Why The Powerful Hate Christians
Tuesday's Presidential debate proved it
By all rational accounts, former President Trump lost Tuesday's debate to Vice President Harris. In election cycles, when the debate focuses on issues, the republican wins. When the debate becomes about personalities, the democrat wins. Harris, with an extremely heavy lift from a friendly media who produced weeks of "puff-piece" articles touting her "radiant" persona, was successful at making the debate about personalities. She even perfected the art of the smirk, a kind of metaphorical eye roll of sorts employed by women throughout the ages to show disapproval of a man's idea. Aided in Harris' efforts was Donald Trump himself, who knew he was in hostile territory riddled with rakes yet proceeded to go out of his way to step on every one of them anyway. It was too painful to watch, so like many, I turned it off before Trump got his sea legs and turned the debate back to issues.
But in Trump's stumble, he may very well emerge as the unsung victor. Human nature, it appears, innately perceives fairness. And when the game focuses on the referees' discriminate use of the yellow flag instead of the participants play on the field, public support (and sympathy) lean towards the team victimized by the ref’s BS calls. We Americans love our competitions. We love to watch two worthy foes battle it out on the grid iron, the ball court or the political stage. But, most importantly, we Americans love a fair fight.
Referees are employed to monitor the game. Referees are supposed to maintain and enforce rules of play equally so that the ultimate victor may claim they won "fair and square." When the crowd perceives the referee’s whistle favors one team over the other, especially if that favoritism changes the outcome of the game, they innately support the aggrieved team. Sympathy goes to the victimized loser.
Tom Brady, with his seven Superbowl rings, may be the G.O.A.T., but he will always be stigmatized by "deflate-gate." That was the scandal of the 2015 AFC championship game where it was reported that eleven of the game’s twelve footballs were depressurized by two pounds, thus changing the throwing properties of the game ball. Of course, the Brady sycophants ignored the scandal and continued to adore their star quarterback. But the NFL fan base at large perceived unfair play, and put Brady in the category of "cheater," and his reputation became tarnished as a result.
Another classic example of skirting the rules came in 2005, causing a USC's star running back to forfeit his Heisman Trophy. USC, under the leadership of coach Pete Carroll, violated recruitment rules and it was determined the Reggie Bush accepted "improper benefits" as a college athlete. For D-1 football fans now, this rule violation seems quaint and trivial as college players are now allowed to market themselves for financial gain. But, in '05, the rules of the game forbid it, and Bush paid the price. It should be noted that in 2024, Bush had his Heisman Trophy restored, probably due to the fact that these college athlete compensation rules changed. None the less, most blamed coach Pete Carroll for the scandal and I believe that stigma of unfair play has followed the coach as he transitioned to the NFL as head coach of the Seattle Seahawks. He did leave his head coach position at USC just months before the NCAA slapped sanctions on the school for the Reggie Bush recruitment violation. Carroll, no matter how many victories he stacks up in Seattle, will be forever remembered as the NCAA coach that cheated.
"Win the crowd, and perhaps someday, you will win your freedom," were the words said by Proximo to Maximus in the movie, Gladiator. Being the underdog in an unfair fight always evokes sympathy from the crowd. And that sympathy saved Maximus in this scene of the movie. But more importantly, this scene where our hero utters the words, "I will have my vengeance in this world, or the next," sets up what people in power fear the most. They fear vengeance from a just God who knows the true score of the games and the lengths the powerful go to “fix” the outcome. The reality of vengeance becomes unavoidable when an individual stands their ground to defend a principle in an unfair fight. In Christendom, that is the individual that stands firm for Jesus, claiming Him Lord and Savior, especially in the face of the powerful demanding worship of earthly idols.
It is this Christian devotion to the ultimate power of the Lord of all lords, over earthy dominion, that scares the bejabbers out of those in power. Christians, more than any other dominant religion, embody that Divinely protected resistance. And as such, it is Christians that threatening power structures more than other religions. It is this threat, this stoic stance of "vengeance, in this world or the next," that facilitates the ruling class’s hatred towards Christians.
The pressure on Christianity is not going unnoticed by the modern church. Church leaders are feeling the pressure and the hate. Sadly, too many pasters are caving to the hate and secularizing their churches by becoming community organizers for the powers that be instead of staunch supporters of the Christian faith. Scriptures are watered down and filtered for a causal suburban parishioner, the prime target of churches these days because of their affluence and easy-going, "don't want to rock the boat" attitude towards government. It is these church leaders that spew falsely from the pulpit, "there is a Constitutional separation of church and state, but God loves a Swifty, so vote for Kamala." These churches bearing the "Christian" moniker operate out of fear of being Christian, not in Christian fear for the Lord.
There are still true Christian believers. They are the ones speaking truth to power. They are the ones being imprisoned as political agitators. While the denigrators of Christianity run free within our political, academic and social spheres, true believers of the faith are being persecuted for their beliefs.
Nefarious people in power hate Christians, because God, the ultimate Referee of fairness and Judger of souls, will have His vengeance, in this world and the next. And if I did not want to look that reality in the mirror, I would hate Christians too. But as both a believer in Christ and a studier of history, I know where this story ends. I worry not for the Christian dissident’s soul for they portray the conviction that the modern clergy condemn. They will become legend, whereas our sweater-vested, khaki wearing preachers will find themselves navigating Dante's Inferno. And in those circles, recompense is met with vengeance and the only way out is undue forgiveness from the One they had forsaken simply out of fear of being hated.
For me, being hated by the right enemy always gives me solace. And my love of the Lord gives me the strength to persevere in the face of that hate. To be sure, to be a Christian is to be hated. There simply is no softer side of this faith. And any church selling the opposite is selling a myth and is only deceiving itself, while at the same time, betraying the One who calls the balls and strikes of our lives with uncanny acracy.
I do not know Donald Trumps soul. But I do know that the crowd hates cheaters. The powerful elites are in a real pickle with Trump. Let the game go forward by calling the shots fairly, and their chosen candidate loses in epic proportions. Continue the path of “thumb on the scale” justice, and the man they absolutely hate, receives the sympathy of the crowd and wins. The final “ace up their sleeve” the power class have at their disposal is lawfare. Since the first two scenarios still produce a Trump victory, “option C,’ throwing Trump in prison, will ensure their incredibly unlikable candidate a victory, but will render her completely unable the govern, because the crowd still hates a cheater. Where the elites, and their lap dog media, go next is a mystery. But rest assured, their next move will be based on the same self-deception that plagues all who ignore the rules of the game and the ultimate Arbiter of fairness.