"This is not a golden calf" This is how the clergyman defends his blessing of the golden Trump statue
Donald Trump in a fighting pose, 4.60 meters high as a bronze statue completely covered in gold leaf - that should please the US presidents. However, the blessing of the kitschy sculpture by evangelical pastor Mark Burns was not well received everywhere.
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- An evangelical pastor inaugurated - and blessed - a golden Trump statue on the grounds of the Doral Golf Club in Florida on Wednesday (May 6).
- Critics are outraged by the "idolatry".
- Pastor Mark Burns defends himself and explains: "It's not a golden calf."
A clergyman in the USA has defended his inauguration ceremony for an almost five-metre golden statue of US President Donald Trump, for which he was heavily criticized. He was "flabbergasted" at how quickly some people had associated Trump's statue, which was erected on his golf course in Florida, with a "golden calf" or "idolatry", evangelical pastor Mark Burns told the online service X on Friday.
Burns, an ally of the 79-year-old president, had led a ceremony to dedicate the statue on the grounds of the Doral Golf Club on Wednesday. The statue shows Trump with a raised fist - his famous gesture, which was immortalized in a photo after an assassination attempt on him in July 2024.
"Respect is not idolatry"
"Let me be very clear: this is not a golden calf," Burns explained. "We worship the Lord Jesus Christ and him alone," he emphasized. "Honor is not worship. Respect is not idolatry."
According to the Old Testament, the Israelites created a calf of gold during Moses' absence and worshipped it as a "substitute god". This incurred the wrath of God. The Ten Commandments explicitly forbid idolatry.
"My respect for a leader does not replace my reverence for the Lord," writes Burns. People would also celebrate athletes, musicians, entertainers and cultural icons while they are still alive. "Michael Jordan has a statue in Chicago. Cristiano Ronaldo, Taylor Swift, Shakira, Ed Sheeran and many others have been publicly honored in various ways," says Burns.
Funded by cryptocurrency entrepreneurs and Trump supporters, the 4.6-metre-high bronze statue, which stands on a 2.1-metre-high plinth, is completely covered in gold leaf. According to its creator, Alan Cottrill, he had to wait many months for the money. Two weeks ago, he finally received the full amount, he told the AFP news agency. "The next day, I erected the statue in Florida. And no, I wasn't invited to the inauguration," Cottrill emphasized.
