Wednesday, April 30, 2025

The Five Worst Things of POTUS 47’s First 100 Days

April 12 was the 80th anniversary of the death of Pres. Roosevelt, who first referred to “the first 100 days” of a president’s term. Yesterday, April 29, was the 100th day of Pres. Trump’s second term. What a difference between those first 100 days of one of the best U.S. presidents and the first 100 days of one of the worst!*1 

The U.S. was in terrible shape when Roosevelt was inaugurated on March 4, 1933. The first 100 days of his presidency were pivotal in turning the nation toward recovery and saving the country, which was “in the throes of an unmatched calamity” and “on the brink of collapse”.*2

In March 1933, almost 25% of the civilian labor force (15,500,000 people!) were unemployed. And on his inauguration day, the most immediate challenge facing the new president was the imminent collapse of the US banking system. 

Jonathan Alter is an American journalist and best-selling author. One of his significant books is The Defining Moment: FDR’s Hundred Days and the Triumph of Hope (2006). On the first page of his book, Alter avers that in March 1933 the U.S. was experiencing “its greatest crisis since the Civil War.”

The U.S. was in relatively good shape when Trump was inaugurated on January 20, 2025. Of course, there were problems, but the recovery from the debilitating COVID-19 pandemic was better than that of the world’s other industrialized countries. The unemployment rate was low (4%), and the inflation rate was down to 3% from the pandemic peak of over 9% in 2022.

In the very first paragraph of his inaugural address, Trump said that “the golden age of America begins right now.” He vowed that every single day he would put America first and that his top priority would be “to create a nation that is proud, prosperous, and free.” He emphasized how bad things were currently and declared that “from this moment on, America’s decline is over.”

To a large extent, his promise to “make America great again” meant going back to the way things were before Roosevelt. That had long been the strong desire of right-wing politicians and a large segment of U.S. citizens who had long listened to easily accessible conservative “talk radio” programs and Fox News telecasts. Trump’s campaign rhetoric exploited that desire.

In the early 2010s, I was teaching a night class at Rockhurst University in Kansas City, and on the way home I would listen to a local AM station. That meant I often heard the rantings of Mark Levin.*3 He often said the U.S. needed to go back to the way it was 80 years ago, and I finally realized he meant going back to the way things were before FDR.

So, what are the five most harmful things Trump has done during these first 100 days of his second term? The following is my tentative list with only brief comments about each—and I could be persuaded to revise my list by readers who suggest something they see as worse or who think these “worse five’ should be ordered differently.

1) Harm to world peace. Because of Trump’s rhetoric and actions, the likelihood of warfare with the use of tactical or even strategic nuclear weapons has become greater in the last 100 days. His coziness with Putin, his negative views of NATO, and the current tariff war with China are troublesome signs of what might possibly happen in the not-so-distant future. 

2) Harm to the global environment. On inauguration day, Trump signed an executive order directing the U.S. to again withdraw from the landmark Paris climate agreement. Then here in the U.S., he has made multiple moves to do away with environmental programs designed to slow global warming and ecological collapse.

3) Harm to needy people at home and abroad. In February, the Trump administration said it is eliminating more than 90% of USAID’s foreign aid contracts and $60 billion in overall U.S. assistance, which eliminates the majority of U.S. development and humanitarian help abroad. Other cuts remove funding designed to help the neediest people in the U.S.

4) Harm to the worldwide economy. As CNN posted on April 28, “Trump took the US economy to the brink of a crisis in just 100 days.” On the same day, Reuters wrote, “Risks are high that the global economy will slip into recession this year, according to … a Reuters poll, in which scores [of economists] said U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs have damaged business sentiment.”

5) Harm to the rule of law. Domestically, Trump’s furor over migrants in the U.S. has led to the repeated rejection of “due process,” which is the bedrock foundation of the rule of law. According to CBS on April 23, Trump “is now arguing undocumented migrants should not be given a trial where they could challenge being removed from the country.”

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*1 According to the conclusions of the 2024 Presidential Greatness Project (see here), Roosevelt ranked number two, following Abraham Lincoln, and Trump was 45th, dead last—and there is ample reason to think that Trump’s second term so far is worse than his first. 

*2 The words cited are those of Naftali Bendavid, the senior national political correspondent of the Washington Post. “Trump claims mantle of FDR’s first 100 days, but differences are stark” was the title of his April 28 post.

*3 As I learned on Wikipedia,A 2016 study which sought to measure incendiary discourse on talk radio and TV found that Levin scored highest on its measure of ‘outrage’." He also “helped to legitimate the use of uncivil discourse.” Earlier this month, Trump appointed Levin to become a member of the Homeland Security Advisory Council. It is not hard to understand why Trump appreciates what Levin has been saying on talk radio for so long and more recently on Fox News.

