Denison Ministries is a non-partisan, non-profit ministry. Accordingly, I would write the same article today if the subject were any political leader or individual.

In fact, that’s my point, as I’ll explain in a moment.

As you probably know by now, President Trump posted an image Sunday evening on Truth Social depicting himself in a white robe with a bronze cape draped over his shoulders. An American flag stands on the left and the Statue of Liberty on the right, with soldiers and military jets overhead. A brilliant light glows in his left hand. Light also emanates from his right hand, which is placed on the forehead of a patient lying on a bed.

Many across the political spectrum protested the image as sacrilegious. One writer called the post “blasphemous” and “reprehensible.” Conservative pundit Carmine Sabia stated, “As a Christian, I’m offended by this, and I don’t know how any Christian would not be offended by this. There is only one Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Mocking him is not OK.”

The post was subsequently deleted.

However, Mr. Trump explained to reporters yesterday, “It’s supposed to be me as a doctor, making people better. And I do make people better.”

To his point: the AI-generated image was an edited repost of a meme posted in early February by conservative commentator Nick Adams. Though it has now been deleted, its caption claimed, “America has been sick for a long time. President Trump is healing this nation.”

No, he’s not.

But not for the reasons you might think.

The fatal flaw in self-governance

The Bible sternly forbids idolatry (Exodus 20:3–6; Leviticus 19:4; Jonah 2:8; 1 Corinthians 10:14; Colossians 3:5; 1 John 5:21), which is simply defined as replacing God with anyone or anything else. One reason this prohibition is so relevant to us today is that idolatry dethrones the King of the universe and degrades him in ways that are deeply damaging to our individual souls and our collective ethos.

Said differently, fallen humans need an authority higher than ourselves if we are to flourish in our fallen world.

Eighteenth-century England understood this fact on a secular level. The British were convinced that the American colonies’ quest for independence was doomed because humans cannot govern themselves. Without a higher authority, in this case the monarchy, such governance would inevitably fail, they believed.

For example, in A Great Awakening—a marvelous new film about the First Great Awakening—Benjamin Franklin is speaking with a British general about the colonists’ embrace of liberty as a God-given right. The general responds in similar spiritual terms, referencing the parable of the prodigal son. In his view, the colonists, like the prodigal, would inevitably “run back to daddy,” meaning the king of England.

America’s Founders knew whereof the general spoke. They were aware that the fatal flaw in self-governance is our inability to govern ourselves.

For example, in Federalist No. 51, James Madison famously observed, “In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself.” This is why, as I noted yesterday, John Adams and other founders insisted on checks and balances to ensure that no individual or group is invested with unaccountable authority.

A step toward idolatry

But even this system of self-governance is insufficient for the challenges we face.

America has legislated against racial prejudice, but racism remains. More than three hundred thousand federal regulations carry criminal penalties, but the FBI reports that a violent crime is committed in our country every 26.3 seconds. Not to mention all the immorality that is not illegal but nonetheless damaging to us as individuals and as a society.

Accordingly, neither Donald Trump nor any other president can truly heal our nation. This is because Americans, like all other fallen humans, are afflicted with the disease of sin. This fact explains every crime we commit, every lie we tell, every act of sexual immorality and racial prejudice.

And attempting human solutions for a problem humans cannot solve is a step toward idolatry that only exacerbates the problem.

The good news is that we have a God who is not just all-knowing and all-powerful but also all-loving. By virtue of his character, he cannot act except in our best interest. He can do anything but fail.

But he can only give his best to those who trust him to do what is best. And that’s a problem.

The problem, in fact.

“The tapestry of full redemption”

The harder our circumstances, the harder it can be to trust in a God who allowed or even caused them. Conversely, the harder our circumstances, the more we need a God who can do what we cannot.

However, our Creator honors the freedom with which he created us in his image. Therefore, the decision to trust him most when we understand him least is both logical and life-changing.

I’ll close with an example.

I have written in the past about former Sen. Ben Sasse’s terminal pancreatic cancer diagnosis. He was in the news again recently with a profound interview he gave one of my favorite cultural commentators, New York Times columnist Ross Douthat.

Toward the end of their conversation, Douthat asked Sasse if he was angry with God for not answering prayers for his healing. Sasse said, “No.” “Not at all?” Douthat asked. “No,” Sasse repeated.

He then explained:

I wouldn’t want a sovereign God to defer to all of my prayers with a yes. I’m not omniscient. I don’t know what the weaving together of the tapestry of full redemption should look like.

Nor do you or I.

But we know Someone who does.

Quote for the day:

“If Jesus Christ didn’t abandon you in his darkness, the ultimate darkness, why would he abandon you now, in yours?” —Tim Keller

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• Vibrant pews, empty seats: The paradox of America’s revival

 

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