Christian leaders honor golden statue of Trump

[temporal1]

^^i agree with what you’re saying above.

Szd:
I would also find it unsettling if Christians were honoring and venerating the statue of Jimmy Carter that John keeps bringing up. The concern here isn’t just the statue. It’s also the quasi-religious language and ritual surrounding it.

John also describes this pastor as not well known, not representative of many, i would guess he’d agree with your word, “quasi-religious” - i do.

i find this kind of thing “to be expected “ on earth, and, pretty easy to ignore. it happens, it goes away.
i’ve seen so much go away in my life. enough to believe scriptures about mists and vapors.

[Bootstrap]

Wife: actually, now I’m curious. Does anybody actually have any articles from mainstream sources and not just tabloids or small newspapers? I saw one thing from CNN, but you would think that all the other media would be all over this like New York Times, Newsweek, Washington post and everywhere else.

There's such a flood of things like this these days, but it was covered. Here's the New York Times:

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/03/tech ... ossus.html

Here's how it starts:

It’s known as “Don Colossus.”

At 15 feet tall, the statue of President Trump, mounted on its 7,000-pound pedestal, is about the height of a two-story building — a giant effigy cast in bronze and finished with a thick layer of gold leaf.

For more than a year, the golden statue has been at the center of one of the stranger moneymaking ventures of the Trump era. A group of cryptocurrency investors paid $300,000 to have a sculptor create it as a tribute to Mr. Trump, an outspoken crypto proponent.

Then they used it to promote a memecoin called $PATRIOT.

Now, improbably, the project appears close to fruition. A pedestal made of concrete and stainless steel was installed last month on the grounds of Mr. Trump’s golf complex in Doral, Fla. Pastor Mark Burns, one of the organizers of the effort and a friend of Mr. Trump’s, told his collaborators that the president planned to attend the statue’s unveiling there, according to messages reviewed by The New York Times.

Nearly everyone in the crypto world has tried to profit from the Trump presidency, striking business deals with his family or seeking regulatory relief from his administration. But few have attempted it as boldly as the backers of $PATRIOT.

A memecoin is a type of cryptocurrency with hardly any function beyond speculation. It’s usually based on a viral joke or celebrity mascot, and worth only as much as online fans are willing to pay. The crucial ingredient is internet hype, enough to convince potential buyers that the price will keep going up.

The construction of a giant statue was an expensive way to gin up social media excitement. But it was a potentially profitable plan. The investors who financed the statue were given stashes of the coins, which can sometimes skyrocket in value, according to one of the project organizers. For months, the backers of “Don Colossus” posted work-in-progress images on X and forged alliances in the MAGA world, with the aim of securing a marketing coup — a spot for the statue on an official Trump property.

The $PATRIOT coin went on sale in late 2024 and briefly surged, as Mr. Trump promised to turn the United States into the “crypto capital of the planet.”

[Szdfan]

But Mennonites and Amish do not venerate the mural at Behalt.

And Protestants don’t have a tradition of honoring or venerating images of saints either, which is part of what makes the behavior of Pastor Mark
Burns and other evangelical supporters of Trump so jarring.

One of the explicit critiques of Protestantism towards Catholics and Eastern Orthodox Christians are for practices they believed blurred the line between honor and idolatry. That’s part of why a ceremonial blessing of a giant gold statue of a sitting political leader strikes many of us as spiritually dangerous.

I would also find it unsettling if Christians were honoring and venerating the statue of Jimmy Carter that John keeps bringing up. The concern here isn’t just the statue. It’s also the quasi-religious language and ritual surrounding it.

As I have spoken about repeatedly now, Protestants certainly do have a history to of conducting dedication ceremonies for new statues. Would you like more examples?

First of all, I want to point out that the words “honor” and “venerate” have explicitly been used in this discussion to describe the Don Colossus, which moves this beyond simple dedication ceremony.

I’ve tried to find text of whatever was said at the Carter statue dedication, but haven’t found anything. Have you? Because I think the actual language and ritual framing surrounding these events matters.

[JohnH]

Aside from Carter, what else did you mention? I'd object to any "religious" ceremony" from Christians surrounding any statue or building. I could accept for example a dedication of a medical ship with a religious setting I suppose.

Dedication of Washington Monument with an associated sermon and service from a both a Protestant preacher and from a Freemason practitioner.

There are many, many more examples, but I'm not sure it's a worthwhile use of my time to come up with a bunch of examples. I think I have presented enough.

[JohnH]

First of all, I want to point out that the words “honor” and “venerate” have explicitly been used in this discussion to describe the Don Colossus, which moves this beyond simple dedication ceremony.

