Cyrus, Trump, The Devil?

The first time I saw this before the 2020 National Election I thought it was an online prank. But I was wrong, there are people in the US, seemingly a whole lot of them, who think Trump was sent by God. Their rationale, at least for some, is Trump is like Cyrus the Great from Classical times. Cyrus was born somewhere between 590-580 BCE and became monarch conquering various kingdoms, most notably Babylon, one of the greatest cities of Classic times, in 539 BCE. When Babylon fell, Cyrus the Great freed the [Israel] Jewish people and sent to them back to Jerusalem. Some Trumpers believe that Cyrus the Great was sent by God to free the Jewish [Israels] and then some 2,500+ years later God sent Trump to also free them.

Why were the Jewish people in the Jewish people in Babylon you might ask? Fifty years earlier Nebuchadnezzar II, the then ruler of Babylon, laid siege to Jerusalem beginning in 587 BCE and eventually destroyed the city sending the survivors to Babylon. Note, conquered is a very mild word for what happened when a city fell from Classic times thru medieval times. When a city was conquered it was often bloodbath starting with the defenders, and then many of the inhabitants including women and children. Women were often raped. And the killing was most often with swords and spears. Be it Babylon in 539 BCE or Jerusalem earlier in 587 BCE or any other city conquered by invaders, it was brutal and bloody.

Many do not want to think war is not ugly. Its ugly today and what we now call civilians are often the biggest losers in a conflict. War is bigger today with more killed, but It was equally ugly in Classic times. Just because there was less people, does not mean it was less brutal or ugly. If someone accepts the premise that God sent Cyrus the Great to release the Jewish people from Babylon, then they also have to accept that the same God sent Nebuchadnezzar II to destroy Jerusalem with a bloody death of many who lived there. Some would say that God was sending a message to the Jewish people in Jerusalem and the a short time later decided they had learned their lesson. A bloody brutal lesson. A God that has mothers and children killed or sold into slavery to teach them a lesson is not a God in which I could believe.

God sending Trump does not make sense on any level. The Judaeo-Christian traditions believe God [called Yahweh by the people of Israel] sent Abraham, Moses, and David, along with great prophets like Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, and Daniel. Christians believe God then sent Jesus whose message of love and compassion changed the world.

Of the almost 8 Billion people in the world, there probably a few people who are less likely to be sent by God then Trump. He is not a leader like the OT leaders nor does he have the wisdom of the prophets.

Then think of some of the basic teachings of Jesus’s such as “love your neighbor as yourself, “do unto others as you would have them do to you” or one of my favorite, “look for the log in your eye before the speck in someone else’s“. Trump has consistently rejected these fundamental teachings of Jesus. There is nothing in Trump’s personal and public life that indicates he cares about anyone but himself. His love of money and wealth is clear, anything else, not so much.

The only thing that Cyrus the Great and Trump have in common is they both did an excellent job of picking their parents. Cyrus was born into royalty and Trump inherited his wealth. The Trump fortune was first built by his grandfather and then enhanced by his father. There is nothing in Trump’s resume that indicates he could start with zero and and build wealth.

So why do some people think Trump was sent by God? For me, its because Trump is the voice and face of White Nationalism. There is a large group of Americans who believe the US should be run and controlled by white people who look like them. There is no biblical basis for this belief. The Israels were freed from slavery in Babylon. The whites who support Trump are already free, they just do want anyone else who does not agree or look like them to also be free.

Trump was not sent by God. Trump is petty, disruptive, narcissistic and vindictive to name a few. He does not support democracy and lied to overturn an election that he clearly lost. When he was President he ran up the deficit by almost $8 Trillion in four years with no benefit to the American people. Clearly God did not sent Trump. But if there is a Devil, and some people think there is, that’s who clearly sent Trump.