard to tell when you’re dumb) and when we belong to a group with members that enjoy moral respect, we transfer that quality to ourselves whether we deserve it or not in a phenomenon called moral licensing. Christians don’t have to act Christ-like to FEEL Christ-like. All these stories are told about Christ’s moral superiority not to teach us now to be moral, but to make Christians FEEL moral without even having to do anything. It is the sugary way that Christianity deals with one of people’s fundamental needs of religion: knowing that they are good people.
Christ isn’t a part of the Christian church to be an example for people to follow. Humans are not nearly as smart as we believe (it’s hard to tell when you’re dumb) and when we belong to a group with members that enjoy moral respect, we transfer that quality to ourselves whether we deserve it or not in a phenomenon called moral licensing. Christians don’t have to act Christ-like to FEEL Christ-like. All these stories are told about Christ’s moral superiority not to teach us now to be moral, but to make Christians FEEL moral without even having to do anything. It is the sugary way that Christianity deals with one of people’s fundamental needs of religion: knowing that they are good people.