How should Christians respond to Project 2025?
Donald Trump alone cannot make America great again
If we are to make America great again, we must first make America good again. We the People, who have benefitted so richly from God’s gracious provision of liberty, must re-commit to governing our lives, homes, communities, cities, and states ourselves.
On July, 16, 2024 Parker Jones writes:
Project 2025, a conservative policy game plan for the future, has become a source of recent controversy as liberal politicians and commentators work to tie the contentious agenda to Donald Trump’s campaign, and Trump works to distance himself from it. Messaging surrounding the project is now central to President Biden’s campaign strategy as he seeks to persuade Americans that a second Trump term would be radical and dangerous. Biden’s campaign website vaguely frames Project 2025 as “the plan by Donald Trump’s MAGA Republican allies to give Trump more power over your daily life, gut democratic checks and balances, and consolidate power in the Oval Office if he wins.
In 2024, America and the very concept of liberty is in peril. Many Americans have suddenly awakened to this reality realizing that something must be done. A massive movement of citizens has mobilized behind Donald Trump and his promise to make America great again.
But, this is about so much more than an election. We cannot expect an election or a leader alone to turn the nation around. If America is to be great again we must rediscover what made it a great nation in the first place. A statement attributed to Alexis de Tocqueville after his visit to America in 1832 provides a kind of third-party or independent verification of the source of America’s greatness,
I sought for the key to the greatness and genius of America in her harbors...in her fertile fields and boundless forests; in her rich mines and vast world commerce; in her public school system and institutions of learning. I sought for it in her democratic Congress and in her matchless Constitution. Not until I went into the churches of America and heard her pulpits flame with righteousness did I understand the secret of her genius and power. America is great because she is good, and if America ever ceases to be good, she will cease to be great.
If we are to make America great again, we must first make America good again. We the People, who have benefitted so richly from God’s gracious provision of liberty, must re-commit to governing our lives, homes, communities, cities, and states ourselves.
We must faithfully work to reclaim the ground we have lost to tyrants not only for our sake but because, as a matter of current geopolitical fact, the survival of America is crucial to the safety of the world. In his book, “If You Can Keep It” Eric Metaxas writes,
We therefore must apprehend the idea that if we cease to be the America we were at first—the whole world will suffer. So, if for no other reason than that, we must care about America.
It’s not just the right thing to do; it’s our Constitutional duty and a Christian principle to protect and preserve freedom for the cause of the gospel and for the good of all people. Metaxas writes:
There's a paradox at the center of what's been called American exceptionalism. It's that a significant part of what makes us exceptional is that in some sense we are a nation with a mission beyond ourselves and beyond our borders. We are a nation with a mission to the rest of the world. This idea is startling but inescapable. If we are to keep the republic, then, our keeping it is not merely for our own sake. …it's a testimony to America that the ideas we alone embodied at our beginning have been exported to many nations around the world, and this quality — one might even call it a kind of generosity — has much to do with our success.
So many of us are perplexed, worried, tired, and afraid of what may come next. We need to know the way out of this. We need to be reminded of what it means to be free and what is required to remain free. Metaxas writes,
Most of us don't understand the idea of self-government enough to be properly astonished by it. [Even in] the day of our nation's birth … the idea of self-government was so new [that] it was shocking even to some Americans, who during the revolution simply rejected it, choosing instead to side with the British Crown as Tories. …
Why in the world did the founders think it would work? … in a word, religion. …the founders understood that freedom and religion went hand in hand, that freedom must have religion and religion must have freedom. One without the other was in fact neither. …
And perhaps one of the most important truths about freedom and self-government,
The founders understood that the more each person governed himself, the less there would be a need for strong government, and by their estimation the American people were ready. The faith and the virtue of the American people made possible the most free nation in the history of the world.
The fuel that ran the engine of American freedom was virtue, a strong understanding of self-government, and the acknowledgement that freedom and faith sustain each other. If we can return to being a virtuous people committed to self-government according to the principles set forth by the commands of Christ, we can revive the republic and actually make America good again.
“When the righteous thrive, the city rejoices, and when the wicked perish, there are shouts of joy…When the righteous flourish, the people rejoice, but when the wicked rule, the people groan.” (Proverbs 11:12; 29:2)
Here's the point: We must set aside our ideas and urges of how things should be and recognize that what makes us worthy of self-rule is virtue which comes from submission to Christ our King. On our own, with Enlightenment principles and philosophy as the supreme source of law and justice, our “righteousness” is nothing more than self-righteousness, vain, hypocritical, and doomed to repeat our failures.