Note: To those of you who like statistics, I encourage you to take a look at "How Low Can Trump Go" a Substack post made yesterday by Rachel Bitecofer​ regarding Trump's polling numbers (click here--and let me know if you have trouble accessing Rachel's Substack post).

Friday, April 18, 2025

"Good Friday," Easter, and Spiritual Warfare

Today, April 18, is what Christians often call Good Friday, and two days from now is Easter Sunday. These are two of the most significant days for Christians, but they are not usually linked to what is often referred to as spiritual warfare, which is largely based on Ephesians 6:10~17 in the New Testament. 

Spiritual warfare is not interpreted the same by all Christians. As might be expected, the understanding and emphasis of moderates/progressives tend to be quite different from that of conservatives/traditionalists.

The decisive verse regarding spiritual warfare is found in Ephesians 6:

… we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places (v. 12, KJ21).

Conservative evangelical Christians tend to interpret these words as referring to personal struggles of individual Christians. For example, John Mark Comer, a well-known evangelical pastor and author, writes about spiritual warfare in his book Live No Lies.

Comer (b. 1980) interprets spiritual warfare primarily as the struggle of individual Christians against the lies that rob them of the enjoyment of personal peace and freedom.

Shane Claiborne (b. 1975), a progressive “evangelical,” interprets spiritual warfare quite differently:

This [2024] election was about principalities and powers – racism, patriarchy, xenophobia. This is not just about Trump. Certainly he has unleashed some of our worst demons. But this is bigger than one man. It is about spiritual and systemic powers that seek to harm some of our most vulnerable neighbors.*1

The best interpretation of spiritual warfare I know of is by William Stringfellow, a lawyer and lay theologian. I wrote about him and his understanding of “principalities and powers” in my Jan. 5, 2018, blog article, and I encourage you to (re)read that post (see here).*2

In that article, I cited these words from one of Stringfellow’s most important books, An Ethic for Christians and Other Aliens in a Strange Land (1977). He wrote there that “principalities and powers” are not some esoteric spiritual forces of evil in a nonvisible realm.

Rather, Stringfellow explained, they are “all authorities, corporations, institutions, traditions, processes, structures, bureaucracies, ideologies, systems” and the like (p. 27).

That blog post made seven years ago was about the spiritual warfare evidenced by Herod’s “slaughter of the innocents” soon after Jesus’ birth. But even more, Jesus’ crucifixion on “Good Friday,” and his resurrection on that first Easter Sunday, are also prime examples of spiritual warfare.

Jesus, the light of the world, combats Satan, the “prince of this world,” according to the New Testament (see John 8:12, 14:30, NIV). In Paradise Lost, John Milton refers to Satan as “the prince of darkness,” the embodiment of evil.

The Lord’s Prayer points to an ongoing cosmic conflict between God’s kingdom of light and the devil’s temporary kingdom of darkness (Rev. 12:7~10). Through Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection, the Triune God won the decisive battle against the formidable force of evil (= “Satan” or the devil).

The good news of Easter is not primarily about the hope of future life in a far-off heaven by those who believe in Jesus. Rather, it is about the kingdom (kindom) of God becoming victorious here and now, God’s will being done on earth as it is in heaven.

But the fight between light and darkness, good and evil, is by no means over. Spiritual warfare continues. That is why God-believers are admonished to put on “the whole armor of God” so that they may be able to “stand against the wiles of the devil” (Eph. 6:11, KJ21).

It is with great sadness that we see spiritual warfare apparent now even between Good Friday- and Easter-celebrating Christians aligned with decidedly different understandings of the Gospel of Jesus.

One side is composed to a large degree by MAGA Christians who see Trump’s assassination attempt as linked to spiritual warfare and also interprets that warfare as being primarily against abortion and LGBT people.*3

On the other side are those of us who see the force of evil working through the destructive power structures elucidated by Stringfellow. Those structures, unfortunately, include the current Trump Administration.

I encourage you to click on this link and read Thinking Friend Jarrett Banks’s Palm Sunday prayer at First Christian Church in Lynchburg, Virginia. He expressed so well the side I want to identify with. What about you?

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*1 These words are cited in a Nov. 8, 2024, post by John Fea (see here).

*2 The Wikipedia article about Stringfellow (1928~85) correctly mentions that his work has been advanced by New Testament scholar/professor Walter Wink (1935~2012), who wrote a trilogy on “the powers.” It also notes his influence on “evangelical social activists” such as Jim Wallis and Shane Claiborne.

*3 About three weeks ago, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said, “I certainly believe in spiritual warfare. And I think I saw it firsthand, especially throughout the campaign trail with President Trump. And I think there certainly were evil forces. And I think that the president was saved by the grace of God on July 13 in Butler, Pennsylvania, and he's in this moment for a reason."

