With Joe Biden, a Democrat, officially inaugurated as the 46th President of the United States on January 20, 2021, local time, the dramatic 2020 US general election finally came to an end. It was doubtless that Trump could not have "turned over".
Not long before Biden’s inauguration, Trump being reluctant to admit defeat, finally moved out of the White House and went to Andrews United Base in Maryland to deliver his farewell speech. He reviewed his administration in the past four years, expressed his "good wish to the new government", and declared that he "would come back in some form". Later on, Trump set up the so-called "Former President's Office" in Florida.
Trump's announcement of "come back in some form" left endless "suspense" for some self-media. As expected, a few unscrupulous self-media made up new stories based on the announcement. They wasted no time in declaring that "King Trump will return in a vivid portrait". They even further "prophesied" that King Trump would be "formally re-elected" on a certain day in March this year. How ridiculous!
Looking back now, the 2020 US presidential election had its ups and downs. The election also set a historical record among the Chinese Christian community, which attracted unprecedented attention. In history so far, no "foreign leader" has attracted as much attention and moral solidarity from Chinese Christians as Trump has. It was known as the "Trump support" fever which might be recorded by church historians in the future.
In view of the emergence of an unprecedented "Trump fans" group on the Internet, what were exposed were the problems existing in the Chinese Christian community. It deserved attention.
The perspective of self-media hype about the US election
Due to the presupposition that the so-called "mainstream media" in the United States were controlled by the "leftists", many self-media were extremely active during the last American election, giving unprecedented follow-up reports. It was particularly so to a few so-called Christian self-media. They were acting as “depth charge”, constantly pursuing Trump, and creating a zealous atmosphere of singing "Hallelujah to Trump who will win". The practice continues today, resulting in gossips all over the place.
Ironically, since these self-media could not wait to announce "Trump wins" from the first day of the general election, they made fake messages one after another. However, each of them proved to be wrong.
As a result, even these days, some hardcore Trump fans in the Christian community still feel deadly lost and disappointed. They cannot accept the "cruel reality". They are still looking forward to Trump "regaining throne" and carrying out his signature move to "drain the marshland". The false information released by self-media just met their expectations to attract countless hits.
In a certain Christian WeChat group, a pastor spoke emotionally about the situation: "Most of the pretentious Christians are excited by the call of duty and they are ready to do a big job with Trump. As a result, this 'God's chosen son' has stepped down quietly."
Therefore, although the 2020 American election has ended for some time now, the self-media are still tossing. Just because they have to face the "cruel reality", these self-media have also changed their style of publicity, and the announced message mainly focuses on criticizing Biden and mourning for Trump.
For instance, some media feel that "the United States has exhausted its fate". The United States was used to be regarded as a paradise, and now the United States is regarded as hell. Some talk of "where the United States is going", and some brew arguments such as "shadow government", "draining marshland", "American people miss Trump", "eternal King Trump", "Trump's shadow presidency should be settled". Others create a "favorable" situation that "Trump moves step by step in chaos and Biden becomes chaotic in panic".
In addition, there is a Chinese pastor who frequently appears on media platforms to continue to talk about the topic of the American election, analyzing how Christians should treat Trump's defeat from the perspective of God, and look forward to the "harm" that Biden will bring and the further degradation of the United States, so as to "comfort" those disappointed Christians. However, that pastor’s overly optimistic "prophecy"/"prediction" being wrong has not been mentioned.
How hot is the "Trump fever" among Chinese Christians?
How hot is this "Trump fever" among Chinese Christians? How many blind followers are there? There is no big data at present, but we can get a glimpse of it from some aspects. The main platform "Good News Today" published a total of 12 articles on the topic of "American election" during that time, which mentioned such a phenomenon:
"In this special period, the series of articles related to the general election have successively hit the highest in the history of 'good news today': at the end of the articles, there are the most comments, the most fierce oppositions, the most malicious abuse of authors, the largest change in the number of readers, and the most intense interaction of messages ... Despite being scolded, we respect the thinking of every reader and let go of all messages."
Its editor spoke emotionally, "Now, after the election ended, we lost thousands of subscribers. For a time, we had unspeakable grievances, unknown confusion, countless losses, and a touch of sadness."
For example, in some main and internal WeChat groups, some Christians even put forward a "bet" in the face of the confusing election situation in the US general election, and betting on Trump to win has become the new standard of "confidence".
Some Christians did not know how many "Trump Groups" have been built. In the groups, they broadcasted real-time messages of the election, analyzed the election trend, or called for intercession for "Brother Trump". Especially on January 6th, after the US Congress certified the voter's voting results, Trump basically lost his chance. At that time, some pastors felt that in some Christian Trump groups in those days, anyone who said that Trump was not good at all could literally drown in collective bashing.
There were also reactions from brothers and sisters, but they were criticized for forwarding "positive reports" about Biden. They were either kicked out of the group or labeled as "dishonoring Trump" or "Bidden fans".
There are also evangelical platforms that put up videos related to Trump every day, and then put them into various WeChat groups intensively. Some members sighed: "Every time some self-media platforms under the banner of Christianity talk a lot about Trump, I just think it makes sense, but I don't know why I can't rest in peace in my heart and feel uneasy in my spirit." The simplest idea I use is: Why is a Christian so obsessed with Trump? Every day, there is more information about him than Jesus Christ himself? What power makes Christians become so fascinated by one person?"
There are also some evangelists who write articles and shout for Trump. For example, some people have risen to a very high level, describing the US election as a dualistic spiritual battle with evil, God and Satan. Trump is fighting for God, and you must take sides. There is no middle position: "In this struggle between justice and evil, the most important thing for Christians is to return to Jesus Christ and thank him for God's raising of righteous people in America.
Others showed such an article "Supporting Trump is My Belief Position", which tied Trump support to "devout faith", and there was no lack of touting and beautifying Trump. For example, the article reads: "I support Trump. And I will pray for Trump from beginning to end, bless the Americans whom God loves, and thank and praise God for the Americans who support Trump. My reason for supporting Trump is simple: this is the basic belief position of devout Christians. Love what God loves and hate what God hates."
