Texts written after the 2020 presidential election between Ginni Thomas, wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, and Mark Meadows, then the Chief of Staff for President Trump, confirm the danger that dominion theology represents to American democracy.

Dominion theology (also known as dominionism) is a group of Christian political ideologies that seek to institute a nation governed by Christians based on their understandings of biblical law.

The texts involved Ginni Thomas pleading with Mark Meadows to help overthrow a legitimate election. Here’s Thomas: “Help this great president stand firm, Mark. You are the leader, with him, who is standing for American governance at the precipice. The majority knows Biden and the left is attempting the greatest heist of our history.”

Mark Meadows texted back, “This is a fight of good versus evil. Evil looks like the victor until the King of Kings triumphs. Do not grow weary in well doing. The fight continues. I have staked my career or at least my time in DC on it.”

First of all, the “majority” of Americans did not share Ginni Thomas’ belief that the election was a heist. Most Americans and even top officials in the previous Trump administration including Vice President Mike Pence and Attorney General William Barr acknowledge that Joe Biden is the legitimately elected President. And, not so incidentally, Biden trounced Trump in the election by more than six million votes.

Meadows’s response is even more disturbing. America is not a Christian nation despite the views of Meadows and millions of Americans. Ever heard of the separation of Church and State? Moreover, it’s hard to believe that the “king of kings” (Jesus Christ) would put Donald Trump on the good side of any good versus evil ledger. Trump, by any measure, was the least Christ-like president in American history, even though he purported to be Christian.

Trump, ever the con artist, managed to convince white evangelical Christians that he was one of them, even though he never attends Church and ignores the 10 Commandments. He did so by choosing Mike Pence as his running mate and by promising to nominate “conservative” (meaning anti-abortion, anti-gay marriage) judges.

In an effort to position himself to run for president, Pence recently outlined his “Freedom Agenda.” That agenda included the suggestion that high school students be required to take civics so that they can learn about the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Federalist Papers. Never mind that Pence spent four years adoringly approving of Donald Trump, a man who trashed the Constitution at every turn.

Incidentally, readers might remember that the favorite of white Christian evangelicals before Trump won the nomination was Ted Cruz. Yes, that Ted Cruz, the prince of darkness, a man without an ethical bone in his body, a man who after rightly calling out Trump as a liar during the campaign did a total flip-flop to become one of the Trumpiest of Trumpian toadies.

A comment by a woman at a recent Trump rally in Georgia suggests that Trump maintains his influence over a certain segment of Americans. “I only listen to Jesus Christ and Donald Trump and not necessarily in that order.” America, we have a problem. Christian leaders, you have some explaining to do.

Let me suggest to Ginni Thomas and Mark Meadows that any American trying to overthrow a legitimate presidential election by using force or other means — many of them tried by Trump and his minions — is the evil part of this sad American story. They are not patriots; they are treasonous.

I remain hopeful that America will emerge from this sad chapter as a better, stronger, more unified nation. For openers, Clarence Thomas should recuse himself from any future case involving anything to do with the 2020 presidential election or the January 6 insurrection. I am hopeful that every Christian will accept the fact that America is not a Christian nation; rather that it is a nation welcoming people of every — or no — faith and every race and nationality. I am hopeful, in sum, that every patriotic American will commit to preserving our nation’s fragile democracy.

David Treadwell, a Brunswick writer, welcomes commentary and suggestions for future “Just a Little Old” columns. dtreadw575aol.com.

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