A Day of Courage and Inspiration
Reject Otherworldliness and Get Involved
At a time when the right and the left are in bitter disagreement on just about everything, one thing all agree about is that Corey Comperatore died a hero. Mr. Comperatore, a firefighter who attended the momentous Trump rally on Saturday, died shielding his family from the hail of bullets. Both Trump and Biden have commended him as a hero. His sacrifice for his family showed the ultimate gift of love. There is no room for otherworldly analysis here. This was a real-world example we should all admire.
We are not given very many examples of courage and love in our day. More often than not, “courage” is used to describe someone who has decided to tell the public about their sexual desires or their change of gender. Today, “courage” means to be true to yourself, no matter how misguided your self is. Where I work, what is held up as courageous almost always means something anti-Christian or anti-conservative.
The image of Trump raising his fist, with blood on his face, and calling for the audience to fight will undoubtedly be one that is in every American history book going forward. To have the presence of mind to stand up moments after being shot while feeling the blood on your face, not knowing how bad the injury is, and comfort and encourage the crowd is a stunning act of strength, mental fortitude, and focus. Young Americans specifically need this kind of example because they live with such a dearth of public acts of courage. The immediate example that came to most minds was the assassination attempt on Teddy Roosevelt, which was stopped by a copy of a speech folded in his pocket. Roosevelt also assured the crowd he was fine and even protected the assassin from street justice.
I hope Mr Comperatore is also mentioned in all of those same history books. He represents what is best as a public servant, husband, and father. He, too, is an example to which young Americans should look. He is an inspiration for us all.
This is why I was surprised that Carl Trueman took time to write an article emphasizing the ephemeral nature of political leaders and reminding Christians to not put their trust in princes. Was Comperatore there because he put his trust in princes? Are American conservatives doing this when they are excited to see a politician like Trump stand for conservative values?
Trueman tells us that the assassination reminded him of “the universal truth of the human condition as it touches on politics: The politics and the politicians of this world are as ephemeral as the world itself.” He gives us a list of other assassinations/attempts stretching back to the ancient world, seeming to suggest we should just accept them as part of the political terrain: “Political assassinations are as old as politics itself.” Then he engages in “both-side-ism” reminding us that both sides have nauseating political rhetoric and look at their leaders as messiahs.
As Colin Redemer pointed out on X, Trueman doesn’t name Mr Comperatore or call him a hero (I’m not sure his name had been released at the time Trueman wrote the article). Instead, he uses the murder as a chance to downplay political involvement as fleeting and not the real matter we should be focusing on. This has an otherworldliness feel to it that I wrote about in my American Reformer article earlier this month. Otherworldliness says this world as the material system is passing away and we should focus on the next life. To quote Redemer, Trueman’s “places it in its context” and delegitimizes the enormity of what we saw in order to give a lesson to American Christians about politics.
However, this world, as the world of sin and unbelief, is passing away because Christ is ruling, and the Church is discipling the nations. The truths of Christ are transforming these fallen institutions. I don’t know any thoughtful Christian who confuses the American political scene with the Kingdom of God or thinks Trump is a Messiah. Yet, what Trump represents is not ephemeral. Going to a Trump rally is not merely about seeing him. It is about a cause. And the causes of the right and the left are not equal. They are not morally equivalent. Christians know politics do not save us, but salvation does affect politics.
When a person takes his family to a Trump rally, he affirms that truth. Whatever imperfections the right or conservatism has (I’m aware of them), the contrast with the left is different in kind. The issues and causes that the left is promoting have at their root a hatred for God and Christian truths about life, marriage, family, and society. Christians see this and know it must be stopped. I say “left” on purpose because it wasn’t always that way in the Democratic Party.
Although the people involved in each political cycle change, and various problems come and go, universal and eternal truths are at stake. Our American system provides us with the liberty to debate about these truths. That means we have the responsibility to be involved and using reason to offer sound arguments. A sound argument, either persuades or silences the opponent. Hopefully, this moment is a time when Christians see the need to fill the public square with sound arguments defending and advancing every aspect of Christian society.
Christians, don’t put your trust in princes; put it in the Lord. Put it in the eternal Logos which is the light of man. And remember that the Lord is ruling now until he has made every enemy his footstool (Ps 110, Heb 1:13). Don’t give in to the Platonic call of the otherworldly. This is God’s world. It was created very good. All of God’s works reveal his glory. And Christ rules it now. The nations will be discipled. Engage in politics with that eternal perspective.
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