After a 22-foot gold-covered statue of President Donald Trump raising his fist, known as the “Don Colossus,” was dedicated at the Trump National Doral Miami last week, Trump ally and evangelical pastor Mark Burns defended it in a long and meandering post on X.
“Let me say this plainly: this is not a golden calf,” he wrote. “We worship the Lord Jesus Christ and Him alone. This statue is not about worship. It is about honor.”
But the biblical symbolism here is impossible to ignore. When the Israelites fashioned the golden calf, the sin was not merely that they made an object of gold. It was that they transferred reverence, trust, identity and obedience from God to something political, visible, immediate and emotionally satisfying.
I spent a few years in Augustinian formation studying scripture, tradition and the moral demands of faith. And I know enough to recognize idolatry when it is staring at me with a face plated in gold.
This is a preview of Michael Steele’s latest column. Read the full column here. For more thought-provoking insights from Michael Steele, Alicia Menendez and Symone Sanders Townsend, watch “The Weeknight” every Monday-Friday at 7 p.m. ET on MS NOW.
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Even as the incumbent has been appealing to Democrats to vote for him, he’s been trying to appeal to Republicans by attacking a Republican challenger for past support of DEI policies. Read more.
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Trump says that Iran giving up its highly enriched uranium isn’t “necessary.” Wait, what? Read more.
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After the Supreme Court gutted the Voting Rights Act, Black leaders gathered for an “emergency meeting.” Here’s what they are planning. Read more.
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The Supreme Court stays out of state court rulings interpreting state constitutions unless there’s also a federal issue involved. Read more.
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Colorado Gov. Jared Polis has sent a dangerous signal to election deniers that with enough political pressure, accountability becomes negotiable. Read more.
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Watch Jen Psaki, Alicia Menendez, Ari Melber, Jonathan Capehart, Catherine Rampell and others in conversation at The Center for American Progress IDEAS conference, where the country’s top progressive leaders preview policy ideas expected to shape national debate. Plus, catch Symone Sanders Townsend’s conversation with Sen. Raphael Warnock on voting rights and Chris Hayes’ discussion with Ezra Klein on artificial intelligence. Watch “We The People: America’s Future” Friday at 9 p.m. ET on MS NOW.
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