Baptist News Global: Evangelical Emergency Prayer Call Before Debate
A group of Evangelical pastors and self-proclaimed leaders indicted themselves in abandoning the Christian faith last Thursday in their "emergency prayer meeting" on Trump's behalf before the debate.
As a Christian, I am absolutely sickened by this group's continuous slide into apostasy, because they choose to support a man whose lifestyle and whose very words are an open denial of the Christian gospel, and of Jesus Christ himself. They've allowed an antichrist to intrude into their churches, an evil personage who has set himself up to receive loyalty that Christians once gave to Jesus, because, as the scripture says, "And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light." [2 Corinthians 11:14]
"For false messiahs and false prophets will appear, and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect." [Matthew 24:24 NIV]
They have chosen to endorse a secular political candidate, and that endorsement means they are also picking up and carrying along the baggage that goes with it. These evangelical leaders are supporting a man who has just been convicted on 34 felony counts of dishonesty and fraud in business, related to attempts to cover up the fact that he was sleeping with a porn star while his pregnant wife was preparing to give birth to their son.
They gathered for an "emergency prayer meeting for Trump," who proceeded to debate with some of the biggest whopping lies he repeats all the time, bearing false witness against his neighbor, if I may use that phrase from the Ten Commandments to make the point. They must, in their attempts to justify supporting him, also own the fact that he has repeatedly denied his own need for repentance and forgiveness, which the apostle John defines as "antichrist," and which the Bible that these men claim is inerrant and infallible says constitutes blasphemy of the Holy Spirit.
This is the man whose side they've taken in a political race, which, if they were genuine in their Christian faith, they'd stay away from public endorsements. That tells me all I need to know about anyone who was participating in that prayer meeting. They are phonies and frauds themselves, just like their political inamorata.
But...How Can These Self-Appointed Christian Leaders Miss the Point of Their Own Faith?
They share so much in common with Trump that it's not surprising at all. They are lovers of money, lovers of power and lovers of themselves. Did you catch, in the debate, what determines any decision Trump makes is on how much he can personally profit from it. We can't support Ukraine because of the cost. If NATO allies don't pay their bill, then let Putin invade and we do nothing. It's all about money.
"For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. [I Timothy 6:10, NIV]
Evangelicals claim that the Bible is without error, and is infallible in its content. That's an interesting theological perspective which is not actually supported anywhere in the Bible itself, which is supposed to be the "sole authority" for doctrine in the Christian church. How that gets translated, from the pulpit to the congregation, is that these pastors convince their congregants that if the Bible is without error and infallible, and they are, of course, "preaching the Bible," then whatever they say and however they interpret the Bible is also infallible and without error. Any member of a church who challenges some pretense of the pastor is therefore accused of challenging the inerrancy and infallibility of the Bible.
Each of these leaders claims to have been "called" by God to serve in their church, and "illumined" in their preaching by the Holy Spirit. So they claim they are speaking on God's behalf, even when they step away from the Bible and start commenting on everything else in society, including government. They have absolute authority within their own congregations, their interpretation of the Bible is the only acceptable one and they demand the loyalty of their congregants. They have made themselves wealthy off the offerings of their congregants, and they can get most of their church members to do whatever they want them to do, whether its help in lucrative business deals, or help to put down disgruntled, vocal opposition in the church.
Immorality, and a lifestyle based on the Christian gospel's beatitudes, and fruit of the spirit, is secondary to their acquisition of power. What power, as an evangelical leader means, is that immorality can be indulged in, and then hidden, as so many of them have done. That's why Trump appeals to them, and that's why they follow him. They will become a ruling oligarchy if he wins, the Christian nationalist dictatorship they have always wanted, sans any of the values of Jesus, because they want revenge on all of those who have rejected their message. Just like he does.
Like Trump, there are not any of these Evangelical leaders, especially those who have accumulated their wealth by selling the faith, who give a damn about the values of the Christian Gospel. That is simply the means by which to dupe enough people into them getting into political power to get what they want. They are, as the Apostle Jude describes,
"Blemishes at your love-feasts, eating with you without the slightest qualm-- shepherds who feed only themselves--, they are clouds without rain, blown along by the wind; autumn trees without fruit and uprooted--twice dead. They are wild waves of the sea, foaming up their shame; wandering stars for whom the blackest darkness has been reserved forever." [Jude 12,13, NIV]
A vote for Trump will empower these egomaniacs and false prophets, placing them in control of your life. Think about that before you cast your ballot.
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