However, after January 20th, a way to face the failure of the previous prediction about Trump's re-election must be justified. Some people quickly interpreted Trump's admission of defeat and his refusal to launch "mutiny" (the so-called coup theory does not understand the operation mechanism of American constitutionalism at all) as "the true mother of the child in the story of the two prostitutes".
Others said that they should continue to be quite prosperous and have "confidence" in Trump as they did in the resurrection of Jesus three days after his death (In fact, they are still betting that Trump will be "re-elected". Ridiculous). Therefore, some brothers asked in confusion: "Is Trump support an attitude, and is betting on Trump a proof of confidence?"; "Is this the dislocation of the focus of confidence?"
To sum up, with the emergence of "Trump fever" in this context, a shining network group, "Trump fans", was born. Some people even made a simple and direct one-size-fits-all approach, dividing Chinese Christians into two categories, one is "Trump fans" and the other is "dishonoring Trump". The former is proud of supporting Trump, being spiritual and on God's side.
What is more, some people put it this way: "Whether or not to support Trump is the touchstone of true and false belief". In this way, Christians who were not optimistic about Trump's turnaround were often regarded as an alternative, and were even labeled as "Satan", "can't be saved" and "false believers". It seems that whether or not to support Trump has become a watershed between believing in truth and falsehood and being saved or not.
Under this passionate emotion, this kind of "Trump fever" has shown an unhealthy side. Some brothers sighed: "Trump fans have never been so excited about Jesus Christ." More brothers and sisters asked: "Do we believe in Trump or Jesus?"
The impact of "Trump fever" on the relationship between congregations
Because "Trump support" has become a kind of "political correctness", so what can be seen on the Chinese Internet is "Trump support", and "the boat of friendship turns over". However, we have not heard of any offline church that is divided by this view.
However, the evangelical churches in the United States have split because of their different attitudes towards Trump and the general election. "Evangelical Alliance" once published an article, "Why do evangelical Christians still have differences with Trump?”, that made an analysis of this phenomenon.
Yet in China, there was heat on the Internet; apart from the gossip flying all over the place, the online attacks were caused by different viewpoints.
For example, in November 2020, Pastor Su Wenfeng, former editor-in-chief of Overseas Campus, published an article reminding brothers and sisters not to forget that it is the Supreme God who holds power on earth despite the chaos of the general election and urging brothers and sisters to look up to God. Pastor Su's exhortation was very care-oriented, but he was "criticized" and abused on the Internet, and was regarded as having "no independent opinion", being a "swinging grass" and a "compromise to evil". This scene also showed that some Trump fans had become "Trump guards". If you criticize Trump, you do not support Trump, you support Biden, and you dance with evil.
Obviously, some people viewed the American election with a simple dualistic thinking of black and white and treated brothers and sisters with different viewpoints. Some "Trump" Christians simplified the highly complex American politics and regarded it as the dualistic pattern of righteousness and evil, light and darkness, God and the devil. They even equated the Republican Party with Christian guardians, ignoring the interests, power game and other factors, which easily leads to confusion between the boundaries, between heaven and earth, belittles the church's "heavenly identity" and degrades the church into a tool of power struggle.
The excessively charismatic color in "Trump fever"
During the ups and downs of this American election, some "masters" of the Lingen School predicted that Trump would be re-elected. After Biden was declared "winning the election" by the media, some Lingen platforms successively published articles such as "The Bible has predicted: Biden claimed to win the election, Trump will be re-elected", "Trump won, Biden defeated, and the dispute between twins." Articles such as "Torah" quickly gained popularity.
Such an article took out the stories of Niya and Solomon in Riado in the Old Testament, found out the numbers corresponding to Hebrew characters (corresponding to different meanings) by word-splitting games, and then deduced from these numbers, and finally obtained the "shocking prediction" that Trump would be re-elected.
What was even funnier was that another ‘prophet’ found the clue of predicting Trump's re-election from the English KJV Bible because somewhere the scripture mentioned that when Christ came again, "in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed." (1 Cor. 15:52, NIV).
The word "trump" in English Bible is the same as Trump's name. The false prophet seemed to have discovered the New World and found that Trump's name appeared in the Bible twice. As a result, it was concluded that the Bible "predicted" that Trump would succeed in re-election.
Some pastors have warned about this: "Trump fans have remarkable characteristics of the Charismatics... In this exciting election, Trump Doctrine was unified with the color of the Charismatic Movement, and all kinds of predictions and expectations that excited Trump fans were repeated (revival movement)."
The "political messiah" complex and the "Christendom" fantasy behind the "Trump support" fever
Generally speaking, the American election was a matter for the United States to change its president. However, in this American election, Chinese Christians paid great attention and enthusiasm, and the "Trump fever" could not be described simplistically.
It was said that a certain quarterly magazine launched many prayer activities such as "Jericho around the city", expecting Joshua's miracle to happen, but the "Jericho wall" did not collapse as they expected.
In the past four years, the halo around Trump was dazzling, and titles such as "Son of Heaven", "Son of God", "King of David" and "Contemporary Syrus", brought spiritual connotations. Many Christians were convinced that Trump was "God's servant". Therefore, in their thinking, Trump's re-election was necessary because "God is with him".
This "spiritual" identification of Trump's identity continues with the identification of Christians. Only by supporting Trump can he be a true Christian, and Trump has almost become synonymous with light, justice, and kindness. "Trump support" means standing on the side of justice. If you do not "support Trump", you are dancing with "Evil". So, you are unjust, heretical, or false.
Obviously, there is personal worship of Trump behind the "Trump support" craze. In Christian theological terms, Trump became the "political Messiah" in the eyes of Chinese Christians. Some people have placed too much expectation on Trump, saving America from depravity, protecting the church from persecution, and helping the church bring about revival.
