These Uber-Evangelical Preachers Believe In the Word of Trump, Not the Word of God
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It’s important you understand I have sufficient faith in my God that should He wish to get in touch with you, He can do so and He in no way needs me to do so. I am NOT trying to proselytize you.
I am, however, about to lose my metaphorical mind over here. During the campaign, if you watched most of it, you noticed a familiar face from evangelical circles, well, actually two; Franklin Graham, and none other than the eminent Dr. Robert Jeffress, who has since banned me from his Facebook page, due to me calling him out on his endorsement of Trump.
Let me be perfectly clear: Every single citizen in these United States has a right to choose the candidate they believe will do the best job for the nation. Dr. Jeffress and I just disagree with HIS REASONS he endorsed Mr. Trump. You see, he didn’t endorse Mr. Trump because he thought he would bring jobs to the country, oh no. He endorsed Mr. Trump because he literally was enthralled by the fact that the Johnson Amendment would be repealed. You say, wait, what’s that?
It is the amendment that mandates pastors preach the Word of God – which they are called to do – and avoid getting involved in the politics of the day. Let me be more specific: If I were in full-time ministry, YOU would in no way KNOW who I approved of politically.
You would NOT see any articles from me, and you certainly would not hear me argue from the pulpit who is the better candidate. No. No silent leading with voter’s guides, as the Convention was wont to send me, and no prodding from me. No way; No how! I was not called to be a politician but a pastor, a minister of my local community.
And THAT is where Dr. Jeffress and I disagree. I made clear to him my disagreement and what did he do? He banned me from his Wall, which again, is his right.
Not only did he endorse Mr. Trump, he has been one of those pastor’s arguing how “Christmas was stolen from good everyday Christians,” ever since “Barack Obama was elected President.” No evidence, just slanderous allegations. The man virtually was joined at Trump’s side at nearly most of his campaign stops and he even bragged to the press at how much time he spent with Donald J. Trump.
Of course, this was to justify something Trump said – which was not nearly as untoward as what recently came out of his mouth. But here is where my blood pressure has hit the roof.
So, I am scrolling on Twitter, and what do I see? A message from Dr. Robert Jeffress:
“Come join me on my message this week on INCLUSION!”
Are you kidding me? Inclusion? Wait. The guy you argue is getting a bad rap in the media, in contrast to how you argued “Obama couldn’t be a Christian,” along with your friend Franklin Graham, said what he said about African countries, and you have the gall to preach a message on inclusion?
Dr. Jeffress has crossed a line from being just a hypocrite to one of being what Jesus accused the religious rulers of his day of the following:
“Men with whitewashed tombs on the outside and rotting bones on the inside.” (Matt 23:27).
Do you want to know what else Jesus called those religious rulers? Teachers of the Law! And boy was Jesus correct. You see? For folks like Jeffress, they hold everybody else to the “law” while applying the gospel of grace to themselves. That is, according to them, the world is going to hell, and they act like they shall be seated by the right hand of God.
Perhaps Dr. Jeffress needs to revisit the passage in Matthew 7:21-23 which discusses the difference between true and false teachers. I believe it would do him well to do so. It states,
“Not everyone who calls me Lord will enter God’s kingdom. The only people who will enter are those who do what my Father in heaven wants. On that last Day, many will call me Lord. They will say, ‘Lord, Lord, by the power of your name we spoke for God. And by your name we forced out demons and did many miracles.’Then I will tell those people clearly, ‘Depart from me, you people who do wrong. I never knew you.’”
Inclusion. How in the world can a man preach a message on inclusion when he currently supports, endorses, and props up without calling out the commentary Trump arguably engaged in? And what about Dr. Jeffress and the select crowd he and his church-goers will or will not accept to be part of the crowd? How about THAT inclusion.
You see, for Jeffress and his kind, you have to believe what they believe, look like they look like, act the way they do, have the same convictions and worldview, or forget it; you will NEVER be considered by THEM to be an acceptable person.
But Mr. Trump? Oh, he is just A-Okay because you see, now we get to speak our minds politically from behind the pulpit, we get to legislate morality, we get to implement a “Freedom of Religion Day,” and we get to keep “those people” from stealing our precious worldly, accumulation of goods, highest spending holiday of the year; Christmas.
Never you mind that Mr. Trump has not expressed his need for a savior, and never you mind that he rejects his need to ever ask for forgiveness (hallmarks of true believers). You see, we don’t care. We just want POWER just like those religious Pharisees back in the day.
