Evangelicals' embrace of Trump could be costly

This post was published in the Wilson Times Aug. 31, 2019.

The Gospel of Luke records an incident early in Jesus’ ministry after he read Scripture in the synagogue at Nazareth, “The spirit of the Lord is upon me because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor … “ Then he said,

“Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

His audience, composed partly of friends and neighbors from his boyhood home, found his assertion of a direct link to ancient prophecy blasphemous, and they sought to kill him by throwing him off a cliff. Luke reports that Jesus miraculously slipped away through the crowd.

Knowing this excerpt from Luke’s Gospel, how is it that self-proclaimed evangelical Christians have not condemned Donald Trump for asserting, “I am the Chosen One” and “the Second Coming”? Blasphemy is not a capital offense in 21^st century Christianity, but surely Trump’s assertions should send evangelical voters running away. But they are still with him.

Evangelicals have stood steadfastly behind Trump even as he has left behind a series of acts and statements that would have been answered with derision and repugnance if they came from most any other politician. Trump’s popularity in fundamentalist churches has remained strong even after the release of the October 2016 “Access Hollywood” video of Trump advising a younger colleague, Billy Bush, on how to grab, grope, fondle, and kiss women against their wills. Twice on the recording, Trump says that with women, “You can do anything.”

Trump dismissed the recorded conversation as “locker room talk” but that comparison angered athletes who knew locker room talk was not all about manhandling women. The evangelical leaders supporting Trump, including Franklin Graham and Jerry Falwell Jr., have given Trump a pass for his unprecedented public vulgarity.

Trump has shown a shocking unfamiliarity with the Bible, such as when he read a passage from what he called “Two Corinthians,” oblivious to the fact that Christians refer to Paul’s letters to the church at Corinth as First Corinthians and Second Corinthians.

Trump sees nothing wrong with shouting profanity and threats of violence at his public rallies. When asked about his prayers and forgiveness, Trump declared that he had never needed to ask forgiveness because he had never committed a sin. This non-confession comes from a man who has been twice divorced and who publicly flaunted his new girlfriend while still married to his first wife. News reporters have counted thousands of provable lies from Trump’s lips. He even denies making false statements despite a roomful of eyewitnesses or recordings of his falsehoods.

Some of those willing to overlook Trump’s lack of moral scruples are the same people who accused President Obama, a devoted family man still married to his first wife and deeply attached to his daughters, of being insufficiently religious or anti-Christian, although Obama would sprinkle Scriptural references into his speeches and even break into a religious hymn (“Amazing Grace” at the memorial for those murdered in a Charleston, S.C., church). By any neutral judgment, Obama is the more Christ-like president.

Many Americans support Trump with an intense loyalty while others cannot conceive of how Trump managed to win the presidency and now has a chance to win a second term. Although opinions on the 2020 presidential race go from a certain and overwhelming Trump victory to a landslide election with Democrats winning the White House and both houses of Congress as voters express their disgust with Trump and his administration.

In either scenario, evangelical Christian voters will be a “swing” demographic. Will they vote for Trump in hopes of keeping a strong economy, weak regulations, and a conservative, religion-friendly Supreme Court? Or will they rise up against the foul-mouthed, amoral narcissist who has alienated U.S. allies while embracing Russia’s Vladimir Putin and North Korea’s Kim Jong Un?

Regardless of the election results, the church leaders who praised Trump as God’s appointee will have a lot of soul-searching to do within their organizations.