The Truth Will Set You Free
In John chapter 8 Jesus is recorded as saying, “The truth will set you free” (v. 32). This quote is used often deployed infamously as a justification for autonomy. But, in context, the truth Jesus speaks of is a higher form of knowledge. It is this form of knowledge that makes us capable of self-government.
The question is this: once you have been set free, how will you use your liberty?
Jesus is the Truth (John 14:6). Knowing the Truth will set one at liberty—free from sin, free from condemnation, and free from death (Romans 6:22; 8:1–2). Jesus came to proclaim liberty to the captives (Luke 4:18). The apostle Peter encouraged Christians to live as people who are free, but to not use that freedom as an opportunity to satisfy yourselves, but to “live as servants of God” (1 Peter 2:16).
We are tempted to use the freedom Jesus gives us as an excuse to trample on others. We want others to conform to us, and our way. But when we use our freedom to serve one another through love, we conquer the flesh, we conquer sin. That is true liberty that can bear the fruit of virtuous self-government.
This is exactly the pattern set by Jesus. He had more liberty than anyone who ever walked this earth, yet He used His liberty to serve even to death.
How Do We Make America Good Again?
When a nation turns from God, idolatry necessarily follows, then more lawlessness, and inevitably society falls apart because our nature is not “basically good,” men’s hearts love darkness rather than light (John 3:19).
It is understandable that we don’t like what we see in unjust laws and unwise, rebellious lawmakers. But, we can still thank God for the system we have that is still protecting our freedoms and our lives and do our best to govern ourselves, live peacefully under that system, and pray for those in authority over us.
First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth…I desire then that in every place the men should pray, lifting holy hands without anger or quarreling… (1 Timothy 2:1-4, 8)
A Christian’s fundamental orientation to the world is service. Government is one of the most effective ways one can serve the world. And when the ways of the world are opposed to the will of God we must obey God rather than men and stand firm especially when we are mocked, criticized, or persecuted for it.
The system established by the founders of the American government was a one-of-a-kind order of popular sovereignty where the ruling power was placed in the hands of the people. The checks and balances baked into the American Constitution and branches of government were formed specifically to restrain the evil tendencies of fallen man. Virtue is a necessity if we are to make America good again.
Jeremiah 29:7, speaks about God’s people living in the middle of a pagan nation (Babylon) and how they must live,
Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the LORD for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.
We are called to be engaged with the world, not to follow its ways; to be salt and light so that our influence would purify the putrid, preserve the good, expose evil hiding the shadows, and light the path to Christ for the world.
We’re called also to exercise dominion that God granted us, not to invade and conquer nations and governments, but live out the gospel in our actions and in doing so, Christ sets the captives free through us, through our actions.
America is an experiment in self-government established for a people who had been prepared by The Great Awakening for the responsibility of liberty. Those who are true followers of Christ will obey His teachings and when we obey The Way The Truth and The Life we will be free indeed.
Parker Jones, writing for Denison Forum, has written a beautifully edifying piece on how Christians can practically respond to make America good again. Jones explains Project 2025 and what we can do to honor God and love our neighbors through faithful action that the Lord will bless.
Christians have a duty to recall their primary identity within the kingdom of God. The apostle Peter refers to the church as God’s own nation and priesthood (1 Pet. 2:9-12), reminding believers that in this world, we are simply sojourners and exiles in a foreign land (1 Pet. 2:11).
An already-not-yet nature is inherent to the Christian life since we know that we are part of an eternal kingdom, but we reside in a temporary place. Yet, while we are here, we have a responsibility to seek the welfare of our community, just as God commanded the Babylonian exiles in their temporary homes away from Jerusalem (Jer. 29:4-7).
How do we adopt this kingdom-minded approach to our political engagement? We pray for our leaders, our nation, and our individual discernment. We intentionally seek out the truth, research consequential policies, have important conversations, and then vote accordingly. We guard our hearts against the corrupting tendency of political idolatry and the wicked desire to place our faith in ideology. Lastly, we actively work toward Godly solutions in our society rather than hoping for legislation and policymakers to do the work for us.
