Scripture tells us that when the Israelites lost faith in the Lord, they demanded a king (1 Samuel 8) and as a result a lot of bad stuff happened to them (most of the rest of the Jewish scripture).
Despite clear examples from the Bible, many of the Christian Right put their faith in leaders when they want the United States to be a “Christian nation.” They trust leaders and government, not God. They want to change Supreme Court justices, not hearts.
Throughout the Bible there are examples of people suffering under bad leaders. The lesson repeatedly from scripture is to trust the Lord, not leaders. How many examples from Scripture do some people need?
Of course the best example from the Bible that government and God should remain separate is the life and government-sanctioned execution of Jesus.
Jesus preached a message that was so dangerous to the government and religious leaders, that they executed him to silence him.
If God wanted a government based on Christianity, then Jesus would have been born a wealthy Roman citizen, not a poor minority in an occupied land.
If God wanted the US to be a Christian nation, then certainly God would have a candidate do more than lose the popular vote by nearly 3 million votes while depending on an archaic system like the Electoral College. Would God’s candidate poll better than a 37 percent approval rating?
God works in mysterious ways, I suppose. But not this way.
The Bible is clear.
Jesus is with the losers, not the leaders.
Jesus was an unemployed Palestinian.
A Syrian refugee child.
A Honduran roofer.
Jesus is the dark-skinned woman cleaning your table, your hotel room, your office.
Jesus was the poor child of an unmarried mother, not the child of a millionaire or a celebrity.
Jesus inherited his family’s poverty, not millions of dollars or a position of power and privilege.
Jesus was dark-skinned, dirty, and a victim of the government.
The message of Jesus was counter to the religious establishment and he was opposed by the religious leaders.
Where would Jesus be, today?
Faith on the Fringe 
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