By Lafe Tolliver, Esq
Guest Column
“He who belongs to God, hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God.” John 8:47. (NIV version).
The abomination of too many in the White evangelical churches implicitly assenting or outright supporting the blasphemies of Donald Trump is on full display. Donald Trump is blatant with his posturing of wrapping himself in the Christian dogmas of being a Messiah like figure to his MAGA base.
At recent political rallies, Donald Trump is beginning to conflate Christian religious statements and his vainglorious appeal of being a god-like figure with his standard political strategies of obfuscation and downright deceit.
No longer does Donald Trump politely correct anyone who refers to him as the “other” Messiah or when they state in gross hyperbole that he is sent by God for these times, but rather he softly demurs and graciously accepts their political crown of softly braided thorns.
When the crowd cried out to Pilate that they did not want Jesus but Barrabas instead, Donald Trump quickly morphed into the incarnation of the rebel Barrabas who is fighting for them and their country not to be overtaken by those “others.”
By any means possible, Donald Trump is inching himself towards finding space in the extant Holy Trinity and thus shape-shift himself into the MAGA Messiah and, by sheer force of will, re-make it into a Holy Quartet.
The Pharisees and Sadducees of this modern age (a/k/a: spineless GOP politicos and sold-out evangelists) have dutifully thrown in their religious garb and have uttered pious sounding phrases to give the false patina that God has sent a devil in a blue suit and extended red tie to be both the redeemer and political sin bearer of this country.
Shame? Sadly, there is no shame for the many charlatans or religiously ignorant dupes that occupy too many White evangelical pulpits, that they are not ready to risk their ministries, income or status to stand in the gap and pronounce an “ICHABOD!” on this political/religious fleecing of America.
When you watch the Trump rallies and notice that he is more and more assuming the mantle of a quasi-savior and is beginning to utter words that speak in near Messianic terms, you come to realize that Elmer Gantry and P.T. Barnum have cohabited and have birthed a spawn worthy of the devil.
Why is this important? Because if allowed to prosper and flourish, it is only a matter of time until we would need in all honesty to take the phrase, “In God We Trust” off our coinage and simply allow a host of corrupted men and women to desecrate all things sacred and holy.
What should be troubling to all is that in too many White evangelical churches, speaking the Word in truth and authority is on the decline for fear of being ostracized by your congregants who want to hear soft and soothing sounds in their ears about America becoming great again.
For too many have shifted their allegiance to a raconteur like Donald Trump in return for a few morsels of emotional and mental thrills that allow them to believe that it is just a matter of time before Messiah Trump will restore all things to their proper order and usher in a new era of America being the country it used to be (remember: MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!)?
Satan, who is called the father of lies, is a kind and patient parent to his offspring who mimic and model their behavior after him; and he is able to empower his spawn to do those acts that propagate a sense amongst his believers that Trump is their last hope for national restoration.
Chaos, confusion, division, hatred and lies are the stock in trade for Satan; and he gives the same liberally and copiously to his devotees including to those who believe that they are doing God’s work.
Such is the nature of false religious confusion, a confusion that is borne of woeful ignorance of the Word of God and from that ignorance, Trump is amply fed and nourished and prowls around not being confronted by those who know better.
Understand that Donald Trump, who is amoral as they come, has no qualms about “pimping” off the evangelical community or exploiting their fears if it will result in votes for him.
He welcomes the adoration of certain church leaders who have gone a’whoring after other gods, because he has led them to wrongly believe that by he somehow surviving all his personal chaos and boasting about overturning Roe v. Wade, that he must be God ordained and approved!
So, the devil goes to lunch at Mar-A-Lago and over plates of yellowfin tuna, broccolini, potatoes au gratin, and buttery crescent rolls, he tutors and coaches his ace student on the finer points of victimhood, fascism and deflection.
For any Christian leader of whatever background or denomination who exhorts from his or her pulpit a mealy mouth message that is devoid of scripture regarding the perils of a Donald Trump; and who extols, champions or condones Donald Trump in derogation of Scripture warnings, I say “May the Lord rebuke you!”
Contact Lafe Tolliver at tolliver@juno.com