In the Nov. 11 Chimes, culture editor Marcail Schuurmann opened a post-election dialogue about the Trump platform and Christian values. In particular, Schuurmann expressed skepticism toward support of the Trump platform on the basis of Christian values. This skepticism is healthy. Schuurmann complained not of the content of Trump’s platform, as such, despite repeated references to it as a whole and objections to isolated parts thereof; instead, Schuurmann opposed “the connection between Trump and Christianity.” This article addresses that connection. Schuurmann also proposed a separate article to “argue the merits of certain political views,” which this author welcomes, although Schuurmann’s “to oblivion” characterization conveyed unwonted despair.

Reluctantly setting aside policy debates for now, then, we question what it means to connect an American politician to Christianity. (We also set aside, herein, what it means to sever an American politician from Christianity.) The Constitution of the United States of America bestows sovereign power on the citizens, not the government, which places Christian citizens in the awkward position of answering to God for the awesome power of our nation, whether that is in use of that power, abuse of it or even negligence of it. All authority belongs to God alone; there is only one King (Romans 13:1, 1 Peter 2). Whenever any human exercises any of the authority granted to any government by God, that human shall answer to God for that exercise according to John 19:11. Here in the United States, all citizens are Caesar — each one of us.

This convicts us as American citizens and Christians. Pilate worked for Caesar, and Trump works for us. Trump is no king. We have only one King, and ultimately, we answer only to Him. The office of the President of the United States of America is managerial, not monarchal. Disputes over Trump’s platform are not “to oblivion” — they are essential! Exactly such debates fulfill part of our due diligence, owed to God, for the wonderful freedom given to us, as sovereign people each with our finite measure of His infinite authority.

With all of that in mind, then, let us consider the once-and-future President, Donald J. Trump: he falls well short of the Christian ideal, but then, so do we all. On this score, every President we ever had, or shall ever have, must fall short of King Jesus. Our assessment relies on how well Trump’s management of our God-given authority aligns with Christian values. When we stand before God to explain how we used His authority as sovereign American citizens, we must identify the manager in whom we entrusted that authority. Who believes that Joe Biden is truly and functionally our President? Was he ever? Who really runs this country? When God inquires into the exercise of our respective borrowed portions of His authority, shall we shrug in confusion? Fundamentally, Christians must know to whom we entrust “our” authority. Trump is no king, but, unlike Biden, Trump is no puppet, either.

Harris invited suspicion through her “oblivion” of a platform. When any politician keeps us substantially “platform-oblivious,” why should Christian voters entrust that politician with authority? With a clear platform, we may debate the balance of reformative versus corruptive consequences of any given policy, in isolation and in combination with others, considering (1) what it means to pursue the stated goal, (2) what it means to accomplish that goal, and (3) what alternatives exist. This means connecting Christian values with managerial wisdom (to select our goals) and managerial competence (to achieve our goals). However, these very evaluations deliver us to the door of debating Trump’s platform.