On March 22 a Catholic priest speaking at a conference in California emphasized “the reality of spiritual warfare in the fight against abortion, the demonic attacks against the family and life issues, and the connection between abortion, the culture, and the spiritual forces of darkness.”

And then this on April 2: “Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) and two of her fellow GOP congresswomen discussed her bill banning transgender medical services for children and the ‘spiritual warfare’ surrounding gender ideology” (see here). 

Wednesday, April 9, 2025

Anne Lamott: A Humorous “Theologian”

This year, I have read four of Anne Lamott’s books. Some of you have also read some of her many books, but others may not know much, if anything, about her or her writings. In this post, I will briefly introduce her and share a few of her “theological” ideas and statements.  

Anne Lamott was born in San Francisco on April 10, 1954, so tomorrow will be her 71st birthday. As a girl, she grew up in a lower-income neighborhood of Marin City, Calif., a few miles northwest of the San Francisco Bay Area.

Marin City was originally built as housing for shipyard workers during WWII and later became home to a predominantly Black community. Lamott described it as "the ghetto in this luscious, affluent county," noted for government housing, drugs, and crime as well as strong families.

For several years, she also lived in a small houseboat in Sausalito, a more eclectic and artistic environment, where she struggled with addiction and financial instability before finding her footing as a writer.

Most people try to present themselves as better than they are, but in her self-deprecating writing style, it seems that Lamott probably presents herself as worse than she actually is. Still, until she was in her early 30s, her lifestyle was characterized by alcoholism, drug abuse, and promiscuous sex.

Things began to change for the better when she started attending what became St. Andrews Presbyterian Church, an interracial congregation that met for years in borrowed/rented facilities. She was baptized there in 1986, and she wrote that “one year later I got sober” (TM, 51).

For many years, Lamott’s pastor was Veronica Goines, a wise Black woman from whom Anne learned much. It will soon be 40 years since Lamott was baptized, and she has been a faithful member and lay-leader of that church up to the present.

In 1989, her son Sam was born, and in her books she repeatedly writes about her dear son, whom she raised as a single mother.*1

Lamott’s books are a mixture of humor, ordinariness, and profundity—at least that is my impression from her books that I have read:

Traveling Mercies: Some Thoughts on Faith (1999, TM)

 Plan B: Further Thoughts on Faith (2005, PB)

Grace (Eventually): Thoughts on Faith (2007, GE*2)

Hallelujah Anyway: Rediscovering Mercy (2017, HA)

As one who spent considerable time in graduate school studying Søren Kierkegaard, I was surprised that early in TM, she wrote that reading SK’s Fear and Trembling changed her life " forever.” Then, she wrote words directly related to last month’s blog posts about certainty and faith.

She realized that “since this side of the grave you could never know for sure if there was a God, you had to make a leap of faith, if you could, leaping across the abyss of doubt with fear and trembling” (27). Because of reading SK, she “actively made, if not exactly a leap of faith, a lurch of faith” (28).

I was surprised to find such theological statements embedded in her humor-laden writing. Further, her theological understanding of Christianity, as was also true of Kierkegaard’s, is not about “pie in the sky by and by.”

In Plan B, she states that her faith tells her that “God has skills, ploys, and grace adequate to bring light into the present darkness, into families, prisons, governments.” In that regard, she quotes Pastor Veronica: “Nobody gets into heaven without a letter of reference from the poor” (citing James Forbes*3.)

Here are some insightful “theological” nuggets from Lamott’s books:

* We “are not punished for the sin but by the sin” (TM, 128)

* “… not forgiving is like drinking rat poison and then waiting for the rat to die” (TM, 134)

* “God loves us exactly the way we are, and God loves us too much to let us stay like this” (TM, 135)

* Forgiveness means it finally becomes unimportant that you hit back” (PB, 47).

* Fr. Tom told her that “the opposite of faith is not doubt, but certainty” (PB, 256).

* “… we’re punished not for our hatred … but by it” (GA, 129-130).

* “Mercy means compassion, empathy, a heart for someone’s troubles” (HA, 51).

* “God doesn’t give us answers. God gives us grace and mercy” (HA, 104)

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*1 Lamott’s memoir about the first year of motherhood as a single parent, Operating Instructions, was published in 1993. I have not read it, but according to CoPilot (Bing’s AI tool), that book, written in journal format, “captures her joys, fears, and struggles raising her son.” Further, it “was widely praised for its raw honesty, humor, and heartfelt portrayal of single motherhood.”

*2 You can hear Lamott talk about her faith in this 2016 interview regarding her book Grace Eventually.

*3 Forbes (b. 1935) served as pastor of historic Riverside Church in NYC from 1989 to 2007, the first African American minister to hold that position.