Evangelical Support of Donald Trump

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   My Esotericposted 5 years ago

   It seems to me the polar opposite of Jesus Christ is Donald Trump.  Virtually every aspect of Trump's persona and being is an insult to Jesus' preaching.
   
   Evangelicals have taken in Donald Trump as one of their own and excuse every transgression of decency this man commits.  In my mind, to do so means you have given up your belief system and adopted Trump's.
   
   The question I have, then, is why do other Christians accept Evangelicals as representing Jesus Christ.  Why should Evangelicals be ex-communicated for blasphemy?

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      Randy Godwinposted 5 years agoin reply to this

      I didn't think you'd get many responses to this OP, Scott. Especially those from the religious right. Anyone who thinks Trump is a godly man is badly mistaken...

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         My Esotericposted 5 years agoin reply to this

         You are probably correct, Randy, but we will see.  I am hoping true Christians will respond.

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      MizBejabbersposted 5 years agoin reply to this

      I was watching a show on CNN this morning that gave a logical explanation for this. Michael Smerconish had a guest who was an evangelical Christian but never a Trump supporter. I wish I could remember the man's name. Anyway, he'd written a book explaining this very subject. In a nutshell he said that Christians had been mocked and ridiculed and were tired of it. He said they had flocked together and hired the very antithesis of themselves to "fight for them." You know, like hiring an assassin to do your dirty work. He said that Bill Clinton's morality mattered to them, but Trumps did not because, unlike Clinton, he was their hired man. They will continue to stand behind him as long as he fights the world for them. Does that make sense to you?
      Trump is their hit man, their assassin. They don't have to admire him or even like him as long as he does their dirty work. By the way, the man who authored the book does not like Trump at all and was not trying to make excuses for him as president.
      
      I tried to find the link to this morning's show, but apparently it isn't up yet. It can probably be found in a couple of days.
      
      But then my husband and I discussed the fact that the Christians had brought this disdain and ridicule upon themselves with the likes of Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell and the ravings of the "Moral Majority" that condemned everyone who did not believe the way they did. So they are reaping what they sowed, and in so doing, they've foisted this abomination on the rest of the United States and the world.

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         My Esotericposted 5 years agoin reply to this

         Interesting.  My initial thought was - hiring a hit man seems to go against everything Jesus taught; which brings me back to my question of why true Christians are putting up with them.
         
         I use to listen to Smerconish on my drive to work but have backed off considerably since Trump because I have been glued to CNN waiting for the next scandal.

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            MizBejabbersposted 5 years agoin reply to this

            FYI, I never listen to the radio anymore unless I'm in my car because it competes with my husband's TV. He has a Saturday morning show on CNN. That's where I saw this. But your cycling back to your original question is a good one. It is hypocritical to me for them to go against their own teachings.

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      Don Wposted 5 years agoin reply to this

      I know this is an old thread, but I just finished watching a documentary series on Netflix called The Family. It's about an Evangelical Christian that goes by that name, or The Fellowship. Established in the 30s, it's the organization (though it refers to itself as a "non-organization") that established and organizes the annual breakfast prayer meeting which has been attended by every president since 1953.
      
      The documentary goes into depth about the organizations influence on politicians in Washington and around the world, which is considerable but almost completely beyond public scrutiny.
      
      It also talks about their theology. A story they repeated was the story of King David and Bathsheba (David committed adultery with Bathsheba who married to his best friend, then essentially had his best friend killed to get him out of the way). In their view, the fact that David did this and was still chosen by God to remain the king of Israel, indicates that God doesn't care about such things. In their words "God uses imperfect vessels to do his will". So to them, Trump is an "imperfect vessel" chosen by God to do his will.
      
      More concerning is the allegory they use to explain their mission. It's called the story of the "wolf king". According to associates of The Fellowship, there is no need for followers of Jesus to attend to the "sheep" of the world. Instead they suggest their mission is to attend to the "wolves" of the world who control the sheep. If they can influence the "wolf king", then they can control what the sheep do. They influence the wolf king by offering him power and influence. They don't care if the wolf king is authoritarian as long as he is authoritarian in a way that aligns with Evangelical Christian values. In their view Trump is a "wolf king", through which they will be able to control the "sheep".
      
      It's pretty scary stuff when you see the influence this group has, but I think this is the root of the evangelical support of Trump.

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         My Esotericposted 5 years agoin reply to this

         Sounds reasonable to me.

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      Live to Learnposted 5 years agoin reply to this

      You do realize Christians can't be excommunicated? Only specific sects (and not many of them) excommunicate within their sect, but only in their sect.

