If Trump WAS Sent by God...

[huckelberry]

hauslern,

I can see some of what the psalm refers to.

Things get buried. I think Trump thought saying two Corinthians instead of the conventional Second Corinthians was cute. I am not particularly impressed but do not hold that against him. I am more troubled by his idea of wanting to rely upon his own imagination to determine who got the most votes instead of counting the votes. He speaks as though the power of positive thinking (his preferred approach to religion) means if he preaches his imagination with enough force it must be or become real. He has a group of followers who act as if they enjoy the approach. I think it is like driving a car blindfolded.

[hauslern]

The Narcissistic Personality -Trump - The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump. Believing you are better than others. Exaggerating your achievements or talents. Expecting constant praise and admiration. Believing you are special. Failing to recognize other people’s emotions and feelings. Expecting others to go along with your ideas and plans. Taking advantage of others. Expressing disdain for those who you feel to be inferior. Being Jealous of others. Believing others are jealous of you. Being easily hurt and rejected. Having fragile self-esteem. Appearing tough-minded or unemotional.

DEMONIZATION
Sometimes, part of making a deal is denigrating your competition (The Art of the Deal).

“When Mexico sends its people, they are not sending their best. They are sending people that have a lot of problems, and they are bringing these problems with us. They are bringing drugs. They are bringing crime. They are rapists. And some, I assume, are good people.

Misogyny
"You could see there was blood coming out of her eyes. Blood coming out of her -whatever" Megyn Kelly interview.

Delusions are beliefs that exist despite indisputable, factual evidence to the contrary. - The election was stolen
Delusions are held with absolute certainty, despite their falsity and impossibility.
Delusions can have a variety of themes, including grandeur and persecution.
Delusional people tend to be extremely thin-skinned and humorless, especially regarding their delusions.
Delusions are central to the person's existence and questioning them elicits a jolting and visceral reaction.
Delusional disorder is chronic, even lifelong, and tends to worsen in adulthood, middle age, and beyond.
Words and actions are consistent and logical if the basic premise of the delusion is accepted as reality.
The person has a heightened sense of self-reference (It’s always about me).
From The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump.

[huckelberry]

Coming back to this, I really do hope you will share what you believe was taking place in the quoted post. That being:

Having lived all of my life in the Southeast, I saw great benefit within the African American community here during Trump’s presidency. Benefit that I have never seen in 50-ish+ years. I, strikingly, have seen what has been in my lifetime an oppressed community, now thriving, upwardly mobile, and finally in possession of a long overdue rightful sense of dignity. Much of that oppression coming from our own U.S. government. For this reason I can focus on Trump’s positive aspects and the benefits of his presidency and not get caught up in persuasion of others who in self-righteousness are quick to point out the speck in someone else’s eye, while ignoring the plank in their own.

Conflict avoidance can be admirable but I would argue discussion avoidance is not. I suspect many of our modern societal issues come from the combination of willingness to engage in blind conflict with stubborn reticence to engage in exploring our own views with those who disagree with us. Dialog is dead. That Trump has had the effect on opportunity in the South presented seems like a particularly specific example where the perception of Trump as President could be filled out beyond the caricatures.

Well, I see an accusation of self righteousness for people not following Trump.

What I hear is Trump wishful thinking playing upon the hopes and expectations of the lost cause.

The federal government has been the main source of keeping African Americans down? Hardly, but blame is widely spread and there have been some things which would fit this.

I suppose what the federal government was doing during the years 2000 through 2016 which kept people down should be reviewed. Then perhaps what Trump did to stop that could be understood a bit more clearly.

[huckelberry]

I have puzzled over just what could have possibly have created the idea that Trump provided for black Americans a long overdue sense of dignity and upward mobility. I do not see any reason for that idea and pointed to objective information hoping fro clarification. Perhaps the idea is not one of objective details but of vision and hope. Clearly Trump provides hope for some people and black Americans certainly may share those same hopes. That some should see hope in Trump is no more mysterious than the fact many white Americans find hope there.

In Terrestial Kishkumen posted a relevant discussion about Nibley, Eliade and extremist hopes for reestablishing a sacred past for the country. Such a hope perhaps not fully articulated may be energizing Evangelical energy for Trump. Perhaps the lack of details in the hope helps it to spread and continue. It may not need evidence, specifics or achievements. Expectation may be stronger.

Is there another explanation for tacking the word "again" on the slogan?

[Moksha]

What if Trump was a creation of Loki, the Norse God of Mischief, or perhaps was something conjured by Morgoth during the First Age of Middle Earth? He has the behavior of something sprung from an evil deity.

[msnobody]

Why should an evangelical move away from the term? I for one would not.

Why not? Are you so fricking gawddamned stupid that you believe in the second coming and the resurrection? Christians are usually the last fricking gawdamned people on earth to have the slightest clue about what their Jesus Christ was talking about.

Yes, absolutely, I believe Jesus was resurrected and is coming back. I also believe that what can be known about God has been made plain to men, yet men suppress truth in their unrighteousness.

[Some Schmo]

I also believe that what can be known about God has been made plain to men, yet men suppress truth in their unrighteousness.

Ironically, I agree with this. The only difference here is that the people suppressing the truth are theists. But yes, what can be known about god, nothing, is plain to see.

[msnobody]

I also believe that what can be known about God has been made plain to men, yet men suppress truth in their unrighteousness.

Ironically, I agree with this. The only difference here is that the people suppressing the truth are theists. But yes, what can be known about god, nothing, is plain to see.

It seems to me that you agree that there is absolute truth. Are you agreeing that men are unrighteous? In my thinking maybe not, because if there is no God/Jesus, then there would no standard of righteousness, and we’d likely then compare ourselves to one another.

[huckelberry]

Why should an evangelical move away from the term? I for one would not.

Why not? Are you so fricking gawddamned stupid that you believe in the second coming and the resurrection? Christians are usually the last fricking gawdamned people on earth to have the slightest clue about what their Jesus Christ was talking about.

Nomomo
I believe in the resurrection and second coming of Jesus. I realized long ago that there were people smarter than I am but also that I am not dumb. I also have noticed that Christian believers have pursued political beliefs of a very wide variety. There are and have been Christian believers of a very wide range of intellectual abilities, understanding of science, history, foreign cultures, which baseball team to root for etc.

your picture is rather small.

[Some Schmo]

It seems to me that you agree that there is absolute truth.

Depends on what you mean by absolute truth. I definitely believe there's an objective truth. Without that, we couldn't have schedules or appointments where people show up at the same time and place, for instance.

Are you agreeing that men are unrighteous?

I believe humans need to spend a lifetime overcoming their innate selfishness.

Righteousness seems to be religious morality in the way you're using it.

In my thinking maybe not, because if there is no God/Jesus, then there would no standard of righteousness...

That's not at all true. Many philosophers over the ages have devised all manner of moral standards, many of them having nothing to do with an imagined supernatural entity involved.

What's interesting about your statement is that the god of the Bible is not a good example or benchmark for modern morality. If god is eternal, then he's just as bad now as he was a few thousand years ago. That is not a morality I could prescribe or even respect.

...and we’d likely then compare ourselves to one another.

We do compare ourselves to one another (or, more accurately, we compare individual behaviors with other behaviors) because we have no choice. We even spend time comparing our behavior to other animals' behavior to discuss the quality of our morality.