For example, some people said that if Trump could be re-elected, he would continue to implement policies that conform to biblical laws, which will also be beneficial to the church, and it is very likely that he would bring the United States back to Puritan tradition and continue to be a "city on the top of the mountain".
This "political Messiah" complex was more intense in some evangelical churches in America. As early as three years ago, when Trump decided to move the American Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, some evangelical churches shouted and regarded Trump as "the king of Israel" and "the coming of God again".
In fact, this "political Messiah" complex is not new, but a replica of Constantinianism.
This kind of "political messianism" may be found in the Old Testament, where there are examples of revival brought by godly kings, but Jesus and the apostles had no teaching and practice in this respect in the New Testament. Because in the New Testament era, the theocracy system in the form of the Old Testament had been subverted and replaced by the Christian Church, which only preached and relied on the Savior's cross. The apostles no longer expected an earthly king to protect them or bring revival to the church. They only relied on the cross of Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit! Therefore, the revival of the church does not depend on a powerful and godly political leader, but the church trusts Jesus Christ and acts according to the truth.
From church history, in the United States history of more than 200 years, no belief revival movement was promoted by the president; it all started from the humility and repentance of the church and the desire of believers for holiness.
Therefore, it is a serious misplacement to pin the hope of American church revival on a political figure. This is not within the scope of the president's duties, nor does it conform to the provisions of the American Constitution concerning the separation of church and state.
In addition to the "political Messiah" complex, some Chinese Christians may still be dreaming of rebuilding a "Christendom" as such. They are looking forward to having a "Christian king" on earth who can build a heavenly kingdom template according to the Bible (strictly speaking, according to the laws and regulations of the Old Testament). Specifically, "to recapture the United States for God", let the United States return to Puritan tradition, and restore the glorious beauty of "the city on the top of the mountain". This dream of "Christendom" is presented in the face of "cultural war" in America, and is also described as defending conservative values and social order.
Teacher Lin Feng, a scholar living in the United States, wrote an article, "2020 and Christian Nationalism in the United States", which made a comprehensive analysis and profound reflection. The article points out that the real situation is much more complicated than this simple dualistic cognition and analyzes the "Christian nationalism" behind the "Trump support" craze.
What is Christian nationalism? "It is a cultural framework, a combination of myths, legends, traditions, symbols, narratives and value systems. It advocates the integration of Christianity and American citizen life and idealizes it." Christianity in this "Christian nationalism" is not only a religion, but also includes the preconditions of nativism, white supremacy, patriarchy and heterosexuality, as well as the sacred recognition of autocratic control and military hegemony. It is a combination of race, politics and religion." Obviously, it has drifted away from the New Testament and is branded with racism.
Therefore, the ideal of establishing a "Christendom" looks beautiful, but God has no such promise in the New Testament, and neither Jesus nor the apostles have made such "attempts".
