I didn't waste much of my time focusing on Trump's impeachment. It's not that I was disinterested, in fact the very opposite is true. My lack of interest was related to the very nature of the process. I rapidly came to the conclusion that it would be like watching a game of rugby when I already know the result. The partisan nature of this so-called "trial" made that abundantly clear from the very outset.
But to be truthful, I never thought the Senate would go so far as to exclude new evidence and witnesses. That decision did shock me and left me feeling that the American judicial system itself is on trial and, on this occasion at least, has been found wanting.
Given what we know of human nature, I suppose we shouldn't be too surprised though. Human beings often respond in this way when they are confronted with facts that challenge them. We tend to copy the behaviour of Admiral Lord Nelson who famously disregarded the orders of Admiral Sir Hyde Parker to disengage with Danish forces at the battle of Copenhagen in 1801 by holding his telescope to his blind eye and saying "I see no ships".
Nelson's contemptuous disregard for the facts didn't do him any harm. The Danes suffered a heavy defeat, Parker was succeeded by Nelson as commander in chief and the Admiralty made maximum use of Nelson's popularity by giving him a home command.
It will come as no surprise to me, then, if the Republican Senators suffer no long-term damage to their electoral chances and Mr Trump's popularity is simply enhanced. But, I ask myself, at what cost to the reputation of the United States?
I've found that people can adopt a similar position when it comes to the Christian faith, too. I know because I was once guilty of this approach. I didn't want to examine the facts with an open mind. My reasoning was shaped by negativity and bias, rather than honest integrity. But thankfully there were those who were patient with me and convinced me that there was a wealth of evidence both for the existence of a Creator and for the claim that Jesus rose from the dead.
So why are we tempted to turn a blind eye to the evidence for a creator? Even the atheist Sir Fred Hoyle could say, "If this were a purely scientific question and not one that touched on the religious problem, I do not believe that any scientist who examined the evidence would fail to draw the inference that the laws of nuclear physics have been deliberately designed ... A commonsense interpretation of the facts suggests that a superintellect has monkeyed with physics, as well as with chemistry and biology."
Professor Edgar Andrews summed it up well when he said: "I was brought up to believe the duck theorem – 'if it looks like a duck, walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it probably is a duck. That is why I have problems with those who (1) admit that nature gives every evidence of being intelligently designed (2) introduce an alternative materialistic explanation for the appearance of design and then (3) without further discussion conclude that only their alternative explanation can be true. Meet the neo-duckians, whose logic demands that 'If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck and quacks like a duck it is indubitably a chicken'".
It makes sense to believe in a creator. It is just as reasonable to accept the Christian claim that Jesus came back from the dead, too.
Tom Wright summed it up well when he writes, "Of course, there are several reasons why people may not want, and often refuse, to believe this. But the historian must weigh, as well, the alternative accounts they themselves offer. And, to date, none of them have anything like the explanatory power of the simple, but utterly challenging, Christian one."
Sadly this can prove a step too far for so many and as a result they can be tempted to dismiss the claim without looking at the evidence, or talking to witnesses who are willing to share what they have experienced of God. And when that happens the outcome is a forgone conclusion, just like Mr Trump's impeachment.
Rob James is a Baptist minister, writer and church and media consultant to the Evangelical Alliance Wales. He is the author of Little Thoughts About a Big God.