By whom? "Honor" is not a big deal. Who is saying they are "venerate"-ing the statue?

I’ve tried to find text of whatever was said at the Carter statue dedication, but haven’t found anything. Have you? Because I think the actual language and ritual framing surrounding these events matters.

I think a deacon of a church being present at an unveiling and dedication for a statue of... himself... speaks all that needs to be said.

Do you agree or disagree with a deacon who happened to also be a President having a statute of himself erected, and obviously being in favour of it?

[Bootstrap]

Aside from Carter, what else did you mention? I'd object to any "religious" ceremony" from Christians surrounding any statue or building. I could accept for example a dedication of a medical ship with a religious setting I suppose.

Dedication of Washington Monument with an associated sermon and service from a both a Protestant preacher and from a Freemason practitioner.

There are many, many more examples, but I'm not sure it's a worthwhile use of my time to come up with a bunch of examples. I think I have presented enough.

But do any of these involve a living president or a president in office asking for that kind of glory?

Do any involve gold statues, which are generally not part of American politics? Americans have traditionally avoided the kind of glitz and glory of kings and emperors, which is why the White House has never been full of gold everywhere. It's deep in our democratic tradition. The message it sends is clear: we are now a nation that erects monuments to our supreme leader. Wow.

Do any involve a group of people with a financial interest in what the president does affairs, hoping to curry favor with the president and make money on a meme coin?

[Valerie]

I don’t think they would see it as veneration. Certainly not idolatry, perhaps the Scripture of giving “double honor” would be more fitting for this case.

Let the elders who rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in the word and doctrine.

I don't think this is intended to be applied to political leaders.

If something is close enough to idolatry that a long discourse is required to explain that it isn't idolatry -- it's idolatry.

That’s true, in what way do Anabaptists practice “double honor” according to this Scripture?

[Soloist]

Aside from Carter, what else did you mention? I'd object to any "religious" ceremony" from Christians surrounding any statue or building. I could accept for example a dedication of a medical ship with a religious setting I suppose.

Dedication of Washington Monument with an associated sermon and service from a both a Protestant preacher and from a Freemason practitioner.

There are many, many more examples, but I'm not sure it's a worthwhile use of my time to come up with a bunch of examples. I think I have presented enough.

yeah just quickly glancing at the history, I object to that too.

[Szdfan]

^^i agree with what you’re saying above.

Szd:
I would also find it unsettling if Christians were honoring and venerating the statue of Jimmy Carter that John keeps bringing up. The concern here isn’t just the statue. It’s also the quasi-religious language and ritual surrounding it.

John also describes this pastor as not well known, not representative of many, i would guess he’d agree with your word, “quasi-religious” - i do.

i find this kind of thing “to be expected “ on earth, and, pretty easy to ignore. it happens, it goes away.
i’ve seen so much go away in my life. enough to believe scriptures about mists and vapors.

I don’t agree with John’s characterization. Burns is a highly connected and political pastor. He is part of the inner circle of Trump’s group of spiritual advisors. For example,

• He was one of the first clergy that supported Trump during his first election.
• He’s a member of the “Pastors for Trump” board.
• He offered the benediction at the 2016 Republican Convention.
• Time magazine called him “Trump’s top pastor” in 2016 and included him in a list of 16 people who shaped the election.
• His congregation, the Harvest Praise & Worship Center in Easley, South Carolina may not be the largest evangelical congregation I’ve ever seen, but it’s also not the storefront John described it as.

So I don’t think this can simply be dismissed as an isolated fringe figure. Burns has been a visible and influential evangelical ally of Trump for years.

[temporal1]

I don’t think they would see it as veneration. Certainly not idolatry, perhaps the Scripture of giving “double honor” would be more fitting for this case.

Let the elders who rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in the word and doctrine.

I don't think this is intended to be applied to political leaders.

If something is close enough to idolatry that a long discourse is required to explain that it isn't idolatry -- it's idolatry.

1) i agree it’s important to read scriptures in context of the passage; often, not always, broader context applies.

2) idolatry is a confounding thing, it can slip in anywhere, it’s not just about the blatantly obvious.
all are vulnerable to idolatry.

not unlike addictions, some are more vulnerable, others seem unaffected.

i have no problem passing by a glass of wine. i have no problem passing by statues, unaffected, altho i might be impressed with the art or proportions or even the setting. same with false gospel. tune it out. what is false will not last. i believe that.

i don’t dismiss whole swaths of believers because of the odd false teacher. however noisy and dominant/domineering.
sadly, in my view, there’s a lot of that on forum. i don’t believe it’s really intended. just lazy.