On 10th April, Christians around the world commemorated Good Friday, which is believed to be the day when Jesus Christ was crucified. It is generally considered a somber occasion, which has historically been spent in mourning. Yet, for a complete layman, the ‘good’ in the Good Friday has always been a trigger to getting the whole concept wrong.
Donald Trump, President of the United States, the country with the highest population of Christians in the world, just happened to turn out as that one layman, and goofed up his Good Friday wishes big time.
HAPPY GOOD FRIDAY TO ALL!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 10, 2020
“HAPPY GOOD FRIDAY TO ALL!”, he tweeted, in capital letters of course, because he’s Donald Trump.
What followed was a tsunami of hurt Christians hammering him for the embarrassing gaffe, which stood as testimony to his lack of basic religious knowledge, they alleged.
Just another evidence you know absolutely NOTHING about Christianity. There's nothing happy about Good Friday. Wait for Easter Sunday. 🤦🏾
— 𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐝𝐢 (@ChidiNwatu) April 10, 2020
Just another evidence you know absolutely NOTHING about Christianity. There's nothing happy about Good Friday. Wait for Easter Sunday. 🤦🏾
— 𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐝𝐢 (@ChidiNwatu) April 10, 2020
Yes, that’s a bishop threatening to experiment with the life of a sitting US President.
This is a solemn day for Christians. It's not called Happy Friday. Like not knowing what the significance of Pearl Harbor was, I'd suggest the President doesn't know what happened on Good Friday according to the scriptures.
— Joe Lockhart (@joelockhart) April 10, 2020
It’s not really a happy day. It a somber day, a sad day. Today is the day that Jesus died on the cross. Have your spiritual huckster…I mean “advisor”….explain it to you.
— Emily A. ☮️ (@emzorbit) April 10, 2020
What is more surprising is that this has come from Donald Trump himself, who proclaims to be a great believer, and as a matter of fact was also looking at opening the entire country up on Easter Sunday, despite the Coronavirus pandemic which is ravaging the United States. He was aiming to do so saying that it would be a “beautiful sight” to have the entire country’s churches filled with people, celebrating Easter. One would have thought, hearing the man’s conviction-filled statements, that he is aware with the ins and outs of Christianity.
Also, Trump is from the Republican Party, of which devout and orthodox Christian believers form a major chunk of the vote bank. One cannot begin imagining the horror they must have gone through watching their leader extend joyful greetings on a day of mourning.
However, Trump has also ignited a debate. What if Good Friday is actually meant to be commemorated as a ‘happy’ day? After all, would have there been an ‘Easter Sunday’, without a ‘Good Friday’?
An article published in Christianity.com, by Justin Holcomb advocates that people begin looking at Good Friday from a different perspective, one which is optimistic and celebratory. Further, he says, “Good Friday is a crucial day of the year because it celebrates what we believe to be the most momentous weekend in the history of the world.”
Here are some interesting excerpts from Holcomb’s article.
“Good Friday is good because as terrible as that day was, it had to happen for us to receive the joy of Easter.”
“The good news of deliverance only makes sense once we see how we are enslaved.”
“Without that awful day of suffering, sorrow, and shed blood at the cross, God could not be both ‘just and the justifier’ of those who trust in Jesus”
Whatever may be one’s opinion on the subject, Donald Trump sure has triggered a rather unique debate, which not many were willing to indulge in, so far.