Review: The Spiritual Danger of Donald Trump

With November 3rd, just under five months away, The Spiritual Danger of Donald Trump serves as an important point of engagement for Christians who seek to be faithful to their calling to follow Jesus Christ in the world and who seek to put their commitment to the kingdom of God ahead of all other allegiances. 

This collection of twenty-five essays from thirty evangelical Christians provides a concise overview of the biblical and theological concerns many evangelical Christian leaders have with Christian support of Donald Trump. Representing a wide range of disciplines including, theologians, sociologists, historians, psychologists, politicians, and legal experts the authors provide the reader with a broad range of biblical and theological approaches from which to view their concerns with the evangelical support of Donald Trump.

This is by no means a theological “hit piece.” It is a thoughtful, compassionate, grace filled, biblical and theological reflection on the importance of the church maintaining a faithful witness to Jesus Christ and its proclamation of the kingdom of the God. As a result it pushes the reader to engage with Scriptures. Divided into three sections, “On Trump,” “On Evangelical Support of Trump,” and “On Theological, Historical, And Constitutional Issues Regarding Trump” the authors provide a comprehensive overview of the danger facing the church through its support of Trump.

For the evangelical Trump supporter this collection of essays provides an important point of engagement with fellow evangelicals whose arguments will either be persuasive in changing their minds or will need to be refuted and rejected as unbiblical and false before casting a vote in November. What the church can’t afford, as several of the contributors point out, is uncritical support of Trump from those who claim to be Christians. 

For the never Trump voters this collection of essays provides a point of connection and dialogue within the church reminding the reader of the need to be focused on the biblical text and the kingdom of God. It is not enough for Christians to be just “anti-Trump.” There needs to be a well articulated biblical and theological reason for it and this book provides an accessible resource for articulating such a position.  

While clearly written for Christians, this book can serve those outside the church as a helpful piece in understanding that not all “conservative” Christians are Trump supporters. It will also provide a greater understanding and appreciation of what it means to be an historically orthodox follower of Jesus Christ in the world, separate from partisan political allegiance.   

It is clear that all the contributors to this collection have spent considerable time wrestling with and listening to God’s word in the Scriptures as they seek to walk a path faithful to their commitment to Christ. As a result the reader is called to do the same. It is not enough to give merely pragmatic reasons for voting.  

I hope I’m wrong, but I fear this book will only be read by those who already agree with its content. It’s too important to be ignored. There’s too much at stake.