Your Independent Journal from the Heartland
Donald Trump is creating a task force to eradicate anti-Christian bias in government. The first order of business of this task force should be to defend and protect Right Reverend Mariann Budde, the Episcopal Bishop of the Diocese of Washington, D.C. Consistent with a Christian precept that she and millions of Christians affirm, she publicly called on Trump to “have mercy upon the people in our country who are scared now.”
For this widely accepted interpretation of the teachings of Jesus, she has been viciously attacked. She is a “mental rapist” and an “instrument of the devil.” One critic claimed that there was a “special place in hell” for her. Trump himself labeled her “nasty,” one of his favorite terms of derision directed to women. Speaker of the House of Representatives Michael Johnson called her message of mercy “shameful.” A Congressman claimed that she should be deported. The House is considering a resolution to condemn her heartfelt Christian message. We’ve clearly reached a sad state when elected officials denounce a call for mercy from a religious leader.
Many of Budde’s most ferocious critics purport to be “Christian.” The task force should certainly target a serious threat to Christianity: the rigid intolerance of those who wield their religion as a cudgel to impose conformity, stifle dissent, and promote hatred.
ROBIN BLAKE, Columbia, Mo.