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         My Esotericposted 5 years agoin reply to this

         So Catholics aren't Christians or are a sect?
         
         Here are Christian "sects" that excommunicate:
         
         Catholics
         Lutherans
         Episcopaleans
         Anglican
         Reformed Churches
         Methodists
         Anabaptists
         Amish
         Mennonites
         Hutterites
         Mormon
         Jehovah's Witnesses
         something called Christadelphians
         Quakers
         Unitarian Universalists
         
         BTW - which one of those Christian organizations actually have the correct version of your God?  One of the reasons I left Christianity at 10 was nobody seemed to have the right answer - each had a different story.

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      My Esotericposted 5 years agoin reply to this

      And #TraitorTrump keeps on Lying.  From this weekend in front of the G6:
      
      1.  Melania has gotten to know the murderous Kim Jong-Un. - LIE, she has never met him.  Just like his bald-faced lie that his father was born in Germany.
      
      2.  "we gave them $150 billion." - We never gave Iran any money that wasn't theirs to begin with.  Even if he doesn't like giving peoples money back to them, he lied about the amount; in fact they got access to 10s of billions in frozen assets.
      
      3. "The EU is another one: we've been losing $180 billion a year for many years." - more lies.  He knows very well that the trade deficit with the EU never exceeded $114 B in 2018 and much lower in previous years.  He also misleads in making the gullible think a trade deficit is bad - it is not as any non-Trump economist will tell you
      
      4. Trump said of China: "We have billions and billions coming in." (tariffs) - HE KEEPS lying about this.  AMERICANs, not the Chinese pay our tariffs.  Ask any 5th grader.
      
      5.  "Trump claimed again that unemployment for Asian Americans is at the lowest rate "ever." - Sighhhh, lie.  Asian unemployment is higher than in the last month of Obama's term.
      
      6. "But we are now the number one energy producer in the world " - IT IS THE "NOW" that is the lie.  We gained that spot under Obama in 2012.
      
      When is his LYING going to stop??  Why do Evangelicals love it so much?? Jesus wouldn't lie yet they feel it is fine that their other hero does.  I just don't get it.

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   GA Andersonposted 5 years ago

   MizBejabbers, Don, I think both of your responses provide a basis for a thought. A thought that both examples speak to the same thing; a man for a job rather than a kindred spirit.
   
   I also think this thought might apply to the secular Trump supporters. How many times have we heard, "I don't like the man, but . . ."
   
   Your thoughts may very well support the religious support rational, but I think they are broad enough to cover more than just Christians.
   
   GA

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      Don Wposted 5 years agoin reply to this

      "...a man for a job rather than a kindred spirit."
      
      I think that's a fair characterization, and it throws the hypocrisy and motivation of the evangelical right into sharp relief. This group is not interested in moral virtue, it's interested in political power.

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         GA Andersonposted 5 years agoin reply to this

         I do not criticize people of faith, but I do strongly criticize organized religion--which is the folks I think you are speaking of.
         
         And I think you are only partially right, I think they are interested in raw power. Political power is only a component of that. I believe they are just as interested in moral power.
         
         It is a sad situation when good people of faith allow themselves to be controlled because of their faith.
         
         Once more, it is just another example of, "yeah, but . . . "
         
         GA

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            MizBejabbersposted 5 years agoin reply to this

            "It is a sad situation when good people of faith allow themselves to be controlled because of their faith."
            
            That's the whole problem, GA. Faith is not knowledge; faith is based on just that, a belief without a factual basis. Faith can be based on propaganda, which has controlled many a people. A lot of people, including me, have left the church because we couldn't find the answers to our questions there and were told to "have faith" that the fairy tale was real. As a kid, I had faith in Santa Clause until one day while searching for Christmas tree decorations in the closet, I found the presents from Santa Claus that were put under the tree on Christmas Eve a week later.

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               GA Andersonposted 5 years agoin reply to this

               You are right MizBejabbers, faith is not knowledge. And neither is a lack of faith.
               
               To be clear, my references to "faith" here are directed solely at religious beliefs.
               
               GA

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   My Esotericposted 4 months ago

   A recent article caused me to revive this thread.  It is about Jim Wallis, an Evangelical pastor, who has a bone to pick with White Christian Nationalists. He points out (referring to an experiment he did while young) that:
   
   “White Christian nationalism has cut out of their Bibles all of the Scriptures that lead faith to justice,”
   
   In case you have forgotten - White Christian Nationalism is all about blending sexism, racism and hostility to non-White immigrants in a quest to create a White Christian America - a very unJesus thing.
   
   https://www.cnn.com/2024/04/28/us/evang … index.html

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