Finally, someone now says what I have been thinking

Calvin Sandborn Apr 25, 2026 Victoria Times Colonist – Thanks M for the suggestion

A commentary by an Anglican, retired law professor, King’s Counsel and author of Becoming the Kind Father, a book about men and anger. He lives in Brentwood Bay near Victoria, BC

“Open the F—-n’ Strait, you crazy bastards, or you’ll be living in Hell – JUST WATCH! Praise be to Allah.” — President Donald Trump’s Easter Message

Donald Trump became president by pretending to be a Christian. But church leaders are beginning to call out the imposter.

Pope Leo is denouncing Trump’s threats to destroy Iranian civilization — and the administration’s broader abuse of the gospel. Protestant pastors are beginning to condemn Trump for portraying himself as Jesus Christ. Long ago, Pope Francis declared Trump’s immigration policy was profoundly un-Christian.

Indeed, it’s past time for all American Christians to wake up to the Trump con job — before he transforms a religion of love and mercy into a religion of hatred and cruelty.

Christian voters are largely responsible for the Trump presidency. He received 76% of white evangelical votes in 2024. Yet Trump’s life and message flatly contradict the gospel:

The Bible teaches not to lie. Trump lies every second breath.

The Bible warns that the love of money is the root of all evil. But the love of money is who Trump is — he worships wealth and gold.

Jesus taught “turn the other cheek”. Trump openly boasts: “You hit me, I hit you back twice as hard.”

The Bible forbids sexual abuse and adultery. Juries ruled that Trump sexually abused Jean Carroll and faked records about hush money for porn star Stormy Daniels.

Much of his wrongdoing is common human frailty. We all sin and fall short. But Trump’s egregious heresy is his Big Lie about Jesus’ central mission – bringing love to the world.

Jesus’ “Great Commandment” is to love God and love your neighbour. He specifically called us to love our enemies. To the contrary, the president encourages his followers to hate a long list of scapegoats — immigrants, minorities, LGBTQs, reporters, Democrats, academics, “mean and nasty” Canadians…

Where Jesus stressed the paramount obligation to care for the sick, poor, widowed and orphaned, Trump delights in cancelling food aid and medical aid. The Lancet has estimated that single Trump decision could kill 14 million men, women and children.

Where Jesus urged followers to welcome the stranger and treat them with compassion and justice, Trump constantly dehumanizes immigrants — slandering millions of upright, hardworking undocumented immigrants as murderers and rapists.

Where the Bible enjoins Christians to “love mercy”, Trump showed his contempt for mercy in one revelatory moment – when he grotesquely mocked the reporter with palsy.

In sum, the Trump brand of Christianity has twisted a religion of love and mercy into a pagan cult of hatred and cruelty. Completely missing is the central mandate to work towards a beloved community for all.

As Trump replaces the gospel’s good news with fake news, he deeply damages Christianity. How many millions of potential converts are repulsed by a Christian Nationalist movement that calls upon us to “Revile your neighbour?”

Jesus specifically warned against such false prophets, comparing them to wolves in sheep’s clothing. To identify false prophets, he advised: “You shall know them by their fruits.” The biblical fruits of the spirit are “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.”

The Christian-influenced Abraham Lincoln, Jimmy Carter and Barack Obama showed all those fruits – but, remarkably, Donald Trump fails to show a single one.

Instead, the fruits of Trump-style Christianity are obvious at any Trump rally – anger, contempt, spite, selfishness, misogyny and racism.

A once-noble country has become more coarse, hateful and cruel. Half the country now applauds Trump’s AI video of a crowned president poop-bombing real-life peaceful protesters.

Worse, the president and his followers increasingly see Trump as the Saviour, as God himself. Trump’s recent post of himself as Jesus — surrounded by divine light and celestial beings, healing the sick – is beyond troubling.

The Conservative Political Action Conference once welcomed participants with a large gold statue of Trump. Somehow, many Christians missed the irony of this “Gold Trump.” They forgot that the Bible’s most famous example of a false god is the Golden Calf – the gold statue that Moses angrily demolished because the Israelites worshipped it instead of God.

Trump evangelicals need to wake up and stop worshipping their false prophet, their idol of gold. They need to stop marching behind the Pied Piper of hate.

His big, beautiful grievance tunes are luring the children of Hamelin away from a loving God and ever closer to the cliff and fascism.

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