Rolling Stone published a piece entitled “False
Idol — Why the Christian Right Worships Donald Trump,” by Alex Morris. It examines the hypocrisy of the Christian
right in supporting Donald Trump. No need
to offer detail as to why this is so; the focus is on Trump’s immoralities in
his personal life and his actions such as separating families at the borders,
etc. (which demonstrates the hypocrisy of those with Trump Derangement
Syndrome, as such actions were done by those who preceded Trump).
Today, 82 percent of white
evangelicals would cast their ballots for Trump. Two-thirds believe that he has
not damaged the decency of the presidency, 55 percent agree with Sarah Huckabee
Sanders that “God wanted him to be president,” and 99 percent oppose
impeachment.
Buried in the essay is the following:
…for the God-fearing evangelical,
gay marriage, abortion, and the evils of socialism — as opposed to racial
injustice, family separation, or income inequality — put America squarely in
the path of the wrath of God.
C. Jay Engel has rightly noted that libertarians are stuck
playing the political game because they view everything through a political
lens. One can say the same for these Evangelical
Christians. Neither understands how to
move the needle toward their desired worldview.
Setting aside abortion from the above list (which one can
certainly argue is murder), the rest are non-violent acts (call them “wrongs”
if you like) that demand a Christ-like – not legal – response. But by going political – because Christians
believe that they demonstrate their “Christianity” in the ballot box as opposed
to via their actions, either individually or through their church community –
they demonstrate their failing as Christians.
Jesus didn’t call us to petition the Roman government to do
our good works for us. The early Church didn’t
grow by asking the state to do good works; members of the Church cared for the
poor, sick, and elderly.
Conclusion
It is no wonder that Evangelical Protestant churches are
failing. By offering to be just like the
larger society (political, hip to modern culture, adoring the state of Israel, worshipping
the military, etc.), those in society wonder why they need the church.
They don’t. They can
get all that from the network news and on primetime television.
Awesome comment! You have hit the nail on the head. Keep pounding.
ReplyDeleteLiberal socialists believe that it is the responsibility of civil government to make individuals 'good' (usually by penalizing them for unacceptable behavior) and this will make society 'good' as well. Conservative Christians believe that it is the government's responsibility to make society 'good', which means that individuals must be made 'good' (usually by penalizing them for unacceptable behavior). Both these groups desire to vote in the 'correct' people and get the State to enact 'correct' policies. Both groups have unwavering faith in the State to make society the way it is supposed to be. All from their own skewed perspective, of course.
God alone has the authority to change any person for the better and He does this through the prompting of the Holy Spirit, encouraging individuals to make positive changes within their own individual lives. There is nothing political about it.
When and how will Christians change their attitude toward the State? Probably not until they are forced to, which likely means when the State ceases to be seen as saviour and provider. At that point, widespread desperation will be endemic in society, including the lives of Christians. When they have nothing left except faith in God, when there is nowhere else to go, they will change.
Tom Petty put it quite well. "The waiting is the hardest part."
"God alone has the authority to change any person for the better and He does this through the prompting of the Holy Spirit,"
DeleteYou, Roger, are the one who's hit the nail on the head. The Lord Christ says; "Ask and it shall be given unto you...". Ask for what?
In His example of prayer to God His instruction was, "Give us this day our supersubstantial bread...". But somewhere along the way someone replaced that word with daily in order to make it sound more physical, and bingo. Then you end up with, "You ask and receive not because you ask amiss."
Again, Roger, you nailed it.
For Christ
rod
" Conservative Christians believe that it is the government's responsibility to make society 'good',"
ReplyDeleteI'm a Conservative Christian and have never seen this falsehood taught by anyone outside the left. The scriptural point is quite clear, there is no way the state can make anyone, or anything, good.
You are quite correct in that the State cannot make anyone or anything 'good'. That is absolutely true and it is the Left which actively promotes this false doctrine. However, I did not say that conservative Christians teach this, I said that they believe it and I will not retract that statement.
DeleteI know too many conservative Christians, who think that the reasons for America's moral decline is a failure on the part of the Law to crack down on "victimless crimes", such as homosexuality. The thinking goes that if we can just elect the 'right' leaders who will enact the 'right' laws, then society will once again be 'right' and deserving of God's blessings. Donald Trump's slogan, "Make America great again" can be written as "Make America good again" and this fantasy is held in the hearts of innumerable people who desperately want to legislate and enforce morality toward and onto their neighbors. That is, their own version of morality.
Conservative Christians are not immune to this way of thinking. While they may not say so explicitly, a large part of them implicitly believe it to be true.
St Paul says in Romans that the Law could not produce righteousness because it depended on the wills of weak sinners ("weak through the flesh")instead of the Power of the Holy Spirit working through the believer's regenerated heart.
ReplyDeleteMan's law isn't even that good.
The issue of those who don't actually believe at all is a separate issue - they see the Church as a social "force multiplier", to use the Pentagonese.
All very wrong. We have a separation of church and state. They are different things. That's the beginning and end of it. I don't vote but would predictably vote for Trump if made to. But not if Jesus Christ himself was on the ballot. But he's not. Because they're totally different and unrelated things. Trump is our best choice for President, but only because it's an extremely unholy game. Obviously religion informs the believers worldview. So there is going to be overlap. Like when a community if Muslim refugees in Minnesota votes in the first Muslim congresswoman (a relevant point that goes unmentioned in this targeted skewering of Christians). At best you can make this point. But this fantasy straw man where Christianity is some front for some political position is just nonsense from the start. Are Catholics Christians? They are the biggest single sect. And they have huge numbers on the East Coast that all vote Democrat. Likewise there are still Solid South strongholds in the Bible Belt that also vote majority Democrat. So the basic premise here is a lie. The cited statistics are a lie. Alex Morris has made the correlation=causation argument by conflating two overlapping things as being causal to each other. And BM (interesting initials) have fallen for it hook Hook line and sinker. You can't classify faith in a political context. Religion is faith in divinity, politics, at it's very best, is 'the lesser of two evils'. Someone with only faith in the latter, such that they are incapable of understanding the true value of the former, is hardly the moral high ground that we should be looking to for lessons in matters of faith. Remember that Rolling Stone magazine published as fact completely baseless accusations of rape, complete with pages of fact less details. They can't even follow the rules of journalistic integrity or telling the truth over pushing an agenda. And now BM is looking to them for cues on how to be better Christians. That is flat repugnant and very disappointing from an outlet I otherwise respect.
ReplyDeleteI guess the Moral Majority, Liberty University, Prager, Christians United for Israel, flag waving and military worship every Sunday corresponding to July 4, Memorial Day, Veterans Day, etc., is just in my imagination.
Delete"That is flat repugnant and very disappointing from an outlet I otherwise respect."
Respect would lead you to approach this dialogue in a different manner. An uninformed comment concluded with a lie.
"All very wrong." -- Dutch
DeleteAll very confusing. I have read your statement numerous times and I'm still confused as to what you are trying to say.
One important thing to remember is that even if Rolling Stone is "repugnant", it can still produce some level of truth which we can all learn from. To be honest, I learn far more from my "enemies" who call out my inconsistencies than I ever do from my "friends" who only agree with me or are too nice to say anything about the areas where I am wrong.
Only problem is, Jesus NEVER existed. No reliable proof of his existence. When your starting point is flawed, your conclusion can only be wrong.
ReplyDeleteDouglas, this is a tired argument; it can be attacked credibly in so many ways, but it isn't worth the bother.
DeleteI will play it your way: Please offer "reliable proof" that He did not exist.