I had not heard of “MAGA pastor” and Trump supporter Shane Vaughn until reading Rick Pidcock’s BNG opinion piece, “This Is Not an Idol. This Is A Sculpture.”
Referring to the “12-foot-tall golden Trump statue holding out a Bitcoin” which had recently appeared in front of the U.S. Capitol, Pidcock comments on the obsession with gold that seems to have overtaken some Trump supporters. In that context, he introduced Shane Vaughn and his assessment of the now-gilded Oval Office:
“Have you seen the upgrades to the dignity of what it looks like in the Oval Office?” Vaughn asks. “Donald Trump has goldified the Oval Office and paid for it out of his own pocket. You and I didn’t pay one dime. He’s made it look like Buckingham Palace, something to be proud of. … We’re the greatest nation on the face of the earth, and our Oval Office should display that grandeur, that austerity. … And guess what else he’s paying for out of his own pocket? That grand ballroom, that gold-covered ballroom. Somebody said, ‘I don’t like all that gaudy gold.’ Then you’re not going to like the kingdom of God very much, where streets are even made of it, according to people’s understanding. … Because gold is godly. Gold speaks of heavenly things, and the United States of America was founded by the decree of heaven. So, thank you, President Trump.
Shane Vaughn
Consider the source
One of the first rules for judging public statements concerns reliability: “Ensure the source is credible and appropriate for your research.”
Following that guideline, I normally would not have confidence in what Shane Vaughn says, because this is the same individual who recently claimed the presidency of Barack Obama “was a plot by ‘fallen angels’ known as ‘The Watchers’ to destroy humanity.”
He is the one who — while defending Trump’s relationship to the ongoing Jeffrey Epstein scandal — insisted: “You trust (Trump), right? You trust Pam Bondi, you trust Don Bongino, you trust Kash Patel. Let it go! Get over it. Move on. … Evil is evil. It’s always there. Trust God. Trust Trump. Trust our Justice Department. We’ve got great people up there now.”
“These declarations are nonsensical and purely political,”
To me, these declarations are nonsensical and purely political, especially the shrewd way he equates trusting Trump with trusting God.
But neither the times nor the circumstances are normal, and because Vaughn’s latest “pastoral” pronouncement is theological, I feel the need to respond.
Vaughn speaks as if Trump’s “goldifying” the Oval Office is unquestionably MAGA-nificent. He intones: “’I don’t like all that gaudy gold,’ somebody said, so then you’re not going to like the kingdom of God very much.”
What the New Testament says about the kingdom of God
After his baptism and temptation in the wilderness, Jesus began his ministry in Galilee preaching the good news of God. He revealed the kingdom of God had come near, but said nothing about gold ornamenting the kingdom, implying only that it would be inhabited, or “adorned,” by those who repent and believe the good news (Mark 1:14-15).
Jesus said the kingdom is not of this world (John 18:36), which suggests the symbols of grandeur and auspiciousness — like golden ornaments and trappings — are not the important characteristics of the kingdom of God. He told Nicodemus, who was wealthy and powerful, that “no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above” (John 3:3), indicating neither his money nor his influential place in society could buy him entrance into the kingdom, but only his total vulnerability and willingness to experience a spiritual rebirth.
In fact, Jesus pledged the kingdom of God belongs to the poor and not to the rich (Luke 6:20). When little children were brought to Jesus to be blessed by him, the disciples were incensed, acting as if the good news was just for adults, but Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of heaven belongs” (Matthew 19:14).
Countering the popular belief that God favors the most pious, obedient followers of religious law within society, he responded: “For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:20). Contradicting the view that a person’s spoken identification with Jesus was what mattered to God, Jesus cautioned: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven” (Matthew 7:21).
“For the kingdom of God is not food and drink but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.”
The Apostle Paul, the first Christian theologian, spoke of the kingdom of God in his New Testament letters. To the believers in Rome, he wrote: “For the kingdom of God is not food and drink but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Romans 14:17). To the church in Corinth, he noted: “For the kingdom of God depends not on talk but on power” — the kind of authority Paul equated with “love, in a spirit of gentleness” (1 Corinthians 4:20-21). To the believers in the province of Galatia, he warned: “Now the works of the flesh are obvious: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissention, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these. I am warning you, as I warned you before: those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God” (Galatians 5:19-21).
Finally, additional promises about the kingdom of God are found in the latter books of the New Testament — but which say almost nothing about gold. The book of Hebrews speaks of the imperishability of the kingdom: “Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us give thanks, by which we offer God an acceptable worship with reverence and awe” (Hebrews 12:28).
The book of 2 Peter reaffirms it is our actions God rewards — something Jesus stated in his Parable of the Last Judgment (Matthew 25:31-46). The author writes: “Therefore, brothers and sisters, be all the more eager to confirm your call and election, for if you do this, you will never stumble. For in this way, entry into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be richly provided for you (2 Peter 1:10-11).