History has proved that it is impossible for us to establish a heaven on earth and a pure biblical moral system in a ruined world, and it is impossible for us to return to the middle age or the Puritan era.
Therefore, we should go back to Jesus' teaching and draw a line between religion and politics: "Caesar's things should be given to Caesar, and God's things should be given to God" (Luke 20:25). The revival of the church depends not on political leaders, but on whether the church acts in truth and shines for the Lord.
Our understanding of American society and politics is extremely limited, and there is no final conclusion about those distant people and things. Every Christian should encourage each other, start from the things around him, and only look up to the heaven promised by the Lord. Do not confuse "Jesus wins" with "Trump wins" because Trump stepped down but Christ is still in power.
Jesus said, "My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place." (John 18:36)
- Translated by Charlie Li
美国大选业已落幕，对华人基督徒“挺川”热的观察和反思
随着美国当选总统、民主党人乔·拜登于美国当地时间1月20日正式宣誓就职成为美国第46任总统，剧情堪比过山车的2020美国大选终于算是尘埃落定了，也不可能再有任何关于川普“翻盘”的悬念了。
在拜登宣誓就职前不久，不服输的川普最终也搬出了白宫，并前往马里兰州安德鲁斯联合基地发表了其告别演讲，回顾了自己过去四年的施政之路，同时还一边“祝福新政府”，又一边表示自己“会以某种形式回来的”。之后川普还别出心裁地在佛州成立了所谓的“前总统办公室”。
川普这个“会以某种形式回来的”又给某些自媒体留下无尽的“悬念”。果不其然，某些无良自媒体又据此编出新的剧情，迫不及待地宣称“川王回归呼之欲出”，并且甚至还进一步“预言”川王将于今年三月份的某一日要“正式连任”。真是令人哭笑不得！
现在回头看，这次2020美国大选跌宕起伏。这次大选也在华人基督徒群体中创下了一个历史记录，其所引起的关注热度是前所未有的，在历史上从没有哪个“外国领导人”能像川普这般引起华人基督徒如此热烈的关注和道义性声援。这就是大家有目共睹的“挺川”热。这一幕或许会被将来的教会历史学家所记录和书写。
针对网上涌现出一个空前的“川粉”群体，暴露出华人基督徒群体存在的一些问题，值得关注。
一、自媒体对美国大选的炒作之透视
由于有美国所谓“主流媒体”都被“左派”操控之预设，在这次美国大选期间，许多自媒体异常活跃，给予了空前的跟踪报道，尤其是一些挂名基督教的自媒体，充当急先锋，一个劲地追捧川普，营造了一个“哈利路亚、川普必胜”的炽热气氛，并且延续至今，导致小道消息满天飞。
可笑的是，这些自媒体从大选投票首日就迫不及待宣布“川普获胜”以来，泡制了一个又一个泡沫，但每次都以破灭告终。
结果呢，这些天基督徒群体里有些铁杆川粉不知心里有多么失落而惆怅，甚至还有人无法接受这“残酷的现实”，还在痴情般地期待川总“重新掌权”并拿出王炸，“抽干沼泽”。而那些自媒体发布的虚假信息正好是投其所好，收割了无数流量。
在某个主内微信群里，有位牧者就此感慨道：“大部分都是自命不凡的基督徒被使命召唤激动的，要和川普一起大干一场了，结果这个‘神选之子’悄无声息地走了。”
因此，尽管2020美国大选已经落幕一段时间了，但那些自媒体依然在折腾。只是由于不得不面对“残酷的现实”，这些自媒体也纷纷转变画风，发布的内容也以批判拜登、为川普哀鸣为主调。
比如，有的自媒体感慨“美国气数已尽”，以前把美国视为天堂，现在又把美国视为地狱；有的纵论“美国何去何从”，有的泡制出“影子政府”、“抽干沼泽”、“美国人民怀念川普”、“永远的川王”、“川普的在野总统当定了”等论调；还有的营造出“川普在混乱中步步为营，拜登在恐慌中变得混乱”的“利好”形势。
而且，还有个别华人牧师在自媒体平台上频频出镜，继续谈论有关美国大选的话题，从“上帝视角”纵论基督徒该如何看待川普落选，并展望拜登会带来的“危害”以及美国的进一步堕落等等，借此去“安慰”那些失望无比的基督徒。而这位牧师对于自己之前无比乐观的“预言”/“预测”被打脸，却只字不提。
二、华人基督徒之“挺川热”到底有多热？
华人基督徒这种“挺川热”到底有多热？其中，盲目跟风者又有多少呢？目前还没有大数据，但我们可以从某些侧面一窥究竟。主内平台“今日佳音”在那段时间就“美国大选”议题总共发布了12篇文章，并且提到这样一个现象：
“这一特殊时期内，关乎大选的系列文章陆续创下‘今日佳音’的历史之最：文末评论数最多、反对声音最凶、谩骂作者最狠、读者数量变动最大、留言互动最激烈......尽管挨骂，但我们尊重每一位读者的思考，放开了所有留言。”
其小编感慨道：“如今，大选落幕，我们痛失数千名订阅者，一时间，我们有说不出的委屈，有道不明的迷茫，有数不尽的失落，还有淡淡的哀伤。”
再比如，在有的主内微信群，有些基督徒面对扑朔迷离的美国大选选情竟然提出了“打赌”，而赌川普赢也就成了“有信心”的标配。
有些基督徒不知道建了多少个“挺川群”，在群里或播报大选实时讯息，或分析大选走向，或号召为“川普弟兄”代祷。尤其是1月6日在美国国会认证选举人投票结果后，川普基本上没戏了。当时有牧者感慨，那几天在某些基督徒挺川群里，谁要是说川普半点不好，能被唾沫淹没。
也有弟兄姊妹反应，只是由于转发一下有关拜登的“正面报道”，要么被踢出群，要么被贴上“黑川”或“拜粉”的标签而遭到批斗。
还有些挂名基督教的福音平台更是天天发布和川普有关的视频，然后密集地投放到各个微信群。有肢体对此感慨道：“每次一些打着基督教旗帜的自媒体平台，大谈特谈川普，我刚看还觉得有道理，但不知怎么心灵深处就不得安息，灵里不安？ 我用的最简单的思路就是： 为何一个基督徒，如此痴迷于川普？ 每天推送关于他的信息，远远多过于耶稣基督自己？是什么力量让基督徒变得如此着迷于一个人？ ”
也有某些福音快笔手们纷纷写文，为川普摇旗呐喊，比如有人上升到一个极高的高度，把美国大选描述成一场正与邪、上帝和撒旦的二元式属灵争战，川普代表上帝而战，你必须站队，这没有中间立场：“在这场正义与邪恶的角力中，基督徒最该作的一件事就是退回到耶稣基督面前，为上帝在美利坚兴起正义之士感谢祂，为川普祷告，他所作的一切绝不是为自己，乃是为上帝，为美利坚和美利坚国民，为荣耀上帝。”
还有人亮出这样的文章《支持川普是我的信仰立场》，把挺川和“虔诚信仰”捆绑在一起，里面不乏对川普的吹捧和美化。比如，此文如此写道：“我支持川普。并且会自始至终地为川普祷告，为上帝所爱的美利坚祝福，为支持川普的美利坚国民感谢赞美上帝。我支持川普的理由再简单不过：这是虔诚基督徒基本的信仰立场。爱上帝所爱，恶上帝所恶。”
可是，在1月20日后，如何面对之前有关“川普连任”之预言的落空，总得要自圆其说。有人很快就把把川普承认败选、拒绝发动“哗变”（所谓政变论完全不懂美国宪政运行机制），解释为“两个妓女故事中孩子的真母亲”。
还有人表示继续挺川，并且要像对耶稣死后三天复活那样对川普有“信心”（其实，还是在赌川普会“连任”。可笑至极）。所以，有弟兄颇为困惑地问道：“挺川是态度，赌川嬴是信心？”“这是不是信心焦点的错位呢？”
总而言之，伴随在这种背景下出现的“挺川热”，还诞生了一个闪亮的网络群体——“川粉”，甚至有人简单而直接地来了个一刀切，把华人基督徒划分为两大类，一类是“挺川”，另一类是“黑川”。前者以支持川普为荣、为属灵、为站在上帝这一边。
更有甚者，还有人这样放言：“是否支持川普，是信仰真假的试金石”。这样，对川普能否翻盘不太看好的基督徒往往会被视为另类，甚至贴上“属撒旦”“不得救”“假信徒”之类的标签，好像是否支持川普竟然成了信仰真与假、得救与否的分水岭。