Make no mistake: Dr. Jeffress, the Franklin Grahams, and the Jim Bakers ARE destroying the reputation of the Church just as Max Lucado, and Tony Campolo, and even myself indicated during the electoral cycle.
They have as Romans 1:25 states, “Exchanged the truth for a lie.” They have neglected to recall that “the weapons of our warfare are not carnal (2 Corinthians 10:4).
THESE PEOPLE: They have as Paul taught his student, Timothy, in 2 Timothy 3:5: “Have a form of godliness but deny the power thereof.”
And they surely have forgotten that Christ calls all to the table. Inclusion? Inclusion my foot.
I would be honored to have each of you connect with me on Facebook or follow me on Twitter as I continue holding this administration to account.
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Good Morning ALL,
I feel compelled to make something clear here regarding my article and I hope each of you understand the reason I make this point clear as I did on my Wall:
PERSONALLY – which means this is a personal issue for ME so if you do not agree with me, I take no umbrage at that fact, and, just as you do not want me to belittle a person who does not have a faith orientation, I simply ask you not belittle those who do; including me.
Why? I know many well-meaning, God-fearing, Biblical living people who DO minister in ways which align with the Jesus I have learned about in the Bible. The sad part is, of course, that the very people who engage in this sort of stuff, just so happen to be leaders, therefore they draw more attention in the public – rightfully so – and in the process, do not represent the Church in a manner which is outlined in the very Book they profess belief in.
This is precisely WHY I use that same Book when confronting these people, because for them to simply dismiss my argument they must argue against the very thing they DEMAND others they must live by, lest according to these leaders, those people themselves in the eternal torment.
I also believe the Church if operated within the confines of how God as represented in the scripture would serve a purpose to the community in ways even I cannot imagine. I further believe the Church “can” serve a good purpose for society, but I have NEVER, even throughout my entire full-time ministry seen Her operate to her fullest capacity, whether due to internal strife and conflict between members, or the evangelicals allowing the very institution they have been entrusted with, to be co-opted by a political party; the GOP.
I want, nay I must make this point clear as I have many good friends in my network of connections on Facebook who are actively engaged in church, or are serving in some capacity, and often I will hear how “much I have changed since I have been their minister.”
The reality is however, I have NOT changed one bit. My wife can attest to this as she sat under my leadership each and every one of those years I served the Church in full-time, part-time, and bi-vocational settings. I NEVER once allowed my political views to enter the public sphere while serving and I suspect this is the greatest issue I have with ANY Pastor who is like Dr. Jeffress, Baker, or even Franklin Graham. What makes Graham more egregious in my opinion, is that his father ministered to BOTH Democratic and Republican Presidents, never once forcing his beliefs upon them, and always encouraging them through his prayer time with them, or by his counseling them. That is, Billy Graham – regardless of what one might think of him, was non-political in praxis.
These days, it is difficult if not unbelievable that Franklin Graham is this involved in the political sphere.
A wall clearly separates religion and government, no matter what the revisionist says, and this is how the Founders intended things to be. While those founders were in no way perfect they did realize that not having the wall erected separating these two institutions, would create chaos and the reason is simple: Allowing the barrier to be eradicated would welcome nothing but difficulty due to so many religions and beliefs out in the world, not to mention how specific laws could favor one group over another.
Alternatively, that same amendment makes clear that any person in this nation has a right to worship or not, in the manner they see fit.
The church also was never intended to be an organization which also governed politically. If you are a student of the scriptures as I, you know that this was the most singular thing Jesus railed against when He placed Himself into world events. He called out the religious rulers of that day, called Pharisees, because not only did they “lord the scriptures over the people,” but they also did so by the implementing of laws for their society which mitigated the very “Free Will” God grants the human being, according to those same scriptures.
AGAIN: I cannot prove ONE single thing from those scriptures, and yet I believe through faith. This is a highly personal matter for me as it should be for all. If people really do believe that I have changed, I often wonder first, whether I have, and once I determine I have not with the exception of living a life of faith, which expands each day I live, you each would understand why. Therefore, to the person who remains convinced “that I have changed for the worse,” I ask them the following: Could it be that it is you who have changed? If so, why?
No fan of religion, but do understand power and hypocrisy, and the clowns you mention powerful hypocrites all right.
Thank you so much for saying so succinctly What so many of us are thinking. The meaning of of the word Christian has been abused by these Uber-Evangelical preachers. Oh, how low many of the Church established by our Lord has fallen.