The book of Revelation describes the grandeur and auspiciousness of the kingdom of God: “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘See, the home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them; they will be his peoples; and God himself will be with them; he will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away” (Revelation 21:1-4).
Mitchell Reddish, professor of religion emeritus from Stetson University, in his commentary on the book of Revelation, writes:
The new Jerusalem is not so much a place as it is a people — the people of God. This is clear from the statement that the city is “prepared as a bride adorned for her husband” (21:2). … One must remember that John’s Apocalypse draws from the world of imagination and creativity. John’s imagery is fluid. The new Jerusalem is the community in which the people of God will dwell, but even more, it represents the people themselves.
“Revelation 21 is the only passage in the Bible where gold in heaven is mentioned.”
Later in Revelation 21 is the only passage in the Bible where gold in heaven is mentioned. Speaking of the holy city, the writer says, “The wall is built of jasper, while the city is pure gold, clear as glass. The foundations of the wall of the city are adorned with every jewel … and the 12 gates are 12 pearls, each of the gates is a single pearl, and the street of the city is pure gold, transparent as glass.” Reddish further explains:
John’s description of the city — pure gold, clear as glass; foundation of precious jewels; 12 gates of a single pearl each; street of transparent gold — is John’s attempt to overwhelm the hearers/readers with the splendor and majesty of the new Jerusalem. His imagery here is tradition. The idea of a new Jerusalem being made of precious stones is almost certainly derived from Isaish 54:11-12.
Images in Revelation, of course, are to be taken metaphorically, not literally. However, what can be and has been joyfully interpreted as literal promises by believers throughout the history of Christendom are the assurances that pain, tears and death will be ended and God’s presence will be enjoyed forever.
A distorted view of the kingdom of God
These are the some of the primary New Testament verses that speak about the kingdom of God. Gold is not godly. Love is godly. Jesus’ acceptance of all people is godly. The cessation of pain and tears is godly. The heavenly rewarding of the poor, the humble and the righteous is godly. The condemnation of the self-righteous, the judgmental and the unrepentant is godly. The conquering of the scourge of death is godly. The eternal presence of God with God’s beloved children is godly.
The kingdom of God is not about being amazed at the holy city of pure gold, with its foundations of precious jewels, gates of pearl or streets of gold. The kingdom of God is about being amazed at the goodness of God and at the wonder of being called to be godly ourselves. It is about being the kingdom now, as the people of God reflect in their own lives the beauty of divine love. It is about expressing that compassion in our care for the poor, the hurting, the hungry, the lonely, the vulnerable, the despondent, the frightened, the oppressed — God’s little ones. It is about the purity of our hearts, our thoughts, our words, our actions and our intentions, rather than the purity of golden ornaments.
“Trump’s obsession with adding gold to his office and ballroom has nothing whatsoever to do with the kingdom of God.”
I don’t believe Shane Vaughn — and President Trump and other MAGA enthusiasts — are really thinking about the kingdom of God when they look at the golden fixtures in the Oval Office or in the plans for the White House ballroom. Instead, as Vaughn mentioned, the “goldifying” of the Oval Office is likely Trump’s attempt to compete with the splendor of Buckingham Palace.
The pastor might also have mentioned the palaces and staterooms of other global kings and presidents which no doubt Trump has also viewed with envy.
Historically, kings and queens have notably collected vast displays of gold and jewels, while presidents have used gilded objects to exhibit their power and wealth. In the United Kingdom, the British Crown Jewels contain more than 23,000 precious gems, many set in gold. The gates of Buckingham, Kensington and Hampton Court Palaces are finished in gold leaf. The Iranian Crown Jewels are one of the largest collections in the world. Saudi kings enjoy luxurious palaces, featuring large amounts of gold. The Elysée Palace in Paris is adorned with priceless, gilded 18th-century furniture.
Trump’s obsession with adding gold to his office and ballroom has nothing whatsoever to do with the kingdom of God. His gold fixtures are not being placed prominently all around him to represent heaven. They are, instead, intended to call attention to his own splendor.
Significantly, none of the most important portrayals of the kingdom of God found in the New Testament are referenced by Trump’s loyal pastor-friend. Convinced, as he said, that America is “the greatest nation on the face of the earth, and our Oval Office should display that grandeur, that austerity,” he exposes his purpose as partisan politics.
What makes his statement so dangerous is his misuse of Christian Scripture to convince the president’s followers the current White House is not only beautified but heavenly. In so doing, he has distorted the very message of Jesus and his followers.
Robert Sellers
Rob Sellers is professor of theology and missions emeritus at Hardin-Simmons University’s Logsdon Seminary in Abilene, Texas. He is a past chair of the board of the Parliament of the World’s Religions in Chicago. He and his wife, Janie, served a quarter century as missionary teachers in Indonesia. They have two children and five grandchildren.