Chad Bauman on Religion Dispatches thinks he understands President Trump’s incessant claims that he won the election:
With diffuse roots but emerging most forcefully midway through the twentieth century in Pentecostal and charismatic circles, prosperity theology draws selectively on biblical passages (chief among them John 10:10, in which Jesus says, “I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly”) to insist that God desires our physical and financial prosperity. Our task, in a phrase popularized by the movement (and its detractors), is to “name it and claim it.”
The most virtuous and effective act in prosperity theology is positive confession, in which one claims and expresses gratitude to God for the health and wealth one expects to enjoy—even if it seems implausible one’s expectations will be realized. The most sinful act, accordingly, is sometimes called “negative confession”; that is, admitting failure, ill health, poverty, or disappointment. In prosperity theology, words matter; “Death and life are in the power of the tongue” (Proverbs 18:21). Those who lay claim to victory actualize it, while those who admit defeat find themselves hopelessly entrenched in it.
And Trump was brought up in the church of one of the most famous pillars of the movement, Norman Vincent Peale.
Not only does this lens bring Trump’s reactions to the election into focus, it explains his fairy-tale predictions for Covid-19: that it would disappear, that it was well under control, that it was all a hoax. He was trying various magical incantations to make it go away. He was trying to claim victory over it. But that victory was an illusion and a quarter million Americans have died from that smoke.
Indeed, his many other pronouncements, such as bringing jobs back to the United States, being responsible for the greatest economy in history, passing the greatest legislation and nominating the best judges, are all congruent to Bauman’s observation and explanation.
Even for a man notorious for his ignorance of the Bible, religion permeates his life – and leads to actions that are dangerous to the Republic.
And Americans wonder at their fellow citizens who adhere to agnosticism or atheism – or even Satanism.
But what happens to the prosperity theology movement if Trump finally admits defeat? Or has to be escorted from the White House and have his name put on the White House’s Never to be admitted list? Do they crumble? Or do they find a way to rationalize the loss?
Yeah, the latter. Get ready for that.
Fascinating stuff.
