January 26th, 2025
It’s impossible to truly hide. Not wholly.
I haven’t really made anyone big mad lately (that I’m aware of), but you know me: I still have these feet, and I still have this mouth.
And I feel hungry today.
Not sure if you heard, but a church bishop recently made a lot of “Christian” Americans big mad, including our felon-in-chief, who attended her service. Her name is Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde, and I found her actions and words duly important for two reasons:
1. She spoke truth directly to power in a compelling, nonviolent way. That alone earns a shout out from me; just watching the front pew of that church squirm the way they did will eternally live in my head rent- (and tax-) free.
2. She objectively proved something that many of us have known all along: the United States of America is not a Christian nation, nor does the majority of our religious population have even a basic understanding of the teachings of Jesus Christ.
I don’t need to preface this with my background, but let’s do it anyway: I’m a nonreligious agnostic, but I’m also a huge fan of Jesus and his personal brand of radical empathy. I am also no angel, and I made a career of trying to hide from myself.
If you missed what Bishop Budde said that caused such an outrage, here are her closing words:
“Let me make one final plea, Mr President. Millions have put their trust in you. As you told the nation yesterday, you have felt the providential hand of a loving God. In the name of our God, I ask you to have mercy upon the people in our country who are scared now. There are gay, lesbian, and transgender children in Democratic, Republican, and independent families who fear for their lives.
“And the people who pick our crops and clean our office buildings; who labor in our poultry farms and meat-packing plants; who wash the dishes after we eat in restaurants and work the night shift in hospitals – they may not be citizens or have the proper documentation, but the vast majority of immigrants are not criminals. They pay taxes, and are good neighbors. They are faithful members of our churches, mosques and synagogues, gurdwara, and temples.
“Have mercy, Mr President, on those in our communities whose children fear that their parents will be taken away. Help those who are fleeing war zones and persecution in their own lands to find compassion and welcome here. Our God teaches us that we are to be merciful to the stranger, for we were once strangers in this land.
“May God grant us all the strength and courage to honor the dignity of every human being, speak the truth in love, and walk humbly with one another and our God, for the good of all the people of this nation and the world.”
The full sermon is amazing and can be found here:
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/jan/24/bishop-mariann-edgar-budde-sermon-that-enraged-donald-trump
Now: anyone who has read even a handful of quotes from Jesus will not have blinked a splintered eye at those words. These are the exact kinds of sentiments he shared, and often.
What happened instead has been a full-blown shitstorm; rage from thousands of “Christians,” serious death threats, a resurgence of the phrase “the sin of empathy,” and let us not forget what Trump himself said after the service:
“Predictably, Trump took to Truth Social to denounce the ‘so-called Bishop’ as a ‘Radical Left hard line Trump hater’ and accusing her of bringing ‘her church into the World of politics in a very ungracious way.’ He dismissed her sermon as ‘nasty in tone,’ ‘boring’ and ‘uninspiring,’ going so far as to demand an apology from her and her church.” (MSNBC)
So, to summarize:
America is not a Christian nation, if a Christian is defined as one who follows the teachings of Jesus Christ.
Anyone who voted for Trump is not a Christian, if a Christian is defined as one who follows the teachings of Jesus Christ.
Anyone who worships wealth and the wealthy is not a Christian, if a Christian is defined as one who follows the teachings of Jesus Christ.
When it comes to our day-to-day lives, most of us do not give a shit about what Jesus told us to do.
Lest you think I’m being pessimistic: isn’t this a positive development? Doesn’t it feel good to be honest about who we are? We don’t have to pretend to actually care about our neighbors, we don’t have to act like we’re not obsessed with money and status, we don’t have to feel like hypocrites; we can admit that many of us voted the way we did because, to us, hypothetical egg prices are more important than the massive grocery list of disgusting, horrible things Donald Trump has said and done, and will continue to say and do. More important than democracy, humanity, and law and order, even.
Hold up, though: how are egg prices?
If any of this upsets you, it really shouldn’t: a Christian knows that God knows what’s in their heart. Right? It doesn’t matter what a heathen like me says.
But, wait… isn’t that worse?
Isn’t it worse that God knows that so many of us talk and act, think and vote against our own beliefs? Against who we are or who we want to be?
Because at the end of the day, there is no hiding from the universe; no hiding from whoever created it; and absolutely no hiding whatsoever from yourself.
The Den 