Which is it, Josh Hawley: ‘Our Christian Nation’ or Day 1 dictator Donald Trump? | Opinion

Is Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley having an identity crisis? Or does he just want to have it both ways?

There’s the Hawley who stands with Donald Trump. The fist-pumping Hawley on Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington, D.C. The election-denier Hawley. The Hawley who tweeted “Congratulations to the next President of the United States” after Trump won the Iowa Republican presidential caucus.

And then there’s this Josh Hawley: the one who wrote a 4,300-word treatise on “Our Christian Nation” in the February 2024 issue of the journal First Things — an essay that paints a very different picture from what a second Trump administration would look like.

Which is it, Sen. Hawley? Dictator on “Day 1,” as Trump has promised, or discipleship?

To get an idea of who Trump thinks he is, I refer to a recent promotional video short titled “God Made Trump,” created by a group called the Dilley Meme Team and circulated on Truth Social, Trump’s answer to social media. Trump didn’t produce the ad, but he shared it. The clip also was shown during his rallies for the Iowa caucuses.

The video reverently speaks of Trump as a messianic figure who was born to save America. Besides the fact that the video is a rip-off of Paul Harvey’s “God Made a Farmer” (I refuse to call it an homage), it’s flippant — the producers took a beautifully written ode to the American farmer and created a piece of overlord propaganda — and lacking in authentic spirit.

Even though most Republicans believe Trump is a man of faith, the video shows exactly who Trump thinks he is.

The video uses terms such as “shepherd to mankind,” “caretaker” and someone not afraid to go into the “den of vipers” that, apparently, are journalists.

Even Iowa pastors weren’t impressed: In interviews they denounced the ad, said it was “demeaning,” “sickening,” and stated that “Trump is not the Messiah.”

Which brings me back to Josh Hawley.

Whose ‘shared moral order’?

In “Our Christian Nation,” Hawley writes about what Christianity is and what it isn’t. And it’s not all about abortion.

He describes the tenets of the faith as he understands them, using what most would agree are values conservatives cling to: traditional gender definitions, marriage and family, following the Bible and individual liberty. (Free will, anyone?)

But he also steps away from some right-wing ideology that might surprise fans of Make America Great Again.

Hawley writes: “A few claim the title ‘Christian nationalist,’ a term usually deployed as abuse by the left. The debate has become mired, however, in false starts and bad ideas. Some want to write the Apostles’ Creed into the Constitution (one such bad idea). Others pine for a ‘Protestant Franco’ (disastrous). Still others hint at ethno-racial separatism (absolutely not). … Every nation depends on a shared moral order; that ours is Christian; and that to renew that order, we must strive to make our society reflect again, in our day, the principles of the gospel.”

What?

Don’t get me wrong, I agree with his concerns about dumping the separation of church and state, segregation and totalitarianism. But forgive me if I’m confused by these words and his prior pro-Trump actions and statements.

Because Trump, through his own actions and statements, has shown he does not follow the gospel’s message of tolerance, kindness, forgiveness and love. Does Trump deserve to lead “Our Christian Nation”?

If anything, Hawley’s essay tries to convince conservatives to come back to the Christian faith. We know that a section of conservatives, especially evangelical Christians, have gotten quite a bit of attention in recent election cycles. Who will or won’t win them over?

Hawley seems to be concerned that there aren’t enough of them. Let’s define evangelical for a moment. Jesus Christ, in his Great Commission, told his apostles in Matthew 28:19-20 to go out and win more souls:

“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

This is evangelizing. I’m not sure that all those who take on this title — or those who call themselves Christian nationalists — are following everything Jesus commanded. The Jesus who took the sides of, ate with and did not condemn sinners.

No ‘strong man’ at odds with insurrection

Hawley writes: “Those Christians who argue that America needs a Franco or, from a different quarter, that the Creed should be inscribed in the Constitution have misunderstood our history — and court danger. America’s Christian culture has never depended on a strong man or on established churches or legally prescribed statements of faith. Nor has it depended on racial homogeneity, another thing some calling themselves Christian nationalists appear to advocate. No! The gospel of Jesus Christ destroys every form of racialism. The church of Christ has never been premised on race, nor has America.”

Reading parts of Hawley’s essay gives me hope — for a moment. No strong man? No one race? No racialism? All good. But his line about America not being premised on race gives me pause. That’s for another column.

Still, kowtowing to a leader who has harassed women, incited an insurrection, emboldened the intolerance of others and endangered our democracy does not match the tenets of these words.

Sen. Hawley, if you, as a deep-thinking man of faith, ascribe to your idea of a Christian nation and the teachings of Jesus Christ, I implore you to work with the Republican Party and find a new leader to follow.