Rev. Don Erickson

I must begin with an important qualifier. As someone with a Baptist background, the separation of church and state a la that Baptist forefather Roger Williams, is essential to me. Explicitly tying religion and partisan politics together in church is a dangerous game. So, I will explicitly avoid talking about the politician Donald Trump or his politics. In fact, as we think about trumpism, we might refer to the verb "trump," as in "to trump someone," instead of the name Trump. After all, both the word "trump" and the philosophy of "trumpism" predate Donald Trump. Indeed, trumpism is more a philosophy of life than it is a political philosophy. Trumpism is a way of being, a way of living in the world.  Some have noted that hardcore supporters of Trump have a cult-like devotion to him. One reason I think this is true is that philosophies of life are as close to religion as one can get without it being a religion. So what is the philosophy...