TRAGEDY

God still has a purpose for Donald Trump and the Deity concluded that Corey Comperatore has served his earthly mission. This is the implied response by MAGA supporters and Christian evangelicals’ interpretation of the failed assassination attempt on Donald Trump but took the life of Corey Comperatore. This incident occurred on Saturday, July, 13, at 6:11p.m. at the fairgrounds in Butler, Pennsylvania. As a retired United Methodist pastor who has spent a career helping individuals navigate tragedy, I find this response disturbing.

The message conveyed at the RNC that convened days later in Milwaukee and evangelical pastors continued to pontificate that “divine intervention” spared the life of the man who will be the savior of our nation. The tabulation of comments would span pages; therefore, only a few need to be read.

We can begin with Trump himself, who in a few hours after the incident posted on Truth Social “it was God alone who prevented the unthinkable from happening.” Though, the unthinkable did happen to Comperatore and two others who were critically wounded. Eric called his father’s escape from death “nothing short of divine intervention,” and daughter-in-law Lara, co-chair of the Republican National Committee, posted an image of Jesus gripping Trump’s shoulder, so I surmise, Jesus was too preoccupied to embrace Comperatore.

Joining the family chorus are evangelical preachers. Franklin Graham proclaimed, “Trump came very close to having his brains spread over that platform but God, I believe, protected him.” Robert Jeffress, the pastor of First Baptist Church of Dallas, declared in his sermon on Sunday morning, July 14, “I think Donald Trump has a purpose. My own feeling is God spared him for the purpose of calling our nation back to its Judeo-Christian foundation.” So again, we must conclude, that Corey Comperatore rendered no further purpose in God’s plan for America.

The convention itself was an evangelical rally. The same message of divine intervention echoed through Fiserv Forum. Sen. Marco Rubio said “God protected President Trump.” Ben Carson, a former cabinet secretary in the Trump administration, told the convention, referencing Isaiah 54:17, “I have no doubt that God lowered a shield of protection over President Trump.” Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the 47th and first female governor of Arkansas, preached to the gathered delegates that she stands with Donald Trump knowing “Not even an assassin’s bullet could stop him. God Almighty intervened because America is one nation under God, and He is certainly not finished with President Trump and our country is better for it.” If asked, I am sure the homeowners of Butler County would say their community was a better place because one outstanding volunteer fireman.

This returns me to my introductory paragraph, why does God protect some and not others? Why did God offer Donald Trump divine protection and not Corey Comperatore? Why does God consider Donald as still having further service to provide society and Corey’s usefulness has faded?

As these messages of divine intervention resonates from podiums and pulpits, I am heartbroken knowing what the family and friends of Corey are hearing – God cares about Donald but not abut Corey. The issue for me is the rhetoric following July 13 is insensitive and lacks any semblance of being rational.

As I have counselled many who have been traumatized by devastating assassinations in life, there is no easy answer; though, I know for certain, God doesn’t favor one person over another. Donald was fortunate; Corey was not.

In the Genesis story of creation there is imbedded another story, the story of free will, obedience or disobedience, a choice, and a misguided choice translates into indiscriminate evil. To spare the parents of Thomas Crooks’ additional heartache, I don’t consider their 20-year-old son to be demonic since I am certain there was a mental health condition present, though he did engage in a violent evil act.

In my theological perspective on life, we are engaged in spiritual warfare over which God is often powerless. If this were not the case, then it would be prudent for us to shun God for showing favoritism. There were six bullets fired that Saturday evening whose trajectory God was unable to alter, sadly, one projectile struck a husband, father of two, churchgoer, and former fire chief.

Rabbi Harold Kushner, in his book When Bad Thigs Happen To Good People, provides us with a better answer to adversity than we will ever hear from the delegates in Milwaukee as he wrote: “Is there an answer to the question of why bad things happen to good people?…The response would be…to forgive the world for not being perfect, to forgive God for not making a better world, to reach out to the people around us, and to go on living despite it all…no longer asking why something happened, but asking how we will respond, what we intend to do now that it has happened.”

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