Perspective from the 19^th Hole is the title I chose for my personal blog, which is meant to give me an outlet for one of my favorite crafts – writing – plus to use an image from my favorite sport, golf.  Out of college, my first job was as a reporter for the Daily Astorian in Astoria, Oregon, and I went on from there to practice writing in all my professional positions, including as press secretary in Washington, D.C. for a Democrat Congressman from Oregon (Les AuCoin), as an Oregon state government manager in Salem and Portland, as press secretary for Oregon’s last Republican governor (Vic Atiyeh), and as a private sector lobbyist.  This blog also allows me to link another favorite pastime – politics and the art of developing public policy – to what I write.  I could have called this blog “Middle Ground,” for that is what I long for in both politics and golf.  The middle ground is often where the best public policy decisions lie.  And it is where you want to be on a golf course.

Donald Trump and one of sycophants, Pete Hegseth, continue to foment controversy as they seek to create a linkage that goes against all tenets of the Christian faith.

They ought to be ashamed of themselves. 

And so should those who voted for Trump as if he was some type of god.  Recently, some of the previously MAGA faithful have been questioning their support for Trump.  Good for them.

Two examples of Trump’s and Hegseth’s blasphemy:

1. In the most extreme case, Trump posted on his social media site a rendering that depicted him as acting like Jesus healing the sick.  He took the post down, but only after even his followers on the religious right lodged huge criticism.  Of course, in his words, he said he was playing doctor, not God.  Sure!
2. The Trump tribes’ anti-Christianity profanity came to light in a column by Frank Bruni, whose work is carried in the New York Times and elsewhere.  It appeared under this headline:  Hegseth’s Gospel of Carnage.

Here are excerpts from what Bruni wrote that verify the absurdity of Hegseth’s conduct.

• “I guess a zealot, by nature, can’t hide — too extreme are his convictions, too grand his designs, too consuming his arrogance.  And so, over recent weeks, Hegseth has fully revealed himself.  He has made clear that every missile the United States fires, every bomb it drops, every Iranian it kills, is for Jesus.  Praise be the Lord, who has given America the power to wipe out an entire civilization.  

“He brandishes assertions about God’s will with the exaggerated brio of an electronics merchant pressing fliers on pedestrians passing by his new megastore:  Have I got a holy war for you.  Embrace the death.  Exult over the destruction.  What only looks like hell is a ticket to heaven.”

• “At one point, Hegseth used a Pentagon news conference to celebrate Iranians’ experience of ‘death and destruction from above,’ and to beseech Americans to pray for troops daily, on bended knee, ‘in the name of Jesus Christ.’”

• “Hegseth has a tattoo on his right biceps that says ‘Deus vult,’ Latin for ‘God wills it.’  He has described that phrase as a battle cry during the Crusades, which, of course, pitted Christians against Muslims.  He titled his 2020 book ‘American Crusade’ — notice any fixation? — and wrote in it that Americans must fight like our fellow Christians 1,000 years ago.”

• “As Michelle Boorstein wrote recently in The Washington Post:  ‘Every month at the Pentagon, Hegseth hosts evangelical worship services that legal experts say are unprecedented.  His social media profile and public comments routinely espouse his understanding of Christianity, which is one that would dominate American life and cast those who disagree with him as God’s enemies.  He has brought clergy from his small Christian denomination to preach at the Pentagon, including a prominent pastor who says women shouldn’t have the right to vote.’”

Bruni asks how in the world Hegseth became Secretary of Defense, a very good question.  He has zero credentials for the position and he has turned it into just another show of Trump’s totally inaccurate view of the Christian faith.

I share Bruni’s question.

Then, beyond Trump and Hegseth, I read this in the Oregonian newspaper, reporting how Vice President J.D. Vance was treated as he appeared at a Turning Point convention in the South.

“The event affirmed Trump’s difficulty selling the war and how much he’s complicated his own political fortunes by assailing Pope Leo XIV and posting a social media meme that depicted himself as Jesus.

“’I did vote for Trump.  I am not a Trump supporter anymore,’ said Joseph Bercher, a Catholic who said he was glad that Pope Leo had expressed opposition to the war with Iran.

“Bercher said the Jesus meme, which the president took down after a rare conservative backlash, was a red flag indicating Trump’s true character.  He sees himself as like a demagogue or someone to be worshipped.”

The fact is that real Christianity assumes real followers – and I am one – will avoid acting like Trump and Hegseth.

According to the Bible, a real Christian is defined as a person who has personally received Jesus Christ as Savior, trusts in his death and resurrection for forgiveness of sins, and is transformed by the indwelling Holy Spirit.

Key characteristics and actions of a real Christian:

• A real Christian’s life shows tangible change in thoughts and actions, not just religious appearance.
• A real Christian’s life recognizes Jesus as both Savior and Lord, strives to obey his commands in daily life.
• A real Christian displays the “fruits of the Spirit, such as love, joy, peace, kindness, and self-control.”
• A real Christian demonstrates faith “through good works, serving others, and loving neighbors.”

Does any of this sound like Trump or Hegseth?

No!

But, no doubt, they will continue to mix up politics and real Christianity to their shame.