Former President Donald Trump scarcely escaped death after Saturday’s assassination attempt, and America is not the same because of it. In fact, following the attack, Reuters/Ipsos conducted a two-day poll to see just how U.S. citizens are faring with the tragic events. It appears they’re not doing all too well.
The poll surveyed 1,202 U.S. adults across the nation, as well as 992 registered voters this week. According to the results, 80% of these voters, including both Democrats and Republicans, fear “the country is spiraling out of … control.” Additionally, “Some 84% of voters in the poll said they were concerned that extremists will commit acts of violence after the election,” which is set to take place November 5.
The poll compared data to that of one they conducted in June of 2023. Last year, 60% of the respondents admitted concern that political beliefs would lead to acts of violence within their communities. This year, that number rose to 67%. Also last year, 12% of those surveyed claimed they feared violence, but that “it was acceptable for someone in their political party to commit violence to achieve a political goal” — a number that fell to 5% in this recent poll.
But perhaps most interesting is that Reuters/Ipsos felt inclined to examine how people viewed the spiritual side of these circumstances. If anything has been made abundantly clear as we process this attempted murder, it’s that many consider it “divine intervention” that the bullet just grazed Trump’s ear rather than ending his life. This is evidenced by the poll, which found 65% of registered Republicans and 11% of registered Democrats believed “Trump’s survival showed he was ‘favored by divine providence or God’s will.’”
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As Dr. Albert Mohler and Family Research Council President Tony Perkins discussed earlier this week, there is, indeed, a Christian response to Saturday’s shooting. Mohler, the president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, went on to say that what happened to Trump is truly “an affirmation of the gift of life.” But what he also said, and what may be relevant to these poll results, is that it was “a parable of human sinfulness.” When looking at it this way, maybe, just maybe, it’s not so surprising that people feel the country is “spiraling out of control.”
Thomas Matthew Crooks, the 20-year-old young man who attempted to kill Trump, is an example of the sinful world we live in. In comments to The Washington Stand, David Closson, the director of the Center for Biblical Worldview at FRC, explained, “A deep insight of the biblical worldview is that we live in a fallen world.” As Genesis three teaches, it is “because of man’s rebellion against God, we live in a deeply disordered, sinful, [and] fallen world.” As such, he added, “Whatever the ideology of the shooter on Saturday, desiring to take someone’s life [and] committing an act of violence — that is the fruit of a deeply disordered heart and soul. It’s a result of sin” and “the world that we live in.”
Ultimately, “for Christians trying to process what took place,” Closson argued that there are “two major theological themes that we can see unfolding before us.” First, as previously noted, is that of sin. “The fact that someone thought it was morally permissible to take a gun to a political rally and … shoot a bullet at a candidate that you disagree with … is a parable of a sinful, fallen world.” But more importantly unfolding here, Closson urged, is the theme of God’s providence.
He elaborated, “Christians believe that at all times and at all moments, God is there. Christ is holding the world together and nothing happens without His allowance and being aware of it.” Closson emphasized this is the same God who “knows when a sparrow falls.” And we see His providence in the fact that the “bullet grazed the former president’s head, rather than being a kill shot.” But beyond the picture of God’s grace demonstrated in Trump’s survival, Closson urged that this is an opportunity for Christians to preach the good news of God’s providence over all creation.
“The events of recent years, even including the COVID-19 pandemic, have really brought a lot of people to their knees,” he stated. “It’s the developments that we see around us, whether a national tragedy or just the daily hardships of life, [that] remind us … we are needy people.” And as Christians, we “can look around the broader culture and realize that people are in desperate need of hope. Everybody is looking for hope.”
As Closson argued, “Every worldview, every religion, [and] every philosophy of life attempts to offer an explanation for where we can find hope.” And yet, he continued, “the biblical worldview holds out … the most intellectually satisfying and compelling answer, which is the hope Christianity offers the world is Jesus Christ” and “the gospel that sinful men and women can be reconciled to Holy God through faith and repentance in Jesus Christ.”
And so, he concluded, as the world feels America is swirling into chaos, there is a hope the church has to offer. “Christians have an opportunity, when they look around at their neighbors and friends who are scared, depressed … [and] confused,” to “leverage hardships for gospel opportunity.” For no matter our circumstances, what greater hope is there than Christ Himself?
LifeNews Note: Sarah Holliday is a reporter at The Washington Stand, where this originally appeared.
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