These principles should characterize every Christian’s approach to the culture, and living them out is an act of obedience to God that goes beyond personal politics. So, regardless of how you plan to vote this fall, commit to a kingdom-minded approach and trust that the Lord is not limited by who runs the government.
We highly recommend that you read the rest of Parker’s article:
How should Christians respond to Project 2025? Read Here
About the Author
More Recommended Reading re: How Christians should respond in society
Also recommended for “big picture” insight re: the global order , Agenda 21, Great Reset
Remembering the larger purposes of Christ and His promises
And the prime example of ugly satanic attacks, bad human choices, and overriding divine sovereignty, can be seen in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. How all three managed to cohere in this one mega-event is beyond our full comprehension, but we know that all three were involved. And in the end, the purposes of God stood. - Bill Muehlenberg
Article: LIFE, DEATH, AND THE GOD WE SERVE Read Here
In the midst of the partisan furor over Project 2025, a 920-page roadmap for how to re-fashion the government to favor so-called conservative causes, both the Right and the Left have proven themselves woefully naive about the dangers posed by the power-hungry (globalist technocrats). Yet we must never lose sight of the fact that both the Right and the Left and their various operatives are extensions of the (hidden hand), which continues to wage psychological warfare on the American people. - Constitutional attorney and author John W. Whitehead
Project Total Control: Everything Is a Weapon When Totalitarianism Is Normalized Read article
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Resources and References:
Ballotpedia. "The Democratic Party Platform, 2020." Accessed July 20, 2024. https://ballotpedia.org/The_Democratic_Party_Platform%2C_2020.
Dreyfuss, Robert. "The Thirty-Year Itch." Mother Jones, March/April 2003.
"Devaluing the Think Tank." National Affairs. Accessed July 20, 2024. https://www.nationalaffairs.com/publications/detail/devaluing-the-think-tank.
Hacker, Jacob S. *The Road to Nowhere: The Genesis of President Clinton's Plan for Health Security*. Princeton University Press, 1997.
Heilbrunn, Jacob. "Neocon 101." The New York Times, January 25, 2009.
James, William. "The Moral Equivalent of War." McClure’s Magazine, August 1910.
Jones, Parker. “How should Christians respond to Project 2025?” Denison Forum, July 16, 2024. https://www.denisonforum.org/current-events/politics/how-should-christians-respond-to-project-2025/.
Marshall, Will. "Will Marshall." National Endowment for Democracy. Accessed July 20, 2024. https://www.ned.org/experts/will-marshall.
Media Matters for America. "A Guide to Project 2025, the Extreme Right-Wing Agenda for the Next Republican Administration." Accessed July 20, 2024. https://www.mediamatters.org/heritage-foundation/guide-project-2025-extreme-right-wing-agenda-next-republican-administration.
Metaxas, Eric. If You Can Keep It: The Forgotten Promise of American Liberty. Penguin, 2016. Chapter 1, America as an idea.
POLITICO. "The Most Influential Think Tank of the Biden Era Has a New Leader." Accessed July 20, 2024. https://www.politico.com/news/2021/06/30/center-for-american-progress-new-leader-497167.
Project 2025. "Project 2025." The Heritage Foundation. Accessed July 20, 2024. https://www.heritage.org/conservatism/commentary/project-2025.
Project 2025. "Project 2025 Publishes Comprehensive Policy Guide, ‘Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise’." The Heritage Foundation. Accessed July 20, 2024. https://www.heritage.org/press/project-2025-publishes-comprehensive-policy-guide-mandate-leadership-the-conservative-promise.
Republican Contract with America. Teaching American History. Accessed July 20, 2024. https://teachingamericanhistory.org/document/republican-contract-with-america.
Tocqueville, Alexis. Alexis De Tocqueville: Democracy in America (LOA #147): A new translation by Arthur Goldhammer. Library of America, 2004.
Trump, Donald J. "Agenda47." Accessed July 20, 2024. https://www.donaldjtrump.com/agenda47#:~:text.
Wikipedia. "Agenda 47." Accessed July 20, 2024. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agenda_47.
Democratic Party Platform. "Party Platform." Democrats. Accessed July 20, 2024. https://democrats.org/where-we-stand/party-platform.
"Donald Trump alone cannot make America great again" correct however he is the catalyst that can spark it, and make it a world wide change.
Yes, we will need the help of our Almighty Creator too.
Will someone please let me know how do I cross post this post?