Bishop Mariann Budde and the Hypocrisy of Modern Christianity
Bishop Mariann Budde has a habit of doing something rare in public religious discourse—she actually follows the teachings of Jesus. When she recently spoke out during an interfaith prayer service at the Washington National Cathedral, she directly urged Donald Trump to show mercy—a foundational Christian value that seems to be missing from much of modern Christianity. This wasn’t the first time she called him out; in 2020, she also condemned his use of St. John’s Church as a political prop. Her message remains clear: faith should be about love, justice, and compassion—not power and exclusion.
Let’s break it down.
Mercy, According to the Bible
Bishop Budde directly called on Trump to show compassion, saying:
"I ask you to have mercy upon the people in our country who are scared now."
For those wondering where mercy shows up in scripture:
Leviticus 19:18 — "You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against any of your people."
Matthew 5:7 — "Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy."
Compassion and care for the vulnerable aren’t fringe ideas in Christianity; they are the foundation. And yet, many self-proclaimed Christians reject them when it comes to marginalized people.
Jesus Loves the Queer Kids
Budde also spoke about 2SLGBTQIA+ youth, pointing out that there are gay, lesbian, and transgender children who fear for their lives. The response from many Christian groups? Silence at best—active harm at worst. But what does the Bible actually say?
Matthew 19:14 — "Let the children come to me and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to them."
Galatians 3:28 — "There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Jesus Christ."
Jesus never put conditions on who was welcome in the kingdom of heaven. The exclusion of queer people is a modern distortion, not a biblical principle.
Immigrants? In the Bible? Absolutely.
Budde also highlighted the hypocrisy of demonizing immigrants while benefiting from their labor, saying:
"People who pick our crops and clean our office buildings, who labor in poultry farms and meatpacking plants, who wash the dishes after we eat in restaurants and work the night shifts in hospitals… They may not be citizens."
This isn’t a new issue, and the Bible is clear on how immigrants should be treated:
Deuteronomy 24:14 — "Do not take advantage of a foreign worker who is poor and needy, whether they be of thy brethren or of thy strangers within thy land, within thy gates."
Leviticus 19:34 — "The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt."
The Bible repeatedly commands believers to care for immigrants, yet many modern Christians do the opposite.
The Real Problem with Modern Christianity
The heart of Budde’s message is this: too many Christians have taken Jesus out of Christianity. Instead of using the Bible as a guide for love, justice, and mercy, they wield it as a weapon against marginalized people.
So, if you call yourself a Christian but struggle with the idea of showing love to queer people, immigrants, or anyone who doesn’t fit into your worldview, here’s a simple verse to sit with:
Matthew 22:39 — "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself."
No exceptions. No conditions. Just love.
That’s the whole point. And Bishop Budde? She gets it. The question is—do you?