Hello Glenda,
“The meaning of the word Christian has been abused by these Uber-Evangelicals preachers.” Indeed. I do believe I had this conversation with you in the past, but if not, here goes again: I do not see any scriptural evidence anywhere in that Book, which supports one even using the term “Christian” in the first place. I do believe that Paul used that label one time and the other major reference is in the Book of Acts where it states “they were CALLED Christians first in Antioch.”
Also, when transliterating that text to the Greek, one quickly discovers that applying or calling another in that particular day was considered an insult, because that Book was written in such close proximity to the time Jesus spent on the earth. He was not liked as we know, so to call another a “Christian,” firstly meant the individual acted and behaved LIKE CHRIST, and secondly, meant that in all probability the individual had spent time with Jesus. Neither case was good for these people.
I have asked my colleagues repeatedly for evidence supporting the claim that it is appropriate to call oneself a Christian for well over two decades now, and not one time have I ever had one single colleague provide me the evidence. This is exacerbated further when one is USING the term to describe him or herself and the behavior simply does not match that of Christ. It literally cheapens the gospel message making it difficult for anyone who does not have an orientation of faith, to wonder just how real this entire enterprise could be. As always Glenda, thank you for taking the time to respond, and also thank you for always following my work and your consistent support.
Not once they disputed you? Interesting. That validates their hypocrisy.
God, Allah, Buddha and other deities must be getting well pissed off you know….
…or not…as the case may be…
The use of God to serve their gain makes me extremely ill and angry! Thanks you Mark for bringing this to the light of day, showing the wolves in sheep’s clothing, the filth under the white stone.
Hi Melinda,
You are spot-on with that analysis. Sadly, it seems to me that this is precisely what these “leaders” do; they use the scriptures to bang over the heads of those people who do not view the world in the same manner they do, nor appear like they do, nor ascribe to their convictions in the same manner. This in my opinion, borders if not well exceeds a form of spiritual abuse to people.
Why? When you invoke the “Highest Authority” on all matters, who can really argue with you – IF you are from the faith community? There is much trust and way too much faith placed upon these “spiritual leaders,” if you ask me, setting up the perfect storm of blind obedience and conformity to an authority figure, the exact same point I made in my research. Think about what makes people conform, or obey an influence or persuasive individual>
While you are at it, ask yourself how these “leaders” USE these universal pillars (as I call them) to further their own respective agenda. Academically speaking, these pillars are; reciprocity, scarcity, authority, liking, commitment/consistency, and social proof.
One pillar used by itself can be potent when utilizing, but when ALL of them are utilized at the same time it becomes nearly impossible to not comply. When these pillars are “used” to further one’s agenda, as they often are, rather than allowing the pillar to play out normally, we see manipulation versus persuasion. Add to this the using of “God” and the person feels obligated to oblige each and every time. Thanks for bringing this point up which in turn, allowed me to expand on the issue. Also, thank you for following my work. I truly do appreciate each and every one of you.
These so called men of God wouldn’t know God if he came and smacked them on their faces. I am more of a Christian than half of these people and I am an atheist.
If there is any value to the story of Jesus (I’m not a believer either, BTW) is’t just that: if god herself walked in the , he’d meet pretty much the same fate whether it was a church door or a bar door. These fundamentalists aren’t about truth or goodness or peace or kindness or love or respect or freedom or democracy. They are all about power and power for them and anything that suggests otherwise,
is sheep’s clothing. .
Ouch! Love it when people speak the truth. Thanks for the comment, Jess.
As you well know Mark, I’m not a believer, but don’t have to be to know hypocrisy when I see it. These guys, and guys like them, is what has driven and continues to drive millions from the church. The Atheist population is increasing, while the religious population decreases.
I just read an article that in Iceland people under 25 are at 0% when it comes to belief in God. This pleases me as an atheist to no end.
Me too! 25% Hooray! Enlightened folk indeed.
They believe in Bjork
Hey then we have something in common, I love her music. Maybe I should look into learning Icelandic and move there, Norway is also looking good right now and bonus, I could find me a nice Nordic god or a red headed Viking type. I’m still holding out for a kilted red head though 🙂
These so-called “Christian” leaders embarrass me as a Christian and follower of Christ’s teaching. Sadly, millions believe their “Word” and not the True Word. Shame. Such shame.
Hello Mavis,
It is an embarrassment. I spent nearly 20 years in full-time ministry and I NEVER mentioned politics from the pulpit, nor mentioned the church when speaking about politics in my own family. These pastors are to minister to the needs of their respective communities. They cannot possibly do this when they are so enmeshed in politics. It infuriates me. It is spiritual abuse.