May 31, 2024
In C.S. Lewis’s children’s book The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, the main characters are sailing on a mission of rescue and adventure when they think they spot land. They head toward the shore, only realizing too late they are heading into a watery abyss called “the dark island.” It’s a place where “your dreams come true”—and not the good kind. The sailors begin experiencing their nightmares in real time—hearing the gongs of execution, or pirates climbing aboard, or the ship’s sails tearing.
That’s not a bad metaphor for reactions I’m seeing anywhere I check the news. Ever since yesterday’s felony conviction of former President Donald Trump, the many news tabs open on my Chrome browser seem to make up their own “dark island” of sorts—with each tab representing its own group’s greatest fear threatening to manifest.
There seem to be three main reactions, all grounded in one fear or another:
- Reaction #1. Trump is now a convicted felon. This long-awaited verdict confirms what we’ve known about his character all along (whether from the Access Hollywood tape, the January 6 insurrection, or the classified documents scandal). The guy is unelectable, both ethically and (now, hopefully) legally. The fear, though, is that Trump’s conviction will provoke his base into reelecting a now-enraged Trump to the presidency in November.
- Reaction #2. Trump is now a political prisoner. The trial was politically motivated and rigged from the outset. Although we can hope for a backlash come November—and prophesy it on social media—we’re inwardly afraid that America may have stepped off a cliff this time, plunging from democratic republic to a banana republic via kangaroo court. The fear is that a weaponized justice system will rob the rightful president of his presidency—and a great nation will never be the same.
- Reaction #3. Whether Trump is felon or martyr, what’s clear is that we’ve never been more in danger of clawing our nation apart since the Civil War. We fear chaos and crisis on the horizon.
So, what do you think? Is Trump a villain or a victim? Are you more with Russell Moore, editor of Christianity Today, who responded to the felony conviction with a tweet that said, “The question is what it has always been—fit or unfit. And the answer was obvious all along. Character matters, still”?[1] Or do you resonate more with Albert Mohler, editor of WORLD Opinions, who writes, “The forces allied against the former president were so blatantly political and the entire process was timed to inflict maximum political damage just as the 2024 presidential campaign was hitting high gear”?[2]
“So, what do you think? Is Trump a villain or a victim?”
As you develop your stance on these questions as a disciple of Jesus, I want to encourage you to take a step back and consider how intertwined our moral sensibilities can be with what we’re afraid of. Consider the possibility that fear can function as an ethical filter.
Here’s what I mean. Let’s step outside politics for a moment and into the world of church. If your biggest fear about your church is that it’s going to go progressive in its teachings, then you might very well call out a doctrinal shift you’re sensing. But you might not notice or get all that worked up about a legalistic bent in some of the church’s leaders. Fear acts as a filter, notifying you when a problem is truly problematic.
On the other hand, if your biggest fear is that your church will put layers of unwelcome between outsiders and Jesus, you might speak out against legalism and rigidness—while perhaps not noticing progressive tendencies in the leadership, or even giving those tendencies a free pass. Whatever your greatest fear is acts as a filter when it comes to discerning what ethics matter most.
“Whatever your greatest fear is acts as a filter when it comes to discerning what ethics matter most.”
It’s the same with parenting. If your greatest parenting fear is that you’ll fail to show your kids the grace of Jesus, you’ll likely beat yourself up when you deal with their sin harshly—while showing yourself a lot more grace when you err on the side of lenience. Or, if your greatest parenting fear is that you’ll graduate them without having brought them up “in the training and instruction of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4, NIV), you’ll be a lot more permissive toward gracelessness than toward permissiveness in your parenting. Fear acts as an ethical filter.
Back to politics. What role might fear play in whether you happen to see Trump more as villain or victim? I can’t answer for you, but let’s say that I view January 6 as the darkest day our country has seen in decades, and I dread another MAGA insurrection. If that were my dominant political fear, that fear would amplify Trump’s villainy in my mind. If, on the other hand, I am terrified that America is on the precipice of becoming a banana republic, that fear would make me feel more protective of Trump and more dismissive of his faults and alleged crimes.
You see how fear would be functioning as an ethical filter of sorts? Whatever my greater fear is, that shapes what I’m ethically repulsed by or dismissive of. So, what’s the difference between a “convicted felon” and a “political prisoner”? At least some of it hinges on what fear beats the other.
“Whatever my greater fear is, that shapes what I’m ethically repulsed by or dismissive of.”
You’re likely feeling afraid of something—and all the more if you’ve been dwelling on the implications of yesterday’s Trump conviction. Honestly, I’m there too. I’m encouraging you and me to interrogate our fears, as they can wield a surprising power over our ethical convictions, whether it comes to politics or parenting or the purpose of life.
As a disciple of Jesus, make sure your greatest fears—and hopes—are grounded in the only incontestable verdict you’ll live to see: the Final Judgment. Ground your ethical convictions in what will happen on that day: “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all his angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. . . .” (Matthew 25:31-32 NIV).
[1] See Russell Moore, https://x.com/drmoore/status/1796289538324840759.
[2] R. Albert Mohler, Jr., “The Verdict Is In: the Manhattan Show Trial Ends with Former President Trimp Convicted—But Now the Real Trial Begins,” World, May 30, 2024, https://wng.org/opinions/the-verdict-is-in-1717117274.
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