How can you call yourself a Christian if you voted for Donald Trump?

Author Lily Burana wrote a Salon editorial, "Jesus wept: How can you call yourself a Christian if you voted for Donald Trump?", wherein she wrote:

One of the hallmarks of Christian faith is charity, which is unfortunate for me, because, as a cradle Christian (and, lately, a recovering agnostic), I’ve been feeling less than charitable since Donald Trump won the presidential election. I don’t mean that I’m not in the spirit of giving to charities — I’ll be writing out a whopper of a check to the American Civil Liberties Union presently.

I am, however, having trouble giving the gift of slack to Christians who voted for Trump. According to a preliminary study of exit poll data by Pew Research Group, Trump won 52 percent of the Catholic vote, 58 percent of the Protestant vote, and, broken down further by race, a whopping 81 percent of the white evangelical Christian vote.

If you’re a Christian who voted for Trump, I understand your concerns — jobs, the economy, health care, national security, frustration with the political status quo. What I don’t understand is your heart. All factors considered, were Trump’s calls for massive deportation of immigrants, along with his anti-Semitic dog whistling, racist commentary, documented history of misogyny and his mocking of the vulnerable, worth overlooking in favor of his shaky promises to make things better in your world? If, as Christians, we’re supposed to love our neighbor, a vote for Trump seems a little suspect. Am I wrong? If so, tell me how.

Gladly.

First, I am heart-warmed that you recognize you have a problem Lily. That is the first step to fixing all problems.

While I did not personally vote for Trump, I fully recognize the qualities in the voters who did, and you were on the right track. Their concerns with "jobs, the economy, health care, national security, frustration with the political status quo" is a great start. And I agree with you that their thinking was flawed. Trump is a master snake oil salesman. But they viewed him through the two party, "don't waste your vote on a third party" filter. Even large numbers of Christians can be susceptible to that doozy of a lie.

Fortunately, Jesus Christ does give us an "out" in this situation. Consider Matthew 22:16-21:

And they sent to Him their disciples with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that You are true, and teach the way of God in truth; nor do You care about anyone, for You do not regard the person of men.  Tell us, therefore, what do You think? Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?”
But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, “Why do you test Me, you hypocrites? Show Me the tax money.”
So they brought Him a denarius.
And He said to them, “Whose image and inscription is this?”
They said to Him, “Caesar’s.”
And He said to them, “Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”

This is not the only place where Christ draws the line between what is God's and what is in this world. Consider Luke 17:20-21:

Now when He was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He answered them and said, “The kingdom of God does not come with observation; nor will they say, ‘See here!’ or ‘See there!’ For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you.”

Your responsibilities as a Christian (to love God and love your neighbor) are not found in a church, or even a government. They are found within you.

Sadly, Lily continues with another fallacy about Christianity: "What I don’t understand is your heart." And then she proceeds to list all of Trump's "heartless" positions. Remember "love thy neighbor"? We always seem to forget how government acquires the funds to be so "loving": It steals them from your neighbor. Indirectly, you are supporting government theft. A mafiosa who uses force to support his right to collect protection money is no different than a government who uses the threat of armed force to collect taxes. While Christ doesn't advocate tax avoidance, he certainly does not advocate armed robbery, even if it is done in a righteous cause. (Sorry, Robin Hood was not a good Christian.)

Too often, progressive Christians like Lily make the flawed argument that somehow government is an extension of your Christianity. Armed enforcement of tax collection puts the lie to that idea.

As is true so often, flawed thinking leads to flawed reactions, and Lily describes it well:

Still, to put it in theological terms, I’m pissed. I can’t stand the postelection suffering around me — more than one person I know has broken out in shingles from stress. Migraines and insomnia are the norm. Virtually everyone I know is walking around in a state of panic, dread and low-level rage. Including me.

Things that have made me angry: People smiling and saying, “Everything will be OK.” Anyone who suggests that we “get over it” or “wait and see what he does.” I was even angry at Anne Lamott because I thought her heartfelt postelection Facebook message was too soft. Our wise, comforting, radical-caregiving sister Annie! Being mad at Anne Lamott is like drop kicking a teddy bear. I need to get a grip.

Indeed you do. This is almost a textbook definition of wrath, which is considered one of the seven deadly sins for a good reason.

What is intriguing is how Lily considers how the "postelection suffering" is affecting everyone around her. That should be a clue that the people she knows are not representative of a huge number of Americans.

Unfortunately, Lily continues to let her wrath consume her:

The force of my fury scares me. I put up a good front, but I’m deeply conflict averse, somewhere between approval-seeking lickspittle and scaredy cat. I’d much prefer to shrink back, posting hand-holdy memes and reassuring people that things will smooth over if we just pray enough and show compassion. But I’m not that good of a liar, and I’ve never felt panic and belief more firmly wedded. If I don’t act, I’ll implode.  

This is one of those times when Christian philosophy doesn't explain the problem as well as another philosophy does, in this case Star Wars philosophy. Specifically, from Yoda in Episode 1:

“Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.”

Even if you think referencing Yoda is cheesy, there is some truth about what he is saying. Fear, anger, and hatred are not paths to loving God or your neighbor. Lily, as well as the people around her, need to recognize the hatred which they think they see in Donald Trump is actually present in their own hearts.

I will not say Trump is good, or a savior, or even right. But even if he is the worst thing that ever happens to this country, we will learn from it and continue. I have faith in my neighbors who voted for Trump. Even if they are wrong, I will still love them.