Trump’s claims of political persecution resonate with his Christian supporters.
SCOTT DETROW, HOST:
On the day he was arraigned in Washington, D.C., on felony charges for conspiring to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, former President Donald Trump didn’t mince words.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
DONALD TRUMP: When you look at what’s happening, this is a persecution of a political opponent. This was never supposed to happen in America. This is the persecution of the person that’s leading by very, very substantial numbers in the Republican primary and leading Biden by a lot. So if you can’t beat him, you persecute him, or you prosecute him.
DETROW: That word persecution holds particular meaning for many of Trump’s Christian supporters. It shows up in the gospels, and it’s critical to understanding Christian identity. To understand how the theology of persecution intersects with American politics, NPR’s Sarah McCammon spoke with Candida Moss, a professor of theology at the University of Birmingham.
CANDIDA MOSS: Being persecuted in Christianity – because Jesus died in this unjust way, because the martyrs were executed – just being persecuted is a sign that what you are doing is right and good and that you have the support of God. And that means that this is a very powerful rhetorical claim. If Christians are succeeding politically, commercially, practically in their lives, then that’s because God loves them and supports them.
But if Christians are being criticized, if they’re being unsuccessful, if people disagree with them, then that’s also a sign that they’re in the right. Because if they can claim that as persecution, that’s a sign that God is on their side. And the problem with that and the way that that functions in Christianity as opposed to other groups is that a powerful Christian group that claims that it’s being persecuted can never fully be disagreed with about anything because…
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