在这种激昂的情绪弥漫之下，这种“挺川热”已经呈现出不健康的一面了。有弟兄感叹道：“对于耶稣基督，川粉从来没有如此激动过。”更有弟兄姊妹发问道：“我们到底信的是川普，还是耶稣？”
三、“挺川热”对弟兄姊妹关系的冲击
由于‘“挺川”成了一种“政治正确”，我们所看到的是，在中文互联网上，因着是否“挺川”，“友谊的小船说翻就翻”也成了另一道靓丽的风景线。不过，我们还没有听过线下哪个教会因这个问题而造成分裂的。
可是，在美国，确实因着对待川普对待大选的立场不同，美国的福音派教会发生了分裂。“福音联盟”曾发表过一篇文章《为什么福音派基督徒对特朗普（仍）有分歧？》对这一现象做过梳理。
可是到了中国，在网络上却是一片硝烟弥漫，除了小道消息满天飞，就是因观点不同而导致的站队和网络攻伐。
比如，2020年11月《海外校园》前主编苏文峰牧师发表了一篇文章，提醒弟兄姊妹们在大选乱局中不要忘记在地上掌权的乃是至高的上帝，劝勉弟兄姊妹要仰望上主。苏牧师这番劝勉是很有牧者心肠的，没想到遭到网络“批斗”和谩骂，被视为“没主见”“墙头草”“向罪恶妥协”。这一幕也让人见识了有些川粉已变成了“川卫兵”。你批评川普，就是不支持川普，就等于支持拜登，就等于与邪恶为舞。
很显然，有人以简单的非黑即白的二元化思维看待美国大选，对待有不同观点的弟兄姊妹。有些“挺川”的基督徒把高度复杂的美国政治简单化，视之为正与邪、光明与黑暗、上帝与鬼魔的二元化格局，甚至把共和党等同于基督教卫道士，而忽略了利益和权力博弈等因素，很容易导致天国和地上国度界线的混淆，并贬低教会的“属天身份”，而把教会降格为权斗工具。
四、“挺川热”中的极端灵恩色彩
在这次美国大选跌宕起伏的过程中，有些灵恩派的“大师”们发出预言，称川普将连任。在拜登被媒体宣布“胜选”后，有的灵恩派平台接连刊出《圣经已经预言：拜登自称胜选，川普即将连任》、《川普胜出，拜登溃败，双子之爭再次驚現妥拉》等文章，很受追捧。
这类文章搬出旧约圣经里亚多尼雅和所罗门的故事，用拆字游戏找出希伯来文字所对应的数字（对应着不同的意义），然后根据这些数字推算，得出川普必定连任的“惊天预言”。
更为搞笑的是，还有一位先知从英文的KJV版圣经里找到了预言川普连任的蛛丝马迹，因为在某处经文提到当基督再来时，“就在一霎时，眨眼之间，号筒末次吹响的时候。因号筒要响，死人要复活成为不朽坏的，我们也要改变。” (林前15:52)
英文圣经里的“号筒”（trump）这个词和川普（Trump）的名字相同。而假先知好像发现了新大陆，发现川普的名字竟然两次出现在圣经里。于是乎，就断定圣经“预言”川普必然成功连任。
有牧者就此提出过警告：“川粉具有灵恩派的显著特征......这次激动人心的大选，川普主义统一呈现灵恩运动色彩，各类激动川粉内心的预言和期待屡出不穷（奋兴运动）。”
五、“挺川”热背后的“政治弥赛亚”情结和“基督教王国”幻想
从一般常理来说，美国大选是大洋彼岸的美国换总统的事儿，可是，这次美国大选，华人基督徒投入巨大的关注热情，所出现的“挺川”热，可以用狂热来描述也不为过。
据说，某某季刊等机构还多次发起“绕城耶利哥”等代祷活动挺川，期待约书亚的奇迹发生，可是最终“耶利哥城墙”并没有如他们所期待的那样轰然倒塌。
过去这四年，环绕在川普身上的光环很是耀眼，像“天选之子”、“神选之子”、“大卫之王”、“当代居鲁士”这类称号就带上属灵的内涵了。有不少基督徒深信川普是“神重用的仆人”，所以，在他们的思维里，川普连任是必须的，因为“有神与他同在”。
这种对川普身份的“属灵化”认定还延续到对基督徒的身份认定层面，只有支持川普才能是真基督徒，而川普几乎也成了光明、正义和善良的代名词。“挺川”就是站在“正义方”，你不“挺川”就是与“邪恶”为舞，你不“挺川”就是行不义、就是异端、就是假信等等。
很显然，在“挺川”热背后出现了对川普的个人崇拜。用基督教神学术语来说，川普成了华人基督徒心目里的“政治弥赛亚”。有人对川普寄予了太多期待，拯救美国脱离堕落，保护教会不受逼迫并且能扶助教会带来复兴。
比如，有人这样说，如果川普能连任，就会继续推行合乎圣经律法的政策，也有利于教会，并很有可能把美国带回曾经的清教徒立国传统，继续做“山巅之城”。
这种“政治弥赛亚”情结在美国一些福音派教会里更为浓烈。早在三年前，当川普决定把美国驻以色列大使馆迁往耶路撒冷，一些福音派教会就高呼起来，把川普视为“以色列的君王”、“上帝的再度降临”。
其实，这种“政治弥赛亚”情结并不是新鲜事物，正是当年君士坦丁主义的翻版。
这种“政治弥赛亚主义”或许可以从旧约里找到影子，在旧约里确实有敬虔的王带来复兴的例子，但在新约圣经里耶稣和使徒再没有这方面的教导和实践。因为到了新约时代，旧约形态的神权体制已经被颠覆，取而代之的是单单宣扬和倚靠救主十字架的基督教会。使徒们再也没有巴望有一位地上君王来保护他们，或给教会带来复兴。他们唯独倚靠的是基督的十字架和圣灵的能力！所以，教会的复兴，也不是依赖一位强大而敬虔的政治领袖，而是教会信靠耶稣基督，按照真理而行。
再从教会历史来看，在美国二百多年历史上，没有一次的信仰复兴运动是由总统推动的，反而都是从教会谦卑悔改、信徒渴慕圣洁开始的。
所以，把美国教会复兴的希望寄托在一个政治人物身上，这是严重的错位。这并不属于总统的职责范围，也不符合美国宪法有关政教分离的规定。
除了“政治弥赛亚”情结外，还有些华人基督徒可能还在做着重建“基督教王国”的梦想，他们很期待地上能有一位“基督教君王”，能全方位地按照圣经（严格来说，是按照旧约圣经的律法条例）建造一个天国模板。具体来说，“要为上帝夺回美国”，让美国重新回到清教徒传统，并恢复“山巅之城”的荣美。这种“基督教王国”梦想在美国以“文化战争”的面孔呈现，又被叙述为捍卫保守主义的价值观和社会秩序。
旅居美国的学者临风老师在前曾撰写了一篇文章《挥之不去的2020与美国的基督教国家主义（Christian Nationalism）》，对此做了较为全面的梳理和深刻的反思。文章指出，真实的情况要比这个简单的二元化认知复杂得多，并对“挺川”热背后的“基督教国家主义”做了剖析。
何为“基督教国家主义”？“它是一个文化框架，一个集合了迷思、传说、传统、符号、叙事和价值体系的组合，它倡导基督教与美国公民生活的融合，并将其理想化。”这个“基督教国家主义”里的基督教“不仅仅是个宗教，它包括本土主义、白人至上、父权制和异性恋等前提，以及对专制控制和军事霸权的神圣认可。它是种族、政治与宗教的结合体。”很显然，已经和新约圣经渐行渐远了，并且打上了种族主义的烙印。
所以，建立“基督教王国”的理想看上去很美，但上帝在新约圣经里没有这样的应许，耶稣和使徒也没有这样的“尝试”。
历史证明，我们不可能在败坏的世界上建立一个人间天国，建立一个纯粹的圣经道德体系，也不可能再回到中世纪时代或清教徒时代了。
所以，我们还是要回到耶稣的教导，在宗教和政治之间应该画一条界线：“凯撒的物当归给凯撒，神的物当归给神” (路20:25)。教会的复兴，不要指望政治领袖，而是看教会有没有行在真理中，有没有为主发光。
我们对美国的社会与政治了解极为有限，对那些遥远的人和事并没有定论，每个基督徒都应该共勉，从身边的事情做起，并且单单仰望主所应许的天国。不要把“耶稣得胜”和“川普必胜”混为一谈！因为川普下台，基督仍在掌权。
“耶稣回答说：‘我的国不属这世界；我的国若属这世界，我的臣仆必要争战，使我不至于被交给犹太人。只是我的国不属这世界。’” （约翰福音 18:36 和合本）
美国大选业已落幕，对华人基督徒“挺川”热的观察和反思
With Joe Biden, a Democrat, officially inaugurated as the 46th President of the United States on January 20, 2021, local time, the dramatic 2020 US general election finally came to an end. It was doubtless that Trump could not have "turned over".
Not long before Biden’s inauguration, Trump being reluctant to admit defeat, finally moved out of the White House and went to Andrews United Base in Maryland to deliver his farewell speech. He reviewed his administration in the past four years, expressed his "good wish to the new government", and declared that he "would come back in some form". Later on, Trump set up the so-called "Former President's Office" in Florida.
