In the April issue of The Atlantic, Michael Gerson, a nationally syndicated columnist and a former aide and speechwriter for George W. Bush, has written the best article you will read this spring on religion and politics.

Since the November 2016 presidential election, I have spoken with a wide range of people who voted for Donald Trump, and did so for an equally wide range of reasons.  A subset of those voters identify as “Trump supporters,” and whatever percentage of those who profess to be Christians are the subject of Gerson’s article.

Many of the Christians I know who support Trump are so consumed by Fox News’ constant bootlicking worship of all-things-Trump that any information to the contrary triggers a near spontaneous, tsunami-size regurgitation of partisan spin.  They seem to have forgotten it is Jesus Christ – not Donald Trump – who they need to be representing to the world.  Their indiscriminate support of Trump is disparaging all-things-Christian.  Facing that reality, however, takes the kind of courage few loyalist possess.

Here are a few opening excerpts:

“Trump’s background and beliefs could hardly be more incompatible with traditional Christian models of life and leadership.  Trump’s past political stances (he once supported the right to partial-birth abortion), his character (he has bragged about sexually assaulting women), and even his language (he introduced the words pussy and shithole into presidential discourse) would more naturally lead religious conservatives toward exorcism than alliance.  This is a man who has cruelly publicized his infidelities, made disturbing sexual comments about his elder daughter, and boasted about the size of his penis on the debate stage.  His lawyer reportedly arranged a $130,000 payment to a porn star to dissuade her from disclosing an alleged affair.  Yet religious conservatives who once blanched at PG-13 public standards now yawn at such NC-17 maneuvers.”

“Trump supporters tend to dismiss moral scruples about his behavior as squeamishness over the president’s ‘style.’  But the problem is the distinctly non-Christian substance of his values.  Trump’s unapologetic materialism—his equation of financial and social success with human achievement and worth—is a negation of Christian teaching.  His tribalism and hatred for ‘the other’ stand in direct opposition to Jesus’s radical ethic of neighbor love. Trump’s strength-worship and contempt for ‘losers’ smack more of Nietzsche than of Christ.  Blessed are the proud.  Blessed are the ruthless.  Blessed are the shameless.  Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after fame.”

“The moral convictions of many evangelical leaders have become a function of their partisan identification.  This is not mere gullibility; it is utter corruption.  Blinded by political tribalism and hatred for their political opponents, these leaders can’t see how they are undermining the causes to which they once dedicated their lives.  Little remains of a distinctly Christian public witness.”

That’s just a preview of the introduction … Gerson moves from there into church history, the lessons that can be drawn from it, and how a utilitarian approach to politics undercuts biblical imperatives.  I highly recommend reading and pondering this superbly written article, especially if you are a Christian who supports Trump.

Regardless of initial impressions, Gerson is not blaming Trump for taking advantage of a supportive voting bloc or for pandering to their agenda.  Instead, he is decrying the enthusiastic fervor with which evangelical leaders are debasing themselves – and all Christians – by embracing and defending the words and deeds of Trump, which are so often antithetical to biblical principles.  These “leaders” have abandoned their sacred duty by elevating human politics above the scriptural mandates fundamental to Christianity.

Thoughtful believers concerned about the plummeting influence of the faith should be deeply disturbed by its secular denigration at the hands of those in positions of authority (not to mention the scores of Christian Trump supporters complicit in this shameful defense).

Although Gerson doesn’t broach this subject, I think it’s worth contemplating:  If a preponderance of Christians – living in a self-imposed delusion of blind partisan loyalty and blatant theological hypocrisy – can publicly support candidates or elected officials whose words and actions are diametrically opposed to biblical teachings, then what makes them think they will know the Anti-Christ when he appears?

The frighteningly simply answer is, they won’t.

That speaks volumes about the assumed biblical worldview of the “evangelical majority” who reportedly voted for Trump.  If Gerson is right, the ecclesiastical stress-test Trump is putting the church through is revealing just how shallow and transactional Christianity in America has become.

And fixing that, has absolutely nothing to do with politics.