Trump's announcement of "come back in some form" left endless "suspense" for some self-media. As expected, a few unscrupulous self-media made up new stories based on the announcement. They wasted no time in declaring that "King Trump will return in a vivid portrait". They even further "prophesied" that King Trump would be "formally re-elected" on a certain day in March this year. How ridiculous!
Looking back now, the 2020 US presidential election had its ups and downs. The election also set a historical record among the Chinese Christian community, which attracted unprecedented attention. In history so far, no "foreign leader" has attracted as much attention and moral solidarity from Chinese Christians as Trump has. It was known as the "Trump support" fever which might be recorded by church historians in the future.
In view of the emergence of an unprecedented "Trump fans" group on the Internet, what were exposed were the problems existing in the Chinese Christian community. It deserved attention.
The perspective of self-media hype about the US election
Due to the presupposition that the so-called "mainstream media" in the United States were controlled by the "leftists", many self-media were extremely active during the last American election, giving unprecedented follow-up reports. It was particularly so to a few so-called Christian self-media. They were acting as “depth charge”, constantly pursuing Trump, and creating a zealous atmosphere of singing "Hallelujah to Trump who will win". The practice continues today, resulting in gossips all over the place.
Ironically, since these self-media could not wait to announce "Trump wins" from the first day of the general election, they made fake messages one after another. However, each of them proved to be wrong.
As a result, even these days, some hardcore Trump fans in the Christian community still feel deadly lost and disappointed. They cannot accept the "cruel reality". They are still looking forward to Trump "regaining throne" and carrying out his signature move to "drain the marshland". The false information released by self-media just met their expectations to attract countless hits.
In a certain Christian WeChat group, a pastor spoke emotionally about the situation: "Most of the pretentious Christians are excited by the call of duty and they are ready to do a big job with Trump. As a result, this 'God's chosen son' has stepped down quietly."
Therefore, although the 2020 American election has ended for some time now, the self-media are still tossing. Just because they have to face the "cruel reality", these self-media have also changed their style of publicity, and the announced message mainly focuses on criticizing Biden and mourning for Trump.
For instance, some media feel that "the United States has exhausted its fate". The United States was used to be regarded as a paradise, and now the United States is regarded as hell. Some talk of "where the United States is going", and some brew arguments such as "shadow government", "draining marshland", "American people miss Trump", "eternal King Trump", "Trump's shadow presidency should be settled". Others create a "favorable" situation that "Trump moves step by step in chaos and Biden becomes chaotic in panic".
In addition, there is a Chinese pastor who frequently appears on media platforms to continue to talk about the topic of the American election, analyzing how Christians should treat Trump's defeat from the perspective of God, and look forward to the "harm" that Biden will bring and the further degradation of the United States, so as to "comfort" those disappointed Christians. However, that pastor’s overly optimistic "prophecy"/"prediction" being wrong has not been mentioned.
How hot is the "Trump fever" among Chinese Christians?
How hot is this "Trump fever" among Chinese Christians? How many blind followers are there? There is no big data at present, but we can get a glimpse of it from some aspects. The main platform "Good News Today" published a total of 12 articles on the topic of "American election" during that time, which mentioned such a phenomenon:
"In this special period, the series of articles related to the general election have successively hit the highest in the history of 'good news today': at the end of the articles, there are the most comments, the most fierce oppositions, the most malicious abuse of authors, the largest change in the number of readers, and the most intense interaction of messages ... Despite being scolded, we respect the thinking of every reader and let go of all messages."
Its editor spoke emotionally, "Now, after the election ended, we lost thousands of subscribers. For a time, we had unspeakable grievances, unknown confusion, countless losses, and a touch of sadness."
For example, in some main and internal WeChat groups, some Christians even put forward a "bet" in the face of the confusing election situation in the US general election, and betting on Trump to win has become the new standard of "confidence".
Some Christians did not know how many "Trump Groups" have been built. In the groups, they broadcasted real-time messages of the election, analyzed the election trend, or called for intercession for "Brother Trump". Especially on January 6th, after the US Congress certified the voter's voting results, Trump basically lost his chance. At that time, some pastors felt that in some Christian Trump groups in those days, anyone who said that Trump was not good at all could literally drown in collective bashing.
There were also reactions from brothers and sisters, but they were criticized for forwarding "positive reports" about Biden. They were either kicked out of the group or labeled as "dishonoring Trump" or "Bidden fans".
There are also evangelical platforms that put up videos related to Trump every day, and then put them into various WeChat groups intensively. Some members sighed: "Every time some self-media platforms under the banner of Christianity talk a lot about Trump, I just think it makes sense, but I don't know why I can't rest in peace in my heart and feel uneasy in my spirit." The simplest idea I use is: Why is a Christian so obsessed with Trump? Every day, there is more information about him than Jesus Christ himself? What power makes Christians become so fascinated by one person?"
There are also some evangelists who write articles and shout for Trump. For example, some people have risen to a very high level, describing the US election as a dualistic spiritual battle with evil, God and Satan. Trump is fighting for God, and you must take sides. There is no middle position: "In this struggle between justice and evil, the most important thing for Christians is to return to Jesus Christ and thank him for God's raising of righteous people in America.
Others showed such an article "Supporting Trump is My Belief Position", which tied Trump support to "devout faith", and there was no lack of touting and beautifying Trump. For example, the article reads: "I support Trump. And I will pray for Trump from beginning to end, bless the Americans whom God loves, and thank and praise God for the Americans who support Trump. My reason for supporting Trump is simple: this is the basic belief position of devout Christians. Love what God loves and hate what God hates."
However, after January 20th, a way to face the failure of the previous prediction about Trump's re-election must be justified. Some people quickly interpreted Trump's admission of defeat and his refusal to launch "mutiny" (the so-called coup theory does not understand the operation mechanism of American constitutionalism at all) as "the true mother of the child in the story of the two prostitutes".
Others said that they should continue to be quite prosperous and have "confidence" in Trump as they did in the resurrection of Jesus three days after his death (In fact, they are still betting that Trump will be "re-elected". Ridiculous). Therefore, some brothers asked in confusion: "Is Trump support an attitude, and is betting on Trump a proof of confidence?"; "Is this the dislocation of the focus of confidence?"
To sum up, with the emergence of "Trump fever" in this context, a shining network group, "Trump fans", was born. Some people even made a simple and direct one-size-fits-all approach, dividing Chinese Christians into two categories, one is "Trump fans" and the other is "dishonoring Trump". The former is proud of supporting Trump, being spiritual and on God's side.
What is more, some people put it this way: "Whether or not to support Trump is the touchstone of true and false belief". In this way, Christians who were not optimistic about Trump's turnaround were often regarded as an alternative, and were even labeled as "Satan", "can't be saved" and "false believers". It seems that whether or not to support Trump has become a watershed between believing in truth and falsehood and being saved or not.
Under this passionate emotion, this kind of "Trump fever" has shown an unhealthy side. Some brothers sighed: "Trump fans have never been so excited about Jesus Christ." More brothers and sisters asked: "Do we believe in Trump or Jesus?"
The impact of "Trump fever" on the relationship between congregations
Because "Trump support" has become a kind of "political correctness", so what can be seen on the Chinese Internet is "Trump support", and "the boat of friendship turns over". However, we have not heard of any offline church that is divided by this view.
However, the evangelical churches in the United States have split because of their different attitudes towards Trump and the general election. "Evangelical Alliance" once published an article, "Why do evangelical Christians still have differences with Trump?”, that made an analysis of this phenomenon.
Yet in China, there was heat on the Internet; apart from the gossip flying all over the place, the online attacks were caused by different viewpoints.
For example, in November 2020, Pastor Su Wenfeng, former editor-in-chief of Overseas Campus, published an article reminding brothers and sisters not to forget that it is the Supreme God who holds power on earth despite the chaos of the general election and urging brothers and sisters to look up to God. Pastor Su's exhortation was very care-oriented, but he was "criticized" and abused on the Internet, and was regarded as having "no independent opinion", being a "swinging grass" and a "compromise to evil". This scene also showed that some Trump fans had become "Trump guards". If you criticize Trump, you do not support Trump, you support Biden, and you dance with evil.
Obviously, some people viewed the American election with a simple dualistic thinking of black and white and treated brothers and sisters with different viewpoints. Some "Trump" Christians simplified the highly complex American politics and regarded it as the dualistic pattern of righteousness and evil, light and darkness, God and the devil. They even equated the Republican Party with Christian guardians, ignoring the interests, power game and other factors, which easily leads to confusion between the boundaries, between heaven and earth, belittles the church's "heavenly identity" and degrades the church into a tool of power struggle.
The excessively charismatic color in "Trump fever"
During the ups and downs of this American election, some "masters" of the Lingen School predicted that Trump would be re-elected. After Biden was declared "winning the election" by the media, some Lingen platforms successively published articles such as "The Bible has predicted: Biden claimed to win the election, Trump will be re-elected", "Trump won, Biden defeated, and the dispute between twins." Articles such as "Torah" quickly gained popularity.
Such an article took out the stories of Niya and Solomon in Riado in the Old Testament, found out the numbers corresponding to Hebrew characters (corresponding to different meanings) by word-splitting games, and then deduced from these numbers, and finally obtained the "shocking prediction" that Trump would be re-elected.
What was even funnier was that another ‘prophet’ found the clue of predicting Trump's re-election from the English KJV Bible because somewhere the scripture mentioned that when Christ came again, "in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed." (1 Cor. 15:52, NIV).
The word "trump" in English Bible is the same as Trump's name. The false prophet seemed to have discovered the New World and found that Trump's name appeared in the Bible twice. As a result, it was concluded that the Bible "predicted" that Trump would succeed in re-election.
Some pastors have warned about this: "Trump fans have remarkable characteristics of the Charismatics... In this exciting election, Trump Doctrine was unified with the color of the Charismatic Movement, and all kinds of predictions and expectations that excited Trump fans were repeated (revival movement)."
The "political messiah" complex and the "Christendom" fantasy behind the "Trump support" fever
Generally speaking, the American election was a matter for the United States to change its president. However, in this American election, Chinese Christians paid great attention and enthusiasm, and the "Trump fever" could not be described simplistically.
It was said that a certain quarterly magazine launched many prayer activities such as "Jericho around the city", expecting Joshua's miracle to happen, but the "Jericho wall" did not collapse as they expected.
In the past four years, the halo around Trump was dazzling, and titles such as "Son of Heaven", "Son of God", "King of David" and "Contemporary Syrus", brought spiritual connotations. Many Christians were convinced that Trump was "God's servant". Therefore, in their thinking, Trump's re-election was necessary because "God is with him".
This "spiritual" identification of Trump's identity continues with the identification of Christians. Only by supporting Trump can he be a true Christian, and Trump has almost become synonymous with light, justice, and kindness. "Trump support" means standing on the side of justice. If you do not "support Trump", you are dancing with "Evil". So, you are unjust, heretical, or false.
Obviously, there is personal worship of Trump behind the "Trump support" craze. In Christian theological terms, Trump became the "political Messiah" in the eyes of Chinese Christians. Some people have placed too much expectation on Trump, saving America from depravity, protecting the church from persecution, and helping the church bring about revival.
For example, some people said that if Trump could be re-elected, he would continue to implement policies that conform to biblical laws, which will also be beneficial to the church, and it is very likely that he would bring the United States back to Puritan tradition and continue to be a "city on the top of the mountain".
This "political Messiah" complex was more intense in some evangelical churches in America. As early as three years ago, when Trump decided to move the American Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, some evangelical churches shouted and regarded Trump as "the king of Israel" and "the coming of God again".
In fact, this "political Messiah" complex is not new, but a replica of Constantinianism.
This kind of "political messianism" may be found in the Old Testament, where there are examples of revival brought by godly kings, but Jesus and the apostles had no teaching and practice in this respect in the New Testament. Because in the New Testament era, the theocracy system in the form of the Old Testament had been subverted and replaced by the Christian Church, which only preached and relied on the Savior's cross. The apostles no longer expected an earthly king to protect them or bring revival to the church. They only relied on the cross of Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit! Therefore, the revival of the church does not depend on a powerful and godly political leader, but the church trusts Jesus Christ and acts according to the truth.
From church history, in the United States history of more than 200 years, no belief revival movement was promoted by the president; it all started from the humility and repentance of the church and the desire of believers for holiness.
Therefore, it is a serious misplacement to pin the hope of American church revival on a political figure. This is not within the scope of the president's duties, nor does it conform to the provisions of the American Constitution concerning the separation of church and state.
In addition to the "political Messiah" complex, some Chinese Christians may still be dreaming of rebuilding a "Christendom" as such. They are looking forward to having a "Christian king" on earth who can build a heavenly kingdom template according to the Bible (strictly speaking, according to the laws and regulations of the Old Testament). Specifically, "to recapture the United States for God", let the United States return to Puritan tradition, and restore the glorious beauty of "the city on the top of the mountain". This dream of "Christendom" is presented in the face of "cultural war" in America, and is also described as defending conservative values and social order.
Teacher Lin Feng, a scholar living in the United States, wrote an article, "2020 and Christian Nationalism in the United States", which made a comprehensive analysis and profound reflection. The article points out that the real situation is much more complicated than this simple dualistic cognition and analyzes the "Christian nationalism" behind the "Trump support" craze.
What is Christian nationalism? "It is a cultural framework, a combination of myths, legends, traditions, symbols, narratives and value systems. It advocates the integration of Christianity and American citizen life and idealizes it." Christianity in this "Christian nationalism" is not only a religion, but also includes the preconditions of nativism, white supremacy, patriarchy and heterosexuality, as well as the sacred recognition of autocratic control and military hegemony. It is a combination of race, politics and religion." Obviously, it has drifted away from the New Testament and is branded with racism.
Therefore, the ideal of establishing a "Christendom" looks beautiful, but God has no such promise in the New Testament, and neither Jesus nor the apostles have made such "attempts".
History has proved that it is impossible for us to establish a heaven on earth and a pure biblical moral system in a ruined world, and it is impossible for us to return to the middle age or the Puritan era.
Therefore, we should go back to Jesus' teaching and draw a line between religion and politics: "Caesar's things should be given to Caesar, and God's things should be given to God" (Luke 20:25). The revival of the church depends not on political leaders, but on whether the church acts in truth and shines for the Lord.
Our understanding of American society and politics is extremely limited, and there is no final conclusion about those distant people and things. Every Christian should encourage each other, start from the things around him, and only look up to the heaven promised by the Lord. Do not confuse "Jesus wins" with "Trump wins" because Trump stepped down but Christ is still in power.
Jesus said, "My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place." (John 18:36)
- Translated by Charlie Li
An Observation on "Trump Support" Fever of Chinese Christians
